170
THE WEST SHORE.
QUARTZ MINES OF WESTERN OREGON.
riAIIE quartz mining industry of Southern and Wes
I tern Oregon, although a matter of twenty-five
A years standing, has of late begun to nttnin a pmm
iuenoo which stamps it an almost a now industry.
At various time within that period discoveries of great
er or lees importance have brought the aubjoet promi
nently before tho people, but tho intorewt thus awakened
invariably proved ephemeral, and in no caso hiui the
community at large reoeivod permanent benefit from
such discoveries, and tho individualH who have lxmoGt
by them have been few.
Tho stagnation and depression prevailing in other
line of buHineaa has of late caused the diversion of con
siderable wealth into mining pursuit, and to a largo ex
tant those principle which prevail in ordinary buaiueas
have boon transplanted into the new pursuit of gold and
ailver mining, thereby placing it on a plane of rosponsi
bility and straightforwardness. Men who deairo to fo
vea! in minus now demand to kuow plainly tho chances
of loaa or gain, and tho facta ombraood in thia articlo
were gathered with tho view of disseminating such in
formation aa may servo to tomtit inveators and prospoc
tora in a olmioo of location in which to conduct tlioir
oMiraliona. Without further preface, wo will proceod
to ooiiaidor tho difTereut quartz mining districts of the
slate.
Thero is no doubt but that motamorphio voin-bear-ing
rocks of tho same description aa thoao which pre
vail in tho mineral regious of California, oxiat in great
thickneaa on tho wontcm aloe of tho Cascades; but un
fortunately denudation by glaciers and mountain streams
has failed to remove tho lava, sandstone and other late
formations which lio upon and conceal them and their
mineral wealth. It is only about tho headwaters of such
Ktwerful streams as tho Umpqua, tho McKon.ie, tho
Hautiam and tho Molalla that the erosion haa gone deep
enough to cxpoae miueral voius of magnitudo. On the
former stream some promising quarts leads are now
being prospect!; ou the Sautiain several mines have at
times been worked, and indications are very favorable
for Uie finding of additional extensive and rich veins in
tho lower exposed strata all along the western sIojms of
tho range. It is almost unnecessary to add that the
alluvium of nearly all the mountain streams flowing
from this region contains gold, sometimes constituting
workable placers. The principal mines of Southern
Oregon are not situated in the Cascade range, but in the
transverse chains which connect that range with the
ooaat mountains. The formations are like those of
Northern California, the same description of slnUs pre
dominating, and quarli veins are largo and numerous.
The uuwt important lodes lio in Uie hills which separato
Uie Rogue, Applegate, Illinois and South Umpqua rivers.
JACKSOH CltEEE DISTRICT.
The Jackson creek quarts veins belong to a strongly
develojwd system which eriueates the attfep hilla which
lie about tho headwaters of that stream, and are charac
terized by parallelism and uniformity of dip. They con
tain little base metal, and their content of gold ia found
in small, but often very rioh chutes in short, they are
" pocket " vnins. The principal mines thus far worked
are the Hicks ledge, the first quartz vein worked in Ore
gon; the Davenport, Bowden, Holman, Johnson and El
der and New El Dorndo, all of which have produced con
siderable gold, thoir estimated production being as fol
lows: Davenport lodge 110,000.00
Holman " 10,000.00
Hicks " 2,000.00
Bowden " 5,000.00
Johnson and Elder
New El Dorado.
Since the rovival of quartz mining in Jackson county,
work has been resumed on the Davenport, Bowden and
New El Dorado claims, with great promise of sucoess.
Besides thoso, sovoral hundred new locations have been
made, fiuo prospects being found in innumerable places.
The most noted of the now minos are the Bell & Moody,
Birdseye & Co., and the Mosquito guloh claim. This
district has the advantage of possessing a good quartz
mill, with efliciont apparatus for working large or small
lota of ore. The Salmon pulverizer, the best quartz re
ducing machine yet invented, is in use at this mill, und
givos tho best of satisfaction to' those able to judge of
its workings.
A1TLKOATE DISTRICT.
This diHtrict includes but one mine that has yet pro
duced gold, but that one is the renowned "Steamboat"
mine the moat prwluctive claim ever worked in Ore
gon. It was discovered in 18(50, and within two years
produced $.'115,000 almost as much as all the other
quartz minos in Southorn and Western Oregon. Sev
eral partners owned it, but abandoning the claim after
it was in their opinion thoroughly worked out, it lay foi
many years idle, but eventually fell into the hands of
Richard Cook, who is now engaged in prospecting for
further deposits.
OOLD HILL DISTRICT.
Qold Hill, a noted landmark in the Rogue river val- .
ley, has a wonderful history, the most of which is due to
the finding of the celebrated quartz mine in I860, which
has ever since been known by the name of the Gold
Hill mine. It was an immense "pocket" of very rich
quarts nuggeU, which gave out after a few weeks' work,
but in that short space produced $150,000. The rock
was worked at first by arastra, but during the year of its
discovery a steam mill of twelve stamps, the first built
in Oregon, was brought from San Francisco and set up
at the Dardanelles, the present crossing place of the
railroad bridge over the Rogue river. Nothing of mo
ment has been done on the mine since 1861, but the or
ganization which owns it is still kept up.
In Uie neighborhood of Qold Hill are several other
important claims, tho Blackwell, Swiuden, McDonough,