The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 24, 1895, Page 2

2 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1895. INFAIR GRASS VALLEY The Mountain Town Feels the Touch of Prosperity’s Wand. NEW MINES OPERATED, Many of the Old Diggings Are Being Worked With Im~ proved Machinery. ELECTRIC POWER NOW IN USE. Rich Ore Struck In Several Mines. A Town Which Keeps Abreast of the Times. GRASS VALLEY, Car, May 22.—The oldest, larzest and richest mining camp in all California is famous Grass Valley, sit- uated in the rolling foothills of the pine- clad Sierra Nevada Mountains, and distant from San Franciseo 160 miles by rail. | This beautiful city of 8000 inbabitants, | sequestered in a basin encircled by low | hills covered with pines and carpeted with | rich green grass, is not a m the city is 2450 feet above sea level. There are a dozen hills and on each hill there is a group of mines—some active and many inactive. Every hill has a name, and one hears of Massachusetts Hill, New York Hill, Osborn Hill, etc., names which were given them in the pioneer day. On these hills for forty-five years mining has been continuously prosecuted, now a mine closing and another taking its place, and as progress was made in the art of milling jand mining abandoned works were re- opened, until to-day there are operating in and around Grass Valley not less than thirty mines, with a prospect of many more resuming within a year. The total number of stamps engaged in the reduction of ore is 250 and the number of men on the payroll in mines and mill is about 400, in addition to 600 tributers. Tributers are miners who lease ground and give a percentage, gherally half, to the owners of the mines for the privilege of | extracting ore from partially worked por- | tions of the mines, This policy is much | in vogue, though the leasers seldom make more than $3 per day, and in the greater | number of instances barely obtain a liveli- | hood. The closing of the silver minesin the silver States in the past few years mine remained idle for many years before the present ownership. Steam is used at the mine and mill, owing to the elevation. W. Y. O. D., the abbreviated title for “work your own diggings,” has been in the front ranks of bullion producers and is looked upon to-day as one of the leading mines of the camp. Ten stamps are to be added to the mill. The property is owned by Joseph Weissbein, Outside capital has given little attention to this inviting field until within the last four or five years, although Grass Valley has made many poor citizens men of great wealth, who then sauntered to other cities to spend their moneyfand partake of the luxuries of life. In 1860 Clarence King, at the bead of the Government topographical and minera- logical survey, devoted much time to the geology of the formations of this region, and among his party was James D. Hague. This latter gentleman has since become an extensive operator in mines, and, recalling his high opinion of the mines of Grass Valley, formed while on the survey, he re- turned here five years ago representing a New York company, and has devoted the intervening time to the purchase of 2 mile and a half of mining ground, stretching caused the influx of hundreds of miners to | Grass Valley, so that to-day there are two | | men for every position.. A year ago an at- | | tempt was made to reduce miners’ wages | | below $3 per day, resulting in the forma- | | tion of a miners’ union to resist the reduc- i tion. Oneof the mining superintendents | | most agressive at the time was driven | | from the town by force, and no effort has | since been made to economize on these | lines. | The most famous mine of the district is ning camp ! the Idaho, now known as the Maryland. ! structing from Gold Hill to the North Star mine, in- cluding it and embracing mines the history of which is inseparably connected with the history of this city. Among the mines purchased is the Rocky Bar, overlooking Boston Ravine, which hasnot heen worked for years. The oft-repeated tale of the suicide of Michael Brennanand the poison- ing of the family by the father, while despondent and in despair of “striking the vein,”” has made the Rocky Bar notorious. Men were engaged during the week con- a blacksmith-shop on the i R SR T 104 il ém!’:’,,,’w | 0 o, THE TOWN OF GRASS VALLEY, RS A | 2 s s*1 : such as is to be seen in the mountains of | The surface croppings were discovered in | grounds, preparatory to arranging for the Montana, Colorado or Nevada, where pre- cipitous cliffs obstruct the view and castel- | lated peaks are wreathed in clouds that | float above the deep, barren canyons; but, in strong contrast, here are found apple, | peach and pear orchards encroached upon | by a mining company for dumping room for refuse rock, or a vineyard in the center of which is a magnificent hoisting plant connected with a mill of large dimensions. A casual observer would