The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 17, 1897, Page 27

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 17 1897. Randsburg, Its Marvelous Gold Mines and Its Magic Growth OT since the first rays of sunshine s illuminated the way of the illus- trious Patbfinder over the sandy wastes and cragged mountains of South- ern California have the sunny slopes of the volcanic peaks and verdant mesas given cause for such invasion and great excitement as at present exists in the new mining camp of Randsburg. When ute from t o of Los Angeles to emont was unquestionably the first of all prospectors to cross the golden reefs of Randsburg, lying as it does within a pass twelve miles due from a historic ndmark known as “Fremont’s Peak,’” at the base of which the Patbfinder de- veloped upon the edge of a dry lake—b sinking a well a few feet in dep abundance of pure, sparkling wate has since served to guench the thirst of many a poor traveler crossing the track- nk in Califor- tedly K «mmmrz is the latest en chain, and will u prove the loadstone of the n ng world. Crowded vehicles, cavaicades of freight teams, prospectors’ outfits, et the ghbrace stages to the long old Concord and thoro the historic bu wagon-roads ieading from the railway sta- | tions to this golden oa: of the Mojave Desert, where a city of over 2000 inhabi- tants has been bui i edibly y lim- short period ed by the e slow 1 The team. i with prospectors, nd mining e the Caribov e Atlantic. The no longer en- the mine-owner. PF ttention of i booted Britisher makes le in the serenity of the frican expert is iven name. ap seems to iul development hammer tap on the rich and pa down, and b be justified by of rich finds surf to the 1 the surpa. discov s safe to the dev nd or mc in every case t ey has me be camp lies in the value of its like tand awa he pract miner anc to yield its golden store. Mining at the present time is being ied on in the most d w primitives not infrequently eness tha ¢ movements t the dis the condition throughc of rated in and a careful m now l;em g stad of re ent upcr.uur an d prospectc 105t @ certainty. The Rand Mining ( D of eight mines as the mother lode of the Rar trict, and under the ma S fast property. The Olympus, becoming a Trilby, noted Rana se ancient and honorable | the historic | ion on the bay of Monterey General | lines of | because ol | (and Yellow Aster claims of this company | are being developed in a miner-liks man- | ner, and thousands of tons of ore averag- | ing $20 per ton in value isalready in sl)gh!. | Mr. Burcham is styled the “Stratton” of | Randsburg, and as his famous prototype | of Cripple Creek ventured his fortune for the weal of the common interests of the { camp that gave him fame and riches, so | does bhe in this Eidorado of the desert, being one of the venturesome spirits to se pluck and ener.y feil the fortune of overy of this distrtet. With excellent nentand business tact, Mr. Burcham | scquired a number of valuable properties, none of which are permitted to lie 1dle, and it is gratifying to note that his energy and enterprise are being rewarded. The Buite mine, owned by H. C. Ramey, \ H. C. Tate, B. B. Somers and J. E.| Ramey, is one of the richest mines in the | | istrict. It adjoins the Good Hope, and | at adepth of 125 feet has in its course of development produced over $60,000. H. C. | Ramey, the leading spirit in this com- pany, is an old-time prospector in the dis- trict, and is very popular among the min- ers, to a large number of whom he gives employment. The ledge of the Butte mine is stronger defined and traversed on the hanging side by a great syenite dyke running almost due east and west. The J ICclaim, lying contiguous to the Butte | ! mine, is attracting a good deal of atten- | tion from mining men who are invi m.‘ gating the district, and presents a most | promising opportunity to the investor be- cause of its location. | The Omega claim, about four miles southeast from the camp of Randsburg, at a depth of forty feetshows a remarkably strong lead cropping, bigh-grade sulphurets and is paying its owners hand- | somely. The owners are Messrs. Crow & Kuffel of Randsburg and Wilson of Mo- jave. | of ore The Blackhawk group owned by acom- | pany headed bv W. C. Wilson of Mojave yde Kuffel, postmast-r at Rands- has produced some of the richest ore found in the camp, and is considered a | bonanza to fts owners. The entire | country for miles from the Blackhawk to the southward is of rich auriferous | to a depth of from oue to feet, and is being successfully worked | tae Stine Mining and Miiling Com- Los Angeles with a sand formation by pany g mammoth of