Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, May 17, 1891, Page 17

PART THREE. [ A GARDEN AMID MINES New Diecoveries Uonstantly Being Made in the Great Gold Hill District, MOUNTAINS FULL OF RICH MINERALS. Valuable Stcck and Oultivated Farms in Wyoming's Upper Platte Valley. SARATOGA IS THE GATE-WAY TO ALL That Town is Fast Becoming the Oenter of Phenomenal Activity in Mining. RICH PLACERS READY TO BE WORKED, Btrikes arc Being M Which Hus Nev Visited by Prosy ade in a Section r B ¢ Been tor or Ming Tucked away in a pocket of the mountains of southern Wyoming, thirty miles from tho linc of the Union Pacific railway, is one of the wost fertile agricultural sections in all the west —the Upper Platte valley. Its natu- ral boundaries on three sides are mountains which contain practically inexhaustible de- posits af all kinds of mincral Until recently this scetion was seldom or never heard of outsido of Wyoming. Even to the people of that state the great natural advantazes and wealth of resources of the valley are as yet little understood or appre. clated, It is a significant fact that the first perma- nent residents and actual settlers along that part of the Platto and on the streams tribu- tary to it were from among that nomadic class of pioneers who had a historic share in the exploration and civilization of the Rocky mountain section. When the spirit of adventureof these men had been satisfied, they selected for their homes fay- ored localities 1n the valley. Thoroughly familiar with a vast expanse of country, th preferred the Platte valley as a place of resi o8 dence to other sections which were better known and more easily accessiblo, Thither the removed their fami. and all their worldly possessions. While the valley was still the disputed territory of hostile or ma- rauding Indians, the early scttlers started in to cultivate the rich soil and raise well- graded stock ov a safo plan nov unlike that practiced by stockgrowers in thickly settled communities, Year after year the acreage in grain, hay and vegetables has been increased and the quality improved. Season by scason the little” herds of cattle have become more valuable both as regards the num- ber of animals and as to tue itmproved character of the stock. Now there are 50,000 to 60,000 acres of land under cultivation in the valley. The herds aggrogate 25,000 head of cattle, There are besides 10,000 horses, and 80,000 to 10,000 sheep. What frrigation Will I Naturally other settlers were attracted thero us a conscquence of the good progress and rosults made and achieved by the ploneors. irrigation has done wonders for that section. But it was not till a few enter- prising men had shown the way was their example covied. It was ouly six years ago that upwards of 45,000 head of cattle were lost i the valley in a single winter. That was because the cat- lemen persisted in clinging to the old range methods and, unlike the old timers and their mitators, failed to muke provision for a hord winter by raising hay to feed the stock. That costly experience wound up the old range business in the valley at least. Most of those who were frozen out were En- glishmen or young men from the far eust ‘who had been staked by their families, They were willing to sell out their rauches cheap. They found purchasers in men who were willing to work and to learn from the experi- ence of those who had successfully weathered the hard winter. Since the advent of this class there has been a steady growth and healthy develop- ment in the valley, At first there was room for anyone to carry out his own pet scheme of irrigation aud only the water of the numer- ous feeders of the Platte were utilized for that purposs. Under this plan over three hundred miles ot irrigating ditches, exclusive of laterals, have been put in and are now in operation in the valley. This work has been done at a very small expense. Butthe valley s over sixty miles long aud has an average width of twenty to twenty-five miles, Asall the land, by irrigation, is sus- coptivle of utility and cultivation for stock raising or farming purposes, several pluns aro now perfecting for putting all that sec- tion under ditches. ough water runs to waste in the Platte and its tributaries to in- suro the success of these projects. Even before these big enterprises are carriod out ther are chances for water rights to be acquired and gitches built by which many valuable farms can bo mado out of the unoccupied arid lands, Rich Mineral Section Prosperous though the valley has been in the past, the celebrity which it has recently attained is in the main due to other causes than the increasing publicity concerning its advantages as an agricultural and stock country, great though they are, It was only a few months ago that rich mineral discoveries made on one of a chain of mountains which hem in the valley turned sttention to that section. Since then the fame of the Gold Hill cawp has been grow- ing, as the rerorts of the numerous big strikes 1 froe-gold and gold-bearing quartz and placer ground have been circulated, Sel- dom has & new camp advertised itself so well in so short a period as has Gold Hill, It is the objective poiut of un army of prospectors from all over the country and of miners who are preparing to desert old camps for this new one, which can only be reached vy way of the Platte vall The excitement which has been created in miniug circles over the discoveries at Gold Hill bas already transformed the town of Baratoga, which is the only settlement in the valley, from a small trading poiut into & veritable mart of trade. Sara- toga has become the headquarters of an extensivo aud rich mining district. Nothing can check the rapid progress of the town which has been so quickenod by the numerous mineral finds made