Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1915)
PAG.13 vftiim T h MlWOta) MATt, TmBTTNTO, MEDFORD ORKOON, FRTDAY, ,LNtTvRV 1, 10)5 znzzzuz. s nz ; - v 1 - - : Mineral Wealth of Southern Oregon Vast . , .. . 1 1 r - 1914 Metal Output In announcing th fallowing fig uron 11 In well lo nny that like nil nlmllar HtntlRtlcn It can nerve only an nn Indication of tlm actual proiltii:. Hon of tlm mine. Thorn In nlwnyn n corlnln amount of tlu precious nitnn which Ir soqnotitorod, hoarded or timiii as ornaments which limy never come lulu the world marketa, there Ir nUo lo bo taken Into cntiHld oration tlm ore which l proilucoil nml not marketed during tho eiiriont yehr but which inny later Im Immic rlclnted or niilil tliuii nwullliiit Hie re turns for hoiiio future year. -Mnler-Inl of this kind which tuny tin of a lower grade In constantly roIiir Into tlm dump of producing mlno. Home producers undoubtedly withhold In formation tR to their output either through RoorctlvenoRR or for noil ml limine reason. It nmy l cltl Imrn thnt there Ir a largo acreage In Jackson county tho title to "bleb tti litigation. Any consldomblo pro. ihlctlon of gold from such IniuU would prohnhly ho concealed. It I well to hear In mind thnt tlm flKro upon which an estimate for a New Yohr million are btiRPd nro of neccs pty gotten Up very quickly nnd oven Ixjforo tlm end of tlm year IIiiir pre' venting tlin nicurnry of of flctnl re turiiR. Thorn Ir iiIro u perrentitRs of Imlllon thnt In not marketed In or fioni tho county of production. After a careful consideration of the data at hnnd wo mnko tho enll. mate of tho production of sold nt 170,000.00, Rllver $1,000.00. The IarI official figure nt hand IrriioiI by the Oregon HtireMt of .Minn am for tho year 1913, Rold 162,085, and Rll ver SO 1.00. In 1P1S there wcro credited to Jackson county olRht quart mine tlm total production of which wrr 3l,n03 IIiiir RluiwInR one-half of the total to Im trom thin nourro, tlm bal ance lelnR from placer. Tlm ear 1014 show 12 linown deep mine lth a produrllnn. still without fuller rrlurna It would ho liiipracllcabln to estlmnto the cIibiirii If any In the per. rentage produced refipecllvely by dee nilnen n compared with placer. Of the nrlou dlntrlct In tlm county, that of Cold llllt han pio ilticed about B0 per cent of the total for Jackaon county It contalna the "rndtn mine, tlm premier mln of JackHon county and so far bh Ir known of southern OrfRon. Aside from the Urnden the Hold 1 1 til ills trlct produred more of tho precious tnetRla than any other single dlntrlct In tlm county A prominent oper ator there Rtato that when the power cost am reduced there will he a heavy tonnage of low grndn ore inlltrd which hat hitherto been un productive. Substantially nil of the count)" production Ir In tho Hhupo of bullion, High Rrndo oro Ir shipped from tlm llutznrd mine. No attempt han been madu to list the producers of placer Rold. Tho fol lowlnr. IR n lint of deep mine that have produced during tho current )car. TIiIr lint In probably Incom Incem plete: Hill Nye. Ilrnden, Buzzard, drub alnkei Hidden Tienniiro, Lucky Hart, Nelllo WrlKht, iNuern, Palmer Crook, NorrlR, Htnr. Bo far AM known there linn leen no production of other mutnlB In tho county. OwlnR to tlm Importance of tho Ilrnden Rtrlko tho probability that tho HterllnR placer will bo a producer In tho coming year together with anch favorahlo fnctora iih tlm reduc tion In power cost and tlm excellent ayRtom of rosds that ftro buliiR con Rtructed It In doomed hlRhly probable that HiIr county will show nn In creuio In production ror tho year 1010. Aa an Indlcndon of tlm lo of tho Rold produclnR liolt In thlM county wo may eay that It IiicIuiIon ono-hulf or tho county and thnt tho lliizznrd mliio Ir located r6 mllon north of the OruliMtalie. Thoro nro over 1000 