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About The Sumpter miner. (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1904)
Wednesday, June 8, 1904 THb bUMPTER MINhR SOCIAL TEMPER OF MINING CAMPS Interesting Study Aside From Prosaic Industrial Aspect, The history of mining camps from the date of discovery tpthe ,Umeof maturity is au entertaining study, without reference to the prosaic in dustrial aspects of their growth. The sociological side of their development, furnishes food for reflection from which certain generalizations can bo dorived, not wholly without value to the hard-headed, single-minded busi ness man. The success or failure of invetments in miueB, or at least their highest fruitfuluess, bavo too often been bound up with tho public torn por of the miuiug community not to compel attention to these social phe nomena, though it is not tho moro seroiums aspects of the matter, as for example tho restlossuess of labor, politics or possible official insolence, to which reference is horo mado. Many a new mining camp has be couio notorious at the outset for tho rough character of its population, takou at au avorago, and tho reckless forms' of entertainment in which it iudulgos. Thoro is nothing sur prising about this, for at" such a period tho cump is in its advonture some stage and it oucouragos such a moutal atitudo on tho part of its oitizonn. Ultimately tho camp will sottle down to a moro serious under standing of its mission and its re lationship to the rest of the world, tho community will crystalizo aud social order will steadily improve to tho lovol of tho standards prevailing in older settlements. The develop ment of such a camp from tho adven turesome period to the period of soboruess, it may bo noted, is moasured by tho devolopmout of tho miens from tho stage of uncertainty to that of certainty. Tho fellings of suspouse, tho sudden surprises, and all the sensations that attoud the dis covery aud early development of a rich mineral belt naturally contrib ute to a reckless mauuor of Jifo. After a timo tbeso conditions dis appear aud there is a chaugo. Another symptom of tho adventure some spirit is found iu the speculat ive oxcitouieut that usually spreads beyoud the borders of the camp into the outsido word. At such a time practically all the property iu the camp is in its prospective stage, aud speculation thrives upou uucertauity. While the reckless homo spirit is at its height, tho speculative spirit is rampaut without, and though the two phenomena are not necessarily concumitaut, thny are at least trace able to similar causes, it is remark able that when the camp is producing little, investments move less conser vatively tbau when it is produciug much. At the "height of a boom" everything iu the way of a "flyer" is in order; when the so called boom Jias subsided the springs of invest ment freeze up. Why is this so? Strange but true, it is because the uncertainty has disappeared. The impression gets abroad that there are no more new opportunities left. The camp is no longer virgin. And so the district enters upou the lustrum of sedate activity. Its works are greater thau ever and its fruitfuluess larger, but ita age is against it in the minds of many. As there has been a chaugo iu tho predominating spirit of tho miuiug camp, so will there come a change. iu the predominating spirit of tho in vestment world. The solid founda tions of the well established mining community will bo found moro in viting aud a reaction iu the, right direction will .surely ovottako tho mln.de of.tho investors Daily Min ing Record. 1 ,SI ... STOCKMEN FAIL TQ AGREE ON BOUNDARY The committee of sheepmeu, con sistiug ot Murdo Fiulaysou, John McLeunau aud Pat Kadigan, of An telope and vicinity, which went to the Blue Mountain region laslt weok to confer with cattlo men from tho southern part of tho county regard ing the establishment of range lines for tho summer, has returned homo, having failed to mako any satisfac tory arrangoment. Tho sheepman wero met by a com mittee of cattlemon aud the matter of fixing permanent raugo lands thor ougly dicussed, but no couoIuhIvo action taken, tho sheopmen claiming that tho cattlo owuors demanded moro than tho sheepmen cuuld con cede No othor date waH sot for a futuro mooting to adjust mat tent and tho herds of botii cattlo aud sheep will bo ranged tills summer iu tho disputed torritory. Whothor any troublo will ariso from the failure to make permanent bouudury liues, within which the sheepmon and cattlemen would bo compelled to raugo thoir stock, is a question which tho coming summor will answer. Present indicationa point toward disturbances which will result in serious iossoa before fall haa come. Tho Autolopo Herald, in spoakiug of tho mooting, says: "It is not kuown what steps will bo taken by tho shoopmon to protect their right to a participation in tho rango prlvilego in tuo Uluo moun tains, but it is to bo hoped that somo amlcabio adjustment of tho matter chu bo arranged. In Lake county, whoro a bitter raugo war is iu pro gress, 4,000 shoep havo boon killed in tho past fow mouths, aud suuh a coudition of affairs is to bo avoided, if possiblo, iu this county. Tho organizations seom anxious to find a way for tho amicable solution of tho question." RED ARROW CARRIES RICH CINNABAR ORE 11. P. Seward, who owns tho larger interest in tho fled Arrow claims uoar tho Thomas ranoh, is iu town to ro ceivo medical attention. Mr. Thomas receulty fell across somo timbers wbilo working at the property