Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, July 30, 1900, Page 4, Image 4

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    X
PH3 MORNING OEEGONIAK MOffDAY, JUlfo ' 3lV TftOO.
MINES BF Bt)
Mineralized Area Containing 225 Square Miles That Resembles
Cripple Creek in Formation Free Gold Overlying
Vast Bodies,
BOHEMIA, Or,. July 28. Bohemia min
ing district Is truly the poor, man's uarjz
countrj Here in the" Calapooia Moun
tains, .134 miles south of Portland By
Tall to Cottage Grove, the'nee 38 miles
by stage up Row River and Sharp Creels,
Is a highly mineralized heit of 226 square
miles containing enormous bodies of baso
ore, carrying gold, silver, copper, lead,
zinc, galena, the -whole covered to a
depth of between 200 and 400 feet -with a
capping of free-milling gold. The judg
ment of mining men, particularly those j
who have had their schooling in Colorado,
pr who hat e Worked in its mines", is" that
Bohemia resembles Cripple Creek in
formation nd will surpass it in produc
tion. Bohemia is many times larger than
Cripple Creek. Its extent, that is, the
area, which has been prospected with
any thoroughness, is IS miles -square. Sur
rounding this square on all of its sides is
mineral bearing ground. Taking in the
Blue River country, which lies 50 miles
north and eest, this part of Western
Oregon has a mineral belt which is be
lieved to be 09 miles north and "south
and 23 mile cast and -west, an area Jf
1500 square miles. There is but little
difference between. Bohemia and Blue
River. The rocks of both are wholly
igneous and of comparatively recoat ori
gin, like Cripple Creek and other parts
of Colorado and a great deal of British
Columbia. Although andesites and ba
ealts occur in Blue River, the rocks
differ frcni those of Bobc?aia Jn being
generally more siiioeous -Compared vrjih
this extensive belt, Cripple Greek's eight
square miles make a comparatively small
camp. To use the words of a Colorado
miner who has come to Oregon to stay
''Bohemia has the roak. What it nHds
Js practical mining men "backed by cap
ital to extract the values,"
It would be misleading to designate Bo.
hernia a free-milling country. It is es
sentially a base oamp The normal lis
sures aro base, oarrjing high values In
gold, copper and lead, which are down
at least 303 feet below the surface. The
coating of iron-stained free-milling ore,
so welcome to the eje of the prospector
and productive b so simple a process
as the hand stamp mill of the values
that keep him in funds while he Is open.
Ing his ledge, is of decidedly late forma
tien. bo recent, indeed, that the gold is
all in the rock and pone of it has leached
into the streams to form the placers
found wherever tbee are mother lodes.
The production that will make Bohemia
a Cripple Creek will be obtained not from
the stamp mill, but by smelting and per
haps by chlorination. Both stamping and
smelting are cheap, by reason of the
abundance of water and fuel. Bohemia,
all canvons and peaks, is an exceptionally
xavorabje region Ipr deep mining, Lvery
where tunneling glvea depthspg
irom ISO to 19W feet, m many of the
mines it is an easy matter to strike
the line of cleavage between the free
milling and the base ores and to upraise
fpr the one and sink for the other. As
no considerable amount of shafting has
been, done anywhere, it Is not possible
to give an estimate of its cost per foot.
Working tunnels cn be driven, hand
drilling, for J10 a foot. A 1300-foot tunnel
on the Noonday will net a depth of 1000
feet. On the Henry Clay group In Monto
Rico a SOOO foot tunnel will give 1500 feet
of depth. And so it runs throughout the
district. Generally the top rpek Is honey
combed quarts, mixed with solid quartz,
but in the Champion, the quartz is al
most solid. Thje quartz hardens, the
veins -widen and the values of the free
milling rock increase TIth depth. When
the base roak is oponed up It is belie u
that its values and the veins earning
them will Increase with depth.