Biytafojinlloa In tlm county ivor which tlicljoiroduatlvo nilnen nro ncuttcrod. .'' Klamath Valley Ilow fo.w nuipiiK, our mndora know nnythliiR of tlm ruul Klumnth valloy. Mont of iih hnvo croHHOd thlH vnlloy on tlm way In Ran PrnriclHCo nnd fro ittiontly without knowlnR it. At tho point where tho railroad .ciobiioh tho rlvor Iirr nn olovatlon In oxcoH of 8000 foot above sua lovol and for n conHldorablo pnit or tho year It la not npt to ho OHpoclully pvoporrorhIiir nt thin point yet thlH Htreiun followa lt rapid coiuho for more than 100 mllon beforo IobIiih Itnolf In tlm I'nolflc. TlirollROtit tills dlHtanco there la Uo hIrii of rallrbnd Mid' for half tho din tnncd IrallH form tho only iivoihioh of cdiiimunlcntlott, KUtnntli river, orto of the principal rlvern br tbo Pacific fkmnt, hnn ItH fuurcv In a elutln of luhow in Kontheru Ht'l'.NU AT HTHItl.lXH VI iM Kit .MINK, A I'ltOLII IC viT.I.DI'.lt IV Till: V AHT NOW IIKIN'fJ OPKII TKI) 11V H. H..IJI M,IH. KMtSmm' .I. if ii i i' iii ii ii ' ' i-M: HnVHKSHiSRaPrrrBRH IRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRBR WfcdRSaagWRWalt 'itr!. . "'-JEglMBCRlRRiRRMRRJ, , CwtBRRBB IH11111.R11M lRlfRRlllI RnRLLBIMBBBiWWLWWnWWBWBBHBSSi centrnf OroRon nnd flown Rlnoimly tliroiiRh KlRlilyou, Humboldt and Del Norte countlcR, California, to tho 1'aclflc ocenn. Thin river nnd Itn trlhutarleH trnvcrne n Rrent region of undeveloped iiiluernl, nnrlrulturnl, nnd rotnmerclnl reVourceH! erentur than nny like nun, without rnllrond lacl'lllen, wllliln the I'nlled SUKoh. Itn rllmnte, In the foot-htlln. U ty pically (.'nllforulnn, twilulirloiiH throiiRhoiit the your, whl'p Ita lower- Iiik moiintnliiR, Riiow-mppod for ninny iiinntlin, nre n Riinrnntee of ever tlonliiR wnter for power, mining nml Initiation nurponm. Itn wnter nhed of ninny hundred nqunto mllen Ih for- ented with n heavy prowtli of matured timber, eHtlmatod by the I'ulted Siiiten forerter nt more thnn twenty bllllnn luct of romnierrlnl lumber, tin atirlfertitiR KinuiK of Rrent extent, linve bii'ii contlnotiRly and profltnlily worked uliice the dlneuvory of Rold In CnlUornlu. Itn fool-tillltt nnd bottom IiiiuIn prolKlrnlly Rrow frullH, iiuih and veRetnblen, unexruiivd In flavor, while the vnlloyn of Itn IrlhtitnrloK, coiitnlnliiR more thnn 4 000 noiva nr nilnited to ci'reflU nod buy. rtouk rnUliiR nnd dairy pitrporofl. It cropn never fnll. Itn ntmophorlc purity, Iti hot and cold medlclnnl wutern nre an liuurnnro nunluit the IIIh that "flenh In holr to"; Its topo Krnphlcal wonder. dufliiR portrai ture by brtiHli or pen, hold the mlud enthralled In coiitemplatlon of the myfltery of ltd creation. Open thin unexplolted region by Ihe couatructlon of tho wnRon rond now contemplated and It bveomen tho ImiiicHoekorH pnrndle; the poor mnn'fl opportunity. Thin Rrent artery of drnluaKe. carryliiR the torrential flow of Itn moiiululn Interuln will ovout- ually, by the act of man, Irrigate Itn ndjiiceiit tllllublo noil nnd fiirnlnh power for Rrent coniuiorclnl Indus trie. The orohlon power of thin Rrent flow han oxpohod largo nron of inln ernl heliiR foriuntloiiM, prnctlcnlly uudovoloped. Hnllioiul construction throuRh tho Klamnth Hindu would make theso mineral nruna nccesalbli. nnd their initio product marketable. Predominating In thin territory nro outcrop of vnoriimiitt copper bodies, easily tracenblu by their Iron nnd goMiuiii cnpplngu. ThlH copper heur Iiir urea covers not lctm than 10 mile cutit and went mid !I0 mllon north iiuil Routh In tlm north central portion or SlsUlyou county. Within thlH mineral region two dlntrlctH nro locally prominent nml will bo briefly doHcrlbod-vlx-llnppy Camp nnd the lllmi U'dRu dlntrlct. Kxplorutlou of tho latter district una oHtubllnhed Itn proHont men to bo fourteuii iiiIIoh In length and nix iiiUoh In width, Hltunted In tho nmln Siskiyou niqiin lain