Morning Oregonian., January 01, 1902, THIRD SECTION, Page 38, Image 38

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38
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1902.
5
IS RIDDLED WITH GOLD MINES
Precious Metals Found Everywhere in Eastern Oregon.
Placer Deposits Along Snake River Good for Many Years.
TNa discussion of the mines and mining
I . Industry of Baker. County. It hardly
seems necessary to go Into particulars
es to formation, character of ores, etc In a
great edition "of The Oregonlan in July, 1S97,
Z gave a detailed description of thp many
districts adjacent to Baker City, -with
particulars as to the formations In each,
and the extent of development -work, 'and
general progress of the industry. To the
average reader, such an article -would
not prove of especial Interest, but to the
experienced miner it Is otherwise. It is
quite as important to reach the general
reader as the expert miner, since the one
can profitably interest himself in mines
as well as the other.
Our mineral area is simply vast. Its
width exceeds 100 miles and its length 200
miles. Every road in Baker County goes
to a mining camp, or to several. While
we have a grand feeding range and valu
able agricultural lands in high state of cul
.tivation, yet the mountain ranges are
sufficiently extensive to afford a vast
field for the tireless prospector, the pio
neer of the Nation's wealth.
Our minerals consist of gold principally,
and also of silver and copper. Coal has
not been found In profitable quantities,
but It may bo soon. Attention is being
given it Silver Is not especially sought
lor, but is found in the gold mines to
Eoma extent "We have a few prop
erties that are almost exclusively silver,
and. they will pay in the end. Assays
show them to be of extraordinary value,
running Into hundreds of dollars. But
we are a gold community and but little
attention is given silver prospects.
The -output of our mines Is very hard
to determine. It is shipped to the mints
In other states and credited largely to
them. Our Congressional push has prov
en Inadequate thus far to the task of se
curing to Oregon a United States Gov
ernment assay office. The trouble Is and
has been that .whenever the mineral sec
tions have. moved our representatives In
that direction, the bill provides for such
office at Portland and another at Baker
City, and both are doomed. The south
ern half of the state will then come for
ward and urge the introduction of a bill
In Congress to recognize their needs, and
such bill Is born, with the map of Port
land upon its face .and of Southern Ore
gon on some other portion -ot its anatomy,
but all you can see .is Portland. Portland
is a good town too good a town to in
sist upon preventing other portions of the
state from being assisted in any and
every legitimate way, hence this nervous
ness on the part of our representatives
nt'Washlngton is quite unnecessary. This
should be corrected, and until it is. Ore
gon will never get credit for her mineral
output, nor for even half of it
Oresron Gets Little Credit for It Gold
The last statement giyen out by Mint
Director Roberts places Oregon's gold
product for 1900. at something over 51,000,
000, Baker County alone produced that
much in 1300, -and Southern Oregon was
nofc asleep all the time. Of course, It will
be. readily understood that mining compa
nies do not like to give out details of
their own business. They are like other
people. "We can usually infer what their
conditions are from what they are doing,
If they are Increasing their capacity, add
ing machinery to that already In use, in
creasing -the- force of men, and sending in
.bullion month after month, it is a rea
sonable supposition that they are pro
ducing gold. "Whenever owners of a prop
erty are offered a fabulous sum for their
mine and laughingly refuse it, it Is rea
sonable to suppose that they know they
have something of greater value than the
price offered. This is a common occur
rence in this vicinity. Some of our mines
frequently produce over $100,000 In one
month. The monthly output of at least
one mine In this section has exceeded
1150,000.
It Is impossible to say how many mines
are operating. Many things have been
done to extend knowledge of our condi
tions In the minerals. Our local Cham
ber of Commerce has spent thousands of
dollars for the purpose of doing good to
the outer world by advising them of the
splendid opportunities here; the papers of
the state have been generous. "Wo have
bent our knees to the itinerant worker
with his "write-up" of "prominent citi
zens" with their photographs, at so much
per head; we supposed every one in tho
Nation knew that Oregon Is now striving
for a leading position in the procession ol
gold states, and yet the other day a man
from California expressed surprise when
told that Baker County contains mines.
"We are riddled with mines. Tet some
people do not know it This statement
can bo made with perfect assurance of its
exact truthfulness. Any man who wants
a good mine and knows one when ho sees
It, can get it In Baker County for what
it Is worth. He will find conditions favor
able to Its operation, access easy, plenty
of timber when needed, water galore,
merchants anxious to trust him, and no
taxes until he gets his patent There is
no country more favorable to mining op
erations than Oregon, and no place where
the people are more hospitable and gen
erous. Fine Climate for Mining.
