THE SUMPTER MINER.
VOL. I.
SUMPTER, OREGON, SEPTEMBER 27, 1899.
NO. 3.
BUILDING
BOOMING.
Reported One Man Will Erect
a Dozen Cottages.
AT WORK ON 20 HOUSES
Owner of Property at Last Awake to the
Fact that Big Rents Can Be Obtained
Effort to Supply Strong Demand for
Buildings Sidewalks Also Being Ex
tended. There are at least twenty buildings In
course of erection in Sumpter at present.
Ow ners of lots seem to have awakened
to the fact that there is a strong and
growing demand for buildings here, at a
high rental, and are doing their best to
supply It.
'there is a report on the street today
that Contractor White lias the job of
erecting a dozen residences for one man.
Tills rumor could not be verified today,
however, as the contractor couldn't be
found and the man who is alleged to have
tliis profitable Investment up his sleeve
refused to proclaim the fact in public.
General Warren is having built on
Centre street a house 18x40 feet, in
which he and Mrs. Warren will reside
temporarily and he w III have his private
office. Contractor W. H. Jones, of Spo
kane, Is doing the work.
II. U.Wood Is building on Mill street a
two-story frame business house 25x50
feet. It will be for rent to the highest
bidder.
A. P. Goss decided to have his bank
block built by day labor and now has n
large force of men at work thereon. It
will cost about $6tooo.
J. G. Council has about decided to
build on the comer of Centre and Granite,
considered to be the best corner in towu,
a two-story building, 30x60 feet. The
ground floor will be used as a restaurant,
and the second floor as bed rooms, to be
run in connection with the Star hotel, of
which Mr. Connell Is proprietor. When
this building is finished the dining room
of the hotel will be used for some other
purpose; perhaps the partition will be
torn out and the office enlarged.
AttorueysStott&Shelton are having an
office building erected on Cracker street,
adjoining the city hall. It is 16x20 feet In
size, and Payne & Amos are the builders.
John Rohrman, proprietor of the Co
lumbia brewery, Is making some additions
to his plant, that businesslike most every
other in Sumpter, having about outgrown
its former capacity.
On High street Contractors Summers
Thrapp are building a two-story resi
dence 24x24 feet for J. F. Cupid, at a
cost of $800.
Contractors Stewart & Bradley, recent
arrivals from La Grande, are erecting for
Tom McEwen on North street a resi
dence 30x34 feet, which will contain all
modern improvements, electric lights, wa
ter, porcelain bath tubs, etc. The house
is nearly finished. W. J. Davis is doing
the painting, paper hanging and decorat
ing. On the corner of Hill and Mill streets,
M. H. Allen is having built for himself
one of the most conveniently arranged
residences in Sumpter. It Is to be 27x40
feet, of the Cleveland cottage type and
w III cost 51000. L. P. Ostlln is doing the
work.
The hillsides are dotted with new build
ings, in all stages of progress towards
completion.
Property owners along the west side of
Mill street, from Granite to the depot, are
having constructed an eight-foot plank
sidewalk. The money was raised by
private subscription, the city government
taking no hand In the business. A side
walk of like specifications is being laid on
the north side of Granite between Mill
and Centre.
GOOD. PEOPLE, THESE.
t
One of the Clark Syndicate Buys a Mine
In the Sumpter District.
Lee Long, of Spokane, one of the orig
inal owners of the well known Republic
mine at Republic, Washington, and a
direct associate of the Clark syndicate of
mining men, whose names are synony
mous with success, lias been in Sumpter
and this vicinity since the first of the
week with George H. I.insley, former
cashier of the Hoge, Daly & Co. Kink
of Anaconda, Montana.
They have secured the Summit prop
erty, which Is on a parallel vein to the E.
& E.,and todayexhlbitedsever.il samples
of splendid ore from their new purchase.
Mr. Long Is on his way home now,
greatly pleased witli what he has seen
here and will return here In two or three
weeks, prepared to take up any reason
able mining proposition for himself and
his associates offered in the district.
It is this class of live mining promoters
w ho bring to the surface the vital truths
of such a district as this is known to be;
hence let them all come as fast and soon
as they may and eventually will.
That Baker CMy Pamphlet.
Till- MINER Is in receipt of a letter
from O. L. Miller, secretary of the Haker
City chamber of commerce, explaining that
the statement relative to the amount of
potatoes raised in this county as pub
lished in the chamber's commercial report,
a mention of which was made in the last
issue of this paper, was merely a typo
graphical error w hlch every one knows
Is liable to occur even in the best regula
ted print shops. Mr. Miller says that he
made every possible effort to have Sump
ter represented in the pamphlet, but that
the citiens of this town refused to have
anything to do w ith it. The book is be
ing widely circulated and is already doing
much good in advertising to the world the
advantages and riches of the Baker City
gold fields.
To Organize a Social Club.
The preliminary steps for the organiza
tion of a club of a social and business
nature, such as is found In every live
business town of this country, where
its members can meet and enjoy its pri
vacy, entertain their friends and those
strangers, sightseers and others first com
ing to the town, is being contemplated
here. THE MINOR is asked to announce
a meeting for that purpose on Friday
evening of this week, at Hills' opera
house.
Reception for Sumpter Soldier Boys.
Fred Wooley and Alex Steadman, en
listed in Company F, First Idaho, and
fought under the stars and stripes in the
Philippines, have just returned to their
homes in Sumpter. The mayor and city
council have tendered them a public re
ception at Ellis opera house for Wednes
day evening, October 4, which will wind
up with a grand ball.
GOLCONDA AT FRISCO.
Ore Opens the Eyes of Mining
Men to This Region.
