Wednesday, May 29, 1.901
THE SUMPTER MINER
V
MINING IS IN
ITS INFANCY.
Mines of Ophir Merely a Wild
Cat Speculation
Never was the world more conscious of
the great truth that the mining industry
Is in its Infancy. Solomon in all his
glory, gazing with rapture upon the gilded
mlnerets of his splen Id temple, never
dreamed of the fact that the mines of
Ophir were a wild-cat speculation com
pared to the revelations of wealth that
would punctuate the future with excla
tlons of wonder and surprise. The well
heeled Inca of ancient Peru piled high tha
procuctof his Kl nJlkes to tempt the brain
of Pizzaro into the germination of a gor
geous Impulse, and doubtless felt within
his copper-colored heart that he had got
ten the mining business down to a fine
point without the cyanide process. Like
Solomon he did not live long enough to
learn that time must shuffile off a few
desolate centuries before the mining In
dustry would be In Its infancy. The
same may be said of the extravagant old
gentleman who formerly managed the af
fairs of Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome,
who had money to throw at the birds in
their day and generation, and whose pros
pectors were the first to start the story
about the Lost Cabin mine, which has
been discovered regularly every year
since Cleopatra ruined Mark Anthony with
a wild cat deal. The wisest of the an
cients left no records to show that they
anticipated a future greater than the pres
ent In which they lived, and apparently
the Idea never occurred to the most far
sighted that the mining Industry would
not acquire Its Infancy until the latter part
of the nineteenth century In the modern
measurement of time. Such, however, Is
the solemn truth.
While mining has always been carried
on, originally by the heathens and later
by the chosen of God, it was never con
ducted along the lines that meant the
actual and absolute extraction of ores
from a mineral field, and therefore could
not be dignified as a matured industry.
It Is now merely In Its infancy, Instead of
In Its long chrysallls condition, because
modern scientific principles have broken
Its shell. Ways and means have been
discovered whereby gold can be recovered
from any chemical condition In which It
may be found and usually with a margin
of profit; excepting, of course, the large
amount of juicy wealth that Is said to be
secreted within the waters of the vasty
deep. The chemical processes already
discovered Irresistibly lead to the conclu
sion that no form of the precious metal
will long escape the greedy fingers of
man. Thus It happens that no mineral
field of the past, operated by crude and un
scientific methods, can said to have been
exhausted. In short, conditions are now
such that all thi discoverable gold locked
up In the treasuries of Mother earth is In a
fairway for seizure before the closing
hours of the next centuiy unless, indeed,
the art of creating that metal reaches a
point that makes its possession less de
sirable to mankind, and the selfishness of
the world takes on another form.
The age of Invention has locked arms
with chemistry in introducing the infancy
of the mining industry, and machinery
Is playing a part of wonderful propor
tions. There Is not a known gold field
In the world today that does not claim in
fancy In development; and the same Is
true as to other metals, subject to condi
tions of the markets. In the light of
modern progress the era of worked-out
mineral zone seems an absurdity. Like
the tin mines of Cornwall, England,
which have increased their product for
thousands of years like the copper mines
of Michigan, which are so deep that the
Chinese authorities on the other side of
their shafts are likely to raise the ques
tion of territorial rights the quartz of the
western American mineral fields give in
finite promise of durability and wealth,
and the Infancy of mining bids fair to de
velop into a splendid maturity that will
give to the world a commercial momen
tum never dreamed of In the golden eras
of the past. Western Mining World.
Thousand Tons of Shipping Ore on Dump.
Wm. Mulr, the veteran miner of the
Union county group of mines, Is In the
city for a few days. Mr. Mulr has been
at work on his mine for seven years and
has always been very reticent as to what
It and other mines of the district contain
ed, but he is now willing to let the public
know his purposes. He does not Intend
to wait longer for the development of the
district, but will begin the shipment of
his ore to a smelter In July. He has
1000 tons on the dump of his mine and
intends to ship too tons this summer.
But his shipments will not stop with that;
It will be continued steadily, If there Is
any profit In it, and of that he Is confi
dent. He has ample means to carry on
the work on any reasonable scale, and
has no fear of the outcome. He must, of
course, select the ore for shipment In or
der to make It pay. The ore must yield
50 ounces or $25 per ton before it will re
pay the expenses of shipment, but Mr.
Mulr understands his mine well enough
to know that it will yield better than this.
Indeed, he expects from the dump and
from what he will take from the mine
meanwhile, to reap the fruits 0' his years
labor, a small fortune. It Is to be hoped
that, as the mining activity on the upper
waters of the river began with Mulr's
work, he will be the first to demonstrate
the wisdom of his efforts. La Grande
Chronicle.
Placer Claims for Sale.
An extraordinary chance for the pur
chase of a fine placer property with plenty
of water, all ready for profitable work.
Some cash and time. Will bear Investi
gation. Address M. J., care of MINER,
Sumpter, Oregon.
GO
EAST
OVER
THE
Denver SRioGrande
Railroad
SCENIC LINE of the WORLD!
VIA
Salt Lake City, Denver
The most Interesting and enjoyable trip on this
continent is over this popular rallroaJ.
Choice of two routes through the Rocky Moun
tains and four routes east of Denver
anJ I'ueblo.
Stop overs allowed at Salt Lake City or any
where between Ogden and Denver.
Through Car Service.
Magnificent Scenery.
t Perfect Dining Car Ser
vice. Meals a la Carte.
Ask your nearest ticket a -int for tickets via
the Denver ft Klo Grande Railroad, Scenic Line
of the World.
Descriptive natter mailed upon application.
E B. DUFFY, R. C NICHOL.
Traveling Agent. General Agent,
IS4 Third it, Portland. Or.
Attention
Investors !
If you want to become
interested in the most
promising mine in Eastern
Oregon
buy Cracker-Summit Gold
Mining Company's Treas
ury Stock at JOc Per Share
Kvcry dollar of your money will lie u-ed to further
develop tlio company's property situated in tlio
heart of tlio Famous Cracker Creek district, stir
rotmtlctl liy such well-known dividend payers as the.
Coliiinhiii. Ciolcomla, K A 10 and north Polo mine.
Most of I ho I lift issue of (), 000 shares oll'ered tit
that price lias heen stilwcrihed (or. When what
remains is Hold none will ever ho houjjht at that
limine again. 0 Tim Climax claim, .'1000 feet south
ami on the same ledge as the Cracker-Summit
property, has just hceii sold hyCol. John T.Gray
son to eastern capitalists for 8100,000. ft) liny
now while you can get in on the ground lloor ami
you will gut liiy returns for your money invested.
Writ For Engineer's Report, Prospectus, Eto.
Cracker-Summit Gold Mining Co.
B01 170. Sumptir, Ortjon
THE EDW. P. ALLIS CO.,
MILWAUKEE. WIS.
Manufacturers of
Mining, Milling
and Smelting
Machinery.
BRANCH OFFICE 1
SPOKANE. WASH,
IIO MILL ST.
H. V. CROLL, Manager.
80-ln x 1 20ln. Copper Converter.
n I I 1 1
STAMP MILLS
WOOD OK IRON FRAME
SELF-CONTAINED MILLS
Rock Crushers
Ore Feeders
Tramways
Dredges, Engines
Boilers and Waterwheels
Hammond Mfg. Co
INCORPORATE
PORTLAND, OREGON