Bohemia's gold output this year, in
cluding the production of the Musick and
Helena mines and ore shipments from
jropertles under development, will be oe-
tween $175,000 and $200,009, about that of
Cripple Creek in the early SOs. Thete
are CI stamps in the camp, as follows:
Musick, If); Helena, S, Noonday, -;
Champion, Id; Long, 2. Harland, 2, Stocks,
S; Star, 5, Brooks &. Michelson, 2; Hoyt s
tremaln, 2. enly ID, those of the Mustek
and the Helena, are -dropping continuous
ly. Others are running Irregu'ariy and
others not at all, because of Utigatien.
There is reason to hope that the Noon
day will get out of court before long
and start up its 20-stamp mill, and taat
Mr. Woodruff will rcsumo work in 'the
Champion. It would be a great thing
for the camp were these mills in opera
tion. Wlthip another year there will oe
a great deal more equipment In camp.
Helena No. 1 is adding five stamps, the
Henriptta three and the Vesuvius. Knott,
Helena No. 1 and others are likely to
have stamp mills soon.
The Bohemia country haa been known
Blnco August. 1S5S, when it was visited
by Dr. W. W. Ogieby, still living at
Junction City, and Frank Brass. The
discovery ot gold is, however uni
versally credited to James ("Bohemia')
Johnson, from whom the district takes its
name, who. with Georgo Ramsey, reached
It in 1850, by wmy of the north fork of
the Umpqua River and Steamboat and
City Creeka. A tradition of the camp
has it that Johnson had tilled an Indian
end had fled to these mountain fastnesses
to escape his pursuers. He discovered
free gold in a email vein near the heal
waters of City Creek, hut the pocket
pinched out after it had yielded between
$400 and JTtXL With the exception of the
work on the Knott which was discon
tinued in 1S77 and not resumed until im
the country was. lost to mocnory until
Dr. W. W. Oglesby and O. P. Adams re
turned to it in 1ES1. Than followed tbo
discovery of the Musick ledge and the
erection of a mlH on the proporty, the ,
building of the Champion and Noonday I
wills and the advent of the Jennings
fflmnnsnacf
of Base Ore. f
Bros, and tlreir association with Charles
B. Bruneau la the development or the 1
w a X . ... & t-.m . T
irreat nwena Tiieriv. wsn r&t Hi- i
trlot slept, many claims were held KV
relocation. It is related that one claim
was relocated IS times In as many years,
.and In nil thin timn onlv 8ft ttrt nf tun
nel was opened about half the amount I
of wosk that chould-be done in tne Hve
years Succeeding location.
The principal claims of the district are
rapidly passing out of the hands of tne
.indifferent and inexperienced and into the.
control of mining men. J. W. Cook, w-ho
became interested in the camp in l$i
and who is still a heavy owner in the
Musiok, is the pioneer Hi systematic de
velopment Then came the Jennings
Bros., the Byrnes and others from Brit
ish Columbia, and lately Frank J. Hard,
George W. Lloyd afed others from Col
orado. These men tackle mines in a
business-like way. They develop their
properties to determine what is in them, ' have shown so great confidence in the ing haying yet ben done. The total ex
and having satisfied themselves of the ' future of the camp as the threo Jennings pense of producUop, including the cost
value and permanency of the properties, i.fiw,-D t t t -i t t Tha t, of operotins the flve-stamo mill, is from
OOA I.V AtCWt. ttSfta OnUM. 1U4MI1 w.-
VJ Tn JtSV.
nlng. Bros., Cook, Lloyd and Hard that
Bohemia interests the better for it. An
excellent reaomnondation for these man
is that they hayp corns to Oregon to
IJve, to interest Oregon capital as far
as praatioabla in their undertakings, and
to share the profits with Oregon psople.
These gentlemen have been instrumental
in organizing the Oregon Mining Stock
Bxohwge. of Portland, which has bcn
an influential factor in directing attention
to Oregon mines.