The tilevation of our valley Is about 3100
feet Tho tops of our highest mountain
peaks reach to a height of S000 feet "We
neither burn up in Summer nor freeze up
In "Winter. This is evidenced by the fact
that our county Is one of the greatest fruit
growers on earth. We took the first nrfzo
at the "World's Fair in 1893 for -fruits and-
vegQtatnes, and we made Inroads upon
the same recently at Buffalo. If we did
not get first prize there, too, we should
have. Things do not always go just right
even In this country. But wo could not
raise this class of fruit and vegetables
unless we were favored by the climate.
"We have no Klondike weather. "We have
no blizzards, and Summer never brings
ns cyclones. Blizzards, cyclones and sun
strike are to he miners of Eastern Ore
gon entirely unknown. The advent of any
of them would cause as much astonish
ment as a burst of melancholy sympathy
from Herr Most Tet our atmosphere is
invigorating in the extreme. One always
feels like living, and it Is a fine place to
talk about the strenuous life. Our people
axe energetic. They are alive to the sit
uation and keep going. They lenow they
have something ahead of them.
All our mines -are operated under modern
methods, and a high percentage of assay
values Is sjaved. In some sections notably
cast of the city, the ores are free; in
others base. Prior to the Introduction of
the cyanide process here some of oui
greatest properties lay idle for years at a
time, or broke the operators. Now they
ere great producers and among the best,
the process being economical and saving
all the values. These mines are distrib
uted oyer a vast tract of country whose
area exceeds that of -some of the Eastern
States. Wherever we have either moun
tains or foothills there we have mines.
It was to this section the young Irishman
had reference when he told his father by
mail that the country Is so big they had
to pile it up in big heaps. It is only re
cently that we have examined intb the
copper prospects, and find that we have
them in paying quantities. It Is also true
that the copper mines in the Seven Devils
section which are of real value are found
on -the Oregon side. Perhaps I would bet
icr&ay of greatest value. Heavy operations
in sinking and crosscutting ore going on
all the time in our copper regions. Over
In the Quartzburg neighborhood this side
of Prairie City, there are some extensive
properties that promise well in copper.
Eastern Oregon will eventually surprise
a sleepy world with her copper alone.
Comparatively few people are taking in
terest In these copper mines, but they who
are interested are well pleased. They wish
to bold on and will do so.
Gold Values 'Id Snnke River.
In addition to our quartz and ordinary'
placer mines It would be wrong not to
mention the deposits of gold on the Snake
River. There is enough gold in the gravel
bars of that stream to supply our Nation
with gold for decades. The old river bed
is quite one mile In width on the average.
It has but a thin overlay of tillable soil,
and under this Is found gravel of extra
ordinarily small stones. It contains no
bowlders. The depth to which the gold Is
deposited in this gravel varies from 8 to
20 feet The value per cubic yard has
been estimated variously at from 11 cents
to a 50. The river has been thoroughly
explored for hundreds of miles, and its
values are not mythical. The veriest tyro
with a pan can show up the gold. It is
there. The river always carries a fine
volume' of water. It never runs dry. It is
so swift a stream that the witer never
rises to a height that would cc e cessa
tion of work on its placer dopor s. Much
difficulty has been experienced In per
fecting a process by which the fine gold
can be saved. That has been the draw
back to successful operations on the
Snake. But it has been solved and dredg
ers are at work there now making lots of
money. Burlaps are used, the water flow
ing over them In sufficient quantities to
carry off the sand, but permitting the gold
to remain. This gold goes $20 to the
ounce, being unusually pure. Men work
ing upon tho banks of that stream and
using a gasoline engine to raise the water
to the beach machines, a distance of 20
feet and working with plows to loosen
up, and scrapers to bring the gravel to
their machines, make $10 per day to the
man. This gravel deposit carries high
values in places for a full mile from the
water's edge.
It will take years upon years to workout
that vast deposit It is said that this de
posit extends down the river far beyond
its junction with the Columbia, and Is to
be found in the Columbia for miles even
below Umatilla. By means of steam
dredging plants capable of handling 2000
cubic yards of gravel each day of the
value of 13 cents per yard, the cost of
handling not exceeding 3V cents, one may
form some estimate of the deposits. In
many places acres of deposit exceed $1
per yard In value, but tho question of sav
ing the fine gold seems to deter investors.
Yet a. suitable system must be easy of de
termination as compared with even the
cyanide and the commonest systems in use
to separate the gold from its bed in quartz.
