"a7ad0b67-001c-46e1-987c-569ac56dce3f"@en . "CONTENTdm"@en . "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1198198"@en . "Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia"@en . "British Columbia. Legislative Assembly"@en . "2014-11-26"@en . "[1897]"@en . "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcsessional/items/1.0063754/source.json"@en . "Foldout map: SKETCH MAP OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA indicating CHIEF MEANS OF COMMUNICATION and AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL LOCALITIES -- p. 96A."@en . "application/pdf"@en . " REPORT\nON the\nSLOCAN, NELSON AND AINSWORTH MINING\nDISTRICTS\nAJ.1\nWEST KOOTENAY, BRITISH COLUMBIA,\nBY\nWILLIAM A. CARLYLE,\nProvincial Mineralogist.\nBULLETIN No. 3.\nBy Authority.\nJAMES BAKER,\nMiniste\nr of Mines.\nFor Reports and Information address\nJanuary, 1897.\nThe Bureau of Mines,\nVictoria, B. C.\n'\n REPORT.\nTo the Hon. Col. James Baker,\nMinister of Mines, British Columbia.\nSir :\u00E2\u0080\u0094I beg leave to present, in Bulletin No. 3 of the Bureau of Mines, a description of\nthe mines and mining industry in the Slocan, Nelson, and Ainsworth Mining Divisions of\nWest Kooteney, from the examination of which I have lately returned. I wish to acknowledge again my indebtedness to the mining men for their continued assistance, by which I have\nbeen enabled to make this report of much more value, by reason of the fact that not only\nhave I been able to examine many of the mining properties, but to have before me a copy of\nthe smelter returns of nearly all the ore shipped from these districts, so that the values of the\nore from the different mines herein given are known to be correet.\nEvery endeavour was made to visit as many as possible of the leading properties within\nthe time available, but even then some important mines were not seen. In every direction\nnew claims were being opened up, but, as seldom satisfactory information can be given\nconcerning mere prospects, examination was mostly confined to these claims on which more or\nless work had been done, and on which underground conditions could be studied.\nThe fame of the large and unique gold-bearing deposits of Rossland has now spread far\nafield, with the result that during the past year the attention of mining men and capitalists\nfrom all parts of the world has been drawn to British Columbia, and many have been here\nand bought mining property, or will return next year to seek investment, for which this\nProvince without peradventure now offers most favourable and advantageous opportunities.\nThe mining industry of British Columbia, it must be remembered, apart from the placer,\ngold and coal mining, is of very recent inception. Until eight or nine years ago the great extent\nof the mountainous country south of the Canadian Pacific Railway to the Boundary Line,\nwas a wilderness known to few save the Indians and hunters, or the prospectors for gold\ndiggings, but the finding of silver-copper ore on Toad Mountain, and the beginning of work\non the silver-lead ore deposits on the east of Kootenay Lake, discovered many years ago by\nmen in the Hudson Bay Company's employ, with the subsequent discovery among the mountains near by of other silver ledges, signalized the commencement of mining in Kootenay.\nBut it was not until 1890-91 that these silver veins were beginning to attract mining men to\nthis Province from abroad, and active operations were getting well under way despite the\ndifficulties and great cost of bringing in supplies or transporting ore to the smelters, when all\nprogress was for a time stopped and hope crushed by the sudden collapse in silver values,\noccasioned by the closing of the Indian mints to the free coinage of this metal.\nWork, nevertheless, on some of the veins was persevered in, and in 1894 nearly $650,000\nworth of silver ore was sent out of Kootenay. Then better means of communication were provided, and in 1895 the production of the different kinds of silver ore increased to over\n$1,000,000, which production has been doubled in 1896.\nMeanwhile the gold-bearing pyrrhotite deposits on Trail Creek were being exploited\nunder many vicissitudes, until the shipments of pay ore, in 1894, to the value of $75,000, and\nof nearly ten times this amount, in 1895, from the large ore bodies of the Le Roi and War\nEagle, commanded wide-spread interest by reason of its being gold ore and very profitable,\nand in 1896 has been seen a great influx of capital's representatives and mining men, who are\nnot only securing gold properties, but are investing in silver as well.\nThe production of the Kootenay mines, when compared with that of many of the mining\ncentres in other countries, will not appear so very large to a casual reader, but when all the\nconditions are understood, that an entirely new country of large territorial extent is being\nrapidly opened up under difficulties, that the supply of needed capital, until recently, has been\nmeagre, and that in reality not a single mine has had time to do sufficient development to put\nit on a really proper basis for extraction of ore and further exploratory work, this production\nwill then be seen to indicate a most flourishing and hopeful condition of affairs.\n 36\nAs to the future there is now no doubt but that the number of paying mines and the\nmine out-put will steadily increase in the districts to be described, but not with that extravagant rate of increase predicted by some\u00E2\u0080\u0094at least not until those conditions exist that will\npermit the extraction of a much greater tonnage of ore. Such conditions are being supplied,\nand judging from the shipments already made in the new year, which exceed those of any\nprevious year for the corresponding time, the out-put from Kootenay for 1897 will show a very\nsubstantial increase.\nFor some time back there has existed a strong antipathy to silver properties, and foreign\ninvestors especially have refused to entertain any proposition that was not on a gold basis, but\nnow the fact is being realised that with silver even at its greatly reduced value, if there is a\nsufficient number of ounces of this white metal in the ore, a silver or silver-lead mine is quite\nas profitable and as desirable as a gold mine, and the handsome returns from the very high grade\nsilver ores being mined in the districts to be described, are attracting increasing attention, as is\ntestified by the numbers now seeking silver properties and the transactions recorded, as many\nmines or claims have been bought or bonded by English, American, and Canadian investors\nduring the past season, not only within these districts but other parts of British Columbia.\nThe out-look for the coming year is especially bright, as many properties are beginning\nthe new year with ore in sight, new mines have been added to the list, very promising prospects are being opened up, and during 1897 nearly every claim from which ore has been\nshipped in the past, will be on the list of shippers. There promises to be a steady increase in\nthe amount of the ore extracted and sold, and in the amount of development done, but it is both\nunwise and hurtful to predict very large and sudden advances in the mineral out-put, as it\nmust be remembered that a greatly increased out-put requires also a greatly increased amount of\nunder-ground work, unless large bodies of very high grade ore are uncovered. Extravagant\nprophesies may travel far, and if the actual results do not approach the amount thus foretold,\nharm unjustly a mine or district, in which the progress has been most favourable and satisfactory, quite equal to the expectations of those best qualified to know.\nThese districts described in this bulletin, being essentially silver-bearing regions, suffered\na severe set-back at the time of this disastrous fall in the price of silver in 1893. Nearly all\nwork was suspended and it was only towards the end of 1894 that, taking new courage, work\nwas recommenced with the result that a great increase in the production was evident in 1895,\nand progress has since been rapid and continuous.\nThe following is a short resume concerning the three districts examined, further details\nand descriptions of the mines, ifcc, being appended.\nThe Slocan.\nThe Slocan, according to the number of its shipping mines and the amount and value of\nthe ore sold, now ranks as the most productive mining district in the Province, and in point\nof importance is not surpassed by any other.\nIn an area of fifteen by twenty-five miles, there have been discovered many veins of high\ngrade silver-lead ore, which are being developed with great vigour and success, and among the\nmining men is every feeling of confidence and hopefulness. This winter nearly fifty of these\nproperties are shipping high grade ore that yields very profitable returns, and a large number\nof other claims are being opened up.\nSo far but comparatively little imported capital has been expended here, as in the case of\nnearly every mine now established, sufficient money has been realised from ore extracted during development to pay for more extensive workings, new buildings, mills, trails, roads, and\nalso dividends, but more or less capital will be required to properly open up many other claims\non which the veins exist, but are not so easily accessable as those first discovered. But as\nmost of these veins are found along the steep mountain sides and can be worked by tunnels,\nand the cost of mining is low, requiring little or no machinery, capital will be necessary mostly\nwhen tramways and concentrators are to be built, or in some cases for hoisting plants and\npumps when tunnel sites may not be available.\nMany of these mines are located near the summits of the high precipitous mountains at\nan elevation of 5,500 to 6,500 feet above sea level where erosion has cleared away nearly all\ndebris from the veins, but lower down also on the mountain sides and in the valleys, are being\nfound other veins or those discovered first much higher up, to the highest of which now run\ngood trails or waggon roads or else wire rope tramways. The snow that lies deep on these\nsummits during the winter is in nowise detrimental to mining operations, as most work is\n 37\ndone after its fall, when the ore can be dragged down the smooth snow trails in rawhides in\nlarger loads andat lower prices than are possible in the summer time, but the tracks of snow-\nslides must be carefully avoided.\nDuring 1896, 18,215 tons of ore yielded 2,141,088 ounces of silver and 19,210,666 pounds\nof lead, or an average of 117.4 ounces of silver per ton and 52.7% lead which would have a\nnet profit of about $75 per ton, while many carloads were shipped that yielded from 300 to 400\nounces of silver per ton.\nThe \"Slocan Star\" has of course the largest shute of high grade ore yet found in this\ndistrict, and we are kindly permitted to state that from 11,529 tons of ore and concentrates\nsold during the last three years, 912,600 ounces of silver and 13,482,000 B>s. of lead have been\npaid for by the smelters, and of these amounts 7,000 tons yielded 600,000 ounces of silver and\n9,000,000 lbs. of lead during the past season of 1896.\nMany of the veins are small, varying from 2 or 3 inches in width to 20 to 30 inches of\nsolid ore, but the high value of silver at present makes this ore very profitable together with\nthe low cost of breaking ground. The small Reco-Goodenough vein, the width of which is\nmeasured in inches, is probably the richest vein yet mined, as from the smelter returns of\nabout 600 tons, the average was 407 ounces of silver per ton and 42 % lead. The high percentage of lead makes this ore a very desirable one for the smelters, and the lead contents are\nusually sufficient to pay the freight and treatment charges, and the duty charged on the lead.\nAt no time in the history of this district have so many mines had high grade ore exposed,\nand of such mines can be named among others the Slocan Star, Ruth, Wonderful, Monitor,\nIdaho, Alamo, Cumberland, Ivanhoe, Queen Bess, Wild Goose, Payne Group, Slocan Boy,\nWashington, R. E. Lee, Last Chance, Noble Five Group, Reco, Goodenough, Blue Bird,\nAntoine, Surprise, Rambler, Best, Dardanelles, Northern Belle, Whitewater, Wellington,\nCharleston, Lucky Jim, London Hill, Reed and Tenderfoot, Fisher Maiden, Thompson Group,\nGalena Farm, Enterprise, Neepawa, Bondholder, Two Friends, Howard Fraction.\nNelson.\nThe Silver King silver-copper mine of the Hall Mines Co., Ltd., the Poorman gold (quartz)\nmine, and some small placer workings, have yielded all the production credited to this district,\nbut other mines will be added ere long to this list. Since the completion of the smelter at\nNelson there has been greatly increased activity at the mine of this Company.\nThe Silver King mine has now shipped 31,000 tons of ore that yielded 800,000 ounces of\nsilver and 2,500,000 lbs. of copper, and the development of the property is rapidly being\npushed, so as to permit of a greatly increased out-put, while the smelter is being increased so\nas to undertake the treatment of all classes of ore as may be bought in the market.\nThe Poorman gold mine has given up about $100,000 from its quartz ledge, and other\nproperties in this locality that have similar veins are now under bond and will be worked.\nThe new district, known as the Salmon River Country, lying south of Nelson to the Boundary, and traversed by the Nelson and Fort Shepherd R. R. was not visited, but during the past\nyear many claims were staked off on gold and silver leads on the ridges, between which run\nthe tributaries of this river. This winter considerable work is being done here, and during the\ncoming season much greater interest will be shown in these veins, in which it is stated, ore\nsimilar to that of Rossland, and also gold-silver quartz with galena and other sulphides have\nbeen discovered, assays of which have given high values. See short description below by Mr.\nMcConnell.\nAinsworth.\nThe out-put from Ainsworth for 1896 was much lowered by the cessation early in the\nyear of mining on the Blue Bell, in which, it is reported, the ore has become rather low grade\nfor present conditions, but in several of the other mines west of the town of Ainsworth, considerable progress was made.\nThe Skyline, Number One, Blue Bell, Highlander, Little Phil, Mile Point, Neosho, Sunlight and Tariff, shipped ore, much of which was the silvery \" dry ore,\" and the remainder\ngalena, which does not carry as much silver as the Slocan veins, but averages 30 to 40 ounces\nin the solid ore.\nThis district suffered especially in the decline of silver prices, but now vigorous prospecting is being done once more on both sides of the lake, and new mining enterprises are being-\ninaugurated. The town of Kaslo, the eastern entrance to the Slocan, is growing rapidly, and\nsteamers run daily to Nelson to connect with the railroads, while the only public sampling mill\nin Kootenay is here located.\n 38\nProduction.\nIn the following tables the tonnage is the net weight, i. e., with the moisture in the ore,\namounting from 1 to 6 % deducted.\n(b.) The silver and gold are given in fine ounces, and represent the amount of each paid\nfor by the smelter, or 95 % of the assay value.\n(c.) The price of gold is estimated at $20 per ounce; of silver for 1895, 65.3 cents, and for\n1896, 67 cents per ounce.\n(d.) The lead is the total amount paid for by the smelters, or 90 % of the assay value,\nand the price the average of the New York quotations for the year, i. e., for 1895, $3.23 per\n100 lbs., and for 1896, $2.98 per 100 Sis.\n(\u00C2\u00AB.) The price of copper is estimated at 5 cents per lb., as paid by the smelters, but the\nprice received for the matte from the Hall Mines Co. is not known.\n(/.) This table represents the amount and value of the ore actually paid for, as per smelter\nreturns received during the year.\n(g.) The ton is 2,000 lbs.\nSlocan.\n1895.\n1896.\nAmount.\nValue.\nAmount.\nValue.\nGold, ozs\t\n6\n1,137,040\n9,751,464\n$ 120\n742,487\n315,070\n152\n2,141,088\n19,210,666\n$ 3,040\n1,434,529\n572,479\nLead, lbs\t\n$1,057,677\n$2,010,048\nTotal tonnage, ore and concentrates, 1895, 9,649; 1896, 18,215.\ndo number of mines that shipped in 1895, 30 ; 1896, 42.\ndo ii miners at work in 1896, 1,000.\nThe number of mines shipping may be increased by adding some that have sent out very\nsmall lots of ore.\nNelson.\n1895.\n1896.\nAmount.\nValue.\nAmount.\nValue.\nGold, ozs\t\n1,275\n49,750\n112,420\n$25,500\n32,487\n5,621\n511\n631,960\n2,237,921\n$ 10,220\n423,413\n111,896\n$63,608\n$545,529\nTotal tonnage\u00E2\u0080\u00941895, 1,148\ndo number of mines prodi\ndo ii miners at v\ntons; 1896, 30,1\nicing\u00E2\u0080\u00941895, 5 ;\nfork in 1896, ab\n60 tons.\n1896, 4.\nDut 350.\n 39\nAinsworth.\n1895.\n1896.\nAmount.\nValue.\nAmount.\nValue.\nSilver, ozs\t\nLead, lbs\t\n263,030\n6,724,000\n$171,759\n217,185\n187,279\n2,151,000\n$125,489\n64,100\n$388,944\n$189,589\nTotal number of mines shipping\u00E2\u0080\u00941895, 8; 1896, 9.\nTonnage cannot be stated, as the number of tons mined at the Blue Bell Mine was not\nascertained, but from the other mines in the district there were shipped:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1895, 2,208 tons; 1896, 1,664 tons.\nTotal number of miners at work, about 200.\nThe decrease in the amount and value of the ore shipped during 1896 is mostly due to the\nsuspension of work on the Blue Bell.\nAmount op Ore Shipped as per Customs Returns.\nUpon the shipment of ore to the United States a declaration is made in the outward\nentry of the contents and value of the ore, but the duties are not collected upon this statement, the ore being shipped in bond to the smelters, and the duty charges determined from the\nsmelter returns. There will be, necessarily, differences between these returns and those given\nabove, in that in the declarations the exact values are not given, only the approximate; and\nagain, the above tables give the smelter returns received during the year, the customs returns give\nthe amount of ore shipped during the year; hence, for most of the ore shipped in December the\nsmelter returns coming back in January, the returns are credited to the year in which the\nsmelter returns are received. The gross values were determined by calculating the value of\neach metal at its average price for the year. The tonnage includes the shipments of ore, concentrates, base bullion and matte.\nSlocan.\nYear.\nTons.\nSilver.\u00E2\u0080\u0094ozs.\nLead.\u00E2\u0080\u0094lbs.\nGross Value.\n1894\t\n4,417\n8,828\n17,975\n613,926\n1,122,705\n2,316,561\n5,623,621\n9,554,079\n17,778,384\n$ 572,350\n1895 \t\n942,094\n1896\nTotals\t\n2,085,445\n31,220\n4,053,192\n32,956,084\n$3,599,889\nNelson.\nYear.\nTons.\nSilver.\u00E2\u0080\u0094ozs.\nLead.\u00E2\u0080\u0094lbs.\nGross Value.\n1894\t\n810\n348\n2,248\n95,083\n49,759\n586,143\n218,451\n112,420\n2,010,294\n$ 68,823\n1895\t\n38,120\n1896 \t\n493,225\nTotals\t\n3,406\n730,985\n2,341,165\n$600,168\n 40\nAinsworth.\nYear.\nTons.\nSilver.\u00E2\u0080\u0094ozs.\nLead.\u00E2\u0080\u0094lbs.\nGross Value.\n1894\n1895\n1896\nTotals\t\n131\n13,938\n5,408\n23,621\n261,904\n203,897\n38,902\n6,612,025\n2,476,972\n$ 16,165\n384,677\n210,918\n19,477\n489,422\n9,127,899\n$611,760\nTransportation.\nSince the commencement of mining in this region the construction of new means of\ningress and of transportation has quickly followed the discovery of ore-bearing districts, and\nthe great material advantages of the fine wateways have been utilised in gaining access to the\nmany points where mining is now begun. West Kootenay is singularly favoured by reason of\nthe (a) the Columbia River and Arrow Lakes, (6) the Slocan Lake, and (c) Kootenay Lake\nand its arms, and of the comparatively easy passes for railways from one to another. Otherwise this very rugged and mountainous country would have presented great difficulties that\nwould have retarded for a much longer time prospecting and mining, but now, however, none\nof the mines are any great distance from these highways, and readier access is being gained by\nthe building of trails and waggon roads.\nGovernment Aid for Trails, etc.