machine, constructed or ops s y of over 2 ge n s company have immediate vicinity of rated they have taken hin tae the ars to come. s the r of the machine 2t the mines and ndenfeld :s president of the com- Louis Ebnbin L 55 A A8 0. HC cer, von igeles siockholders and | Following the line of the Olympus to b isa long line of locations more | ped hat present an interest-| of Randsburg, as | mother tode of | The formation is strong | in cheracter and the | found at the contact of por- | and slate and show strong ten to thirty feel 1es running from $5 to § up are found the San Skyscraper, owned by and the Eurekal | owned by Dickinson | n 1 Glory, ct in character from those hereto- | 1 e group of mines | m Randsourg, in what | Yuceaville section, with vorphyry, micaceous quariz running from north | nct indications of ake disturbances having rent the | from east to west, leaving fissures extending over one mile in nd three miles in length within boundarles are found hundreds of | ingers of very rich quartz. | The absence of milling facilities on ac- | count of the scarcity of water has been a | drawback to this camp, and only grade ores would stand the expense | treatment. At present it is necessary | | to baul the ore to water, some ten miles | ic eat \of r OFFICE RANDSBURG DEVELOPMEN: CO EF.BEAN.MANAGER, —— | derb ‘lfi WW% ; f/u/ MM o TUNNEL OF RAND MINE N 160 FT. NEAR TOP OF MOUNTAIN. FIRST GENERAL STORE. IN RANDSBURS 8Y HANROND£58e———~ distant, at an expense of $10 per ton | for hauling and milling. At Garlock there | flastering inducements to practical miners are three mills in operation and three | more in course of construction, at Kaur | Springs one ten-stamp mill and at Cnd- | ck Dry Lake one five-stamp mill. | Until a suort time ago water for domestic | use was bauled in barrels from Garlock, ten miles away, and so.d at §2 per barrel, | but now the camp is supplied from wells | recently developed in the hills near by, and the water is p'ped in. An enterprise is now on foot looking to an zbundant supp!y of water from a point about eight nuiles distant that will furnish sufficient for mining and milling purposes for a de- velopment many times as great asnow. While this camp presents the most | the editor makes the following interesting iolmen tions: There running to all the quarters of the compass, amo: hich some 4500 locations have been made, the most of which are held by men who | have nomoncy and, like many in new districts, hold them of so great value that special min- ing men of capital are not willing to pay as much for a smali hole in the ground as a de- veloped paying mine will bring. This will cure itself in due time. A location, simply pearance in a four-column folio Do | because it is quartz, will not necessarily be eember 12, 1896, It is a bright, newsy | Yeluable. e & | The great problem now to be solved is, Do little sheet. In the second issuo of Satur- (& 100 PG [, PO 0 8 S0 Y090 feat day, December 19, in a communication | isyyc deepest shatt sunk. In some cuses con- addressed to Major E. F. Bean of the | tinuous pay is found, and in others broken and Randsburg Blue Gravel Cement Com pany, | barren spots are encountered. and men of means for investigation and investment, it must be admitted that there ‘ is no inducement for men seeking emnloy ment, as the mines have not reached a state of development where it is possible | to work many men at presént. Toe Ranasburg Miner, paper to be published in George W. Glover Jr., made its initiai ap- the first news- | the camp, hy‘{ I HE FIRST CANVAS STORE in RANDSBURG puiir v MONTGanERY BRo e almost Innumerable quartz veins | For this winter I would adyise all who have not the means to support themselves for a iews months when here to stay away, for there is limited employment, and will be until capi- tal takes hold and does that kind of mining that requires regular payrolls. The outlook for years to come is very en- couraging. 1f no more pay mines are !ouxd it will be a good and prosperous camp, and if the mines develop permanently down then it will be & wonderfully rich d: t. All that seems in the way of immediate progress and prosperity is that miners that have from ten to thirty claims without a dol- lar refuse to sell for anything short of the value of a paying mine. Such is discouraging to those who are will- ing to investa reasonable amount of money in a fair prospect. The town of Randsburg, according (o the suryeys of a huli-dozen surveyors, and as established repeatedly, is located 1a the south half of section 35, township 29 south, range 40 east, snd in the north half of section 2, | township 30 south, range 40 east, all in Kern