hardly think that mining was a vocation, for the heavy foliage hides from view the deep scars the miner has left on mother earth, yet a drive through the pines and over the hills will disclose hoists and mills, where thousands of tons of ore are brought from great depths to be reduced toa pulp and yield the precious metal. Grass Valley has been the most product- ive gold quartz district in this State, yield- ing an aggregate of $100,000,000; and Ne- vada County, in which it is situated, has yeilded $260,000,000 by hydraulic, drift and quariz mining. In 1848, before Marshall’s discovery of gold at Coloma was made known, placer gold was found on the present site of Grass Valley, but no particular attention was given to the field until 1850, when the pre- cious metal was discovered in quartz on what is known as Gold Hill. Gold quartz taken from the ledge gave a mortar assay of $500 a ton. The news of the discovery of gold in quartz spread throughout the Coast, and by 1852 Nevada County had a popula- tion of 14,000 whites, 3000 Indians , and 8900 Chinese. The early influx of the timid Chinese is & noteworthy incident of early mining on this Coast. The Celestials, as will be ob- served, comprised nearly a fifth of the population and were principally employed in the gravel diggings. In the fall of 1850 the early fifties on Eureka ground—an ad- joining claim—and the pay chute followed into Idaho ground. The Idaho became the property of the Coleman brothers and 0’Connor, and under their management it yielded $13,000,000, of which over $5,000,000 been worked into Maryland ground, and some time ago the Idaho company sold their “worked-out’’ property to S. P. Dor- sey, owner of the Maryland, the signifi- cance of the sale being the advantage to be gained by Dorsey of the long incline and openings leading down three-fourths of a mile from the surface to the ore bodies. The Maryland is the deepest gold mine in operation, having a vertical depth of 2400 feet, and 3100 feet on the incline of the vein. At this greatdepth mules are driven to cars. The animals are taken down on the regular mine cars, and to avoid blindness are occasionally brought to the surface to enjoy a few hours of sunlight. At the bottom of the mine the vein is resumption of work. James D. Hague has outlined an active campaign of mining his new properties, for which he has paid $150,000, and the initial steps have already been taken. Among the first questions considered was was paid in dividends. The pay chute has fas to the most feasible power to be used and the method 6f transmission. After careful study and research by his civil engineer, Arthur D. Foote—during which he visited the electric plant of the Calu- met and Hecla copper mines in Michigan, and other electric works—it has been de- cided to use compressed air. A 20-inch pipe will convey water from the South Yuba ditch on Osborn Hill to a central power station in Boston ravine, where a pressure of 775 feet attained will drive a 19-foot Pelton water-wheel, and this power, estimated at 600 horsepower, will be con- verted into compressed air, and thence distributed along the mile and a half of mines, and applied to hoist engines, pumps, mills, Burleigh drills, etc., wher- ever needed. To convey the water main wider than at any point above, and carries a large percentage of metal, demonstrating the permanence and true fissure character of the veins and the protitableness of deep mining in Grass Valley. About 130 miners at $3 per day are employed. The hoist, pumps and mills are operated by water power. Adjoining the Maryland on the coarse run of the vein is the Lamarque, where Andre Chavanne and a son of L. Fricot are sinking a shaft to cut the same chute of ore. Chavanne and Fricot made their for- tunes in Grass Valley, and were noted characters in its early history. Afteraccu- mulating wealth they drifted to other quar- ters of the globe, but lately the aged Cha- vanne, more as a diversion than for gain, returned and commenced operations with the above-stated aim in view. This group of mines is a contact of serpentine and & mill was constructed on Wolf Creek, the name of the brook that flows through the town. The second mill of eight stamps had wooden stems, shod with iron, which answered for stamps, and was constructed by a man named Wittenbach, but from this crude structure was evolved the pres- ent ponderous stamp mills, the perfection of mechanical genius, the roar of which is pleasant music to the toiling masses throughout the mining regions. And here it may be well to note that John Hays Hammond, the right-hand man to Cecil Rhodes of Transvaal fame, gained his earlier experience and knowledge of mines, mills and mining in this section, in fact the greater number of expert mining men of the Western world began their careersin Nevada County. The charges for milling rock in 1850 was $50 per ton and miners were paid $12 a day. For a number of years