\nThe Provincial Government has followed a plan of assisting, as far as possible, the building of roads and trails to the various new camps, and though it has been impossible to accede\nto all of the many requests for aid where so many new parts are being opened up by fresh\ndiscoveries in many different directions, still the assistance given has been valuable, and has\naided materially in the opening up of the country. As the Government Agents, to whose judgment the determination and carrying on of this work is entrusted, are already fully employed\nby their other necessary duties, it would be a good policy in the matter of economy and more\ngeneral satisfaction if men could be engaged to carefully examine the different claims for\nroads and trails and applications for water rights, and then to choose and lay out such as\nwould be of service to the greatest number, and open the most country; such men to be\nfamiliar with this work and able to locate such lines of trails as would benefit the greatest\nnumber of mining claims, be suitable for the transport down of ore, and be extended as further\nclaims are proved up. The present agents have done good work, but they are unable, with so\nmuch other work demanding constant attention, to give that personal oversight necessary.\nIt may happen that by special representation a trail may be built to a single group of claims,\nwhile another district that would be much more benefited by the opening of a wider field,\nwould be denied, or the trail or road would not be built to serve as a main outlet, but be\ndeflected to favour some particular property, instead of being located so that many more claims\ncould easily connect with it by other trails.\nWell directed assistance in this line is money well spent, as the more accessable this\ncountry is made the more rapid will be its certain development, as not only are the prospectors\nand miners better able to reach their finds and to spend the slight capital many can command\nin actual work on their claims, adding so materially to their value if such work shows up\nfavourably, but investors and men with capital able to more quickly and thoroughly develop\nthese locations can reach and examine properties more expeditiously and with less difficulty.\nNow that special interest is aroused and capital is here seeking investment, the more the\ncountry is opened up the more rapid and substantial will be the advance.\nCost of Roads and Trails.\nThe cost of trail-building in most parts is not high, as only in some of the deeper valleys\nand gulches is there much heavy timber, and if carefully supervised should average from $80\nto $125 a mile for a good ordinary mountain trail, and if possible there should always be a\ndown-grade to facilitate the transport of ore by \"rawhiding.\" In building roads an instrument should always be used, or otherwise, if trusting to the eye only, the results will not be\n 41\nof the* best. Some of the very best roads travelled over this summer were thus properly laid\nout, such as the road up into the Washington and Best Basins, to the \"Ruth\" mine at Sandon\nand the Enterprise road up Ten Mile Creek. The cost of the mountain waggon road varies\nfrom $800 to $1,200 a mile, with a safe average of $1,000 per mile, complete.\nIn the winter time temporary trails and roads are often easily made when the snow has\nfallen to some considerable depth.\nMeans of Access and Transport.\nWest Kootenay is now easily entered from two directions, and almost any part important\ncan now be reached with dispatch and comfort, an agreeable surprise to all entering the\ncountry for the first time. First\u00E2\u0080\u0094From the north, at Revelstoke, on the main transcontinental\nline of the Canadian Pacific Railway between Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver, on the\nPacific Coast, a branch line runs down the Columbia River 32 miles to Arrowhead, at the\nnorth end of Upper Arrow Lake, whence (a) a small steamer runs up the north-east arm of\nEvansport, the port of entrance, to the Lardeau and Trout Lake Districts; (b) the large stern-\nwheel steamers of the Columbia and Kootenay Navigation Company, for which Company a large\nboat is being built at Nakusp, to be ready to go into commission next spring, as the traffic\nhas grown quite beyond the capacity of the present equipment, runs as far south as Trail,\nconnecting at Nakusp with a branch line of the C.P.R. into the Slocan, and at Robson with\nanother branch of the same Company into Nelson, along the Kootenay River, and at Trail\nwith the Columbia and Western to Rossland. Second\u00E2\u0080\u0094From the south, from Spokane,\nWash., where direct connections are made from the main trunk lines of the Great Northern\nand Northern Pacific Railways to all parts of the United States, the Spokane Falls and\nNorthern Railway runs north to Northport, a few miles south of the boundary line, whence\n(a) this road, known as the Nelson and Fort Sheppard Road, follows up the east bank' to\nWaneta and Sayward, in Canadian territory, and thence across to Nelson, connecting directly\nwith the Kootenay Lake steamers at a point 5 miles east of Nelson, whence the road switchbacks into the town; (b) from Northport another branch, or the Red Mountain Railway,\ncrossing the Columbia by large ferries, runs to Rossland; (c) while daily steamers run up the\nriver to Trail, from which point again Rossland is reached, or the steamers taken for Robson,\nNakusp and Arrowhead, as detailed above.\nC.P.R., Nakusp to Sandon.\nThis branch has a daily train each way. From Nakusp it is 28 miles to Roseberry, on\nSlocan Lake; 32 miles to New Denver; 37 miles to Three Forks; and 41 miles to Sandon.\nC.P.R., Robson to Nelson.\nA train will run both ways daily to connect with the steamboats on both Arrow and\nKootenay Lakes.\nKaslo and Slocan Railway.\nThis road runs daily trains between Sandon and Cody, east to Kaslo, on Kootenay Lakes,\nstopping at points whence roads or trails lead directly to many of the Slocan mines.\nSlocan Lake.\nA large steamer will soon be running on this lake, as well as the small one now running\ndaily between Roseberry, New Denver, Silverton, Brandon, Slocan City and any other point\non the lake desired.\nKootenay Lake.\nThree commodious and rapid steamers, the Kokanee, Alberta and International, run daily\neach way between Kaslo and Nelson, stopping at Ainsworth, Pilot Bay smelter, Balfour or\nother points along this route when called for. Other smaller boats traverse the lake from the\nupper end down as far south as Bonner's Ferry, stopping, among other places, at the terminals\nof the trails into East Kootenay. Generally, if required, a small steamer can be engaged to\ngo to any point on these waters.\n 42\nAssistance of Steamboat Lines.\nOn all these steamboat lines every endeavour is made to assist the prospectors, miners,\netc., by willingly stopping at any point where signalled or requested to land or take on board\nmen, pack animals, supplies, ore, etc., and this accommodation is simply invaluable. On the\nswift waters of the Columbia River, the very clever navigation exhibited there is admired by\nall travellers, as great skill and steady nerve are called for at several points along this river,\nespecially in the season of low water when these boats have to contend, in going up stream,\nwith a powerful current which, in the late autumn and winter seasons, compels the use of\nsteel hawsers fastened to the bank or rocks and the steam capstan.\nLarge scows are used on the Columbia River line, being fastened directly in front of the\nsteamers, and capable of carrying eight loaded railway cars, are used between Arrowhead\nand Robson, on which loads of 370 tons of coke for the Nelson smelter, loaded from the cars\nat Arrowhead, have been brought down this fall, but if necessary loaded cars can be thus\ntransported from the main line of the C.P.R. on to these branch lines running in at Nakusp\nand Robson.\nRise and Fall of Water.\nThe difference on these water-ways between the high and low water marks is great, or\n12 to 15 feet, and the season of high water is during the months of July and August, when\nthe hot weather causes the rapid melting of the snow on the ranges. As so much of the\ncountry is being cleared by forest fires, permitting the more rapid melting of the snow, the\nfloods may be expected to be even higher, and every precaution must now be taken in any\nwork or building along the water front to be well up beyond any possible height the waters\nmay reach.\nNew Railroad Lines,\nThe demand for more railroad facilities is now great. The ultimate benefit to our country\nand Province of some new lines now projected, and their own financial success, are, in the\njudgment of many acquainted with conditions, assured. These new lines, while having\nengineering difficulties to overcome, should open up a large part of the southern part of British\nColumbia now lying practically dormant, and make not only possible the development of\nresourses now almost inaccessable and valueless,- but known to exist, and the easy assembling\nat large smelting centres of the different classes of ores and fuels, but also the fostering of a\nlarge demand for agricultural produce, for which no better market can be found than in these\nmining centres.\nOf the new lines projected there are:\u00E2\u0080\u0094(a) the Crow's-Nest Pass Railway, connecting with\neastern lines, thence passing close by the deposits of coal in the Grow's-Nest Pass of large\nextent and fine coking qualities, through East Kootenay, with branch lines to the Kootenay\nRiver and along the west shore of Kootenay Lake to Nelson;\n(b) A branch of the C.P.R from Slocan City to a point on the Robson and Nelson line:\n(c) The extension of the line from Arrowhead into the Lardeau and Trout Lake districts\nto the head of Kootenay Lake:\n(d.) The extension of the Columbia and Western R.R. from Trail, up the west bank of\nColumbia to a point opposite Robson, and thence west into the mining districts of the southern part of Yale:\n(e.) A railroad from the Columbia River west, through the southern part of the Province, to a point on the Pacific Coast.\nThe Importance to the Coast Cities of the Mining Centres.\nThis last proposed railroad should be of very great value to the coast cities of British\nColumbia, by making possible the speedy, prompt and direct dispatch of merchandise and mine\nsupplies to the interior mining centres, which, it must be remembered, are extending westward\nand nearer to the proper-base for a large part of the supplies. These cities can reap great commercial benefits from this growing mining industry, but they must seek conditions that will\nput them upon an equal or better footing than their very aggressive competitors, for the business men of Eastern Canada and the North-West are now striving eagerly with the Americans for this large and growing traffic, and British Columbians should at once exert themselves to the utmost to secure the lion's share of the business within their own borders.\n 43\nFor the agriculturist or rancher there can be no better market than will be found in these\nmining centres, where there is a large consumption of all they can produce, and where the best\nis demanded and readily paid for.\nAgain, with good railroad facilities, the Coast will be a very favourable point for large smelting works, where can be assembled the different classes of inter-fluxing ores, iron and lime fluxes,\nand the coke, now being made at the Union Colleries at Comox, on Vancouver Island, which\nlarge and prosperous smelting works demand ; and moreover the refined products, base, bullion\nand matte, by reason of the very low ocean freights, will be able to enter the other markets of\nthe world, without paying the excessive duties now imposed when shipped across the line to\nthe south.\nEngland is the largest buyer of foreign lead, and much of this metal is imported into\nChina, Japan, and other Asiatic ports, and Australia is exporting her desilverised lead to all\nof these buyers.\nThe Location of and Title to Mineral Claims.\nThe mineral lands are open to location by any person having a free miner's licence\u00E2\u0080\u0094cost\n$5 per year\u00E2\u0080\u0094but only one claim, 1500 feet square, can be staked off on a vein or ore deposit by\none person, who must conform to the regulations of the Mineral Act. No vein or. ore can be\nmined beyond the boundaries of such claim, i. e., these locations have no extralateral rights\nexcept those claims located prior to 1892, on which the vein or deposit can be followed down\non its dip beyond the side line.\nPossessary rights are secured by doing $100 worth of work per year on the claim, or by\npaying this amount annually into the Treasury of the Province. W7hen $500 worth of work\nhas been done, the owner of the claim can then secure full title by asking for and securing a\ncrown grant of this land, after which no annual assessment is required.\nGeneral Geology.\nIn regard to the geological formations and structure of the districts under discussion,\nonly an outline will be now attempted, and for such details we are indebted for information\nto the \"Report on West Kootenay, of 1889,\" by Dr. Geo. M. Dawson, and the \"Summary\nReports \" of 1894-5, by Mr. R. G. McConnell, of the Dominion Geological Survey. During\nthe present year, Mr. McConnell and Mr. J. McEvoy hope to publish a provisional map, showing the general disposition of the different main rock series from Kaslo south to the Boundary\nLine, including parts of the Nelson, Ainsworth, Slocan and Trail Creek Districts, and this map,\nwith its accompanying report, will be a very useful and important source of information concerning this mining region, of which the boundaries of the known mineral-bearing areas are\nbeing so rapidly widened by the discovery of more ore bodies in both old and new localities.\nIt is of great interest, that in all of the geological series represented here, are veins or\nmineral deposits, especially of silver and silver-lead ores, and no longer are the prospectors\nlimiting their researches to special formations or parts of these districts, but energetic prospecting is being done with successful results all over this part of West Kootenay. For a long\ntime these men refused to enter the granite areas, until finally the discovery by some less\nskeptical of the silver-lead, and the gold-and-silver or \" dry ore \" veins on the water-sheds of\nSpringer and Lemon Creeks, east of Slocan Lake, and the success of the Poorman gold mine\nnear Nelson, led to a rush of men into the granite regions with gratifying results.\nThe success of the rich Rossland mines is causing the wide-spread prospecting of all the\ncountry in which occur the same geological formations, and following these up as far as Nelson, many locations have been made in the country drained by the tributary creeks of the\nSalmon River, and elsewhere in the area between Nelson and Rossland. In the Ainsworth\nDistrict, on both sides of the lake, can be found men in search of mineral, and in fact, there is\nnow very little of West Kootenay that is not being over-run by them, and the wave of prospecting is extending throughout the Province, so thoroughly has interest and faith in her\nlatent mineral resources been aroused.\nThere is no reason why mineral should not be found in all of these formations here present\nor in any part of this region, unless it has so happened that the conditions have prevailed by\nwhich the mineral-bearing solutions have not had openings or fractures along which to ascend\nand deposit their burden of precious ores, either by filling up pre-existing cavities or by leaching\ninto or impregnating the country rock with valuable minerals on one or both sides of the\nchannel or crevice. The finding of rich veins of ore in either of the series, such as of silver-\ngalena ore, points strongly to the fact that as depth is obtained in mining, the continuity of\n 44\nthe pay-shutes is assured, the veins may be \"in and out\" as the miners term it, or have\nperfectly barren parts along the fissure, but more or less work will disclose other ore-shutes if\nthis work is pushed ahead along this fracture in the rock which has permitted the passage of\nore-bearing solutions and the formation of ore-bodies along it elsewhere.\nFormations.\nThere is a very large area of granite which has been pushed up through the highly\nmetamorphosed stratified rocks, altering them still more near the line of contact, but the\nboundaries and relations between these different series cannot well be given before the publication of the geological map. However, by means of extracts from the above mentioned\nreports, some idea may be given of the geology of each of the districts visited.\n(A.) The Granites. - -Dr. Geo. M. Dawson's \"Report in portion of West Kootenay,\n1889,\" says:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\" A large part of the West Kootenay district is occupied by granites and granitoid rocks,\nthe main area of which (so far as observed) includes the whole basin of the Lower Arrow Lake,\nand extends thence eastward nearly to Queen's Bay on Kootenay Lake. Besides this great\ngranite area, there are several others of smaller dimensions, as indicated on the map, as well\nas numerous dykes and eruptions too small to be separately shown. It is, in fact, probable\nthat about one-half of the entire region here reported upon is occupied by granite and granitoid\nrocks, the granites differ considerably in appearance and composition, and appear to be referable to at least two and probably to three distinct periods, though it is as yet impossible to\ndefine the respective areas of these. The granites which are supposed to be of the greatest\nage, were found in some places underlying the lowest beds of the gneisses and mica-schists or\nShuswap series. They appear to be closely attached to this stratified series, if not connected\nwith it in origin, and in texture and composition as seen in hand specimens, can often scarcely\nbe distinguished from some of its homogeneous gneisses. They are generally rather finegrained, and are believed to consist for the most part of muscovite-biotite granite, though\nmuch further investigation would be required before it can be asserted that this is their\ncharacteristic composition.\n\"The granites which, however, occupy by far the largest area, are of coarse texture,\ngenerally grey, passing to black in colour, and are characterised by black mica, with frequently\nmuch black hornblende. They may be described as a whole as hornblende granites, but\noccasionally pass into mica-syenite. In some localities they are not infrequently coarsely\nporphyritic with large twinned orthoclose feldspar crystals, while sphene is often present as\nan accessory mineral.\n\" These granites are evidently intrusive and of later date than the stratified rocks, which\nare altered at contacts.\"\nMr. McConnell in the Summary Report of 1894, further writes about the eruptive rocks\nand granites:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\"The eruptive rocks of the district occupy wide areas and belong to several periods. The\noldest, as far as ascertained, consists of a series of basic dykes cutting the Shuswap group, but\nnow in many instances so altered and foliated by pressure and other causes that they have the\nappearance of constituent beds. They occupy, in some localities, a considerable portion of the\narea assigned to the Shuswap series. They are older than the overlying formations.\n\" Eruptive granite rocks, much younger than those referred to above, occupy the western\npart of the region, from about the north end of the Lower Arrow Lake south to Trail Creek\nand east to within a few miles of Kootenay Lake. They cover a continuous area of fully\n2,000 square miles. Numerous bosses and dykes of granite and pegmatite also occur further\nto the east, along the borders of Kootenay Lake.\n\" The granites where examined, are usually grayish in colour, and coarse grained as a rule,\nand are often porphyritic. The principal constituents are feldspar, quartz, biotite and hornblende. The granites cut all the formations from the Shuswap series up to the Slocan slates,\nand are consequently younger than any of the stratified rocks of the district. A series of\neruptive rocks still younger than the granites, is represented by diorites and diabase and\nuralite porphyrites. These rocks occupy a considerable area in the Trail Creek country, and are\nimportant, as they hold the principal lodes of that district. It is possible that some of the\nporphyritic rocks, so abundant in the Toad Mountain region, may belong to the same group.\nDykes.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\" In addition to the main areas of eruptive rocks, numerous dykes, some of them\nconnected with the main areas, others much younger, as they cut through everything, are met\nwith in every part of the district.\n 45\n(B.) \" The Stratified Rocks bordering this granite area, are irregular tilted at high\nangles, broken by numerous faults, and frequently overturned.