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About The Sumpter miner. (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1905)
THE SUMPTER MINER Wednesday, February i, 190s WILL SEARCH FOR LOST ELDORADO Ml no promote have taken a uew Uok by incorporating the Holding Prospootlng syndicate, with a capital of 110,000, to find h loot plHoor mine in the Arizona desert, where $250,000 net Ih uuppoHod to be burled, not to mention another pot or $100,000 which waa taken out by otne of the minora who were am buBbed by ApaoboH. Willinm P. Holding, an old mining man, wllh his none, K. K. and R. A. Heldlug, aged 21 and 19, aro to spend two years in tho Arizona bad lands in a hunt for the lost treasure and iu prospecting arouud tho United Verde district. They are to leavo in a few weeks fur Flagstaff, Arizona, which Is to be their baso. William Holding, In telling or the romance of the lost 101 Dorado, said to a Spokesman '(eview reherter: "In 1800, when the Apaoho was running things with a high hand iu the Arizona donort, sixteen advontur otis Americans were (fathered on the Moixcun border, undoi' the loadorship of George Wood, an old time .Call fnrtiia placer miner. A greaser had told Wood of a placer mine out iu the Arizona desert. lie lead them to the head of a gulch, where every pan of dirt showed nuggets. Within two mouths ten of the men left camp for Fort Viiina to bring in supplies, and they packed out with them not less than 1000 pounds, avoirdupois, of gold, valued at not Iohs than $225,000. This was all taken out with pans and rockers. Two days out of camp the party of ten were overtaken by Apaches on the war path. Every man was killed. A trocjp of Uultled Hlittot cavalry, a few days later, found their bodies where tliey had fallen. IlorsoH, pauks and gold had disappeared. The re maining six iu ramp waited six weeks, dally expecting the pack train. They were running short of supplies, but were rocking out heavy gold dally, which was stored iu a hole dug In the corner of (he tent. "HupplioH had run so low that some move was necessary. Wood, accompanied by a man named Keller, left camp in the early morning. The horses were alt away with tho party of ten. Wood and Keller expected to walk to Fort Vuma. They carried packs with supplies and a few pounds of gold iu each. 4 ' lief oi m Wood and Keller were out ol sight of camp they heard the war whoop of the Apaches, and looked buck to hoc the camp outllt going up in smoke. Knowing full .veil that their safety lay iu Might, they left the trail and struck out across the desert sands. "If you have never tramped the Arizona douort with water lacking, you will fall to appreciate tho suffer ing these men eudured. Their heavy pucks grew irksome and their trail MiiroHS the dchort was marked by gold udggets which they threw away to make the burden light, until they had only such nuggets left as they could carry Iu their pockets. "It was more than two weeks later when Lieutenant HIIsd, leadlug a detachment of cavalry, came across the men and brought them Into Fort Vuma. The war department records tall of this rescue. They said they hud left over 100,000 iu gold burled under the bed in the comer of the teut. Keller died soon after. Wood re covered and spent many years In southern California. In the winter of 1885-0 Wood returned to Arizona with a man named Cutler. They took the goverumet trail, expecting confidently to find the old placer, but after traveling the distance necessary to bring them to it, they found themselves in a section wholly unlike the place where the mine was found. Toe placer, as Wood well remembered, was surrouned by hills of a peculiar shape, land marks so bold that they could be readily dis tinguished at a considerable dis tance. Wood had the country well mapped and the laud mark well placed. (Jut he -failed to And any thing that looked like the place be re membered so well, lie returned much disappointed and died soon after. He left his maps and descrip tions with bis friend Culter, who was my friend also. "In the winter of 1880-00 Cutler and I took up the soarab. The direc tions were quite plain fur a great part of the distance; one was simply to follow the government trail a cer tain part of tho way. This we did, but our search was unavlliug, as was that of Wood and Cutler In '85. We stuck to it all winter and returned, dlsappolutod. "Hut there was reason for our failure to find the old landmarks. I have said that ono must follow the government trail, it was tint until a year after my trip in there that 1 fouud out, quite by accident, that the government ttall whh changed and shortened iu 1800, and that the newer trail that we hud followod and that Wood and Cutler had also gone over, threw us probably 100 miles olf the track of tho placers. "1 have had no difficulty since in determining tho course of tho old trail, it being a matter of public re cord, and, while tho old ttall la largely obliterated sluco it parsed out of use almost forty years ago, then are still the river crossings aud the water courses aud the promiuent laud marks by which I oau pick it up gain. Thorofore, 1 have great hope of finding, this time, the gulch that produced that gold, indeed, I feel iHsurauco amounting almost to a conviction, that 1 shall go almost directly to It." The oillcers of tho syndicate pre: President, 10. 10. Plough; vice presi dent, 10. C. Clove; secretary, C. 10. Mitchell; treasurer, Mrs. Jessio L. Quliiii; mining manager, William P. llelden. MINING IN 1904 THE WORLD OVER The Mining World, of Chicago, is sued on the 21st instant its annual number, wblob is, as usual, the bebt review of the miunig industry pub lished, it's leading editorial, which la a general summary, after treating of Irou and coal, says: "The gold production of the world continues to Increase, and It la likely that it will do so, as new districts aro opened up and the older ones worked more extensively and by newer methods. The resumption in full of the Rand mines In South Africa In 1904 added largely to the world's gold supply, and the gold production of Mexico la yearly in creasing. In the United States, the Nevada bonanza districts have been added to the lists of gold district, and Cripple Creek has attalued a high water record in gold production. The Alaska product has, as was to be ex pected, diminished, but the supply from this source will continue to be provement. The production of nickle continues to be controlled by Ontario and