sus taining painful iujuries. Mr. Seward is very enthusiastic over the ore now being disclosed at his claims. He exhibits somo speci mens takou from the bottom of a tweuty-foot shaft, which show a large per cent of ciuuabar, with satisfact ory gold and silver valuos. Tho ledge he says 1h four feet iu width, and be thinks it will average up wards of 950. Ou the surfaco it showed 84 in gold aud 82 in silver, but uo mercury test was made. From the appearance of the rock, it car ries a high per ceut of the last named. MINING CAMP MICAWBERS They Toil Not. Neither do They Spin Anything Ex 1 cept "Yarns' The mining industry, like ull other' dccaprttion8a'niVlffitfl,, ulUis its "Mlcawbera" who are eternally sitting around waiting for "some thing to t,uru up." , These individuals are so numerous iu some of our mining camps that they comprise about one-half of their population. Indeed, they abound iu such numbros that an active, enter prising, wide-awake and progres sive man, upon entering within tho environments of theso parasitoH upou legitimate industry, could hardly throw a pioce of country rock In any direction without hitting a "Micaw ber" who has been ho long perched upon a fine ledge of mineral bearing quartz, doing nothing aud waiting for someone to come along and develop it for him, that years ago he became part aud parcel of the landscape; indigenous to the soil as it wero, aud so thoroughly adverse to labor that ho has come to think of himself ns a typilicatiou of tho lilies of Solomon's Sous, "which toil not, neither do they spin," unions it lie to spin long and improbablo stories of tho Im mense wealth of tho properties to which they hold no title hut that of simple location aud relocation, ad tlnitum. Tho "Micawhor" family is a largo one aud the presence of one of this cult in a mining camp is a men ace to its growth and prosperity. Hy hook or crook ho comes into possess ion of valuable ground which ho holds yoar after year by sipmly posting his notice, or by tho stretch ing of a 8fi0 bill so that it will cover (he $100 asessment auually required by tho government, and, wero it not for tho incoming of men of enter prise, the camp in which he resides aud infests would forover bo minus of any wealth producers aud divi dend -payors, and thoro is hardly ever moro than threeo or four of theso iu a camp which, with conditions moro favorable, could give birth to a dozen Silver Kings, to a dozen great bonanzas. When au individual or company begins active development and ex ploration in any camp of merit tho "Micawhor" onntlnuon to vegetate on tho rocks. His is a uniting game. He will not work himself, hut lie is porfectly willing that someone else should prove the merit of the local ity iu which he is interested, and tho hope is strong within him that the active, uiiterprisiug man, in tho development of adjoining property, will open up the ledge at depth, to withiu a few foot of his own neglected aud undeveloped property. Indeed tho "Micawbers" hang around a mlno in couno of development like a baud uf hungry coyotes around a flook of sheep, aud the moment a big strike is made they begin at once tho endeavor to interest capital for tho development of their own pat ticular holdings, basing thoir claims for their alloged value solely upon tho showing already made iu the property of the progressive man whu is willing to spend his money to prove his mi no, rather thau to wait for tho tardy movements of his "Micawber" neighbors. Salt Lake Mining Koview. Looking for Bacon found Ledge. i Colonel (.. V. K. Dorsoy narrates thiit, in Helena recently, he met Truiuati L. Hodges, discoverer of tho Ada-101more mine at Kooky liar. Ho and a young man were making their way through tho country afoot, the remainder of tho party having stopped below with tho horses. Mr. Hodges badw. ack..iu .which was a piece of bacon. When they wished to got dinner they found the bacon had slipped "through a hole in tito sack and was lost. He went back over tho trail they had been following to find thg missing meat. While watch ing for the missiug bacon he observed a boulder that had come down the hill and lodged in the snow. Ho broke it open and found it spotted with gold. Looking up tho gulch, he saw a place from which tho snow had disappeared and that looked like a ledge. lOxamiuation disclosed tho fact that it woh a rich vein. That was the beginiuiug of tho Ada Elmore. Mr. Hodges was recorder of the district for some timo. in recent years he has lived iu Helena and 1h well-to-do. Ho loves pros pecting, however aud regularly takes to the hills each season, saying he Is not entirely happy uutilho tlnds him self where the foot of man lias never been set.- Koine Statesman. SPECIAL NOTICE If you want to read a free and inde pendent paper, devoted to the inter est of mining and current events, which is not controlled by any pro moting concern, such as most of the papers iu the east aie, send for a free sample copy of NEW YORK BANKER LH IIKOADWAY, NKW YORK L FREE! FREEH FREE!!! 85.00 Certificate of tho best Oil Stock absolutely given away. Write at nuco for plan how to secure Five Dollars' worth of fully paid and Mon-asM'ssahlo Oil Stock without cash. INVESTORS' LISTS COMPANY Koom 721) Turk Itow llldg. NKW YORK TH SUMPTER GOLD BELT MINING COMPANY CAPITALIZATION $100,000 H.c. imoniti, M.K. MUZZY, K. 0. MJCKNUM, C. II. UIIANCK, O. 11. FKNXKIt, I'rcHidont Vice I'reHideut Sec. and Trean Attorney KiiKineer OPHITES MIMES III INE GREENHORN AND SUMPTER DISTRICTS Sumptir, Origon