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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 1924)
Friday, August 22, 1924. THE LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER PAGE SEVifT HIND LEAD OF VALUABLE ORE CROSSES CATHERINE burled .nilh tho accumulation of matter from years of erosion. .-John Wallace Hoylc. now of Cor vallls. Orrgon, but an old pioneer of this roRion, huvlne coma to the Park tn the early seventies, tells an interesting story of a "lost nilnu" hoint'whoro between the South VvrU und Buck creek. This story seems to be at about (1m sanio time of tho old lndluu's active mining for cold. An old prospector from North Powder, In the summer of '71. i-timo down from tho mountains with rich gold bearing quarts. He told his "batching partner" that he and around the forks, but none of took sick right" after discovering them tap the coveted body of rich tho ledgu of rich rock, and left an mineral. s old pick and uhovel In the prospect It remains for the future lucky 'hole, which was about eight feet (By Jwk Hunter) THK I'AltK. (.Special to Observ er) With the many stories told by the several prospectors tn tho lasl tlCty years, coupled with both au- tlent and modern Indieatlons. then remains no doubt whatever, ns to the existence of a lead of valunblt ores crossing the country some where near the forks of Cutberlni creek. But this lead Is one of many re ferred to by the old' prospectors &nd miners, as "A blind lead." Tiler o are several cuts, shafts and tunnels dug by the gold hunt ers in evidence everywhere neur digger to strike this vuluable, but well hidden treasure. What seems to have started the extensive search for gold in the deep. I 'pon being taken with the moun tain fever, and seriously sick, he gave this man all the Information Cathorlno creek district, were the .nosslble concerning tho Hnd. Then activities of an old Indian. br-h Wtta (Hken to Portland for uet tween 1870 and 1K9U. Nearly everyjtt.r care, but died shortly after be st miner this Indian- would com out of the mountains, exchanging gold bullion for supplies at the Cove 'store, where he traded, ; While men followed him. trying to spy tho place where he found the gold, but the crafty old man evaded all observations us to the exact place of his find. He operuted somewhere between the Houth und the Middle Forks. ' He invariably made- camp for his family on the banks of (he North or main brunch. Old lodge poles are still in evidence at that . pluce which Is called to this duy, "The ludlan Camp.". Among the. many prospectors on the creek, the lute William (Hilly) James of l.a Grande, wus the most active. With Jits partner he start ed sverul tunnels, two of ubout lug admitted to tho hospital The partner made several trips I In search of the mine but finally; gave It up. Hut tho story went the! rounds, und many were active In Hid search Tor the mine. Tho story, was veriried by the quarts which; was kept lit evidence of tho actuul find. Them Is yet some of this quartz shown by a Tew old timers, of. which Mr. lloyle Is one of .the possessors of the rich old relics from the "Lost Mine." Mr. Hoylc made several attempts ul locating the lost treasure, as It was then called. Hut never had tho good fortune of even finding a plhce that looked like the describ ed spot. Finally like many others; he gave up tho search. The story passed us one of the many fabu- 151 feH eaehv mar thu forks, and . ,,m..u ....... ti,,. ,..., on ofsliiillar size up on the Houtli ,m! hd . and cuwpullch. Kdrk.4. There still remulns the old;ers . dilapidated "cabin, which stands as: ' ' , aU..d -mark called "The Hilly In tin summer of I $R" Mr. MoyU. ,u . cubln"" lI,ml ,wo utn"r foffb"" wor0 look-- n...,nv thlrtv venrs Mr.;"ff over tho country for cattle; .Ijuites hus looked for this "blind lead." HeHldes these tunnels, tin-re are several .dugouts. . showing Ihr largo amount of labor he expended. Tom IJrown of I nlon nus none when thy came to a cold spring on the north slope of the Main Kldge, looking over the deep can yon of Huck creek. , They agreed to separate there, each going In much prospectlMB for many y,urs. wrorcnt dlrocUun... und to mod hi II- Bduully holdH rolurna uf uatmya ' ' apot whi-n n-ldrntng homo In from rockH found rlKl.l uround tho ' '" l,v,'nln- ?,r-. "W" furlia. which wont n iilgli u H 'te'lli'B ton. '" Murlln Coinvuy of Union, proa puotcd much In llila loeullly. H fviund u piece of pure nullvc silver nearly the alie of un esif. on Hie Bide hill north of the creek fuilllB the forks. Thin shows thai there must he silver us well lis Bold. And specimens of copper oruliuvu hcen found. ' ' ' Jnck Hunter. Jr., found n rocU. ilol fur from tho forks, which wus a connlomerullon of slate nnu limn lle. TlilB evldenlly-.lu;ow.'