Montana oil and mining journal., 1939-12-23

About 20 years ago there died
In Oakland. Calf, a Montana pi0-
neer mining man whose name was
known the length and breadth Of
the western states as the man who
owned the richest gold mine In the
world. The man was Nate Yestal,
and his mine was the famous old
PenObsoot at Marysviile which pro-
duced from IS feet of one of It's
shafts the largest bar of gold and
silver bullion ever taken from a
single mine. This bar. cast from
the gold produced by a few weeks
run, was 20 inches long, several
inches wide and 33 inches thick.
II weighed more than 242 pounds
and its value was S54,262.62.
The Helena Herald, commenting on
the production of the mine at the
time, said: mo other gold mine that
this or any other country has ever
known. has ever produced IN the same
period. with similar working facilities.
so large an amount Of bullion" Com
menting on the Penobscot in 1878, the
Alta California said the largest bar
from one mine prior 10 this was
S50832 from Spring valley claim in
Butte county, California, in 1877.
staked Thomas Cruise
Nate VeStal was a shrewd mining
man. who knew ores and formations
better than most men. II was he who
gave Thomas Cruise the money TO OPP
crate the famous Drum Lummon mine
at Marysville, from which Cruise after
ward made millions. Cruise drove an
extremely sharp bargain with VeStal
however. and as was usually the case.
the prospector and discoverer Of the
mine made the money while the man
who put up the cash to open up the
property merely received a moderate
return on the money he invested.
Vestal was not the discoverer of ths
Penobscot, as Is usually claimed, but
bought the property from the original
locators. who took up the claims Dec. l,
1874 These we're w. r. RAIDER, one OF
the brothers after whom Radersburg
Is named: j. E. Murphy, H. c. Nash
and w II Murphy. Vestal purchased
the property from them for a small
sum in the fall of 1876. His operations
we're successful from the start. and
after taking out about Sl50,0O0. he
sold the mine to the Snowdrift g.
Penobscot Consolidated Mining Co,
which took out about 100000 while
they owned It, In 1885 the PenobScot
was sold to John Longmaid, who took
out S65,O00. Longmaid sold the mine
10 his son, j. Henry Lsongmaid, who I
produced 81 10000.
VestaI Boosts Helena
Back In the latter seventies VeStal /
was a popular man In Helena, when |
that city was feeling blue and de- |
pressed over the exodus of its mining /
men to the Black Hills. Because Vestal
stuck and developed the PenobScot. he
many others TO work prop
critics In the Marysville and In other
districts near Helena. 1t was also
Vestal's money that opened the Bel
mont and Whippoorwill at Empire,
both good paying mines for several
,ears.
Vestals friends were legion, and his
)ursestrings we're open TO all who
leeded assistance or charity His open
soon dissipated his fortune
aimed in the PenobScot. but he went
heerfully TO work to gain another
take. being one of the first miners
o get into Alaska. He returned from
Alaska with some money and spent
everal years at Forest Hill in Cali
ornia. on a property that he had re-
nembered from early days. Later. his
lealth failing. he made his home at
oakland He Is survived by his widow
nd two daughters.
Many mining men believe that YES
ais old mine. the Penobscot, has many
ines more wealth Stil IN 1t than ever
las been taken out, and that some
ay it will be worked profitably on
ig scale again.