VOL III.
INTERESTING RUMOR.
REPORTED SALE OF SUMPTER
VALLEY RAILWAY.
Deal Knocked by Rival. Interest Parties
Who Want to Control the Lumber
Butlneu Here Themselves Had Suf
(icieot Pull in Washington to Cautc
Forest Reserve Order to be Issued.
Tlit'M! is 11 rmnur of nil absorbing in
terest uictly whisimred around iimoiis;
very few of us knowing out during the
past fun days, relative to thu establish
incut of that aggravating forest reserve,
involving an alleged sale of the Sumpter
Valley riiilnutil, the Kasteru Oregon
I.umlMsr company's mill anil timber
lands, an intiinatioii of themunipulation
of the Interior department liy a iwer
fill lumber syndicate for scltlsh ends and
the defeat of the plans of a rival concern
ami, in fuel, a hunch of rumor, equal
ly absurd, the skeptics will insist.
"Whether or not there in any truth in
the story Tiik Mi.nkh will not venture an
opinion. It sounds reasonable, inakeH
giss.1 reading matter ami must, there
fore, hero lie told.
Ah readers of Tiik Mixkk know, for
several weeks, past the woods hereabouts
have been lull of cruisers, representa
tives of two or more big Imuhcrcompan
ies, with lieadiuarters in Wisconsin ami
the world as their Held of iiiuratioii.
One of these companies, knowing a gtssl
thing when its trusted agent sees it,
coveted the splendid bodies of timber
lands in thu Hlue mountains, recognized
the fact that in order to control thu sit
uation a railroad is necessary, and not
being willing to wait the time required
to build one, opened negotiations for the
purchasf-of thu Sumpter Valley Hue.
The story goes further and relatesthat
these negotiations proceeded to the sat
isfactory point of thu parties to thu deal
agreeing 011 a price for both the road
and the lumbering interests, and fixing
August 15 as thu date on which thu pur
chase price should lie paid and thu
transfer of title made. In this connec
tion it is said that thu gentleman who
was to close thl transaction is now on
his way to Sumpter, with a New York
draft for seven llgures, exclusive of thu
two ciphers representing no cents, se
curel;' pinned in the inside ockct of his
vest.
Of course this establishment hero of a
forest reserve is going to knock thu sale,
and the above mentioned knowing ones
aver that the reserve wan established for
this purMtau ; that a combination of east
ern men who dabble in politics us a Hide
line to their lumlier business, thereby
having secured a pull at the national
capital, also have a yearning for eastern
Oregon timber lands, want it In largo
tracts, decline to take it in homeopathic
doses, and so took this method of shut
ting out a rival concern, until they can
SUMPTER, OREGON, JULY jo, 190
have time to turn around, as it were,
and ierfect their plans for a wholesale
rtiKi of the virgin forests.
No one has thus far named these gen
tlemen with the strong Influence with
the Interior department and the re
sourceful underground tactics.
Will Inspect the Friday Mine.
Nell .1. Nircuseu and Olto llerlis'ker
will leave for the Friday, just over the
line In Idaho, one day this week.
Neither ha been there since Superin
tendent (irillith uiiwatereil the mini1,
finishing the job several weeks since. A
force of men is now engaged drifting on
the levels, and every rcsirt received Is
to the effect that the old rich on- Isslies
left intact when the mine was shut
down several years ago on account of
litigation, are holding their own, Isith
as to extent 'and values carried. It is
understood o lie the intention of the
company to sink another UK) feet this
season, giving a depth '-WO feet and
doubling the amount of ore in sight. If
this has been detitiltely decided Uhiii, it
has, however, not been publicly an
nounced. Everett Brown a Busy Man.
Kvcrett llrown, manager of the Cali
fornia and Cracker-Oregon mines, is the
busiest man in the camp. I -urge forces
of workmen are employed at the mines,
voodaud timbers are being gotten out
and the plans are about completed for
the erection of a ten stamp mill on the
Cracker-Oregon and for a concentrating
plant 011 the California. The manage
ment of this all falls on Mr. llroun,
formerly of I'eiiu Van, New York, and
the way In has taken hold of matters
demonstrates his large capacity for
business. The concentrating plant on
thu California will be pushed to com
pletion as rapidly as osil)lc.
Latest Rumor About the E. & E.
Again it is reported on the streets
that the K. A; K. deal has In-uii closed.
This time the rumor has it that the
purchasers will take Misscssion Septem
ber I, and Is'iiin work u week later. II.
T. Ilendryx, of linker City, who has
been working oil the proosttiou in con
nection with .K. I'. Cow en, jsud who
went to California some mouths since,
succeeding in securing the signatures of
Jonathan lioiirneand wife to an iusiru
incut agreeing to transfer the great Idle
property under certain satisfactory con
ditioiiH, was in town yesterday, hut
gave out no information regarding the
transaction.
Twenty Claims Suiveyed lor Patent.
John llagel has been surveying the
Kaglu Mining company's claims, in the
Cable Cove district, for some days misI.
He has finished the Held work, and went
out yesterday with a party of gentlemen
interested in the company, lie says this
survey Included twenty claims, for which
patent will lie applied. It constitutes
the largest body of mineral land ever
patented in one tract in the state. The
impression prevails, somehow, that there
is a conflict of interests in this deal and
that all kinds of trouble is brewing.
