Page 252 - Cooke's Peak - Pasaron Por Aqui

bombed the targets with 100-pound dummy
ordnance(containing5poundsofexplosiveand95
pounds of flour for a “marker”) from 8,000 to 10,000
feet above the ground. During the training only a
few men and aircraft were lost to accidents. One
night a trainee fell out of the bomb bay while reach-
ing for his flashlight. The surprised cadet
parachuted safely and walked into camp the next 75
day.
In 1951 McCray removed sufficient amounts of
lower grade ore, averaging from 25 to 45 percent combined lead and zinc with traces of copper, silver, and gold, to make his effort viable. However, Cooks never again existed as a community. In 1951 McCray’s efforts produced 228 tons of lead, 247 tons of zinc, 3 tons of copper, nearly 3,000 ounces of silver, and 10 ounces of gold. In 1952, these figures
dropped by about 60 percent to 95 tons, 94 tons, 1
ton,1,200ounces,and3ounces,respectively. In
1953, only 2 tons of lead and 19 ounces of silver were
76
produced. Mining at Cooke’s Peak again ceased.
The brief, clamorous efforts of man and machine were once again stilled, and the solitude of the mountain and the graveyard were disturbed only by the ranchers and their cattle. The edifices that had sheltered the people at Cooks, Jose, and Hadley continued to deteriorate and, like Fort Cummings, once again melt back into the mountainside. Today little except rock foundations, collapsing tunnels, and dangerous vertical vent shafts remain to mark where men and women struggled against odds, raised and educated their children, and occasionally danced the night away before they ascended the peak to watch the glorious sunrise together.
The World Wars’ Impact
Figure 71. Ground targets for bombardier training. Map courtesy of Bombardiers Inc., Eagle Harbor, Minnesota.
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