A Big Producer of War Metals. 



some silver and gold as well as copper. Both lead and zinc ores in Montana pro- 

 duce notable supplies of silver. These metals have all been mined in Montana in 

 large quantities. The history of mining includes four great epochs in which each 

 of the four metals, gold, silver, copper and zinc has received most attention. 



Gold Was First Mined. 



Gold was first discovered in paying quantities in Montana in the summer of 

 1862. The find was made in Grasshopper Creek, where later on, the town of Bannack 

 was established and where the first seat of government was maintained for the terri- 

 tory in 18G4. The news of the discovery spread and a party of men came to Bannack 

 from Idaho. While making a detour, to avoid the Indians, the party camped in what 

 was later called Alder gulch. Two men of the party, William Fairweather and 

 Henry Edgar, dug into the rimrock and the first pan of gravel yielded $2.40 in 

 gold dust. 



This proved to be the rich gulch long sought. Here Virginia City was founded. 

 The diggings proved to be the richest and most extensive ever found in the Rocky 

 Mountains or perhaps in the world. The exact amount of gold taken from these 

 famous diggings will never be known but it reached millions of dollars. 



Soon Last Chance Gulch was discovered and its tributaries, Ora Fino and 

 Grizzly, where Helena now stands. From that time paying gulches were found 

 on both sides of the main range of the Rockies. 



An estimate has been made of the product of the placer mines for the first 

 20 years they were operated and it is given at $2,000,000,000, which is probably low. 

 Montana in those days was an isolated and remote region in which wild game and 