That carload of Golconda ore sent to
San Francisco is attracting much atten
tion there; is opening the eyes of that
western mining center to the wonderful
mineral wealth of Eastern Oregon. Here
is what the Mining and Engineering Re
view of San Francisco has to say about
the matter:
"A carload of ore from the Golconda
mine, six miles southerly from Sumpter,
Baker county, has just reached the Selby
smelting works and another is ready for
shipment. It is magnificent ore, much of
it being so rich in free gold and tellurldes
as to seem almost fabulous In value. It
was struck at the 2oo-foot level In the
mine and is now twelve feet wide, all pay
chute. The rich mine is the property of
J. G. English mid John T. English,
father and son, who purchased (lie mine
eighteen months ago and have operated
with only indifferent success until the
present strike was made. So rich Is It
that It runs thousands of dollars to the
ton, some of It showing more gold than
rock. It occurs In a slate and not far
from a granite contact. On the mine
there is a double compartment shaft fitted
with steam hoist, and now 360 feet deep,
and about 2000 feet of workings alto
gether. "On the mine is a roller mill and bro
mine and chlorine plant, but this Is not
found satisfactory in working this rich ore
and accordingly a ten-stamp mill will be
erected, to be enlarged subsequently to
forty stamps, for which there is room in
the building.
"The Golconda mine Is only one of the
promising properties located on a mineral
belt some 40 miles long by 20 miles wide
running through Eastern Oregon. Eight
new mills and a big cyanide plant are
now being erected in the vicinity of
Sumpter and Granite alone. The mills
vary from 5 to 20 stamps, while the cya
nide plant, which Is going up on the
Cougar mine near Granite, will have a
capacity of 250 tons a day. Reside the
Golconda, the North Pole, the E. & E.,
the Columbia and the Bunker Hill are
getting mills.
"The Ibex mine, which was sold last
fall for $65,000, was recently sold again to
eastern parties, this time for $300,000.
On tills mine a line chute of rich free
milling ore has also been struck."
New Cafe Opens October I.
Philip Arsenault, a new acquisition to
the Sumpter business field, Is remodeling
the building next door north of the ex
press office and Union Rargaln store, In
tending to open therein a first-class res
taurant, where he promises to furnish the
public with everything possible in this
line, In a way to warrant the patronage
of the most fastidious. The new venture
expects to open the doors for business by
October 1.
John Gagen's Philanthropic Project.
John Gagen, who recently came to
Sumpter to live, is, as his face plainly
indicates, a philanthropist, a natural born
lover of his fellow men; a kindlier physi
ognomy could not be found by traveling a
thousand miles. The Indian problem is
his specialty and on this subject he has
expended much patient thought and re
search. Having lived for many years
near the Umatilla reservation, he has had
exceptionally favorable opportunities for
pursuing his favorite study. Know
him to be an authority on the subject, ..
government official asked his opinion as
to the best policy to be pursued with tills
tribe. He promptly gave It and all
w ho are familiar w ith "Poor l.o's" nature
will at once recognized Its wisdom. His
advice was to make the bucks, by fair
means or foul, cultivate a large area of
their rich lands; raise all kinds of vegeta
bles, fruits, berries and fowls; employ
experienced white cooks to prepare the
food for the tribe, make the government's
wards eat that and nothing else, and he
will guarantee that there will not be a
representative of the once great Umatlllas
above ground In six years tltey will all
be good Indians.
WORKING THESE MINES.
Boston and Michigan Men Developing
Good Properties.
H. S. McCallum, representative of
eastern capitalists w ho recently succeeded
in buying the Mammoth and Bald Moun
tain mines, Is in Sumpter today and re
ports everything looking favorable at the
mines.
The Mammoth is owned by people In
Boston, who are having the properties
developed as fast as possible. Three
shifts are kept at work and the shaft is
now down 150 feet, with entirely satisfac
tory indications.
The Bald Mountain is owned by Michi
gan men. There are over 000 feet of
workings on this property and develop
ment work Is being continued and pushed.
As was stated in these columns last week,
F. M. Davidson is now East buying ma
chinery for this mine. 'I he company will
be Incorporated at an early day; capital
ized at $1,000,000, at ten dollars a share.
One-half the stock Is placed In the treas
ury, all of It has already been sold and a
working capital of $100,000 provided.
Mr. McCallum expects to leave for the
East in a few days to consult with Ills
principals.
Changes in the Public School.
Prof. Saliug has resigned the position
of principal of the Sumpter schools, to
take effect a week from next Saturday.
He has accepted a position In the office of
the county clerk at Heppuer. Oregon, his
home. Miss Anna A. Myers, who has
been his assistant for two terms, succeeds
to the position. Her place will be tilled by
j Miss Charlotte Vanderburg, of Mon
mouth, Oregon, who comes very highly
! recommended. The school here has at
1 present 131 pupils.
1 Hundred-Foot Tunnel on the Ornament.
Francis Clarno, an attorney of Port
I laud, returned to Sumpter this week to
j let a new contract for 100 feet of tunnel
jwgrkon the Ornament group of claims,
1 on Boulder creek, near the Tempest mine,
owned by Bennett Brothers. Former de
velopment work on this property has
brought to light a fair grade of ore.
!
I Engineers Surveying Additions.
Civil Engineer Worthlugtoii, of Spo
kane, arrived here the latter part of last
j week and began Saturday to survey the
. townslte syndicate's property here, pre
paratory to platting the same. Another
crew of surveyors w ill be started to work
tomorrow.
Fine Job printing only at Till: MlNKK
office.
Fine job printing done at Till- MlNCK
office.