\"\nDr. Dawson determined their thickness to be, taking a section at Ainsworth to be\n23,200 feet, and he believes the Shuswap series to be Archaean, while those series above this\narea, are evidently Palaeozic in age, and may yet be referred to various systems, including the\nCarboniferous, and extending downward to the Lower Cambrian. He also states that \" the\ngrey and greenish schistose rocks are essentially composed of altered volcanic materials, and\ntheir present schistose character may probably be regarded as in the main, due to the enormous pressure to which they have been subjected during the movements of the earth's crust,\nwhich resulted in the uplift of the mountains of the region, and the extrusion of the great\nmasses of granite here everywhere found. In these different stratified series no strong evidence of unconformability have been reported.\"\nThe series of stratified rocks may be quickly described in ascending order, i. e., by beginning at the lowest series, the Shuswap.\n(a.) The Shuswap, or lowest series, probably of Archaean age, consists of gneisses, mica-\nschists, calcareous gneisses or calc-shcists, hornblendic schists, bedded diorites, crystalline limestones or marble, and nearly pure quartzites.\n(b.) The Nisconlith series of dark calc-schist holding occasional bands of limestone and\ngreen schists.\n(c.) The Kaslo Schists comprising a series of greenish, probably mostly diabase schists,\ninterbedded with some slates or dark argillites, and limestones.\n(d.) The Slocan Slates or a series of dark shales and slates with limestones and calcareous quartzites.\nIt is to be remembered that only parts of these districts have been geologically examined\nas yet.\nThe Slocan Division.\nIn the \"Summary Report\" of 1894-95, Mr. McConnell says :\n\" The region between Slocan Lake and River and Kootenay Lake, particularly examined\nduring the season (1895), is covered mainly by granite fringed on the north and east by a\nborder of slates and schists, and is everywhere of a mountainous character. The granite mass,\noriginally dome-shaped, has been carved by the drainage system of the region into bold, craggy\nmountains and mountain ranges, which culminate in a rugged mass of snow-clad peaks, situated between the south end of Slocan Lake and Ainsworth, the highest summits of which\napproximate 9,000 feet in height above the sea. The principal streams of the district, including Lemon Creek, Ten-Mile Creek (Slocan Lake), the south fork of Kaslo Creek, Woodbury\nCreek, and Coffee Creek, radiate from this group and descend rapidly through deep, steep-\nsided valleys to the main waterways. A second range of prominent peaks, scarcely inferior\nin height to the central group, occurs north of the Kaslo-Slocan Railroad. The Whitewater,\nLyell Creek, and other tributaries of Kaslo Creek, head in glaciers which descend from this\nrange.\n\" The principal geological boundary in the district between Slocan Lake and River and\nKootenay Lake is the sinuous line separating the granite area from the bordering slates.\nStarting from Four-Mile Creek, on Slocan Lake (at Silverton), this line follows that stream in\nan easterly direction for ten miles, then bends to the north across the range separating Four-\nMile Creek from Cody Creek, and following the latter stream in a northerly direction for a\ncouple of miles. From Cody Creek the granite border runs almost directly east of Twelve-\nMile Creek; after crossing this creek the line becomes more irregular, as several spurs leave\nthe granite area and penetrate for varying distances the group of mountains lying between\nTen-Mile Creek and the south fork of Kaslo Creek. At the latter stream the granite recedes\na couple of miles, then bends around a deep embayment of slates, and continues on in an\neasterly direction towards Kootenay Lake. Four miles from the Lake (now in the Ainsworth Division) the line of junction turns abruptly southward, and continues in this direction\nuntil near Balfour, where it bends more to the west and crosses the outlet of Kootenay Lake,\nabout four miles below its head. Inliers of slate in the granite occur at the head of Eight-\nMile Creek (Slocan Lake), on Four-Mile Creek, and at other places, while bosses of granite,\nseparated from the main area, break through the slates at Paddy's Peak, Reco Mountain, and\nnorth-east of New Denver.\n\" The upper series of stratified rocks, consisting mostly of dark, evenly bedded slates,\nwith some limestones, is largely developed in the Slocan Country, and is well shown along the\nKaslo waggon road from Fifteen-Mile House westward, to a point a couple of miles west of\n 46\nThree Forks, where this series is cut off by an area of eruptive rocks. Southward the slates\nof this series strike into the great granite mass which occupies the central part of the district,\nand are all cut off, with the exception of a narrow strip which skirts the granite on the\neast, as far south as the west area of Kootenay Lake.\"\nAinsworth Division.\n\" The Shuswap series occupies the basin of the Kootenay Lake, from Kaslo south for at\nleast 40 miles. It borders both shores of the lake in bands varying in width from one to two\nmiles or more. The strike north of Balfour is nearly north and south, but south of the west\narm of Kootenay Lake it trends more to the west. The dip is almost invariably to the west,\nexcept where overturns have taken place.\n\" The series of green schists, dark argillites and limestones which overlies the Shuswap\nrocks, is well exposed along the waggon road from Kaslo to Three Forks. The green schist\nand associated rocks extend southward with a gradually diminishing width to a point on the\nwest area of Kootenay Lake, two miles west of Balfour, where they are nearly, or altogether,\ncut off by the granite. Southward from this point, about four miles east of the Ymir\nMountains two bands of argillites interbedded with crystalline limestones occur, which probably belong to the same formation.\"\nEast of the lake the Shuswap series, extending to the summit of the range, is developed\non a grand scale, while from the Town of Ainsworth westward each of the series is represented, the \" Number One\" and \" Skyline\" mines being in the narrow border of Slocan\nSlates Series along the eastern limits of the granite border, as described above.\nNelson Division.\nThe granite area is much developed here, but a band of the green schists (Summary\nReport, 1894), beginning near Ward's Ferry on the Kootenay River, strikes eastward across\nToad Mountain to the head of the Salmon River, then down the valley of this stream. The\ndistribution of this band assumes the form of a bay of stratified rocks opening to the south, and\nextending down through tho Trail Creek District, with areas of uralite porphyrite and other\neruptive rocks, and penetrating towards the north, the central granitic area of the district.\nOn Toad Mountain, the green and grey very schistose rocks (Kaslo Schists series 1), in\nwhich is the Silver King lode, are believed by Dr. Dawson \" to be stratified volcanic material\nof Palaeozoic age,\" and to consist in the most part of diabases and diabase porphyrites, and on\nthe east are underlain by the gneiss of the Shuswap series, and overlain on the west near Red\nMountain by reddish weathering slates.\nCorrections.\nIn bulletin No. 2, the Report on Trail Creek Mining Division, the following errors were\nmade:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n(a.) The capital stock of the Commander Mining and Smelting Co., Spokane, Pres. W. J.\nHarris, was stated to be $1,000,00 in $1 shares, instead of $500,000.\n(b.) The Palo Alto Mining Company is registered at Victoria, B. O, and not at Spokane.\nPres., L. F. Solly ; Sec, C. Dubois Mason, Victoria; Managing Director, W. G. Estep, are the\nnew officers elected last August 3rd.\nThe Slocan Mining Division.\nThe Ore and Ore Deposits,\nThere are four distinct kinds of veins in the Slocan :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1. The argentiferous galena, with zinc blend, and some grey-copper in a gangue or matrix\nof quartz and spathic iron. These veins cut across the stratified rocks, and through the dykes\nof eruptive rock, where, in many cases, there is a good body of ore, and they also occur in the\ngranite area, and with even the limited amount of prospecting, some have been traced from 3\nto 4,000 feet along the strike, and one for nearly 2 miles. In the Slocan slates, it has not yet\nbeen proven, that as the vein cuts through shales, slates, limestones or quartzites, that any one\nof the series has been more favourable to the formation of ore-bodies than another, as in the\ndifferent veins it will be seen that good ore shutes may have the wall of any of these rocks\nmentioned. The ore has been deposited along fissures, both in the open fissure cavities, and\n 47\nby impregnation of the country rock, and in the cavity-filled veins can be seen the banded\nstructure described elsewhere, or the solid, usually big-cubed galena, shows lines of foliation\nparallel with the walls, but it is evident that further motion has occurred along some of these\nvein fissures, after ore has been deposited.\nMost of the veins are narrow, varying from 2 and 3 inches, to 15 and 20 inches in width,\nwith occasional widenings to 3 or 4 feet of solid ore, and even much more, as seen in the Slocan Star and the Alamo-Idaho veins. The ore shutes are not persistent horizontally, as is\ncharacteristic of nearly all veins, but ore is often continuous for several hundred feet, and\nwhere it then pinches, a thin streak of oxides is the index usually followed in the search for\nmore ore, which seldom fails to re-appear with more or less work. The mistake is made sometimes of following along a slip-wall or crevice that may cross the vein crevice at a flat angle,\nand thus lead the miner astray. Besides the solid ore, some veins have associated with them\n2, 3 or more feet of mixed ore, gangue and country rock, or a brecciated mass, which may be\nof such grade as to pay well for concentration; and already there are three concentrators, the\nAlamo, Slocan Star and Washington, doing very satisfactory work, and the Noble Five mill\nalmost completed, with the erection of two, at least, contemplated this year. The product or\nconcentrates is silver-bearing galena, but any value contained in the decomposed material that\nmay enter the mill, will in all probability not be saved, likewise, that in much of the grey\ncopper, which apparently slimes badly and escapes.\nThe ore is shipped as \"crude,\" or the solid or unaltered sulphides, or as \" carbonates,\" i.e.,\nthe decomposed ore, consisting of oxides and carbonates of iron, lead and silver, the mass having a reddish-brown colour, with more or less yellow material; those carbonates with a soft,\nvelvety feel, assaying highest in silver. All material about these veins should be carefully\nassayed before being relegated to the waste-dump, where good ore, unsuspected, has already\nbeen thrown, especially soft, iron-stained decomposed rock or vein matter.\nGold.\u00E2\u0080\u0094It might be well to be on the lookout for gold, remembering the good gold values\nfound in the galena ores of the Monitor mine, which yield from $2 to $14 in gold per ton;\none lot of 20 tons of crude ore assaying $20 per ton in gold, while the \" carbonates \" average\n$13, the smelter paying for all gold above $2, or one-tenth of an ounce. The \"Carbonates\"\nseldom are as high grade in silver as the unaltered, or crude ore in the vein, but in some mines\nthis class of ore is very valuable.\nWhile most of the veins are not wide, the richness of their ores greatly compensates, as\nmay be seen from the lead and silver values as per smelter returns from a few of the mines\nas:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nSlocan Star 80 to 95 ozs. silver per ton, 70 to 75 % lead.\nReco 83 to 730 ,, ,, 19 to 67 % ,,\nGood-enough 167 to 507 ., n 15 to 67 % ,,\nNoble Five 62 to 543 \u00E2\u0080\u009E \u00E2\u0080\u009E 30 to 75 % \u00E2\u0080\u009E\nLast Chance 135 to 238 \u00E2\u0080\u009E \u00E2\u0080\u009E 35 to 78 % \u00E2\u0080\u009E\nWonderful 113 to 133 \u00E2\u0080\u009E \u00E2\u0080\u009E 70 to 76 % ,,\nRuth 40 to 125 \u00E2\u0080\u009E \u00E2\u0080\u009E 15 to 73 % \u00E2\u0080\u009E\nMonitor 142 to 367 ,, ,, 32 to 57 % >.\nWellington 125 to 328 \u00E2\u0080\u009E ,. 10 to 55 % \u00E2\u0080\u009E\nWhitewater 72 to 326 \u00E2\u0080\u009E \u00E2\u0080\u009E 10 to 65 % n\nDardanelles 149 to 470 \u00E2\u0080\u009E \u00E2\u0080\u009E 15 to 55 % \u00E2\u0080\u009E\nEnterprise 155 to 180 ,i ii 18 to 30 % \u00E2\u0080\u009E\nTwo Friends 248 to 380 \u00E2\u0080\u009E .. n 38 to 52 % \u00E2\u0080\u009E\netc., etc., etc., etc.\nThe other Slocan mines have ore of the same character and high grade, as may be seen in\ndetailed accounts below. The lowest values in the above indicate the lowest smelter returns\non ore that is classed as \" carbonates.\" The average value of all the ore sold has been given\nabove.\nZinc.\u00E2\u0080\u0094In most of these veins the zinc blende carries a small silver value and is sorted or\nconcentrated out of the ore, so that vary little ore sent to the smelters has over 10% zinc\nlimit. But in the \" Enterprise \" mine, on Ten-Mile Creek, the best silver assays are said to be\ngot from the zinc blende, which is much more valuable than the galena. As is to be expected,\nsmall lots of very rich ore are mined, lots that will yield from one to two thousand ounces per\nton, but the average figues already given will indicate the importance of these veins that are\nnow being mined in both the granite and stratified rocks of this district.\n 48\n2. The veins of argentiferous tetrahedrite or grey copper and jamesonite and silver compounds in a quartz gangue.\nThese veins can be seen in the granite exposure on the \"Best\" and \"Rambler\" mines,\nand in the stratified rocks on the \" London Hill\" property, from which very high grade ore\nhas been shipped.\n3. The \" dry ore\" veins on Springer and Lemon Creeks, in the granite, with a quartz\ngangue containing argentite, native silver, and gold.\nThese veins are now attracting much attention, as high assay returns have been secured\nas per smelter returns; sorted ore of this character from the Howard fraction yielding 163 to\nto 206 ounces of silver per ton, and $16 to $26 per ton in gold.\nThe \" Chapleau \" recently received the smelter returns on four tons of sorted ore, from\nwhich 3.6 ounces of gold and 94.7 ounces of silver per ton were returned, netting to the owners $102 per ton after deducting freight and treatment charges.\n4. The gold-quartz veins in the southern part of the granite, such as those reported to be\non the Alpine group.\nThe values and characteristics of the last three mentioned classes of vein will be better\nknown later on, as the work now begun yields results and information.\nCosts.\nto\nper foot in\nof this kind has\nMining.\u00E2\u0080\u0094(a.) The cost of driving tunnels and drifts varies from\nstratified rocks, and from $7 to $10 in the granite:\n(b.) The cost of sinking shafts from $12 to $20, but so far little work\nbeen done:\n(c.) The cost of stoping cannot be ascertained, but the following table, compiled by\nEdmund B. Kirby, M. E., and given in a paper to the Colorado Scientific Society, December\n3rd, 1894, from experience gained in Colorado, where nearly similar conditions and ^cost of\nlabour, supplies, etc., obtain, may be of value:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nApproximate Yield and Cost of Stoping per ton of ore broken.\nThickness or Pay-streak.\nCalculated for ore when 13 cubic feet = 1 ton.\nA streak 4 inches wide yields.\n6\n10\n12\n14\nTons\nCost\nper square fathom\nof stoping per\nof ore sheet.\nton.\n0.92\n$17.33\n1.38\n11.55\n1.85\n8.67\n2.31\n6.93\n2.77\n5.78\n3.23\n4.95\n53 for 8 hours ; timber-\n.50 to $4 per 10 hours J\nlb.\n(d.) For labour the average paid miners is $3 50 for 10 hours, or\nmen, $3.50 for 10 hours ; shift bosses, $4 to $5 a day; blacksmiths, $\ntrammers and topmen, $2.50 to $3 for 10 hours:\n(e.) For supplies, No. 1 giant powder costs about 18 to 22 cents a lb.; No. 2, $9 per\n50 lb. box ; drill steel, 16 cents a lb.; candles, $7 a 40 lb. box; cordwood, $1.50 to $2.50 at\nthe mine; rough timber, $11.50 to $12.50 per M. The cost of food and other supplies is now\nvery reasonable.\nTransportation.\u00E2\u0080\u0094(a.) The cost of packing down ore on horses in the summer time\nvaries from $5 to $8.50 per ton to railroad. In the winter time, by rawhiding, $2.50 to $3.50\nper ton :\n(b.) By waggons or sleighs, $1 to $2.50 per ton :\n(c.) Cost of transportation from shipping centres to the smelters in the United States,\nfrom Sandon, $7.50; from Slocan City, $11.00.\nTreatment.\u00E2\u0080\u0094-The treatment charges depend upon whether the ore is crude or \"carbonates,\" and on the latter according to the percentage of lead. On the crude ore, or nearly pure\ngalena, the smelter charges vary from $15.50 to $18 per ton; on the carbonates from $9 to\n$15 per ton; the $9 rate being given in one case where the lead did not exceed 20%.\n r%\n~N\nO\n\u00C2\u00AEt\nH\n<\nO\nM\nfe\nH\nSz;\nS\nw\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2fci\no\n<\u00C2\u00BB\no\no\nP3\n*\u00E2\u0096\u00A0?\n<\n\u00C2\u00BBCl\nH\nau\n5\u00C2\u00BB\n<;\nCJ\n1>\nu\nCr.\nrt-l\ny\nVJ\n 49\nThe smelters pay for 95% of the silver and 90% of lead, assay values, at the New York\nquotations at time of settlement.\nFor zinc, 50 cents is charged per unit\u00E2\u0080\u0094about 10%. The duty on lead in the ore entering\nthe United States is f of a cent per Bb.\nDescription of Claims.\nIn describing the mining properties the following grouping has been followed. Beginning\nat Sandon, on the south fork of Carpenter Creek, now the distributing and main shipping\ncentre in the Slocan, where recently the Bank of British Columbia and the Bank of British\nNorth America have opened offices :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n(a.) The mines and claims on the mountain range south of the creek are the Slocan Star,\nRuth, Wonderful, Canadian, and Adam's groups, Ivanhoe, Yakima, Alamo, Idaho, Cumberland, Queen Bess, Monitor, and adjacent claims :\n(b.) The mines and claims on the south slope of the mountain range running east and\nwest, north of the creek, as Lucky Jim, Payne, Slocan Boy, R. E. Lee, Last Chance, Noble\nFive, American Boy, Reco, Goodenough, Blue Bird, &c, with the claims in the basins on the\nnorth slope as Northern Belle, Dardanelles, Rambler, Best, Surprise, Antoine, Washington, &c:\n(c.) The mines and claims north of the K. & S. R. R., as the Whitewater, Wellington,\nLondon Hill, &c:\n(d.) The mines and claims on the creeks tributary to Slocan Lake :\n(e.) Claims on Cariboo Creek and its tributaries.\nSlocan Star.\nThis property has not only paid a larger amount of dividends, or $300,000, than any\nother mine in British Columbia, apart from the coal and placer mines, but has proved itself to\nbe the largest silver-lead mine so far developed in the Province. It was discovered October\n17th, 1891, by one of the present owners, Mr. Bruce White, and others, who, following-up\nSandon Creek, discovered in the bed of this stream, a mile above its junction with the south\nfork of Carpenter Creek, the site of the Town of Sandon, a vein 13 feet wide, of quartz and\nspathic iron interspersed with galena, zinc blende, and angular pieces of the slate country rock.\nProspecting to the west in a dense forest of heavy timber along the strike of the vein, at\nabout 800 feet, a large exposure of the surface croppings of the large ore-shute was found, and\nhere the Slocan Star claim has developed the ore-body to be described below.\nThis group of claims, all Crown Granted or Crown Grants applied for, comprises the\nSlocan Star, Slocan King, Silversmith, La Plunta, Windsor, Shogo, Emma, and Jennie, of\nwhich the Slocan Star, Slocan King, and Silversmith, apex claims, are located along the trend\nof the vein for about 4,000 feet. It is owned by the Byron N. White Co., Pres., Angus\nSmith, Milwaukee, Wis.; Gen. Manager, Byron N. White; Superintendent, Bruce White,\nSandon. Capital stock of the company 1,000,000 shares at 50 cents each.\nOre-Body.\u00E2\u0080\u0094This vein cuts across the steep, heavily timbered mountain side and nearly\nat right angles to the well stratified slates, quartzites and silicious limestones of the Slocan\nslate series, with au east and west strike and a dip of 54\u00C2\u00B0 to the south. While this vein has\nbeen traced through and beyond this property into other claims, it has not yet been traced\ncontinuously, nor has it any constant width, varying from a width of a few feet to 20 or 30\nfeet, with in other places no signs of mineralization at all along the fissure along which the\ncountry rock has been more or less shattered and the ascending mineral-bearing solutions have\nformed large deposits or shutes of fine ore. A large porphyry dyke runs nearly parallel with\nthe vein and in places in the mine is found in it, but evidently affected by this fissure.