Crook
County
.
'Pi
VOL. V.
BAD0ES5Q-
V JlV 1 IlPV SJlOIlId JOt be
Killed liy Miners.
Badgers aa Prospectors.
Bort W. Jonas, Jtate Auditor of
Idaho, Rolatoa His Experience
With Them.
" hen I wan a member of tlio
state legislature a wild animal
bounty bill .was kiliol because it
carried a bounty on badg.irs."
This expression from KUto Auilitor
Bert V. Jones caused his hearers
to nettle down in their chairs and
prepare for a story. It came with
out delay.
'Badgers," said he, "are public
benefactors, a truth recognized by
i'Vi ty mining man and i rosncetor.
More good mines, and I might say
more poor ones, have been discov
ered through the agency of badgers
than any other, These animals
are x-rsistent burrowors. They
arc only satisfied when digging
holes. They like best to dig where
there is no water, hut still where
there is some moisture.
, "In a granite country especially
it is found that the ledge matter
carries a certain amount of
nioiHturc, and in the main it is al
ways quite cool. The badger re
vols under these conditions. He
will dig and dig until he gats below
tho real hot marks on the surface
of tho earth, and then he'll fix up
a home and call in his family
The old folks may be sedate
enough they usually art but the
kids are different. They scrape
and scratch around the mouth of
their little tunnel, continually dis
turning tho earth.
"One of the first discoveries of the
Wood river section was through a
liadgir. Two prosjKictors, after
hard days search for placer gold,
camped beside a badger hole.
Afier srpir they sat about the
camp nrc smoking, when one
noticed a badger appear for an in
stant at the mouth of the hole
The man investigntod just for a
little pass timo but he som became
excited, for, as hi attempted to
peer down tho hole, ho noticed
what to his practiced eye was in
Btantly recognized as gold.
'Calling his partner, they both
began, a hurried elimination.
They found that the badger had
burrowed down deep in a ledge of
very rich quartz. Early the next
morning they made their locations,
and before night had a hole ten
feet deep in the ledge, which was
composed of soft material The
men made money from the start.
That mine is today tho Minnie
Moore.
"There are many instances of
like character. All old mining
men know this peculiarity of the
badger and usually tako a sharp
look about their holes. This know
ledge was what caused rejection of
the b',11 granting bounties on the
scalps of badgers Theminingmen
members of the legislature would
not consent to anything tending to
harm and exterminate their harm
loss little friends." Boise States
man. Dr. V. Ccsner returned to his
borne in San Jose, California, after
a pleasant visit with his jm.ny
frtcndi.in this community, .:
rJtlXKVlLLK,
Philippine War Over.
A disiiatch (ruin r;inlln ,!(,.,
Juno 1!) scorns to indicate thu cl
wo
ftl. .1.. !.l . ....
' ' " i.-uuiiun. i lie
li8)iiti:li in hh follows:
Colonel (luivara, together with
SO men of Caillio's command, are
now at I'Hganjim. Cuillies entire
force will surrender nrxt Monday,
a n-pr.iscnuvc 01 uullics' has tele-1
... T...1... ri'n .I
(tuijHiru hi tfimgo mil, conveying
his principal's compliments 'and
announcing that Caillics will
henceforth be friendly to the Ad-j
ministration.
The Third Artillery will sail for!cxljlore tlie B,iady Jellt1 0,1 tlie
: the United States tomorrow on- the
transport Indiana.
The United States Philinoino
Commission has modified the pro-'
vision of the law i.rovidine for tlie1
' use of the Spanish language in the!
courts for five years by permitting.
proceedings to be conducted in!
English and native dialects: the
same to he translated into Swinish
unless the litigants stipulate other -
wise. If the latter case the records
are to be written in Iwth lammascs.!
Scouring Mill Needed.
l rincvine should have a scour-
ing mill in order to handle all the
wool that is produced in this coun-
ly io me nest advantage. Crook
county produces a very large per
centage of all the wool in eastern
Oregon and should do the cleaning
oi u ai nornc, in oroer io Keep as
miipfl .if fltA ftWtl.V nt l.n.t.u A
-i i
possible,
Pendleton has a scouring mill
that is a wealth producer for that
town as wcll as for the county at
large and wo see no reason why
I'rineville should not do as, well.
Wool after lcing scoured can be
handled much better not to apeak
luu K" reduction in weight.
Whv not save the freight on the
dirt that can be washed out of :
., I .1... . . . , . I
the wool?
As to power, that can be had at
a reasonable cost, either 'water or
steam. It will not be manv vcars!
until tho immence forces of the
Deschutes will Ins harncsed and
utilized for power-to run all tho
machinery in this and other towns
yet unknown.
