COLORADO. 489 



by process-vendors, each of whom needed a considerable sum of money to put 

 his newly-discovered process to the test. In some cases large and costly 

 metallurgical establishments were built for the purpose of treating the ores 

 of certain lodes before either the value of the lodes or the merit of the pro- 

 cesses proposed had been ascertained. Large quantities of machinery were 

 carried from eastern shops into the Territory, at extravagant costs for 

 transportation, much of which, on arrival, was useless for any other practical 

 purpose than to be broken up for old iron; and it is said that the supply of 

 this material, from this source alone, has been great enough thus far to meet 

 the demand of the shops and founderies of the mining regions. The natural 

 consequence of the disappointment of so many vain hopes and of the utter 

 waste of so much capital was a disastrous reaction, and, in 1864, the country, 

 with its mining projects, fell into a state of disfavor among the monied men 

 of the East, from which it has not yet wholly recovered, although the opera- 

 tions of the last two or three years have done much toward redeeming its 

 character. 



The present condition of mining industry in the Territory is more en- 

 couraging, probably, than it has been since the beginning of the depression 

 which resulted from the failures of 1864 ; and although the annual production 

 of bullion is less than the reported products of the earlier years, while the 

 rich placers were being worked, the business, based as it is chiefly upon the 

 development of mineral veins and only to a slight extent upon the readily 

 exhaustible alluvial deposits, is assuming a more permanent and reliable form. 



The years of 1865 and 1866 witnessed a period of inactivity, during 

 which scarcely anything was accomplished in the development of mines or 

 the production of bullion ; but a few persistent parties persevered, and, in 

 1867, a revival of the business followed, which has since been steadily in- 

 creasing in importance. Many of the large companies, formed in the days of 

 speculative excitement, are still inactive, and some of the best lodes are 

 standing idle, owing to various unfavorable conditions, some of which will 

 be pointed out in the following chapter; but there are many smaller enter- 

 prises, owned and managed by individuals, who, although possessed of only 

 a moderate capital, have been free from some of the evils of large corpora- 

 tions, and have accomplished success by conducting their affairs in a practi- 

 62 



