The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 23, 1905, Page 25

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, TUESDAY, MAY 23, 1905.° Great MRiches of Tumbo, Mear Goldficld MARVELOUS PRODUCER OF GOLDEN ORE PREMIER IN DISTRICT DISCOVERY REWARDS ‘THE PLUCK OF TAYLOR IN LARGE DEGREE. IS roved pah, and teok a prominent part t n- | i the bringing of tt neces- P , 18 lo- v of life into the mi v Tay- cated t one = miles made Tonopah hi adquarters east tt I d. Its his- | [oF several months and all his expedi- | e o S WS" | tions were started from this point. s a interest t0 | After studying the question of Wwhere se who b burrow he should next commence prospecting, f precious metals, | he came to the con on that there | might be opportunities of striking something worth while in what is/ e & . | known as the Cloverdale country. On y as the result of [ Apri) 12, 1963, he out from ea labor and the apP- | Tonopah for Red Sf For fifteen of tion which it took | hours each blistering day he tramped the sagebrush covered hills and defiles, Here and there and everywhere he hunted for the signs of mineral wealth, FIRST SEES GOLDFIELD. After mature consideration, he deter- mined to enter what was then known acquire. To the like & epecial dis- | fickle Goddess of | n to come upon So To those who | visions of years | ated it seems pensation of hardship and priva month on |as the Grandpa District and is now couragement and distress | known as the Goldfield region. On batt against adverse | May 17, 1903, he left Tonopah and es. w C. D T started on his journey in the rough the discoverer of Jumbo, and barren country which has since | Bodie, ¢ in the ing of 190 roved so rich in mineral wealth. On i his sick broth he began to hear | May 19, Taylor located the Jumbo, the the wonderfu Fl Red King and another prop- e ning ed the Maud S, which has i great vaiue. This ® has turned out and arrived 500.000. These were th discoveries south of Columbia Ain. The locations were made a week before the rich Combination mine was discovered by Myers and Hart s | The Jumbo showed up well on the sur- ¢ face. For about two-thirds of the . ne {length of the claim, which was, of ping water for Tono- | course, the full 1500 feet, the ledge 2 -+ ARDENT PROSPECTOR WHO FINDS MILLIONS and Northwest, he determined to leave is | home and home ties to seek his fortune. t,| 1In the course of y he mined in !lho Rocky Mountal ist north of the over ns | boundary line betw the United States and British Columbia; at Illicil- Miwaet in British Columbia; Iin the ~ | Koote: district; in the country r is no ex about Fish Creek, Lardeau and Duncan River, and in many other places. Iin- ally he decided to come to California The chgnge was prompted by several reasons, #mong them the desire to see . this brother, whom he had not met prospecting | for some time. The thought that his every | brother was in California naturally € gold. | turned his mind toward this State. > golden region of Nevada were slowly reaching the Northwestern country and the frequent disappoint- ation of mineral wealth country aided in form- qualities t fro wh father's side n. When he arrived in San Francisco he all amount of money to show years of hard work in srthwest. Putting aside a for emergencies, Taylor resolutely decided to take up the pro- S | fessiona! s: of phrenclogy. | After receiving a diploma, Profes- | sor Taylor started on a lecture tour for the purpose of delineating charac- | ter by means of phrenological develop- | ment. His finances, however, began to | mind to return to prospecting, when he heard of the severe iliness of his brother at Bodie, Californ He im- mediately ceased his lectures and went to the aid of his brother, nursing him through a severe illness with the sim- ple cures he had learned in the North- western wilds. . y on a farm place, best at ts of successful strikes being | | run low and he had about made up his | showed a width of nearly two and a half feet. The rock carried encourag- |ing values in gold, but Taylor at that | time had no idea of the fabulous wealth contained in his discovery. i. A. McClelland had a fifth interest th Taylor from the start, but the credit for the great undertaking be- longs almost entirely to the locator | from British Columblia. | Taylor returred to the region of | Tonopah on May 21. Within two months after the first big find thirteen other claims in the neighborhood were | bought and located. This invoived a great deal of work, in order that the assessment work might be done to se- cure the possessory title. The locator worked indefatigably and secured his merited rewards. During the second week of the August following, Taylor rned to the Goldfield District to k on the Jumbo, Florence and Red King claims. doned, but it has since been relocated as the A ita. On his .return, | miner discovered on the Jumbo lead about three feet of gold