8
THE SUMPTER MINER.
Wednesday, September 12, 1900
PRAIRIE CITY POINTS.
Other Things of Interest than
Lands and Mines.
Last vrel I III. MINI It published .111
article (in the ii.itiir.il resources of the
John U.iy valley and thelmrderliiR mnnn
tnlns tributary to I'r.iirle City. Ili.it
legion li.is other fr.iturt-. of even more In
terest tli.111 Its lertlle soil and rkli mines,
to oof w ho Is not .111 avow eJ doll ir wor
-hlper.
I'rairie City Is typical of the region.
It is an old, sleepy looking camp, Mir
rounded hy slumbering possibilities. Its
utlcns .ire all old timers; many nt them
li ivIiik come there thirtv and more years
;ikcj with the lirst pl.icer mining rush,
1 titers having been dtau n into the valley
t'V the population .iLtinni occ.isloned
when the stampede to other diggings oc
curred. 'I liese latter mine hi to farm and
have grown rich. 'I here are people there,
natives, from tNent to lucntylive years
of .igr, who have never wn a railroad
tulii.
Hting removed so fir from whit is
popurlaily nmsidered "the world," these
good people are someuhtt provhul il in
llielrways. I he hnpiirti.il, shrewd observer
will loudllde that ilnse uintad with the
suit Id docs not Improve either the cli ir uter
or the mind. I hese people are a whole lot
t'etleraiid just a "sm. lit" as tliur who
li.ue lived m drill k I car lines and read
nothing Maler than thiity minute old
ncwspipers all their lives. Vet they
litrulsh home amusement and a great
deal ol eiitertaiiiineiit for those who drift
Into this mountaiiHenced Utopia for a tew
da s. When a stranger is introduced to .1
lesldent on the streets ol I'rairie Citv,
the proper thing to do is to stand there
and talk (or an iiideliuile period. And
when the Interview closes, If the "old resl
dcuter" doesn't know the visitor's politics
and religion, their is suspl.lon lurking in
his ciitiousinhid.
What hi the praitie Mates is called a
'Vow hoy," hut is heir a "Mockman," is
largely In evidence, lie is accoutrrcd in
rveiy leaped, euept one, as Is the cow
boy ol romance. I he John Day gentle
man wlin looks alter cattle very prob
ably which he owns hlmsell does not
weareonstantlyaslvshnoter. In thkasiu
other respects to whkh this absence of the
gun is an hides, he is a great Improve
ment over his brother a lew hundred miles
luither east.
I here is one striking resemblance be
tween them, however; they are both fond
l and loyal to the great American game
ol pokrr. Here til it king ot all gambling
and amusement devises has not been
superseded by those degenerate games of
olo and twenty-one. Nor do these cattle
men and miners slip into some private
room and exchange reds, whites and blues
behind a locked door. On the contrary,
1 hey gather around a table in a hotel lob
by, pile up their soft and hard money in
limit ot them and piny. in honest, friendly
g line, w llli the blue sky as a limit, play
until broad day light and feel as if no ex
4 use is ueiess.ity to be ottered to any liv
ing Mug.
Your miner man and the owner of large
herds of fat cattle, having the money with
which to pay for the good things of this
world, in order to protect himself, has
Irarned to distinguish between the good,
bad and Indifferent. I hereforc it is, that
In I'rairie City saloons excellent old
w hlskey is served over the bars. Cus
tomers would not tolerote for a moment
any attempt to degrade the quality of this
popular staple.
Formerly all freiget was hauled In from
Columbia liver points. During recent
eais, it lias come from the outside to
itaker City on the O. R. & N. and
hauled from that point in wagons. The
bt'ildlng of the Sumpler Valley road,
which would save a wagon haul of thirty
miles, has not changed this custom. It is
probably the only case in the world where
freight is hauled a distance of thirty miles
in wagons over bad roads, rather than
have it shipped on a railroad. The reason
for this Is the stupidity of the management
of this road of narrow guage and policy.
The rate from Baker City to Prairie City,
a distance of seventy miles, is 75 cents a
hundred, l-rom Baker City to Sumpter,
,1 distance of thirty-one or thlrtv-two
miles, is about 35 cents a hundred, bolt
will be seen that the wagon freight rate Is
the cheaper of the two. 'I he shorter haul
of forty-tun miles from Sumpter to Prairie
City mmint be made for the difference of
40 cents a hundred, so the freight wagons
work their slow, laborious way over the
range to Hiker City, thirty oJd miles
away. Did anybody ever hear of a case
of thkker headed meanness?