after the first dis- covery no startling results were obtained owing to the inexperience of the operators, few, if any, of whom ever saw or had heard of quartz mining. By 1855 such rapid strides were made in milling that the . ores_of the aistrict were made to more readily relinquish their gold, and by the sixties millions of dollars were annually produced. The process of reduction then in vogue was soon used throughout the West, and was known as the Grass Valley system of amalgamation. The rich auriferous gravels were not neglected, for up to 1855 the production from this source reached $4,000,000. The year 1852 witnessed the first application of water in slufcing, and in 1853 the power of water, under pressure, to remove large masses of gravel was recognized, and on American Hill, north of Nevada City, hy- draulic power was first utilized and the method of directing the power improved upon, which led up to the present power- ful monitors capable of washing down mountains. The salient features of min- ing in Grass Valley to-day are: the per- manence of the ore bodies, or chutes, the *“freeness” of the gold and the utilization of water power. s The town proper is in a basin and the mines are on the surrounding hills at an average altitude of 300 feet above the busi- ness portion of ;the city. The altitude of Vo diorite, while the majority of the mines of this locality are in syenite, a granite rock, or in diorite. The country rock is hard, and often its exiraction entails an expense of $14 a foot for labor alone. The Empire mine, situated on Ophir Hill, one mile southeast of the town of Grass Valley, has been worked almost without intermission for forty-five years. This property has materially added to the fame over Wolf Creek and afford a firm anchor- age a heavy stone aqueduct will be con- structed. The contract for the machinery has been given to a San Francisco foundry and within three months the machinery should be in place. Three to four hundred men will find employment, and the entire group of mines and mills will be under the superintendency of H. P. Roberts, a mining engineer who has operated at the Atlantic copper mine, Michigan; in El- more, 1daho; Railroad district, Nevada; at the Reiley-Bliss mine, California, and lately in the State of Chiapas, Mexico. Mining men, and especially those wno have studied electric power transmission and its relations to mining, will be sur- prised to learn that Mr. Foote's investiga- tions have resulted in the adoption of com- pressed air. Electricians, though, acknowl- edge that in transmission by electricity an initial loss of 20 per cent is alwaysincurred, while it is expected that the,loss by com- pressed air will. not exceed 12 per cent, which can be reduced at little cost by heat- ing the air at the point of application, thus increasing its expansive power. An elec- tric plant will be established to furnish lights for the mills and mines. ‘While Hague is adopting distribution of of this region, On the 1300 level the main | POWer by compressed air & company has ore chute is divided into three veins, been formed to bring electric power to the but at the 1800 level a reunion occurred, | mines from five miles to the north; thus and iv has continued down to the 2100. will Grass Valley enjoy the advantages to be The North Star mine is down 2800 feet | derived from the most scientific modes of on the incline of the vein, the guartz at this depth showing a high valuation in milling and mining known to man. At the Rose Hill mill a gasoline engine of six gold and carrying 3 to 4 per cent of sul- horsepower, weighing & ton, has been phurets. The Electric mine, owned by J. H. Henry of San Jose, L. L. Lewis of Sacra- mento and Dan Coflin, the superintendent, placed in position, and will furnish power for a three-stamp battery at an estimated cost of $2 25 in twenty-four hours. The most complete milling outfit in has a 10-stamp mill grinding day and | Grass Valley is the North Star, containing night and is said to be & promising mine, | 40 stamps, where ore is reduced at a cost of The Omaha is under the management of George Mainhart, and is owned by a San Francisco company. This company has lately been investing in other mines of the district. The Shamrock group, managed by M. J. Farrell, is also owned by a San Francisco company. Work has only lately been resumed on this ground. The Allison ranch,owned by James L. Flood, the son of the late bonanza king, is to be pumped out and again worked, after lying idle for a quarter of a century, In portions of this mine the gola had to be chiseled from the vein, and when it was allowed to fill with water rich rock was in sight; in fact the direct cause of the close- down was the high grade of the quartz. A party of miners had leased a portion of the mine and the owner adopted the drastic means of refusing to drain the water from the shafts. Years have passed and all but one or two