Elk City mining news., April 02, 1904, Image 1

About Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913

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Vol. I, No. 14
Elk City, Idaho, April 3, 1904
$3.oo The Year
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Tfc BUFFALO HUMP CAMP
Robert N. Bell, State Inspector of Mines, ip .His Report on the
Hump District, Gives Much' Interesting Information
Relative to the Formation and Value of the Ore.
THE JUMBO MINE.
This property is situated hi the cart
yon of Déer creek four miles southeast
of Hump postoffice and over a thousand
feet lower.-- The vein strikes square in
to a bluffy granite slope off nearly half
pitch. The quartz exposures at the
surface are nowhere over fifty feet long
and about teil feet thick, rather hard
and lean looking.
There are three adit tunnels drivet?
on the vein which are one hundred anfl
ninety, five hundred and fifty, and
eight hundred and fifty feet in length
respectively. The vein stands nearly
straight on end and the face of the
eight hundred and fifty foot tunnel,
known as No. 3, is five" Hundred and
twenty feet vertically under the top of
the first ore shoot in tunnel No. 1. "All
this work is connected underground and
exposes two great ore shoots of definite
clean gold ore. One of these shooté is
two hundred and fifty feet and the ofh
three hundred feet in length by five
feet to seventeen feet wide, which from
constant mill tests made as the develop
ment progressed has shown an average
Value for everything put through,
which included the full width of the
vein where it was seventeen feet be
tween walls, of over ten dollars per ton
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in gold.
There is now blocked Out in this mine
tneasureable ore reserves amounting to
fully one hundred and fifty thousand
tons, and the new No. 4 tunnel now be
ing pushed in from the level of the
mill bin will, it seems reasonable to ex
pect, more than double the present ore
reserves, and lift the Jumbo away up
in the list of gold quartz bonanzas.
The development of the Jumbo, its
design and arrangement, including all
' the surface equipment, presents one of
finest examples of modem mining prac
tice to be found anywhere ir the west,
and hewed as it was out of one of the
most rugged phases of Idaho's rugged
topography, stands a monument to the
remarkable energy of its able manager,
Mr. Frahk Brown, a local mining man.
Mr. Brown dates his first mining ex
perience from Gilpin county, Colorado.
He was running a little store business
at Florence when the Hump excitement
broke out; he sold his business and
bought a half interest in the Jumbo
claim and started in with nothing but
In 1898, with his asso
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his bare hands.
'dates, he bonded the property and had
it turned down several times by expert
talent. He finally induced some busi
men of Orangeville and Lewiston
ness
to put up enough money to build a two
stamp mill on the ground. The first
month's run with this little plant pro
duce^ a gold brick weighing two thou
sand dollàrs and demonstrated that the
values in the big fissures of the Hump
could be saved and made to yield a very
handsome profit to simple mechanical
separation.
After this substantial demonstration
of his locally considered boom stories of
the Hump, Mr. Brown received the en
thusiastic support of local investors,
with the result that he has developed
them a gold mine that amounts to a bo
nanza and whose lasting qualities are
among its most evident features.
The mining fields of Idaho could use
army of such boomers as Mr. Brown,
men who are willing to back their judg
ment with their time and muscle, and
there are several more such men in the
the Hump at the present time following
in the footprints of this successful
pioneer, and the various mineral show
ings they are making are likely to af
ford some very entertaining mining lit
erature in the near future.
Mr. Brown has recently been appoint
ed general manager of the Crackerjack
mine, which will mean the same broad
plan of development for this mine that
has been accorded the JUmbq and the
shortest advisable cuts to the dividend
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class.
The Crackerjack mine, located two
miles northeast of the Big Buffalo and
Hump town, and four miles north of
the Jumbo, is looked upon as having
even a bigger future as an ore resource
of fully as good if not better range of
value Sh gold as the Jumbo, and its lo
cation higb up on the very steep slopes
of Lake creek canyon affords a remark
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able advantage for deep tunnel ' work.
This property carries a monster fissure
of gold bearing quartz that is even
wider* than the Jurrtbo, and has one ore
shoot opened to adepth of one hundred
and forty feet In an upper tunnel,
where it has been drifted on three
hundred feet, with a face of rich ore
still going south that is ten feet wide.