The IlKSJE "needs of Bohemia district
aro railroad connection and a .smelter at
Portland. It U reasorably certain that
year, TutTbe smeUelferprise is pass-d
up to Portland capital At present all
smelting for the camp Is done on Puget
the dlstrlot will nave a ranroaa in a
Rnnnri Tn Siinr the frelrhters ssk
S10 a. ton for takim: ore to Cottage Grove.
j and in Winter they ak .as high as $15.
j ton. although the miners would not ohject
a. raiiroaa couie nuuee money ai n
to paying $6. But $10 makes a big hole
In the ore values. Besides, there are to I
A -STA3IP MILL IX BOHEMH. DISTRICT.
u , , u , , ., A 5
be paid freight rates from Cottage Grove
to Puget Sound, and smelting charges. J
The Calapoola Mountains extend from. 1
tho Cascado Range to the Coast Range,
and from the divide between the WHlam-
ette and TJmnaua Rivers. From the Cas
cade Range they extend almost directly
west, but as they approach the Coast
Range they turn north and become less j
prominent. The rather low cap which
separates them from the Coast Range -Is
passed through by the Southern Pacific
railroad, midway between Drain and Cot-
tsgc Grove. This gap was onco occupied
by a stream, carrying the waters of
the Umpqua northward into tho Willam-
ette, before tho Umpqua had found Its
way throusrh theVCoafet Raiure directly to
hfhe sea, N
Bohemia district is situated at an alti
tude of between 4000 and 630 feet above
tha sea, along the crest of thejCalapoblns
and upon both slopes It msj. be reaahed
from Cottage Grove by a good road up
Row Rivor. The road forks at the mouth
of Sharp Qreek, oae fork leading to the
KoaMilflT mine wt th nthr laarHni- ltn
A Sharp Creek by a sho-ter route to ,Bo-
hetala Fostofnce at the Musick mine. Tee
region may be approached also from 'the
r"d at Oakland, on the southwest, J
T VAC A s..f4 A tl . 4 1 m. ..Cava... 1 -. t
" i .i ., u. M,c uuwuco
somewhat greater than from Cottage
Grove.
The slopes throughout the region $ind
its approaches are steep and generally
well wooded. Bohemia, a shaggy dike
38 feet high is the highest point in-tne
region. Other .prominent elevations are:
raiBvIew, COO; Grouse Mountain. 6CW. Ele
phant Mountain, 6300, Grizzlv, 6W0 From
early Fall until June the entire country
Is covered with snow, bat in the Summer
months the mountain sides don a mantle
of wild flowers and luxuriant grass. "The
prospector looking; (or a ledge has first
to clear an opening through the sweet
sceted tiger lilies and mountain tulles
and rhododendrons. v
Holena JTo. 1. ,
2-Jo "men who have come to Bohemia
MtSICIC 2IINE
enough to sell it before silver tumbled,
and the brothers located In Bohemia in
16. Their flrnt fciVestiaieni: wa Jrt the
Star claim, 'on Martin Creek, which they
equipped with a llvt-stamp mill and upon
which they nave done 503 or COO feet of
development work. The mill is not run
ning this year because of lack ef water.
It will have to be fitted for uteam pow er
to insure continuous operation. The Star
is meiA frvft-m!lHjr nraortw The ore
1W colored, honeycombed and porous,
Shortly After coming to this camp, tne
fWw .r"?
UB -"zT' """; ".r"rJ ,;
ager. R. X a .superintendent and J. J ,
as ft reman They hu Ut the ""MMdo
tramway and opened the big tunnels, antj
Whne they -were in cnarge or tne mine .
It was on a paying baste.
In 1887 they
became interested with Charles B. Bru
neau in the Helena Ko. l, wnicn com- i
prises seven claims. The Helena lead
naa Deen examinea um aim anwi u
mining men who thought they Knew a
nnlnt n t .,.. nl(, hHk ,t -amained
point or two about gold, but It "malned
for Mr. Brunoau to stick to the work and
uncover tne loage wmen as none more
than anything else to make Bohemia the
promising eamp it is today.
The company owns six claims Holena,
Loretta, American Boy. Sally. Mountain
Chief Aid Verde, comprising 110 aores.