It would actually appear that such suit
able and a wholly satisfactory process has
been found, as there are operators now
upon the Snake, who are using more than
one dredger and have been engaged In
this pursuit exclusively for years post
Miners are not wont kto play a losing
game very long. As these plants on tho
Snake have been built up out of the pro
ceeds of their own operations, nothing
more need be said. Further, during the
past 11 years there have been but two
times when operations there had to be
suspended because of frost The em
ployes, as a rule, work without gloves the
year through.
This is close to the points now being
exported for oil. If oil ever should be
discovered In this portion of the vineyard
the admonition to let the light shine will
be duly observed. Oil experts predict suc
cess under operations now being carried
on. They report conditions on the surface
all that could bo desired. But oil dis
coveries are not required to make Malheur
County along the Snake great The gold
deposits alone will do that The only
question Is, "Who will get In? To install
an effective plant there will require an
outlay of about $50,000. The located land
can be bought cheaply even now.
Baker County Aliraja "Win Medals.
Ten years ago the population of Baker
City was less than 3000. Today- it is over
7000. The increase throughout our coun
ty has been in harmony with that of our
county seat. During the same time build
ing improvements throughout the county
have surpassed all expectation. "We have
now a fine city In the hills west of here,
the noted Sumpter, which has no peer else
where in the state. From a babe in swad
dling clothes sho has grown to be a belle
of the finest quality, and her breath is
perfumed with the yellow stuff. She Is
built on a placer mine, clothed with ever
green, drinks mountain water flowing
through her front yard, and smiles on all
corners. Sho is a peach Chlmmie Fadden
would say. . In Baker City as well as
In Sumpter there Is a noticeable increase
in first-class fireproof buildings. Numer
ous new banks, fine hotels, elegant resi
dences attest tho presence of paying mines
in a country where the price of wheat Is
never mentioned.
At the Pan-American Exposition silver
medals alone were awarded to the mineral
exhibits. But three were awarded, and
of these Baker County received two, and
Nevada the other one, which was not a
very good one, either. Had all of them
been gold there is not a man or woman
in Baker County who does not know we
would have gotten all of them. Under
the circumstances we could not be so par
ticular, of course. At the World's Fnlr
In 1S93 our mines took the highest medal
for the excollent ore exhibit, and I may
as well mention here that the exhibit of
school work made by'the Baker City High
School was similarly recognized. It sur
passed all competitors, and was awarded
the gold medal of supreme excellence.
How people can remain in tho East
when such opportunities He at hand
to tho firstcomer is one of tho in
explicable things we have to consider.
Eastern Oregon alone can 'support the
population of the entire Coast even
if we do live high and are not up on the
rules of economy. The area of the state
exceeds that of all New England, with
New Jersey and Maryland thrown In, yet
we have a population of about one-half
million. It is true that occasionally some
one commits suicide in this neighborhood,
but it Is generally because he did not
come to this country sooner. There can
bo no particularly noticeable change in his
surroundings after the commission of the
act If he uses good judgment when he
starts on his post mortem route.
From tho fact that we thus make our
own conditions it follows that we are
much less affected by panics and ether
political diseases than In agricultural
communities. There is always money
here and a reasonable quantity of it. "Wo
get It out of our mines, too. We have
tho best market for farm produce In the
land. Butter sells for not less than 25
cents per pound, and eggs at the same
price per dozen the year round. "We ship
in butter from California and eggs from
Kansas. The latter place is where we
usually get our Thanksgiving turkeys,
the large quantity furnished by the lo
cal ranchers being wholly Inadequate to
supply the demand. The market for the
ordinary farm product Is always high,
while fuel Is reasonably cheap. Good
cordwood Is worth about $3 50. This Is a
great country, but It is evident that the
sleepy East will not find It out for another
century or two. It is a fact that every
one who has come into Oregon and made
careful Investigation prior to investing,
and has used good judgment In his ordi
nary affairs, comes to the conclusion that
he would not take one of the Eastern
states as a gift if he had to live In it
Opportunities to make large returns on
investments there are few, and there are
many who await them. Here it is oth
erwise. That of course. Is not the great
est desideratum. To live a pleasant life
and be free from care and anxiety, to be
able to educate the children in first-class
schools, and to attend churches where
eloquence and real religion abound, and
to be able to contribute to their support
theso are the chief end of man. Oregon
has them all for all.
WILLIAM SMITH.
Baker City, Or.
DOUGLSS COUNTY ORES.
Mountain of Iflckel Xcar IMddlen, oh
the Southern Pacific.