County. Itisjustamile from the east line of se 35, and two to the San Bernardino line. Randspurg is connected by three stage lines with the outside world, one line from Mojave via Garlock and Goler, a dis- tance of fifty-two miles northeast; another line from Mojave by what is known as the Mojave “short line,” run by J. W. Fiani- gan, a distance of thirty-eight miles north- east; and another still shorter rcute from Kramer on the A. and P. railway to Randsbury, only twenty-four miles due north, via Francisville, where the prince | of entertainers, Colonel Frank Francis, | looks weil to the comfort of the passen- gers en route. The road from Kramer is | hard and of easy grade from Francisville in to Randsbure, making it quite a pleas- ant trip. The advertised fare from Mojave | to Randsburg is $3 and from Kramer §2, which is considered reasonable enough. | The three different lines send to Rands- Dburg from five to eight stages a day, aver- aging about seven passengers each. They land their passengers at the St. Eimo Hotel, run by Roach & Henderson. This is the leading hotel and is made famous for its wonderful rooming capacity. No matter how many arrivais a day they al- ways have plenty of room for more. This will be more clearly understood when stated that they have actually but seven rooms and one spring bed 1n the house, but they have three or four annexes with | unlimited cot capacity. The largest of these is called No. 11. Nearly every ar- rival modestly requesis a good room on | account of being tired or sick. Mr. Roach replies: “Certainly, we will give you a good room.” He then tells Joe Carroll, the room clerk, to put them in No. 11, If | room 11 was ever filled up no one ever heard of it. The growth of Randsburg is something | phenomenal. Four months ago there were but four tents and less than fifty peo- ple in the camp by actual count. There are now 175 houses and 276 tents, with an | estimated population of 2000. All lines of business are represented and prices are moderate. though some of the pioneer business houses have got the trade pretty well in hand. Yet there are new stores opening up al nost every day. Lhis, how- ever, is warranted by the rapid growti. There are a few very prominent mining men from Colorado, Arizona and North- ern California now in camp looking over | the situation. Among them may be meu- tioned J. J. Brown, an owner in the Little | Johnnie of Leadville, one of the biggest gold-producers the world ever saw. With Mr. Brown is James A. Shinn, a heavy mine -owner and operator in Leadville, These gentlemen express themselves as greatly pleased with the camp and declare their intention to become interested in some good properties. Mr. Brown has large interests in Montana, Idaho and Arizona. Colonel Charles A. Tozier, one of, the | oide:t and best-known mining eXper!S on the Pacific Coast, has been around the | camp for the past three weeks and is par- ticularly well pleased with the outlook. Robert Strauss, hslf owner of the Fortu- na, near Yuma, Ariz., passed through Randsburg a few days ago, on his way to Inyo County, toward Panamint. He ex- pressed quite a favorable opinion of what he had seen of the camp. The sale of the Santa Ana, Mercedes and Napoleon mines was consummated last Saturday. The group was owned by Garlock, James srothers and Simpson THE PIONEER DkU§ STUKE & OFF! and was sold to Munson & Leighton of Los Angeles for $10,000. The new owners put men to work sink= ing the Napoleon last Monday and itis the intention to pusa development work and show what is in the ground es quick aspossible. A good strike may be looked forat any time. Hon. F. 8. Munson, one of the purchasers of this group of mines, is City Councilman of Los Angeles. He is not in the babit of doing things by halves and will at once push the work of develop- ment to its utmost. He isnow starling a double compartment shait on the Napo- leon and will put up a mill as soon as suf- ficient cre and water to warrant it. The pioneer business houses of Rands- burg deserve great credit for overcoming the expense and difficulties attendant apon bringing in merchandise, building material and all kinds of supplies and keeping down prices-to about the same as in towns upon the line of a rail The firm of Hammond & Co. were the first to open a general store, when only twenty- five or thirty people were in the district. They have kept pace with the camp and now have a large stock of genera! mer= chandise and make miners’ supplies & specialty. J. W. Ragedale of Madera was one of the first to inyest in Randsburg mining properties. He has formed a copartner- ship with Mr. Fugard, a capitalist and mining man of