VOL. IV.
WILL DEVELOP THE
Qcavcr Brothers Sell to Major Bonta That
and Will Cleaver Groups Largest
Mineral Estates in Oregon.
Positively, thin in the moat gigantic
mining deal ever "turned" in Oregon,
and in doubtless den tilled to rank
with the big oni'H in all the xvorld's
history of precious metal mining.
Major .1. W. Honta and associates, of
Philadelphia, have taught from Cleaver
Hrothers the great Oregon Wonder and
the Will Cleaver groups. The former
constats of thirty-seven and the latter
twenty-one claims, the two largest
mineral estates in the northwest.
Major Honta, A. Arthur Ilebbs, also
of Philadelphia, Lou Cleaver and
Attorney W. G. Drowley, of Baker City,
passed through Sumpter Sunday after
noon, from these properties, where tlley
hud Iteen for a week, examining ore
bodies and titles. To u Minkh represen
tative both Messers. Honta and Cleaver
confirmed the reported sale. They did
not at that time care to give any details
of the transaction ; further than that it
wuh cloned at Prairie City Friday ; that
the title to the properties had passed
from one party to the other through
deeds, not by bond or option, hh 1h the
usual custom.
It wus also learned from these gentle
men that the deal has been landing for
two years, one thing and another have
ing intervened to postonu its con
summation until the present time. Two
weeks ago Major Honta and Mr. Ilebbs
arrived at HukerCity from Philadelphia,
quite uuexiectedly to the Messers.
Cleaver, there having lecu no cor
respoudeuee for several mouths, and the
latter considered the incident closed. It
appears, however, that the Philadelphia
syndicate, the head of which is Major
Honta, had had representatives on the
ground for several months, who had not
revealed their Identity or the object of
their "camping trip."
Major Honta is a man, pcrhaps,seveuly
years of age, vigorous of body and
intellect, Qrui but courteous in his man
ner, which at once conveyed to Tub
Minsk mau the information that
he was not taking newspapers and the
public into his confidence regarding his
private business affairs, and the writer
made uoefort to secure uy information
that he'did not freely divulge; which, in
brief, was that he had bought the two
groups for himself and business associ
ates for Uie purpose of developing them
into misfit, for the r gold 'add copper in
SUMPTER, OREGON,
OREGON WONDER
the ground. Work has already been
commenced on the Will Cleaver group
and will bo on the Oregon Wonder as
soon as iossible.
These gentlenen have undertaken one
of the. most stupendous industries of
modern times. The Oregon Wonder is
the biggest gold bearing ledge yet dis
covered on the globe. It is proper! v
named. Lust September, two years ago,
the writer inspected the Wonder. He
met there a mining expert of world wide
experience and repute whom he had
known in other ramps. The gentleman
had been on the ground a week mid had
decided to abandon the intention of ex
torting the property. He said :
"The people I represent didn't know
the sixe of the proiosition they were
steering me against. It cost Mr. Hearst
(30,000 to sample the now famous Home
stake mine in the Hlack Hills. 1 am
authorixed to xiend no suchumount of
money, and if I weru, 1 would tell my
people to materially increase the ap
propriation. The only way any intelli
gent idea of the value of that mountain of
ore can be secured would be to erect a 20-
stamp mill and pound out the rock for a
year. I have made from 50 to 100 assay s,
taken from us many different places on
the surface in a distance, of a mile, and
find varying gold values in all of them.
I couldn't get uny more accurate or
satisfactory information by makinu 1000
assuys, and I am going to quit and go
home. I believe it is the biggest thing
on earth."
And that is what it is. The ledtta is
iu the Strawberry mountains, seven or
eight miles south of Prairie City, at an
elavation of OiOO feet. At one isiiut the
outcropping stands up fully ISO feet,
which can be plainly seen throuuh Held
glasses from Prairie City. It is one of
the land marks which is shown to
visitors. The writer took a snan shot at
it with 4 kodak, at a distance of 1000
feet, and in so imperfect a picture the
"Wonder" is revealed. Rome idea of the
magnitude of the ore body can be gained,
if the reader will believe the statement,
that the ledira isflflft ft In tvl.lt ! It
can be .plainly traced along the munn-
tain lor a distance of several miles. At
one place, it to stated, that one can walk
on gold bearing sock s distance of 0000
ttt flll- fltll nlal-lta Maltnuk . I.l
.,., .v... ..... uxui-p WMHIV IIB icug-J IB
exposed above the wash., The ore it
NOVEMBER 19, 190:
harder than the country rock and has keen observer it is very apparent that
endured longer Time's t Racing hand. t we are fast approaching a period of gold
So far as values are concerned, those I production such as the world has never
who have hud assays made and whose known or dreamed of.
word the writer believes, informs him . Recent statistics show the enormous
that they run sll the wny from u trace to development of our gold mines and the
ltd, with never a blank. W. I). Johnson Ig'eat increase in the production of this
owner of the Hlue Mountain Hot springs, t precious metal. Especially is this the
who first discovered that the formation e.kseiu H.tkcr and Grant counties wlie.ru
contained gold values, saxs he had the
ore sampled by amalgamation in ISH.'i,
securing an average of fit At) it ton.
