I "
VOL III.
SALE OF THE FAMOUS
MAXWELL GROUP
Neil J. Sorenscn & Co. CJosc a $150,000 Deal
for Eastern Clients Of Vast Im
portance to the District.
Nell J. Sorensen fc Co. have just con
summated ouu of tho big mining deal
of tliu year hi eastern Oregon. For
eastern clients of theirs, George I..
Huntington uuil W. J. Johnson, of St.
l'nul, and C. I'. llerkey, of Mluncali,
they thi viH)k Iwught thu Maxwell
group, operated by llm Pierce Gold Mill
ing company. Tliu control of this val
uable proH3rty was held in eutcrn
Oregon by Wultcr M. Piorcu and J. A.
Howanl, of Pendleton; Charles M.
Pierce, of Weston, J. It. Homing, of La
Grande. J. Albert ChcuMt,of Virginia,
also owned a large block of thu stock.
Mr. SoreiiNun Iium Mrforined a din
tinctivu Hurvicu for thu mining interest
of eastern Oregon, in inducing men of
hucIi standing in thu tiuaucial world to
invent their money here. It 1h hucIi
trunmictioiiH iih thi that will tend to
dlssiinlnutu world widu knowledge of
our mineral wealth, and inspire capital
iHtH with L'oufiduncu in thu district lack
of which bun heretofore been itH great
est handicap.
It ih understood that Neil J. Sorensen
will be thu resident director and have
thu general mauagenient of thu mine.
Thu Maxwull mine in located in tliu
Klkhoru range, on thu eunt fork of Rock
creek, in linker county, and ubout twelve
inileH from Haines, a Minall town on thu
O. It. .t N. railroad. Thu famous Halsley
F.lkhorn and thu itobbiiiH-Klkhoru
mine adjoin tliu Maxwell group on thu
wet, and it Ih on thu name well known
date belt which traverse tliu country
from thu Uaisley-F.lktiorn, on went
through tliu Maxwell group, theme on
through the now sensational producer,
the North I'olu, the K. & K.. thu Colum
bia and tliu (iolcondn milieu.
The property consists of twenty-four
claims, eight of which aru patented ; the
other sixteen aru held by location K)sse
sion ; two mill ltes, two water rightH,
ditcheH, adequate boarding and bunk
house, olliceH, and other improvement.
The proierty in bIho equipped with a
modern ten stamp mill and concentrat
ing plant. Thu power Ih furnished both
by water and Hteam.
The development work consist of ten
main tuuuelti all run on ore, they Mug
(darted each at an elevation of 100 feet
uliove one another, and the tuiinelti are
uumWred from one to eighteen. The
muiii work Iiuh leen done in tunnel
Nod. 14 and 18. Tunnel No. 14 hat been
SUMPTER, OREGON, JULY 2h 1902
driven u distance of 1K(H) lect on tliu
ledge, excising two very extensive ore
shoot, and a number of Hinallcr ouch.
No. IH Iiuh leun driven a distance of
1760 feet and will tap thu ore bodio ex
cised in No. 14, 400 feet lower. No. 15
tunnel Iiuh Ikhmi driven it diHtance of
some 200 feet and Iium tapied thu Hrst
ore sht excised in No. 14.
From careful and coiiHurvativu etl-
inaten thu development work up to the
present time Iiuh exported over 10,000
tms of ore, which In immediately
available for extraction and can Im run
through thu mill. The ore Ih generally
a hard quartz heavily impregnated with
sulphide pyritu, zinc blende and galena
being thu must common. Much heavy
milphidu ore occur in thu Maxwell, and
in purely concentrating and free milling
ore. The ore will average from nuvun
to ten kt cent concentrate ; however,
much of the heavy HtilphidcH is often of
a Mhipping grade, sometimes running
upward of a couple of a hundred dollar
ht ton, hut thu average value of all thu
ore iih it iri uxscd in thu mine Ih alsiut
llfteen dollar kt ton. There i in thu
neighborhtMNl of 1000 ton of ore now ii
the ore bin at thu mill and at the mouth
of thu different tunnel, which ha been
extracted from the tunnel and drift
during thu con rue of development. Thi
oru ha an average value of llfteen dol
lar per ton.
It miiHt Iks rumouihercd that the
Pierce Gold Mining company, thu own
er of thi profierty, weru only develop
ing thu mine and blocking out ore, mo
that when they tarted their mill they
would be able to run for an indefinite
IKTiod, and the Pierce company may
practically be termed purely a develop
ment company. Prior to the time thi
company secured thi proierty, the
owner mined and milled a great amount
of oru from several of tliu surface tunnel,
at a good profit, epeclally from the firt
hoot, known a thu Ucckwith, encoun
tered in tunnel No. 14, where there wa
extracted something like 3000 ton of
ore, huving an average value of ubout
$16. The total value of thi uinouut of
oru i Haiti to have Imjcii between $40,000
and 60,000 and their Htojie weru ex
tended practically to the mirface.
In a convention with the manager of
one of the largest producers iu thi dis
trict about the Maxwell, he said to a
Mixkr man: "I have examined the
proH'rty and have had iu mind thu He
curing of it for myself and associates. 1
am satisfied that it i one of the big
pmiiertie of the Northwest. The ex
tent of thu development i uch a to
HHHiire beyond all doubt tliu cruianciicy
of the orti shoots, and thu value aru
sulliricntly high to insure a inaguilicent
prolit. I'nder the mauagemeiit of Mr.
