Among the mines situated north of the city of Cripple Creek that have attracted attention, the Lincoln mine is the most prominent. The property is situated one-half mile west of the town of Gillett, of the Cripple Creek district, and is owned by the Lincoln Mines M. & M. company, a close corporation, of Chicago, of which F. A. Wright is the president and general manager.

Lincoln Mine Shaft House about 1896

The company's holdings consist of nearly 300 acres or territory, adjoining the town of Gillett. The Lincoln mine is west of Gillett and is the only property on which any considerable amount of work has been done.

The Lincoln mine came into prominence several years ago as being the only producer in the north end of the district. The old management was handicapped by a lack of equipment, and when water was encountered they were unable to handle it. The mine was closed and was then purchased by the present holders.

The present owners have been very conservative in handling the property, going slowly and doing little work except in putting the property in condition and keeping the mine pumps running until everything was ready to begin thorough and active development.

The shaft is now equipped with a splendid plant of machinery capable of hoisting from the depth of 1,000 feet, with pumps of a capacity to handle a flow of water three times as great as the present inflow.

It is the intention of the management, January 1, 1903, to install another boiler and a five-drill air compressor, when the work of development and prospecting is to be increased to its fullest capacity.

These operations, in the mine, mean considerable to that section of the Cripple Creek district.

The company has a splendid treasury reserve to keep up the work of development, and while ore will be produced, it will help pay the operating expenses and make the treasury reserve last that much longer.

General View of the Lincoln Mines about 1896

Located as the Lincoln mine is, the development work will be watched with more than ordinary interest, both by the people of the entire district and those who hold acreage in that vicinity and are waiting for the other fellow to do something.

Within the past year a most important development has been made on the Hawkeye, in the immediate vicinity of the Lincoln. Rock that assays sufficiently high enough to warrant the belief that ore will be encountered very shortly has been obtained.

Unfortunately, a difficulty between the owners has interfered with development work, and for the present no definite knowledge concerning the showing can be secured.

The present development of the Lincoln mine consists of a shaft 4½ by 9 feet sunk to the depth of 200 feet. Besides the shaft work, there has been performed a total of about 650 feet of drifting in the veins, in developing.

Altogether, there has been shipped now 120 tons of ore carrying very good values, some of which ran as high as $90 to the ton. A considerable amount of ore has been blocked out and ready for stoping.

With the present showing, the management feels confident that by careful and conservative work the present funds in the treasury will be sufficient to put the property on a paying basis.

The formation of the country surrounding the Lincoln mine is granite cut by phonolite dykes, and the ore is a honeycomb granite quartz, carrying fine gold. As depth is gained, there is every indication of the appearance of the sulphine character coming in, while some sylvanite has been found sparingly.

It is believed, however, that when the sulphide becomes regular the values will be permanent. The vein now shows that it has been subjected to leaching by surface and it is more than probable that with more depth ore in payable quantities will be encountered.

All mines are judged from the standpoint of development, and if that point is looked to in the Lincoln, a creditable showing, indeed a better showing, is to be found there today than in many properties situated in other parts of the Cripple Creek district.

What the development work now contemplated may bring forth is hard to tell, but certain it is that the present showing is sufficient to warrant the company in its mining operations and on a greater scale than ever before.

Good results may be looked for, and that the Lincoln company will be rewarded for developing this portion of the district there is little doubt in the minds of those who have made a study of the geological conditions and followed the great northeast by southwest system of veins and dykes that trend from the Victor side of the district northeast over Battle mountain, Bull hill and the hills beyond.

The brickyard strike of a couple of years ago in that vicinity is sufficient proof that the great ore bodies of the district extend northward; indeed, no man has yet had the temerity to define their limits.

The ore shoots pitching, as they go north, greater depth may be needed before they are encountered, but the day will come when the great north end of the Cripple Creek district will be yielding great amounts of ore that will pay a handsome profit to those who are shipping it to the reduction works and smelters of the state.

The first geological survey made of the district, which proved of such great benefit to the mine owners, did not cover the vicinity in which the Lincoln mine is situated as fully as it should have, but a second survey is in progress and Lincoln hill is to receive the attention it is entitled to, and the results of the examination are being awaited with considerable interest and will no doubt lead many to the opening of ore.