COLORADO. 



147 



mountain, in which great difficulty was experi- 

 enced on account of the snow. The climb is 

 reduced 580 feet. 



A road from Florence to Cripple Creek, 45 

 miles, was finished at the end of June. 



The Denver, Sioux City and Duluth road 

 was incorporated in June. This is to be part 

 of a short line to Chicago and the northern lake 

 ports. The company is stocked for $3,000^000. 

 The line will extend from Julesburg to O'Neill, 

 200 miles. It will bisect Nebraska diagonally, 

 running from the northeast corner of Colorado, 

 and save about 400 miles' journey between its 

 objective points. 



Mining. Of the $5,539,021 of gold credited 

 to Colorado in 1892, the following counties were 

 the chief contributors: Gilpin, $1,419,409; Boul- 

 der, $1,027,320 ; San Miguel, $725,484 ; El Paso, 

 $583,010: Clear Creek, $328,205; Lake, $262,- 

 629 ; scattered, $1,192,964. It is generally con- 

 sidered that the figures of 1892, as given by the 

 director of the mint, are too high, and that, in- 

 stead of $5,539,021, the total really was under 

 rather than over $5,000,000. During 1893 there 

 was a marked increase. The total yield is esti- 

 mated at from $7,250.000 to $7,500,000. All 

 the gold-mining districts exhibit an increase. 

 El Paso County, because of Cripple Creek, pro- 

 duced nearly $2,000,000. Lake County, owing 

 to new discoveries on Breece Hill, Leadville, 

 nearly trebled its gold output; while San 

 Miguel showed a noteworthy and Gilpin a 

 slight advance. The gold output of Boulder 

 and Clear Creek Counties suffered through the 

 partial suspension of work at mines which 'pro- 

 duce gold in combination with silver-bearing 

 ores. 



Across the valley of the Arkansas the granite 

 formation of the Saguache range is seamed with 

 many gold veins. On the steep slopes of the 

 mountains near Twin Lakes have been found 

 small bodies of ore of . remarkable richness. In 

 the valleys below are placers of known value, 

 and on the hill slopes opposite, behind Granite, 

 many gold lodes are known to exist. 



The total of the gold product for 1893 was 

 placed at $6,515,288, and that of silver at 

 $20,640,862. The whole value of lead produced 

 was estimated at $3,394,285, and that of copper 

 at $551,948. These figures are only approximate, 

 being made up from reports of smelters, mint 

 receipts, etc. 



The production of coal in 1893 was estimated 

 at 3.947,056 tons, and the total value of the coal 

 and coke product at $6,696,143. 



Labor Troubles. Strikes were made early 

 in the year by the miners at Leadville, Aspen, 

 and Cripple Creek, on a demand for higher 

 wages or shorter hours. The miners at Cripple 

 Creek were receiving $3 for nine hours' work. 

 Their demand was $3 for eight hours. The 

 trouble had gone so far by March 17 that the 

 miners were armed to resist the reopening of 

 the mines under the protection of the sheriff, 

 and the militia were ordered out. But the 

 troops were very soon recalled by the Governor 

 on the ground that they were not needed, and 

 that the sheriff had called for them in order to 

 have their assistance in serving processes. A 

 large number of prisoners was arrested March 

 22 and taken to Colorado Springs. All the 



miners of Fremont County, to the number of 

 1,100, went out on strike April 23. Non-union 

 men attempting to work were driven away by 

 the strikers. A shaft house at Victor was blown 

 up, causing a loss of $25,000. Deputies sent 

 from Denver by the mine owners were sur- 

 rounded by a line of strikers, and were at last 

 forced to retire. A skirmish near Wilbur re- 

 sulted in the loss of one man killed on each side 

 and several wounded. Four strikers were cap- 

 tured. The miners threatened to destroy rail- 

 way property unless the authorities of the road 

 should refuse to bring in deputies. They were 

 well fortified on the slope of Bull Hill. This is 

 a natural fortress, and the same is true of Battle 

 mountain. The two are connected by a narrow 

 saddle, and, taken together, they formed a field 

 of resistance that was nearly impregnable. 

 Altman is at the summit of the hill. After the 

 fight at Wilbur, the Governor gave an order for 

 the militia to go at once to Cripple Creek, but 

 withdrew it in a few hours before they had time 

 to start. He went to the camp and addressed 

 the miners, urging them to submit the contro- 

 versy to arbitration : but the owners refused to 

 listen to any proposals of the kind. 



On May 30 one of the mining companies the 

 Raven Hill asked the Federal court for protec- 

 tion of its properties at Cripple Creek, on the 

 ground that, as it was developing and prospect- 

 ing mineral land, its dealings must of necessity 

 be directly with the United States Government. 

 If the court had sustained this position Federal 

 troops would have had to be sent to protect 

 Government property. The petitioners declared 

 they were " peaceable citizens of the United 

 States engaged in business with the United 

 States as landowners, and endeavoring to pur- 

 sue their regular avocations in developing their 

 property. Although much work had been done 

 in the mines, and many men employed there, the 

 company does not own the property, nor can it 

 do so for some time, and during the interval the 

 National Government holds the title to it." The 

 application was denied, on the ground that the 

 court had no jurisdiction, as the matter was 

 within the police power of the State. 



Terms of arbitration were arranged June 4, 

 but they seemed not to be entirely satisfactory 

 to either side. 



On June 6 the deputies left Midland, after 

 having broken telegraph communication and 

 taken possession of all newspaper correspondents 

 within their lines, marched on Cripple Creek, 

 and camped 3 miles from Altman. The miners 

 were alert and ready to repel an attack. About 

 200 shots were fired, but an armistice was ar- 

 ranged till the arrival of the militia. There 

 were 900 deputies in line and 200 cavalrymen. 

 The sheriff was not with them. The militia, 

 under Gen. Brooks and the Adjutant-General, 

 were ordered in by the Governor, with instruc- 

 tions not to allow any armed deputy sheriffs to 

 pass through their lines : the sheriff might go 

 through alone if he desired to make arrests. An 

 agreement as follows was entered into : 



Deputy sheriffs to be withdrawn from the Cripple 

 Creek mining district. 



Mines to be placed in peaceful possession of own- 

 ers. 



Military protection to miners and mine owners. 



