A Mine to Make a Mine: Financing the Colorado Mining Industry, 1859-1902Entranced by visions of instant wealth, the fabled prospector and his trusty burro combed the hills of the Rocky Mountain West for that one huge deposit of pay ore. Close behind the prospector--and drawn by the same vision--came the speculator. Capital, a scarce though essential commodity on the frontier, was supplied by the speculators and made possible the development of a hardrock mining industry that helped shape the early history of the region. Between the Civil War and the turn of the century, the gold and silver mines of Colorado were a gaudy, unsavory, but important element in the American financial scene and in the economic history of the West. Joseph E. King, drawing upon contemporary sources, provides the first comprehensive and scholarly examination of eastern investors in Colorado and challenges the popular notion that eastern investors did little more than exploit the mines of Colorado. Not surprisingly, the prospector and the lusty boom towns he visited have often captivated the imagination of historians at the expense of the later stages in the development of a mineral industry. Professor King stresses the contributions of promoters, businessmen, and mining engineers in the development of the "Wild West." |
From inside the book
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Page 33
... engineer could often do some ex- ploring for himself and perhaps formulate a mining venture for friends and associates in the East . In 1891 , John B. Farish , a highly respected engineer of wide experience in the West , attempted to or ...
... engineer could often do some ex- ploring for himself and perhaps formulate a mining venture for friends and associates in the East . In 1891 , John B. Farish , a highly respected engineer of wide experience in the West , attempted to or ...
Page 139
... engineer who , awed by his responsibilities to the investor and too conscious of the large amounts of money involved , tended to underestimate the value of all mining properties ; these " safe men " and " mine cowards , " complained ...
... engineer who , awed by his responsibilities to the investor and too conscious of the large amounts of money involved , tended to underestimate the value of all mining properties ; these " safe men " and " mine cowards , " complained ...
Page 140
... engineer to visit our mines unless we haul him up in a buggy . ' " Eben Olcott told a Brooklyn businessman in 1881 that he would perform a " thorough " examination of a claim at Animas Forks for five hundred dollars plus expenses , his ...
... engineer to visit our mines unless we haul him up in a buggy . ' " Eben Olcott told a Brooklyn businessman in 1881 that he would perform a " thorough " examination of a claim at Animas Forks for five hundred dollars plus expenses , his ...
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A Mine to Make a Mine: Financing the Colorado Mining Industry, 1859-1902 Joseph E. King No preview available - 1977 |
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absentee American April Aspen bonanza boom Boston Bradford Prince Bullion businessmen capital capitalists Central City Chaffee Chicago Chrysolite claims Clear Creek County Colo Colorado mining Colorado Springs Comstock Comstock Lode cost County Cripple Creek Cyrus McCormick David Moffat Denver dividends dollars early East eastern Eben Smith enterprise February Fossett frontier George Gilpin County Gold and Silver Henry Historical Society History Horace Tabor Hyman Idaho Springs investors January John Leadville leasing Little Pittsburg lodes McCormick million mills miners Mining Company mining engineer Mining in Colorado mining industry Mining Investments Mining Journal mining properties Mining Record mining stocks mining ventures Moffat October operations owners panies Papers precious metal production profits promoters prospectors prospectus purchase rado railroad Raymond region reported rich Rickard Roberts Rocky Mountain sell shares Silver Cliff Silver Mines speculation Stock Exchange stockholders Tabor territory Thomas West western mines York