 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Increased mining activity – and some small financial successes in the late 1890's – prompted a spate of prospecting by Salida businessmen and even a few children. They swarmed up the gulches northeast of town with picks, shovels and a little dynamite seeking "color." They weren't disappointed – at first – because they found showings of gold, silver, copper and lead. For a time during the winter of 1895-96, many businesses closed early so proprietors could go "mining."
One of those efforts was the Colchester Mining and Milling Company, which dug two tunnels – No. 2 above – into the side of the mountain between Cleora and the mouth of today's Longfellow Gulch. Thomas T Foster stands at left of the entrance to tunnel No. 2, arms folded across his chest. The boy with the shovel is his son, William Garnet Foster. The man in the vest is unidentified, as is the seated man; Richard Milton Bratton stands at the far right. The other men in the operation are unidentified.
No. 1 tunnel is just above the level of the D&RG mainline and about 100 yards away on a "gentle slope, just right for men pushing loaded ore cars to the railroad," according to a Salida Mail article. Tunnel No. 2 is a few hundred feet above and a little east of the discovery opening. Plans were to connect the two inside the mountain, but ore ran out before then. (1)