.J.liX A jolltut-t belween Rrillllt" "iuid slut D which Is euslly noticed on the sur face formation. And this rock of lead matter, upon hreiiklnir. show ed the Inside; uslnif the millers' Blans. "was lousy with gold." TlierB are' also Indications or 11 contact between . slatu and lime rock, plainly noticed on the sur face. They run In tho natural di rections or mine lieltB. They run northeast and southwest. Ann In line with the Suuiplcr mining dis trict across In the llluo mountains. I, Ike. niuny other places where mining activities have been In oper ation, this place- has Its strange Bloriea.- Hut these storlcB Identi fied -Willi this district, seems to cor relate with Its object, namely, that there Is gold and plenty or It hid under a heavy flow of biva anil Camera Shy rlrHt to come back to the spring. Then one of the other men Joined him. Hut the third,' who. was a young fellow, and a stranger In the country, did not make his ap pen ranee for a while.. Thinking perhaps, that not knowing the country, lie could-easily get lost they begun shouting and firing their guns as a caJI 'for their be lated companion. He finally answered them, ap pearing soon leading his horse. By his appearance It wus plain that he had taken n tumble. For his face und hands being scratched and hi a clothing somewhat torn. "I came very d- near" killing myself." he ejaculated. "My horse fell In a prospect hol In a bunch of chaparets. Hud I had some time In getting out. 1 found un old pick and shovel all rusted out In that hole." Now this man did not Know a word of this story concerning the "IoHt Mine." Hut Mr. Htiyle und the other man knew of It. It Interested both of (hem. being a genuine verification uf the story. "An old i .pick nd shovel in the hole." - - He told them that this bole was about a quarter and not over a hulf mile from the spring. In the direc tion of Huck creek. Hut they could not find the place Mint evening. . V , . V Then Mr. Hoyle renewed his ac tivities trying lo find the? place again. Hut . he states tljul he has jmudc a thousand circles around 1 1 hut spring no avail. I Many others have tried wllh the 'same luck. Hill,- it Is a certain thing that the mine Is there. How could this stranger have found the prospect hole with the pick and shovel in II. ut ubout the right locution according to the original story, if It was not there most; inpcnetrublu juugle. ' . It was while looking for a lost lamb that ho discovered this find Now then there was an old cabin there, and attested by these re mulns. proves that human beings did live there. And the growth ot pines and . firs denotes that It was very long ago. And here Is where the story be gin to dawn, that after all its le gendary aptitude It wus neverthe less true. In the latter part of June, liH'C. n purty of, three men etinie to 4he big cabin at the Forks. They en gaged tho writer to guide them up the Houth Fork. Kor one week the outfit seemed cnt on trying to find locutions, bit returned appurently with no satis factions. They pu Id the guide wel' for Ills services and the night be fore leaving, the "head man" told ti strange story. 'Upon Inquiry as to his name, the Utile, old man told that hu was front Hoston, Mass, His name was "Oregon Duvnt." : The old. man hud-, acted very lueer during that ex)M'dlllon. look ing for something, secretly guard-) eu an tne wniie. iso wiieii ne low of hs name to be "Oregon" this; more than cmphualaed the fiintus lie behavior of this mysterious uet- ing Individual. , I Hut. the climax of the realisation! that the old man was absolutely i demented, came when he told thel weird and strange tale, of his sup-j posed uncestors. , , Until the finding of the human 1 bones and skull with 'the ball of Lead Inside, and the Indication of the old cabin at Hluck Pine (Springs did the Htory. reveal Itself Into it most mysterious and wonderful bit of history, at the sumo time prov ing that there Is gold In this country. The slory Ihul he told is In real ity the part or the lives uf his fu ther and mother up lo the time that he was four years old. He claimed to be 84. ho It brings us back to ISIIO und before. It was a long Htory that Mils mys- tcrlous old man told. It wus re- plete with . pathos and lrug dles. In terlaced with humorous little Inci dents of the wild doings of a peo ple at once savage und naive. Hut we will only relate the main fnetH Mrs. Nan Kichardson of Vonkers N. V.. a sister of John W. Davis. Democratic