162 MONTANA 19U 



her water power and other resources, were second to no other state within 

 the borders of the nation. 



What a far cry it is from tiie mininor of the days of '62 to minint^ of 

 the days of 1913! It is not so much the chans^e in the quantity of mining 

 done, but rather with the vastly improved methods that we are impressed. 

 Where once the grizzled miner panned his dust, giant dredge 

 Like a Ro- boats now ply in the gulches. Where, after the rush for placer 

 mance Reads diggings had subsided and attention was first called to lode 

 This Strangemining, the windlass and whim were used to hoist the ore, 

 Story. great electrical equipment of modern design now does the work 



— a throbbing monument of steel to tbe genius of time! 



A generation in ]Montana has witnessed the transition from the horse 

 and w(him to steam and from steam to electricity, (the latter being possible 

 through the harnessing: of the rivers of the Treasure State. No other occu- 

 pation has shown more rapid advancement than mining. That means within 

 the State of Montana, for Montana's mining has shown the way to the 

 rest of the mining world in the matter of labor-saving and economical 

 methods. 



And it is on the subject of more recent activities that this article Vv'ill 

 dwell. The history of mining in this State is intensely, yes, thrillingly inter- 

 esting. But, with the excepton of an occasional reference to the production 

 of Montana's metals in the past, we cannot deal much with history. Lack of 

 space forbids. 



And the future of Montana mining? Before getting back to the major 

 trend '.he writer would ask the privilege to record a prediction — that mining 

 in Montana is but an infant in swaddling clothes. A few decades hence 

 will find it a mighty giant of an industry and the millions of 

 Mining Is dollars in ore already extracted from her ground will seem 

 Yet an small in comparison with the multiplied millions still remain- 



Infant ing and which will be mined by the generations that are yet 



Industry. to come. 



To the uninitiated such a prediction might indeed seem bold. 

 Yet it is made only after mature thought and careful observation. Today 

 the output of Montana's mines is being steadily increased. And think oi 

 the countless mines that are vet to be opened and worked and made pro- 

 ducers ! Throughout aM of the State's systems of mountain ranges there 

 are evidences of mineralization. New prospects are daily being located. 

 New properties are being opened up from time to time. It is possible that 

 other hills within Montana's confines will yet be found to be as rich as the 

 famous Anaconda hill of the Butte district, which today gives to the world 

 a healthy percentage of its copper output, and actually brings forth one fifth 

 of the red metal produced on the North American continent. 



The human mind can scarcely comprehend the total wealth produced 

 to date by Montana's mines, measuring that wealth in dollars. It was not 

 until 1882 that accurate account was kept of the ore produced. The State 



— Montana is big enough for an enipire — and it will be one, too. 



