MINEBK00659

• County: Summit
• Document: Manager
• Suffix: A

.x,(41' ..r-.
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gulch and an the Golden Grorvu pin rcr, ,in~i `"~~~~ '
Junction of Lldiann gulch tvlth the Blum r!'++'"~ ~' '
riew of sectn•ing the Placer gold cnninptrd in ih~~ '
deposlt6 of the stre:mis named. HSdraullr "life-~~ .~.
ployed U}' this company for rerun-ing t:hr• miliu _- :~
pincer pits, operated where there is not eutiu:io:,- ;:~...
euaUle dumps to Ue mode in the m~dinarv munm~r.
The Om Gxv-ude Placet Dliniug Company a:~"'
operations on the Blue river gravel near tar mrcn '..
and Uc using a Patented grave] elcv:uing dcricr ~i~
water forced tnrouga nozzles uuder greur pre~sar~ '~
or forces the waste or railings np an iucllm"J "'
trough to the damp), the oPeraxm•s m•c eua Uhed r~~ ~~~:~:.~
dump an9where, and to work flat stretches of rho r.
where no grade could be oUtaiued for working in ihr ~x-~:~~~
ary placer mining fashion. Flacer miuiug has :~, ~•,: _'.
been regarded, when operated upon a large sc:tl' I'+°=
proper appliances upon good ground. as a sure thing il: win-
ing; for tae reason that, Uy sinking a number of msf shah
and properly ascertaining the value of the gold non mart'.
in the gravel and sand taken therefrom. a Pair estiwnu' of
tae yield of a given number of acres of ground uould hr
demonstrated in advance oP actual mining. The grunt
value of these river deposits has Ueen ascertained by sinl:
ing, at consideclUle expense for pumping and timUcriug.
shafts from Porty-four to sixty-Hue feet deep in tae gravel
deposits of the Blue and Swan rivers. Taese shafts were
sunk as follows: Two (watch al's connected along the.
Uedrocl: hr a drill over 100 feet long) o'erc sunk ou the
Hampson placer on tae Bluc river near Dickey st2tiou:
one aUout forts-two feet deep was suck on fife Swan river
placer owned Uy The North American Gold Dredging Com-
paa9; one (fifty-four feet deep) sunk on the Golden Crorvn
pl'aCCl' abnllt iw"U :llld nlle-aalt IIlf]e6 60llth Of P.reCl.CIlLidgC.
on tae Bluc river, not only struck the rca nugget-bearing
sfreak, but opened a vein in the "sump' (from which ore
was taken watch assa9ed 11.04 ounces in gold and 13.01
ounces in silver. A fifth Uedrock saaft was sunk aUout
forts-six feet on tae New Dnglaud Placer in the Blue river
valley, aUout half a mile souta of Breckenridge. A new
placer shaft will be snot: near the Germania, in Illinois
gulch. The results attained through sinkingthese bed-
rock shafts show tact the ~ avel carries from ten to fifty
cents Per cubic yard from surface to the Pay' streak on Ueal-
rock; the Pas streak itself frequently carr}•iug from $? .50
to $i Per card in gold
THE .LODE MINES AND FORMATIONS.
3It. Baldv is well o'orth a careful examination by geolo-
gists and prospectors. The Principal gold Dearing gulches
radiate from Baldc and its twin-:lit. Gu9ot. Tae upper
a2
THE LARGEST COLORADO GOLD NUOOE'f lye
FOUNt) iN SUMMIT COUNTY.
In 1884 5 a fresh stimnlns was given to gold minlns
the Breckenridge gold belt b9 the nuwermw rich strhy
made on Fnrncomb, Discovery and Gibson hills hyapa~d
five Prospectors from the Sna Juan and their Prlends g
having learned of the great richness of the placers of s~I
mit county, conect19 reasoned that a scetemnhc seyry
would disclose the location of the gold hearing veins itpp
which the coarse gold in the pincers hail been eroded apt
deposited U9 the action oY, the elements. Their dillg¢d
~I search Por veins in the metamorphle slate ::nd the pomhpl
oY Farncomb hill was speedily rewm•drii by the disrq
cries, In rapid succesalon, of the Boss. lCev Rest, Bp,
Holder, Reveille and other mines which have slum pro
dosed aver a million and a half in gold from a strip p
ground less ffian a mile long and not hap: a mile wide
A large portion of the ground (some 1.P: rtI acres) harip
been Patented as Placers (including a con~iderahia pomp
of the Swan river slope of FarncomU hi:'n, the erploM
were under the disadvantage of having u~ secure mare
sions from the owners in order to open up the ]odes wldi
they had discovered; consequently, ffiey `;eneraliS ppni
wiUl their discoveries for a few aundred dollars. gp
ever, they received better Prices for their fiuris on Disrore
hill (the mines of which are known at preacut ns the des
group) and on Gibson hill-where they dizrnvered sere
mines known as the Jumbo group. Tae rich free~goid Fa
comb hill mines nave genera119 been operated iu sm
Ulocks, through tunnels chiefly, by lessees u9to Lace g
royalties ranging from 25 to 35 Per cent.
The Pa9 streaks are generally narrow (Dole two or rm
1 •inches in width frequentl9) and the gold Decors in "bmmk~.
' (to use a local term), being generally found after ppa~
througa a "pinch in the vein." When a "Pocket" is sin
'. in one of these veins the ore is actua115 "gold with a G
rock nod dirt thrown in."
) The pieces oP crystallized Sold and mail o[ wire g
me Picked out of the Pay streatc carefully with the LnI
and a caseknite or chisel, core being taken not to rt;
anS of the fine material, as a handful will often coo
more than five dollars' worth of Sold. The larger chp
are carefully washed free from mud, and if they will
desirable specimens (sometimes worth three or four fi
their weight in gold to collectors or for "native" Jerre
' the adhering stone or, sometimes, lead is removed from
specimens by Uoiling them in diluted acid, ai'ter which
are further brightened with the use of jewelers' chalk
~. ~; a soft Urush.