The year of 1902 just ended, has been the most important one in the history of Cripple Creek, from the standpoint of development. Never before have there been seen such strong indications of the permanency of ore shoots with depth. The Empire State and many more were simply under development.

The Empire State Company is steadily shipping about 20 tons of good grade ore per day.

Steady shipments are being sent out from the Empire State. Very little definite information can be obtained from those in charge of the property, but it is understood that the mine in the lower levels shows wider and richer ore than was ever before mined in this section of Bull Hill.

The Empire State is proving to be one of the bonanzas of Bull Hill, about 25 tons of good grade ore is being mined daily.

Empire State.—Lessee McKrea and associates, who recently obtained a lease on the old Maloney workings of this property, are making regular shipments from the new strike made by them.
The ore shoot varies from four to six feet in width, and carries a pay streak from ten to twelve inches wide. The vein contains fluorite, with considerable free gold and sylvanite. The lessees have opened up four different ore bodies that can be mined at will.

That the W. P. H. did not get all the rich ore in the camp has been demonstrated by the lessees on the Empire State property on Bull hill, who last week uncovered a seam of talc that returns from $30 to $50 per pound in gold.
The lucky lessees are storing the high-grade stuff in a bank vault at Cripple Creek, at which place it will be assayed, and sold.
While the rich streak will average not over two inches in width, the rock on either side is well mineralized and will run better than $1,000 per ton.

Empire State.—Lessees McRea and associates recently shipped eighteen tons of ore from this property which are reported to have given returns of $46 to the ton.
Another shipment will be made in a few days.

Isabella Gold Mining Co.—Sinking is in progress on the old Empire State shaft of this property on company account. It is intended to deepen the shaft considerably from its present depth, which is about 800 ft.

Isabella Mines Co.—The Empire State shaft of this company is producing some ore. This part of the property is being worked by the company, under the management of George Kilborn.

Cripple Creek, Aug. 5—The Empire State property of the Isabella Mines Co. is being worked on company account.

Isabella Mines Co.—Sinking is in progress on the Empire State shaft of this property. The shaft was 800 ft. deep when the present sinking commenced, and it is to be sunk to the depth of 1,300 ft. A new hoist has been put in, and work is progressing favorably.
Other parts of the Empire State property are under lease to C. N. Crowder and associates.

Empire State—The Isabella company has made a rich find of ore at two different places in these workings, but nothing definite has been disclosed regarding same.
The shoots have been encountered in the 500 and 850 levels.

Isabella.—A consolidation of this property with the Empire State now seems probable, in view of the formal surrender of the lease on the Isabella property last week.
The Isabella comprises over 98 acres on Bull hill and the Empire about 50 acres in the same vicinity.

Empire State.—A three-foot vein of gold ore carrying values from $50 to $200 per ton has just been opened up by Lessees Stewart and associates.

Cripple Creek.—On the Empire State on Bull hill Stewart and associates have opened up a three-foot body of ore, the vein having been encountered at a depth of 75 feet and at a point 20 feet further from the shaft.
The work of crosscutting has begun, and last week an ore shoot was found and was followed for several feet, when a good sized vein was exposed. The ore body just opened gives assay returns of from two and two and one-half ounces in gold all the way across, and carries a knife-blade seam which shows values as high as $200 to the ton. The lessees will begin breaking ore from this vein tomorrow and will send out a trial shipment.

The Isabella Mines Co., which is at present shipping about three carloads of ore daily, is to resume extensive operations through the Empire State shaft.

Work has been resumed in the Empire State mine of the Isabella Mines Co.

A cross-cut from the Empire State shaft of the Isabella Mining Co. cut a 6-ft. vein of shipping ore at the 900-ft. level.

The Isabella Mines Co. has leased the Empire State workings to T. R. Burbridge on a graded royalty basis for two years.

The Western Investment Co. has commenced operations in the Empire State shaft of the Isabella Co., sampling and prospecting the different veins exposed.
A new cable will be put in before hoisting is commenced. With the examination of the mine concluded, certain blocks will be reserved for operation on company account, and other blocks will be sub-let.
The work now in progress will take a week or 10 days and after that applications for sub-leases can examine the blocks to be thrown open.

Denver. Nov. 5—Lessees on the Maloney shaft of the Empire State, of the Isabella company, have discovered a new ore shoot at 350 ft. deep, and have begun shipping.

The Western Investment Co., of Victor, has secured a two years' lease on the Empire State mine on a graded royalty basis, the leasing company paying from 15 to 45% of the value of all ores marketed.