We have the material and all
else but the energy to put the'
Wheels to turning in one of the
finest scouring mills in the west. J
The harvest is ripe, but the reapers I
are few.
Net Waist Girl.
The girls this summer are to
wear the net waist, a garment so
gauzy and transparent that one
can see every pulsation of their
dear littlo hearts. One who has
inspected these new-fangled waists
turns himself loose as follows:
"The shirt-waist man and the
net-waist girl go hand in hand to
day, and all the people year after
year keep throwing their clothes
away. The coat and vest we laid
to rost and where is tho fleecy
shawl?
Allll clllllioa rrof tliinn... !
'., , ,.. , :
nuiiiivi .
r "" "" " "w cnu oi. ben that the hsh were very partic- miles southeast of Prineville, has
it all? Oh, what will tho shirt j ular as to whom they became inti-' a tunnel 1300 feet in the mountain
waist man tako next from the things mately acquainted with, therefore and was recently bonded for if 100,
he haa to wear? And what will1 our catch was a limited one. IcOO. Ores from the Ochoco assai
the net waist girl throw off herj However tho scenery is simply from $34 to $74 per ton. Tho Sil
shoulJersnowso bare? The shirt grand, tho canyon being scaioely vcr King mine, 47 miles northeast
waist man and net waist girl go a hundnd yards in width and lined of Prineville, has a shaft 450 feet
rollicking down the way, Have on either hand by gigantic cliffs down. The comparative value of
we started a thread that is going two hundred feet., Here would le the ores in gold, silver and copper
to end in the old fig leaf some day? an ideal site for a storage reservoir is $250 per ton. Tho works to op-
irhw vater gold U tgrd eul- wtQ these mtawanaUfimtck.
CROOK (jQiJNTy. OKE00X jTfN'ii 27, laoi.
A PLEASANT TRIP
Kifrlifa rtiwl K'onnu A1nn
"l-VUW illWllii
McKay Creek.
Crop Conditions,
Its
I Shady Delia mad Finny . ""ribee.
Fine Site For Storage
Reservoir.
Saturday mornitig ye scribe and
I wayton started on a trip to
headwaters of the classic McKav
crees in search 01 such mem
1 m
bers of the finny tribes as had
llied tlll'msolva away "far from the
madding crowd" of farmers farther
down the crcck who kecI' tl)e waVir
lurmo"-
01,1 "m wwncd to fool., the
""I'oruince oi vne journey ana with
head erect and nostrils" distended
ihet(,ro nlon8 at a cl'PP'"g gait
! uml woum "m,ne lmny 01 tae ,lne
,wlred eltv hoiw'
ocarceiv a mne irom town one
is astonished to come out of the
iunil nrs into a lane on either nirle
iof which stretch away large fields
0f fine looking rye. These fields
disprove any statement to tlie affect
that the juniper hills will not l.ro-
ducc anything in the way of cereals.
A section or more of hind has
been fenced un and is beeomintr
wcll set with the1-native bunch
' . 1 . .....
.
grass, snowing that u care were
taken the country would again be
come seeded to that best of all
range grasses, but we do not believe
that it will ever become so woll set
as it was originally.
Tho cold weather this spring has
left its mark on the growing crops
all along the creek. Especially is
. . .
it noticeable in tlw alfalfa fields
which are very backward. In a
few nlnem ) r.. I,..-i.n ui;..i.i..
damaged, but not to hurt the' hay
n j
j crop. One farmer is plowing under
a pretty good stand of volunteer
Most of tho ranches along the
creek have very good houses and
other buildings on 'them, showing
that the owners are in a flourishing
condition, while on a few the build
n are coinir to ruin, the owners
having made a fortune and retired
from the active life on the farm
to the more quiet one of a lunded
proprietor in the city.
Some six or eight miles out is
one of the finest groves for picnic
purposes one ever meets . and it
should be utilized, for such, as it
would be a fine drive and would
become very popular with our
people were it -fixed up in good
shape.
At the forks of the creek a lot of
much needed road work is being
done. A new bridge has been
built and rock work and gravel
approaches have been constructed.
About twelve miles up the creek
we mado camp and tried our luck
with the festive trout, but there i
l. .1 1 -.1 it . I
iiiiu uueu uiuri-H u ere m mu n nnm- 1
fieierit to irrigate many fine farms
that are now waste land lying out
on the common and ready to bring
forth abundant crops if the water
was put on them. In the caurse
of time the general government
may be prevailed upon to aid in
constructing such a reservoir
which would add no less than
$100,000 to the taxable property
of Crook county.
Wheeler County Sheep Killed.