ruimo uboiit 10 inlloa soutliwon,t or Medford, OiOgon, n thrlvliiR city on the lino or tho Southom Pacific rnllrond and 00 mile north or Yrokn, tho county Heat or Siskiyou county, California. The north halt or this district Ilea on tho north alopo of tho Hlnlclymt mountalna within tho stuto or Orogoh, Mid tho drnlnaRO Is Into Applognto rlvor, n tributary or Uoruo rlvor. Tho south hnir of the district Ih In Cnlirornrt, it ml tho drnlnngo l lu Kliuniklli rlvor. The predominating- formation lu which oro occura lu Rchlst. Oosfnn outcrops front 10 foot to :i0s root lb width ImUcnto 10 or inoro parallel volna strlklnR north and Bouth nml tracoahlu from a point throo mllen nbrlh of tlm Oregon-Call-rornla line whom tho Hchlst nbuttn Rruiilto, ucronH the Stxtclynit iiunin Hi Ilia (nt mi vluviUlon uf 0000 foot) ncllvo tho pant year, with no mo cx contlonn. of which tho Ilraden mine at Cold 11111 Rtnnd n evidence, tlintl well directed management nml exploi tation can bo llbornlly rownrded with micenfw In thl roKlon. About ono year n?o the Hradon mnnngoment do cldod on croM cutting Into tho toot wall, which proved up a third paral lel vein fiO foot west of'tho old Urnden voln. Tho new strike hns no evl- Mlcncc of coming to the nurfnee n far shit proRent development rIiowr, but I hns a good nverago width nnd ore .values, nnd rosorvc tonnage Iisr ma terially gained on tlio ten stamp mill, which ha been making a splendid record. What han been done at the Drndcn mlno is possible nt many other places In thin mineral belt. It Ir n posltlvo I fact that large bodies of high grade , oro are often found In depth that 1 docs not come to the surface lu full alio and values. For Instance, tho ' DcLnmar mine, Idaho, wag worked I from the surface down to a depth of ! abont 200 rcot ror ml ling gold j quartz that ran trom S to $15 per ton. Tho quartz was displaced to a large extent by n blue talc contain lng what the miners called blackjack I izlnc). The property wa aband- I oned and flnnlly bought for n small ntim by Captain Dol.aninr. Ill ex , ports round by assaying the so ! railed blackjack to bo stcphanlto I (brittle or black silver), Rome or It J running C8 per cent silver, and avcr agcd about 12000.00 per ton. ' Another Instance, the LcRo'l mlno nnd uvernged ctoso to $100 per ton. 1 It nny wonder this lltllo plot of ground GOO by iG00 feet went to n valuation or $70,500,000 on tho London marled? No uoiiht many mining men can site ctmllar attrac tions or ore In depth that did tlot oc cur on the surf nee. Hero Is tho Huxzanl mlno' In tho Klk creek district now promiclnn $400 gold and sliver oro that 1 am Informed had less than $20 cropping, H the reader will look back and revlow tho last few Induntrlnl and financial depressions, It will be not iced that they have been followed by a decided mining activity. It shows virgin treasure I necessary for Industrial expansion. , , KM. LIWKCJUN. ModfOrd, Or, Hec. 27, WH. Mining Resources mid Into the foothills of Klamath rlvor (olovntlon ir.Oo feet) a dis tnnco of eight mllen, while 11 number of proportleR hnvo surface shovMng equally ax good. West of the Pacific highway there I no wagon road ncros tho Slaklou moiintiilns. Tlm rond from Cresront City to Kequa punnua along tho fnco of the rnngu as It plunge Into tho Pacific. This river I credited with n production of more than ono hun dred million dollar In placer gold. It In exempt from the debrl regula tions of tho Rtnto of California. TIiIh rlvor bnalu within 11 dtstnnro or 100 by rond from .Medford produces inoro gold niinunlly than JaeliDou county. It contains ono Inrgo doveloped cop per mlno na well aa very valuable timber, Iteallzlng tho value of a Biiltnblo connection between tlm Klamnth val ley nnd tho lloguo river valley u pas through tho SUUIyou mountnliiB wna Belected having an elevation of