THE SUMPTER MINER
VOL. II.
SUMPTER, OREGON, JUNE" 5, .1901
NO. 39
MILL FOR THE QUEBEC
CONTRACTOR M'LAIN WILL DO
THE WORK.
Graders and Millwright Leave for the
Mine Tomorrow Will Have Twenty
Stamp and be Identical With That of
the Bald Mountain How Captain
Wood Chanced Not to be the Owner of
ThU Splendid Property.
Contractor B. L. McLaln will build the
mill on the Quebec. Tomorrow he will
send out a force of graders and mill
wrights to begin the work. Considerable
grading will have to be done to prepare
the site before the first timbers can be
placed In position.
The machinery has been arriving here
for several weeks past and'much of It has
already been hauled to the ground, so no
delay will be occasioned by the failure of
material to arrive on time. The mill will
have twenty stamps, Is made by the
Joshua Hendy company, of San Francis
co, and Is virtually a reproduction of the,
one on the Bald Mountain, considered the
most perfectly equipped mill In eastern
Oregon up to date; Mr. McLaln having
also erected that one. No date for the
completion of the plant has been set, but
It Is comparatively a sure thing that the
Quebec will be producing gold bullion be
fore fall.
This mine, when a mere prospect, was
picked as a winner by Captain Wood last
spring- He secured n bond on the prop
erty and expended 3,oco in development
work, showing up a large body of high
grade ore. He was acting for himself and
J. W. Gates, tho Chicago steel magnate.
About the time the bond expired.Gates was
busy with an adult strike, with a few mil
lion dollars deal to occupy his mind dur
ing his leisure moments, so failed to take
up the option. Captain Wood failed to
secure a time extenlon, the owner know
ing then that he had a mine, and the Cap
tain, a good mining man and a thorough
bred, quit the country In disgust.
Since then the Carrs, the present own
ers, secured control of the property and
are now putting up the mill. The impres
sion prevails that they have one of the
most valuable. mines in' eastern Oregon.
Two Mining Sale Reported.
If was reported on good authority yes
terday that the Oro Flno mine, the prop
erty formerly belonging to J. Hllllard and
J. Schmitz, in the Alamo district, has
been sol.' to Spokane parties for 8,ooo,
the first payment of 3,ooo having been
completed. The Belcher mine, in the Rob
inson vllle district, was also sold to Spo-
kane people. The property belonged to
A. Larsen and brought 125,000. Both
properties have been well developed and
sold readily because owners asked reason
able prices for them. Democrat.
Hatiey Wood's Game Bird.
Harley Wood found time hanging rather
heavy on his hands, the scrap In the
.council having quieted down to unlnter
estlng skirmishes for points, and the
twenty-one plungers having gone to the
'hills to dig for more gold, so he sent down
to the Willamette valley for a game bird,
to enliven the dull monotony of life. The
chicken arrived Thursday and ls.a"beaut,"
-a trifle large but game to the limit of his spe
cies. Since then his owner has been pros
pecting for roosters for the fighter to prac
tice on. He borrowed a few dung hills from
inelghbors while they were not looking,
but they failed to make the game Interest
ing. He finally made a match with a
game owned by a Chinaman across the
river, for Sunday afternoon. The night
before A. 'W. Ellis stole the bird and
when Harley found him gone next morn
ing, he decided that if the guilty party
could be apprehended, there would be a
tight anyway, even if he had to do the
work himself, with an ax. On his way
down town, his mind deeply emersed In a
detective problem, he heard the game
crow of his pet In the brewery and knew
who the culprit was. Ellis had gone on
the excursion, so saved his hide. The
rooster was recovered and In the after
noon whipped everything on the west
side that wore feathers.
EXCURSION TO WHITNEY.
Between Three and Four Hundred People
Vlilt the New Town.
Retween three and four hundred people
went trom Baker City nnd Sumpter on
the excursion to Whitney Sunday, this be
lug the first opportunity the public has
had to go to the "end of the track" by
train.
The most noticeable feature of this ex
tension of the Sumpter Valley railway Is
the steep grades. Two engines were re
quired to pull the train of n half dozen
cars over the summit, and it Is quite evi
dent that locomotives of much greater
power than are now In use on the road
will be needed to handle the traffic, If it
assumes the expected proportions. One
thing In favor of the road is that the heavy
trains of logs, to haul- which the line
was primarily constructed, will come
down the grade as a general proposition.
Already great piles of logs are placed at
short Intervals along the track. Most of
these were cut from the right of way. In
this vicinity the Oregon Lumber company
ons what Is doubtless the finest body of
timber In eastern Oregon, and nowhere
can land be more easily logged. There Is
no underbrush, the ground is unbroken
and everywhere covered with grass.
The much talked of Whitney is located
on an untimbered, flat piece of land, of
of which there Is a section or more; sur
rounded Immediately by a range of low
hills. There are few such spots in the
Blue mountains. Bald mountain looms
up distinctly and appears to be about as
near to Whitney as It Is to Sumpter, but
the difference In distance is about fifteen
miles. The Greenhorn range is in plain
view from the townsite. There is consid
erable snow in the higher altitudes.
At present Whitney consists of about a
dozen frame buildings, substantial In
character, some of which are not yet com
pleted. Concord Mut be Ventilated.
Mayor Robblns came In from the Con
cord mine Monday. He says it has not
yet been decided whether or not the com
pany will begin milling Its ores right
away. A plan for either extending the
tunnel or upraising to the surface, so as
to secure better ventilation before begin
ning to stope is now under consideration,
and some little time will be required to
execute either plan. The Concord is now
a mine, without any possibility of a doubt
and the management Is merely figuring
on how best to operate It.
