The Iron Rod, in the same district, is so far considered the next best gold mine in the county. The ledge is free from water to the lowest level reached, 200 feet, and is considered very valuable, having furnished the Stevens and Trivitt mill regularly with ore during the entire year with gratifying results. The gold occurs free in the quartz.

The lode considered next in value to the above in this county is the Keystone, in Summit district. It was discovered in the latter part of 1863, and is now owned principally by E. Covely. It has been and is now successfully worked for gold. To a depth of 176 feet, the present bottom of the workings, the vein has shown great regularity and rich

ness.

The foregoing are, of course, not the only gold mines recorded and opened in the county; there are many more of perhaps as great and even greater value, but future developments must prove them to be what they are now supposed to be from the slight improvements made on them.

The principal silver-bearing veins which have so far attracted attention are found in Brown's district, not far from Virginia City. They are the Pacific, Black, Roma, Louane, and True Silver ledges. They are carrying some native silver and decomposed ores, but principally sulphurets. The results reached so far are sufficiently encouraging to the owners to induce them to erect additional machinery for more speedy and advantageous working of the mines. The following mills have been erected in the county:

Hot Spring District.-Cope mill, in Canadian Gulch, erected in 1865. Three batteries of five stamps each; weight of stamps, 600 pounds each; drop, 12 inches; 50 drops per minute, driven by a 40 horse-power engine; cost, $33,000; capacity, 20 tons in 24 hours. Two arrastras, one amalgamator, and blankets complete the works. The amount of quartz crushed has not been kept. Average value of quartz worked, $30. Cost of extraction and reduction, $5 each. The mill is now owned by George F. Cope and in operation.

Midas mill, erected in 1867 by the Midas Company of Rochester, New York, was built in San Francisco, California, and costs $50,000. It has three batteries of five stamps each. Weight of stamps, 600 pounds; drop, 8 inches, and 60 times per minute; capacity, 25 tons per 24 hours. It is driven by steam-power; contains, besides the stamps, one Blake crusher, two Wheeler pans and one concentrator. No registry of ore crushed'; yield and cost of reduction unknown. The mill is now running.

The New York and Montana Mining Company's mill was erected in 1866, and can be driven by water or steam-power. Contains four batteries of five stamps each; weight of stamps, 600 pounds; drop, 10 inches, and 60 times per minute. Capacity, 20 tons per day; has five Eaton pans and four concentrators attached. It is not in operation at

present.

The Clark and Upson mill of Hartford, Connecticut, was erected in 1869. Contains twelve stamps of 500 pounds each. Drop, 8 inches, and 50 times per minute. Capacity, 15 tons per day. It is driven by steampower; contains two arrastras and one concentrator. Cost unkown; not in operation at present.

The Hobart mill was erected in 1868. It has five stamps, weighing 600 pounds each. Drop, 8 inches, 60 strokes per minute; driven by waterpower; capacity, 6 tons in 24 hours; one arrastra is attached. The mill is now crushing ore yielding, on an average, $15 per ton. Number of tons crushed, cost of extraction and milling unknown.

Sharp's mill, erected in 1869, has five stamps of 600 pounds each and two arrastras. No statistics can be gathered from this mill as no records are kept. It is said to be running at a large profit.

Hall & Spalding mill, erected in 1868, has two batteries of five stamps each; is driven by water-power, and has a capacity of 10 tons per day. The yield, so far, has been $15 per ton of ore crushed. It is not running at present.

The Brooklyn Golden Ore Company's mill was erected in 1867. It is driven by steam-power and has two batteries of five stamps each. Weight of stamps, 500 pounds each; drop, 9 inches, 50 times per minute; capacity, 12 tons per 24 hours. No statistics; mill not running. Besides the foregoing mills there are three arrastras in Hot Spring district. They are all propelled by water and paying well at present. It may be stated that the value of the bullion produced in Upper and Lower Hot Spring and Norwegian districts varies from $11 to $20 per ounce in coin.

Mill Creek District.-The Branham mill, with twelve stamps of 500 pounds each, a drop of 12 inches, 40 strokes per minute, and a capacity of 12 tons per 24 hours, was erected in 1865. It is driven by waterpower; its yield, so far, unknown, and the average cost of reduction is, as near as can be ascertained, about $2 per ton. The only saving ap paratus, aside from the batteries, are tables and blankets. The mill is owned by C. C. and M. Branham, and now idle.

The Bradley arrastra is now running. It has a capacity of 1,500 pounds per day; is propelled by water and works ore from the Branham lode. Yield unknown, but reported good.

Quartz Hill District.-A. W. Whittacker's mill contains three stamps of 400 pounds each, drop, 12 inches, and 40 per minute; propelled by water. Yield of ore crushed, so far, $15 to $18 per ton. It is now running.