in the country directly tributary to it. There is already & duily stage line to the Gold Hill camp, which is ouly twenty-eight miles from Saratoga. Other mail lines run t the different parts of the valley, and Wheneyer the travel will justify it stages ‘n,. reat wonder that fewer locatious TWENTIETH YEAR. THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE. sufficient to accommodate the treasure seek- ers will be put on, Reference to the accompanying map shows how well equipped Saratoga is to control the trade of the Platte valley and the mountain- ous section which encloses it. The town is located in the center of a horseshoe-shaped district, formed by moun- tain ranges to the east and west, which trend in a soutlierly direction and come together at their lower limit near the Colorado line. Hero the valley narrows down 8o that in some places there is barely more room than s required for the pussage of the Platte as it lows out from its source in Nortn park. With natural barriers o both sides, entrance to the valley can only be had from the north and south. In cither case travel to the Gold Hill camp must be by way of Saratoga for at that point is the only bridge across the Platte, which during the spring and summer months runs so much water as to render it dungerous, if not abso- utely impossible to ford the river. The cur- rent of the stream is so strong that it is a reckless undertaking to try to swim animals across it At one time or another the Platte has been These structures bridged at various points have all been swept away save the one at Saratoga, which 18 of s0 substantial a character that it alone has been able to withstand the flood of waters which the Platte drains, Private en- terprise 18 not likely to be enlisted in any of bridging for a long time to come will the Carbon county authori- ties feel justified in incurring any additional expense sucn a score in the near future the improved bridge of iron and stone atoga cost the taxpayers $16,000 only new schen on sin, at S about three years ago. Saratoga the Gateway Attempts which have been made to build new roads to the Gold Hill camp from other towns, to shorten the distance or to avoid Saratogn altogether have all been signal fail- The natural obstacles which have been cucountered were of so serious a kind and the cost of the work so great that such projects, however commendable they may have been in point of enterprise, havo had to be aban- Saratoga, therefore, vetains undis- puted sway as the gateway to the valley and the mineral treasures locked In the moun- tans. This distinction the town will con- tinue to hold. After all that bas been written about the Gold Hill camp, 1t is unnecessary to euter into details concerning the rich mineral pros- peets that have been found there or the work of development that has been carried on and which hus shown up an increasing wealth of deposits. Assays ranging as high as $5,000 to the ton in gold have been obtained from rock taken out near the surface. Picked specimens have shown returns running 'way up in the thousands for gold. A largeamount of free-milling ore carryiog native gold has been exposed by a limited amount of exploit- ures ing. Already arrangements have been made to erect a stamp mwill there within the next few weeks, On account of the great depth of snow which fell on the mous- tains last winter the development of the nu- merous claims in the camp and active and systematic mining had to be postponed till the summer. The snow lingered so long there that a short season for prospecting and actual mining was anticipated. Fortunately, though, the snow is disappearing so rapidly uow that by June 1 the campaign will be opened. Itwillbe a busy season for that camp. Although it was at first supposed that a strictly gola camp had been estab- tished, there are, on all sides, abundaut evi- dence that rich and extensive deposits of sil- ver will be exposed. Noris the importance of the gold discoveries to be discounted. In all the canons uud gulches that head on or towards Gold Hill rich placer grounds have been located. So flattering were the prospects obtained that work was begun in various localitics even before the snow had goue off. Prepuratious are making for hydraulicking on a large scale. Rich Gold Diggings. A company organized in Rock Sprines has been rewarded for its enterprise and early operations by striking a rich pay streak six inches wide in the first bed of gravel on their ground in Buffalo gulch. They found bed rock at a depth of only sixteen feet. The dirt runs 25 cents to the pan, The scene of these operations is only fourteen miles from Suratoga. Along the Medicine Bow river and on the North Brush and South Brush crecks, that head on Gold Hill, ten thousand to twelve thousand acres of placer ground have already been located. Some of this is owned by pri- vate individuals, who will wash for gold, while other properties belonging to com- panies will be worked by hydraulicking on a larye scalo. 