The principal development is on the Hel-
ena and Loretta olalms. The Helena
ledge Is opened on tha surface from
Herschoaven Creek, over Grizzly Mountain
j and down on the other side to Champion
1 Creek. The company owns 3000 feet of
this ledge, and has driven three tunnels,
I 400 feet on the low er. 280 on the second,
I and 100 feet on the third. The ledge is
1
THE BOHEMIA MTn?G DISTRICT FROM TOP OF FADiVIEW, TAKIXG BOHEMIA PEAK.
also opened by several open euts of vary
ing depth. The lower and middle'tunnela
are connected by an upraise and another
upraise connects the middle -tunnel with
the surface.
The ledge Is rich oxidized ore, and Is
nine feet wide. Seven feet of this is pay
ore, and is handled at the mill without
sorting. The ledge has been opened on
the surface by open cuts and tunnels for
a distance of 1100 feet from the present
workings, and proves the samo class and
grade as .3 "now being taken out. While
the entire seven feet gives returns In the
mil! of $33 per ton. the high-grade streak.
which shows continuously In all the work
ings, gives values running, several hun
dred dollars to the ton. The ore aver
ages, mill run, from $20 to $70 a ton,
freo'gold, and a trace of silver.
-The vein contains, besides- Umonite and
porous quarts, considerable kaolin, with
rare crystals of ceruslte. This oxidized
ore occasionally Incloses pyrite, with
some sphalerite and traces Of galena. The
.openings follow the course of the vein.
The upper level has afforded some fine
specimens of film gold deposited on
quartz and pertly burled in quartz. The
whole is frequently stained by oxide of
Iron.
For several months past the mine has
bean producing ore valued at frem $12,000
to $15,000 a month, all of which has been
extracted In driving the tunnels, no stop-
AD rAIB,EW PEAK BOHEMIA
be materiaUy increased after October 1,
when fiyc additional stamps will be put
In operation. This equipment is necessary
as the amount of ore in sight Is con-
servatively estimated a"t $100,000.
Helena No 1 is having lumber cut for a
new twp-story bunkhouse, 20x30 feet, a
boarding-bouse, an ofJlce and an assay of
fice. These will be located op a slope of
Grizzy Mountain, adjoining the mill. The
company employs 15 men, but when the
mill is increased to 10 stamps, there will
Helena.Mlnim? Company has a caDl-
tailzaSm ot$1 ffiSJ S
P. J. Jennlnirs is nresldent. Charles B.
Zgg ,B ,J. Jennings
Prnt n J "E
(...
--j K
iicienn ao. 2.
Grizzly Peak's 6000 feet separates :
la No. 1 from its companion group.
Hel-
ena
the
Helena No. 2, also owned by Bruneau
and the Jennings brothers. Helena Nb.
, 1 is on the east side of Grizzly, in Doug
I las County, and Helena No. 2 on the west
side of It, in Lane County. The vein of
the Holona No. 1 opening runs north
I west, directly Into Grizzly Mountain, and
is exposed on the side of the ridge on
i which the Helena No, 2 Is located. Three
I tunnels, aggregating 150 feet, have been
run on the Holena No 2. The showing is
much better than the Helena No 1 made
j with the same amount of work, though
, the rock In the two groups is identical.
At 15 feet, free-milling ore was struck
that assayed $105 In gold to the ton. Con
tracts have been let for 300 feet of tun
1 nelihg to be done this Summer, and If a
good ore body Is opened, a five- or ten
stamp mill will be put on the property.
The mill site, op Champion Creek, Is ex
ceptionally favorable, affording an abun
dance of water and wood, and belnir out
of the line of .deep snow.
The Mnsielc:
Tho only mine In the southwest nortlon
I of the field that has been operated con
tlnuously for a number of years is the
MuBlck. It lies' at the bas'e pf'Bohemla
Mountain, at the head of City 'Croak,
i which flows Into Steamboajt Creek, 'and
has about 4000 feet of horizontal "under
ground workings, reaching to a depth of
nearly COO feet from the surface, although
there is a range of over 300 feet between
tho lowest and highest points of the mine.