ore, which on being panned showed a long streak of the yellow_metal. Sam- » to an and the s i to be A rage value for three fect. Previ | to learning the value of this ore, T lor sold Geor: | terest in the Ju King claims. F with Taylor and it wa . Kernick a third in- mbo, Florence and Red ernick had an interest in several other properties finally decided that on which the work was being done. There was some haggling over the ! price and Kernick, with extrenfe re- luctance, purchased a third interest in the undeveloped mines at a very low | figure. It brought him over The first assays encouraged the miners to proceed rapidly with their wor! Shortly afterward the lead showed six | | feet in width and assayed about $300 a ton THE METHOD OF WORKING. There was some discussion between | the partners as to whether the -mine should be worked by themselves or bonded. The latter scheme was decid- ed upon as the better in view of the financial and other difficulties to be en- countered otherwise. 1803, negotiations resulted in the bond- ing of 70 per cent of the Jumbo and adjacent claims to “Pat Clark and John McKane for $100,600, Prepara- tions were at once made for working the property March 2 904, the miners commenced to work as a company under the name | of the Jumbo Mining Company of Gold- field. been in pa the lat was still prospecting, had been originally given a fifth interest. Under the terms of incorporation he received an 18 per cenmt interest. George A. Kern had paid comparatively nothing for his third interest and when the company incorporated he received a 30 per cent interest. McKane kept his 10 per cent interest. C. D. Taylor and H. L. Taylor retained a 42 per cent interest. C. D. Taylor, the dis- | coverer, is president, H. L. Taylor is | vice president, C. P. Holt secretary |and 1reasurer. Everything looked | promising and various plans were sug- | gested as to the best means of ex- | tracting the gold from its hiding places |in the rocky formations. Again some wanted to work the mine independent- ly, while others favored the leasing of the property. There were points io be said on both sides of the question. WERE PRACTICAL MINERS. Most of the incorporators were prac- tical miners and knew something of the workings of both schemes. On a million-dollar proposition the figuring needs to be done very carefully that a few thousand dollars will not drop through the holes in the plan occa- sionally. It.seemed easier to the own- | ers at last to lease the claim and sit ‘duwn to watch the lessees extract the gold. There were plenty of applica- | tions for leases, so there was no dif- | ficulty on this score. But here again | there was trouble. In the drawing up of mining leases experience has shown that the greatest care is necessary on th part of the lawyers. The others knew much of stripping veins and ron- ning drifts, but had never studied the intricacies of the law. As a result the Jumbo leases . were drawn in such a shape as to bring joy to the hearts of the lessees. The claim was cut up into blocks of which the length in each case was 100 feet. The owners were to get about a fifth of the gross pro- duction. On the Bowes-Kernick lease great damage was done through ne- glect in following out the terms of their contract. Some of those who made very fortunate investments in getting their leases were McKane, Dacy G. Zinn, Ridge and Curtis MecDonald. Zinn extracted about $125,000. Ridge and Curtis got about $130,000 and Mc- Kane and partners extracted about $500,000. On the block numbered § and called the Bowes-Kernick lease, the leases were to expire on the last day of December, 1904, with a single ex- ception. Zinn had secured a longer lease than the others and he worked up to April 30 of this year. Had the company managed the mine them- selves they would have been much richer to-day than they are, but when the leases were given very little value was in sight. They acquired some ex- perience in the matters of incorporat- ing and leasing and when n they have a mine they will come off better. Taylor, the locator and principal owner, expects that it will take a long time before the work on the Jumbo can be resumed in a thoroughly systematic manner. The property will now be operated as a single proposition, while the previous manner of working was different, in accordance with the vari- ous views of the persons who held the leages. The scheme is to make one mine and a large one out of several small ones. An infinite amount of labor must be performed before the work of extncunx ore will proceed. neering difficulties .are rather v The Maud S was aban- | the | he should have a share in the three mines | $200,000. | On October 4 | George E. McClelland, who had | tnership with Taylor while | ing as a result of the method of work- ing the mine in leases. The topogra- phy of the country is not such as to cause any great amount of .trouble