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Show COLORADO. 467 regardless of law. One set of judges have held that the title follows the vein, when proved that it is the main vein, no matter whether it agrees with the patent on the surface or not ; but another class holds that this contradicts the old principle of common law that the owner on the surface " owns from zenith to nadir/' and that if one's vein runs under another's, the latter holds, regardless of priority. Evidently that old rule must be abrogated as to mining property, and the title follow the main vein wherever it goes, if we are ever to have certainty. In the Sherman and Caribou mines a light can be seen a hundred yards along the vein in the deepest workings. The great Caribou mine has been so often described that the sub-ject has become stale, but its history has the elements of romance. It was discovered December 23, 1869, and located in the names of W. J. Martin, Samuel Mishler, George Lytle, Hugh McCameron, John H. Pickle and Henry Mishler. By them it was worked till September, 1870, paying almost from the start. But the discoverers were not very well posted, and as a rule the locators make little or nothing out of a mine. They sold out rather cheap, nobody knows for how much, and one- half the mine became the property of Abel D. Breed, Esq., with attorneyship for the other half. Sixty thousand dollars were spent in development, and erecting house and machinery for working; but ore enough was taken out meantime to leave a clear profit of $ 175,000. This demonstrated its great richness beyond a doubt, and it was put upon the foreign market. A small corps of foreign engineers examined and reported upon it, and as a result it was sold to the mining company Nederland, of Hague, Holland, for $ 3,000,000. It was then worked according to scientific principles, under the superintendency of Mr. Benjamin Rule. Three eight- hour shifts were employed, and no work was done on Sunday. No man was allowed about the mine in a state of intoxication ; one appearance in that character was cause for a discharge. The printed rules, conspicuously posted, to which every employe subscribes, also forbade all profane, obscene or abusive language. It is estimated by the best judges that there are at least twenty- one claims with clearly defined veins, known to be of some value, on the entire hill. Ore from each of these, selected at random and mixed, was sent in bulk to Johnson, Matheny & Co., of Hatton Garden, E. C., London, and yielded a hundred and ninety- two ounces of silver per ton. Of course so many veins known, and more suspected, have stimulated the formation of tunnel companies, and no less than half a dozen tunnels were started into Caribou Hill, which is very favorably situated for that work. The hill has a |
