ft-
VOL. VI.
PLANNED
BULLION
ROBBERY
Wlint is suspected of having boon
a dastardly plot to murder iud rot)
was uuourtliod 0110 day last wouk
by a proapootor from Cracker crook,
who, whilo walking along tho Powder
river road, discovered a box of
powder ooucoalod by the roadside
with fuse attaahod. Tho proapootor,
who Insists that his name be kept
secret, carried the powder to a aafe
distance, detached the fuse aud
continued bis journey to Sumpter.
Jle left the aame afternoon for Baker
City, neglecting to notify the
police, lie writeB from Maker City
to the Daily Minor, ai follews:
"While walking down the cauyou
road between Hanover aud the Half
way houaa I had ocoaaiou to slip in
to the biHhea growiug along Powder
rivor. Partly conoealod by a slab
of decayed wood 1 found a cardboard
ahoebox filled with giant powder,
with a fuae fixed. The powdor
waB uot over ten feet from the road.
The label ou the end of the ahoebox
bad been carefully soaked off. No
foot prluta were to be seen iu the
mud of the river bank, and ,1 found
no clew to the man or men who bad
arranged the blast. The fuae, about
three feet long, waa ruu through the
eud of the box into one of the
ttioka of powder, and waa stretched
along the rivet bauk, pointiug dowu
stream. About 100 yard 9 dowu the
river the stream swervea abruptly to
tha right, leaving an abuttiug point
of rook, behind which a person would
be aafe from the effects of an ex
plosiou of the powder."
The writer of the letter winds up
with the questien:
"Who was to have been the
victim?"
There is a strong probability that
the miue was laid for purposes of
robbery. The suspiciou naturally
forms that either Manager Frank
tiaillie, of the Columbia miue;
Acting Mauager May, of the North
Pole, or Mauager Wyatt, of the E.
and E. was to have beeu the victim.
Each of these gentleman oooaaioually
carry the oleauups of their respective
properties to Sumpter along the
lonely Powder river road. These
cleanups range in value from 15,000
to $100,000 'io gold bullion bars.
The treasure is usually in valises In
-
fct
SUMPTER, OREGON,
tho light huggioB driven by tho
manager) or tho assistants. That
tho mangled body of ono of these
men doea not lio along tho lonoly
road today is probably duo to tho
fortuuuto aud timely diauovory
by tho anonymous prospector. It ia
doubtful, turnover, if tho robbor
would lutvo boon successful in hia
attempt to rob. Tho managers of
tho big Cracker Crook mines employ
a mysterious system in bringing
about a delivery of their bullion to
tho Sumpter aud linker City banks.
Nn one except tho manager, himeolf,
aud porhapa ono assistant lit tho
mine, knows when tho cleanup ia to
bo taken down the canyon. No
stated limos for retorting tho
amalgam and the moulding tho gold
bars are arranged at tho big
Cracker Crook producers, ao that tho
monthly cleanups are taken to tho
banks pn any date from thu tlrat to
tho thirtieth of tho month. Every
precaution ia taken to koop three
treasure shipmouta absolutely sooiet.
Tho mauager of one of the big mines
up the gulch may make a dozen trips
to town during tho ilrat half of a
mouth, each time carrying a sua
plciously heavy traveling bag. A
surreptiiioua examination of the
coutouta of that bag ou each of theao
dozen trips might reveal a broken
mill caatiug, a couple of bottlea of
good whiakey, or merely a pair of
brickbats. Aud then, oue day, a
shift boso, or foreman, or suporln
tondeut, or assistant superintendent,
or assistant mauager, may take
a suddon apiu dowu tho road with
a roll of blankets under the buggy
seat or a gunny sack ostensibly
filled with samples of ore. Un
ostentatiously he may board tho
train for liaker, lugging hia gunny
sack or roll of blankets. At liaker
City he may tako a cat) at the depot
and drive up towu maybe straight
to a bauk or he may shoulder his
burdeu aud walk alouo to hotel.
Fifteou minutea later a cab may
conduct him from the hotel to a
bauk, and the doors of tho presi
dent's office may open to receive
him aud oloao hohkd him ou he
seoret of hia mission.
As au ovidouce of tho otrorts made
by mine operators to keep secret their
treauuro shipments, tho following
story is told. A prominent
physician of liaker City waa called
once to the Honauza mine, with
whose general malinger lie waa ou
intimate terms. Tho professional
visit ended, the doctor was asked by
the mauaer to delivor a package at
at liaker City. The pleasure was all
the doctor's, aud Into his buggy waa
load d a small steamer trunk.. This
piece of baggage, weighing about 250
pounds, was checked by the doctor
at the Sumpter depot, and duly
followed him to his office iu Haker
City. The followiug day the Uouanza
manager arrived iu liaker and
appeared at the doctor's office.
Fro oi that iuuoceut-lookiug steamer
SEPTEMBER 28, 1904
trunk ho took ton gold bars, wntth
approximately 850,000.