Douglas County is abundantly supplied
with a great variety of mineral. .The
early miner confined his search for gold to
the gulches, creeks and river channels,
working over the gravel by primitive
methods, while now tho same channels,
Including the adjacent hillsides and table
lands, are dotted with great hydraulic
plants, washing out thousands of dollars
to the Individual's few ounces of gold
dust, under primitive methods. Extensive
quarta reefs, extending the width of the
county, from south to north, and covering
a strip 40 miles wide, are being opened
up at many points. Large companies
have been established and extensive mills
have been erected In many places, with
all modern appliances for saving free
gold. Others are getting out base ores,
containing gold, silver and copper, rang
ing in value from a few dollars per ton
on the surface, as they get deeper run
ning Into hundreds in many cases. Their
further development is dependent upon
the advent of more capital to erect smel
ters, of which there Is none in Douglas
County yet.
Copper ores of high grado exist fn pay
ing quantity In many districts. Rich cin
nibar in paying quantities extends over a
great area of the county. It has been
smelted during the past 30 years in the
northern end o the county, and quite
recently found near the southern boun
dary. In Cow Creek Canyon, on the line
of the Southern Pacific Railroad. There
is a mountain of nickel ore in silicate
form near Riddle, on the Southern Pacific
Railroad. Its extent and value have been
thoroughly tested by United States Gov
ernment experts and others. California
persons have United States patent to 1000
acres. Recently cropplngs of the same
metal have been discovered In adjacent
territory. Chrome, iron and limestone in
great abundance are found near the nickel
ore.
Near Roseburg there are extensive beds
of marble, which for durability and va
riety of beautiful coloring rival the best
marbles of "Vermont and Tennessee. Sev
eral specimens took first prize at the
Chicago Exposition in 1S93.
The Umpqua Coal Oil Company has been
formed here, with a capital of $400,000, to
bore fof oil. The surface indications and
the geological strata are as favorable
as in any of the California districts. The
Umpqua Valley Oil Company has a first
class boring plant In course of erection
at Myrtle Creek. 20 rmics south of Rose
burg. There Is every reason to believe
that coal oil In paying quantities can be
found In several districts adjacent to
Roseburg and railroad transportation.
Very strong salt springs aro located
near the railroad, which were utilized by
pioneer settlors for the manufacture of
salt in the esfrly settlement ofsthis coun
ty. Arrangements aro now in progress
for the installation of a modern plant
to make salt for market -
, D. S. K. BUICK.
Roseburg.
RICH IN HIDDEN WEALTH.
Jackson 11ns Gold and Other Metals
H(1 Probably Petroleum.
While its agricultural, pastoral, lumber
ing and horticultural resources are great
wealth producers, Jackson County is es
sentially a mineral district, and since the
early days when it was first settled by
enterprising, fearless and progressive
minors its auriferous gravels and golden
veins have yielded to the labor of man
over '$50,000,000. The industry, as far as
the better class of mines is concerned, is
only in Its infancy, and the future prom
ir. s far greater returns of wealth than
tho early miners In their wildest flights of
imaginative riches ever dreamed. No
county In Oregon Is- more richly endowed
with mineral resources or more favorably
situated for their exploitation. It offers, ex
ceptionally desirable conditions for min
ing in Its. climate, the abundance of wood
and water, and the advantages of rail
road communication; and presents an un
limited field filled with golden riches, the
development of which below the surface
has scarcely begun In mining, as In ev
ery other department of human activity,
success almost Invariably attends the ef
forts of the diligent persistent and judi
cious operator. Scarcely an instance can
bo cited In the history of this section In
which intelligent and persevering pros
pecting hag failed to secure a substantial
reward. Men have failed and lost for
tunes In Jackson County, as elsewhere,
but-In many cates subsequent explora
tion has shown that their work was sus
pended within a short distance of the
looked-for treasure, and others who have
followed have reaped the reward of con
tinuity of labor.
IT dranlic Work on -a Larse Scale.
Jackson County comprises the largo
area of tho Southern Oregon mining dis
trict and here as elsewhere, placer min
ing provided the early history of the in
dustry, while quartz mining has slowly
developed on account of difficulty ot
transportation and the neglect of capital.