Order Ice cream, pastry or all kinds of
bread from J. N. Hoffman's bakery, Mill
street, next to Golden Eagle hotel.
At the Club saloon, Dunphy 81 Gert
ridge serve a line of goods equal to any
that money will buy.
MINING MEN
FROM SEATTLE.
Will Develop a Property in the
Greenhorns.
A. G. Martin and J. B. McManus, of
Seattle, arrived In Sumpter Saturday.
The latter Is the Junior partner In the
firm of J. E. McManus & Son, the lar
gest mining operators on Puget Sound.
He has supplemented a scientific educa
tion with extensive practical experience
In mining.
Mr. Martin came to Sumpter last sea
non with the elder McManus and spent
the summer prospecting In the Green
horn mountains, witli several others.
He located some claims In the vicinity of
the Golden Eagle, which he thinks are
very promising. On them Is a thirty-five
foot vein. that carries free gold, varying
in value from four to eight dollars. It
is to develop this property that they have
returned. Their Intention Is to sink a
100 foot shaft this season.
When Mr. Martin left here last fall,
he placed his pack horses In care of Mr.
Kitchen, who had them ready for the trip
on his arrival. They started out Mon
day, to get the camp In shape for the
men who will be started to work In a
week or ten days.
Activity in Burnt River Mine.
M. E. Balne left Saturday to join his
associate In the mining business, J. H.
Brown, at Malheur City. The latter re
turned to Sumpter yesterday to attend
to some business here. In a day or
two he will meet Mr. Balne at Vale, where
he )ias gone with the pack animals. To
gether they will go on a prospecting trip
through a wide scope of country to the
south, expecting to be gone about two
months. Mr. Brown says much placer
mining Is being done on Burnt river this
season; that the supply of water is greater
than usual and that the final cleanup will
not be made for a month or six weeks.
He reports that more prospectors are go
ing Into that country this season than for
a number of years past, attracted there by
the reports of rich strikes in free milling
gold the poor man's mining proposition.
Snow Fall June 4, 1901.
In order to keep the record straight, let
it be entered In the weather journal that
on June 4, 1901, here In Sumpter, a( an
altitude of only 4429 feet, It snowed more
or less all day long. It was not cold and
at Intervals the sun shone brightly and
melted the snow that had fallen. There
was evidently some queer goings-on for
this time of the year in the upper atmos
pheric stratas where this snow was form
ed. The stuff was altogether out of sea
son and ought to be Included In the game
law. The old timers have not dared to
spring any story about an eight-inch fall
of snow in July '61, because it is very
evident that the public generally wishes
this to be the record breaking event.
Pleasant Way to Travel.
The most delightful way to travel to
the east Is by way of Salt Lake City
the city of the saints and the Rio
Grande Western railway, in conjunction
with either the Denver & Rio Grande or
Colorado Midland railroads. This route
not only carries the passenger through
the heart of the Rocky mountains and In
view of the most magnificent scenery on
continent, but it also provides for stop
over on railroad and Pullman tickets at
quaint and picturesque Salt Lake City,
Gtenwood Springs, Manltou, Denver, etc.
Through Pullman palace and ordinary
sleepers, free reclining chair cars and a
perfect dining car service via this route to
Denver, Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis
and Chicago. Personally conducted
weekly tourlts excursions. For printed
matter, rates, etc., Inquire of J. D. Mans
field, General Agent, 122 A Third street,
Portland, or Geo. W. Helntz, General
Passenger Agent. Salt Lake City.
Oil at Prairie City.
A little excitement wns occasioned the
other day over oil. Some of our citizens
thought they knew where there was oil
floating on the water, nnd to test It took
some paper and saturated it, and It
burned with a clear flame nnd gave un
mistakable signs of petroleum. It has
long been known that coal existed In the
John Day valley, nnd men who are ex
perienced in oil claim that It can also be
found here. Special from Prairie City to
Baker City Herald.
Meeting of Fourth of July Committee.
The finance committee of the Fourth of
July ccelebratlon met with Mayor Rob
blns this ntternnon. It wns decided that
nothing can be done until the executive
committee forms some Idea of the charac
ter and extent of the progr.im. With a
view of getting matters In tangible shape,
all the committees will meet tomorrow af
ternoon, probably In the Bank of Sump
ter, when definite arrangements will be
made to start work on the proposition,
Fifty-foot Contract Let 00 the Grizzly.
The Grizzly Gold Mining company has
let a contract to continue Its shaft another
50 feet. McGhee & Reese have the
work In hand, which, with other odd work
about the mine, Is to be completed In sixty
five days.
Placer Claim for Sale.
An extraordinary chance for the pur
chase of u 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 MINOR,
Sumpter, Oregon.
Water Pipe for Sale.
About 2000 feet of new and second
hand eight-Inch, sterl-rivited pipe tor sale
at a bargain. Inquire at the office of the
Sumpter Water company.
Private Table Board.
I will furnish private board to a few
desiring such, at my residence on North
street, near Center. Mrs. C. E. Duck
worth. Lcuoni in Lace.
Mrs. Marsh, next door to MINER office,
will give practical Instructions In lace
work. Materials and hundreds of pat
terns to select from.
The Capital Hotel Is again under the
management of Mrs. George B. Tedrowe,
which fact guarantees the best of servlco
to all patrons.
The pupils of the graduating class of the
Sumpter public schools will hold their
T. G. Harrison, agent for Giant Pow
der company.
Something to depend upon Giant
powder.
Mining deeds for sale at this office.
Use Giant powder, fuse and Japs.
Always reliable Giant powder.
Never falls Giant powder.