SILVER MINmG IN COLOEADO. G17 



SECTION III. 



SNAKE EIVER MINES. 



The Snake Eiver region lies on the western slope of the range, and is 

 about eighteen or twenty miles from Georgetown. Following up the left 

 hand fork of the stream above that town, and passing through the Argentine 

 district, the road reaches the crest of the range in a distance of about twelve 

 miles, crosses the divide by a pass, a few miles south of Gray's Peak, at an 

 altitude probably of not less than 13,000 feet, and descends on the western 

 side into the valley of the Middle Branch of the Snake River. Tlie region 

 drained by the South, Middle, and North Branches of the Snake River, and 

 their tributary streams, has been the scene of much prospecting and surface 

 exploration during several years. A number of lodes, presenting the general 

 characteristics of those about Georgetown, have been opened and some of 

 them explored to considerable depths. The little settlement of Chihuahua, 

 in the gulch of the same name, lying high up near the summit of Gray's 

 Peak, and that of Peru, in the valley of the Middle Snake, were formerly 

 points that attracted much attention, though both are now deserted. The 

 National Treasury lode, on the Middle Snake, appears to be a well-defined 

 vein, striking north 30° east, true, and dipping 70° to the south. The walls 

 at the outcrop are six feet apart. The vein is filled with a gangue that 

 resembles that of the Georgetown veins, carrying some galena but a great 

 deal of zincblende. A shaft has been sunk on the vein to a depth which 

 could not be ascertained, and some exploration of the lode had been made 

 along the outcrop. The ore of this lode, and of many of the lodes in this 

 region, is of such a character that costly methods of treatment are required 

 for the extraction of the silver, and their development has been suspended to 

 await a time when these facilities may be afforded without long transportation. 

 The region will doubtless invite further work at some future time. 



The most active operations, at the present time, are being carried on in 



the neighborhood of Montezuma, a small settlement on the south fork of the 



Snake and near the mouth of Bear Creek; and at St. Johns, a mile and a 



half beyond Montezuma, on the last-named stream. Here several mining 



78 