nominee for president. Mt ended the notification ceremonies Ut Clarksburg, W. Va., and. though h tried to dodge the camera man, he caught her as she was' leaving church. connected with the soul of thii btory. ADout I7tii. I'aui Duval wut born in Cumidu.. And about 171' he ran way from jUHtiee luiultn soiuewhen on (he Columbia river which according to this old man was then called "The Oregon." After a life of much adventures he formed a partnership with u dis satisfied old trapper, uumed Jo Sullivan. ; Mulllvhn was n squaw man, hnv lug for u wife u wiuuun of the Iri quols tribe. They were also frou t.'anada. They hid one daughter lamed Katie. Duval wunted Katie, but the oh folks did not listen lo his plei whatever. Hut the girl never mar ried, ami when J nival was ubuu: 56 years old the Iroquois uumtw was found with a bullet hole it her head, dead by the old I mil o u tnip line. Ami then iMivul married Katie Hut II was ii rt it u hard quurre will) tl e father, Jo Hulllviui. If which Duval threuteiied lo kill. 1 ibe further objected. Katie never cared much for th rough Uanudluu trapper. Hut sIm I iiiul u great love for her futhei The baby whs bnrn and she eallet For your home the new Picwick color mixtures . in a rug of Klcarflax OUR CHAPEL IS AT YOUR DISPOSAL ' A Chapel of dlB nily and beauty. In which you can hold an entirely worthy and mtlng' service, Is yours If you wl-ih to use it. Vou are Invited to make an Inspection. 8NOIH3IMRB ZIMMERMAN Undertakers Ambulance 8erto Clmn Mala Cor. 41 h and I'tun. tM (inUidc, Ore Then) Is no doubt us to the vo- raelly of this story. Itul Hie most Inleresting or the slorlcs told ubout this lust mine. tins been rerrelted out by llm writ i er, while gathering true ilula Tori tho composition of this article. A story which Is known to veryj few of Ilia old pioneers, and then; so old that it wus relegated to thel traditional legends or old at t hut I remote time, is still told. It is the mysterious living or a family in a mysteriously built log cabin.: somewhere on the banks or u small; lake, which was supposed lo be at one time where the lllaek 1'lne, Springs are today. The fragmentary narration tells that this family lived for years.! summer und winters, like wild anl-j mills. Although they were whites. I lliey lived beyond any wild lire ofl the wildest Indians. I 'this Blury in Itself hud no weight whatever, until the first Incident related below. t In July. 1523. whll" visiting k sheep camp In ihe vicinity of lllael. Hue Spring, the writer found lhej herder to lie a very bright and III-! telligent young Frenchman, l-iiuiii ' Lyons, who is now in Gooding, Ida ! Among the thick and tall black pine poles Mr. t.yons found two or j three human bones. Including b' purt of the skull. In tills skull a I large hole Is in evidence. And In- I side or Iho skull he round a hat-, tered bullet the sle or which cor-' responds to the halls of lead fired j hy the undent arms or the pio neers. No doutit w liatever that this per- 1 son had lust Us life hy being shot i in the head. ' I pun tile close observing lla(ure or tills Frenchman, ho could find signs of an ancient habitation. I lie most remarkable sign being un old g rlreplace. lint It was entirely oh-1 lltwrated by the many fallen dry( plies, with a second and third f row 111 o apilBKi, forming uu al-i A new frttich bf heiitity' liere and there liclps to rnrich tlie atmosphere of home. What more pleasing than the lively beauty of the new l'icwkk color mixtures in a rug of Klearrl.ix! You know,of course, flic rich one-tone colors . of Klearflax rugs. These have been combined in to lovely two-color effects, at once artistic and practical. Kvery plain color, too, may now be obtained with three bar end borders of a darker N complementary tone. i ' The pure linen strands of Kleartlar. are woven 1 tightly into a thick, heavy, reversible rug body that lies flat on the floor and resists tremendous, wear. Klcarflax is moth proof too, is surpris ingly easy to clean, and its new linen roughness grows soft and silky with use. Such Molalities have made Klcarflax increas ingly popular, not only in homes where go I , taste rules, but in fine public buildings jis well. See for yourself the pleasing variety of Klearflax here at the store. Klearjlajc tINEN RUGS & CAR.PETING W. H. Bohnenkamp Co. Listen to what Housewives Say- AMKKICAN BKAUTY FI-OUH Is bcllcr than the average flour and rosin about (he same price- A flour of uiimi.s takablc quality and a leader in its class. lOvcry loaf of bread made wit h A- Jl. I 'lour in no good that once Jon ts:nit you will always uhc il. Sole