Wisconsin Creek District.-In this district there are two arrastras running by water, each paying well. They work ores from the company lode, which yield $23 per ton.

Silver Star District.-The Everett, Green Campbell Mining Company of Cleveland, Ohio, are running a 10-stamp mill with two batteries, four Horn pans, and two settlers. Weight of stamps, 680 pounds; drop 8 inches, and 60 per minute. It is run by steam-power, has a capacity of 18 tons in 24 hours, and cost $25,000. The cost of reduction is $5; the average yield of the ore of the Green Campbell mine, which it is working, is $20.

The Stevens and Trivitt mill is in the upper part of the district. It is inclosed by a frame building and driven by steam. There are twelve stamps of 600 pounds each, arranged in two batteries; drop, 9 inches, and 50 times per minute. It was erected in 1868 at a cost of $30,000. There is a saving apparatus, consisting of blankets and arrastras, attached. Cost of reduction, $5 per ton; average yield of ore from the Iron Rod lode about $50 per ton.

Besides the mills there are six or seven arrastras now running in the district. On an average they are more successful than the mills. Most of them are located in Hell Cañon and propelled by water.

Rochester District.-The Madison County Mining Company's mill has ten stamps and two arrastras with blankets. It was moved from Hot Spring district about a year ago and has been mostly running on ore from the Watseka and Nave lodes. Yield unknown.

Hendrie and Woodworth's mill, erected near by, contains ten stamps and is propelled by steam-power. It is idle at present.

Three arrastras, propelled by water, are successfully operated in the district.

The placers lately found in Rochester Gulch in this distrist could not be worked successfully so far, owing to the character of the soil, the scarcity of water, and want of fall in the gulch. Bed rock has only been reached by shafts, but from indications by practical tests it is believed that the gulch can be made to pay handsomely by the expenditure of some capital for ditches.

The Summit District.—The How mill was built in St. Louis and erected in 1866. It contains twenty stamps and two arrastras with blankets. It is propelled by steam-power and inclosed in a stone building. Idle for the want of ore.

The Postlewait and Hawkeye mill contains fifteen stamps, with settlers, arrastras, and blankets. Propelled by steam-power and inclosed in a stone building. It has, of late, made two very successful runs on ore from the Keystone lode, the first of which yielded $16, the second $38 per ton.

The How mill is expected to start up soon on ores from the Polar Star, Nelson, and How lodes.

The fine Chilian mill of the Montana Gold and Silver Mining Company of Philadelphia has been idle for a long time for the want of ores, and is under attachment for debts to mechanics and laborers.

The Lucas mill, of twenty stamps, steam-power, building of stone, has been idle for the last two years on account of lawsuits and want of ore. There are two more mills in the district which, however, have not been erected as yet.

The development of quartz mines in this district has of late been encouraged and greatly stimulated by liberal offers from the millmen to mine owners; and the promised reduction in their charges for reduction will undoubtedly hasten the progress of mining matters very much.

The principal placer diggings in the district have so far been in Alder Gulch, which is worked mostly by bed-rock flumes. Messrs. Hall and Southmaid are said to have taken out from their upper flume alone $65,000 during the last year.

Brown's District.-This district is at last assuming the character of a first-rate silver district. The following beneficiating apparatus has been erected so far:

The Conner mill, erected in 1868, has ten stamps, arrastras, and pans. It is driven by steam, and inclosed in a frame building.

The Christenot Chilian mill with barrels and arrastras. It is now idle. Besides the above, seven arrastras, propelled by water, are now in successful operation and paying well.

Williams and Granite Districts.-One mill and several arrastras are in operation in these districts, with what success I could not learn.

CHAPTER XLVII.

BEAVER HEAD COUNTY.

This county lies in the extreme southern part of the Territory. Its area occupies two degrees of longitude and one and one-half of lattitude. It is bounded on the south and southwest by the Territory of Idaho; on the west by Missoula; on the north by Deer Lodge; on the east by Madison County, Montana. Numerous lofty mountain ranges, beautiful H. Ex. Doc. 207-20

valleys, clear mountain-brooks, creeks, and rivers abound in this county. The more prominent of the latter are the Big Hole and Beaver Head, the Red Rock, Horse Prairie, and Grasshopper. Red Rock is, undoubt edly, the most extreme tributary of the Missouri River.

Beaver Head Valley is an extensive tract of good farming land, but thinly settled so far. The rancheros have turned their attention mainly to stock raising, and from 3,000 to 5,000 head of cattle and horses graze summer and winter on the luxuriant pastures of this valley. Had it not been for the destructive pest, the grasshoppers, during the last three years, several thousand acres of land would, undoubtedly, be now under cultivation; but, as they destroyed the crops invariably, the farmers have become discouraged. Large quantities of the best hay. however, are annually cut from numerous natural meadows. Among other valleys in the county, equally fertile and inviting, Horse Prairie and Big Hole, deserve especial mention.