The course of the vein at different
points carries rom north about 40 degrees
to SO degrees west, and its dip lies "lose
to the vertical upon either side. In general
its course is that of the Calapoola Moun
tains. It Is quite irregular in width, rang
ing from 4 to 12 feet, and has rather
numerous branches. The vein itself, where
best exposed, is made up of three parallel
volns, xlb shown In the following section,
taken from near the top of the main
shaft:
A is an Irregular mass of quarrz, per
meated and colored with Hmonlte, but
contains here and there traces of pyrite.
B -has a greater width, and generally
at this level there 08 more quartz that Is
crystallized, filling small drusy cavities.
and the whole Is well covered by red and
' ToHow oxide of iron, and contains numer-
oua VeCtangular crVstol cavities, from
whIch pyritfi haa bgan TQmove& ' In c
therQ Js tnG greats araount of soft
. Hmonlte, with a small proportion of
quartz, and the ore is not rich.
Descending to the first level, 40 feet
below the surface, the vein- continue!
completely oxidized. At the west end of
this level is the middle vain (b in the
fisure) colored by oxide of Iron. South
of it Js a mass of chiefly kaolin-like seri
clte. beyond which is the vein marked A.
Level No. 2 Js 0 feet beneath the sur
face, at the shaft, but somewhat deeper
at the west end. About 100 feet below the
surfacp, at the west end of level No. 3,
tho full vein Is In view, with a width ot
about ljfeo't. at this leel? the velnirock
is TOUch less rotten and 'discolored' hy
oxides of iron. Pyrite and chalcopyrito
are common. Galena and traces cf zinc
blende appear, and. although they occur
at a number of points throughout the
mine, are of much less general distribu
tion than pyrite and chalcopyrite. At this
level there are assooiated with the iron I
oxide about the sulphides numerous white
aclcular crystals and bunches of lead car
bonate, evidently derived from the alter
ation of je galena, More or less kaolin
is usually associated with the vein, and
occasionally it occurs In largo masses, but
generally contains no considerable quan
tity of the precious metals.
Fifty feet bplow level No. 3. nearly 100
feet below the surface. Is level No, 4,
which has been opened for $50 feet. In
this level, near the west endv the lower
portion of vein C Js exposed. It Is es
padaliy rich Jn .pyrite. Near v by the
middle portion of the vein is very rich in
galena.
Ore that is rich in galena occurs more
abundantly In level JCo. 6, which lies US
feet below No, A. Its development Is
confined, to the southeastern portion of
the mine, which is on ISO feet below
the surface. .This level is. only 000 feet
in length, and the distribution of ore is
very irregular. At the last end the voln
rock 4s fllled with small nodules of kaolin-like
sericlte, which form, nearly half
DISTRICT.
the mass. Between the nodules of sericjte
Is quartz containing a considerable pro
portion of sulphides. At the western
end of this level the ore is chiefly galena,
with quartz and sulphides. Some small
cavities are Jlned with quartz, others with
pyrite. On this level galena is one of
the most prominent ores. At one point
sphalerite f3 especially abundant, and
constitutes the greater portion of a con-
slderable mass.
Concerning the ores of the Musick mine
in general, it may he said that oxidation
extends to a depth of nearly 100 feet, al-
though pyrite is sparingly present above
that level. In the quartz and Hmonlte of
the oxidized portion, traces of lead, cop-
per and zinc ores, of any kind are entirely
absent. Below that level, however, the
sulphides become locally prominent, and
within the limits of this mine the amount
of lead and zinc sulphides present ap
pears to lncrea&e somewhat with the
dopth. JCaolip occurs Irregularly distrib
uted throughout the vein at an levels.
Near the Musick vein, upon which the
Musick roino Is located, to the northedst,
Ik th California, which has been nros
pected. -for several hundred yards, on a
course varvlnsr from south 75 degrees- tq
81 degrees west. It is about five feet in
width, and locally contains much black
oxide of Iron. Cropplngs. show 20 feet ot
width in some places. The vein shows,
on the surface for 3C0O feet.