Last Sunday night unknown
vandals to the number of 10 or 12
rode through a land oi sheep be
longing to Shown Bros., of Wald
ron, which were camped near where
Rock creek empties into Crooked
river in Crook county. As they
rode, the lawless gang fired about
100 shots into the sheep, killing
five And crippling many others.
The herder, R. E. Scott, was awak
ened by the commotion, and saw
the men ride away. Prior to' the
shooting, a warning notice had
been pinned on the herder's tent.
The sheep were on government
land, many miles from the so-called
forbidden ground of the. Beaver
creek settlers, and the outrage has
aroused great indignation among
the sheepmen of central Wheeler
county who summer their sheep in
that vicinity. The sheepmen have
no intention of taking their flocks
away from there and are organiz
ing to meet force with force, which
they have a legal right to do. -
It is probable the end of the af
fair is not yet. Fossil Journal.
Crime Outlawed.
Circuit Judge J.- W . Hamilton
the second district, wh is holding
court in Salem in the place of
Judge Burnett, advised the grand
jury that the statute of limitations
has run against the crime of em
bezzlement committed by George
W. Davis in failing .to turn over
131,000 of school funds, received
by him as clerk of the state land
board. Tho grand jury presented
the tacts to Judge Hamilton yes
terday and asked for his opinion.
This proceeding was taken under
statute which authorizes the
grand jury to state the facts of a
case, using fictitious names, so that
the judge may advise them as to
the law.
In passing upon the question,
Judgo Hamilton did not state
wheiher the statute began to run
from the time of tire taking of the
money or from the time the clerk
went out of ofiice, for in either
event tho crime would bo out
lawed. It is nearly six years since
Davis went out of office, and ,the
crime outlawed in three years.
There will be no furthur proceed
ings of a criminal nature against
Davis, for nothing would be accom
plished thereby.
Crook County nines.
Lakevkw Examiner. '
J. W. Maxwell visited some of
the Crook county mines during his
trip north and 6a vs that, count v
will soon Wnmn a. t.w ;.,.0i
. - - -
t - ,w 'r rv.i,,,.,..
iumuvvi. Alio VV11UIU llilllU, iO I
GENERAL HEWS.
Items of 'Interest Gath
ered Here and There.
Somo Stolen, Others Not
Cullintra From Our Exchanees
News Notes of the Week.
Timely Topics.
Search is being made in the Rab
bit creek section near Desolation
Lake for the remains of John.
James, who disappeared last De
cember; and who is supposed to
have perished in the mountains.
In the National Editorial As
sociation the law committe precipi
tated a warm debate by submitting:
a report in favor of excludinf from
the mails all newspapers thrrt give- -
premiums. Alljcrt Tozicr, of Port
land, Or., was elected president.
.The next convention will be held
at Hot Springs, Ark.
Claud R. Fountain, an Ashland
boy, has won one of the scholar
ships in the Columbia University
of New York. Young Fountain is
21 years of age and graduated from
the Klamath Falls high school ir
1896. This yeai he is a member of
the graduating class of the Univer
sity of Oregon, standing highest in
mathematics in the University. ...
Fish Warden "Van Dusen, re
turned yesterday from a trip along;
the Des Chutes river, looking for
available hatchery sites. He re
ports the river to be an excellent
one for the desired purpose and a
furthur inspection is being made
by Expert F. C. Brown. It is
quite probable that racks will be
built on the river and hatchery
operations commenced in the early
fall. Astorian.
Theory that there is only one
mine in the Trout Creek Mining
District, is fast bec.oming disproved.
There are several more claims
now being developed that are show
ing up minerals and ore that can
not he other than rich propositions.
It needs only a visit to the camp
to prove this fact and that the ona
mine theory is a myth -Ashwood
Prospector.
Chas. White of Paper Sack has
sold to Jas. Wright of Yakima the
2400 head of 2-vear-old wethers he
was about to ship to Chicago. The
price is $2.00 per 100 lbs., delivered
and weighed at Heppncr June 25.
The sheep, which were sold to Mr.
White by Rettie & Patterson last
fall, are in splendid condition, and
will average over 100 lbs. per head.
The sale is considered a good oua
by sheepmen. Fossil Journal
S. A. Heilner of Baker City sold
all of his wool on the 7th inst.
which he bought last year and
this, over 50J sacks or about 175,-
000 pounds at figures averaging;
9 cents per pound. Thi-t is said
to lie the largest single sale of wool
ever made in Eastern Oregon. This;
deal breaks the proposed woolgrow
ers' combine, which it was proposed
to form at a met ting of the grower.
of Eastern Oregon to be held ai.
Baker City early in July, Mr,
Heilner, being the largost hold -c
of wool in that section, his partici
pation was necessary to make tht
combine successful. The wtwl waa
sold to Eustcru la.ltiv.