DENVER, COLORADO—Leases granted recently include one on the Empire State shaft and workings.

The biggest lease ever granted on a producing mine in the Cripple Creek district was recently executed when the Isabella Gold Mining Company turned over to T. B. Burbridge, of Denver, and the Western Investment Company 65 acres of Isabella ground on Bull hill for two years, on a graded royalty.
The lease covers the following properties: Empire State, Emmas 1 and 2, Comet, Tom Thumb, Bully, Snow Bird and Jack Rabbits Nos. 1 to 5. [possible print error for 3? Not been able to find Jack Rabbit No.5, and from another journal there should be one less claim than there are Jack Rabits, but, if I think 5 is a error for 3, it all fits, and those can be alike so I think I have it right.]

The May production from the Isabella Co.'s Bull hill estate promises to be the heaviest for many months. Since May 1, the Western Investment Co., operating the Empire State shaft and surrounding territory, has shipped 12 cars to date, which runs $34 to $40 per ton.

June 15—Fire destroys surface plant of Empire State property, Cripple Creek, Colo.

The stack at the Empire State shaft of the Isabella Mines Co. has been raised. Machinery has been purchased and it is estimated that within 30 days the plant will be in full operation, when shipments will be resumed.
The Empire State is under lease to the Western Investment Co., and this corporation and its sub-leassees at the time of the fire were mining ore of a high average grade and shipping daily.

Isabella—Machinery, has been purchased and is being installed at the Empire State shaft, to replace the plant destroyed recently. This property is being operated under lease to the Western Investment Company.

Isabella—Fifteen cars, average $35 per ton have been shipped from the Empire State shaft since September.

Isabella—From the Empire shaft of this company 14 cars were shipped, of gold ore during October.

Isabella—The output of this mine and the Empire State, of the same company, was 65 cars in November.

Manager A. C. Gardner and Superintendent Lester S. Grant of the Isabella Mines Co. have just issued a report to stockholders, as follows, covering operations of the property for the last several months:

Since our last report to you, the production by lessees from the Lee shaft has averaged about 30 narrow-gauge cars of ore per month, and an average of 12 narrow-gauge cars of ore per month from the Empire shaft, making a total average of 42 cars per month of low grade ore.

The Western Investment Co., having a lease on the Empire State property, has three sets of sub-lessees at work, and on company account they have sunk a winze below the eighth level of the Empire, on the junction of a dike with the No. 2 Empire vein; the winze is nearly 40 ft. deep, with good values in the bottom. This is the deepest workings on the property where commercial ore has been opened up.

The Co-Operative Mining and Leasing Co., working through the School Section shaft, has done 1,000 ft. of drifting and crosscutting on the Isabella ground, opening several promising veins, and steadily pushing exploration work, with the expectation of cutting pay ore at any time; the ground they are working has never been prospected before, and it looks very promising.

Fackerall & Co. continue to produce considerable ore, mostly of low grade, at the present time. Their production is not as large as it has been; they are now mining below the sixth level, with the intention of crosscutting for the same ore on the eighth level.

The Western Reduction Co., having a lease on the mill tailings dump, are treating the same in the Isabella mill, but up to the present time the results have not been very satisfactory. They are working steadily and expect to perfect the plant and put the enterprise on a profitable basis soon.

On your company account over 1,500 ft. of development work has been done during the last eight months, without any beneficial results, the same representing an outlay of about $8,000.

We now have eight sets of lessees at work on the property, which is a considerable falling off since our last report, due to the disappointing conditions in the property.

The board of directors, after discussing matters fully, thought best to sink the Lee shaft to a greater depth. Our fourteenth level, which is 1,100 ft. deep, corresponds with the 700-ft. level of the Golden Cycle and the 800-ft. level of the Vindicator.
Below these levels both the Cycle and the Vindicator have been mining their richest ore; the vein system on these properties and the Isabella have the same trend and are located on the same hill. The board of directors has decided to sink the shaft about 500 ft. deeper. This sinking will be done as rapidly as possible.
We are now down 125 ft. below the fourteenth level, and we are pleased to say the shaft rock is highly mineralized.

In order to do this work it was necessary to raise funds, so the company had to borrow $10,000 at 6 per cent.

It was found necessary to purchase quite a lot of new equipment; a number of air drills have been purchased, as well as a new air compressor. This new air compressor was installed lately and is working very satisfactory. It is the latest model Ingersoll-Rand, electrically driven, and is especially adapted to great variation of load and the high altitude of the district.