Southeast of the California, upon the
right bank of City Creek, is the White
Ghost, or Old City ledge, In which pros
peoting holes were sunk long ago. Thp
rpek is peculiar, and quite unlike any
.V.
found elsewhere In the region. It con
sists chiefly of quartz, and tourmaline, so
arranged In places as to give the rock
a gneissold structure, the strike of which
Is north 55 degrees west. The rock Is
much fractured, and locally contains con-
1 slderable pyrite and sidtfrite. The ma
terial Is associated with ana surrounacu
by fragmental volcanic material, which
stiggeats tha.t this wa once the center
of volcanic activity. The pyritiferous ore
ranges from a few dollars to $20 a ton In
gold and sliver.
Southeast of the Whlto Ghost Is the
I Mystery, -which has been mora extenslvajy
J opened. Near the center of the claim i
discovery shaft, to thd vcst of whfch the.
quartz contains particles of sphalerite,
galena, chalcopyrite and kaolin. At dis
covery shaft the porous ore Is greenish
within, due to chlorite, and rust on the
surface. It contains rainy scales of red
h&matlte. Large scales of hematite oc
cur In the gray quartz, associated with
tho jellowish green epldote. The fine
granular quartz, which has been broken
un and brocciated. Is full of minute parti-
I lu nt nvritA nriI nthfir sailnhtdea. while
the fragments are ..rat coatea with a
laver of hematite scales and then covered
with quartz costals.
Musick ore averages about $70 go'd tp
. , C -r 2so' q so'
' IJ-1N-. -t,-, "
-n , -..' .,. ,,0 Levee -p ,pt,
r - v In
CSVt- 11-11 '" - t. 8Jg-
' ' UVL S ' b ?0 ' , I , ,
ttie ton, and 1 per cent copper and 00 per
cent lead.
The surface ores were treated for sev
eral years in a five-stamp battery, with
plates, but without concentration One
year ago a new 10-starap mill was built
firm -f-twrt ftttl.ai"," Wltfl... taMA. v.Awn
and two full-sized Wllfley tables wore
installed. In the new mill the ore Roes
through a- crusher and Is automatically
fed into the battery. Amalgamation takes
place in the battary, and on the outside
silvered plates. The capacity of the mill
Is 55 to : tons a day. Concentration is
four tons of ore concentrated into one ton.
Concentrates are worth $160 per ton or 540
per ton of ore milled Slaca 1S2 the
Musick has produced $lS0.OrO gold.
Confident of the future, the owners of
the Jduslok are undertaking development
on an xtensiv e scale, They are planning
to cut a big tunnel, through Bohemia
Peak, from its western slope, to tap the
lead at a depth of 12S0 feet, which will be
ISO feet lower than the present lowest
level. The- tunnel will be 29 feet long.
8x8 fa?tr will havo two tracks, and will
cost, exclusive of machinery, $10 a foot,
or a total of $26,-l00. Tor its making
machine drills, run by compressed air,
will bo used. The tunnel has already been
bagun on the Hazel claim, en the west
side of Bohemia Peak. Its extension will
cut a juuetion of three veins, running
through the Yucon. California and Dell-
awe claims. The ledge at the junction
is believed to be 150 feet wide.
The Musick takes Its name from James
A- Musick, who located the Defiance
claim for himself and the Los Apgeles
for A. fi. .Qnvis. of Lps Angeles, In 1S9L
I Through Mr. Davis, J. W. Cook, of Los
I Angeles, and O. E. Brady, of San Fran
i Cisco, beeame Interested. In 1S94 Mr.
! Cook bought out Mr. Davis Interest, and
1 la 1SS5 Mr- Mustek's. A five-stamp mill
j vyas put up In 1892, and increased to 10
! stamps In 1S8S
The claims forming the Musick group
are the Defiance, California, White Ghost,
. Mysterv, Alpharetta, Los Angeles ana
Ajas., In Douglas County, and the Butte,
f Idaho, June, Hazel, Yucon and Halifax,
in Lane County.
Big? Development on Elephant Moun
tain. The programihe of development which
the Consolidated Mines Corporation, Lim
ited, has outlined will go far toward in
qreaslng the production of Bohemia and
spreading its fame as a great mining
. camp, This is. a Portland corporation.