1n the vicinity of Gold Hill is a large area where prospecting has been hurriedly or im. perfectly done, if any attempt at all has been made to find leads or evidence of wineral de- posits, But while Gold Hill is at present the Mecca of the prospector and miner, there are other localities adjacent to Saratoga where the chances for equally as good strikes are in- dicated by the little prospecting and exploit- ing of mineral claims done in previous sca- sons, To all that mountain region on voth sides of the Platte valley has been given the name of the Gola Hill mining district. There is a popular fallacy that whatever of importance the section may attain w tho mining world depends on the results ob- tained in the Gold Hill camp. Nothing could come wider of the mark than such a hap- hazard prediction or supposition. Long before Gold Hill was ever heard of experionced miners found rich prospects on both the east and west ranges. On the west range—or Continental divide—within twenty- five or thirty miles of Suratoga work has been done ou a half-dozen claims during the past five years. It is estimatod that upwards of £0,000 has been expended on these prop- erties during that time. They bave been patented and wre in good working sbape, with many tons of ore on their aumnps, sorted and unsorted, which would pay to ship, Leads careying silver ore that runs as high as 700 ounces of silver to the ton haye been followed down ta a depth of 185 fect or more. Little str has beem made about these nes, because they were orlginally lo- cated by ranchmen who settled in the valley after considerable experience in mining. They quiotly prosecuted develop- ment work when they could spare the time from their farming and stock-raising. When they grew tired of this slow gait it was an easy matter for them to interest a shrewd man of business who after a full examination of the properties of these ranchmen-miners, supplied the necessary capital for more active development work. These mining claims, which are owned by State Seuator Frauk O. Williams and Henry R. Jones, the original locators, and J. W. Heather are only twenty-five miles south- west of Saratoga at the head of Jack creek. Good Field for Prosy cting. The neighborhood is full of quarts leads which prospect well ou top. Sowe of thew ave thirty feev wide and run in great belts from the Atlantic to the Pacific slope. It is have "OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 17, been made in that section because only a few years ago there wus an excitement over the discovery of gold in the Savery country just across the range on the Pacific slope. Rich placer digezings were found there and attempts make to work them. But it cost more money to carry this on than the owners possessed because there was an insufficient full of water. If capital could have been ob- tained the country might ere this have b e conspicuous as a gold- producing section It is not at all visionary to expect that at some time in the near future work on these placers may be re- sumed with profit, There is gold in all the streams and on both slopes of the range. In the sccond wash a strip of ol is found that is seldom less than three inches wide, that carries both coarse and flour gold. On the Atlantic slope the streams are stronger and have a greater fall. This seems to indicate that what was regarded as a serious drawback in trying to work the Savery country placers will not be experienced in operating those on this side of the ranyo. Ten miles southeast of the Williams-Jones- Heather group of mines referred to are other claims owned by them on which less de- velopment work has been done, but which nevertheless give promising indications of large deposits of mineral. South of there, between the Indian creck and the Grand Encampment, is a stretch of territory fifteen to twenty miles square, in which, according to old residents, no pros- pecting has ever been done. On the Pacific slope very little prospecting bas been attempted. One of the stories told by a noted hunter concerning tfe big leads found there passed in the community as a sort of legend. Finally a well known business man, who accompanied the huuter on one of his trips, was rewarded by a sight of a mam- moth ledge, whick he deseribes as upwards of thirty or forty yarls wide. A piecoe of rock broken off ftom a huge outcropping along this ledge, at a point where its width was considerably moro than one hundred feet, assayed $4 in silver to tue ton. This buge lead can be ti ed for miles, it is claimed. An expedition will be fitted out this season to prospect that section, Big Sily Deposits, Several years ago some prospecting was done on the Grand Encampmeyt, whose waters flow into the Platte about twenty miles south of Saratoga. Eight miles up the canon a number of locations were made where the surface indications were rich 1n copper. kxcept in one instance little work has been done there. Those who staked off claims have been waiting to seo how the work which bas been prosecuted by Chatterton, Kurtz and Forney should turn out. These men were 5o excouraged by the strong silyer indications, when a shaft hud been sunk to a depth of about forty fect, that they decided to tunnel into the hill to seo if they could not strike the load at a depth of 230 feet. They have spent cousiderable money during the past three years in running their tunuel. When they had driven into the hill a distance of six hun- dred and thirty to six hundred and forty feet, it is claimed that they cut the vein which showed ruby silver and gray copper. From time to time assays that went 00 or more a ton in silver were obtained on ore taken out of the tunnel. Since this gratifying result was attained in the Chatterton mines old claims have been relocated and prepavations are heing made to prospect the country in that neighborhood. Extensive Asbestos Fields. Farther down the canon and within twenty-four miles of Saratoga, are large de- posits of asbestos. Tnese beds haveonly been partfally ovened up, but enough has been done to show -that an immense quantity of this valuable mineral, which brings 75 cents to & per pound, cau be taken out at small expense, Tho asbestos is of good quality and the fiber long. Some of it is of a pure white color, but othe kinds and of variegated colors are fouud. Negotiations have been pending for some time for the purchase of a large tract where these deposits occur. Other beds of an even finer quality than that described have re- cently been discovered on the Grand Eun- campment and in the hils beyond it. It is reported that