The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 17, 1897, Page 1

VOLUME LXXXIL_1 L—NO. SAN FRANCISCO, TUESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 17, 1897. PRICE FIVE CENTS. CALIFORNIA YET HAS SUFFICIENT GOLD TO Now Comes Fresno County With a Very Rich Discovery. LUCKY STRIKE OF A MINER ON| BEAR And the Wealth of ported Increasing, of Prospectors Goes Met- rily FRESNO, CAL., / t of them. H. ras, about s Louis Rabordore, who fer the past six years has been working b A few weeks ago he found a small vein of creek. , and followed ping it on the led him to ners who have seen the has $40,000 in sight, with a prospect of much more yet uncovered. | Bear Creek is a tributary to Dinkey ners have been working in the vicinity for many years. s of the discovery is perfectly reliable, ! 1 e is mined very easily. nd RUSH OF PROSPECTORS. i he Fresh Reporis of Valu- able Finds. REDDING, Car 16.—Tf the first by redicting tue rush to the new Coffee k goldlields, it is evident that’ this e week thus far ex since the gold excitement the rising of the sun pectors and miners were up soon not less than fiv 4 th pack mules beavily picks, shovels and suppl es, their way northward Klondik The news ty late last night re- quartz discovery just ) from the Graves the eXxcitement an ugh the moonlight seen on various e situation at ating plans for he vicinity of the be- eave this five of r.f and pistols that an expedition fitted out rornin equipment for the staughter of Indians. On backs of the sturdy donkeys, bowever, were evidences of the proposed pros- pecting that will be done on the arrival in the new fields. The party was headed o Tallier boys, who gave up_ their ons in Nevada and also a proposed 16, 1897.—Fresne never was behind the ing, and now she can furnish the story of a gold dis- | of a rich strike on Bear Creek, near the summit eight miles northeast of here. increased in width to two feet, and increased in richnes: yurred On to Trinity’s Goldfields | s any criterion to go by | this | burros and | ENRICH ALL SEEKERS CREEK. Trinity Is Daily Re- and the Pilgrimage | On. C. B. Gill brought word-down from The' lucky it up till it widened to two inches. surface and found the vein widen- sink on the vein, and as he pro- discovery are agreed that Rabordore | trip to the Klonaike, for the sole purpose of investigating Trinity's mines. “Their | and consistea of a year’s supplies and i equipment for a most thorough search in | the mountains. ! The outgoing Weaverville stage was crowded with eager gold-seekers. Fifteen passengers who were bilied for Trinity Center occupied every available seat, and | what spare room there was in’ the coach was taken up with bundles of blankets, | trunks and supply cases. Stageload after | stageload of Trinity-bound folks drove up in rapid succession to the warious ho- | tels, and as the line of coaches left the northern limits of this city they resembled an ezrly day circus en route overland. News from the Coffee Creek diggings has been of the most encouraging charac- ter to-day. A gentleman named Wolf, | direct from Morrison Gulch, arrived here | by private conveyance this morning. He reports that the old-established mines in | the Trinity mineral belt are finding diffi- y in keeping their force of men at work. Everv hour the heretofore steady miners appear at the office of the varfous superintendents, call for their time, hrow up their jobs and, with their blankets on their backs, depart for the new pocket country of Coffee Creek and Morrison Gulch. - A hostler in the em- | loy of Joe Porter, contractor for the Al- | wona Quicksilver Mining Company, gave | up his position yesterday, took a pan and Lnuvel‘ went out behind the company’s surn, and in less than two hours returned with $250 in gold dust and nuggets. ouifit cost in the neighborhood ot $1000, | * | to the pan. SRR an R & }3,\\‘\‘\\\‘\ / > 7 BURYING THE CALAMITY HOWLER. Murphy and Burgess, up on Hickory Creek, are booming things right along. | They took out yesterday about $21.000 and they made an average right along of $20 At Trinity Center hotel ac- commodations are becoming very scarce. In fact, things have arrived at that stage when it is absolutely impossible to get accommodations indoors and the hotel proprietors are getting short of supplies. Add to this the difficulty of keeping their usual help about the hotel and the sitna- tion is readily seen to be exasperating. | Hotel clerks, cooks, waiters, and in some instances the proprietors themselves, have been stricken with the gold fever and are throwing down their everyday avocations for the ever-tempting pursuit of fortune- hunting. This afternoon E. Carroll arrived in the city en route for San Francisco. He is the owner of the rich quartz mine just