Hydraulic mining, or the breaking down
of auriferous gravel beds by powerful1
streams of water directed through noz
zles under great pressure and the trans
portation of the disintegrated material by
the same water to the goldsavlng appa
ratus constituting the "sluice" has flour
ished, for the conditions have been most
exceptionally favorable to that kind of
work in this district One hydraulic
mine, the Sterling, owned by Messrs. An
keny &Cook, has cleaned up about $,
000 during the past year, and there aro a
number of others whose profits have been
proportionately large. For hydraulic
mining many sections of tho county are
particularly favored; as during- the sea
son of rains and melting snows tho
streams are torrential, affording abun
dant water and high pressure, while there
are along many of these streams aurifer
ous gravel deposits of enormous extent.
At the present tkne quartz mining Is un
dergoing a most remarkable development,
yet that branch of the mining Industry is
practically In its Infancy here.
Development of Quartz Veins.
At no time in the history of the county
since the first quartz vein was worked
In a prlmatlve way at Farmcris Flat, on
tho left fork of Jackson Creek, in 1S60
has quartz mining been given the Intel
ligent attention it has received during the
year that has Just closed. The rich quartz
propositions existing In the county and
the favorable and economic conditions un
der which they can be worked have at
tracted capital and investors to a great
er extent during the past year than ever
before. Representatives of men promi
nent In the mining world have been giv
ing the county thorough Investigation,
and as a result there have been a large
number of transfers of claims which will
be developed by the new owners in a
thorough manner. A greatly increased
amount of development work has been put
in on existing mines and the capacity of
a number of quartz mills has been In
creasedwhile several new mills have
been erected and Installed with the most
modern machinery. Besides the opening
of scores of new and valuable ledges
nearly all the old and larger mines have
added to their batteries, enlarged their
equipment and crews and moat thorough
ly prepared to enter the prosperous busi
ness era of which the new year gives
such glowing and abundant promise.
The Montreal & Oregon Gold Mines Com
pany, Limited, that operates the well
known Ashland Mine, have one of the
best paying properties In the state, as
well as the deepest mine in Southern
Oregon, they now taking out rich ore at
the 700-foot level. All told the gold rain
ing Industry has never been so Intelligent
ly and systematically operated, and tho
prospects of largo profits for Invested cap
ital and an Increased output of the yel
low metal were never more flattering
than at the end of the year lSOt
While Jackson County Is famous as a
gold-producing district It Is particularly
rich 1n other minerals silver, lead, cop
per, salt, coal, kaolin, gypsum. Cinnabar,
the sulphide of mercury, the ore from
whence quicksilver is derived has for
years been known to exist In Jackson
County and In several localities It has
been found In paying quantities.
With tho recent quickening of copper
mining prospectors have paid much at
tention to the search for copper ore with
the result that a number of new and
rich claims have been, located In the
Siskiyou Mountains, near the state line,
and 'reliable experts who have given the
locality close Investigation pronounce the
district In all probability one of the rich
est In copper ore In the United States.
At the head of Joe Creek, one of the trib
utaries of Elliott Creek, an Immense
lens-shaped body of copper ore was un
covered during the past Summer at what
Is now known as the McVey Mine. The
formation in which the ore has been
found is a crystallzed schist and Its char,
acter is similar to that of the famed Iron
Mountain Copper Mine of Shasta County.
The ore is a sulphide averaging la cop
per 7 to 8-per cent Frank M. Anderson,
the field assistant of the California State
Mineralogist, recently visited this new
copper field and believes it covers an area
CO miles in extent. A few miles south and
west of the McVey Mine several impor
tant discoveries have also been made not
only in copper, but in cinnabar as well.
So great Is the Interest excited by these
new copper discoveries that the locality
Is expected to swarm with prospectors
during the coming Spring and Summer
season. The district Is particularly adapt
ed for the economic operation of a smelt
ing plant, as there Is an abundance of
wood and water on hand on all sides.
The locality is as yet practically a virgin
field; a wilderness of mountains, canyons,,
of creeks and rivers, of cliffs and peaks
and forests. It Is a most Inviting field
for tho prospector and Investor. The
greater portion of It Is as yet public do
main, giving the prospector free scope in
his labors. So extensive Is the district,
and so slightly known Is It that the intel
ligent prospector will find abundant room
for energetic and systematic work.
Boring; for Oil.
