street. Hearst realized that he might be on the receiving end of violence, and wrote a letter to his partners asking them to provide for his family should he be murdered. Within three years, Hearst had established the mine and acquired significant claims. He walked out alive, and very rich. By the time Hearst left the Black Hills in March 1879, he had added the claims of Giant, Golden Star, Netty, May Booth, Golden Star No. 2, Crown Point, Sunrise, and General Ellison to the original two claims of the Manuel Brothers, Golden Terra and Old Abe, totaling . The ten-stamp mill had become 200, and 500 employees worked in the mine, mills, offices and shops. Hearst owned the Boulder Ditch and water rights to Whitewood Creek, monopolizing the region. His railroad, Black Hills & Fort Pierre Railroad, gave him access to eastern Dakota Territory. By 1900, Homestake owned 300 claims, on , and was worked by more than 2000 employees. In 1901, the mine started using compressed air locomotives, fully replacing mules and horses by the 1920s. Charles Washington Merrill introduced cyanidization to augment mercury-amalgamation for gold recovery. "Cyanide Charlie" achieved 94 per cent recovery. The gold was shipped to the Denver Mint. By 1906, the Ellison Shaft reached , the B&M , the Golden Star , and the Golden Prospect , producing of ore. A disastrous fire struck on 25 March 1907, which took forty days to extinguish after the mine was flooded. Another disastrous fire struck in 1919. In 1927, company geologist Donald H. McLaughlin used a winze from the 2,000 level to demonstrate that ore reached the 3,500 foot level. The Ross shaft was started in 1934, a second winze from the level reached , and a third winze from was started in 1937. The Yates shaft was started in 1938. Production ceased during WWII from 1943 until 1945, due to Limitation Order L-208 from the War Production Board. By 1975, mining operations had reached the level, and two winzes were planned to . The gold ore mined at Homestake was considered low grade (less than one ounce per ton), but the body of ore was large. Through 2001, the mine produced of gold and of silver. In terms of total production, the Lead mining district, of which the Homestake mine is the only producer, was the second-largest gold producer in the United States, after the