nearer Saratoga than this de- posits are known to exist, but up to this time nothing has been done to determine their extent. At Battle lake on the Pacific slepe, thirty miles from Saratoga, some rich copper leads have been exploited, though not to any great extent, Within the past few days reports have come of a strike on an eighteen-foot vein which carries silver that assays 100 to the ton, Risked Their Lives for Copper. What is known as the Battle Lake mine was first located as far back as 1867, For a a long tima no work to speak of was done on the proverty. Now it has a shaft down sixty feet and shows a red oxide that runs 37 per ceut in copper. The story is told that some years ago u man who knew the richness of this property went to Denver and interested some mining men in it. The specimens of ore which he ex- hibited were so rich that on the strength of the showing they made he negotiated a sale. Fearing to let slip a chance for such a bargain as that offered them the purchasers accompanied the man to the mine by way of North Park, Colo., in the winter and when such a trip could only bo made on snowshoes and with great difti- culty. When the real ownersof the prop- erty went there to resume work the follow- ing season they were surprised to find that their cabin and stores had been disturbed. They were at a loss to account for this until some men presented themselves later on and explained the circumstances under which they had been inauced to invest their money with a man who had no right to sell tnhe mine, This incident mignt be regarded as too trivial to relate save that it tends to show the richness of the property which mining men were induced to visit when such a trip was attended by many hardships, There are other ledges in the vicinity of the Battle Lake mine which stow good surface indica tions. On the range which bounds the valley on the east, aud to the north of the Gold Hill camp, are indications which are certain to prove sufiiciently attractive to miners for prosecuting thorough prospecting the pres ent season. The snow is fast disappearing ana will soon perrit of this to be done, This early some prospecting has been done in the foot hills and on the mountains which have become bare. Only last week a prospector named Charles Nelson made a gold discovery on Cedar creck, west and north of Gold Hill and within sixteen miles of Saratoga. He prospected a ledge which is not unlike those of the Gold Hill camp and obtained encour- agiug results. Ledges such as that located by Neison have been traced for a long distance, & Pass Creek which drains Gold Hill to the north shows good indications of gold, botn us regards ledges and placer ground. Formerly the placers were worked oy & company, but after several scasons they gave up becau:e capital was needed. ‘This was only twenty- eight miles from Saratoga. On Lake creek, that heads towards Gold Hill, silver ore has been , found that assayed £35 to the ton. Opening Up Communicatic What has hindered the development of these many miniog @istricts surrounding the valloy has been théie- remoteness from th railroad and other traveled routes and the difficulty or expense of getting supplies. But all this is changed now, Stage lines have been established $o that trips can be quickly and convesiently made. A daily line runs be- tween Rawlins on the line of the Union Pa- citic railway, thirty-six miles distant,, which is equipped with Concord coaches each drawn by six horses. A good road has been built over which freight teams make excellent time. A dally mail line runs to Fort Steele on the Union Pacifie, twenty- cight miles away. At some seasons of the year freight is hauled over that road. But in the spring A summer the the high water of the Platto makes it impos sible to ford the river at Fort Steele, From a little hamlet Saratoga has sprung into promiuence as a distributing point for the entire valley and the mining distriets of botb the east and west rauges. Eventually the people of that place expect that a branch of the Union Pacific railway will be built from Fort Stecle, at least as far as Sara- Three years ago grading was cn on such & road on the line of an old" survey for a route which was to extend iuto Colorado. For somo reason the work was abandoned when within eight miles of Sara- toga. But now there is every reason to be- lieve that within the near future the Union Pacific officials will reach out for the con- stantly increasing business of that section, which is estimated to have grown to such proportions as to justify the construction of a branch to Saratoga. some ‘There has bee carnest discussion among people who are in- terested in that section as to the feasibility of building an independent line to connect with the Union Pacific system. As yet no definite plans have been decidea on. Aside from its possessing the only bridge across the Platte, Saratoga has the advantage of a central location, which makes it easy of access from all pomts i the valley and the localities in the mountains where camps have already sprung up.ar aro likely to be started. Gooa roads radiate 1n all directions from the town. The site 1s an eligible one for a large population and for the trausaction of business on a large scale, People have been flocking to Saratoga ever since the Gold Hill excitement started. There has been so great a demand for lots for busi- ness houses that the residence portion of the town has undergone a change. Now, those who are seeking homes are inclined to select the higher ground above the present town as more advantageous sites for that purpose. Although the town was first started on the east bank of the river it has since spread out on the west side, waere the better cluss of buildings have been erccted. Itseems des- tined to go still