. viueh has selected Elephant and Adam&J
.Mountains, lajung m ine summits oi Doin,
us jus ueiu ui uikiuuuu. J.ia uiuteia ami
Hon. George W. Holcomb, president.
Frank Dooley, vice-president; A. Mather,
treasurer, and Reginald W. Thompson,
secretary. E. 8 Adams, a mining man
of practical experience, Is superintendent.
The company has seven claims, five
on Elephant Mountain : nd two on Adams
Mountain, and mining men pronounce
them the making of a great property.
J
v
GENERAL. SECTION OF THE 3ICSICK
3XIJTE.
Tho principal development is on the Ele- may be expected of it. The collar of tho
phant Mountain claims. Only assess- shaft Is 55C0 feet above sea level. There
ment work Is being don on the Daisy, ' Is no doubt that there Is an enormous
but the others are being pushed ahead, body of rich ore on the Bohemia. Mr.
On ono of tho Adams Mountain locations Gllbertson is confident that a lead can be
only assessment work Is bel ir done, but opened up for a width or CO feet the en
on the other one the Henrietta a shaft tire 1500 feet of the claim's length. Near
. the southern end of the claim, 1300 feet
H nli 1
a- 6 c
O
'3fT
Section of the 3InIcU: Vein.
has been sunk 20 feet, through honoy-
fnmh minrti? TVisnTnhllnJT that Of the
Helena. Assays on It range from $14 to
$JS to the top. The 'our claims on xJie-
nhant Mountain, on which work la being
pushed, have been opened a length of
' 575 feet, all told. In detail the amount
of tunnllng on each claim Is: Elsie iora.
D50 feet -Mountain Lion, 125 feet; Ele
phant gOjfeet; Fissure, 50 feejt.
The Elsie Dora shows an ore body about
five feet wide the entire length of the tun
nel. The tunnel was started in ore, and
Is still In ore. The rock Is copper and ga-
i lena carrying gold, and, taken from tho
I .. .. . ... '
entire width of the vein, assays an aver
age value pf $5$ per ton, smelter test. Of
this amount, $23 Is In gold and silver, $17
In copper, and $14 In galena.
No smelter test has been made of Ele
phant ore. Assays run as high as $16 pep
ton In gold and copper. The vein is eight
feet wide.
On the Fissure the vein Is four feet
wide, and the rock carries free gold. As
says average about $10 gold to the ton.
The ores In ajl the claims except tha
Fissure and the Henrietta are base and
suited to smelting. To treat them the
company will build a 30-ton smelter, cost
ing $S0U), on Elepbant Mountain. It -will
not be a custom smelter. For the Henri
etta a three-stamp mill has been ordered
and Is at Cottage Grove awaiting ship
ment. Another improvement contemplat
ed by tho company is the building of a
road three-quarters of a mile long from
Its property to the Cottage Grove wagon
road.
Superintendent Adams has great confi
dence in Bohemia's futpre as a base camp,
He savs the normal fissures are all'Dase.
carrying copper, sliver, galena, lead and
gold In combination. He says from 1 to
9 per cent Is not an overestimate of the
amount of copper In the one.
The Knott Claim.
The Bohemia, known throughout the
district as the Knott, was the first claim
upon which mining was fully undertaken.
In 1873 it was equipped with a five-stamp
mill, which was operated for about four
years. It Is one of many locations on
the slopes of Grouse Mountain, and haa
been more extensively worked than any
other of that vicinity excepting the Noon
day and tho Chamoion. The altered rock
penetrated by the two shafts one TSfeet
and the other Zi feet, sunk vears ago la
brecclated, and consists or quartz, kaolin
and oxide of lrpn, and does not contain
much of the sulphides. The same sort of
material occupies a number of acres on
that portion of the Mil. and extends
southeast into the Gray Eagle, where its
strike is north 51 deg. west, and its dip
70 deg. southwest.
