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About The Sumpter miner. (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1900)
8 THE SUMPTER MINER. Wednesday, August i. 19 SMELTER BLOWN IN. First Test Run Thursday a Perfect Success. I he Similiter smelter was tircJ up Weduesd.iv night, 1fr the Itrst time. At 2 o'clock 11. 111. the titst lot of ore was shoveled into the furnace, ,uul in one hour mid twenty minutes Liter m.itte u.is running therrlrom. The smelter has experienced much diffi culty In securing oies (or treatment, some of (he mine owners seeming to he skepti cal regarding the adaptahllity of the plant to reduce ores from this district. I he run was made merely to demonstrate the fact that the claims of the builders and managers could he made good; th.it this smelter is capable ol treating the ores of eastern Oregon. Superintendent Laiighlin says that the degree of siiuess was beyond even Ills expectations; that owing to the f.nt that Ills ore supply was so limited in iualitv, he was himself a tritlc dubious a to the complete success ol the experiment in detail, though he knew, of course, that he could in. ike a good matte. I he probe hlllties are tint a test run of this kind was never made under more adverse con ditions, owing to the limited varieties of ores to lie treated. I lie run was nude on twinly tons of roik fioin the Quart, hurt: district, near I'raitie City. I he-e ores carry copper, gold, silver, and traces of other metals, but no perceptible (iiiullty ol lead, which is usually con sidered a ne.esslty as a llux in all smelting proi esses. Coke was used instead of diatcoal, the latter being pre ferred, hut could not be obtained lor tills lest. 'I he run is pronounced by the superin tendent to be a complete success, the maximum percrntng ol reduction claimed for the pnuess having been obtained, tint of ten to one; the twenty tons of ore having been reduced to two of untie. I he condenser also worked to perfection, the values which usually escape in the fumes being saved through condensation. Mils process is based on that ol a retort, used in every laboiatoty. 'I he smelter will be started up again in ten iliys or two weeks, when It Is hoped that a sullicient amount of ore will be delivered and coutiacted for to insuie a continuous run. If not, all on hand will I e leduced, and alter that the manage ment will deilde as to what will be done 111 the future. Other points ate en deavoring to have the plant moved from lure, notably llaUer Citv. DEVIL'S CINDER HEAP. Mountain of Recently Formed Lava in Cook County. lown In the center of the state, over shadowed by the lliree Sisters and the nrray of snow-capped peaks in tint part id the Cascade mountains, N a little vol- auic wonder ot whUh not much is heard. Lava Hutte, the lava beds, the great oxcades ol the Deschutes and Lava Hutte cave are a qu.utrt of scenes that will one d ly be islted by thousands of tourists. Today the occasional traveler and lew residents thereabout are the only persons permitted to revel in tlieseiiatur.il beauties. More energetic lishermen who push so far up the Destitutes in search of theMg redsldes, Dolly Vardens or rain I11 .v trout, hive long been fain'.liir with Hie I iva district that, on a small scale, rivals the great lava beds ot Northeastern California and Northwestern Nevada. Lava Hutte is about ijoo feet higher thin the Deschutes liver, which (lows neir Its base. Nature never formed a more perfect, symmetrical cone through .hich to pnut lava. The upper 600 or 800 feet constitute a sharp pinnacle among mountains of bar-lv sufficient circum ference at the apex for the crater, which Is nearly 100 feet in depth. The sides of the cone are covered on the north and west with well-ground loose stone, which 1 is ready to roll from the (.limbers feet. I At no pi ice In Oregon does lava look I of more recent formation than the beds spreading from the base of this hutte. At 1 first glance one would say that It cannot h ive cooled more tlnn a half doen years. On the northeastern side, where the wagon road approaches the hutte,' I there are beds looking as if they have I been dumped from a furnace in large I iwheelturrow loads, i'illed and jumbled I together hi all imaginable grotesque ' shapes and still retaining the celular form I of burned coil cinders, with scarcely any 'vegetation climbing up Its sides, this mass ol lava might well be taken for the work of a volcano