farther to the westward where a new addition to the town site has been lad off. If Saratoga grows as fast as her people anticipate it will ere long cover a much larger area. Outside Capital Interested. All sorts of inducements are offered for the location of business places and residences on the high ground west of the town, known as Rochester Heights. This takes its name from the interest held in it by a syndicate of Rochester, N. Y., capitulists who have haa not alittle experience in land investments in the west. They have already invested $15,000 in Saratoga and guaranteed to expend $60,000 in mprovements inside of a year. Restrictions have been placed on the property which make it especially desivable for dence sites, Various enterprises of a public character are contemplated by the Rochester syndicate, which comprises Charles Wiltsy, esq., W. T. Fonda, esq., for many years cashier of the Commercial National bank of Rochester; G. H. Smith, a prominent attorney, and other investors. Capital to the amount of £25,000 has been subscribed for the Platte Valley bank which is soon to be opened with Mr. Fonda as cashier. An electric light plant will shortly be putin, Plans for a new hotel to be erected on Rochester Heights at a cost of $12,000 are now under cousideration and the stock has nearly all been subscribed. There are already four hotefs in Saratoga, but the accommodations are inadequate to meet the demand. Plans ave beiug prepared for a number of attractive private residences, which are to be built on the Heights the present season, for business men of Saratoga, some of which will cost upward of $4,000 apiece. Various other schemes for the im- provement and beautifying of that portion of the town are now under consideration, It must not be supposed that enterprise in Saratoga 1s confined to outside investors. Those who are engaged in business there or have property interests are keenly alive to the necessity for improving the town and as- sisting in divers ways to aid in various schemes looking to the development of the resources of that section in general. Ranch- men in the valley as well as residents of Saratoga have generously coutributed towards the expense of opening new roads, During the winter it was due to their sub- stantial aid that communication between the town and the Gold 'Hill camp was kept up continuously. This was not an easy nor trivial matter, as the snowfall in the moun- tains was unusually heavy and of almost daily occurrence. | The hardy miers who weathered the severe winter on the mountain have the Saratoga people to thauk for what little comfort thay enjoyed by keeping in touch with the outside world. Faith in the future of Saratoga and the outlying districts has been demonstrated by its people, who havp backed numerous e terprises with their own wmoney and b, theiv investments ' in mining properties. One commendable thing about the activity in real estate, {s {the policy pursued by Messrs. W. B. Hogys, J. W. Beall, J. Johu- son, H. M. Bennett, A. R. Couzens, 1. Chat- terton and their msociutes in the various companies which own the townsite and the additions to it, in keeping down the prices of lots, Notwithstanding the rush of people to Saratoga, and fhe denaud of property for speculative or buildivg purposes, there has boen no attempt 1o fix values 0. the basis of a boow, present or grospective. Saratoga has am excellent graded school for nine months during the vear There are two ehurches, Episcopalian and Presbyterian. Rev. F. M. Collier is pastor of the latter society which now holds services in the school house but will soon bave a church edifice of its own. Tne Church of the Heavenly Rest while not a pretentious structure is nevertheless an attractive and commodious one. Rev. Dr. R. E. G. Hunt ington is the rector. it Saratoga's Celebrated Springs. The medicinal aud curative properties of the Saratoza hot sprtngs have gmned for them a certain celebrity all over the country, They weve known to the Iudians for years and even before there was any town & crude sort of sanitarium was established there to which patients afflicted with acute forms of | rheumatism and diseases of the blood were taken. There are three springs but only one is used at present. Bath houses have been built and a hotel 1s run by the proprietor, W. H. Cadwell, in connection with the springs The waters coutain iron, potasium, lime, chloride of sodium and sulphur and aro a cer- tuin specific for rheumatism. Somo remark- able cures have been wrought to thoso who have tested the springs. No quatitative an alysis has yot been made of the waters, dch nave a temperature of degrees Fahreheit, but one will soon be made ut the Wyoming state university, State Geelgist Ricketts s credited with an_expression of opinion that other hot sprines can be located in Saratoga and vicin- ity by boring. Such a project has been seri- ously discussed by some of the enterprising citizens, Building Material Handy. All kinds of building material are found convenient to Saratoga. Timber is plentiful on all sides except to tho north, During the past few years upwards of two million feet have been rafted down the Platte. Most of the lumber now used in the valley comes from . mill twenty-five miles sonth of Saratoga near South Brush k. Other mills will shortly be put in, two having b ordered. One is a portable sawmill, which Wwill be taken up to the Gold Hill camp. The other is intended for a colony of Dunkards, located on the Grand Encampment, whero n dam has been built for this purpose, as well as a shingle and u grist mill. These will bo about twenty-two miles south of Saratoga, t of tho Platte, Quarries which have been opened on Jack ek, five and a half miles from Saratoga, supply an excellent quality of sandstone, Some of it has