of the leases have died, and the living gray-haired miners no longer hope to profit by their discovery, so without any obstacles to overcome by litigation the water in the shafts is to be pumned to the surface and mining resumed. Osborn Hill mine is owned by George W. Grayson, the Nevada mining man, and it is said to be a promising property, This only 80 cents a ton, divided as follows: Labor 32 cents, power 32 cents, supplies 16 cents. The average weight of the stamps of the district is 850 pounds, with a drop of six inches, and eighty-four revolutions a minute. The ore is dumped from the mine cars into ore bins, which lead to rock-breakers, and from rock-breakers to Challenge seli-feeders into the batteries and from copper-plates to concentrators. Bixty to eighty per cent of the assay value is caught in the battery-plates. The con- centrators run from one to five per cent, ranging in value from $30 to $400 per ton. The sulphurets are treated at local chlori- nations work or shipped to San Francisco or Everett, Washington, But little slime appears during the milling of the ore, thus enabling the millmen to work the ore up to 85 and 90 per cent without encountering diffienlties met with in nearly every gold- mining region of the world. The United States Burean mining statistics state that to produce $1723 in gold in Nevada County has required an expenditure of onli $725. The forty-five years of mining on the veins of this district and the immense out- put therefrom surpass even in expecta- tion the wildest mflmu of the “‘boomers’ of the South African “blanket”’ deposits. Although London and Paris are passing through a period of extreme speculation and exultation over the mines of Johan- nesburg and the neighboring country, a careful observer calculates that fifteen years will witness the exhaustion of the ore bodies, while the prospects are that Grass Valley a quarter of a century hence will be as active a mining camp as it is to- day. The veins are comparatively small, varying from two inches to two feet, with an exceptional showing of four and six feet of quartz, but there seems to be no terminal point in depth. At the 2400 level the Maryland has a six-foot ledge on anore chute that has been worked for nearly a mile through Eureka, Idaho and Maryland ground. With the commencement of activity in the Hague group, the reopening of old claims by the Omaha Company and activ- ity on the Allison ranch, Grass Valley will enjoy an era of prosperity not witnessed in fifteen years. This city of mines has its own water works, is lighted by electric and gas lights, contains four churches, has twenty-one public school teachers who preside in ten school-buildings, including a high school, and the public are kept informed on the news of the day by three daily newspapers —the Tidings, Telegraph and Union. The Union takes Associated Press nmews, and was the first printing office in the State to introduce a type-setting machine. Every home is surrounded by yard room, and every yard is a flower bed or garden, sup- plying fresh vegetables and delicious fruits to the table of the homes. The greater portion of the population is from Cornwall, England, whose miners are in every quarter of the globe where mining is followed. The men are of superb phy- sique and are excellent miners. They are noted for their quaint dialect and fondness for music. Their local brass band of twenty-one pieces will compare favorably with the best bands of San Francisco. The narrow-gauge railroad connecting the city with the outside world does a good busi- ness, but never pays a dividend. Stages are in operation between here and Coliax and Marysville, and a ’bus line unites Nevada City and Grass Valley. One hun- dred and thirty-three houses were built in 1894, and yet it is almost impossible to get a house to rent. During these balmy days of springtime, while the shade trees are in foliage and the fruit-trees in blossom, there is not a more delightfully picturesque spot to be found than Grass Valley, the quartz-crowned em- press of the wild Sierr: HPPENNGS AT SHN J0 Death Watch Again Placed Over the Slayer of Mate Fitzgerald. The Fifth Time St. Clair Has Had This Gruesome Attention Shown Him. SAN JOSE, Cav., May 23.—Sheriff Lyn- don last evening placed a deatn watch over Thomas St. Clair, who is sentenced to be executed at San Quentin on May 31 for the murder of Mate Fitzgerald of the bark Hesper. The death watch consists of three guards, one in the day and two at night. St. Clair still has hopes of the sentence being commuted. This is the fifth time a death watch has been placed over him. Sparf, Hansen and St. Clair were con- victed of the murder of Fitzgerald, but Sparf obtained a new trial and was ac- quitted. The Supreme Court affirmed the sentence in the cases of Hansen and St. Clair, and Hansen is now waiting to be resentenced. Methodist Conference, SAN JOSE, Carn., May 23.