discovered across Morrson Gulch from the Graves claim. Carrall is highly en- thusiastic over the outlook of the new diggings, and gives it as his opinion that the half has not been told of that rich country. The character of the quartz in his newly discoveiedl mine is of the de- composed variety and it averages $200 to the ton. A sight of some of the ore woula cause the most skeplical to catch the gold fever. In some of the specimens the free gold is so thick tuat the quar(z is barely perceptible. Mr. Carroll will return to | developments. To-night’s Weaverville stage brought two prominent Coffee Creek miners and with them came an endless account of new strikes and verifications of previous rumors, One of the passengers was W. J. Fosgate of S8an Francisco, who, with W. W. Davis, owns the Morrison Gulch gravel mine, located on Morrison Gulch, adjoin- ing the Graves claim on the north. Mr, Fosgzate, who is not a practical miner him- self. was accempanied by M. Fay, an olde! grizzled prospector, who has had years of | experience in mountain mining. For tive | years past Fosgate and Davis have owned | the Morrison Gulch claim, but, like the | great majority of Crinity miners, had pros- pected to no very zreat extent until the recent find of the Graves brothers became known. | Inan interview with Fosgate to-night it was learned that the reports of a rich sirike made recently have not been exag- gerated with perhaps one exception, that of Murphy and Burgess. Instead of $80,- 000 these gentlemen have within the past week taken out all told perhaps $45,000 and are still at work taking out good-sized pockets. The Morrison Gulch mine, of which he is one of the cwners, is, he says, even as rich as that of the Graves and from present indications something big =7 s — T Nl i} L N, W W\ One of the Many Minor Hydraulic Mines Along the T, inity. his mine in a few days and begin active | will be heard of from that mine in a few days. “It's a great country,” said Fosgate, and his eyes glistened as he described the richness of the immediate Jocality in which his claim is situated. “New and rich strikes are being made every day,” said he, “'but you don’t hear of any of them unless they figura away up in the thousands. There is no earthly use fora man to go to Klondike,” he coatinued, “when within only about 300 miles from the Pacific Coast metropolis you can find gold in quantities to suit. And then again you are in civiiizaticn, no hardships are to be run up agamst. “There is plenty to eat and drink, the people are hospitable and keep open houses at all hours for the vassing pros- pector. And there are plenty of passing prospectors, too. Why, on our road down we met no less than 200 pedpie on their road to the mines. Some were togged out in 1ypical miners’ outfits, while others who were no doubt, like myself when I first went up, green all over, were decked out in tennis flannels, straw dickies and toothpick shces. These latter folks will, I think, be brought to a realization before they get through with it that striped blazers and canvas pants were not made for mining camps, and especially for the kind of country you run across in ‘Trin- ity.” The well-known Blythe water ditch, which is £aid to be one of the most exten- sive ditches in the State, put in at a cost of $300,000, runs right through the Mor- rison Guich mine, and as soon as Foszate returns to the camp ‘the waters of that big ditch will be turned loose, ‘‘and then”, says Fosgate, “‘you can look for some big nuggets to drop."" News reacheda this city to-night to the effect that an ‘immensely rich discovery was made Saturday in the Integralj quick- silver mine, located adjoining the cele- brated Altoona Quicksilver mine, in Trinity. The Integral is an extensive property controlled by a New York com- pany, of which E. 8impson is at the head. They own 5000 acres of land, have an ex- tensive plant, and besides operate a largs sawmill. Their mills have been idle for some time aand prospecting has been car- ried on. A tunpel has been in course of construction, and Saturday' a ledge 100 feet wide was encountered. The ledge con- tains the very richest character of ore, and as a result the mills will immediately be started up and development work pushed. Quicksilver mining forms a very 1mport- ant factor in Trinity County’s industries, and within her boundaries are to be found two of the most important quick- silver properties on the coast. To-morrow at least 100 more men will leave this city for the new diggings. John Gibson, an old-time prospector and mining man, will head an exploring party, which leaves this city to-morrow inorning, for the sole purpose of searching for a lost gravel claim known to be lo- cated somewhere in the neighborhood of the Nash mine on Morrison