when the size of the proposition is con- sidered. JUMBO IS BIG MINE. | The Jumbo is as big a mine | as its name impli; 1t is, of course, of the regulation size—that is, 1500- feet | long by 600 feet wide—but the ledge jis a big one. The company own four claims. The outlay of a tremendous amount of money is warranted by the resuits already obtained and by the indications of more values and the | company is prepared to invest such an { amount as may seem best for the de- { velopment of the property. Some of | them have made a great deal of money outside of the Jumbo, the Florence and Red King mines as well, and are pre- | pared to advance their other individual in the district. Water was set in the Goldfield coun: try, and is appearing in the lower lev els of the mines, but in future they will be better prepared to overcome it by pumping. There is some water in the | Jumbo and it will cost a great deal of money to keep the mine dry in the future. Then, again, mills will have ‘1o be constructed. Another experse is | transportation. A mine that would be | worth i rosts a fortune in I‘sll{ornla with wood, water and moderate freight charges might be utterly worthless in the Coldfield country. The construc- tion of the narrow gauge road from Sodaviile to Tonopah was some help in golving the freight problem. But the rates are tremendously high when ! judged by the standards of Califor- nians or sterners. The owners of | the road have a monopoly, of course, and can exact all the traffic will bear. Many mines. in the Goldfield country are not shipping the ore at present, but await better freight rates. The owners | realize that their o maoTS g EA Sarrt . ’ make it worth about half of that amount. If the vein should widen and become richer, of course, the property might be worth infinitely more than is now suspected. If the-ledge should grow thin and barren, then a great loss would be experienced. Develop- ment is the only thing that will tell the story and Taylor and his associates mean to develop on a large scale. In one or two places in sight assays have run as high as $200 and $300, but the general value of the rock is much less than this. The greatest depth thus far obtained on the Jumbo is about 250 feet. The ledge seems to maintain its width of ten feet all the way. The owners do not expect to be able to get any further dividends for ' six months at least and possibly a year on account of the immense outlav pro- jected and the time that must neces- sarily elapse before the actual extrac- tion of ore can proceed. Water and fuel are both expensive, the latter par- ticularly so. The only vegetation in the vicinity is greasewood and sage- | brush and this sort of stuff cannot be used for fuel. Since the original in- corporation the board of directors has been changed. It is now composed of C. D. Taylor, H.. L. Taylor, C. P. Holt, C. F. Booth and T. S. Robinson. These men are all in harmony and will not let any factional strife interfere with the future working of the mige, as all prospects of pros- perity are based on a proper handling of the business. There have been nu- { merous quarrels in the past as to the proper methods of transacting the business connected with the immense property and these disagreements have cost thousands of dollars and interfered seriously with the proper administra- tion of affairs. Profiting by these les- sons, the owners will steer clear of litigation in the years to come. The Jumbo is one of the greatest mines on earth and with careful handling it may turn out ‘much more than it already the road to the Jumbo ends. With all these transfers travel Is unpleasant and freight is transferred only at great expense of money and of time. In the development of the Jumbo the expense of transporting machinery, timber and building material will be exorbitant. GOOD RESULTS PROMISED. ’ The results are expected, of course, to many more times than pay for the im- mense outlay. But these conditions are almost ideal when compared with what Taylor had to contend with when he started. Then the task of reaching the Jumbo was something calculated to daunt even the most determined of men. All the way from Reno there is nothing but brown and occasionally pink hills and immense ‘“washes™ valleys covered with sagebrush, greasewood, cactus and rattlesnakes. Tt is the most discouraging outlook | that could be imagined. Yet the Jumbo would never have been Taylor's had he not been ready to face all this and much mere. He is calm and cool and or very deliberate, his training and his | takes nature make him cautious, his ambi- | tions have stimulated his natural cour- age, his privations and hardships have made him rugged. He takes all he hears with the proverbial grain of salt and is not apparently the man to take long chances, preferring rather to hew | his way through the tangles in abso- ! lute certainty of his course. It’took | just