P a g e 7 placed a crawl which is used in case of a breakage of any heavy machinery. This crawl is brought into position and the broken parts hoisted upon a car, which takes them to the machine shop for repairing. The battery blocks are set in the ground to a depth of fourteen feet and rest on solid hard pan, each one having independent bearings. In operating the stamps with ninety drops per minute, at a distance of five inches, the blocks have never settled the slightest degree from the original. The water for the plant is taken from Bear creek by a ditch with a head of 347 feet and furnishes 500 inches of water. There are two engines, the smaller one being situated back of the larger one, and supplied with sufficient horse-power and so connected by steam pipes and belts that in case of any disability of the larger engine the burden can be placed upon this smaller contrivance and the work of the mill move on uninterrupted. For convenience these engines and boilers are situated above all other machinery, consequently the former have a downward pull and are more firmly held in place thereby, being directly supplied with 280 horse -power boilers. In front of the engines are situated water taps to which are attached a fire hose with sufficient pressure to throw a stream of water over the entire building, and is sufficient in volume for all emergencies. A fire gong is so situated in the mill that all occupants can sound the fire alarm, and by different openings and stairways they can either get out of the building or to the fire. Mr. Bush deserves much honor for this valuable addition to the mining machinery of Montana, while in it are combined originality and the proof of his judgment of what the future of the mining camp will be. Experts acknowledge that this mill is the most complete stamp mill in the world. THE SOW ASH MINE is in direct communication with the old stamp mill, and is developed by over 300 feet of cross-cut, exposing two veins thereby, one with a development for a distance of over 400 feet along its strike, showing a vein from five to thirty feet in width about 90 feet below the surface, while the other vein, encountered by this crosscut is of a more silicous nature, with a development of 175 feet in length along its strike, showing a width of from five to fifteen feet. Stoping operations have only just commenced, there being 200 or more feet of backs yet to stope. It is above the first vein's development that practically all the ore up to date has been extracted. –Read more in next month’s issue! Accessed via: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ 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 Residence of J.P. Sennott Please be sure to share this newsletter with a friend! To receive it monthly, send an email with NEWSLETTER in the subject line to ghosttownsofmontana@gmail.com
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