. The story of Montana . annock, and Virginiawarranted it, the railroads would have found away through them, too. The stage stations of Missoula, Deer Lodge, andBozeman, with Fort Benton, the head of navigation,have also grown into important towns. Discovery of quartz. — The first discovery of gold-bearing quartz was made in 1862 (the same yearthat the first rich placers were discovered), at Ban-nack, when in November the Dakotah Lode waslocated. A rudely constructed mill was completedin 1883 for the purpose of reducing the ore from thismine. This was the first quartz mill, but others werebuil
. The story of Montana . annock, and Virginiawarranted it, the railroads would have found away through them, too. The stage stations of Missoula, Deer Lodge, andBozeman, with Fort Benton, the head of navigation,have also grown into important towns. Discovery of quartz. — The first discovery of gold-bearing quartz was made in 1862 (the same yearthat the first rich placers were discovered), at Ban-nack, when in November the Dakotah Lode waslocated. A rudely constructed mill was completedin 1883 for the purpose of reducing the ore from thismine. This was the first quartz mill, but others werebuilt before the year was out. More quartz discov-eries were made in 1864 and 1865 at Helena, Philips-burg, and Butte. Philipsburg was then known asthe Flint Creek District. The quartz mines there 198 DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE were of silver which in those days meant as much asgold. The mines at Helena were of gold and those ofButte were of silver. It was not until a rich strikein copper was made in the Anaconda Mine in the. Prospector Panning Out Gold early eighties that Butte was known as a coppercamp. Prospectors. — These discoveries were only pros-pects; many were thought at that time to be onlyholes in the ground. It was the later develop-ments which proved the value of the mines. Themen who found the lodes were only prospectors, whowere usually employed by some one else to go out EARLY QUARTZ DAYS 199 into the hills looking for lodes, but many times theywere prospecting for themselves. They would comeinto the camps after many weeks of prospecting, withsamples of ore in heavy canvas sacks strapped upontheir pack animals. When these samples were assayedthey showed the value of the ore. When the men-were too poor to pay the expenses of assaying, theyselected average specimens from different parts of thevein or lode, pulverized them in an iron mortar, andwashed them out in a pan, just as they had washedout the placer dirt. If they found any grains ofgold they concluded that th
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