\nAlong this fissure is seen much brecciated slate cemented together by the gangue\nmaterials, galena and blende, and in many other parts of the mine was noticed more or less\nparallelism in the deposition of the different minerals; but one interesting peculiarity noticed\nwas the fact that many samples of ore clearly showed by the separation by the quartz of\ncorresponding parts that the sulphides, as galena or blende, after deposition, had been shattered,\nperhaps, by further movement along this line of break, and then cemented into the present\nmass by quartz.\nIt is doubtful if two well-defined walls can be traced in this mine, for while the hanging\nor fissure wall is very distinct, the ore merges into the country rock towards the supposed\nfoot-wall, but more time could not be spent in very careful observation. In the mining of this\none large ore shute as has been opened up and exploited upon the Slocan Star, the ore body\n 50\nhas been found to vary from a few feet to 25 feet in width of mixed but pay ore, and a large\namount of ore has been mined from bodies 2 to 8 and 10 feet wide of solid galena.\nOre.\u00E2\u0080\u0094(a) The first-class ore consists of the nearly pure galena,.both fine and coarse-grained,\ncarrying some grey copper and some blende, but not enough to pass the excess line, or 10% of\nzinc. Average value, 95 ozs. silver per ton, 72 to 75% lead.\nThis ore is sacked and shipped direct to the smelters.\n(b) The concentrating ore consists of the mixed ore or the spathic iron quartz gangue\nwith galena, with a little grey copper, and in all the ore there are evidently some of the silver\nsulphides. The large amount of mixed ore taken from the upper workings and kept separate\nbecame available on the construction of the concentrator, and was being sent down the hill.\nIn concentrating most of the blende is removed so that the concentrates carry not more than\n6% zinc. Average value of concentrates, 80 ozs. silver per ton, 70% lead.\nThe Mine.\u00E2\u0080\u0094This main ore shute has been developed for a distance of 430 feet along the\nvein and to a depth of nearly 350 feet from the surface down on the dip, and from it several\nsmall bodies of ore have formed along divergent crevices.\nTunnel No. 1 was first run into the large surface exposure for 50 feet and then stopes\nwere run to the surface or 30 feet.\nTunnel No. 2 is a cross-cut for 100 feet, and then a drift for 100 feet, with a stope up to\nNo. 1 80 feet long and 4 to 10 feet wide.\nTunnel No. 3 is 70 feet below No. 2, and in cross-cutting at 70 feet, intersecting a leader\nof ore drifted upon for 25 feet, and then passing through the slates, more or less mineralized,\ncut the main lead at 150 feet. A drift 150 feet to the west, through low-grade ore, entered\na splendid body of high-grade ore which, on being stoped back 110 feet to the east, had led\nback to within a few feet of connecting with the short drift run at a 70-foot mark in the\ntunnel, thus leaving a pillar nearly 40 feet wide of what promises to be low grade, but paying,\nconcentrating ore. This stope is now 180 feet long and 4 to 7 feet wide, and is worked up\nfor most of the distance to the upper level, while the drift has a total length of 430 feet along\nmost of which is much concentrating ore. But this shute has developed its largest and most\nproductive ore body between the level and No. 4, below which no work will be done until\nTunnel No. 5 reaches the ledge.\nTunnel No. 4 was the main working entry at the time of visit, and here were erected\nthe ore-bins at the upper terminal of the gravity tramway to the concentrator. At a distance\nof 575 feet this tunnel entered the vein, where it was 10 to 12 feet wide, and to the west\na drift of 75 feet long had encountered a fault which had not been explored, but up along\nwhich a stope had been extended a short distance in, 8 to 10 feet of mixed ore. Easterly from\nthe tunnel, at 100 feet, an up-raise had been made 210 feet to the next level, and all the way\nin good but mixed ore, with 14 to 16 feet of concentrating ore at the foot or tunnel level. At\n150 feet in this east level a cross-cut showed up a width of over 25 feet of mixed ore with\nseveral feet of solid galena, but at the face, or 225 feet, the shute was then narrowed to 3 feet.\nA large amount of stoping has been done for 70 or 80 feet below level No. 3, where the body\nof clean ore had been 8 to 10 feet thick, but a large amount of ore was still showing in all the\nlimits af these stopes.\nTunnel No. 5 was in 200 feet in the slates, with 600 feet remaining to reach the vein\n210 feet on the dip below level No. 4. The ground was all ready for the building and air-\ncompressor plant, i. e., 4-drill Rand and an 80-horse-power boiler, and rapid progress would be\nmade with the machine drills in the extended exploration of this claim, along this level.\nOn the \"Silver King\" to the east, near the vein exposure in the creek, a tunnel had been\ndriven in 80 feet, but although there was considerable ore for some of the distance, the ground\nwas much broken up. To the west, on the \"Silversmith,\" ore was exposed in some shallow\ncuts, but this claim has in reality been but very little prospected.\nTimber and Water are abundant for mining purposes\u00E2\u0080\u0094the timber being of large size, and\nimmediately at the mine, where the stopes are timbered up with heavy stulls and lagging.\nTransportation.\u00E2\u0080\u0094A steep waggon road from Sandon climbs up past the mill to tunnel\nNos. 3, 4 and 5, but all ore is sent down to the mill by the 3-rail gravity tramway, about\n1,600 feet long, covered where necessary by snow-sheds, the concentrating ore being automatically dumped into the mill bins, the sacked first-class ore being loaded into ore waggons or\nsleighs, and drawn, also the concentrates, ^ mile to the railroad at Sandon, at a cost of 80\ncents per ton. Number of men employed 83, of which 55 were in the mine, and 10 at the mill.\n 51\nThe Concentrator.\nThis mill, designed and constructed by Mr. T. L. Mitchell, Sandon, who built the Washington Mine Concentrator, and is now completing the mill for the Noble Five Mining Co., is\nsituated at the foot of the tramway, and is 46 by 102 feet, with four floors.\nBins.\u00E2\u0080\u0094There are two 150 tons capacity each, one for the coarse ore from the mine, the\nother for crushed ore below the crusher for supply.\nPower.\u00E2\u0080\u0094(a.) A Pelton wheel, a 3-foot steel disk, with a lT7\u00C2\u00A5-in. nozzle, supplies, when the\nwater is sufficient, ample power, and is situated on the upper floor, so that the water from it,\nafter going through a 12-mesh screen, may be used for washing in the operation of the mill.\n(b.) When water is scarce, an auxiliary steam engine will be used, or a 40 h. p. engine,\nwith a 50 h. p. boiler.\nWater.\u00E2\u0080\u0094(a.) A flume 3,000 feet long in two branches, brings from Sandon and another\nsmall stream, water that flows down through 1,200 feet of spiral rivetted steel pipe, the lower\n250 feet 7 in. in diameter, with a total head of 471 feet at the wheel, (b.) Another flume\nfrom Cody Creek, 9,650 feet long, 2x2 feet, on a 0.2% grade, costing $7,400, now supplies\nwater for washing purposes in the mine, but has no head for power.\nMachinery was made by E. P. Allis & Co,, Milwaukee, much after Mr. Mitchell's\ndesigns, and comprises :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n(a.) A Blake crusher, Reliance pattern, 9 by 15 inches :\n(b.) Four sets of rolls, Reliance pattern, 14 by 26 inches :\n(c.) Six Hartz jigs, i. \u00C2\u00AB., 2 double 2-compartment, and 1 double 3-compartment jigs :\n(d.) Six 2-compartment Collum jigs :\n(e.) Elevators, trommels, classifiers and settling tanks, etc.:\n(fi) Two double-decked round slime tables, 18 feet diameter.\nMethod of Concentration.\u00E2\u0080\u0094The ore from the crusher is automatically fed by a cam-\nfeeder to 2 sets of coarse rolls, whence the material is elevated by elevator No. 1, into one\nrevolving screen with 3 sizes of screens, from which (a) the refusal of the screens passes to 2\ncoarse Hartz jigs ; (b) the material from the 16 m.m. (.64 in.) screen, to 2 coarse Hartz jigs ;\n(c) the material from the 7 m.m. (.28 in ) screen, to 2 coarse Hartz jigs ; (d) the material from\nthe 3 m.m. (.12 in.) screen, passes to 2 three-compartment hydraulic classifiers, whicli give 3\nseparations, each of which goes to two of the double-compartment Collum jigs, while the overflow passes on to the V-shaped settling tanks, or species of spitz-kasten, from which each of the\nfour sizes of fine stuff goes to its own slime table.\nThe pitch of each slime table is different, so as to conform to the size of the fine sand fed\nto it, and by using two water sprays, 3 separations are here made, the heads, middlings and\ntails, of which the middlings pass back by elevator No. 2, to the hydraulic classifiers.\nThe middlings from four coarse jigs pass to the coarse set of middlings rolls, and thence\nback to elevator No. 1, the 7 m.m. middlings to middlings rolls, and thence to elevator No. 2,\nwhile the fine middlings from six Collum jigs, go to fine middlings rolls, which discharge into\nelevator No. 2. The automatic discharge material from six coarse jigs, and the sieve work\nfrom the six Collum jigs, and the heads from the tables, pass by the concentrate sluices to the\nconcentrator bins below, whence they are shoveled into sacks of 155 lbs. to 160 each, while the\nover-flow, carrying much fine material, goes into the settling tanks in the slime house.\nCapacity of Mill is up to 150 tons of ore per 24 hours, the ratio of the concentration\nvarying, of course, with the grade of the ore sent down from the mine.\nThe mill has worked excellently from the start and is giving great satisfaction. The\nproduct is very clean galena, with seldom over 6 %, and never up to 10 %, of zinc, but there\nis a considerable loss of silver, some of which is carried away in the blende, while the greatest\nsource of loss is believed to be in the grey copper, much of which escapes in the finest slimes.\nCost was, for buildings, $12,700; for machinery, not including engine and boiler, $17,000.\nOther claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094To the east considerable work by tunneling has been done on the\nEureka claim, which lies up on the steep mountain side along which this vein, by the angle of\nits dip, would be expected to run. Between 60 and 70 tons of ore have been shipped during\n1894-5-6.\nThe Rabbit Paw, lying to the south and west, is being prospected by a company who are\nsearching for its extension westward of the vein.\n 52\nRuth.\nThis group of claims, the Rath, Hope, Wyoming, and the Ruth Fraction, all surveyed for\nCrown grants, are located on the same mountain side, one-half mile from the Slocan Star and\none and one-quarter miles by road from Sandon, and was owned by the locators, F. P. O'Neil,\nD. C. Clark, J. Y. Kesler, F. E. Starkey, D. E. McVey, and W. H. McVey until last October,\nwhen two-thirds interest in this property was sold for $166,000 to Mr. H. M. Foster, England,\nMessrs. D. E. and W. H. McVey retaining their one-third interest.\nAfter many hardships and disappointments, but persistent prospecting, the Ruth vein\nwas accidentally disclosed by a small piece or two of iron-stained rock sticking in the roots of\na wind-fallen tree that had stood nearly on the top of the ledge, and even then considerable\nwork had to be done before the ore shute was struck from which has since come the mine's\nproduction. Under the direction of the foreman, D. S. McDougal, this property has been\nprospected in a systematic manner, and all the work has been done with care and thoroughness, which has greatly enhanced its market value, as is evidenced by the recent transfer at\nsuch good terms.\nThe vein dipping N. W. 60\u00C2\u00B0-90\u00C2\u00B0 strikes across the slates N. E. by S, W., and carries in\nthe gangue of spathic iron and some quartz very coarsely crystalline galena, that runs from\n100 to 120 ounces in silver per ton and 54 to 76 % lead, while within surface influences the\nsulphides have been changed to the \" carbonates,\" that run from 30 to 65 ounces of silver per\nton, of both of which classes of ore 1,500 tons have been sent to the smelters. The width\nvaries, but in one drift the shute was seen to be at one part 9 feet wide, but as far as the\nvein was opened up, or 800 feet, it was very persistent and regular in its course, the fault\ndislocations being small. The ore is always banded parallel, of course, with the walls, and in\nthe upper workings bands of galena have bands of the oxidized ore on either side, or there\nwere in the other parts alternate bands of spathic iron, galena, and blende.\nThe Mine.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Tunnel No. 1 follows the vein or vein crevice for 350 feet, but the ore\nshute is not reached by it, it not being far enough into the mountain to be under the ore\nmined in the tunnels above.\n'Tunnel No. 2 was 740 feet long (Aug 16th), but for 90 feet but little ore was found, or\n11 tons, but beyond this the vein, though small, is more defined, until 150 feet in, where a\nstope 160 feet long begins, and runs up 40 feet, with an average width of 3-3J feet, with ore\nstill in the roof. An upraise of 85 feet connects with tunnel No. 3. Farther in was another\nstope 55 feet long and up 30 feet, showing at the top 44 feet of banded ore or galena, spathic\niron, and \"carbonates.\" Still another stope 160 feet long, 3J-4 feet wide, was up about 40\nfeet with ore in the roof, while beyond this in the tunnel level there was a width of 8 feet of\nfirst-class ore for a length of 25 feet, and at 630 feet, an 80 foot upraise, also in ore. In the\nbreast of the tunnel the vein was passing through a porphyry dyke, but only as a narrow seam\nof ore.\nTunnel No. 3 was 330 feet long with ore all this distance, but not so wide as below,\nalthough at the face were 3 feet of galena and decomposed ore or \"carbonates.\" As the\nground was soft all the tunnels were timbered up in an excellent manner and every part of\nthe mine was in the best of order, and there is much good timber on the property. A waggon\nroad 6,600 feet long had just been completed at a cost of $1,575, thus giving easy facilities for\nthe shipment of ore to the railways. Number of men employed 25.\nWonderful.\nThe Wonderful, 34.50 acres, Crown Grant, and the Lookout, and Columbus mineral locations, situated on the mountain slope about one mile west of the Ruth and Slocan Star, and\nsouth of the branch of Carpenter Creek, is owned by the Wonderful Group Mining Co., of\nSpokane, Pres., W. W. D. Turner; Sec, H. G. Bell, Spokane. Capital stock $1,000,000 in\n$1 shares. Superintendent, E. J. Field, Sandon.\nThe mining operations conducted during the last season on the Wonderful, were rather\nunique. The property had been under bond to Jno. A. Finch, who had done over 2,000 feet\nof underground work, mostly along the supposed course of a vein, but with not very successful\nresults, only two carloads of ore being shipped from these workings in 1895. Ore was found\nscattered through the wash and the much shattered slates near the surface, so the company\ndecided to prospect the claim by bringing water from one of the small streams in a small\nflume and then letting it cut its way down through the wash to bed-rock as it rushed down\nthe mountain side to Miller Creek. Water was turned on June 18th, and it was found that\n 53\npieces of galena ore were being left in the bottom of the cut, and this prospecting then\ndeveloped into hydraulic mining, the water being allowed to run for several hours, when there\nwould be a \" clean up \" of tons of high grade ore, with the result that over $25,000 were thus\nwon.\nAs the work proceeded it was seen that the mineral-bearing wash or debris was not more\nthan 100 to 120 feet wide, while the real \" pay dirt \" had a much less width than this, and as\nseen in the cut that as the channel cut down it left on either side country rock apparently in\nplace. In-the pay dirt there was not only the solid ore but much decomposed mineral, all of\nwhich of course was swept away, only the boulders of galena, with all the surface decomposed,\nremaining; one of solid galena weighing over 13 cwt. While some believed that the ore had\nbeen brought down from a vein higher up on the mountain side, the fact that this ore was\nfound only.in a narrow channel, and that immediately above the slope of the mountain ran\nback with a gentle rise, led to the belief that the washing was being done very close to the\nvein, if not immediately above it, and this conclusion then arrived at has apparently been confirmed in that this washing is now reported by the manager to have disclosed the solid vein in\nplace, with a strike S. W. and N. E., and regular underground mining has been begun.\nA good wide track or trail, 7,500 feet long, was built from the mine to Sandon, and the\nore is packed out to the railroad, the ore assaying from 113 to 133 ounces of silver per ton,\nand 70-76 % lead, and Mr. Field has succeeded not only, as he claims, in uncovering the vein\nby this method of prospecting, but has recovered 400 tons of first class ore from the debris.\nARgo.\nNorth of the townsite of Sandon are three claims, the A rgo, Belt, and St. Charles, owned\nby Wm. Snowdon, Jno. A. Whittier, and Alex. McDonald, and immediately above the K. &\nS. R. R. and a few hundred feet from the town, hence near the bottom of the deep valley of\nthis branch of Carpenter Creek, ore was found during the past summer, and on the surface in\none place the vein was cleaned off for 10 to 12 feet, showing a maximum width of three to tour\nfeet of solid ore. A tunnel, then 45 feet long, was being run to explore this new ledge.\nMonitor.\nThis claim, 1,500 by 1,500 feet, Crown Grant to be applied for, and the Hustler Fraction,\nare located at Three Forks, on the south slope of the south fork of Carpenter Creek, and are\nowned by the locator, George A. Petty, who, finding the white-coated galena float on th\nhillside after considerable search, found the vein which runs north-east and south-west and\ndips south-east 60\u00C2\u00B0 to 90\u00C2\u00B0, crossing the slates at right angles, in close proximity to a porphyry\ndyke. This vein varies in width from a few inches to 3-| feet of galena and carbonate, or oxide\nore, and by surface cuts has been found to be faulted in two places to the north-west\u00E2\u0080\u0094at one\npoint 50 feet and the other 30 feet.\nThe lowest tunnel, No. 1, 161 feet long, is a cross-cut, but has not yet disclosed the vein,\nbut in No. 2, 15 feet higher up the. hill and 275 feet long, the ore is continuous for 195 feet,\nand from 3 inches to 2| feet wide, and at the face the 50-foot fault is struck and a crosscut to the west is being driven to pick up the continuation of the lead. Tunnel No. 3, 100\nfeet above, after cross-cutting 50 feet had just struck the vein, where it was much broken up.\nTunnel No. 4, 110 feet above No. 3 and 480 feet from the north end-line of the claim, or 300\nfeet south-west of the mouth of No. 1, is a cross-cut for 73 feet, and then a drift both ways\nalong the vein, with a stope 75 feet long and 38 feet to the surface in which was a fine shute\nof ore, 12 to 16 inches wide, that at either end has changed to zinc blende, but in all probability\nwill again be found to improve on extending the drift. The foot-wall of the vein is very\nsmooth and regular, and apart from the solid ore there is much shattered slate cemented with\nquartz and galena. The 30-foot fault is south-west of this working. All the mine buildings,\nore-sheds and mine timbering, where such was necessary, were in first-class order, and there is\nmuch good timber on the claim.\nThe ore is similar to that found in the other veins in the Slocan, only it carries an\nappreciable value in gold, the smelter returns showing that the galena, or crude ore, as shipped\nin car-load lots, assays from $2 to 14 per ton in gold, 142 to 304 ounces of silver, and 37 to\n55% lead, netting, after deducting freight and smelter charges, from $91 to $203 per ton, one\nshipment of 19 tons returning $20 in gold per ton, 367.6 ounces of silver and 32% lead, or\n$249 net per ton. In the carbonate ores the gold values averaged for 88 tons over $13 in gold\n 54\nper ton, the silver values ranging from 128.4 to 323.8 ounces per ton, and the lead from 19 to\n33%, or $83 to $212.40 net per ton. No tests have been made, as known, to determine\nwhether this gold occurs in the sulphides or dessiminated in a free state in the quartz. Number of men engaged 12.\nOther Claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094On the mountain slope west of Carpenter Creek, the Idler is being worked\nby the Idler Mining Company, who have a vein of silver galena ore.\nAlamo.