—The con- ference of the Free Methodist church of the San Jose and Ione district opened this morning with devotional services by Rev. W. W. Kelly of Morgan Hill. Rev. C. Swithenbank delivered an address this afternoon. Rev. A. Beers addressed the conference in the interest of the Seattle Seminary and E. P. Hart spoke in the interest of the Free Methodist Publishing House. Rev. A. Beers addressed the con- ference this evening. Twelve churches are represented in the conference. To Test a License Law. SAN JOSE, Car., May 23.—Antonio di Palma, a vegetable peddler, was arrested this morning for peddling without a license, and a test case will be made of the ordinance which imposes an annual license on produce peddlers. A short time ago the vegetable peddlers organized the San Jose Produce Union, and they claim that one license is sufficient for the entire membership. When arrested he denied he was peddling, but said he was simply delivering produce for the union. The union will test the case in the courts of the State. Swed by Her Son. SAN JOSE, Cav., May 23.—The suit of James G. Lendrum against his mother, Anna J. Lendrum, for an accounting as guardian of his estate, commenced in Judge Reynolds’ court this morning. The plaintiff claims that when he became of age, July 11, 1891, his mother,was indebted to him in the sum of $647170. He also claimed that she loaned $4580 on a piece of property, near Saratoga, which is of in- sufficient security. There is considerable bad feeling between the mother and son. Suspects Released. SAN JOSE, Car., May 23.—The two men Who were arrested last night on suspicion of being Jack Dempsey and Thomas Hunter, who escaped from the Oakland jail Tuesday night, were turned loose this morning. The men proved to be two hobos who were discharged from the County Jail yesterday morning, where they had served terms for vagrancy. S Examining Assessments, SAN JOSE, Car., May 23.—State Con- troller E. P. Colgan and L. C. Morehouse and E. Chesebrough, members of the State Board of Equalization, are in the city mak- ing an inquiry into the assessment of the county. They are paying some attention 1o the taxation of inheritances and are go- ing over the appraisements of the various estates in probate. Suspected of Being a Jail-Breaker. SAN JOSE, Can, May 23.—A peddler was arrested at Madrone yesterday and brought to the County Jail on suspicion of being A. Golden, who escaped from the Martinez jail about a year ago. An officer from Martinez will arrive to-morrow to identify the man. il s Death of Lassen County’s Sheriff. SUSANVILLE, Car., May 23.—Sheriff F. G. Ward died to-day. He was sick two mouths with pneumonia. He leaves a widow and ten children.. He will be buried by the Native Sons and Masons. e Portland’s New Fire Chief., COPORTLAND, Ogr., May 23.—The Fire mmissioners to-day elected David Cam; bell chief of the &n Department, g succeed .Joseph - Buch h Tored.. | i h PRGEb TR0 Waa xer STOCKTON [N LUCK, To Be the Terminus for the Corral Hollow Railroad. RIGHTS OF WAY WANTED A General Freight Business Will Also Be Undertaken by the Road. WILL BE OF GREAT VALUE. Two Directors of the Proposed En- terprise Now Looking Over the Ground. S8TOCKTON, CaL., May 23.—It is very probable that Stockton will be the termi- nus of another railroad besides the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley road. H. Barber returned to-day from San Francisco, where he had a long talk with the directors of the San Francisco and San Joaquin Coal Company, a corporation formed to operate the rich coal mines at Corral Hollow. It was the original in- tention of the company to build a railroad from the mines to Mohr’s Landing on Old River and at that point build bunkers of the most immproved pattern for the handling of coal. Mr. Barber pointed out to the directors the advantage of this city as a terminus and yesterday noon two of the directors arrived here to investigate the feasibility of making Stockton the termiral point. The visiting directors are John W. Cole- man, formerly president of the North Pa- citic Coast Railroad Company, and John Treadwell, both of 8an Francisco. Since their arrival the gentlemen have been con- versing with various business men and taking a look at Stockton and the country round about. From statements made by them in the course of an interview to-day it was learned that they will build a broad gauge railroad from the Corral Hollow mines to this city and will carry on a general rail- road business, providing rights of way and facilities can be obtained here. The rail- road will not haul coal alone, but grairn and general freight. If built it will be a standard broad gauge and itslength will be about thirty-two miles. Arrangements have been made to take a number of prominent citizens to Corral Hollow next Sunday morning to show them the extent of the coalfields there and the quality of the coal. When this has been done the directors of the company will make a