The Bohemia Is of old-stvle measure
ment lEOOxSOO feet Bird Farrier located
the claim In ISfiZ. and sold It to Joseph
Knott, of Portland Mr. Kpott Immedi
ately built 19 miles ot road, up hill and
down hill, without regard to grade, and
shipped In a five-stamp mill, consisting of
stamps and plates. The rock was crushed
by hand and fed to the cattery by hand.
Notwithstanding the crudity ot the ma
chinery. Mr. Knott is reported to have
cleaned up $12j,000 Only the richest ore
was worked, and there is rock on the o'd
dump today that carries high values in
gold.
The present owner ot the Bohomla is
Mrs. J. P. Finnlcan, a daughter of Joseph
Knott, Mrs. Finnlcan was In the. district
29 3 ears ago, w hen her father was work
ing the Bohemia. After patenting the
daim In 1S91. she discontinued work on it,
and the timbers In the shafts rotted, and
the buildings put up by her father In the
early days disappeared plank, by plank, to
take form again In the home of some
thrifty prospector. Last May Mrs. Fin
nlcan decided to reopen the property, and
returned to the district, accompanied by
her son, Douglas Ladd, and daughter,
Mrs. William C. Meagher. Mrs. Ladd
and Mr. Meagher were also of the party.
As the pld shafts could not be reopened
without retlmberlng, it was decided to
sink anew about 10 feet from the west
line of the claim, and O. G. Gllbertson, a
former Cripple Creek miner, was given
the contract for the work. At a depth of
29 feet, a three-Inch vein of sugar-loaf
quartz, containing free gold, wag struck.
At ?4 feet the ledge had widened to 2
feet. Samples taken from across tho
ledge at this depth, sacked apd sent to
four different assayers, gave- values of
$819. $;. 5129 and $5S go'd to the ton, an
average of $327 75 At a depth of 40 feet
the ledge had widened to three feet, and
was still free-milling, with Indications
that It would Increase in width with
greater depth Mr. Ladd thinks the free
mllllng ore will continue to 700 or 00 feet
below tho surface. This Is higher than
tne run of estimates of the extent of the
free-milling capping of the Bohemia dis
tinct, but the region has shown up so
wonderfully of late that almost anything
V.W.
from the new shaft, the creek has washed
down to bedrock and exposed a section of
the ledge, from which colors can be
panned. The exact width of the lead can
not be determined until crosscutting be
gins. The rich strike on the Knott has at
tracted attention throughout Oregon, and
no one comes to Bohemia without visit
ing the mine. Mr. Ladd has Deen very
accommodating, and has permitted rather
general inspection of the ore, and has not
denied practical mining men the -priv liege
of being lowered Into the snaft. While
this delays work, Mr. Ladd believes that
for the good of the camp thorough public
ity should be given to the strike.
Next vear Mrs. Finnlcan will build a
five-stamp mill on the Bohemia. She is
now considering the advisability of organ-
lzlng a corporation ana lssums biuu.
The Champion.
The Champion mine, known also S3 the
Hartford, is located on the very crest of
the ridge, a little more than a mile di
rectly ca3t of Bohemia, between Falrylew
and Grouse Mountain. The, ore, when the
plant Is In operation, is carried, on a
tramway 3400 feet long down the north
ern slopo to a 10-stamp mill on Champion
Creek, a branch of Frank Brass Creek.
The mine having a reached to a depth
I of but little over 100 feet, where deepest,
j ha3 not passed beyond the zono of oxi
dation, and thus far only a small per cent
of concentrates has been saved. A sam
ple of these concentrates yielded upon
' assay 0 20 ounce of gold, and 3.4 ounces
1 of silver per ton. The mine has been
worked almost wholly from one level, 600
feet In length, ranging from 53 to nearly
250 feet beneath the surface At the faco
of this level, where the vein had a width
of four feet, it consisted chiefly- of rotten
quartz permeated by limonite. Occasional
masses of kaolin-like sericlte occur in the
vein, but they are not conspicuous.
In this mine, as far as developed, there
arc few points where pyrite occurs, and
distinct bodies of the other sulphides have
not been found, as in the Musick. Tho
oxidation appears to have extended deep
er in the Champion than in the Mustek,
but this is accounted for by the foot