For the first time in the history of
Jackson County the search for petroleum
has been given much attention during the
past year. In no other section of the.
state are there such abundant evidences
of the presence under the earth's crust of
mineral or rock oil as In the valleys and
foot-hills of the Siskiyou Mountains. Four
companies have already been organized
and have acquired large holdings and
leases of likely oil lands on which they
propose to drill for petroleum. Two of
these companies have been In active ope
ration for several months past. The
Southern Oregon OH Company, which has
been the pioneer company In drilling for
oil In Oregon, has dug a well on the hill
side, east of Ashland, in which they
have encountered all the evidences of
T Is doubtless true
that for the produc
ers of these metals,
"copper at a market
price of 12 cents per
pound is better than
gold at Its standard
value. At any price
above 12 cents cop
per is, in so much,
still better than
gold. Seventy - one
per cent of the div
idends from, tho
mines of the moro
. ry jrf5v' precious meiais last
J?- Wjr '' year came from tho
in t h e m s el v e s,
make up but a com
paratively small
AMTtR'Pom.K
proportion of tho
total of all the mines reported. At 17
cents perpound all tho copper mines in
operation can run and make money. At 10
cents per pound, one-third of these must
either run at a loss or shut down. Prac
tically all the producing copper mines in
tho world today belong to three influences
the Rothschilds, the Standard Oil and
the Lake Superior people not already in
tho Amalgamated. Copper brokers are
going here and there, always looking for
the metal In other hands. These people,
if united, by shutting down all their mines
for one month, could run copper up to a
dollar a pound. At present there is trou
ble between them. To electrify the rail
roads now built lh the United States
would consume all the copper which this
hemisphere produces for ten years. 'io
displace the rotten Iron wires of the tele
phone service of America, which is dally
growing worse, with copper, would make
a perfect wire service good for hundreds
of years, but this would require all lue
copper at present rate of production
which could be produced in twenty-two
years. The production of copper In this
country last year was less than for the
year previous. The industries of the
country need many times as much copper
as they are now using, the prices having
been tco high to warrant the fuller em
ployment of this metal. A price of $1 per
pound would, be a great calamity to the
world. A steady price of about 12 cents
would be a blessing. It would bo a. good
price to most of tho mines.
The Wolverine Company last year made
a net profit, above every expense, Includ
ing construction, of $395,534 2 upon ores
averaging 1.29 per cent copper less than
26 pounds of copper to the ton. Its ores
carry no other values. One ore chute
upon which the Bronze Monarch is work
ing. In tho St Helens mining district
carries 360 pounds of copper to the ton.
Besides this, the ore carries in gold and
sliver -greater values than that averaged
In the great Treadwell. The world must
have copper. If copper is high, tho St.
Helens mines will sharo In the enormous
profits from such prices. If copper Is
selling at a lair or low price, these and
all other high-grade properties will be
come in great demand on4 account of the
lessened production made necessary by
tho closing down of many low-grade
camps. Neither horn of the situation pro-
s
yo'ufta AnmcM
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rich petroleum sands. Strong oil seepages
have been developed, natural g&ses run
-across and the suction pump brings up
In its work, quantities of bitumen. Tne
drillers have every confidence la ultimate
ly tapping rich and permanent oil sands.
The oil seepages encountered thus far
have been, of a light character with a
paraffin base. The Ashland OH Company,
a California corporation, has acquired
by purchase, several thousand of acres ot
lands in the foothills of the Slskiyoue,
and have been engaged in sinking pros
pecting holes, with the intention of pro
curing a large plant and drilling at tho
most likely point The oil section of the
county has been largely prospected by ex
perts from the Texas and California
fields and all are confident that petroleum
will yet be tapped.
F. D. WAGNER.
Ashland.
MINES OP JOSEPHINE.
Placers the Stand-by, but Quartz
MlnlHfi: Is Well Under Way.
Josephine County is the pioneer mining
district of the state, gold having been
discovered here In the Spring of 1S51.
Within two short months there were thou-
, sands of gold-seekers swarming the many
mountain streams, more especially the
Illinois. Applcgate, Josephine and Gallce.
It is estimated that $3,000,000 In coarse
gold and nuggets were cradled from those
streams and their tributaries betwen the
years 1S5I and 1S55.
Owing to the abundance of the aurifer
ous gravel deposits, placer mining has
always led In Josephine County. It has
been known since the earlier days that
the mountains were full of rich quartz
ledges, but the pioneers Ignored them be
cause of the embarrassments connected
with the work of developing and working
r quartz veins.
As a hydraulic mining district Joseph
ine County now leads all other sections of
the West possessing as she does 150 hy
draulic mines, more than any other dis
trict of like area In America. Josephine
offers the natural facilities for the de
velopment of Ideal hydraulic mines. The
number of streams and their accessibility,
the good rainfall each Winter to furnish
power and pressure for the giants, and
me aDunaance ana rienness or tne placer
beds, make Josephine County an easy
leader as a hydraulic mining region on
the Coast
Along the streams of Josephine County
are located the largest and richest gold
bearing gravel deposits to be found In
the state, and there are some placer
fields being worked that have yet to find
their equal anywhere on tho Coast Beds
of ancient channels are found along the
rivers and creeks. It Is In the gravel
of these ancient channels that the rich
hydraulic mines of Josephine are located.