formal proposition to Stock- ton, stating just what is wanted in the way of rights of way and facilities. No money will be asked for, but a space on the water front—perhaps on Mormon channel, near its mouth—will, it is said, be required. The members of the party have not been selected as yet. The party will leave here on the 6:30 train in the morning and go by rail as far as Tracy, whence they will take teams to Corral Hollow, distant from Tracy twelve or fourteen miles. The coal mines of the company are of vast extent, and recent experiments show that the coal is equal to Australian coal for steam purposes. At the Risdon Iron ‘Works it was found that one pound of coal evaporated 7.2 pounds of water. The coal is also good for domestic use, and if the road is built here it will be sold in Stock- ton for not more than $4 a ton. The building of the proposed road is re- garded by business men as being of more importance to Stockton than might at first be supposed. It will give the city a supply of cheap fuel, and thus naturally assist manufacturing industries. A MINISTEE IN HOT WATER. He Makes Serious Charges Which He Will Be Asked to Sustain. STOCKTON, Car., May 23.—There is a Stockton minister named Ray Palmer who has got himself into trouble. In a speech at the Avon Theater last Sunday night he was understood to have said that certain city officials had told him that they had given out and received bribes. The present corps of municipal officers were naturally aroused, and they de- manded an explanation from the man of cloth. Mr. Palmer said he did not say that any of the officials now holding office had been guilty of such corruption, but that it was passed city officiais who con- fessed to him. Now those who had held city offices are indignant, and they have demanded an investigation. Mr. Palmer will be summoned before the Grand Jury and made to tell what he knows about municipal corruption. It is thought that he made the statement for political effect and that it is without foundation. ——— MURDER NEAR FRESNO. A Chinaman Brutally Killed by a Coun- tryman on Slight Provocation. FRESNO, CaAn., May 23.— A brutal Chinese murder occurred on the Sharon estate alfalfa ranch, seventeen miles northeast of Fresno, this morning. Five Chinamen were on the place irrigating. At about 1 o’clock this morning one of the men named Gwan Yee Sing returned to the cabin, and Gow Ah Yee went out to take his place. Gow’ became enraged at finding Gwan had let the water overflow, and returned to the cabin,a distance of half a mile. Gwan had eaten his supper and was sitting washing his feet prepara- tory to going to bed, when Gow came up. Without a word Gow struck Gwan over the head with a shovel handle, having car- ried the shovel in with him with the evi- dent intention of murdering Gwan. One of the other Chinamen saw the blow struck, but before he eould interfere Gwan had delivered several more severa blows. Gwan had no chance to defend himself and died on the spot, where the body lay several hours until Coroner Long arrived. Gow tried to escape by running, but three other Chinamen caught him and tying his arms and feet put him in the cabin, One Chinaman went to call a white man living near, leaving the other two on guard. Gow made a desperate effort to escape and suc- ceeded in cutting the ropes by which he was tied. The Chinamen outside the cabin,however, were armed with shovels, and held him prisoner until the white man arrived. Gow was securely tied, and made no further resistance. He was taken to Fresno. —— ARIZONA 1INDIANS RESTLESS. The Attention of the Secretary of War Ts Called to the Matter. i PH@ENIX, Arrz., May 23.—Hon. Oaks Murphy, delegate to Congress, has written the Secretary of War that tbe Indians are restless and threatening and that a feeling of insecurity prevails, which condition is a great injury to Arizona. He urges the importance of strengthening the military force at San Carlos and the vicinity, and in conclusion says: ““It seems only just and proper that so long as the possibility of danger exists from the untamed Indians, ample and effective protection should be afforded to life and property. Itis my judgment, how- ever, that no protracted Apache war will ever again occur, especially if an adequate military force is maintained at exposed points.” The complaint of inadequacy of rations and compensation for rights. of way through the reservation by the Indians, he states, is merely an excuse. e s GUOD FOR THE IRON TRADE. There Has Been a General Advance in AWl Lines. NEW YORK, N. Y., May 23.