The cost of the foundation for the compressor and the preliminary work for sinking the shaft was near $3,500.

Western Investment Company—This company, leasing on the Victor, Empire State and Ophir, shipped 50 cars of ore in August.

Lester Grant, superintendent of the Isabella Co.'s property, announces that the Empire State claim will be leased in blocks.

Empire State—This property of the Isabella company, Lester Grant, superintendent, will be leased in blocks. Eight leases have already been granted.

Fifteen machines are working in the Isabella estate through the Empire State and Lee shafts, and most of these, it is now declared, are on development work.
On the 1,270-ft. level of the Lee shaft the company is continuing its crosscut to the main Isabella ore body.

The Isabella property, on Bull hill, is now one of the most active properties of the district. Every surface shaft is actively operated, besides three other surface leases. One surface lessee, working in the phonolite near the south side line of the company's estate, has some fair ore, while a lease in the Empire state, in the granite south of the contact, has some good ore opened up. The strike is of great importance to the company.
Besides these discoveries, the Fackerell and Knuth lease has as good ore as was ever opened in the Lee shaft during the last year and from which some rich shipments will be sent out.

The Isabella mine has proved a sensation in the last six months and the production has steadily increased until is now runs about 70 cars a month.

Isabella Mines Co., Lee shaft, on Bull Hill, is now 1275 ft., and the Empire State shaft is down 1220 ft.

The northern extension of the rich Maloney vein has been cut at the fifth level of the Empire State shaft of the Isabella company on Bull hill, by Ed Lindsey, lessee.
Two cars shipped to date netted between $30 and $40 per ton.

Directors of the Isabella Mines Co., at a special meeting held in Colorado Springs, have determined to change the base of operations from the Lee shaft to the Empire State shaft, situated at about the centre of the group.
The Lee shaft-house and machinery were recently destroyed by fire of unknown origin, entailing a loss in excess of $100,000 with insurance of about $25,000.
The Empire State shaft now 1100 ft. deep will be sunk 235 ft further, to correspond to the 15th level of the Lee, at a depth of 1275 ft. Two new cables 1600 ft. long have been ordered and will be wound at the Empire State shaft immediately upon delivery when sinking will be started.
All lessees, ten in number, will be given extensions of their respective leases.

The Isabella Leasing Co., recently organized by stockholders of the parent company, had just cut the Larson vein, about midway between the Lee and the Empire State, and grab-samples are said to be above average.
So when the directors of the Isabella Mines Co., at a special meeting held in Colorado Springs, determined to change the base of operations from the Lee shaft to the Empire State shaft, situated at about the centre of the group, it should prove beneficial, as the virgin ground to the west can now be exploited at comparatively small cost.
The Empire State shaft now 1100 ft. deep will be sunk 235 ft further, to correspond to the 15th level of the Lee, at a depth of 1275 ft. Two new cables 1600 ft. long have been ordered and will be wound at the Empire State shaft immediately upon delivery when sinking will be started. All lessees, ten in number, will be given extensions of their respective leasses.
The Maloney and No. 2 veins of the Isabella system will be thoroughly exploited by the Isabella Leasing Co., holding a five-year lease.

The Empire State shaft of the Isabella Mines Co., in the centre of the Bull Hill area, has been unwatered to the 1000-ft. level and sinking to the 1500-ft. point will start as soon as the contract is let. The Empire will become the main working shaft.
The shafthouse, ore-house, and machinery at the Lee shaft were destroyed by fire early in the year.

An electric hoist has been placed at the 900-ft. level of the Empire State shaft, Isabella Mines Co., to be used when sinking of the shaft is started.
Six sets of lessees on the property are producing and shipping a good grade of ore from the upper levels.

The Empire State shaft-sinking contract has not yet been let by Isabella Mines Co. management. The shaft is to be sunk from 1100 to 1500 ft. on this Bull Hill property.

The Isabella Mines Co., having failed to secure satisfactory bids for sinking the Empire State shaft, is doing the work on company-account.
Lessees on the property continue production.

A vein of altered granite, not hitherto cut on the property, has been found in sinking the Empire State shaft of the Isabella Mines Co., below the 900-ft, level station.
The vein has two streaks, two feet apart, that sample $30 to $50 per ton. It has a north-west strike and dips strongly to the north-west.
The shaft is to be continued to the 1500-ft. point.