been used in the town in the coustruction of buildings. With a little d availablo the present season. A dam has been thrown across an arm of the Platte ten miles south of Saratoga. This is 200 feet long, 61§ feet wide and 20 foet across, The diteh s recorded for 206 cuble a socond ana will bo carried down to the town for use there for domestic as well as irrigating purposes. An invest- ment of $10,000 is reprosented in tnis schome. A flume fifty foot high and 2,000 foot long s building to carry the wate Spring creck. The diteh will cover 6,000 acros of land and is capable of irrigating seventy ncros to the foot, which is tho ex treme limit allowed under the law recently passed in Wyoming, A contract has alveady been lot to cover tho townsite by this diteh “The Hueus-Mullison diteh is taken from a a dam on the Platt just outsido of Saratoga This dam is a most substantial structure and a model of its kind. It has withstood the strain of the high water for three seasons and is perfectly dry. The dimensions are 180 feet between piers and 5y feet high The recorded capacity is ifty-nine cubic feet over, per sccond, but an application long ago filed and is now be ing considered for a graut of water which shall equal 800 cubic feet per second. 1f tnis application is favorably de cided upon, it is the intontion of its owners to extend the ditch as far as Rawlius, and cover the land lying to the northeast of Sar. atoga. The Saratoga improvement company owns half of the ditch that underlies the original townsite, while the Davis, & Brewer diteh covers the other balf. Folsom There are thousands of acres of land lying on the east side of the Platte betweon the Union Pacine railway and Sarvatoga, that could be put under diteh, and which would become good farming lands. The same is truo of & large area to the south of Suratoga, SARATOGA AND THE GOLD HILL DISTRICT. more developmeont, it is thought that an ex- cellent cut stone of various colors can be ob- tained in vast quantities from these quarries. Even nearer than that good stoue for buiid- ing purposes can be obtained. Limestono is found on the Platte within a mile and a half of Saratoga. All the lime used in the town is burned from rock that comes from Puss creck. Lying above the dorie limestone on Cedar croek, a dozen miles distant, a vaviegated red and white marble is found. No attempt has vet been made to open a quarry to test the quality or determine its commercial value. Not far from the Grand Encampment what may turn out to be a supe- rior quality of marble was recently found. Coal, Tron and Lead. Indications of coal are seen on all sides of ratoga except to the south. North of tho town fourteen miles and a mile from the Platte on the east side ot the river, is a vein four and a half feet thick. A tunnel 120 feet long was driven. This supplies all the coal used in Saratoga. Two miles west of this coal deposit is another vein that runs under the Platte. Near the river, a fifty-foot tun- nel was driven which shows a four-foot vein of coking coal. Besides these there are tour veins that show in the bluffs between Sarato- ga and Fort Steele. West of the river and eighteen miles from Saratoga on Sage creek near the stage station is a six-foot coal vein on which a forty-foot tunnel was ran, North and east on Pass creek, sixteen miles from Saratoga a large coal deposit has been found. Over on the west range and especially on the Pacific slope are coal deposits which cover a large area and where the veins aro of gigantic size. Nothing has yet been done to open them up because there has never been any demand for coal in that section. But no matter where camps nay be started, it will be only a short haul to supply them with an abundance of fuel both for domestic and man- ufacturing purposes, Irou is so abundant that it may be said to occur everywhere throughout the mountains, All varieties have been discovered and so conveniently located to the coal deposits as to render it of more than orainary value. Mixed with all the silver-bearing ores is a large quantity of lead, more than sufticient 1t occurs in such quantities as to give grounds for the belief that at some time it may be treated for com- mercial purposes. Great Water Power. The Platte would supply ample water power for mills and for irrigation on a large scale. The river s a raging torrent for four mouths in the year. At its lowest stage it is a good-sized stream and runs a large volume of water that could be harnessed for mechan- ical purposes au small expense. Its banks and the configuration of its valley are such as to render it easy to build storage reservoirs or dams at almost any point along its course, The close proximity of all material requisite for carrying out enterprises of this sort, such as stone, timber and cement, is an advantage which should not be lost sight of. What may be regarded as low-water mark in the Platte is reached in October, he river was gauged last season in that month at what was considered its lowest stage and showed that it then ran 2,372 cuble feel ot water per second. The volumeduring the ir- rigating season is at least three to five times more than that. With an average fall of twenty feet to the mile, it will be seen that there remains in the Platte enough water that could be utilized for transforming all the arid lands in the valley into as good agricul- tural lanas as the 50,000 to 60,000 acres which are now under cultivation withiu a radius of twenty miles of Saratoga. Correspondence has been progressing for some time with Colorado mwiliing men who are seriously considering the estab- lishwent of a flouring mill at Saratoga, Big Ditches Under Way, Two large ditches have been taken out of the Platte. That known as the Davis, som & Brewer diteh is not yet completed, but its