\nThe Alamo Mining Company, capital stock $500,000, General Manager J. D. Farrel,\nSpokane, Superintendent P. J. Hickey, own the Alamo, Ivy Leaf, Twin Lakes, 76.6 acres,\nCrown-granted, and the Clarence, Hampton, Victory, Morning and the Continental claims\nsituated in the Alamo Basin, 3|- miles up Howson Creek, which enters Carpenter Creek near\nwhere the concentrator is erected, along the track of the C.P.R., one mile below Three Forks.\nThe Mine.\u00E2\u0080\u0094In this vein has been found one of the largest and most productive ore\nshutes yet mined in the Slocan, an ore shute that extends into and is being worked on the\nIdaho claim. This vein strike, east and west (mag.) dip south 70\u00C2\u00B0 to 80\u00C2\u00B0, crosses a deep spur\nfrom the main ridge, and thus offers the best of facilities for the driving of tunnels along it at\ndifferent levels. Along this line of Assuring in the slates is much brecciated country rock,\nquartz, lime spar, spathic iron and ore, of which 8 to 9 feet of solid galena, interspersed with\ngrey copper, have been stoped out, also carbonate ores, while much mixed or mill ore has been\nsent down to the concentrator. In some of the levels there has been encountered a cross-fault\nof considerable throw beyond which the ore shute has since been picked up. Tunnel No. 4,\nthe lowest, extends west for 300 feet along the vein which here carries little ore, and the fault\nbeing met, the drift was run north-west 130 feet, then south-east 34 feet, striking again, apparently, the ledge. In tunnel No. 3, in 340 feet, and No. 2, a large amount of ore has been stoped\nout up to the Idaho side-line, the ore shute being 4 to 6 feet wide, the ore breaking to two\nsmooth walls between which is both solid ore and ore mixed with shattered slates and quartz.\nTunnel No. 1, 240 feet below the summit of the spur, was in several hundred feet, and the\nstopes from the lower levels continue on up for 30 to 40 feet above this level, when it pinches\nabove where has been found the greatest width of ore in the mine. There is ample room for\nother tunnels below No. 4, and such will yet be driven in to exploit a large area of the vein.\nOre is being found on other claims on this group, and men were at work prospecting and\ndeveloping these other leads.\nTransportation.\u00E2\u0080\u0094(a) From Tunnel No. 3 a 3-rail tramway, 340 feet long, ends in the\nore-bins at (b) a very good waggon road, 3 miles long, dropping down 1,700 feet to the ore-\nbins at the head of (c) the exceptionally long 3-rail gravity tramway, 7,100 feet long,\nwhich is in two sections, 3,400 feet and 3,700 feet long respectively, and dropping 1,675 feet,\ndelivers the ore into the bins at the mill at the C. P. R. track. The waggon road also runs\ndown to the mill.\nThe Concentrator.\u00E2\u0080\u0094From the supply bins of 1,500 tons capacity, the ore is trammed into\nthe mill, which is built large enough to permit, if needed, the doubling of the present plant of\nmachinery. On the upper floor, after passing over a grizzly, the ore is fed to a Comet breaker,\nwhence it passes to 16 by 30 inch rolls, and thence by elevator to 3 5-foot trommels, delivering 4 sizes to the jigs on the next floor, of which there are (1) 1 coarse two-compartment Hartz\njigs, (2) 2 three-compartment Hartz jigs, and (3) 2 four-compartment Hartz jigs. The middlings pass to a 5-foot Huntingdon mill, and for classifying the fine stuff, Lake Superior classifiers are in use, the tailings going into V-shaped settlers, that feed to 4 double-decked 18-foot\nround tables. The power is got from a Pelton wheel generating 80 h. p., with water under a\n224 foot head in a 12 inch penstock, from a flume that runs about 2 miles to the head gates on\nthe south fork of Carpenter Creek, the water of Howson Creek being also utilised. The sacked\nconcentrates are then loaded directly upon the railroad cars.\nThis mill was built by Fraser and Chalmers, Chicago, and its daily capacity is 50 tons.\nIt is owned by the Slocan Milling Company, and is under the management of Mr. Farrel.\nIdaho-Cumberland.\nThe Cumberland Mining Co., capital stock $500,000 in $10 shares, also under the management of Mr. Farrel and Superintendent Hickey, owns the Cumberland, Crown Grant, 32.74\nacres, High Ore, Daisy, Eastern, Thistle, and the Idaho Mining Co., the Idaho and St. John,\nCrown-granted, 101.53 acres.\n 55\nOn the Idaho ground, the extension of the Alamo vein is being worked through that\nmine\u00E2\u0080\u0094tunnels 1, 2 and 3 having been extended across the line. In tunnel No. 1, a stope 25\nto 30 feet above the level, had 10 to 30 inches of very good ore, and up a 60 foot raise, 12-15\ninches of solid ore continued to the top, while in the face of the level were 2 feet of solid\ngalena, and 4 to 5 feet of mill ore. These claims lie north and west of the Alamo group, in\nthe Idaho basin.\nIn the Idaho basin, reached by a branch road one-half mile long from the main road,\nanother vein on the Idaho, striking N. E. and S. W., and dipping S. E. 60\u00C2\u00B0-70\u00C2\u00B0, yielded a\nlarge amount of good ore from the upper cuts and tunnels, but in the main tunnel 550 feet\nlong, there was found little ore, but 10 to 12 feet of brecciated slate, quartz, calcite and iron\npyrites.\nOn the Cumberland, four tunnels had been driven in on a vein that runs parallel with the\none just mentioned on the Idaho, but being only 150 to 200 feet west, it had not yet been\nshown whether this is another vein, or the Idaho vein faulted. The upper tunnels Nos. 1\nand 2 were caved in, but in No. 3, a narrow vein of nearly solid galena and blende had been\nfollowed and stoped out for a distance of 350 feet, and in an under-hand stope a streak of 4 to\n10 inches of galena was being mined. Tunnel No. 4 was not being worked. Several hundred\nfeet lower down, a cross-cut tunnel had been driven 500 feet, to cut two small veins showing\non the surface. All ore is shipped by the Alamo road and tramway, and treated, if concentrating ore, at the mill, and this property is proving very productive. On the Idaho and Alamo\n35 men were engaged.\nOther Claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094The Hustler and Silver Bell, lying south-west, and west of the Idaho\nclaim, owned by a Victoria syndicate, are said to be traversed by both the Alamo-Idaho\nvein and the Idaho-Cumberland vein, on the latter of which work has been done, and much\nmore will be done this summer.\nYakima.\nThe Yakima,, Sunshine, Monday and Oregon in the next basin east of the Alamo, owned\nby the Sunshine Mining Co., Manager J. D. Farrel, was not visited, as work had been\nsuspended, but several carloads of galena ore had been shipped from this property during 1894\nand 1895.\nOther Claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Many other claims on these slopes are now being prospected, and\nwith successful results, On the Wild Goose and Corinth, owned by J. Gilhooley, A. J.\nMurphy, and A. Behue, Three Forks, a vein of solid galena, 6 inches to 2 feet in width, has\nbeen stripped for 200 feet on the surface, and ore is now being mined in a tunnel driven in\non this ledge. These claims are about three-quarters of a mile by trail up the creek beyond\nthe Queen Bess.\nQueen Bess.\nOn the east slope of Howson Creek, opposite to the Idaho Basin, are the Queen Bess,\nYoung Dominion, Crown-granted, 78.2 acres, and the May Be, Concord, American Girl, Hub,\nand First Extension, the property of Jas. Moran, Jno. A. Finch, P. Larson, et al., Superintendent, Jas. Moran, Three Forks. A ridge separates these claims and the Monitor, and on\nthe Queen Bess claim has been done most of the work, resulting in the discovery of four\nveins within 500 feet. On the east vein a tunnel had been driven 200 feet, in which the\nground was much broken up and the small vein decomposed, the ore from which produced in\nshipments by leasers in 1893, of 40 tons, 96 ounces of silver per ton and 74% lead. Work\nwas being pushed ahead on the west vein, 300 feet distant, and in a 65-foot tunnel, after 15\nfeet of surface material, a vein, strike N. E. and S. W., dip S. E. 80 to 85, was followed for 45\nfeet and stoped up 20-30 feet, producing high grade ore assaying 141 ounces of silver per ton\nand 75% lead of a very coarse cubed galena, of which 25 or 30 tons piled on the dump were\nbeing sacked for shipment to the Omaha and Grant smelter. At the face a winze was being\nsunk on two leaders of galena separated by four feet of slate. The third vein lying between\nthe east and west leads had only been stripped and thus traced for 200 feet, but there was a\nwide zone heavily iron-stained, slightly impregnated with galena, and reported to give assays\nin gold of $4 to $6 per ton. The fourth vein is 100 feet west of the west lead, and at the\nsurface 6 inches wide of carbonate ore assaying 50 to 60 ounces of silver and up to 40% lead.\nThe ore will be packed down over a short trail to the road and thence one-half mile to the\nAlamo tramway, and then delivered at the C.P.R. track. It had been decided to thoroughly\nexplore this property, and this winter 14 men are employed.\n 56\nCanadian Group.\nOn the summit of the ridge, at an altitude of about 7,200 feet, between the south fork of\nCarpenter Creek and Four-Mile Creek, or two miles S. W. of Sandon, whence a trail via the\nRuth mine runs to these properties, are the Adams and Brandon, Crown-granted 86.1 acres,\nand the Katie D., Sarcdi B., and Hill Top, owned by M. Adams, Sandon, and W7. H. Brandon,\nSlocan City. Several small galena veins are to be seen on these claims, but as yet not much\nwork has been done to explore them. On the Hill Top a small vein of galena a few inches\nwide can be traced for some distance, strike N. and S., dip west 60\u00C2\u00B0. On the south slope of\nthe Brandon a vein is traceable down the hill for several hundred feet, sticking up as a rib of\ngalena, calcite, and quartz, 4 to 12 inches thick, in which are driven two short tunnels, in the\nupper one of which the ore is cut off, while in the lower there are 3 to 5 feet of mixed milling\nore. About 1,200 to 1,500 feet east of this is another vein, strike north and south,\ndip 60\u00C2\u00B0 west, which, although small, can be traced up the slope for several hundred feet and\nthen down through the bottom of a narrow gully in the cliff, forming the north slope of the\nridge at this point. A tunnel was in 35 feet under a smooth hanging wall, and the vein\nconsisted mostly of coarse calcite, with some galena, but on the surface the ore was sticking\nout in places in ribs of solid big-cubed galena. There is very little or no timber on this ridge,\nand only small springs of water. Trails lead over to the Alamo and Idaho mines to the west\nalong the ridge, or down the mountain to the south to Four-Mile Creek, and thence to Silver-\nton, on Slocan Lake. No work was being done at time of visit\u00E2\u0080\u0094Aug. 21st.\nThe Ivanhoe.\nLying next to the Canadian group, on the east, are the Ivanhoe and Elgin, Crown-granted\n81 acres, owned by the Minnesota Silver Co., Ltd., Pres., W. H. Yawkey, and under the\nsame management as the Idaho and Alamo.\nMr. McConnel, in his report of 1895, says, \"The Ivanhoe, situated high up on the slope\nof the mountain, shows several nearly parallel veins. Two cross-cut tunnels the upper 50 feet\nand the lower 90 feet in length, connected by an upraise of 70 feet, have been driven, and drifts\nhave been extended along the lead from the ends of both tunnels for varying distances. The\nworkings have exposed an ore shute 60 to 70 feet in length, with a maximum width of five\nfeet of pure and concentrating ore. A contract for a third cross-cut tunnel, 150 feet below\nNo. 2, had been let at time of visit.\"\nDuring the past year about 15 carloads of ore were shipped to the smelters, and development work is being continually carried on.\nAdam's Group.\nOn the same high ridge, and on the west of the Canadian group, lie the Britomarte, Chamb-\nlet, Crown Grants, 86.3 acres, Midnight, Mammoth and Slater Fraction, owned by Capt. R. C.\nAdams, Montreal, et al.\nIn the slates and limestones run many dykes and spurs of porphyry, and on the south\nslope on the Britomarte, close to the Canadian group, an open cut exposes a vein of mixed ore,\ni. e., cube galena, calcite, and quartz, 15 to 30 inches wide, running north and south with a dip\nof 80\u00C2\u00B0 west, this vein crossing over the ridge where it stands up as a narrow rib of solid galena\nore 4 to 14 inches wide and intersecting on the north slope another galena-bearing vein. On\nthe south slope, running down the hill, are three or four narrow veins of galena close together,\nthat nearly merge into one another at a point where a 12-foot tunnel has been driven in on a\nvein of 4 to 12 inches wide of nearly pure galena. On the north slope is a very steep, rocky\nface, scored yearly by snow-slides, and running nearly parallel with the dykes, are several small\nveins of the same kind of ore as found in the others. On one of these veins, traceable to the\nsummit, a tunnel was being driven, and for its length, or 20 feet, there were four feet of mixed\nore, calcite, coarse galena, blende, and grey copper, of which six or seven tons were on the\ndump. Above the tunnel on the surface this vein showed 8 feet of mixed ore, with small,\nnearly parallel, veins, evidently stringers from the main lead. About one hundred feet S. W.\nof this vein is another that showed in one place four feet of mixed ore, and was running 60\u00C2\u00B0\nE. by S. 60\u00C2\u00B0 WT. On the south slope two tunnels have been run in to tap these veins, one for\n50 feet, 150 feet below the summit, where in a cut were 6-7 feet of concentrating ore, and the\nother 400 feet below the summit, for 245 feet, in which for the last 40 feet some ore had been\nfollowed.\n 57\nThis property can be developed by running a cross-cut tunnel from a place free from any\nlikelihood of snowslides, as is done on other properties in this district, and from this same\npoint an aerial tramway, on a steep grade, could be built down to a point convenient to a\nwaggon road to be built to Sandon. Good cabins are being erected about 1,000 feet below the\nworkings, and a trail, four miles long, as mentioned in connection with the Canadian group,\nleads clown to Sandon.\nNoble Five Mines.\nThe original Noble Five group, located for 5,000 feet along the course of one vein, comprised the Noble Five, Bonanza King, World's Fair, Knoxville, and Maud S, 66.6 acres, but\nthe two adjoining claims on another vein, the Deadman and Wild Goose, have been added since\nthe consolidation of these properties as now owned by the Noble Five Consolidated Mining and\nMilling Co., Spokane, Wash. ; Pres., Jno. D. Porter; Sec, J. F. Cutler; Gen. Manager, J. G.\nMcGuigan, Sandon, B. C. Capitalization, 1,200,000 shares at $1 each.\nThis property is located about 34 miles by trail N. E. of Sandon, aud 2,500 to 3,000 feet\nabove that town, on the steep southern slope of the mountain, on which have been discovered\nthe series of veins now mined from the Payne group on the west to the Blue Bird on the east.\nThere are two veins, and perhaps three, now known, striking N. E. by S. W., dip 60\u00C2\u00B0 S. E.,\nthrough slates and limestones, intersecting at an angle of 30\u00C2\u00B0 to 45\u00C2\u00B0 the \"porphyry\" or granitic\ndykes through which the veins continue, and in places carry their best ore-shutes. The ore\noccurs both as solid galena and as carbonates and oxides in a spathic iron and quartz gangue,\nand from the limited workings these claims have yielded from $125,000 to $150,000.\nNoble Five vein. On the surface in a rocky gulch scoured by snow-slides, are large\ncroppings of iron-rock, which on being broken into is found to consist of galena, blende, and\nspathic iron, while in the mine the ore is arranged, along a smooth, slickensided wall that is\nsometimes on the hanging and then on the footwall side, in bands arranged in one drift with\nfour bands, i. e., spathic iron, blende, spathic iron, and then galena, with fragments of slate\nscattered through the ore-shute and spurs of ore running off into the country rock. In the\nearly history of this mine, when the costs and difficulties of shipping were excessive and\nchanges of management often, small drifts were run in on the ledge and the ore extracted in\nan unsystematic manner, but under the new management the property is being developed in a\nthorough manner, and the mine placed in a proper condition for its best development and most\neconomical working.\nOn the most southerly claim, the Noble Five, a tunnel 65 feet long and short cross-cuts\nwere driven resulting in the finding of some good ore, but as this was a dangerous place for\nsnow-slides this work has not yet been extended to prospect this part of the vein. On the\nKnoxville and Bonanza King has been done most of the mining, consisting at the time of\nvisit (August 18th) of tunnels aggregating 1,380 feet in length and opening up the vein\nvertically to a depth of 600 feet. In these workings but little high grade ore was left in sight,\nalthough much ground remained to be prospected, but there were stopes 6 to 8 feet wide,\nwhile the amount of concentrating ore exposed, consisting mostly of galena in decomposed\nmaterial, was considerable, and in some of the drifts, 7 to 9 feet wide. The mine was not in a\ncondition at that time to show up or do justice to this large and strong ledge, but the three\nmain tunnels to be run and connected by winzes will put this property on a proper working\nbasis.\nAbout 200 feet below these workings the main tunnel has been started in a place perfectly\nsafe from slides and cross-cutted to the vein which on the surface at this point had a strong\nout-crop of galena. This tunnel will be extended well into the mountain along the vein and\nconnected with the upper tunnels, thus enabling all ore to be brought down to the mouth of\nthis main level, where will be the ore-bins at the head of an aerial rope-tramway, 6,100 feet\nlong, vertical drop 2,100 feet, now being built to the concentrator at Cody.\nOn the Deadman and Wild Goose claims are several large dykes and tongues of\n\"porphyry,\" and the Deadman vein is about 400 feet east of the Noble Five vein and\nparallel to it. No work is being done in any of the three tunnels; in two of which that were\nentered but little ore had been left in sight, but several faults were in evidence. Ore has been\nshipped for three years from this vein, or 26 car-loads in all, of ore that assayed 63 ounces in\nsilver per ton and 15% lead for the \"carbonates,\" and up to 255 ozs. of silver per ton and 69%\nlead for the solid galena ore.\nThere is little or no timber on the property of this Company, and in fact upon any of\nthese properties high up on the mountain, fire having destroyed the most of it, but lower down\non the slopes the supply is good.\n 58\nConcentrator.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Following up his success with the Slocan Star mill, Mr. T. L. Mitchell\nhas just completed a mill on Cody Creek, at the Town of Cody, which is arranged practically\nafter the same scheme as that followed out in the Slocan Star. A flume brings water from\nCody Creek and in the conveyance of ore from the mine automatical devices have been\nintroduced throughout. At the main working tunnel of the mine bins of 600 tons capacity\nautomatically discharge into the buckets of the Finlayson double rope tramway, and at the\nlower terminal the ore drops into the bins of 260 tons capacity and thence automatically to the\n9 by 15 inch rock-crusher and thence into the mill. The capacity of the tramway will be 20\ntons an hour. The machinery for the mill has been purchased from the E. P. Allis Company,\nof Milwaukee, Wis., and the first-class ore and concentrates will be loaded into the cars of the\nK. and S. R. R. which has a branch line running to Cody.\nLast Chance.\nThis property, the Last Chance, 600 by 1,050 feet, Crown-granted, the Starlight,\nStarlight Fraction, Blizzard and Little Widow, Crown Grants applied for, lying immediately\nwest of the Noble Five group, is owned by the Last Chance Mining and Milling Co., Spokane.\nCapital stock, 500,000 shares at $1 each.\nThere are two small parallel veins running N.E. by S.W., one standing vertical, the other\ndipping S.E. 50\u00C2\u00B0, and two tunnels 100 feet apart in elevation. The upper tunnel is 240 feet\nlong with cross-cuts and drifts on smaller veins that lead off from the main one, while the\nlower, a cross-cut tunnel, intercepts the inclined vein at 180 feet, along which drifting has been\ndone for 140 feet, with an upraise to the upper workings. This tunnel was being continued to\nstrike the other vein but had not done so at 100 feet, but it was in the works between these\ntwo tunnel levels that the character of the ore and the vein was best seen, as from an incline\nstarted down on the vein near the mouth of the upper tunnel, and when about midway between\nthe levels extended as a drift, very high-grade ore had been mined where the vein, varying in\nsize from a few inches to 3 feet of solid, rich silver-bearing galena was found to have, where\ngalena was not solid, a quartz gangue with galena, forming good concentrating ore. Within\nsurface influences the veins have suffered the usual alteration, and rich \"carbonate\" ore has\nalso been stoped out.