''No. 4,"
The accompanying cut,
"Crackerjack vein, Buffalo Hump,"
was taken where the vein is twenty
feet wide and sampled twelve dollars a
ton. The number of mbn in this pic
ture spoil the effect and it does not
show the full width of the vein, but will
serve to give an idea of its size.
The ten stamp mill at the Cracker
jack is situated right on the mine high
up on the mountain side and was shut
down on November 1st to save the ex
cessive cost of hauling cordwood up
hill and hauling the ore do\Vn from the
upper tunnel to'thé mill, pending the
completion of a -new power plant, where
power will be transmitted electrically'
from the company's valuable water
privilege further down the canyon.
The machinery for this new electrical
equipment, also for an air compressor
for the mine was either on the ground
or on the way by December 20th; it
was thought it could be put in running
order within sixty days, when the mill
will probably be started again.
Pending the installation of this new 1
machinery, development at the mine
has been energetically pushed forth; a
new crosscut tunnel was started at the
top of the mill which cut the big vein
at a point over two hundred feet deeper
than the upper tunnel and several
hundred feet further north. Late re
ports from the mine say that the main
vein in the new tuunel is just as large
and rich as it was above. It is now be
ing developed with a drift heading un
der thé upper work, which will add an
enormous reserve of ore to the already
large bodies exposed. Two smaller
veins of workable size were found in
the crosscut from which mill runs have
been made that yielded eight to ten
dollars per ton in free gold, and from
the present appearances the Cracker
jack will shortly justify its name.
There are quite a number of new
properties being developed in the Hump
this winter and a large force of ipen
are employed.
Of these the Atlas, Ajax, and the
Lucky Lad mines are each equipped
with steam hoisting machinery and are
sinking in large ore bodies, while the
Big Buffalo, Del Rio, Colonel, Mother
Lode, Buffalo Chief, Wise Boy and half
a dozen other properties are being
opened by adit tunnels at considerable
depth, and in several instances are al
ready showing large reserves of fine
pay ore.
The product of the Jumbo mine for
November, With fourteen stamps drop
ping, was $11,500 bullion, and in addi
tion a big yield of rich concentrates. It
seems very probable at this date that
the Jumbo and Cracker jack mills com
bined will operate forty stamps through
full nine months of 1904, and if they
do their production should exceed the
total production of gold in the whole of
Idaho
The
another boom, a boom in which legiti
mate and conservative mining investors
can anticipate rich rewards.
county during 1908.
Buffalo Hurrip cfcjt,)
tÿjct is ripe for
The Uncle
Sam Group
In a letter to the Mining News Elmer
Mullinix has the following to say re
garding the promising group of claims
which he and his cousin, W. E. Mulli
nix, have beert working all winter:
' 'We have a group of claims situated
oh Box Sing gulch, about three quar
ters of a mile northeast of American
river, known as fhe Uncle Sam Nos. 1,
2, 3 and 4. The ledge varies in width
from two and a half to six feet, which
carries values from $4.49 to $13.18 in
gold, also some silver. We have sunk
on the property six ten foot shafts and
one to a depth of sixteen feet, also
some surface crosscutting. The width
of the ledges, also the values, increase
with depth. It is our intention to run
a tunnel on one of our properties as
soon as spring opens up to cut the ledge
at a depth of seventy five or eighty
feet. We have some very good tunnel
sites, water power 'afid plenty of timber
for development work, on our own
claims, and a good wagon road within
three quarters of a mile of the prop
erty.
"1 believe, like the Mining News, in
truthfulness'in advertising property as
the way to tnake a good, substantial
and prosperous mining camp and the
only right waÿ to get capital interested.
It is müch better to under estimate
than otherwise."
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Del R.io Buys
Chester Group
A special to the Tribune from Grange
ville says: Manager Frank Brown of
the Del Rio at Buffalo Hump, will leave
for the camp tomorrow morning and to
night said to the Tribune correspondent :
"The" rich strike made in the Del Rio
ten days ago is indreasing in size and, is
probably'more valuable than any con
tents before struck.
"Today the Del' Rio Company pur
chased six adjoining claims from R. J.
McConnell and Ed Wagner; the consid
eration being $12,000- The company
now owns 10 claims in a compact body,
the additional claims making the prop
erty in its entirety very much stronger
and better than its former well known
worth.
At a special meeting today of the
company the price of the stock was or
dered raised.