such a man as this to do and dage | enough to locate million-dollar mineg. Had he retained what rightfully might have been his he would have possessed to-day the biggest part of the wealth which has come from the Jumbo and the Florence. He made so many splits in the property by accepting partner- ships and’ by leasing that he secured far less than he might have had. Nevertheless he is to-day one of the richest men in the State of Nevada and a miner whose name will unques- CLAIM MAKES ~ RECORD HIGH ASSAY s \WILL DEVELOP TO | FULL THE BIG HOLDING. —_—— carried his samples of rock on his back for the entire distance of twenty-eight miles. © At later dates he was often compelled to make the trip on foot. Horses were scarce and renting them was highly expensive. Then the animals drank comparatively great quantities of water and Adam's ale was valuable in the desert. It was a weary trip over forbidding country, but Taylor stood manfully to his task. He realized at last that he had made a tremendous strike and that his fortune was ahead of him. It had cost him more than fifteen years of life, but he had gained more than the great majority of men can accumulate in forty veanss of ac- tivity combining industry with so- briety. Taylor is not at all talkative, but when he can be induced to discuss his achievement, he makes light of his struggles and hardships. He likes the study of phrenoclogy and hygiene very much. The results of his labors in the desert provide him with the oppor- tunities to study those subjects of which he has been so anxious to learn for many years. This then is the man that Providence selected to bring to the light of the world the gold that lay be- neath those stretches of sagebrush land that the hardy miner chose to call the Jumbo, the Florence and the Red King. He does pot regret so much the part- ing with a third of the property, the sale of his interest in the Florence for a totally inadequate sum or the loss suffered by the imsproper leasing of the hundred foot blocks on the Jumbo. He these unfortunate transactions in the light of later developments as matters to be regretted, but they do not rankle in his mind. UPON BUSINESS BASIS. The manner in which the company was first incorporated brings back unpleas- ant memories. Taylor believes the at- torney who did the work should have been trenching for veins instead of at- tempting to place an immense business project on a firm foundation. Much trouble has been caused from time to | time as a result of blunders in the original work. Recently Taylor em- ployed ex-Governor Budd for his &t- torney, and that lawyer has been able to get most of the hard knots out of the tangle. The corporation papers‘are all legal and up to date In every re- spect. Taylor has the greatest con- (= N Miua ed “e==o alen P»o?re e ——— bt 1~ ANOTHER VIEW OF THE JUMBO MINING PROPERT SHIPMENT, ALSO THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE DISCOVERED IN THAT NOW FAMOUS REGION. RROUNDING CO SHOWING THE PLANT IN DETAIL. WITH GREAT SUPPLIES OF ORE STACKED UP IN SACKS AND READY FOR ) INTRY. THE MINE IS SITUATED NEAR GOLDFIELD AND WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST TO BE IT HAS A REPUTATION FOR BEING EXTREMELY RICH WITH LARGE ORE BODIES TO BE DEVELOPED. l of the Jumbo expect to do as little shipping as possible at present. Gold- field is approximately twenty-eight miles from the terminus of the Tonopah road, but an extension is under way. For the time being freight must be transported in primitive ways and these methods are immensely expensive in handling low grade ores. If “Borax™ Smith bufids his road in from Califor- nia and if the promises of other rail- road men are kept, then the Jumbo and other Goldfield mines will be more valuable than cver. The owners of the Jumbo will reduce their ore on the spot, so far as is practicable. It is as goed a money-making proposition to save on freight rates as it is to have the ore running several more dollars a ton. The Jumbo carries about 80 per cent free gold. The remainder is in combination and requires a much more expensive process of extraction. The Jumbo lead has been barren in spots and again there have been pockets of almost fabulous value. While the leases were in operation all of the rich portions of the vein were removed. EXPECT RICH POCKETS. The assays on the vein to-day show values from $2 to $25 a ton. The own- ers expect, of course, that more rich pockets will be encountered as opera- tions proceed. There is no telling about | this except by exercising judgment as to prospects in view of what the lead has already shown. The ledge has looked just as bare before in spots as it does at present, but by Keeping at work the operators were rewarded. TUnless the ore maintains somewhere near its average standard as the min- ers descend the proposition will prove far from as remunerative as they hope. Most of the