about 1 000 feet abovo sen lovol. Lying within night of tho Hluo Unlgo mlno It offered tho shortest possible con nection between tho Jackson county road Hyfi'umi in tho uppor Applognto with tho roads In tho Klamnth .val ley, requiring about 22 miles to bo constructed, Quarts. Mill nt the (irtiMilmck, One of (he lv .Mine Which Have Keen Pug to ny lJc;th llelou- the Grass Hoots. Officer of tho National forest In Oregon nnd Cnllfornla agreed to co operate lu the construction ot a trail through the pasa along tho route or sv wagon road. Twenty mlloa or this trail ha been completed nml Is now lu 11R0 leaving less than two miles uu fliilRhod. lu order to go now by the shortest routo to Hamburg liar nnd Happy Camp ono would proceed from .MecUord by unto to tho Califor nia btato lino at Seattle Placer ro quiring two hours of uninterrupted driving. At Hint point saddle ani mals would tako tho trail up Middle Fork n distance of three miles to the pot where tho trail leave on its nscont up Cook nnd Cre'en creek. This latter stroma Is crossed after follow ing Its banks ror flvo miles and from this crossing the summit Is reached in about three miles. From the summit in tho pass tho trail leads down Selud creek a dlolanco of about seven mile where It connects with a wognn rond, nnd flvo inllc-3 further with, tho Klamnth rlvor stngo road. Not less than six hours should ho al lotted to this horseback trip, lunch being taken nt n spring near the pass. This trip will reward nny 01m who will undertake it us it pulses through soiiio of the most wildly In teresting nnd virgin recesses of the untrodden Slsl.Iyous. Not far from In llrltlalr Columbia started ns a the pass nro th. meadows with the! prospect with a cropping of three lake on the top or a mountain for merly frequented by tho elk. A rhododendron field of hundreds of acres greets tho eye of a June vis itor. The pass Itsolf has n rare beauty being depressed moro than 1000 feet below tho general level or tho rldgo on elthor side while the observer can look allko upon the bluo hills or southern Oregon nnd tho mountain ranges of northern Cnllfor nla. It is the intention now to go about widening this trail which h: n maxi mum grado of S.7 per cent and fin ishing same as a highway for general traffic. It Is believed thnt substan tial nsslstnnco to Hits plan will ho accorded by tho present congress fol lowing the rorommondntloiit) ot the i-ocrotnry or agriculture. Reward of Effort Well directed and persistent eN rort Is Invariably rewarded with suc cess p all lines ot Industry, mlulug included, Whllo loile'iiitolm: In Eouthorn Oro Ron liua as i P I jle bcon -ratUor In- reet by 15 feet of $20 gold and cop tier ore, with n shipping limit of 27.50. It required pluck to sink on $20 oro in an unproved region, but it opened tit n dopth ot 30 feet to C feet wide and $37.50, and again pinched at n depth ot GO feet to two foot and loss than $20 at depth ot 200 feet. A drift was pushed oast In rock that contrnctors quit nt $20 per foot, but the management reasoned thoro ought to bo a body of pay ore at "no groat distance ahead. At 53 feet from tho shaft a body ot oro opened out to nine feet wide and $52 values, but It only continued 23 foot along the level and tho same dis tance up, but It proved there was un attractive future in depth. Tho shaft was continued dpwn an additional 50 feet and a drltt shoved oast. The oro body was cut and found to bo 15 feet wide and $C0 values. Develop ment now began to demonstrate n great oro producer. At tho 300 toot level oro was encountered In tho west side ot shaft. It wna followed west lu continuous oro 01 feet that was flvo feet wide nnd $50 in gold and copper. This oro only extended flvo feot abovo tho drift but on tho 1Q0 foot level It was 80 feet wldo lll.VK l-KIKSK MINK IlK.inor.VUTKIlS OXK OK TIIK (lltKATKST