Agent Pattisot Brothers Grocery rhune Main 80 ho boy Oreron, lifter (ho great i Iver which oho had learned to! ovo so well. Oregon tmvnf was horn In a trap pert? hut on tho banks of Min im lake. This lake then wus called by the Indiana "Hhoosheeauoo" Happy Hunting Ground) for It na the bo- lef that this lake wus a passage way to tho home of tho Great Spir it. ' Jo Sullivan and Paul luval JUd not get along very woU- They would go on long journeys hunting ind trapping over the high moun tain range, into the lower fool hills When Oregon was three years ld he remembers them eonilnn home with a heavy paek of white rocks. They puumled this rock In some sort of st one mortar and round much yellow gold. A nuur rel over this gold ensued. Oregun remembers well when his father struck tho older man over tho head with a stone mortar. which resulted 111 tho death of the old man. Then hp remembers well the trip when they moved to the side of a much smaller lake Into a new cabin And when he was four years old his mother nhot his father while he was asleep. Taking the one poke of gold, she lead the boy out and joined a few Indians that were on their way In- lo a big round valley (Grande Hondo). Krom there Ihey went from place somewhere at some Indian's home; In New York state. 4 Oregon never had a day of schooling. Ho was partly raised unnoticed by Indians of the east. He followed tho trapping game all the while. And upon the capture of a valuable silver tip fox. mak ing him quite a sum of money, he ventured to come out In search of the mine whero hi father and Jo Sullivan had found this rich quarts. All he had w the story that his mother told, wllh the faint recol lections of his childhood days in thesa mountains. He swears that Hluck Pine Springs was the place where this HMinll lake was located. And that la the place where his mother kill ed his father. Now then, how that skull could be else than Paul Duval's remulns? And If It Is, the gold which was found then 'and later by the old Indian miner, must of consequence bo true. Oregon !uvul believes that his mother told the Indians of this find, and tho old Indian miner found the place originally discov ered by Paul imval and Jo Sulli van. - ' It Is for the old spirit of by-gone daya to revive, which will snd the daring pronpector to find this rich vein of gold. And remember that America, with Us immense wealth was dlHoovcred upon a much more doubtful theory at the time, than this truthful story linked togethet wllh set mil faels. Every steaming cup is an insistent invitation Sit TO LKEWARD of a fragrant cup of Hills Bros. Red Can Coffee. Eagerly i you will lift it to your lips and drain it dry. Then you will ask for another. That wonderful flavor has made "Red Can" the coffee of tho Wcst,'thc' pride of hosts, the wonder of visitors from the East and from abroad. No wonder i Hills Bros. Red Can is The Recognized Standard 1 With all its high quality, Hills Bros. Coffee is not high-priced. It is econom ical to buy and economical to use. Hills ' Bros., San Francisco. HILLS BROS COFFEE In the original l aatum-Patk nvhitk kttpi tltt coffee fresh. School Books Enough For All Pupils Plenty of Help to Serve the Big Crow4 Newlin Book & Stationery Go School Book Headquarters , I Wash and Glean your Automobile EITIIEK Day or Night Why ride in a dull, dirty car when for a very rea sonable amount you can always have your car spick and span. And besides, they run better when clean, don't they? , ; , Joe Williams AT HUDSON-ESSEX GARAGE Itocsch HldK. ' Blue Mountain Oregon LUMBER If wind und weather could only talk they would tnuiifts lk Hi n rliii'tihilit v nf TUnn MminlaltA AVMnn I l V ' vb J w a V mm ws a-vaur Tvaaa mil 4 ,avii ar. Lumber. 1 - Bowman - Hicks Lumber Company Telephone Main 8 : -rT" FOR DRY CHAIN AND BOX WOOD THONE MAIN 547 J. L. HUNHALL O 1914, Hill Brat. aru liero always on tliu Jh lo frcd cuntoiiirrs with thu purest Of blTHfl, foils UIMl puslry, all muilo of tho ho ft liiffrrrtlcnls, In u clrunly Imkfty, by expt'rlcnt'f d nml competent hiikrs. You will KL mo iP Hutlsructlon front 0 HlrtRlu lonf or ojt bronJ than from two of otlnr kinds, as ono lust alonu will prove. Try a louf of Ouldn Crm-c lodny. GWIUJAMH KI,i;CTKHJ IIAKKKY Stone fas ALL KINDS Oregon Hardware & Imp. Co. ASIC FOR PURITY BREAD First for Quality La Grande Bakery K.J. McWilliams PUKITY BREAD SUPERFINE BREAD Use Your Phone You do not luive to come lo town to do your grocery shopping. Just use your phone and call MAIN 75. Wo give plione ordors particular attention. J.G. Snodgrass 10'J Two Phones Depot Street Call Main 75 No Charge for Delivery