"My reports from the Jumbo and
Cracker jack are both continue their high
showings under continued development.
On my return from camp I shall have
some interesting news for the Tribune
readers. ' '
A large chunk of quartz from the
Del Rio showing free gold throughout
is now on exhibition at the Cracker jack
office.
The Natural Group.
Fred Lisky and George Otterson, who
have been running a tunnel upon the
Natural No. 1, have encountered the
ledge which shows a width of six feet
and carries good values. This group
consists of three claims through which
the ledge is traceable the entire dis
tance apd shows good values at every
point exposed. The claims are the
Natural Nos. 1 and 2 and Last Chance,
and are supposed to be the northeast
extension of the Blue Ribbon. The ore
is similar in character to that of other
high grade properties in that section of
the camp, brown cube iron (oxidized
sulphide) which pans nicely. The tun
nel will be driven along the course of
the ledge, which will be crosscut at in
tervals. Those gentlemen are reaping
the usual reward of stayers in this dis
trict.
A Letter From
Forester Pinchot
In a letter to Senator Dubois relative
to the proposed elimination of the min
ing districts of Idaho county from the
Bitter Root forest reserve
Pinchot, chief of the bureau of fores
try, says:
"I am in receipt of your letter of
March 8, and in compliance with your
request am very glad indeed to enclose
with this letter a map showing the
boundaries of the Bitter Root forest
reserve. The affidavit of Mr. J. A.
Whitaker has been carefully considered.
His objections to the restrictions placed
upon residents of Elk Gity and the im
mediate vicinity are well taken, as I
have stated in my former letters to
you. There is probably a certain area
in this locality which should be elimi
nated from the reserve, but until the
field season opens it is impossible to
make definite recommendations. The
remedy for the whole situation, how
ever, lies in a thorough revision of the
rules and regulations, with a view to de
ciding local questions on local grounds.
The chance of success in this direction
Gifford
depends largely upon the transfer of
the administration of forest reserves to
Continued on last page.
HE DISCUSSES RESERVES
Gifford Pinchot, Forester of the Agricultural Department, Out
lines the Policy to be Pursued in the Future Management
of Reserves. —The Blame for Past Conditions.
From Pierce City Miner—
''Before any discussion of the forest
reserve question in the west there
should be a clear understanding of the
government's policy in creating and
managing thèse reserves," said Mr.
Gifford Pinchot, forester, of the bureau
of forestry. ÿ * 1
''Through ignorance of this policy
probably justified in some measure bÿ
occasional mistaken interpretation of
it by over-zealous or incompetent offi
cials, many citizens have objections to
reseserves which they would be the
first to drop if they understood the true
situation. The government has but one
aim in creating forest reserves—the
best permanent use of the land by the
people and the prevention of any of its
resources.
''The possible uses of most forest
areas are manifold. They may .include
the production of lumber, or of mineral,
or of pasture, or the conservation of
water. Ope of these functions may be
the most important or all may be- fairly
well balanced, but in any case the in
dustries and resources ef a region, or a
state, should be considered as parts of
a whole, each contributing to and shar
ing the general good. Practically every
important industry in the i 'ter-moun
tain states, whether mining, agricul
ture, grazing or lumbering, depends for
its existence upon the forests of these
states, and the forests can serve all
these interests best only if placed un
der a management which will prevent
undue promotion of one at the expense
of the aggregate good of all. A trip
through the white pine states of the
Great Lakes region, or through a hund
red other once forested districts of the
world will convince any man of the
short Sighted abuse of the timber re
sources, and of the effect of attendant
forest fires on permanent prosperity.
For awhile prosperity is evident every
where, farms are cleared, railroads are
built and times are good, but it does
not last. Only the best timber -is cut,
while millions of dollars worth of poor- 1
er material, which in time would 'be
woçth quite as much, is destroyed by
fires. These fires also kill all young
growth and seed trees and eventually
turn the land into a desert, which is
abandoned by its owners and does not
even pay taxes. The mills are moved
away, the towns abandoned, and the
farmers find themselves without a mar
ket, and the enterprises, and sometimes
even the counties, which were built up
on such unstaple foundations, become
bankrupt. This is not theory, it is his
tory written in lumber district after
lumber district, not only all over the
United States, but throughout the
world. The lumbermen were not to
blame, it was only the natural outcome
of conditions which obliged them to
conduct their business in this way or
lose money. The private owner of tim
ber often cannot afford to do otherwise.