coustruction is being rushed so that it will be for smelting purposes. i on the west which could be irrigated to profit if put under a diteh that could be taken outof the Grand Encampment, which is a very strong stream and one of tho most important, feedors to the Platte. Still further south the waters from Big creck coutd be utilized for supplying water to a large expanse of country tributary to it. side of the valley great big Farming and Pasturage. It has been a revelation to many visitors to the valley that the sagebrush land, that was 80 long regerded as worthless, can be turned intoarable ground of such excellent quality and made to be so productive, The expense is merely trivial. All that has to be done is to turn water onto the land and nature does the rest. Where the land has been under water for a season the sagebrush is killed Grass springs up, which furnishes good feed for stock. Then late in the fdll there is sufti cient grass left to burn over the ground and getrid of the sage brush, The following year crops can be raised. The totat expense for cleaving land of this sort 1s estimated at not more than £ an acro on the benches. By such an expenditure governmeny land which costs ouly §1.25 an acre become worth $20, It is not claimed that all of this sage brush or desert land can be turned into first- class agricultural land. Rut there are thou- sands on thousands of acres that are suscep- tible of such transformation by the methods described. All of it, though, can at least be turned into rich pasturage, and that isneeded quite as much as farming lands, because the valley is admirably adapted for stock raising. Vegetables and Grain, Next fall the people of the Platte valloy intend to hold a fair at Saratoga to show what they can do in the way of raising vog- etables, fruits, grain and fino stock. They will surprise everybody who is not familiar with the possibilities of the valley. Someof the storles told avout the big yield inall kinds of produce scem like fairy tales, but the ranchmen are always ready to furnish proof for their assertions. In potatoes they claim to equal if not out- rival the famous Salt Lake production, They grow to a large size and are often shown weighiug twoand a half to three and even three and three-quarters pounds apiece. The average yield for the first year is 200 bushels of potatoes on the bench lands. The bottom lanas produce double that quantity. From three pounds of seed one ranchman is known to have had a yield of 150 pounds and wnothor got sixty-eight pounds from oue. Cabbage average eight pounds each on n pateh of 2,000 plauts. It 1s not uncommon to sec heads that weigh fifteen to twenty pounds, Clean heads of cauliffower weigh as much as sixteen pounds, and the average is seveu 10 eight, or ncarly twice what are grown farther east. All kinds of vegetables give big yields and the quality is not less inferior than the quantity as compared with the products of less favored sections, Itis in grain and hay that the valley ex- cels. where can o better showing be made. The legal weight of oats is thirty-six pounds to the bushel,whict is several pounds dnexcess of that in of the states, Ranchman Brewer, below Saratoga, just averaged twenty-nine and one-half bushels to the acre on @ tract of 100 acres. This was his third crop on sage-brush land. Oats used to be shipped into the valley from Nebraska in four-bushel sacks, weighiug 130 to 160 pounds. These same sacks aro sometimes used by the rauchmen, but when filled with oats of their own production, and where there has been no special attention paid to their cultivation, they tip the seaies at 175 to pounds. An average yield 1s about nty-elght bushels 1o the icre, though in localities it ruus s bigh as thirty tw favo bushels, Not enough wheat has been grown on which to base any estimate. This season, though, there will be quite large yield, us feet of water | e e PAGES 17 TO 20, . NUMBER 328, \' the land and other conditions are favorable, | Six years ago a colony of seventy families of | Dunkards settiod on the Grand Encampment | and on Sprine creok. They have raised A part of the wheat for their own consumpe tion, In small mills they grind up wh | grown by thom which s mixed with that | brought from other sections in the proportion | of one part to two. From this they muke & | flour not unlike whatsis called Graham, and the Dunkards are noted for the fine bread they make from this mixture. In barley, the claims to beat the world. Itis used principally for fattening | pork which is raised on alfalfa Rye has proven very ssful, the yield being about tweuty to twenty-five bushels to tho acre Hops grow wild and have beon pronouriced t0 00 the best in the world Buckwheat also fares well both as to yield and superior quality. Timothy which can in no other section be surpassed erows in the valley, and WO to threo tons an pro= duced I'wo valley suee acre can be casily and th ETOWN A 80nso hatf e crops of alfalfa can b . and yields u ton to a ton and Tt is bigh enough in the fall for feed for stock during October and Novems ber. The success of alfalfa on the bench land is fully assured, ruous yields of sugar beets aro obe ta unlysis of this product by the United Statos agriculu that the amount of saceharine mattor excoeds that of the beets of any other section, range ing from 11 to 16 per cont, while 3 per cent is U high average clsewher How Cattle Thrive, al department stows considored The will grasses very nutritions and there are fully twonty ditferent varietie Phero is o mild timothy, two or thrce kinds of red top are found, white clover grows in the bottoms and ane other variety is found on the uptand: a vlue joint grass abounds as also two or three dif- ferent species of rye grasses, from which the Indians used to make