P a g e 3 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r MINES AND MINING IN PARK COUNTY-continued From The Livingston Enterprise, January 1, 1900: The Mines. The deepest mine in Cooke is the Morning Star, showing a continuous vein of ore averaging $35 in gold and silver and 60 per cent lead, while the shaft is free from water. Among the prominent mines of the camp are the Black Warrior, Shoo Fly, Little Daisy, International, Snowslide, Acme, Talisman, Homestake, Alice E., Moulton, Bunker Hill, Iceberg and Red Mountain lode. The Little Daisy shows beautiful specimens of galena containing wire gold. The Homestake discloses large bodies of ore carrying lead, copper, gold and silver, and the Red Mountain lode shows thousands of tons of ore on the dump, running as high as 800 ounces in silver. The White Warrior group during its active moments produced ore that assayed as high as $7,000 per ton, averaging, all told, $80. The Ore. The character of the ore varies through every gradation of class and richness, silver-bearing galena ores predominating; yet free-milling quartz has been found in a number of locations, some of it rich in gold. Most of the ores that are essentially argentiferous show a fair percentage of gold, so that though the district is principally silver bearing it is by no means entirely so, and may yet rank high for its production of the more precious metal. The galena ores are for the most part of the class that yields readily to the simplest smelting processes, while others are so refractory as to require preliminary roasting to drive off the sulphurtes. It is fair to state that there is a prevalent opinion that with proper treatment in the smelter the roasting process might be avoided with all the ores of the district. The assays vary from the lowest to fabulous figures ; but in this day of cautious investment in mines, an assay is considered as little more than an evidence of what the rock contains, rather than the amount. One of the prominent features throughout the mineral propositions is the extent of the ore bodies. The surface indications are of a character that the most inexperienced prospector would notice as presenting evidences of mineral wealth, and in every instance where the development has been carried forward the work has uncovered lodes of increasing extent and no diminishing richness. Cooke City is a typical mining camp, situated at an altitude of 10,000 feet and entirely surrounded by rugged mountains, whose summits are always snow-capped. Some of the largest rivers of Montana rise in the district, i. e., Clark’s Fork, Madison, Gallatin and the Yellowstone. The city is watered by Soda Butte creek and so situated in the narrow gulch that there is only room for one street, in order that the houses may occupy level ground. The structures that comprise the town vary from the dirt-covered log shacks to neat and Where wire gold is exposed at the surface in Hidden Treasure No. 3
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