\nWhile so far most of the work has been directed toward the development of this mine\na quantity of excellent ore has been sent down by rawhiding to Sandon and thence shipped to\nthe smelters, as in 1895 about 9 car-loads of ore assaying 166 to 191 ozs. in silver per ton and\n71 to 78% lead, and in 1896 17 car-loads averaging 182 ozs. in silver per ton and 62% lead,\nwere sold. This property is another example of many which have paid for themselves from\nthe beginning, and during this last year a dividend of $20,000 has been declared, after providing\nfor the new mine buildings, more extensive underground work and the purchase of other\nclaims. There is but little timber on these claims. Foreman J. Regan. Number of men\nengaged 10.\nOther Claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Below this claim is the American Boy, now being worked by Thomas\nMcGuigan, with a yield to date of 5 or 6 cars of good silver-lead ore, and the Ajax, under the\ncontrol of Matthews and Braden, who also have the Ruby Silver at the northern end of the\nNoble Five string of claims, both of which mines have shipped high grade ore. Upon the\nsummit, at an elevation of 76-7,800 feet, Dr. Hendryx, of Nelson, was driving a cross-cut\ntunnel on the Galena, to cut a vein of silver-lead ore that shows up well on the precipitous\nbluff to the north, and is thought to be the northern extension of the R. E. Lee vein. It has\na strike N. E. by S. W. across the slates and limestones, and also across a prophyry dyke, and\na dip of 60\u00C2\u00B0 to the S. E.\nReco Group.\nImmediately to the east of the Noble Five claims on the same south slope of the mountain,\nlie the Reucau, Texas, Clifton and New Denver, 150.65 acres, Crown Grants applied for, and the\nmineral location, the Ephraim, the property of the Reco Mining and Milling Co., Ltd., Sandon,\nB. C. Capital stock, $1,000,000 in $1 shares; treasury stock 100,000 shares. Pres. and Gen.\nManager, Jno. M. Harris,; Sec. F. T. Kelly, Sandon, B.C.\nTwo distinct silver-lead veins strike N. E. by S. W., dip 60\u00C2\u00B0 to 75\u00C2\u00B0 S. E., are being worked\non this ground, i.e., (1) Big vein and (2) the Small or Goodenough vein, and in all probability\nveins lying in contiguous claims will be discovered, on prospecting, to extend into this territory.\nThis mine affords another example of the opening up and development, and the purchase of\nother claims, without any capital save that got in mining, from the beginning of work, of rich\n 59\nore. On the Big vein have been run three tunnels, from which has been taken most of the\nore extracted from this lead, save that from one small stope that yielded over $16,000; and in\ntunnels Nos. 1 and 3, the former 650 feet long, and the other 900 feet long, connected by a\nraise 125 feet long in the vein ; the veins consist mostly of decomposed vein matter, in places\na few inches wide, in others several feet. Work on this vein so far has been confined to purely\ndevelopment during the past year, but in 1895, 4 carloads of galena, the ore yielded on an\naverage 179.8 ozs. silver per ton, and 71% lead (smelter returns). While the carbonate ore or\n9 carloads yielded from 89.3 to 161.6 ozs. silver per ton, and 23.2 to 37.1% lead.\nFrom the Small or Goodenough vein, lying several hundred feet to the east, has come the\nrichest silver-bearing galena yet found in Kootenay, the silver evidently occurring as argentite,\nalthough much ruby silver is found in some of the solid galena. The mining operations are\nbeing carried on in co-operation with the Goodenough mine, and three tunnels, Nos. 2, 4 and\n6, have been driven to and then extended both ways along the vein in each of these properties ;\nthe vein being from 2 or 3 inches wide up to 20 inches of solid ore, with in places only a\nnarrow streak of iron-stained matter. The ore so lies that generally the ground can be mined\nout along it, leaving the ore to be afterwards broken down clean. The ground is faulted in\none place with a lateral throw of the vein for 10 feet, and where the vein passes through the\nprophyry dykes the ore shute is found, generally, to be about the most productive part of the\nvein. From these tunnels several hundred feet of drifting have been driven, the vein being\nnot always productive, but in the miners' term \"in and out,\" and these levels will be continued\nmuch farther before reaching the limits of the claim. {See Goodenough mine below).\nThis ore, while mined from a small vein, is very profitable, and at the time of visit, in\nAugust, several tons of rich ore were piled at each tunnel mouth, and the following data from\nsmelter returns will give some idea of the value :\u00E2\u0080\u0094The galena ore has run from 225 to 730\nounces of silver per ton, and 67% lead ; one lot of 21 tons assaying 730 ounces of silver per\nton, and 67% lead ; and two shipments in 1896, or 45 tons, yielded net (or 95% of assay)\n24,820 ounces of silver, and 27 tons of lead, or $340 per ton, after deducting all charges.\nThe carbonate ore from this vein, for 20 carloads, has yielded from 230 to 337.8 ounces of\nsilver per ton, and 19 to 28% lead.\nThis company now propose to build an aerial tramway down to Cody Creek, and there\nerect a concentrator. Foreman, Alex. McPhee. Number of men, 15 (in Aug.)\nGoodenough.\nThe Goodenough, title, Crown grant, 8.3 acres, and the location the Grey Copper, 600 by\n1,284 feet, lying south of the Ruecau, are owned by Jno. A. Whittier, Jno Thompson, and\nJno. Martin, Sandon, and six men were at work on the \" small vein,\" as described in the\nReco above. In the workings, tunnel No. 6, or the lowest, was a cross-cut for 275 feet, and\nnear the point of intersection with the vein an upraise had been made for 169 feet to tunnel\nlevel No. 4 along the Ruecau-Goodenough line, following for nearly all that distance several\ninches of the very high grade ore. In the N.E. the drift ran off into the Reco ground, while\nto the S.W. the Goodenough drift, in 170 feet, with 500 feet of the vein on this level available\nbefore leaving the side line, had good ore for 110 feet both above and below the level, with a\nnarrow streak of carbonates to the face, an improvement in the ore shute being expected when\nthe vein passed through the dyke 30 feet ahead. In the tunnel levels Nos. 2 and 4, the\nrelation of the vein to the surface was such that but a comparative short distance along\nthe vein could be worked on this ground, and all was stoped out, but in the Reco these two\nlevels were being extended to the N.E.\nThere is a fair amount of good timber. As in the other mines, greatest activity is during\nthe winter season, when the cost of shipping ore to Sandon, by rawhiding, is $3 per ton,\ninstead of $7 by packing on mules in the summer. The grade of the ore, of course, is similar\nto that sent from the Reco, the smelter returns for carload lots giving from 277 to 507 ounces\nof silver per ton, and 48 to 67% lead for galena ore, and 168.5 to 322.5 ounces of silver per\nton, and 2 to 34% lead for carbonate ores, while one lot of 6Jr tons assayed 768 ounces silve\nper ton and 64.1% lead.\nOther claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094To the east of these claims lies the Blue Bird, on which some work was\nbeing done on a tunnel. Three, if not four, veins have been discovered, and 10 to 12 carloads\nof ore, averaging 134 ounces of silver per ton, and 75 % lead, have been sent to the smelters.\nSouth of the Goodenough property lies the Chambers group, i. e., the Chambers, Eureka, Jay\nGould, and Wellington, 600 by 1,500 feet claims; one of the oldest locations in the camp on\nwhich exploratory work has been done, but the depth of wash here, at the base of the moun-\n 60\nain, makes such operations more difficult than higher up, where the surface is pretty well\nscoured off the leads, and any float can generally be soon traced to its source. One carload of\nore was shipped during 1896.\nMuch good country in this vicinity yet remains to be explored, and while but little or no\nground is now left open for location, there is every probability that thorough prospecting will\nbe followed by good results.\nThe Omega, south of the Reco group, has a vein of galena ore, but all work is at a standstill pending legal decisions as to the ownership of this ground.\nR. E. Lee.\nTitle, Crown Grant, 600 by 1,500 feet. Located on the ridge of the mountain, one-quarter\nof a mile west of the Last Chance, and five miles by trail and road from McGuigan's Siding,\non the K. & S. R. R. Owned by Lorenzo Alexander, of Kaslo. At the time of visit, in\nAugust, ten men were employed by leasers, who were working on a narrow galena vein, striking\nN.E. by S.W, and dipping S.E. 45\u00C2\u00B0, near a very large exposure of \"porphyry\" or eruptive\ngranite. Two tunnels, one 500 feet long, had been run in and connected by a 95-foot upraise,\nand from the lower tunnel, down an incline, some ore was being extracted. In places in the\nmine the ore has been found 18 inches wide. During the last year about three carloads of ore\nhave been shipped that averaged 130 ounces in silver per ton and 75% lead, the cost of transport to the railway line being $5.50 to $7.50 per ton. Mr. Alexander has now 8 or 9 men at\nwork, is building more substantial living houses, ore sheds, etc., and from the mine is taking\nsome good ore.\nSlocan Boy.\nThis claim, 600 by 1,500 feet, title Crown Grant, lies on the ridge immediately east of\nthe Payne group and south of the Washington, and is leased by S. K. Green et al, to T. M.\nGibson and Lang Keith.\nTwo leads were being worked, one on the south end of the claim, a very small but rich\nsilver-lead vein, being worked through three tunnels, one 140 feet, another 160 feet long. The\nother, the southern extension of the Washington vein, is also argentiferous galena that follows\nalong two to three feet from an eight foot porphyry dyke, on both sides of which the shales and\nslates are very much contorted and to a very considerable extent converted into gangue matter.\nBeginning at the north end-line a tunnel is run in 170 feet along a small streak of ore, and\nconnects with level No. 1, 235 feet long, which runs from the shaft, 200 feet deep, where at a\ndepth of 100 feet the vein, here dipping at a high angle, is passed through. Eight to ten carloads of ore, both galena and carbonates, had been shipped, of which 30 tons of the ore from\nthe small vein gave 332.4 ounces of silver per ton,rand 75.4% lead, while the ore from the\nother vein averaged over 100 ounces of silver per ton and 68% lead.\nPayne Group.\nAt time of visit, part of this property was in litigation, recently terminated by all interests\nbeing bought up from Mr. S. S. Bailey by Mr. A. W. McCune et al, and this group will com\nprise the Payne, Mountain Chief, Maid of Erin, and the Two Jacks, 38.4 acres, title, Crown\nGrants, with 2,500 feet along this vein, located on the ridge forming the western end of the\nrange on which are the mines that have been described, three miles east of Three Forks, and three\nor four miles N. W. from Sandon, to which place is being built a new waggon road.\nThe Payne was the first location made in the Slocan District and the locators believing\nthe trend of the vein would follow the strike of the country rocks as at Ainsworth, put in their\nstakes accordingly, and in reality made their location across the vein. Until lately this ground\nhad been opened up by Mr. Bailey, and on the Payne a tunnel has been run in for over 300 feet,\nwith ore continuous for nearly all that distance, the vein strike, N. E. by S. W., having a quartz\ngangue, but with a maximum width in parts of solid high grade galena of three feet. Substantial\nmine buildings were being erected at this tunnel mouth, to supplement those already built, and\non the Maid of Erin, to the south, a tunnel lower down had been begun and extended into the\nPayne claim. To the north of this claim, on the Mountain Chief, tunnels had also been run in on\nthe vein, and ore stoped out to the grass roots, but the main mining operations will be conducted\nfrom the southern side of the mountain, on which slope is a fair amount of timber suitable for\nmining purposes ; fires having destroyed most of the wood supply. It is reported that over\n(Sept. 1896) $100,000 worth of ore has already been sold from this vein, the carbonates\n 61\nassaying 80 to 100 ozs. silver per ton, and 35 to 40 % lead, and the galena ore 175 ounces of\nsilver and 70 % lead, or an average net value on all ore sold of over $100 per ton. Mr. Scott\nMcDonald, formerly in charge of the Skyline, is superintendent of the work now being vigorously carried on. At time of visit 28 men were engaged on the different claims.\nWashington.\nOn the northern slope of this mountain the Washington was located on the vein that\nshowed in the face of the cliff, and over 1,400 tons of ore were shipped in the early years of\n1892-3-4, but work ceased until the end of 1895, when the concentrator was built, permitting\nthe shipment of much mill ore on hand in the mine and on the dump. This claim, Crown-\ngranted, 14.76 acres, together with four mineral locations, is the property of J. L. Montgomery,\nof New York; J. L. Retallack et al, Kaslo.\nThe porphyry dyke in places lies next to the ore, but so far has not been found to cut\nacross the vein, which, with a strike N. E. by S. W., and a dip to the S. E. from 60\u00C2\u00B0 to 85\u00C2\u00B0, is\n3 to 12 feet wide, with an average width of 5 to 6 feet of galena in the gangue of spathic iron\nand quartz with zinc blende, much of which is sorted out. Bodies of clean, solid galena are\nalso mined, but there is very little carbonates or decomposed ore. In the upper tunnel, No. 1,\n77 feet long, there was considerable mill ore, but most of the ore came from tunnel No. 2,\n200 feet below and 275 feet long, over which was a large stope 150 feet long and 30 feet high,\nwith a good quantity of concentrating ore in sight, which on being broken was sent down to\ntunnel No. 3, 300 feet long, in whicli the ore-shute is much smaller and completely cut off at\nthe face by a fault not yet explored. From the mouth of this tunnel-level the ore passes\ndown through a shute 180 feet long, to a 3-rail gravity tramway, 1,450 feet long, which leads\nto the shute down to the strong log ore-bins of the concentrator, where an excellent waggon road\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094one of the best seen in West Kootenay\u00E2\u0080\u0094three miles long, runs to McGuigan's siding on the\nK & S. R. R.\nConcentrator.\u00E2\u0080\u0094This mill was the first built in the Slocan, by Mr. T. L. Mitchell, who\nused machinery mostly made in Canada. It has a daily capacity, when water is sufficient, of\n50 tons of ore, and the ore, after passing through a 4 by 10 inch Blake crusher into the supply\nbin, is automatically fed to the coarse rolls, and thence elevated to the revolving screen which\nmakes three sizes, (a) The smallest screened material is further sized to 3 sizes by an hydraulic\nclassifier, each of which passes to one of the 3 fine Hartz jigs, while the overflow of the classifier runs into a V-shaped settling tank, and the settlings of which are drawn off into a double\nround slime-table, the middlings from which pass to elevator No. 1, into the trommel, and then\nto classifier again; (b) Of the 2nd and 3rd sizes of the revolving screen, and the refusal or the\nproduct passing out at the lower end of the screen, each passes to one of the 3 coarse Hartz\njigs, the middlings from which go to coarse middlings rolls, and then back by elevato. No. 1.\nThe middlings from the fine jigs pass to fine set of rolls, and also to elevator No. 1. The clean\nconcentrates pass into concentrator bins, which drain into settling tanks to save the sLmes,\nand all shipping material is sent down the hill in sacks.\nOre.\u00E2\u0080\u0094The crude ore or unconcentrated galena assays from 108 to 136 ozs. of silver per\nton, and 66% lead, and during the past year, the concentrates, of which 50 to 60 carloads have\nbeen shipped, yielded 95 ozs. silver per ton, and 60% lead. As the water supply for the mill\nis for some months precarious, or only available for half of the year, and for the last season\neven less than that, it has not been feasible to pursue mining operations to that extent otherwise possible, but the development work will be done in the meantime, as there is a good site\nfor another tunnel on the lead below the present No. 3.\nBest.\nThe Best, 600 by 1,500 feet, title Crown Grant, and the Cincher, alt. 5,800 feet, lie in the\nBest basin on the north slope of the mountain range, on which are the Reco, Noble Five and\nother mines already described, and are owned by A. W. McCune, Geo. W. Hughes, P. Larsen\nand Scott McDonald. The Washington Mine Road has been extended to the mine, which is\nthus 4 miles from McGuigan's Siding.\nThe ridge separating this basin from the Dardanelles basin is formed by a fine grained\ngranitic boss, on which are the above claims and part of the Rambler group, and on the Best\nclaim this mass is seamed with a series of quartz veins from a few inches to 6 feet wide, running\nN. W. and S. E. (mag.) and dipping north-easterly 30\u00C2\u00B0-45\u00C2\u00B0. The ore consists of quartz and\nrich silver-bearing tetrahedrite and jamesonite, with, in isolated places, galena and a little\nblende and iron and copper-pyrites. These veins are irregular in size, inasmuch as they will\n 62\nhave a width of 2 or 3 feet, then pinch out or break into several small stringers. An incline\nshaft had been sunk 75 feet on one of the veins, and in this and a 25-foot drift, ore was continuous\nwith a maximum width of 3 feet, and 120 feet down the hill in a tunnel 312 feet long; at 100\nfeet a vein of 6-8 inches of good ore was being followed to the S. E. for 65 feet (Sept. 6th), and\nat 215 feet a raise to connect with the incline was up 55 feet, at the foot of which was a vein 18\ninches wide, of galena, grey copper and blende. The value of the ore shipped was not learned,\nbut other shipments this winter are expected, when the mine will have been put in the best\nshape for good work. Foreman, F. Banaman, with 9 men.\nRambler Group.\nHigher up in the Best basin and south of the Best claim, lie the Rambler group, i. e., the\nRambler, Caribou, Antelope, Tiger and Best Fraction, Crown Grants applied for, the property of\nthe Rambler and Caribou Consolidated G. and S. Mining Co. Capital stock $1,000,000.\nPres. J. B. McArthur, Rossland ; Sec. A. L. McClaine, Kaslo; Superintendent, Richard Shea.\nAlthough the ground embraced within the limits of this property has hardly yet begun to\nbe prospected, two different series of veins have been discovered and are being worked. The\nveins first found were two quartz veins in the same granite as the Best, with the same character\nof ore, but when building a trail a narrow streak, a finger-width of red and brown iron oxides,\nbetrayed the existence of a typical silver-galena vein, running through the Slocan slates series\nand porphyry, close to the contact with the granitic area, and since following this streak, three\nfeet of solid high grade ore have been found in one of the tunnels. Galena ore in good quantity\nhas been found in other veins on which a little work had just been done, and every indication\npointed to the high value of this property.\n(A.) Veins in the Granite.\u00E2\u0080\u0094About half way up the slope of the ridge of the granite,\ntwo strong quartz veins 200 feet apart, traceable to the summit 4 to 500 feet above, had been\nentered by two tunnels, and the strike of each was about N. 20\u00C2\u00B0 E., by S. 20\u00C2\u00B0 W., nearly at\nright angles to Best veins, a short distance away. In one tunnel 20 feet long the vein,\ndipping easterly 70\u00C2\u00B0, consisted of a very white crystalline quartz, with druses, 3 to 20 inches\nwide, with parts of the vein strongly impregnated with grey copper and jamesonite, and in\nthe other tunnel, 75 feet long, the vein, dipping easterly 40\u00C2\u00B0 to 50\u00C2\u00B0, was continuous, with a\nwidth of 2 to 20 inches of very fine looking tetrahedrite or grey copper ore from a small slope\nin which, it was stated, 18 tons shipped to the Pilot Bay smelter had assayed 499 ounces of\nsilver per ton, $7.50 in gold, and 2% copper. No work was being done on these veins at time\nof visit, but large and commodious cabins, ore-houses, etc., were being erected, there being\na good supply of large timber in the basin. Mining was being carried on in the\n(B.) Silver Lead veins.