and the victims of the mining fever here seem as deaf to reason as the
buyers of mining stock in New York. Fuel was added to the flame by
the report that Shedd had sold his location, named the Solitaire, to
ex-Governor Tabor and Mr. Wurtzbach on August 25 for $100,000. This was
not true. I met Governor Tabor's representative, who came down recently
to examine the properties, and learned that the Governor had not up to
that date bought the mine. He undoubtedly bonded it, however, and his
representative's opinion of the properties seemed highly favorable.
The Solitaire showed what appeared to be a contact vein, with walls of
porphyry and limestone in a ledge thirty feet wide in places, containing
a high assay of horned silver. The vein was composed of quartz, bearing
sulphides, with horn silver plainly visible, giving an average assay of
from $350 to $500. This was free milling. These were the results shown
simply by surface explorations, which were certainly exceedingly
promising. Recently it has been stated that a little development shows
the vein to be only a blind lead, but the statement lacks confirmation.
In any case the effect of so sensational a discovery is the same in
creating an intense excitement and attracting swarms of prospectors.

But the Perche district does not rest on the Solitaire, for there has
been abundance of mineral wealth discovered throughout its extent. Four
miles south of this prospect, on the middle fork of the Perche, is an
actual mine--the Bullion--which was purchased by four or five Western
mining men for $10,000, and yielded $11,000 in twenty days. The ore
contains horn and native silver. On the same fork are the Iron King and
Andy Johnson, both recently discovered and promising properties, and
there is a valuable mine now in litigation on the south fork of the
Perche, with scores of prospects over the entire district. Now that one
or two sensational strikes have attracted attention, and capital is
developing paying mines, the future of the Perche District seems