I his being the condition of affairs, the
people over there do not love the Sumpter
Valley road, and they declare with
strange, vigorous oaths that they much
prefer not to have any railroad at all,
than this "slim gauge streak of rust."
I his one proposition is a sure thing: If
this logging road extension ever descends
from the timber lands of the mountains
down into the I0I111 Day valley, it will
h.ivi- to pay town lot prices for its right of
w ly. One other statement Is equally
true; no jury to condemn a right of w.iv
will ever be empanelled that will give this
U ah company the best of any deal.
Fluctuations in Mining Stocks.
1 hat the present slump in mining se
curities Is general throughout the country
is noticed by the Denver Mining Record,
and it, at the same time, makes a plea for
optimism in this regard. It mentions the
fact lh.it while the Coloiado stock market
is ll.it and inactive, the mines of the state
were never in better condition, the activity
of the market having little seeming rela
tion to that of the mines. This is equally
true here. Hardly an Instance can be
cited where mines of this territory are not
looking more promising than ever before,
yet stock values have been halved, quart
ered and even more finely divided within
the last 12 months. The Record's ex
planation of this that boom and slumps
follow each other In Irregular periods with
out apparent cause, except the Incidental
Inlliience of small things is all the ex
planation that can be given. The season
of the year lias been against investment,
elections are approaching, and there have
been local delays to discourage the in
vestor, yet these Influences can not ac
count for the astonishingly quiet condition
of the last month or two. Nevertheless
there is no ground for pessimism. The
other extreme will come as surely as this
one did, and there are many signs that it
is not tar oft. Spokesman-Review.
Own Good Mines in the Greenhorn.
Frank Duprat, John Selbertand George
Darveau returned at one o'clock this
morning trom their trip to their mining
properties In Greenhorn mountains, Grant
county. 1 hey started out last Tuesday,
went by rail to Sumpter, thence by stage
to Law ton, and from there by private
conveyance. Mr. Duprat has been doing
work on some of their claims there for
twelve years. He had specimens of rich
ore with him this morming, which were
obtained 'from the carbonate claim where
the vein Is cross-cut by a tunnel 44 ft i
length, at a depth of 135 feet. The vein
is 18 feet wide and neatly perpendicular.
Mr. Dupr.it says that considerable activity
is being displayed in th.it section of the
country. He states that early last fall
there was scarcely the sign of a cabin
where Alamo now Is, seven inlls south
west of Granite. Now there are 100 cab
ins there and the owners thereof are doing
all kinds of mining development work.
East Oregonlan.
airnmmmmmmiwjrwnmmmmmji
I About I
I ....Building....
Why don't you build when everybody else 52
f: quits? Why do ycu all want to build at once
g- when lumber is green and covered with ice;
- and when prices and labor are high? Now is
the time to build, like "Brother Perry" when
g there is no particular rush. J
- We are offering special bargains in Hats,
2: Shoes, Gloves and Clothing, also other General
g Merchandise, because we bought at a big dis-
- count and we give our customers the benefit.
g We also sell :
LUMBER 3
- cheap but we do not intend to sell at retail for
j; less money than we can get on the outside ;
g market as some of our competitors do.
Sumpter Lumber Co. 3
SUMPTER, OREGON S
UllUl.i.iUUUi..i.iUiUU.i.iUUUU.
J. B. STODDARD
J(,5 Nel lo Hauhe Hardware Li, JrJft
Happy
School Days
Near
mzzzmgszssm
tf&$ SUMPTER. OREOON )7&&3
THE Public Schools of
Sumpter will open Sep
tember 17, and every person
should have his child prop
erly clothed. Our children's
department is complete in
every detail and to introduce
it to the public of Sumpter,
we offer the following spec
ial bargains this week:
Boys' Suits f 2 to S.
Actually worth 38
per cent more. Boys'
underwear, all sizes
and qualities. Roys'
Shoes, 51.50 to 5).
Hub Clothing Co.
J SCHWmt, Successor
THE GEM SALOON
A. J. STINSON, Prop.
(Successor to Snyde Stlnson)
Only the Best Brands of LiquorsServed Over the Bar
SUMPTER, - - - OREGON
5
Raul E. Poindextor,
MIN
ES
Bedford McNckl's Cooc.
Sumpter, -
Ore.
CAPITAL.
Barber Shop
M Baths
A. O. Davidson, Manager
ClAUD Drew, Operator
Operated in Connection
with Capital Hotel.
First-Class Work. Porce
lain Bath Tubs
Sumpter, Oregon
' V
J