Gulch. Four years ago in the early spring a halfbreed Indian named Dick, while hunting along Coffee Creek, discovered some exceedingly rich gravel diggings, and out of a small space took out in one day some $16,000. He covered the’ spot from which his wealth wus secured with brush and leaves and started out on foot for Yreka. When he arrived five' days afterward in that city he enlisted as assistants two gther halfbreeds, and after buying a large quan- tity of supplies the trio started back to further prospect the claim. On the way out they indulged in too frequent doses of whisky, and before they reached the | claim quarreled and one of the halfbreeds killed Dick and buried his body. They vroceeded on to Coffee Creek and after a dilicent search for Dick’s treasure gave up in despair and returned to Siskiyou. Time and time again numerous pros- pectors have searched for this claim, but tono avail. In describing the locality of his claim Dick said he could. see from where he took out the gold the roof of the mill of the Nash mine. From varicu: points this mill can be seen, but thus far no trace of the lost bonanza has been found. Gibson and his party will spend the fall months in searching for this | claim, 2nd Gibson believes be is in pos- session of sufficient data to enable him to locate it. They will take with them a gold indicator,a mechanical device by which it is claimed hidden treasure can readily be pointed out, —_— MOST REMARKABLE FINDS. Riches of the Bonanza King and a Strike on Hard Scrabble Gulch Describzd by a *'Call’” Man. . CARRVILLE, Car., Aug. 16.—A good horse and fifty miles of riding over about the wildest country and most charming mountain trail in Califor- nia have enabled me to see and investi- gale the fimed and rumor-shrouded strike on Hickorv Gulch, in the head- waters of Coffee Creek, which have be- come a little Kiondike to a small army of rushers. The strike made by Burgess and Murphy is probably one of the most remarkable finds ever made in Northern California. Burges: talks with apparent justification of getting $2000 to $4000 a ton frcm a particular vein ot de- composed ~and soft porphyry rock, which at the surface compact walls seems rich in.gold. Burgess and Murphy have named their mine Bonanza King. Yet the sensation caused by the Bonanza King 1s about to be increased by another richer and iarger ‘strike, bu: a mile away from 1t over a littie divide in Hard Scrab- ble Guleh. ' The fame of it is just getting abroad. Tom Keating made the discovery nearly two- years ago, but bas worked quietly, and the possibility of there being millions in Hard Scrabble Gulch has just been re- alized, through the turning of attention to Hickory Creek. Both these properties are yet only sur- face properties, ana no expert could or would pass decisive judgment on them, but the indications point to a fortune. Every miiling man who has visited the localities in the past few days believed that Keating’s mine is a greater one than the Bonanza King. Keating has a porphyry dike probably over 100 feet in width thickly filled with gold-bearing seams. Through it runs a wide quartz ledge which prosvects indicate is marvel- ously rich, samples of the ledge running as high as $1000 to the ton, according to Keating’s report and . opinion and proba- biy confirmed by practical miners. ‘The Bonanza King is yet a little more than three fect deep, but from it little more than a cubic yard of dirt and rock bas been taken altogether. Itis high on a very steep hillside at an aluitude of 200 feet and severai hundred feet above the botiom of Hickory Guich. e Burgess and Murphy are ‘greenhorns.” Burgess has sharpened tools in a mine and Murpby = had been section= band at Dunsmuir. They bad been handling dirt over the side of the guich looking for traces of gold from above for three weeks. When they followed indica- tions and dug into sume soft rock, which could be dug with a pick, they did not know what it was, but found a surprising amount of go!d in their pan when they washed it, after carrying it 200 feet to a spring. The rotten.stone varied and showed a layer several inches thick uf something like hard, dry clay. They just panned everything picked and shoveled out, grass, roots and all, as they dug, carrying it to the spring in sacks and throwing out the stones that did not dis- solve. Thirty sacks and twenty-two pans thus roughly dug and washed have yielded $240. This is all they have taken out. They have just rigeed up a rocker, but have done little. To-day they carried a geltifb o ihar b o T N L Continued on Third Page. | AL READY | 10 DEPART NORTHWARD Gold-Hunters to Sail on the Big Steamer Humboldt. PLENTY OF PROVISIONS TAKEN. ItIs Expectsed to Reach Dawson City by the Water Route. PROMINENT MEN HEADING FOR THE KLONDIKE. No Abatement in the Excltement at Seattle and the Northward Rush Continues. SEATTLE, WasH.,, Aug. 16.