-\u00E2\u0080\u0094The vein material mentioned above had been traced on the\nsurface for over 400 feet by cuts, and tunnel No. 1, after being run as a cross-cut for 78 feet\nthrough porphyry and slate, had been drifted for 30 feet (Sept. 6th) along a vein of solid\ngalena ore, in places a few inches wide, in others 12 to 24 inches, and at one point in the drift\nthere were two Viands of galena along what made the walls of the drift, with crushed country\nrock between. Along the planes of bedding and fracture in the rock, there were iron\npyrites and galena, and the country rock was impregnated with pyrites. In tunnel No. 2, 170\nfeet long and 50 feet above and 115 feet beyond the face of No. 1 drift, the vein varies from\n3 and 4 inches to 2 and 3 feet in width, but at the face the ore was scattered through the\ncountry rock. On the ridge a small tunnel exposed 2 feet of solid ore, of which 15 tons had\nbeen piled outside, and this vein appeared to be traceable for several hundred feet to some\nstopes made by leasers in 1893 on the Antelope ground on the slope of the ridge overlooking\nthe Dardanelles basin. Although these stopes were badly caved in, the vein was seen to be\nlying very flat, with 2 to 3 feet of mixed ore, and in one place 2 feet of solid galena ore, and\nduring the present winter this vein will be properly prospected and put in shape for mining.\nThe galena ore shipped, as per smelter returns, has yielded from 79.6 to 273.3 ounces of\nsilver per ton, and 31 to 64% lead, one lot of 27 tons netting $185.12 per ton, while the\ncarbonate ores, running 22|% lead, assayed 166 to 178.5 ounces per ton of silver. Ore shipments will be sustained, and it was proposed to extend the Washington waggon road via the\nBest up to the mine, to greatly facilitate the export of the mine output, and it is now reported\nthat this has been done.\nOther claims. On the City of Spokane Foss and McDonald were exploring for the\nextension to the south-west of the main lead vein.\n '\n63\nSurprise and Antoine.\nIn the next basin, or the Surprise basin, mining operations are active, but lack of time\nforbade a visit to the well known mines, the Surprise and the Antoine, that lie to the north\nof the Noble Five group, but down on the north slope of the ridge. The Surprise, title,\nCrown grant, 15.7 acres, manager, Alex. Smith, Kaslo, has made regular shipments of high\ngrade ore during the years of 1894-5-6, and is now being actively worked. The Antoine,\nManager, J. C. Ryan, Kaslo, is also shipping, ten car-loads of ore being sent to the smelters\nduring the past year.\nRuby Silver.\nThe Ruby Silver, owned by Matthews and Braden, Kaslo, is being developed, and during\nthe last season the mine shipped two car-loads of high grade silver ore, one lot of 11 \ tons\nassaying 198.2 ounces of silver per ton, and 46% lead, and another, 13| tons, 256.4 ounces per\nton of silver, and 66% lead. This claim, lying just north of the Noble Five claims, is Crown-\ngranted, and contains 17.34 acres.\nDardanelles.\nThis important group of claims lies in the Dardanelles basin, between the Best and Jackson\nbasins, but as all work was suspended in September, this mine was not visited. Recently the\nnewly organised Dardanelles Mining and Milling Co., Ltd., of Kaslo, B. O, Sec. A. L. McClaine,\nKaslo, capital stock $1,000,000 in $1 shares, has acquired the following claims, embracing 175\nacres, the Dardanelles, Dardanelles No. 2, Diamond Cross, and Okanagan ; and mining operations on a sufficient and systematic scale are to be now inaugurated.\nOn the vein on the Dardanelles, cutting across the Slocan slates and the porphyry dykes,\na shaft has been sunk 220 feet and 1,300 feet of drifts and raises run, and from these workings\nover 250 tons of high grade ore were shipped that averaged 265 ounces of silver per ton and\n26% lead, while several hundred tons of second class ore, said to assay over 75 ounces of silver\nand 16% lead, were piled on the dump, 76 tons of which were shipped to the Pilot Bay\nsmelter, giving the above returns. From a copy of the smelter returns the ore is seen to have\nrun from 145.8 to 470.2 ounces of silver per ton, and from 15 to 56% lead ; one shipment of\n10 tons giving this highest return, while 115 tons yielded 300 ounces of silver per ton. The\nore carries a few units excess of zinc above the 10% smelter limit.\nOther veins have been slightly prospected upon the Okanagan and Diamond Cross, but\nthese will now be properly opened up. In the 220 foot shaft the small plant of a 7 H.P.\nboiler and a No 6 Knowles pump, was quite inadequate to handle the water, and a plant of\nrequisite capacity will be now put in, and this vein will be extensively exploited. There is a\ngood supply of timber for mine purposes ; and for transportation at present a trail 1J miles\nleads out to the Washington waggon road and thence to McGuigan's Siding.\nWm. S. Tretheway, M. E., will be superintendent for the company, and the above\ninformation has been taken from his report to the company and from a copy of the smelter\nreturns.\nNorthern Belle.\nThe Northern Belle, Dublin Queen, Kootenay Star and Ophir, surveyed for Crown Grant,\nlocated in Jackson Basin 5 miles south of Whitewater station on the Kaslo and Slocan R.R.\nand 4 or 5 miles by trail via Reco Mine trail, north-east of Sandon, have been bonded by R.\nJackson to Geo. Alexander et cd. Nine men were at work upon this property under R. J.\nMcPhee, and a waggon road about 5 miles long, with all grades under 10%, was to be constructed\nfrom the railroad to the mine. There are many features of interest in this vein which,\naccompanied by a greenish coloured eruptive rock and cutting across the very carboniferous\nshales and slates and limestones, is much disturbed by faults of a small amount of dislocation.\nOne peculiarity is that throughout all the workings where the vein has been explored, along\nthe very smooth foot-wall lies a band of a few inches to 3 feet of solid zinc blende and above\nthis, in a quartz and spathic iron gangue, is the galena varying in texture from the fine steel\ngalena to the very coarsely crystalline. Up to 18 inches of solid ore have been mined, while\nin places in the mine there is a width of several feet of mixed milling ore. Prior to the giving\nof the present bond all the ore in sight had been extracted to cover the heavy legal expenses\nforced upon the owner by a former leaser, and ore was being found during the present develop-\n 64\nment, but at time of visit the mine was just being put in proper shape for exploration. In the\nuppermost tunnel, No. 1, 50 feet long, work had begun on a big out-crop of decomposed vein-\nmatter and blende, and 60 feet below, tunnel No. 2, driven in 250 feet, had been the source\nof most of the ore shipped. In the upper and underhand stopes the underlying band of blende\nalways proved persistent, but as the ground was soft and much water was coming in, but little\nwork was being done on this level, although 400 sacks of first-class ore lay at the tunnel\nmouth. The new cross-cut tunnel, No. 3, 60 feet lower down, was in (Aug. 23rd) 35 feet and\napparently approaching the vein. Tunnel No. 4, 135 feet vertically below No. 2, had been\ndriven 340 feet along under a smooth wall, or along a line of Assuring, along which had been\nirregularly deposited a small amount of ore. Tunnel No. 5 had been begun under present management on the strong out-crop of the vein near Jackson Creek, in which a good amount of water\npower and milling purposes is said to be available all the year round, and at the surface on the\nsmooth wall lay about two feet of black-jack, then 3 to 4 feet of the greenish eruptive rock,\nand then a band 1 to 2 feet wide of steel galena, which continues, with a varying thickness, for\nmost of the distance to the face, where lying next a very smooth hanging wall were 6 to\n18 inches of this fine-grained ore. On the dump were 10 to 12 tons of good ore and a con\nsiderable amount of milling rock, and if further work justifies, a concentrator may be,erected\non this creek. There is a plentiful supply of good timber right at the mine, and the present\nmanagement purpose a thorough exploration of the property, and with a new ro^d'or^ ,.\u00C2\u00BB^\neasily be hauled to a railroad at a cost of $2 per ton. During the month of December 5 or 6 carloads were shipped to the smelters, the returns on which had not been received.\nOther Claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Time did not permit the examination of other claims in this basin, but\nwork was being done on several with very encouraging results, other veins of high grade silver-\nlead ore being uncovered. On the Bell and Sunset, at the upper end of the basin, L. Peterson\nwas engaged by the owners, J. L. Retallack et al, Kaslo, in opening up a vein of this ore found\nrunning through these claims, and ore has also been found on the Silver King owned by J.\nMoore and P. A. McPhee, of Kaslo. About ^ of a mile north of the Northern Belle very rich\nore was found on a small vein on the Bon Ton, title Crown Grant, owned by Capt. R. C\nAdams, Montreal, but no work has been done for some time on this claim. On the Grown\nPoint, formerly the San Franciscan, lying up on the mountain slope east of the Basin and of\nthe Northern Belle group, it is reported that a silver-lead vein can be traced by different\ncroppings through the claim, but nothing but assessment work has so far been done.\nWhitewater.\nThis property has also paid for itself since its discovery, high grade silver ore having been\nmined from the grass roots without ever a demand for money being made upon the owners ;\nand this year a dividend will be paid of $25,000.\nThe two claims, the Whitewater and the Irene, Crown Grants applied for, are located\nabout one mile north of Whitewater station on the K. & S. R. R., 18 miles west of Kaslo,\nand are owned by J. C. Eaton, J. I. Retallack. J. L. Montgomery, and W. C. Pierce, Kaslo;\nSuperintendent, J. C. Eaton.\nCrossing the shales and slates on the Whitewater claim the vein runs east and west (mag.)\nand dips S. 40 to 45. A good waggon road, 8,300 feet long, has been built, at a cost of $2,800,\nfrom the mine to the railroad, and there is a,n abundant supply of good mine timber, and also\nin Whitewater Creek ample water for power and other purposes.\nIn mining all the underground workings are kept timbered up in an excellent manner, as\nis imperative, as this vein is evidently located in a shear zone along which the country rock\nhas been shattered and ground up for a distance of 10 to 25 feet from the fissure, so that very\nlittle blasting is required in this soft material, only pick and shovel work, while the timbers\nmust be kept right up to the face, spiling even often being necessary. Along the well-defined\nsmooth foot-wall or fissure plane, there is usually a band of spathic iron, sometimes five feet\nthick, and upon this will be found a varying thickness of galena and then carbonates or\noxidised ore, the ore being often scattered irregularlv through the broken mass of shale for a\nwidth of 20 feet.\nOn the surface the vein has now been disclosed for 800 feet, and from strippings several\ncarloads of good ore have been shipped from the crushed mass of shale and iron oxides and\nyellow carbonates, copper stained by the decomposed tetrahedrite. In the mine the uppermost\ntunnel, No. 00, had been driven in 30 feet along the much decomposed vein, and ore was being\npiled up at the mouth. Tunnel No. 1, 260 feet below No. 00, had been driven west along the\nvein for 130 feet, but with little ore. In tunnel No. 2, 400 feet long, 75 feet below No. 1,\n '\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0096\u00A0-,'\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 -:y-f.\nm\nc\nOQ\n.-,\nH\nr^\n(H\n\nre, P\ntt\nr-,\nC. H\n8 M\na\nSk,\n-1\n1=\n$ 6\nPh\nOQ\nH\ns\nK\nfc\nfcl\nfc\n3\nfc.\nH\nri\nJ\nK\n-tl\nw\nH\nfe\ntt\nfcl\na\nh\nH\no\nH\nm\nO\nM\nfc\n\u00C2\u00AB\no\nH\n\u00C2\u00A3\nP\nH\nts\nfc\nB\n\u00E2\u0096\u00BAJ\nH\ng\nUI\na\nfc\nis\no\nW\nco\nL\n 65\nwith 45\u00C2\u00B0 dip, 3 or 4 carloads of ore were extracted from a small stope near the entry and\nbeyond this the vein was almost barren for 340 feet, when the ore shute widened from 6\ninches to 6 feet of solid ore, and in the face, beside the carbonate ore, were 6 to 12 inches of\nsolid steel galena. Tunnel No. 3, 96 feet on the dip below No. 2, had been extended 425 feet,\nwith 4 to 10 inches of continuous ore for 200 feet, when in a cross-cut, running both ways,\nwas a mass of barren crushed shale about 20 feet wide, with a band of steel galena along either\nboundary of this zone. At the face of the ore shute was small, but the solid mass of spathic\niron was 3 to 5 feet wide. Near the mouth of this tunnel $1,000 worth of ore was taken from\na narrow streak of carbonate ore in driving 40 feet, and a winze had been sunk 15 feet to a\nshort tunnel following good ore, and then 70 feet farther, with 2 to 4 feet of very high grade\nore for 40 feet, of galena, varying from very fine to the coarsely crystalline and carbonate ores.\nIn tunnel No. 4, 104 feet on the dip below No. 3, the heading was in 175 feet, and in the face\nwas a solid band of spathic iron 2 feet wide on the regular dip of the vein, with a finely crushed\nmass of black slate and shale on either side. In a stope 40 feet long, and up one set above the\ndrift, there were 6 to 12 inches of the steel galena, and then coarse broken galena, as if\nshattered by movement since deposition.\nFrom this description it will be seen that work has been confined almost entirely to development, and that but little stoping has been done between levels. Good and commodious ore\nsheds were being built at the lower tunnel, and other mine buildings, cabin, etc., were close by.\nOre.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Six lots of ore sent from this vein was the first sent out of the Slocan, via Kaslo,\nand in the early clays it cost $100 per ton before any returns were received. Much of the ore\nshipped is of the \" carbonate \" class, and the silver value ranging from 72 to 298.5 ozs. per ton,\nthe lead from 11 to 30%, while the galena ore yielding 35 to 65% lead, assays in silver from\n75 to 362.6 ounces per ton, or an average on the whole out-put of the mine for 1896 of 114 ozs.\nper ton, and 30% lead. This ore carries from 16 to 17% zinc, and the smelter charges vary\nfrom $9 to $13 per ton\u00E2\u0080\u0094$9 if the lead is below 20% ; the cost of the freight being $1 per ton\nto the railroad, and $11 to the smelter. No. of men, 28.\nOther Claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Work was being done on the Elkhorn, the eastern extension of the\nWhitewater, and on the Charleston further up the mountain, Mr. J. Mitchell was driving a\ntunnel to reach a vein from which he had'already taken some ore. Seven men are now working on the Corean, the western extension of the Charleston; seven men are opening up this vein\nand getting'! some ore, and seven men are working on the Lone Star, the property of the\nHansard Mining Co. These three claims were staked out by Mr. Wm. Mathewson, the locator\nof the Wellington. To the east of the Wellington seven men are employed on the Sunset, on\nwhat is believed to be the extension of the Wellington ledge, which is thought to extend into\nthe claim east of the Sunset, the Colorado, where again seven men are mining. On the Eldon\nand Acton claims, 3,000 feet west of the Lone Star, the Eldon Gold and Silver Mining Co., of\nSpokane, Wash., have at work ten men.\nWellington.\nOn the same mountain slope, one and a half miles west of the Whitewater, lie the Wellington,\nCrown Grant, 50.5 acres, Ivanhoe, Ottawa, Metis, Bleucher, Goodluck and Boldertvood, the\nproperty of the Kootenay and Columbia Prospecting and Mining Company, of Ottawa, Ont.\nCapital stock, $40,000. Superintendent, John McConnell, Kaslo.\nOn the Wellington are two veins in the Slocan slates, one striking N. 50\u00C2\u00B0 E. and dipping\n60\u00C2\u00B0 southerly, and the other dipping north, described by Mr. McConnell, of the Geological\nSurvey, as a \" wide crushed zone, traversing the slates in an east and west direction. The\ncrushed slates hold stringers and pockets of quartz, spathic iron and calcspar.\" A cross-cut\ntunnel 170 feet long taps the vein at 40 feet in depth, and an 800-foot cross-cut tunnel intersects the south-dipping vein at 550 feet at the 200-foot level, along which so far the vein\ndipping north has not been found, although it is now being followed down towards this level.\nThe works are all connected on the south vein from the 200-foot level, up in the 140-ft. drift\nthe north vein is intersected. At present ore is being mined from both veins, but the highest\ngrade ore comes from the vein dipping north. The mine is about 2 miles from the siding on\nthe K. & S. R. R., and ore is packed down half way by the trail, and half way by waggon\nroad. The ground is very soft, requiring little or no powder, but the timbering, as in the\nWhitewater, must be constantly kept up to face of work.\nOre.\u00E2\u0080\u0094From a copy of the smelter returns, the ore which occurs both as the carbonate and\ngalena, with grey copper and zinc blende, in which is found good silver value, has assayed from\n125 to 328 ounces of silver per ton in carload lots, and 10 to 55% lead, the average for 400\n 66\ntons shipped, being 173 ounces silver, and 30% lead. Number of men employed, 24. During\nthe year 1896, 25 lots of ore have been shipped, and the mine has been put in excellent\ncondition for mining and further development.\nThe Lucky Jim.\nThe Lucky Jim group is located at Bear Lake, 20 miles west of Kaslo, 1,300 feet south of\nthe K. & S. R. R., and 670 feet above it, and belongs to Wm. Braden and E. J. Matthews, of\nKaslo. Mr. McConnell reports in the Summary Report of 1895, that this claim is situated on\nwhat \" appears to be a faulted line of contact between the slates and a brecciated band of limestone. The ore occurs in large pockets and side fissures, penetrating the limestone.\" In\ndeveloping this mineralized limestone band, in which the ore is galena, zinc blende, iron pyrites\nand some \"carbonates,\" a 3-drill Rand Compressor is being used for the machine drills, but as\nmost of this ore is concentrating material, it is proposed to erect a mill during the coming\nspring.\nThe Ore.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Of 110 tons shipped, the silver value was 59.2 to 75 ounces of silver per ton,\nand 50 to 56% lead, and by tests in concentrating, the probable value of the concentrates will\nbe 60-75 ounces of silver per ton, and 55 to 56% lead. Number of men employed, 15. Superintendent, E. J. Matthews.\nLondon Hill Group.\nThe London, the Third of July, the Pompeii claims, 1,500 by 1,500 feet, and the fractional\nclaim the Round-Up, situated on the ridge of the mountains, west of Carpenter Creek, about\nthree miles from Bear Lake and the K. & S. R. R., are being acquired by the London Hill Development and Mining Co., Ltd., Kaslo, B. C. O. T. Stone, President, T. G. Proctor, General\nManager. Capital stoek $150,000 in 600,000 shares of 25 cents each.\nThis mine was not seen, but Mr. D. R. Irving reports that near the summit of a ridge two\ntunnels had been driven, in one of which, over 40 feet long, was a 4-foot quartz vein, carrying\ngrey copper ore and silver sulphides. On the other side of the ridge, 254 feet below the summit,\na tunnel 320 feet long was being driven to tap the vein in depth, in which several small quartz\nveins, traversing the slates and quartzites were cut. Three lots of high grade ore, or about 40\ntons, have been shipped, on which the smelter returns were 19.0 ozs., 267 ozs. and 150 ozs. of\nsilver per ton respectively ; and this winter Mr. Proctor has a force of men engaged opening up\nthis property. As in other veins of this character of ore, there is much 2nd class ore that will\nhave to be milled near the mine, but the method to be adopted will be decided upon after more\nunderground work has been done.\nSlocan Lake.\nThis beautiful lake, lying in a deep valley between tho valleys of the Arrow and Kootenay\nLakes, is 23 miles long and about one mile wide, and in the valleys and on the ridges that\ntrend away from it to the east, mines of very great promise are being rapidly opened up, and\nnew finds of value are being made as prospecting is more thoroughly and widely carried on.