COPP KP. .MINK'S () THK COAST OVER A MILLION DOLLAUS PKVKI.OP ' ,r . .MI-JXT WO.UK UOXR Tho mineral resources nt Jackson county Include gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, zinc, quicksilver, tungsten, tin, mangannso, nbscstos, coal, gran ite, marble. Ilmestono and cay. Hold has been almost continuously mined i.i Jackson county since Its first dis covery In 1851. Tho earliest large town In Jncskon county Jackson ville was a mining town, nnd the mining era did much toward attract ing settler to the Rogue Hlvcr val ley and affording to them a market for farm nnd range products. Tho gold fields ot southern Oregon liavo a total area of 6000 square miles. Mining Operations It Is variously estimated that tho placor gold fields of southern Ore gon hnvo yielded $100,000,000 slnco their discovery. Placer mining Is to day returning good dividends on u number of properties In tho vicinity or Jacksonville and Gold Hill, and thoro are Inrgo areas of gold-bearing gravel in Jackson county awaiting capital to develop. Just across tho county lino, In Josephine county, Is being operated, near Oallce. what is called ono of the model hydraulic mines on tho Pacific coast. A large modern dredger employing from twclvo to fourteen men Is In opera tion a few miles up the Ilogile river trom Gold Hill. Placer mining I also being conducted Intermittently a'ong the Little Applegate river, Sterling creek. Foots creek nnd 0 raves creek. Quartz mining Is also active at several point, there being a quartz mill at Jacksonville, and others In operation near Gold Hill, and others on the Umpqua divide. Just across tho Jackson county Una to tho south, la California, Is locat ed tho tamous lllue L'edgft copper mine. This mine is prospectively among the richest copper mines of tho west. Hut little deep mining has been done in Jackson county, and the district has not been systematically prospected. There aro a large num ber ot seemingly most promising mineral deposits awaiting capital for development. Coal Possibilities Tho largo coal deposits are also among the mineral resources of Jack son county that have not been thor oughly tested. Iteports ot the geo logical survoy Indicate that there passes through tho Rogue ltlvcr val ley a long narrow coal bod that reaches from Evans creek south through the Siskiyou mountain di vide Into California. The coal belt passes a few miles east of Medford and Ashland, and a number of sniull developments have been made Thosu coal veins, as far as prospecting ha gono, rango from eight to twelve feet lu thickness, broken by layers ot shale. This coal has been used lo cally both In Medford and Ashland. Though showing a fairly high per centage of ash and broken by ahale, tho veins havo uniformly grown bet ter In being followed deoper, toward tho northwest. This has given much encouragement, uud with such a large area of coal deposits It seqma probablo that good paying vclna should bo found with systematic de velopment. Tho last report ot tho geological survey consorvatlvoty sums up their coal Investigation ot the Jackson county district as follews: "For tho prcsont tho coal beds trom Agor (California) to Kvanu crcok are only ot local lntorost as a source ot tuol, but detailed examination in thu future may show theso coal beds to bo more oxtenstvo than nro now sup posed. If so, thoy may become, with tho improvement of gas producers, Important sources of power." Soma good peat deposits are also known. Granite anil Marble llulldlng stone seems to offer Im; portant development possibilities for tho future Those include granite, marblo and a variety of sundstoniw. All of thoso stonos have been usfd moro or less in somo important buildings' in Ashland and Medfsrt and other population center. At?, somo or these material have Uwp shipped Jo .ether cltlei.. I VA'- IV