meal, Outside of the agriculturai lanas tho foot hills furnist summer grazi wh the grasses enumerated grow knee deep. On this natural pasturage the stock cam not fail to thrive, as the country is une covered during eight mouths of the year. All the streams ave timbered and plenty of shels ter as well as water 18 assured. Cattle run on the range from November 15 till April 1, The dry stock is left outon the range all the year around, but the cows, bulls and year- lings are put in pasturage during the winter months, As A sort of insurance on his own ich it is customary for a cattle man to carry sixty days’ feed 1n hay to provide for a hard winter. "The loss does not amount to 1 per cent one ranch out of 1,000 head ouly seven were lost last winter, Under the old range syse Jem of turning out the cattle and letting them run like a school of mackerel, the percentage of losses was high and as before stated 45,000 head were lost in'the winterof 15845, P’rices for cattle then went down from &0 to $12, Now stock is worth 815 to #17 a head. here is no poorly bred stock in the val ley now; it is all well graded. The tine ape pearance and quality of the eattle is the sube jeet of comment by all who visit the vaile, All the stock feeds on hay and grass an futtens on grass. In September or October four-year olds weigh 1,200 pounds and upe wards, After January 1 the ranchmen begin feed- ing on hay, and it is nothing unusual for an animal o dress 800 10 90 pounds in th spriug, Tt is notablo that th lang powar of cattlo raised in the valley is one-halt ter than those in th uch ntage readily recognized. One stock keeps “in such good condition is because the rauchimen do not try to ruu mora cattle than they can attend to. Fine Native Horses. Horso raising has of late commanded cone siderablo attention. A majority of the stock maves were brought there from lowa, Ilinos, tudiana and Missouri. M of them are thoroughbreds, Thatis also the case with On is an the stallions, ‘These are mostly Normans, Percherons, Clydesdales, Cloveland bays, plish sives and | Belgians, One outtit recently imported twenty I'hiese were English draft horses. The same concern bas some standard bred trotting horses, cluding a brother of Jay Eyo See, The progeny of such stock have superior lung power, and great credit is due to those who give such careful attention to this business, one stallions, If the cattlemen had their way about 18, sheep would be driven out of the vailey, as they claim the land 1s too valuable for such grazing grounds. But the sheep business has proven profitable and the wool clip extraordis ily lary It averages higher than most other sections, One band of 2,000 this season averazed fleeces weighing fourteen pounds. Another of 2,600 sheep averaged thirtcen pounds last month. The whole clip was cone tracted for at 16 cents a pound. Tho 1crease averages as high as 70 to 80 per cent, though some bands make a showing cqual to 00 per cont on account of the favors able condition for lambing. One band of 20,000 wintered out lust season and th was small. But the sheep will probably have to go, as settlers are crowding them and 100 v{mu'h of the country is beiug brought under ence, Healthful and Delightful Climate. Summer in the valley is a_delightful sea- son and cannot be surpassed in the Rocly mountain region. The mean temperature is about 72 degrees and the nights are ulways cool while during the daytime there isa breeze continually stirring. Storms are never bad and_there are no thunder showers such as orcur in some sections of Wvoming. There never has begn an instance where life or property was destroyed by the elements, Cyclones are unknown, I'he winters are not severe, 1o exceed six inches is a ranty. A suowfall For four weoks at a time there are _clear, bright days. lven when it is cold a drive of forty or fifty miles can be taken. ‘The air is dry and pure, Dr. H. M. Beonetl, wbo is = the only physician in the valley, has uever missed but oue call in five year and on that instance he was incapacitafed by an accident. Tne valley 1 eutirely exempt from diphtheria, scarlet fever, typhoid sud all germ discases. Infantile diseases aro uns known. o better commendation of the poople can be passed than to state that in the history of tho valley, whero nearly five hundred votes were sastat the late election, there have been only two eriminal cases in the Carbon county court from there. In one instance tha accusation was petty larceny and the othep caso was for horse-stealing and the culprit was convicted. Litigation is practically un- knowa in the vallev. ‘The people, who nume berad 2,000 by the last census, ure noted for their hospitality. Signs of Enterp Right now Saratoga is a v ise. y busy plac The coustruction of new buildings 15 being rapidly pushed to accommodate the rush which 15 expected. A brick yard which started up there sold the first kiln of 20,000 brick before thuy were burned, They wera of excellent quality, but a superior articla will be made in futi vetter clay has boen discoyered on the edee of town from which others equal t pressed brick will be Au experimental farm has just been estabe lished under the auspices of the state uni- versity adjoining Saratoea. Forty acres of land were donated by citizens for that purs pose which is all under ditch. Buildings have been contracted for to cost #,00 and will be finlshed S00n us possible. The farm 18 under the superintendent of Captain J, H, Mullison who is regarded us an suthority oa irrigation matters aaving successfully oxpes rimented on a large farm of his own’ in the vailoy for ten years or more. It is anticipated that the results aeni on the farm will be of great benefit to the rauchmen s it can be determined what can bo grown there and the best way of dowg it GEokuk ¥, CaNis