So far as known tho hhtory of
eastern Oregon ia barren of bullion
robberies. Iu August, 100 'J, God
frey & Tabor, of the lied Hoy
mine, wore hold up on tho lonely
Granite road aud relieve) of their
monetary belongings. It waa
thought, that, tho robbers had secured
tho duly cleanup ot tho lied Hoy
amounting to aliout 825,000 iu gold.
Hot li (iodfroy and Tabor, however,
denied such a heavy loss, and tho
incident passed into history.
In tho summer of 1800, a coterie
of practical jokers iu Sumpter,
headed by Phil Noborgall and Mai
culm A. Thornton, tho latter of
whom was then superintendent of the
Sumpter electric light works, ar
ranged a fake holdup, in which
Frank Sticknoy and .lack English,
then superintendent, aud port owner
respectively of the Coloouda miue,
were to have boon tho vloltma.
With masked faces aud Winchester
rifles the gang of jokora liuod up
along tho road. Tho command of
"hands up" mot Sticknoy aud
English, but tho roBponao was unex
pected. A fusillade of bullets drove
the jokers to tall timbor, and
Sticknoy and English arrived iu
Sumpter, scared but aalc, with
914,000 in yellow gold.
It was probably duo to tho fact
that there was no way to determine
just who carried the cleanup from
some one of the big Cracker Creek
mines, that the roadside miue waa
uot exploded.
Quiet oirorte are being made to
trace the powder and ahoebox to
tholr source of purchase, aud arreatH
may follow.
ANOTHER WHEELER MINE
IN THE SHIPPING LIST
Another Wheeler property ia iu
tho list of producua. Tho New York
bankers aud brokers have promoted
the Hlue ilird, now with a 100-ton
mill; the lilack Uutte, which re
cently paid a handsome dividend,
aud the liuck Horn, a shipper. Now
cornea the Valley Queen, with rich
oro for the Sumpter -nnolter.
Commodore Tom C. Gray, superin
tendent aud resident manager of tho
Valley Quoon, came dowu fiom tho
Lake crook country today with good
news.
"We are now sloping in No. !l
drift," he said to a reporter for Tho
Miner. "The oro ia being sorted
aud aaoked for immediate shipment
to the Sumpter ameltor. Wo are also
arranging for teat shipments fiom
No. 1 tunnel, aud from the shaft ou
the Pentateuch olaim, which is a
continuation of the main Valley
Queen vein, being located 400 feot
NO. b
over Goddess mountain from No. 1
tunnel.
"My idea iu making this shipment
a to got tho smelter's opinion aa to
the proper method of treating the big
oio icsorvoH in tho Valley Queen
mine."
In detail Commodore Cray ex
plained that tho shipments would
bo made via Cablovillo. "Tho oro is
rich enough to warrant packing to
Cablovillo, thence by wagon to
Sumpter," said tho commodore
No. I) drift, ia on a vein intersected
by tho main crosscut. Whore tho
blind lodge waa cut. tho ore looked
good. Superintendent (Iray ordered
a force of men into tho drift, aud aa
tho drive progressed tho vein
widened aud values increased.
No. 1 tunnel, from which teat
shipments will also bo made, la the
upper or highest workings on tho
Lake Creek slope. A winze waa sunk
to determine the extent aud richness
ot the ore shoot shown iu the tunnel,
aud tho roault waa most flattering.
Tho shaft on tho Pentateuch is
down sixty feet. At tho fifty foot
level tho oro camo in, and tho bottom
of the Hhaft la now filled with thu
richest rock so far encountered iu tho
Valley Queen group. Water In the
shaft prevented the continuance of
hand work, aud Supmintondeiit Cray
concentrated hia working force iu tho
main uroascut, which la rapidly
Hearing the main vein, and in No. .'I
drift, it is learned that the dlrectore
of the Valley Queen company haw
empowered tho management to pur
chase a hoist aud pumping plant, to
further exploit the rich oro body
shown iu the Pentateuch shaft.
The Lake aud Crane Creek sub
district of Cable Cove is rapidly
coming to the front. The old
Monumental is getting Into shape for
an oarly resumption of milling opera
tions. The Duff alo is a steady
shipper of high grade ore, anJ the
dumps of La liellevue are burdened
witli a big tonnage upon which Ita
owners could immcdaitoly realize.
Litigation, however, prevent
shipments from La liellevue.
The Valley Quoqn la tho latest
addition to the producing list iu
Cable Cove. Much credit ia due tho
aide efforts of Mauager (iray and
Charles S. Warren, .lr. , who is vice
president of the company.
it ia understood that the erection
of a reduction plant at the Valley
Queen ia ou the program for next
spring.
Water Shortage.
The hydraulic elevator at tho
Milwaukee placer diggings near
(irauite waa forced to abut dowu laat
week, owing to lack of water. Sup
erintendent Carlson made connec
tions with the lied Hoy reservoir and
Lost creek and now hat- a good head
j of water. Sluicing will ccutinuefor
several weeks.
' m