Los Angeles. They have erected a fine office buildiny d are han- dling mines, real ate, buying and selling mining proper They are part owners cf the J I C, one of the best mines in the district, and have ‘made some of the biggest sales yet made in the camp. Major E. F. Bean of the Randsburg Development Company is one of the most active men 1n the camp in buying and selling mining properties, and repre- sents a great deal of capital seeking in- vesiment. The Major has been rustling in the camp from its startand has been handling some big propositions. James & S. Montgomery, formerly of Omaha, are the pioneer wholesale liguor- dealers in Randsburg. They located here in‘April, 1896, and have practically got the liquor trade corraled. J. M. Crawford of Bakersfield put up the third building in the camp four months ago, and now owns nearly the entire block. He1s doing a splendid wholesale and re- tail liquor business, H. L. Nelson, the pioneer mining brok buys and sells mining property; inv ments, insurance, abstracts, real estate, notary, deeds, etc. Dr. Hempstead, the pioneer druggist, was the first to establish a pharmacy in the camp, and now has the only complete line of drugs within a distance of sixty-five milesin any direction. He has become | quite popular in the camp and practically holds the entire business in his liae. The Randsburg Produce Company, com- posed of Los Angeles gentlemen, has been building up a splendid business in ship- ping produce to the surrounding camps. It was established bere Decem ber 16, 1896, and has the only strictly produce house in the camp. Claude Bohanon has a wholesale and retail liguor-house, carrying a fine line of goods. Heis agent for the.Fredericks- burg Brewing Company—also Constable and Deputy Sheriff. The tri-weekly mail service in and out of Randsburg is very inadequate. Peti- tions for a daily service have long since gone to Washington, but action seems to be very slow. The fact is the mails are cumbersome, naturally, made 50 by ac- cumulation at Mojave, where they may be short of help, but where the service i3 actually worse than none at all. Letters have been delayed eight and ten days going each way through the Mojave office, i and it would be far better if they would take. thie pouches direct from the train to the stages and let the Randsburg office do the distributing for Garlock and Goler. In this manner great delays would bs overcome, as the Postmaster at Randsburg, Mr. Clyde Kuffol, is a live, active and obliging young man, and frequently works up to 11 and 12 o'clock at night to ac- commodate the public in the delivery of their mail. He has just put in a large number of new Yale lock-boxes and the office presents quite a metropolitan ap- pearance. J. F. Kyarp ICE OF H.L.NELSON 5 DR HEMPSTE The Gunpowder Bicycle, With a Series of Exploswes as a Motive Power, Is the Latest Invention "OWDER bicycle is the latest in- A7 o tion. mebc, a mer- J chantof Latrobe, M , bas just in- st Mu,le motor, which d a m cht of eight and three-quarters ven rema with & pounds and a length of eight inches, will, when charged with ordinary zunpowder, carry a machine and rider 100 miles. periments and practical road tests ave demonstrated the entire practicabil- ity of the motor, and its gereral use by the bundreds of thousands of wheelmen throughout the country 1s only a question Le near future. series of explosions as a mntive power s somewhat odd at first thought, and when this invention is considered in of A yet L its details its metiod of operation is ap- | 10 all, and its manifest advantaces r the present pedal and sprocket sys- tem are evident. The adoption of this powder motor by | bicycle riders means much to the wheel- ing world. It means that the stecpesthill can be taken with the ease of the smooth- est turnpike, and also that the matter of ced is praciically limited only by the lination of the rider. ILmeans also that all the pleasnre and excitement of wheeling can be enjoyed without any of its attendant fatigues, and finally that there is no rattle, rumble or jar, 88 With many other motor machines, to disturb tbe thoughts or conversation of wheelmen |or women as they ride through | shaded roads or country lanes. The moior entirely does away with that | bugbear of wheeling, the vocket cl.uln‘ | and also the pedal and at ghe same time | occupies but litile more than theYame | space. | In appearance the small cylinder of the | | motor is three inches long and one inch finest | in diameter, at the forward end. of which | | is a box known as the exploding chamber. | | This is two inches long, one and a haif | I'inches high and one and three-quarter inches