—Consider- able importance is attached in Seattle to the expedition of the Seattle and Yukon Commercial Com pany, which is sending the big steamer Humboldt to St. Michael. At that point barges will be put together and passengers and freisht taken up the Yukon River to Dawson City. During the day there was a continual stream of peo- ple to and from the Arlington dock, where the Humbeldt ran in at 11 o’clock this morning after having finished coaling at the Oregon Improvement Company’s bunkers. The work of loading then be- gan, the freight consisting largely of pro- visions and clothing, many of the passen- gers taking the limit—1000 pounds— allowed by the company. A quantity of merchandise is being taken by individuals who will engage in business in Dawson City. There are several Yukon sledsin the pile of freight, the property of pros- pectors who intend putting them to good use this winter in their search for hidden treasures of the Kilondike. The freight amounted to mnearly 400 tons, while the passengers from Seattle numbered 132. The Humboldt will =ail at about 9 o’'ciock to-morrow morning. The mana- ger of the company is Mayor W. D. Wood, who accompanied the expedition. Before departing he expressed the belief that he will land his passengers at Dawson City before the river freezes, and have fifteen days to spare. If this is true the Mayor will get back down the river himself this season and not be compelled to come overland. Only a small proportion of the Hum- boldt's passengers are Seattleites. Promi- nent, however, among the number are Mayor William D. Wood and his private secretary, Sam Edwards; R. C. Washburn, State Senator and managing editor of the Post-Intelligencer; C. D. Peck, formerly in the business offices of the Post-intelli- gencer; C. M. Anderson, civil engineer. Of the Humboldt’s passengers who boarded the vessel at Seattle nearly the entire number came by train from points east of Chicago, and a large proportion of them are representatives of moneyed interests. J. C. Fianner and Henry Shoe- maker represent Clarenc> King, the prominent metallurgist and consulting engineer, who is now bhere and has equipped an expedition for the upper Yukon basin. Among other notable New Yorkers are Colin Beaton, Dr. P. A. E. Boetzkes and C.E. Markham. Eleven mea constitute the Haverhill party. John J. Malone of Tacoma went north to represent a syndicate of New York and Tacoma capitalists. He has always been prominent in the Demoeratic politics of this State. W. H. Snell, ex-Prosecuting Attorney of Pierce County, is also one of the, gold hunters. Professor A. W. Un- thank, a mining expert of Kettle Falls, Mont., also went north as the representas tive of some syndicate. This morning grappling hooks were used in the effort to recover the body of John Desha, who was drowned shortly before 12 o’clock last night. Desha was a waiter on the Humboldt and the fatality bappened while he was in an intoxicated condition. In falling be hit his head on a fender and disappeared between the daric hull of the vessel and the O. L. Company’s bunkers. This is the first accident in port to any oi those connected with the Alaska steamers since the big rush northward be- gan. There have been many narrow escapes, but no one has actually fallen overboard. Fate seemed to be against this poor waiter, who was serving as such only that he might get to the Kiondike. He was assisting a passenger aboard witn his dog at the time and the rope roi tan- gled in his legs. Desha was 30 years old and leaves a brother and sister in San Francisco. The people of Seattle feel a deep interest in the new gold mining and development company that has just been organized in Chicago with a capital stock of $25,000,000. Itis known as the Cudahy-Healy Yukon Mining Company, ‘and in all probability its offices will be located in this city, as are those of the North American Trans- portation and Trading Company. Practi- cally the same people are in both com- panies. The transportation company has been doing considerable successiul mining exploration in Alaska, and, it is alleged, secured mining vroperiy worth many million dollars. These interests are now 10 be worked by a separate corporation. The claims are said (0 be mosiy quartz ledges of various kinds, carrying free milling and smelting ores and running in value from $30 per ton for the smelting ore to unheard of values in the free mill- inx. The company has also picked up some valuable placer property all along the river since its organization five years ago. An official of the old company who looks after the management of the Seattle offices thus expressed himself to-day om