GOLD AND SILVER WEST. 



25 



tract the capital necessary to bring the 

 treasure to the surface. It will also at- 

 tract poor men and adventurers by the 

 thousands, however, and the prospect is 

 that the advance army of goldseekers 

 and workers will reach Colorado before the 

 investors do, in which case there must be 

 great hardships and suffering. It would 

 only be just and humane, especially during 

 the winter, for the State officers of Colo- 

 rado to issue notices, for circulation 

 throughout the country, describing the 

 real situation and cautioning men who ar- 

 rive on the grounds penniless of the or- 

 deal that awaits them. Whatever Colo- 

 rado is, it is no poor man's gold country. 



A representative of THE IRRIGATION AGE 

 visited Denver, Colorado Springs, the 

 Cripple Creek region and Leadville soon 

 after the present excitement began, and 

 everywhere found the people holding the 

 greatest faith in the gold production. 

 Speculation was wild. At Colorado 

 Springs three exchanges were crowded 

 with frantic men all day. Sales of Crip- 

 ple Creek in one week aggregated 11,852,- 

 457 shares. Streets were crowded and 

 sidewalks blocked. The exchanges at 

 Victor, Pueblo, and Denver were all making 

 heavy sales. 



Interviews with the managers of the vari- 

 ous mines brought out the most extrava- 

 gant statements. According to these 

 gentlemen there was simply no limit to 

 the gold. Ex-Gov. James B. Grant, of 

 the Omaha and Grant Smelter, had just 

 returned from a tour of inspection among 

 the mining camps of the State. By the 

 way, it was this gentleman's report, tele- 

 graphed broadcast, that heightened the 

 excitement recently. Among other things 

 be said: "Cripple Creek far surpasses 

 the wildest anticipations of those who had 

 the greatest hopes for the future of Lead- 

 ville. Cripple Creek will produce more 

 gold in the next twenty years than any 

 camp ever known. Leadville has pro- 

 duced over $100,000,000 in the last seven- 

 teen years. When they have been mining 

 seventeen years at Cripple Creek it is safe 

 to say that the camp will have produced 

 over $500,000,000. I have no hesitation 

 in saying that the mines of Cripple Creek 

 will soon excel the famous mines of South 

 Africa." 



The Denver, Salt Lake City and San 

 Francisco newspapers were devoting a 



great deal of space to the year's output of 

 gold. They all agree that in another" 

 year, with the increase of mining opera- 

 tions, Colorado. Utah and California will 

 yield more gold than all South Africa. 



Colorado's gold production for the year 

 1895 was $17,000,000. The number of 

 men employed- in the metalliferous mines 

 of the State in 1893 was 22,876; number 

 at present employed, 26,329. The 

 silver districts show a decided falling off, 

 while the gold districts show a heavy 

 gain. It is claimed that the Cripple 

 Creek, Leadville, Gilpin, Clear Creek and 

 Boulder county districts have just com- 

 menced to demonstrate their great rich- 

 ness for the reason that thorough ex- 

 ploitation has not before been practiced 

 except in a few isolated cases and, as 'a 

 result, thousands of men will ultimately 

 find employment where formerly only a 

 few could be accommodated. 



J. J. Crawford, California State 

 Mineralogist, sends THE IRRIGATION AGE 

 the official statement of the State Mining 

 Bureau for last year, which shows that 

 the value of the mineral product, includ- 

 ing the metallic and non-metallic, hydro- 

 carbons and gases, and structural 

 materials, was $20,203,294. Gold leads 

 all the rest, with a total of $13,923,281. 

 Calveras county produced most of the 

 precious metal, with an output of 

 $2,119,365. Petroleum, which is a de- 

 veloping branch, comes second in point of 

 wealth. The State's product of this was 

 valued at $1,064,523. Silver amounted 

 to $207, 331 and quicksilver to $934,000. 



The governor of Arizona says that 

 Territory produced the past vear 

 $10,000,000 in gold, against $4,000,000 

 in 1894. 



Alaska's gold output for 1895 is esti- 

 mated by G. H. Swinehart, editor of the 

 Alaska Mining Record, of Juneau, to be 

 $3,000,000. Of this amount $800,000 

 has been obtained from placer mining, 

 chiefly along the Yukon river. Mr. 

 Swinehart says there are fifteen mills, 

 with a total capacity of 500 stamps in 

 operation. 



America is holding her own as the 

 leading gold nation. Last year we led 

 South Africa. The latter mined $39,555,- 

 836, while the United States mined 

 $39,775,000. For 1896 the prospects are 

 great, and Alaska is beginning to tell. 



