Today we got up bright and early and made it to the first tour of the Bachelor of Syracuse Mine Tour with our other workamping friends. Dave was our guide and he did a super job. We entered through an adit, which is a horizontal passage leading into a mine for the purpose of access or drainage. We walked 1500 feet into the actual mine and it was muddy and dark and everything you would imagine an old mine to be. It was amazing to learn the history behind how they mined back then. The miners made an average of $3.50 per day and most miners started as teenagers and had about 10-12 years mining before they couldn’t do it anymore. Then they would quit and only live about 2-3 years, so the life of a minor was very short. They worked year round, which amazed me. Today the mine was about 55 degrees inside, so I can’t imagine it in the winter. The working conditions were just treacherous and the tour really gives you an insight into how hard this work really was. While we were in the mine, the guide lit two candles and then after a lecture blew them out and it was pitch black. The miners dealt with low light and low oxygen, loud noises from drilling and blasts and just a multitude of challenging conditions. They also mentioned that small donkeys were used to haul the material in and out. However, the donkeys only lasted about 4 years before they went blind due to the low lighting. They were then retired to a pasture that was named Jackass Flats and is still named that today.
The Bachelor of Syracuse Mine produced over 3 million ounces of gold and 7 million ounces of silver. There is probably that much in there that’s left, but the cost of getting it out doesn’t make it worth it. I think Jeff wants to go back with his gold detector.
Group pic: Jeff S., Kim S., Jeff H., Kim H., Chaunna S., and Gary S.. So thankful for our friendship with these great people.
**Side note: They actually lock the mine up at night with a gate because the bears can access it and surprise the guides/guests the next day! Dave said that it has happened. I’m glad we weren’t on that tour!
History of the mine (worth the read):
There were other Bachelor mines in Colorado – it was a pretty popular name in the late 1800’s – but this was THE Bachelor Mine on Gold Hill, and for 100 years it was one of Ouray’s strongest and most reliable producers. So rich was its ore that its three owners made about $250,000 each in its first few years; even after the disastrous silver crash of 1893 when the price of silver plummeted 25% in four days. Today, that would be over $4 million each.
Charlie Armstrong, a prospector, George Hurlburt, a surveyor, and J. Frank Sanders, a speculator, were the lucky owners. The three loved a good time and were known to bet on almost anything – even which raindrop would make it to the bottom of a windowpane first. Sanders took a gamble and invested in Armstrong and Hurlburt’s mine just before it hit a huge silver vein.
Soon, ore worth $200 to $500 a ton rolled down Red Canyon to the railroad siding below, which became known as the Bachelor Switch. Meanwhile, a town of about 200 sprang up at the mine’s main portal. Names Ash, from the first letters of Armstrong, Sanders and Hurlburt, the town sported a mill, school, post office and brass band: the Bachelor Band. The town’s remains still straddle Red Canyon Creek, now known as Dexter Creek.
Til we blog again!
J&K
Jeeping & Rving 
How interesting! If Jeff goes missing for a little while, just look for the metal detector!!! So happy y’all have made such great friends there.
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