—The Iron Age to-day says: The improvement has now spread to practically every section of the country and to every department, with very few exceptions. The consumption is growing and the demand is much better, buyers having given up resistance. Unless some fatality throws back the iron trade the balance of the year promises to be quite good. Thus far only very few East- ern concerns have followed the initiative ofthe West in advancing wages, simply because the improvement in prices is just beginning to reach them. The central West has had another week of activity, and especially in Bessemer pig iron. Eastern buyers of soft steel are wak- ing up. Prices for finished iron and steel in the West are up from $1 to $2 per ton, with further advances imminent. The East is following slowly. The steel rail trade isin better shape although current reports are exaggerated, but there is cer- tainly a very substantial improvement over 1894, The wire industry is quite active. There has been a sharp advance in all nails in the West. e General Renjifo Returns. NEW YORK, N. Y., May 23.—General Julio Renjifo was a passenger on board the City of Para, which arrived from Colon to- day. General Renjifo is the secretary of the Colombian legation at Washirgton and was called home in February last to take command of the army and put down the rebellion. That being over, his s vices were no longer required in Colombia, and he is returning to his post in this country. He went direct to Washington. 00D FREAK OF AN INDIAN, He Becomes the Envied of All His Tribe by Purchasing a Hearse. It Is Utilized for Making Frequent Visits to the Surrounding Towns. BOISE, Ipamo, May 23.—An amusing story is told in connection with the recent opening of the Nez Perce Indian Reserva- tion. When the Indians of the reserva- tion had received their money from the Government they went to the neighboring towns to spend it. Their visit was, of course, anticipated, and all possible schemes were on foot to relieve Uncle Sam’s wards of their cash as speedily as possible. The Indians were on the buyy too, and woney was no object when any- thing they saw took their fancy. The red- skins took a notion to purchase carts, wagons, buggies, etc., and in a short time every available vehicle in the little town of Farmington was in their possession. There was one old Indian who failed to make a purchase, howeve:, and after all the buggies were gone a desire to possess some sort of conveyance started him on a diligent search. After visiting all the places where vehicles were sold without success he finally learned of a conveyance which, from the description; completely overshadowed anything in point of elegance ever sold before, and the possession of which would render all the Indians wild with envy. He sought out the owner, who proved to be the town un- dertaker, and opened negotiations for the purchase of the vehicle. The undertaker soon found the Indian wanted to obtain his hearse. The thought staggered him for a moment, but having an eye to busi- ness and noting the anxiety of Mr. Red- skin, the hearse was sold for a good round sum, The Indian hitched two horses to the somber vehicle, and putting his squaw and pappooses on the inside, trotted off for home, the proudest copperface that ever strung a bow or stole a sheep. The other Indians, hearing of his coming, had lined up along the road to watch him pass. Perched on his high seat, he drove haughtily by them, while the little pap- pooses peered through the glass sides and clapped their hands rapturously. The agent remonstrated with the Indian, but all to no purpose. He retained the hearse, and in his frequent visits to the sur- rounding towns, driving in his somewhat gloom-inspiring conveyance, is no longer an object of curiosity. HOLDS ON TO THE MONEY. Arrest of an Attorney Who Denies a Court’s Jurisdiction. CHEYENNE, fWyo., May 23.—On the order of Judge Hayford of the Second Ju- dicial District, Alexander T. Butler, a leading attorney and politician of Casper, was arrested and sent to jail to-day, charged with embezzlemet. Butler refuses to turn over to the clerk of the court money collected by him as agent for a suspended mercantile house when ordered by the Judge. He denies the jurisdiction of the Judge in the matter and claims he is being persecuted. SRS Tried to Brive a Witness. MILAN, Mo., May 23.—A. H. Maucklin was to-day sentenced to two yearsin the penitentiary for offering a witness $1000 to not testify against W. P. Taylor in a case where the latter was charged with steal- ing thirty head of cattle. Taylor, with his brother George, is now held for the mur- der of the Meeks family, and charges of jury-bribing were freely madeat the recent trial, which resulted in a hung jury. sixsstitaliindn Offers to Prodwuee Taylor. REDFIELD, 8. Dak., May 23.—¥ritz Arnold, formerly of 8pink County, 8. Dak., has written to a Redfield lawyer from Des Moines, Iowa, to fina out if the reward of $20,000 for defaulting ex-State Treasurer Taylor is still open. He says he can pro- duce the missing man at any time provid- ing he has assurances that he would get the reward. UL G Strikers Return to Work. CLEVELAND, Ouro, May 23,—Nearly all of the 400 employes of the Upson Nut and Bolt Works who struck for a ten per cent increase of wages last week, returned to work this morning. The men decided that while there was a revival in trade to some extent, it was not sufficient to war- rant th e company in granting the advance WITH A WILD LUNGE: Rapid Rise of the Price of Wheat in the East. CHICAGO MEN ARE DAFT. Bulls and Bears.Also Tussle in the Pit at New York. NEARING THE DOLLAR MARK. Reports From Abroad and the Crop Failures Tend to Increase the Demand. CHICAGO, IrL., May 23.