Bannack, the county seat, contains a population of about 500 souls. It is situated at the mouth of a large cañon on the north side of Grasshopper Creek, ten miles from its confluence with the Beaver Head or Red Rock. Three-fourths of the people are engaged in gulch, bar, and hill mining.

The first mining in the county was done at this place in 1862. That year not less than $600,000 gold were produced. Formerly, the placer mines were supposed to extend only eight miles down the stream, now they are known to exist also above the town for a distance of ten miles, as far as Bald Mountain.

The whole surface, foot-hills, and dry gulches, pay largely, when mined by hydraulics. The only question in this connection is, whether a sufficient amount of water can be brought high enough up the hills, to make profitable work on both foot-hills and dry gulches possible.

It was reported at one time that these placers were about exhausted. Nothing could be more erroneous than such a statement. It is true that after Alder Gulch, which so easily yielded its tens of thousands, Last Chance, Confederate, Black Foot, and other localities were discov ered, these placers were neglected for three years, and the yield meas urably fell off; but still, there was considerable over wages made during all that time. A new era in placer mining commenced in 1867, when the larger operation of the Bannack Mining Company and Ditch Company proved a complete success.

The first mining had been done with the water of the old ditch, which, constructed in 1863 solely for the purpose of selling water to the miners, had cost $15,000. Its length was fifteen miles. Water was sold up to 1867 at 75 cents per inch, rather a heavy tax for the miners and discouraging them greatly. In 1867, however, the above meutioned company completed a new ditch, thirty miles in length, at a cost of $35,000. The capacity of the old ditch is 2,000, that of the new one, 1,000 inches. Both of them cover over five hundred acres of mining ground, and not less than fifteen miles of dry gulches. The average number of men employed by the company during the last two years has been thirty, and the average wages paid by them 86 currency per day. They control all the water in the two ditches and sell none to miners. In this manner they are enabled to work a vast extent of mining ground to great advantage, and at the same time to pay higher wages to the miners employed by them. During last season they have been running six hydraulics, but in an ordinary season they can work ten. Although this locality did not suffer as much from the drouth as other portions of the Territory, because the ditches are brought from

the main creeks, there was still a very perceptible difference between the last season and others. The operations of the company have been mainly confined to the south and west of Bannack.

White's ditch receives its water from Grasshopper Creek. It commences one mile below the town, and crossing and recrossing the creek it extends three and a half miles down stream. The work was principally done by the owners themselves, at a cost of not less than $25,000. Its capacity is 900 inches. The company employ three hydraulics and twenty miners. Their income during the last season is said to have been highly flattering. It is intended to extend this ditch during the winter so as to cover a greater surface and richer mines.

Canon ditch has been extended during the last summer from an old ditch, which commences a few miles below White's ditch, and six miles from town down the cañon. The cost was $7,000. It now covers a large extent of rich placers. The capacity of the ditch is 600 inches. The company had only two months left for mining in the last season, during which time they employed ten hands. They are said to have made more during this short time of actual work than their ditch cost them to build. According to this their future prospects seem to be satisfactory.

Pioneer ditch, fed by two small streams at the base of Bald Mountain, is ten miles long, carries 600 inches of water, and cost $5,000. It covers the foot-hills north of Bannack and eight miles of dry gulches, besides many bars and gulches beyond. Two years ago it was unknown that these foot-hills contained gold; now the company's property is considered very valuable. As a six-mile extension of the old ditch was completed during last season, the company had only three months left for actual mining. The average number of men employed was eight, at $6 per day. In an ordinary season twenty to thirty men can be employed here profitably as night and day hands. The company have done well during last season, but intend to employ Chinamen during the next; indeed, it is the general desire of parties operating in this neighborhood to introduce this kind of labor in both placer and quartz mines, in order to get rid of the past curse of these regions, the extravagant prices paid for labor. It is, of course, impossible to say at the present day what effects and results such a change may produce, but everybody is confident that it will help progress greatly.

HORSE PRAIRIE MINES.

These mines are located on a branch of the creek of the same name, about thirty-five miles southwest of Bannack.

The bar mining in this gulch has been very profitable during the last two years, especially to the Yearian brothers, who have done the principal mining. They have constructed a ditch of fifteen miles in length, with a capacity of 1,000 inches, at a cost of $15,000. Last season water was rather scarce, but ordinarily they can run five hydraulics and employ thirty miners. Six dollars in currency per day has been paid by them during last summer, while formerly they paid $6 in gold. The bar belonging to them is one and one-half mile long, and a quarter of a mile wide on an average. It has paid an average of $20 to the hand, which is a larger return than that of any other locality in the county.

The balance of the mining ground in this gulch is divided into small interests; but all of them have been able to make considerable above