But the government can, and this is the
reason why every civilized Country in
the world, including our own, has
adopted the forest reserve system.
''If sufficiently large and well distrib
uted areas can be held as reserves, only
the mature timber cut and the young
growth protected from fires, there is
no reason why lumbering -should not be
a permanent and profitable industry.
Small mills scattered over the timber
districts, will perpetuate local prosper
ity and the price of lumber to the resi
dent will be low. Without reserves the
present tendency toward syndicate
ownership of all commercial timber is
apt to result not only in wasteful use,
büt in the dissapearance of the small
mill and in high prices for lumber. Al
most if not quite as important is the
relation of forest reserves to mining,
which absolutely requires an immense
amount of timber and a sustained sup
ply of water. In all cases its profits
depend directly upon the cheapness of
these commodities, Withoüt protec
tion from fire and from enterprising
lumbermen who may acquire all timber
around them and ship it out of the
states, many important mining camps
ccrtait/to be in serious straits in a
are
few years.
"One of the objects of forest reserves
is to preserve the timber for its logical
users. Reserves do not make it more
difficult for the miners to secure tim
ber, for prospectors are allowed free
use of all they need and large concerns
can purchase as cheap or cheaper than
private speculators. There is no inten
tion o'f working hardship on legitimate
industries, for the desire is simply to
secure thé following objects:
"t Maintainancé of the area intact
under one management. . ■
"2. Establishment of fire protec
tion. ?
"3. Preservation of resources for
Ideal use. ,»
''4. Regulation, as far as practica
ble, of grazing and timber cutting so as
to prevent waste and utilize the full
production of forest and range.
' '5. Protection of young growth so
as to insure a future supply.
"Prospecting and locating of mining
cfeims are in no way interfered with by
reserve,regulation, for mining laws ap
ply exactly as on the public domain.
Settlers and others are allowed free all
the timber they use. Reservoirs, roads,
stores,'and similar enterprises are per
mitted upon application. ' Grazing by
sheep and cattle is permitted with only
such restrictions as prove necessary to
preserve the range and protect settlers
or others having rights of priority and
equity, from outside competition.
' 'While it is true that many of the
earlier reserves were established with
out investigation sufficient to prevent
the inclusion of some agricultural land,
this is impossible under the present
system. Now the land is carefully ex
amined and mapped and the lines are
drawn to exclude. 9 .II considerable areas,
susceptible of settlement. Small agri
cultural areas are provided for in the
legislation just recommended by the
public land commission. This system
removes one of the strongest arguments
which has been made against reserves.
A no less welbdme change will be the
proposed new policy of reducing control
from Washington tb a minimum and
placing more authority in the hands of
local officers who are familiar with
their state conditions, and thus be free
to conduct the business promptly and
acceptably to the people, unhampered
by red tape, unnecessary restrictions
and delay. To accomplish this end a
bill has been introduced in congress to
transfer the reserve management to the
bureau of forestry in the department of
agriculture, and its passage will result
in an immediatè revision of the many
cumbersome agd restricting regulations
which has caused dissatisfaction. These
two changes Will remove practically all
objections which are now urged'ä£ai,nst
forest reserves. In short, thebbjîèt-pf
the government is, not to blot these
areas off the map, but to protect them
so the people can get more from them
than they do now. "
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Late Buffalo
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Hump News
Special Correspondence—
Hump, March 22:— H. E. Elchelman,
a miner, was caved on in the Jumbo
yesterday, a twenty five ton slab of ore
falling from the roof of à stope, break
ing four sets of timbers but falling in
such a waÿ that a small space was left
between it and the floor into f which
Elchelman fortunately fell, Qe , was
taken down into the stope below by
cutting the lagging and Dr. Ainsworth
was called. It was found the man had
a broken shoulder but is reported to be
up today.
The, Del Rio is still in good ore in the
face of their tunnel and every one well
pleased.
E. J. Garvin, of Spokane, is at the
the Jumbo mating preparations to
place two five-ton tanks for cyàniding
the concentrates. The material is on
the way and should reach the camp bj
the 25th. If this test is successful a
large tank will be installed as Soon aa
possible.
John Olson came in from the Dia
mond Joe Friday. He reports every
thing as looking fine on that property