-> Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection; Link to Full Newspaper.
Source had no images, but I added one from my collection, I also fixed spelling errors.
A very rich strike was made last week on one of the claims owned by the Monroe Doctrine Mining company on Straub mountain. A contractor by the name of Lyndon was sinking on this shaft when he came upon a body of sylvanite ore.
A piece of this was taken to an assayer who gave a certificate of 240 ounces of gold to the ton or in other words one ton is worth $4800. This is one of the largest strikes made in the district and new mining machinery was ordered by wire and will be put in place as soon as it arrives, which will be in a few days, and a shipment will be made as soon as the ore can be taken out.
The mine is located on the southeast slope of Straub mountain. The strike was the talk of the district and the prospectors in the vicinity grow very much excited when they heard the report.
→ This means much for the locality in which Straub mountain is located as a very large force of men will be put to work within a short time taking out the ore.
→ This is the McCourt along the Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad in Phantom Canyon. McCourt Camp was located at an altitude of 6483 feet, situated about 13.5 miles from Florence and about 20 miles from Cripple Creek. The F. & C. C. tracks passed McCourt by March of 1894, but railroad was informally opened on April 11. There was a small frame Telegraph Office and a 1128 feet long passing track here.
Camp is attributed to Peter McCourt and possible brother Philip, who within the year since the F. and C. C. Railroad began construction in late 1893 had establishing a small railroad station, supplemented by a nearby quartz mine staked by Peter. His partners were brother Philip, C. A. Bass of Denver, and Dr. John Whiting of Cripple Creek. There were also two placer claims covering the water in Ute Creek, now known as Eight Mile Creek.
The stamp mill at McCourt, which has been put up by a Denver company, in which Charles Gilmore is interested, has been running now for several days, and while authoritative statements about the success of the experiments have been made it is not known that the managers are quietly gathering in the several claims covering the gold-bearing quartzite bed and it is their intention to continue the work all through the summer.
The old Summit mill at Gillett has been started up by J. L. Moffat and associates and is running through the dump of the Iron Clad and some old tailings left in the mill when it was closed down two years ago.
The mill has been refitted with Hartzell tables that catch the rich concentrates after the pulp has passed over amalgamated plates. Two batteries are now in operation, two more will be started early in the week and in a short time the full thirty stamps will be dropping.
The managers expect to be able to treat extremely low grade ores at a profit and there is no shortage in the visible supply.
A new district is being opened two miles east of Nipple mountain, south of Victor. I. E. Arnold, manager of the Quaker City company, has a force of men at work on a number of locations and is getting good assays from a number of veins lying along phonolite dykes.
Assays from near the surface range from pay figures into the thousands, and the estimate placed on the district by a well-known mining man, who recently visited it, is to the effect that the prospects for a permanent camp are most flattering.
Galena hill is one of the most promising sections north of the rich, belt, in the entire section, and a score or more of claims on it are being worked vigorously, with prospects very promising that some of them will be developed into mines before the summer is over.
A strike was made yesterday near the south end of the Lucky Boy, and some of the ore which was roasted in an open fire showed specks of free gold. Assays are being made, and if the result shows that it is pay, a trial shipment will be made during the latter part of the week. The vein near the surface is four feet wide, with about twelve inches of what appears to be the best ore that has ever yet been found on Galena hill.
The G. B., also located on this hill, and owned by the Victor Hugo company, has some ore that assays from $20 to as high as $100. The streak is small but appears to be widening out as depth is attained. A steam hoisting plant will be put in at once.
On Midland Terminal Ry. To Cripple Creek | View Down Passed MT Trackage Near Victor Pass Into the Cameron Valley Area
Photo by: Harry L. Standley