.Sorennen, it will only lie a question of a
short time until the Maxwell will lie
classed a one of the largest producers
of this district."
Owing to the absence of Mr. Sorennen
from tliu city, Tiik Mi suit could not learn
what Ids intentions aru as to thu future
of this great mine, or thu detail of the
transaction ; lint it is reliably rcorted
that thu price was $150,000, witli a large
cash payment.
Propoud Mail Route Change.
Several gentlemen who receive their
mail at thu liouruu itollico have in
formed Tiik Miskii that the Hstmnter
there had received a communication
from thu department intimating that
the ulMiidoniueut of thu olllce wusuudtr
contemplation. They weru, of course,
indignant, and justlv so, for Itourne,
with the exception of Suiupter, i the
most iuiirtant mining camp in eastern
Oregon, i thu center of thu ureal est,
richest miiies on thu continent. The
Histolllcu deliver mail to 000 or 7(H)
people and dm' a big money order hunt
ue. Therefore Tiik M in Kit i pleased
to state that thu Pont a I department has
no intention of discontinuing the olllce.
Postmaster .lewett says that the plan is
merely to discontinue the star route !
tween Suiupter and liouruu ami have
thu Cahluvillo route include llourne.
Thi will occasion no inconvenience
whatever. Tom McF.won has the liouruu
contract, which hu will probably Ioho.
William Kitchen carries the mall to
Cabluville and hu will take iu llourne,
in ciihu the change is iniidu. Postmas
ter at Granite, I .aw ton and Alamo have
received letter from thu department,
asking them a to the advisability of
changing that star route from Suiupter
to Whitney. This move originated with
Austin Craig, the Nistmuster at Whit
ney, and Joseph Burton, of thu Sumptcr
Valley railway. Their motive in, trans
parently, a selfish one. Thu change
would inconvenience thu public general
ly and will doubtless not I hi made.
Eastern Capitalist! In Sumptcr.
G, I. Lindsay and wife, Mis Isals-I
Lindsay, Mackay Wells, of Milwaukee;
I.. K. Lindsay and wife, of New York,
arrived iu Suiupter yesterday. They
are all more or less interested in Killen
Warner A Stewart' mining proMsitlon
in thi district. W. K. Lindsay I the
New York representative of thu firm and
he and G. I. I.imlsuy have taken an ac
tive interest iu promoting the smelter
enterprise. They are director of thu
cnniany, which Is organized under the
H's of Arizona, and are here to attend
a meeting of the directors, to le held in
a few days, when W. K. Lindsay will ho
elected president. Who the other olll
NO. 46.
ce rn will he is not now generally known.
The party is out iu the hills today, visit
ing some of the bin mines.
"Miner" Building Moved "Bcdlly."
Last week Contractor K. Nordyko
moved Tiik Minkii building, with tho
entire printing plant, weighing over 15,
000 Miuuds, a distance of 225 feet, mak
ing two half turns, without dislodging a
brick froni the chimney, breaking a win
dow light, or in any way wrenching the
building. Alsiut twenty-eight working
hour were consumed in uiTompllshlng
the job, nine hour to get it on the roll
er and seven to get it off and leveled on
it new foundation. No capstan wan
used, but in its stead double block and
tackle. The work wa certainly well
done, and quickly say those who aru
Histed on such business. He is now
erecting an addition to the building,
making it uImmiI double it former size.
Increasing business demand this addi
tional room. Mr. Nordyke lias Ida
hands full of work.
W. E. Hurd Planning Extensive Work.
W. K. Ilurd arrived yesterday from
Portland, having returned recently from
New York, lie will put iu a week or
more looking over his several mining
prorties, thu Chelan, the Potosi ami
others, and lay out some additional ex
tensive development work. Men huvu
Im'cii at work on the llrst named for
some time past, since its iucorHiratiou.
Mr. Ilurd ha put quite a much money
into the development of hi procrtlc,
before realising any return, as any
operator iu eastern Oregon. F. S. Mor
rison, of Boston, arrived today and in
company with Mr. Ilurd will visit hi
prortie and some of the big pnsluc
iug mine.
Will Make a Mine ol the Diadem.
General Charles S. Warren left Sun
day for Butte, after H'iidlng several
day iu Sumptur. Hu say the Diadem
will now Is- developed into a mine. To
arrange for thi wa the principal object
of hi trip here at thi time. HuUa.
Ilrm believer iu thu great wealth of thu
eastern Oregon gold llelds, and say tho
Cracker ('reek district will producu more
gold than Cripple Creek ; that the North
Pole is a more valuable mine than tliu
Strattou. Hi information on thi last
iiut i obtained from thu headquarter)
of each, iu loudou.
Owl and Elephant Tunnel Contract Let.
Kugeiie Itiirtholf and William Ituin
mery have taken thu contract to drivo
tbe tunnel on the Owl and Klephant 100
feet further iu. It is now in alsiut 150
feet. Mr. Higglns, representing tliu
Maryland syndicate that owns thi pro
erly, let the contract last week, and work
i now in progress. A lsly of excellent
oru has Itcoii uncovered ami everything
indicates tho making of a mine of this
promising Cable Cove priqierty. The
ore, so exiertH Hay, can. lie easily con
centrated. T. U. Harrison, agent for Giant pow
der company.