NORTH POLE
OWNER HERE
To Consider the Building of
That Electric Line to
Bourne.
.Mr. and Mrs. Alexander llarini: ar
rived in Sumpter yesleiday and weie
driven at once to the North I'ole mine,
which Mr. Haling owns.
This forenoon 'I'm: .Minimi attempted
to establish telephonic connection with
the gentleman, for the purNc of learn
ing how he enjoyed tho-e trout from
Olive lake that he had for breakfast;
when he is going to start work on that
electric Hue fiom Sumpter to ('able
('ove, with a branch hue' to llourne;
whether or not it is a fact, as rcMirtcd,
that a million and a half, dollars in gold
have Imhui taken out ol the North I'ole
during the past live months, and If so
would he kindly send down twenty or
thirty H.unds of that i.'KHI.lHK) rock as .1
MH'ket piece for the editor; whether he
calls London his home, as is generally
supsiMt, or is a resident of eipially
benighted New York, us the writer is
apparently leliahly informed, and of
making a few other pertinent enquiries
of a purely public nature; but llie at
tempt was a dismal failure.
Unfortunately, Kmil Melxcr, the ab
solute dictator of that small hut rich
principality in the absence of Its owner,
answered the phone, and the courteous
ret 1 ilex I of the uewspaM'r man for some
I11I01 matiou as to Mr. and Mrs. Daring's
movements while in eastern Oregon was
turned down with boorish incivility,
colored with lofly scorn. Mr. .Mel .or Is
one of those men who consider a gold
mine a sacred thing, that should 1st
worshipped as is the symlsdic calf made
of its priHliict; who coiisideis public
interest in a mining company nothing
less 1 1 tu 11 profane sacrilege and a re
porter's impudence in approaching his
august peisoinige for the purHisti of In
terview iuu him, as a species of lesv
majeste. If he lives in America a
million or so years, he may ierhaps
slightly revise this estimate of himself
mid opinion of others.
Mr. Ilariug is here at this time for the
esN'cial purpose of considering the
proposition of building an electric rail
way fiom Milliliter to llourne. At the
last meeting of the cityiouncil 11 fran
chise was granted to construct and
oKirate the road Ihrouuh the streets of
Sumpter. The franchise was granted to
Tom McKweu, who, it is positively
known, is acting for Alexander during
and K'rhaw others. It was his desire
to have the matter set lied then, that
the whole prniositiou might be pre
sented in a business like, complete
manner. There is 110 question hut
what the mad will prove a uiy!ug in
vestment from the start, and thu hoM
i NO.
47-
N generally entertained that it will ls
ready to oernte alsiut the tlmu
the -inciter here l blown In. Mr.
Itariiii! hereby assured the most
cordial co-opeiatiou and considerate
treatment by this municipal govern
ineiit, (he H'ople of Sumpter and the
entire district. In case he decides to en
untie hi the enterprise.
Encouraging Rtpjrl Prom the G'psy King.
V. II. Mather telephoned from thu
Clpsy King to I'. C. Ilrodic Monday that
he and Al Otucss had, after doing con
siderable prelimlnaiy work, begun sink
ing on the rich ore shoot. When down
only ulsiut six feet eighteen inches of
solid ore was encountered, which show
ed every indication of widening out to
the full seven feet between the walls.
Thi" is the phenoineiiallv rich ore lasly
of which Vo much has been said by tho
pi ess of eastern Oregon. It was found
as broken ledue matter nu the bank of
the creek and assays from '.1W to f-100,
never less than thu llrst tlgure. Mr.
Mather said they will wmiii I si Isithercil
with water; that they probably can't
work longer than this week without
starting the pumps, which will be work-
led by water siwer for the present.
Lindsay Party Goes to Alaska.
The Lindsay parly, from New York
and Milwaukee, that was here last week,
left Saturday for a short pleasure trip
to Alaska. Thu gentlemen were mom
than pleased with the country, viewed
from a business staiidMiiut, and after in
sectiug a number of the prisluciug
mines, several procrtles in which they
are interested, especially thu Oregon
Monarch, they decided to carry out one
or two large enterprises which they hail
under consideration. It is especially
gratifying to learn that after wrsonal
examination they decided that a smelter
here in Sumpter Is a irood business proi-
osltiou, Is'tter even than lr, Mueller
and his associates had pictured it. Thu
party will return to Siimpler in alsiut
two weeks, liefnrc going east.
That Bnd on the Constellation.
It. II. Kemp, in charge of V. A. Me-
Naughtou's huslucs during hlsjibscnce,
with all nllico over llie Hank of Sumpter,
received a letter from him a few days)
since, wiltten Iroiu .sun rrancisco. no
explained why he could not he, here on
thu twenty-fourth Instant and take up
the Isuiil on the Constellation, which
expired on that dale. He said he coulil
not Imi litre for alsiut twenty (lays, ami
asked for an extension of the IniiuI for
thirty days, which will probably bu
granted. Mr. McNuiiglitou is working
on a big electric siwer deal, also, anil
is hoM'ful of carrying it through success
fully. He has shipped from San Fran
cisco to Sumpter a coiupletu assaying
out lit for his own use. I loth he and Mr.
Kemp are assayers.
Call for Bids.
Ilids wauled 011 running a fifty-foot
tunnel, on a mining claim near llourne.
For particulars apply to Chas. II. Chance,
First Hank of Sumpter building.