wide. From the rear end of the | | eylinder projects the driving rod. Above | | the cylinder is the powder ma azine, four inches in diameter and two inches deep. 1t is from this magazine tbat the explo- sive is supplied by means of a feeder to the exploding chamber below. The motor is fastened on an ordinary machine in place of the pedais and sprocket chain. Thedriving rod which takes the place of the chain is similar in action although naturally much smaller than the driving rod of an ordinary engine, The end of this rod which projects from | the cylinder connects with a crank at- | tached to the eccentric which in turn is fastened to the axle of the rear wheel of the machine. The forcing outward of the driving rod from the cylinder causes the crank to revoive and thisin turn commu- nicates the motion to the eccentric an wheel, giving motion to the machi The motor is of one horsepows powder magazine has a capacity of five pounds. From the front of the magazine | extends downward a chute leading into the exploding chamber. Within the chute thereis a system of valves governed bya rod which follows tie frame of the machine up and over the forward wheel to the handie bar. This rod is usea to control the speed of the machine and also used asa brake when a gradual stop is desired. The valves in the feed chute work on what might be cailed an open and shut vrinciple. There are three of them, an upper, middle and lower one. When one is open the other two are elosea. That this may be accomplished the valves are connected by a bar which has at the upper end a cog wheel fitting into a smaller coz, which governs the valve onening directly from the magazine into the chute. The second valve is midway between the others and acts as a governor to both, shutting off the supply when t e speed is too rapid and increasing it when more speed is desired. The third or lower valve opens directly into the exploding chambver and is much heavier than the others, jor the reason that it has to withstand the force of con- cussion and strain caused by the exploding powder. ine. and the The exploding chamber is the heaviest part of the motor. It is constructed of steel, and in it the powder explodes as it comes from the magazins through the feeder. As theexplosion oceurs a gaseous smoke 1s generated which acts much the same as steam, in that it operates the pis- ton-head of the driving-rod within the cylinder, one end of which is connected with the exploding chamber. As the volume of this gaseous smoke is increased the action of the rod is propor- tionally increased and an increase of speed results. To avoid any possibility of explosion of the gases generated by the expioding powder there is a valve at the top of the exploding chamber through which the ex- cess of gas is automatically allowed to \escape. The speed of the machine, to a certain extent, regulates the action of the valves in the supply chute. There is a small thumb-screw arrangement in the chute which adjusts the angle of the back of the chute, forcing it nearer the valves or in- creasing the speed as the rider may wish. A rod working from the rear wheel to the chute opens and closes the valves as the wheel revolves and thus allows the powder to escape from the magazine. The powder is exploded in the explod- ing chamber to muke a startin the first | instance by concussion. There are a series of caps so arranged within the chamber that every pressure to the full extent of the governing-rod leading to the bandle-bars explodes one. When the rider wishes to start the rod is forced down, the valves in the chute are opened and a cap within the chamber is exploded causing the machine to start. Just the reverse operation causes the entire ma- chinery to stop. The drawing upward of the rod shuts the valve, causing the flow of powder to cease and as no more gaseous smcke can be generated tne machine comes to a gradual stop. To make a sud- den stop the ordinary brake is used. The motor is fastened on the frame of the machine by a clamp, which is in reality a portion of the cylinder and when secured fast nothing except the breaking of the machine frame can displace the motor from its position. So little powder is exploded at a tim that there is no smoke and no odor and the action of the motor 1s so even that riaing on a machine worked by this method of propulsion is much like coast- ing down a good hill on an ordinary machine. Foot rests instead of pedals are placed at the forward part of the machine on either side of the fork, but are much wider than the ordinary rest so that there is no fatigue resulting from keeping the feet in one position for an extended length * of time,