\nAs yet the great granite mountains to the west have not been found to be mineral-bearing,\nbut more diligent search may reveal as good veins of rich mineral as have been found in the\ngranite area east of the lake, which, until lately, was shunned by the prospectors, who had\nan unwarranted lack of faith in the likelihood of veins being in this formation.\nHowever, all doubt has been dispelled, the granite area is fast gaining in importance, and\nthis part of the Slocan now offers many good inducements for further search and investment.\nIt is true that most of the leads so far discovered are small, but the high value of the ore to a\ngreat extent compensates for this, and as to their persistence, there is no reason why these pay-\nshutes should not continue to carry their size and value as depth is attained.\nAt Roseberry the lake steamers connect with the C.P.R.R., and then stop at New Denver,\nwhich has one of the best townsites in Kootenay, and is the official centre for the\nSlocan; at Silverton at the mouth of Four-Mile Creek ; at landings at Ten-Mile and Twelve-\nMile Creeks, or any other point desired ; and at Slocan City and Brandon, two rival towns at\nthe south end of the lake, whence the trails lead off to Springer, Lemon, Twelve and Ten-Mile\nCreeks, and a branch of the C. P. R. will be built during the coming season to connect with the\nline running from Robson to Nelson.\nOn the south slope of the range dividing the south fork of Carpenter Creek from Four-\nMile Creek, on the north slope of which are the series of mines, from the Slocan Star to the\nIdaho and Alamo, are the Mountain Chief, California, Alpha Group, Reed and Robertson,\n 67\nJenny Lind, Ottawa Group and Fisher Maiden, all of which were visited, except the first\ntwo, and south of the Four-Mile Creek are the Thompson Group, Vancouver Group, and the\nHewitt claim.\nFour-Mile Creek, for ten miles of its course, forms a dividing line between the Slocan\nslates and the granite, although small areas of each cross the river in places.\nThe Mountain Chief.\nThis property lies at the western extremity of this ridge and is owned by Mr. Geo. W.\nHughes, who was one of the earliest shippers from this district via Nakusp, having purchased\nthe claim in 1892 and then shipped a large amount of ore in 1893-4 and 5, of galena averaging\n130 ounces of silver and 70% lead. After this the lead was lost, and much work has been\ndone prospecting for its continuation. This fall several car-loads of zincy galena ore have been\nshipped, and work is being pushed ahead.\nThe Alpha.\nThe Alpha, Crown-granted, 51.67 acres, and other claims are locally known as the Grady\ngroup, and are owned by Jas. McNaught, Alex. McKenzie, and Jas. McKenzie. Manager, F.\nMcNaught, Silverton. A good road 2\ miles long from Silverton, leads to the foot of a 3-rail\ngravity tramway, about 1,200 feet long, up to tunnel No. 1. No work had been done for some\ntime, as there was some litigation in progress, in fact, none since the fall of 1894, but over\n1,000 tons of ore had been sold that averaged 115 ounces in silver per ton and 70% lead.\nThis vein runs true N.E. and S.W., and dips S.E. 30\u00C2\u00B0 to 40\u00C2\u00B0, through the black limestones, shales, and slates, but no ore was in sight. The ground is much disturbed and faults\nwere in evidence. There are five tunnels, of which No. 1 was in about 300 feet to the face,\nwith three upraises, cross-cuts, and an incline, and another tunnel starting near the mouth of\nthis one ran 50 feet N. 70\u00C2\u00B0 E., while immediately below was a third, connected by stopes with\nthe upper ones. No. 4, 80 feet down the hill, is a cross-cut for 100 feet through the much\ncontorted country rock, and then a drift 110 feet along a smooth fault wall lying next to which\nis much black gouge, but no ore. Tunnel No. 5, below No. 4, appears to be following another\nlead altogether, from the position and strike, or north and south, dip E. 45\u00C2\u00B0-50\u00C2\u00B0, and for 110\nfeet along a smooth wall with several inches of decomposed matter or iron oxides; but there\nwere no signs of any ore having been taken from this working.\nOther Claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094North-west about one mile is the California, owned by J. MacDonald,\nJ. Marino, B. C. VanHouten et al, to which mine a road had been built from New Denver, as\na car-load of galena ore was ready on the dump for shipment.\nThe Reed and Robertson Group.\nHigh up on this range, 6 miles by road and trail from Silverton, is a very strong vein that\nruns up the south slope, crosses the ridge and then passes down the north slope as far, it is\nbelieved, as the Carnation claim, and along its strike eight or ten claims have been staked.\nReed and Tenderfoot.\u00E2\u0080\u0094These two claims, surveyed for Crown Grants, extend up the slope\nand across the ridge, and had been secured by Mr. C. WT. Callahan, M.E., for his clients, who\nwas prospecting the vein by surface cuts. The vein runs about north and south (mag.) and\ndips from 45\u00C2\u00B0 E. to nearly horizontal. At the southern boundary of the Reed a tunnel had\nbeen driven in 110 feet, disclosing considerable milling galena ore, and on the surface the\nledge was very wide with also a good deal of mill ore occurring in wide bands of very coarsely\ncrystallized calcite, 10 to 12 feet wide, while next to the calcite bands are several inches of solid\ngalena. Higher up the slope the calcite bands continue, forming a prominent land mark from\ntheir whiteness, and in several cuts narrow bands of solid very large cubed galena lie next to\nthese bands that at a point 300 feet above the tunnel come together in a solid mass of lime 10\nto 14 feet wide, with several feet of concentrating ore, and few inches of solid lead ore. At\nthe small cuts, about 30 tons of splendid ore were piled up, but more work is required to\ndemonstrate the value and conditions of this very striking lead. There is no timber on these\nclaims to amount to anything, and to get this ore in quantity down to Four-Mile Creek, a long\naerial rope tramway, on a very steep pitch, will have to be built down a ridge safe from snow-\nslides.\nThe Jenny Lind, lying south of the Reed, has about 800 feet of the vein crossing one\ncorner, and is owned by Paul and Chas. Anderson, Silverton. The vein presents very much\nthe same characteristics of a large amount of calcite and brecciated slate and lime with\n 68\nirregular masses of concentrating ore and stringers of solid galena. A tunnel had been driven\n150 feet in a direction diagonally across the ledge, but in it as yet no ore in quantity has been\nfound. In 1895, 30 tons of galena was shipped, and on the dump was piled mixed ore or\ncalcite, galena and blende.\nThe Robertson, lying south of the Reed and Jenny Lind, is owned by Wm. Robertson et al,\nSilverton. The vein is here covered mostly by wash, but a 40-foot tunnel had been run in\nwhere the ledge showed 8 to 10 feet of calcite, with little galena. No work was being done.\nThe Wakefield, Ottawa and Cazabazhua, owned by Geo. Fairburn and Wm. Smith, Silver-\nton, and located on the southern extension of the vein, had on the Wakefield a tunnel running\nN. E. 125 feet, in which, at 80 feet, were 16 to 20 inches of solid fine-grained galena, beyond\nwhich was the coarse calcite lying on a dip of only 12\u00C2\u00B0 to 20\u00C2\u00B0 from the horizontal, and on the\nOttawa further down the slope, the ledge is said to be lying even flatter. No work but assessment has been done during this year.\nFisher Maiden Group.\nAt the time of visit to those claims no work was being done, but they belong to Jno.\nPoppen and Albert Webb, Silverton, and lie along a small creek flowing into Four-Mile Creek,\nseven miles east by trail from Silverton.\nThis vein was discovered in a narrow gulch in syenitic granite, with a strike N. E. by S.\nW., and a dip 75\u00C2\u00B0 N. W. It shows on both sides of the gulch, where in two tunnels were\nstopes 1-3 feet wide up to the surface. Below these workings have been run two other tunnels,\none on the south of the gulch being in 100 feet with cross-cuts, but showing no ore. On the\nnorth side over 400 feet of work had been done, in which four drifts had been run along smooth\nfissure planes that proved to carry no ore. At one part where two drifts branched off at an\nangle of 45\u00C2\u00B0, was a winze full of water, close by which were lying several large blocks of galena\nore in a quartz gangue. On the dump were pieces of ore, consisting of zinc blende in a quartz\nand spathic iron (1) gangue, also some galena ore, but the percentage of lead was very low.\nNative silver was found along the seams, and of about 50 tons shipped in the fall of 1894, the\nsilver value is reported to have been 180 ounces per ton, while one lot of 9-|- tons carried about\n40% lead, the remainder 10%.\nOther Claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094South of Four-Mile Creek are many locations on silver-lead veins, and\nwork is being done on a number of important groups. The Thompson group, about six miles\neast of Silverton, on the Fennel Creek, has been bonded to Dr. H. Bell-Irving, of Vancouver, for\n$40,000, who is engaged developing a galena vein from which a considerable amount of ore has\nalready been taken, and has contracted for the shipment of 100 tons of ore on the dump, while\n300-500 tons are believed to be in sight that will yield about $100 to the ton on the average.\nFarther west of this group, on Granite Creek, is the Vancouver group, embracing the\nVancouver, Mountain Boomer, Le Roi, Iowa, and Doone, owned by the Moynahan Bros.\nThe Hewitt, owned by Capt. R. G. Tatlow, C. F. Yates, et al, Vancouver, was being opened by\nMajor Reed, with ten men, who was running a tunnel on a vein believed by him to be the extension\nof the vein on the Galena Farm, to be described, and the breast of the tunnel was reported to\nbe all mixed ore or zinc blende and spathic iron, with 5 feet of mixed ore in a 75-foot shaft.\nGalena Farm.\nThis property, otherwise known as the \" Currie Group,\" obtained its name by the finding\nof ore scattered over a plateau east of the Slocan Lake, and the subsequent discovery of the large\nledge that now bids well to rank among the largest producers in this district. Great importance may be attached to this vein in that, while resembling in many details the large Slocan Star\nlead that runs through the slates and limestones, this is evidently in the granite, although pieces of\nslate occur in the quartz gangue, a small, but very probably shallow, area of slates occurring close\nby, but bosses of granite protrude from the wash all over these claims, from which the slate\nformation has been eroded, and this lead not only demonstrates the importance of the granite\narea, but also points to the persistence of the veins in the different geological horizons.\nThe first to work this property were discouraged rather by the presence of much zinc\nblende and the small amount of galena scattered through the ledge matter, but in the prospecting done during the last season by the present owners, fine solid galena ore with high silver\nvalues had been uncovered. The group of claims comprising the Currie, Grover, Stephenson,\nKatie and Peerless, Crown Grants applied for, one and a half miles south of Silverton, and one\n 69\nmile east of the lake, was secured by Mr. C. W. Callahan, M. E., for English investors who\nhave recently formed the Galena Mines Company, Ltd., London, England, with a capital of\n\u00C2\u00A3550,000, in 550,000 \u00C2\u00A31 shares.\nOn the Currie claim this vein was seen to have a strike east and west (mag.) and a north\ndip of 50\u00C2\u00B0 to 65\u00C2\u00B0, and on the surface, and an outcrop now traced for 1,600 feet, with, in places\n12 to 14 feet wide, of milk-white quartz, spathic iron, fragments of slate and granite, and some\nzinc blende and galena. In an old shaft, at a depth of 50 feet, a short cross-cut entered the\nvein at 12 feet, and there a drift was run 60 feet east and 70 feet west, exposing a large body\nof concentrating ore for all this distance, and along the smooth hanging wall a good body of\nsolid high grade galena. In the west drift, 35 feet from the cross-cut, a winze was being-\nstarted, since sunk 45 feet, in four feet of solid, fine-grained galena. In an open working 500\nfeet west of the shaft, were 16 inches of solid galena along a smooth foot wall with considerable\nconcentrating material.\nSince the time of visit a 2-compartment working shaft, now down 65 feet, has been sunk\nwest of the old shaft and 140 feet north of the outcrop, with the expectation of striking the\nlead at 130 feet, but at 41 feet what is believed to be a cross-ledge running north and south\nwas entered, dip 60\u00C2\u00B0 west, and down to 51 feet the shaft was in concentrating ore, that by\ntests made by Mr. Callahan, concentrating 5 to 1, yielded 123 ounces of silver per ton and\n62% lead. This cross-lead is now thought to be traceable for 800 feet. The shaft, equipped\nwith requisite steam hoisting plant and pumps, will be now sunk 500 feet, with cross-cuts to\nthe vein at every 100-foot station, and when sufficient development justifies it, a 150-ton\nconcentrating plant will be built, for which the water from Eight-Mile and Gold Creeks is\nexpected to supply 600 inches under a 500-foot head. The ore is essentially a milling ore,\nbut a test shipment of assorted assayed 98 ounces of silver per ton and 57% lead. A good\nwaggon road, 1-| miles long, has been constructed from the mine to Silverton, whence the concentrated ore will be shipped to the smelters, and suitable bunk-houses, etc, have been\nerected. D. J. McDonald, a Cailfornian, a mining man of long experience, is in charge of the\nwork as superintendent, and was employing 20 men in the proper exploitation of this valuable\nproperty.\nOther Claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Many claims have since been located about the Currie group and many\nare being prospected. To the east the Noonday is thought to have the extension of the\nCurrie vein, but here the formation is the small area of highly altered slates. The Baby\nRuth, Los Vegas, Mountain View, Granite Mountain, and Daisy, on Eight-Mile Creek,\noccurring, according to Mr. McConnell, in an inlier of hard, rusty slate several miles in extent\nand enclosed, the granite, reached by trail from Silverton via the Galena Farm, were not\nvisited, but assessment work was being done. The I. U, also one of this group, is situated\nhigh up on a very steep ridge, and Mr. M'cConnell (Summary Report, 1895, p. 26) says :\n\" The slates are fissured along an east and west line, and the schistose rock adjoining the line\nof fracture on the south, has been altered, silicified, and impregnated in places with ore, along\na zone varying in width from 20 to 40 feet. The ore appears to consist mostly of native\narsenic, mispickle, pyrite, and pyrrhotite, distributed through the vein in an irregular manner.\"\nFour hundred feet up the steep face of the bluff a tunnel had been driven in 22 feet into this\nzone, but very little mineralization was apparent there. Mr. J. M. M. Benedum, one of the\nowners, has obtained several assays high in silver and gold from samples taken from this vein,\non which only assessment work has been done.\nTen-Mile Creek.\nAn excellent waggon road has been built from the landing eight miles up this creek,\nthrough a valley of fine timber, to the Enterprise mine, and thence trails pass over to Springer\nand Lemon Creeks and back to Slocan City, and also farther east to the head waters of\nKokanee or Yuill Creek and the south fork of Kaslo Creek, where a great deal of prospecting\nhas been done during the past season, with good results.\nThe Enterprise.\nThe success attending the development of this vein, has, to a great degree, demonstrated the\npossibilities and the value of this granite area. The Enterprise and Slocan Queen, situated on\nthe slope south of the creek, were located in 1894 by R. Kirkwood and Jno. McKinnon, then\nbonded to Jno. A. Finch, who recently sold these to David M. Hyman, et al., Colorado, for\n$300,000, on the advice of D. W. Brunton, of Aspen, Colo., one of most eminent Mining\nEngineers in the West.\n 70\nThis vein on the surface, while small, can be easily traced for two claims, and runs N. 55\u00C2\u00B0\nE. and S. 55\u00C2\u00B0 W., and dips S. E. 70\u00C2\u00B0-80\u00C2\u00B0. The gangue is quartz, the enclosing walls are a\ndark coloured micaceous granite, that shades into the typical syenitic granite of this area, and\nthe ore is fine and coarse grained galena, with a large amount of zinc blende, which, it was\nstated by the management, carried the best and very high silver %7alues, and is found generally\nalong the foot wall, with bands of galena and quartz. In July last, a shipment to the smelter\nof 40 tons of ore yielded 172.7 ounces of silver per ton, and 18% lead, and during December in\nthree shipments, or 1204; tous, the silver values ran from 153.7 to 179.5 ounces per ton, and\nthe lead from 17.5 to 30%, and now 2 or 3 carloads of ore are being shipped every week.\nThree tunnels were being driven in on the vein, with the fourth just being started, and in\nthe lowest or No. 1, 120 feet long, the vein of solid blende and galena varied from 2 and 3\ninches, to 8 and 10 inches in width, and as in the other workings, the tunnel was being driven\nalong the ore, leaving it standing to be broken down clean. Tunnel No. 2, 170 feet vertically\nabove No. 1, was in 400 feet, with continuous ore for 300 feet, where an upraise 100 feet to\nsurface, followed ore over 8 inches thick for 80 feet, but at 330 feet a fault had been\nencountered, beyond which the vein had not been picked up, but cross-cuts were being driven\nwith the probability of finding it in the south-west. In this tunnel the ore was 8 to 18 inches\nwide, with very little gangue matter, and overhand stopes were being started. In tunnel No.\n3, 25 feet above No. 2 and 310 long, for 260 feet the vein carried continuously 6 to 12 inches\nof ore, with more or less quartz, with one small fault to the S. E., but for the last 20 feet the\nvein was pinched. In the opening cut for tunnel No. 4, 90 feet above No. 3, were 6 to 14\ninches of solid ore, and thus, by these workings, for about 1,000 feet along the strike, had been\nexposed an almost continuous shute of ore for this distance. Bunk-houses, cabins and ore-sheds\nhad been built, and the ore will be shipped by the road to the lake, and thence by steamer to\nthe C. P. R. R. Number of men employed, 20.\nOther Claims.\u00E2\u0080\u0094The Iron Horse and United Empire are located on the N. E. extension\nof the vein, and still further N. E., but on the north slope of the creek, this vein is said to\nhave been found on the Alexandria. On another claim on the north slope, the Oregon City,\nowned by Jno. Thompson, L. Parkinson et al, in a 50-foot tunnel, it was reported that 7 to 8\ninches of galena ore had been struck, and that ore was found on the Westmonnt, owned by F.\nGriffiths, N. West, et al, who were running a cross-cut tunnel.\nNeepawa.\nAbout one-half mile west of the Enterprise, and on the same slope, lie the Neepawa,\nArgenta, Bossimain and Baker Fraction, owned by E. Shannon and A. McGillvary, and since\nbonded to H. Bell-Irving, of Vancouver, of the Alliance Prospecting Syndicate, for $30,000.\nThe vein running N. 20\u00C2\u00B0 E. by S. 20\u00C2\u00B0 W., and dipping easterly 60\u00C2\u00B0, bad been prospected by\nopen cuts and a tunnel, and in one cut there were 10-16 inches of solid fine-grained galena and\nzinc blende, with 3 to 4 feet of concentrating ore, and since then ore has been found in a lower\ntunnel, and a trial shipment has been made to Tacoma.\nA cabin was being built, and only a few hundred yards of road will be necessary to\nconnect with the Enterprise waggon road.\nDalhousie Group.\nThese claims, still further west, were not seen, but the Silver-Joe, Dalhousie, Glad Tidings,\nSayger and Iaccamock, are owned by Jno. Angrignon, Jos. Pilon, M. McLean, et al, who had\ndriven a tunnel 110 feet on the vein, with 2\ feet of concentrating galena ore reported, and with\n4 men were driving a cross-cut tunnel to the ledge, which runs N. E. by S. W., and stands nearly\nvertical.\nThe Bondholder Group.\nThe Bondholder, Pine Log, Lone Star and Rose Bud are located on a vein supposed to be\nthe same as the Enterprise, high up in the basin near the ridge south of Ten-Mile Creek and\nare bonded to the Bondholder Mining Co. of Vancouver. Capital stock $1,000,000; Gen.\nManager, R. C. Campbell-Johnson, M.E.\nThis vein, running N.E. by S.W. (mag.) and with a dip of 50\u00C2\u00B0 to 60\u00C2\u00B0 S.E. in the granite,\nhad been traced by cuts and out-croppings for 4,000 feet through nearly the entire length of\nthe claims, and at the time of visit, in September, commodious cabins for the men, stables,