HISTORY OF MINING DEVELOPMENT. 
133 
a miniature war. The mine owners, by the “ Waite agreement,” consented to the 
establishment of a minimum wage, to the eight-hour day, and to the avoidance of 
all discrimination between union and nonunion men. In spite of these disturb¬ 
ances the development of tne district made notable strides and the Independence 
mine in particular revealed bodies of ore that were the marvel of the camp. The 
mine at this time was only 70 feet deep and was worked with a horse whim. It 
shipped in August 800 tons, of which the poorest carload averaged 31 ounces of 
gold per ton. The Portland mine at this time was shipping about 60 tons of smelt¬ 
ing ore daily. About 100 men were employed and the mine produced more ore 
than any other property in the district. It was in the latter part of this year that 
Cross and Penrose investigated the district for the United States Geological Survey. 
In 1895 the Portland mine had reached a depth of 600 feet and the Independ¬ 
ence 470 feet. The latter was the most profitable mine in the district, and Stratton, 
now a rich man, began the purchase of outlying property. The Logan and Ameri¬ 
can Eagle mines were bought by him this year and were consolidated as the American 
Eagle group. lie acquired a number of other mines in succeeding years. The 
Vindicator, 60 feet deep; the Mary McKinney, 146 feet deep; the Anna Lee, 760 
feet deep; and the Elkton, Pharmacist, Isabella, Victor, Last Dollar, Strong, 
Anchoria-Leland, Abe Lincoln, C. O. D., and Gold King were all shipping ore in 
this year, and considerable excitement was caused by the remarkably rich ore 
shoots in the Moose, Raven, and Doctor mines on Raven Hill. Several of the 
mines encountered water about this time and had to begin pumping. 
During the next few years the number of producing mines continued to increase, 
and in 1900 the maximum output of 818,000,000 was obtained. Beacon Hill 
attracted much attention in consequence of rich ore found in the Prince Albert 
and adjacent mines. The Victor and Isabella mines were highly productive up to 
1898 and 1900, respectively, and shipped large quantities of very rich ore. Four 
long tunnels, the Chicago, Good Will, Ophelia, and Standard, were begun about 
this time. In 1899 the Standard tunnel encountered a flow of water 2,800 feet 
from the portal, which compelled a suspension of operations. Teller County, with 
Cripple Creek as its county seat, was formed from a portion of El Paso County. 
Another notable event of the year was the sale of Stratton’s Independence, the 
most famous and profitable mine in the district, to the Venture Corporation (Limited), 
of London, for $10,000,000. 
In 1901 the Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railway was com¬ 
pleted into the district. About this time many of the larger mines, having worked 
down to the water surface determined by the outflow through the Standard tunnel, 
were again compelled to face the question of deeper drainage. A drainage com¬ 
mission was formed, subscriptions were collected, and the El Paso tunnel was 
begun in 1903. Connection was made with the El Paso mine, under Beacon Hill, 
in the autumn of the same year. ♦ 
The year 1902 is noteworthy chiefly on account of the discovery of remark¬ 
ably rich ore in the recently opened C. K. & N. mine on Beacon Hill and the coming 
into prominence of the El Paso and Golden Cycle mines as large producers. 
Early in 1903 a strike was ordered by the Western Federation of Miners in all 
mines shipping ore to certain reduction works in Colorado City. The difficulty was 