There seems to be no limit to them.
Every stream is becoming a perfect net
work of ditches and flumes. All parts of
the Illinois Valley, in Western Josephine
County, contain good colors of gold. The
towns In. that part of the country are
built on pay dirt, and the ground would
pay well If subjected to tho pipe and
giant
The principal mining districts of Joseph
ine are Waldo, Althouse. Gallce and
Grave. These four districts occupy the
four corners of Josephine County. There
are a score of other minor districts and
placer mining is carried on in every part
of the county, but the four districts
named comprise the whole.
The Althouse placers, situated in the
southern part of the county, were the first
mined In Southern Oregon. They have
ever proved marvelously rich. In them
were found many large nuggets, and to-
ceeds from a dilemma so far as the richer
ores aro concerned.
An assay of a 150-pound sample lot from
the average dump of a three-foot ore
chute in the Norway, which had beon
drifted upon for 50 feet, made by the Ta
coma smelter, showed: Gold, 1.10 ounces
(J22); silver. 1.40 ounces, and copper, 1S4
pounds. These examples show what the
St Helens country will produce.
A visit to the office of the Mining Cor
poration, Ltd., room 607 Marquam Dulld
ing, Portland, where Mr. W. L. Paterson,
the secretary, will take pleasure In enter
taining callers or answering Inquiries, and
an examination of the ores from some of
the properties In which the corporation
Is Interested, will satisfy experts that
these ores come from near the surface
water level. Nature for thousands of
years has been cutting off the tops of
these mountains, unUI, almost from the
grass roots, the solid sulphide ores are
uncovered, obviating the necessity for
deep sinking required In most camps upon
lower grounds or less favorably situated.
Among the leading properties In the St.
Helens district should be mentioned the
Yellow Metals, of which James Steel Is
president and Gustav Anderson secre
tary; the Chicago, of Vhlch N. W. Boun
tree "Is president and W. L. Paterson
secretary; the Cascades Calumet, of which
W. W. Peaslee Is president and W. B.
Streeter Is secretary; the Bronze Monarch,
of which Hugh McGuIre is president and
E. C. Stark secretary, and the Sweden
Copper Companyl of which Thomas Prince
is president and L. .O'Connor Is secretary.
A great Influence In the district Is the
Mining Corporation, Ltd. For three years
the people behind this corporation have
been quleUy acquiring properties in that
section. A remarkable opportunity, backed
by a dozen reasons, has helped to make
this opportunity possible an opportunity
with present activity there which will
never occur again. The Mining Cor
poration, Ltd., does not claim to have se
cured all the good things in the district,
but does believe that It has made a care
ful selection; that it has scattered Its in
vestments so as not to be carrying its
eggs all In one basket, although every
thing It now. has bears proml3e of suc
cess. It owns properties outright, holds
a controlling Interest In the other com
panies referred to, and has properties
under bond. A portion of Its Interests
aro shown upon the sketches herewith.
Its plan Is to help one property after an
i It, X . ?
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Thunder I
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Thunder Mountain, Idaho, is now startling the mining
world by the rich discoveries of gold-bearing quartz, together
with rich placer diggings. This is a district which has been
practically unknown except to a few hardy prospectors, until
within the past few years; since which time capital in abun
dance has been invested in the Thunder Mountain mines.
We believe this district has a brilliant future.
The Bohemia District, lying about 150 miles south of
Portland, Oregon, in the Calapooia Mountains, while having
been operated in with success for a number of years, is now
on the verge of demonstrating conclusively to investors that it
is the coming gold-mining district of the State of Oregon.
Base ore of great richness has long been found on the dif
ferent properties there, but, dwing to the heretofore inaccessi
bility of the district, transportation charges have greatly re
tarded the marketing of the ore and the development of the
district.
Surveys have already been made for a railroad, to be
built the coming year, which will make direct connection with
the Southern Pacific at Cottage Grove, 35 miles distant.
We have excellent prospects, finely located, in which in
vestors can be placed on the ground floor.
To those interested in developed properties we can sub
mit detailed information.
I. H. Bingham & Co.
110 SHERLOCK BLDG.
B89ttttle9S90(((t3lle (89
day the hydraulic giants are uncovering
many pretty specimens with each passing
season. A nugget was picked up in this
district in 1S56 that weighed $10S0; in the
following year a still larger one was found
in the same claim that weighed $3100.