Alsmt eight years ago he had another
test uiadit, with litis result; eighty
samples f 12.50; ISO i-amples fH, forty
samples 4.50
It was tliough Mr. Thompson the
Cleaver Hrothers tlrst heard of the
Wonder. They located it in ISlKt. They
have had hundreds of assays made,
some going us low as fit utid others as
high as (00. Dr. I .on Cleaver says he
has also sampled the Trcadwcll mine
u ml that the surface showing on the
Wouder double discounts that famous
gold producing dividend payer.
If the ore will average two dollars,
with suillcieiit capital to oerate ' it, the
Oregon Wonder will be the greatest mon
ey maker on earth today ; for tliuoro can
be quarried like building stone, the
values cheaply extracted by amalgama
tion, and there is already enough of the
stuff in sight to supply 1000 stamps for
many years. There need be no de.id
development work
Kvery shot from
own tons of ledge
the start will tear d
matter.
It is the biggest thing on earth, all
right.
The Will Cleaver group is in the same
range, several miles away. This is a
copier ami gold projHisilion, also of
largo prosirtious. Theru are said to Ik-
eight parallel veins running through the
twenty-omi claims, xurylng in width
from 3 to 10 feet. These mineral forma
tions are very clearly defined ami can
1st traced for miles. Cleaver Hrothers
have done considerable development
work on this property ; fully demonstrat
ing thut it is the making of a great
mine. One long tunnel has been driven
which cuts all these ledges, giving "all
kinds" of backs. Thirty asstvs made
some time ago guvo an average of $7. Hit
in gold and 4 ierceiit ropier, close on to
$20 in values. The highest a may was
$140 iu gold and 22 -rcent copicr.
ror years mining men have known
that these proierties were of great value,
hut they have ulso recognised the fact
that large capital, up in the millions,
was necessary to open upunil work them
profitably, owing largely to lack of
transportation. It looks now as if men
with the money aud business acumen to
know a good thing when they see it had
taken hold of the proposition. Of
course, other large enterprises are allied
inseparably with this one; the nature
of which Tim Minkii has heard tin
authenticated rumors only, which are
scarcely worth repeating at this time.
Regarding the deal, this paper has
received Uie following coiuinuidcation,
which will be read with interest :
Editor of Th Sunns Minkh : To the
NO. 11
the discovery of new and unheard of
gold distriels is reported almost dally,
attracting the attention ol the world to
this region.
I have just returned from a pilgrimage
m Grunt county and learned that Major
.1. W. Honta aud associates lone com
pleted the purchase of the world famed
proper! ie known as the Oicgou Won
der and Will Cleaver groups, com
posed of lifly-eight claims.
I have spent years rambling over this
country, mining and prospecting, and of
all discoveries yet made, these proper
ties cap the climax. I have many times
attempted to estimate the value of the
Oregon Wonder aud I now desire to
give you my last estimate, which
certainly is u long way inside of the true
facts. On this great ledge of free milling
quiirlx, the largest ledge of free milling
quarts in the world (hero are over three
hundred millions of tons of gold Is-aring
quart, rising alsive the surface of the
mountain side, showing gold values by
assay from t hi ee dollars per too up to
'sixty dollars per ton. This ledge is
over three hundred feet high, averag
ing more than 1MI0 feet wide, and over
-HKH.I ft et long. These ligures give us
oxer 7.'0,tHKI.(MK) cubic feel, or over
CO.tKXI.illH) tuns of gold Is-ariug quartz.
A low axerage on this will lie live dol
lars per ton, or (::ltl,(KXI,l)(Kl, all of it
alsive the surface.
Mr. Editor, will you 1st kind enough
to publish this aud tell the public if 1
haxe oxer-estimated this famous prop
erty. W. I,. llllltNIIAM.
Kitty years a piiucr.
linker City, November 17, ItHl'J.
Thrte Ft of Eighty Dollar Rock.
Tom CosMlo, of the Advance mining
company, was iu town Monday. Ho
br, light in hiiiio samples of Hue ore from
that pros-rty, found iu a tunnel at a
depth of only lifleen leet. At I bat (nihil
there is a three-foot xelu averaging1
eighty tiiill.ir-4 in gold mid coppur. Tint
company has decided to sink a shaft
and two shifts are already at work on
it. Winter supplies of every description
h.tVi) b en delivered at the mine, suill
cieiit to last until spring. This includes
fuel and timber1 stilllcient lo go down
100 feet. Mr. Cost olio says the com
pany has ample funds mi hand to com
plete all coulemplated work and that as
soon as the smelter hern begins o iter
ations the Advuitce will be in osition
to sustain itself.
Heware of imitations. See that the
puwiler you purchase is brundwl "Giant
Powtier, Han Francisco, patented May
24, No. 241041 and June 14, No. 242MM.
tsOfi