in very recent years. , I No one will take exception tn the term, ' " I he devil's cinder heap," which some I have dubbed it. I j I here is no course down the sides of ! I the upper portion of the hutte where.'i f lava stream can be traced, which adds to I tlit wonder of the scene. It seems to 1 have been vomitted out and fallen olf to one side as completely as il thrown away by a patent ejector. I:.xchange. O. R. & N. ENTERPRISE. Will Aisist In Irrigating 60,000 Acr in Baker County. A prtss dispatch trom Maker City siys: Willi Its usual progressive spirit where the interests of Oregon are concerned, the O. R. N. Co. has arranged, hi connection witli .1 local company known as the Powder River Laud and Irrigation Co., to water about 60,000 acres of the arid lauds of Maker countv. 'I he report of the consummation of this deal, which means so much to the farmers of till-, county, is brought In by V. J. Patterson, out of the leading merchants of this city and one of the stockholders of the Irrigation Company, lie Is also .111 enthusiast upon the subject of the de velopment. of Uastern Oregon. When questioned upon the subject, Mr. Patter son said: "Several of us were hi Portland the other day and held a number of meetings witli the ollicialsot the O. R. & N. Co. Pln.illv they agreed to aid hi the project of irrigating Maker County by securing tlie services of a United States Govern ment engineer, w ho will at once make sur veys and estimates of the cost of the con struction of the necessary reservoirs and canals. "It is our Intention to take the water) from the Powder Ulver at a point about1 six and one-half miles above the city J through a canal, which will be 10 feet w ide at the top, and 8 feet at the bottom, and biing it to a reservoir to be located1 near the 'lone pine,' about a mile and a 1 half cast of the city. I he capacity of the reservoir, as at present contemplated, w ill be sullicient to irrigate about jo.ooo acres of land, and will be so constructed! that when needed it can be increased to double the capacity at very small ad ditional cost. I he proper distribution of water over this valley means more to Maker Citv than any enterprise ever con templated here." Through the Yellowstone. 1 he new route via the Oregon Short Line Railroad and Monlda, Mont., enables ! you to make a delightful trip through the I ValLui lIivihi Klitli-itiil I irl Miitftriiirv li ,"'""',",m ..... M V...V,M.h .... Mould.) and coming nut via Cinnabar, ' making it unnecessary to cover any por- j Unit of the route twice. Por beautiful 1 descriptive booklet, write or call at Ore gon Short Line Ticket Office, 14: Third streel, Portland, Oregon. Ws. Welnhard's beer on draught at Henry Finger's 10 cents per glass. .THE. --VW Union Smelter Mfg. Co. OF ST. LOUIS, MO. Our Sumpter. Oregon, Plant of From K to 40 Tons Daily Capacity is Now Ready For Operation. A spur of the Sumpter Valley Railway Company and easy wagon roads facilitate the delivery of ores right at the Smelter. Owners or controllers of Sulphide, Carbonate and Oxide ores, who can contract for their delivery hi lots of 10 tons at least, are requested to forward to us from 100 to 150 pound'' representing the average character and values of the ores. Such samples will be annlyed and assayed by our analytical chemist free of charge, for the purpose of establishing the value of the corresponding ores to us, and for the guidance of their owners. Our treatment charge, com paratively moderate, will be gov erened by the special adaptability or de sirableness of the respective ores for our purposes. The product of our Smelter will be handled by the Plrst Bank of Sumpter and payments for ores accepted by us will be mad through the same channel. Special rates of treatment charges will be made to parties in position to contract for a steady and large supply of desirable ores. SAMPLES AND CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED The Union Smelter Mfg. Co. SUMPTEH.OHEQON I LLock Box P H. Mi-INHARD, Sec'y. C Vr s- Bousum & Spalding CRYSTAL ICE Company Pree delivery of Pure Ice. Leave orders at office of Columbia Brewing and Malting Co., next door to MlNI-R office. BUTTE HEADQUARTERS t C. B. & M. Co.'s Beer Best in Town J. B. SCHMIDT THE GEM SALOON A. J. STINSON, Prop. (.Successor loSnvdeA bthison Only the Best Brands of Liquors Served Over the Bar SUMPTER, "5? OREGON Paul E. Poindexter, MIN ES Bedford McNcal s Cooc Sumpter, Ore.