—Wheat started with a wild lunge for the dollar mark to- day, touching 81 cents for the Jul before 9:30. At the opening be every man was on the floor and was frantically yelling for wheat. There was but little on sale and -the market opened wildly,at from 3 to 4 cents advance over last night, first trades ranging from 80 to 81 cents as compared with 773 at last night’s close. The big profits in 81-cent wheat were too alluring for many fortunate “holders and as they began to let go large quantities the prices dropped from the high point. From 81 cents July tumbled rapidly to 793 cents, reacting about 10 o’clock to 793 cents. The immediate cause of the bulge was the condition of the foreign markets. Liver- pool was reported plunging madly, about 3 cents above rday’s price, and other European markets were almost radi- cally strong. Crop damage reports were still pouring in from all portions of the wheat belt. NEW YORK, N. Y., May 23.—Wheat had another sensational rise this morning with an enormous business amounting to about 15,000,000 bushels within the first hour. July opened at 83 cents, which was a clear gain of 3 cents from the close of Wednesday and 2 cents for curb prices. Stimulated by the heavy outside buying ana reports that a big Chicago operator was actively engaged covering shorts it soon rose to 8414 cents, which proved to be the highest point of the day. The country @emand seemed 1o be the wildest thus far on the rise. Cables and crop dispatches all helped the advance and the bulls were confident of dollar wheat, when prices suddenly dropped under heavy realizations, losing a cent in a few moments. At noon there was another excited jump and the early afternoon price fluctuated so violently that local tradersleft the market entirely alone. Jumps of 1{ and ¥4 a cent were frequent, and at one time there was a drop of 1 cent in three minutes, while the Chicago mar- ket was even more erratic. The sensation of the day, however, was a 214-cent drop in fifteen minutes. It came like a thunder- clap, and the pit was fairly turned down while it lasted. Whole blocks of wheat were thrown over and the prices went 75 and 34 cent at a clap, closing at 8134 cents for July. The total transactions for the day were about 287,000,000 bushels. y option almost GUARDED AND IN DISGUISE. Steps to Prevent the Lynching of a Child- Murderer. HUNTINGTON, W. Vi, May 23.— Charles Rifgo, who was rearrested at Point Pleasant yesterday for the murder of his two children here, was brought back here to-day. The train was met in the suburbs by a closed carriage and Ringo was rushed to the jail in disguise. Two thousand people had assembled at the depot and a lynching is anticipated to- night. The jail is strongly guarded by deputy Sheriffs. Purify Your Blood Whenever pimples, boils or other erup. fions appear. Hood’s Sarsaparilla is the Read this: 2 “When our daughter Rose was ahout seven yearsold, a bunch or tumor formed on the side of her face, and grew to the size of an egg, In four years ie %consulted several gphysicians, but all treatment At last M e decided {o get M \VY4ter blood in good order before taking her to have an opera- tiom performed. We gave her Hood's Barsaparilla and after she had taken the medicine a short time the bunch began to grow smaller. We continued with Hood’s Sarsaparilla and shortly after the tumor disappeared entirely. It istwo yearssince ber cure by Hood’s S8arsaparilla and she has not shown any sign of the return of her trouble.”” Joun DrENAN, Angus, [owa. Hood’s Sarsaparilla Is the Only True Blood Purifier Be sure to get Hood’s and only Hood’s. Hood’s Pills best blood purifier. 4 i\ easy to buy, to take, gasy in effect. C. Dr.Gibbon’s Dispensary, 628 KEARNY ST. Established in 1854 for the treatment of Private Diseases, Lost Munhood. Debllity or disease wearing on bodyand mind and Skin Digeases. The doctor cures when others fall. Try him. C! res guaran Br.J. F- GIBBON. Box 1957, Sen I BRUSHES &=~ a2 brewers, bookbinders, candy-makers, canners, Qyers, ' flourmills, - foundries, laundries, - paper: hangérs, printers, painers, shoe factories, stable- ‘men, tar-roofers, tauners, tailors, etc. BUCHANAN BROS., Brush Manufacturers, 609 SacramentoSt. Wrights Indian Vepetable Pills Are acknowledged by thousan have used them for over I B e Lok fort. SICK HEADACHE, GIDDINEBGS CONSTIPA. TION, Te 3 purify the FOR BARBERS, BAK- ers, bootblacks, ' bath- 1d Liver, Weak Siomack, Pimples, and Grossman's Specific Mixtare Persons can cure themselves