Along Althouse and the many streams of
the district are scores of hydraulic mines.
The water facilities for each of the prop
erties of the district are good; they belong
afforded a run of from four to six months.
The mining grounds consist of a loose
red or gray gravel, lying from 20 to 75
feet on the bedrock. The dirt of this
district like that in all other parts of
Josephine County, Is rich In coarse gold,
'the ground paying from 10 to GO cents per
cubic yard. The cost of working, after
a mine Is equipped, is 5 cents per cubic
yard. There are some m!ne3 in the coun
ty that work their grounds for less than 5
cents per yard, notably the Old Channel,
of Gallce, they running last year at a
cost of but 2 3-S cents per yard. These,
however, are exceptions, In this or any
other country.
Occupying the southwest corner of Jo
sephine Is the Waldo district, in which J
are found several mammoth hydraulic
mines. Some of these plants were built at
a cost of-$230,000 and more, but they are
producing each year from S6O.0Q0 to $100.-
other to become dividend-paying, holding
much property, but not scattering Its work
too much.
About 1500 feet of tunnel work has so
far been done all In mineral, even the
crosscut at the Earle being through a
mineralized porphyry dike, 'which Is hun
dreds of feet in width. Three camp3
are this Winter in active operation. Ono
vein, upon the footwall of which a drift
Is being made, Is over 6500 feet In length.
Ono thousand feet of depth is attainable
before sinking will be required. Calumet
& Hecla Is mining 6500 feet below surface
levels Eight camps (cabins, etc.,) have
been established.
The officers of the Mining Corporation,
Ltd., are such as to demonstrate the
character of the work which Is being done.
Most of them are well known in Portland
as careful, conservative and successful
business men. The board of directors
consists of Dr. Andrew C. Smith, of Port
land, State Senator and president of the
Hlbernia Bank; H. R. Lyon, president of
the First National Bank, of Mandan, N.
D.; James Steel, a well-known citizen of
this city; Thomas Prince, Iron manufac
turer ot Worcester, Mass., but better
known in this region as the owner of the
model prune orchard at Dundee, Or.; Dr.
Henry W. Coe, who has made a record
here as a successful business man; C. H.
Woodard, the head of the firm of C. H.
Woodard & Co., Portland; C. W. Sher
man, of Sherman & Harmon, Penn Mutual
managers, Portland; John L. Baker, Im
porter of silks. New York; and Edwin
Hillyer, retired capitalist of Waupon,
Wis. The companies own 66 claims. Lead
ing claims patented. Also, 17 minor
claims, held under bonds. No debts.
Treasury stock is only sold at increasing
price? as necessary to maintain on hand
a splendid cash reserve. Mr. Paterson,
tho (secretary, was for many years con
nected with the office of the O. R. & N
resigning that position to take his pres
ent situation.
The plans of the corporation for 1902
include the -starting of a small town at
Spirit Lake, upon its own grounds, tho
shipment for sale of richer ores over tho
new wagon road to Castle Rock, beginning
in the early Snring; the erection of numer
ous buildings as soon as the sawmill now
being taken Into the district shall begin
the manufacture of lumber; a matting
plant, to be Installed next Summer, while
a mile of tunnels and ehafta Is projected
for the year.
PORTLAND, OR.
000. The Simmons and Wimer mines of
this district operate from two to four
giants each nisht and day during the min
ing season. The grounds of the Waldo
district mines lie deep, and contain gold
from the grass roots to the bedrock. The
dirt is loose and yields readily to the
giants.
The Gallce mining district, of North
western Josephine, has been the sceno
of continual mining operations for tho
past 50 years. This district contains sev
eral large hydraulic mines, chief among
which la tho Old Channel, which 13 beyohd
doubt tho mammoth hydraulic mine of
this section of the Coast The mine was
recently purchased by J. R. Harvey and
W. H. Thompson, Chicago men, for $30,000.
There are 1500 acres of mining grounds on
tho property, IS miles of ditches and
flumes, a mammoth reservoir and many
thousand feet of piping. Four six-Inch
giants, with a pressure of 510 feet, are
onerated day and night for seven or more
months in the year. One big gravel bank
of this mine that is being worked, Is 2SC0
feet in length, with an average height
of 150 feet, towering 210 feet at the highest
point These mines produce from $20,000
to $60,000 each year, and will not be worked
out within the next 100 years.
Grave Creek, or-cupying the northeast-
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