New Caledonia, and.the last year did not produce any new deposit of deter mined importance or etxend the areas of the deposits known. An American cobalt mine in Oregon has been de veloped during 1904 and an import ant discovery of an ore of cobalt wts made in Ontario during the year. p There were duting last year reports of Important bodies of copper and other ores In central Africa, wbiob will In time affect the world's supply and the awakened industrial activity in South America is geuerally noticeable. Canada during the last year made important general de velopments Iu her varied mineral resources and the importance of the Japanese exploitations was em phasized by the exhibits at the St. Louis exposition and the reports from tie orleut of the New Japaa. There baa been a vast amount of Investigation of mining and metal lurgical problems during the past year on the part of the United States and state governments, and of in dividuals. These Investigations are accumulative and each year increases the results of the next. In private industry the important furnace 1m- made through the re searches of President Gayley, of the American Institute of Mining En gineers, for bis company, luc United States Steel corporation, promises very largo results when generally ap plied to iron smelting. Tho investi gations of the Canadiau commission iuto 'ho possibilities of electrical smelting of iron ore are noteworthy monuments in tho achievements of 1904. Crooked Company !n Idaho. A special from Washington of the 21th says: II U. Fulton, or Uosle, Is Iu Washington iu behalf of tho Century Mining & Milling company, which has been cltud to show causo why a fraud order should not be Issued against it by the postoftlce departmeut. The company operates .- i .. rut l & A..1.. .11..A-I..I iilliit'H ill xmimiur imiiiuiHiii uiairiui and it is call mud by the department' to be distributing through the mails and nthorwif advertising matter given h hearing before the depart iug thrush the mails ... 4 , . ,n, m. ... .... real development during 1904. The w much misleading!. ,. . ., ,, ., .. .. ., ,. . deposits iu the Carolluas Were ex- tter. Mr. Fulton wi . . t . . I , m lu)ar'-lM y Htrouu company, but "I mliu mIII &a s1riA la nstt aniiAiinAAi) ment this morning and made a go.d,,,,. ft n.LMx a ' Imnresiou. Judge (Soodwiu said to , . . , . large uevertbelesv. Peru is coming forward as a gold producer, aud sev eral districts iu South America are attracting attention of capital. The silver mining iudustry iu 1904 responded somewhat directly to the market conditions, wbioh improved somewhat during the latter part of the year. There was no important silver discovery during tho year, aud no special movement iu processes was mado. The pros pect of the curtailment of silver coin age by the Mexican government la an important peuding problem in the silver iudustry that was discounted somewhat iu 1904, but which prob ably must be met In 1905. Copper has attraoted atteutiou duriug the past year by the steady advauco iu prices aud the rapid strides made by the Arizoua prop erties, chiefly at Bisbee. Arizona la raipdly coming to first place in tbe produotiou of copper, aud that through Its owu great iucrease ratbor tbau the decrease iu Montana or Michlgau. The Michigan dihtriat has ooutiuued to show promising developments iu the uew mines, and the old properties do not show any signs of being worked out. Mexico produced considerable copper duriug last year, aud the outlook for an increased output is good. An importaut development in the lead aud zluo iudustry during last year was the installation of eleo trio power iu the Jopliu district. The Wiscousiu district, once a lead ami zino producer, oas reeeuuy ueeu meu, E. J. Someiville aud H. F. revived as a zitio field, with promise of strong productiou. The Kooteuay zluo ores, loug uuavailable, will, duriug 1905, tlud a market iu a new smelter at Crow's Nest Pass. The tlu miniug iudustry in the uuited states naa not made auy A press dispatch from Peudletou says that O. B. Wade, the defaulting cashier of the First National bauk of that place, was arrested late Tuesday evening for forgery aud larceny by bailee, both charges beiug preferred by District Attorney G. W. Phelps. He waived preliminary examiuatiou and was held to answer to the cir cuit court. Ihe bond ou the first charge was fixed at $500 aud ou the secoud at $5,000. Late Tues day night he was unable to furnish bail aud is now in the custody of the sheriff. Wade is charged with f org iug the name of Josebp Vey on a uote of $10,000. Vey is an illit erate but wealthy sheep mau, aud all his business trausaotious were cou ducted by Wade while cashier of the bank. When Wade was deposed, it was discovered that Vey's uote was not geuuiue. The charge of larceny by bailee was brought for misappropriating funds amouuting to $14,000. belong ing to the Craig estate, of which Wade was administrator, ills bouds- day that no fiaud order would he Issued if the company would elimi nate certain features of its advert i iug literature. This the com pa y has agreed to do. Welser Signal. TIih Jupiter Ciuld mining company, owning thti Prairie Diggings miue, has awarded a contract for 800 cords I of wood for early delivery to "The mau were wrecked iu health. 'Dick Amber, of John Day. posits are only operated in a par tial way. Bolivia is looked upou as a uew importaut source of tin, aud Amerlcau luteiests have been iu vustlgating this field also. The miuor metals have attained a considerable commercial importance duriug the year past, aud the outlook for a larger di maud aud a more stable price for these so-called rare metals tbau It baa been at any time I ileudryx does not aay. Mr. Howard heretofore. says there is nothing to aay. Johsou, made good the loss and are the prosecutitng wi lueses. Wade's returu to the city was for the purpose of sweariug to affidavits made while be was administrator of the Despalu estate. Phelps learned of bis comiug and arrived last night from Heppuer iu time to file au in formationgbefoiegWade left the city. No Golconda Meeting at Pendleton. Harry J Heudryx returned from Baker City this foreuou. He did not go to Peudletou to atteud that called meeting of the Golcouda stock) holders, but sent bis attorney, N. C. Richards, instead. Richards carried with him proxies for 500,00i shares of Golconda stock held by J. A. Howard, which were not needed, aa no meeting waa held. Why, Mr. wk sslH1-" iVv kJl " V.