incorporators are holding on to their respective interest. Mc- Kane -has parted with practically the whole of his share, however, and McClelland has given an option: on his interest. There are a million shares of stock and at the date of writing, the market value is approximately 80 cents a share. On this the mine should be worth ,000. Conservative estl. mates of the value of ore in sight . has. With the projected three-com- partment shaft, the pumps and wmill, a thorough understanding between the owners and a reappearance of high values in the ledge, the Jumbo will have a marvelous career in the future. LITIGATION IS SETTLED. There was at one time a considerable amount of litigation over the property, but that is partly settled now. The legal contests were instituted as a re- sult of McKane's differences of opinion with others of the concern. From No- vember 11, 1904, until the first of last April, a receiver was in charge of the mine while disputes were being set- tled. These lawsuits Interfered with the development of the property al cost a great deal of money without an’ general gain. Practically every mine which is a great producer gets tied up with litigation at one time or another and often the owners lose most of the profits. The Jumbo has had its ex- perience with the rest of them, but the owners declare that no more lawsuits may be expected. With improved con- ditions the mine will be comparatively easy of access. The Grandpa or Gold- fleld country was in the depths of the desert when Taylor first entered it. The town of Goldfield is only a distance away from the Jumbo and the road may be traversed on foot In less than half an hour. From Goldfield there is opportunity to travel to all centers by stage or automobile. The section at vresent is most easily reached from San Francisco and the Fast by way of Reno. From there the Virginia and Truckee railroad carries | the passenger to Mound House, At Mound House a transfer must be made to the Colorado and Carson ral which runs through to Keeler. The road has recently been broad gauged to int a few miles above Waubuska. Ther transfer must be made tionably go down to posterity in the history of that commonwealth as one of the leading pioneers of the new mining era. He accepts his good for- tune quietly and will not spend his wealth like many others of his class, but intends to put his money to some practical use. He is naturally a stu- dent of men and of affairs. He is now in a position to enjoy himself as he likes and he deserves all he has. He has experienced the most distressful conditions and is now ready to take his comfort. Were he to losé his wealth to-morrow he would not be discour- aged, but would start again. Jumbo is the great wealth producer because there was a Taylor. Its development is thoroughly identifiled with him. A his- tory of the Jumbo is largely incom- plete without C. D. Taylor's story as well, for the great property is figura- tively saturated with his personality. After the location of the Jumbo, the Florence, the Red King, the Maud S and the other claim, Taylor had no idea of their value. Another man might have made a casual investiga- tion and relinquished his find in view of the difficulties to be encountered. IS NEVER DISCOURAGED. Mining history is full of instances of men who became too easily discouraged and thereby lost great properties. Tay- lor did not find the Jumbo and then pick up a million dollars. He had to make compensation to nature for her gift. Even the Spokanecapitalist be- came discouraged with the prospects after bonding a million dollar mine for a tenth part of that sum. But Tay- lor never wavered. His nature is such that he will persevere to the bitter end. Had a dozen Clarks decided his prop- ‘would have made a mine out of the Jumbo claim. e his lquarters at Tonopah a long time after his discovery of the Jumbo. ‘The road between the two districts had not been constructed at that time and ‘When the Taylor TP fidence in his attorney for the services the latter has rendered. The Jumbo Mine Company is conducted in a very business-like manner these days. The accounts are kept as accurately as in any big commercial house. The books are open to the members of the firm, who may see at any time how every dollar is being expended. The work will be methodical and thoroughly scientific from now on. There will be no more leases, but the owners will take all the profits for themselves. All of the present owners, with the excep- tion of a few scattered stockholders, know the Nevada mining business from A to Z. Taylor is proud of the com- cern as it stands to-day, for the Jumbo 1s as solid a business as any man could desire. He says that he knows there is a clean profit of about $100,000 coming to him from the ore that is now in sight. What lies beneath the ground yet to be dug over may mul- tiply his fortune maay times. In the history of mining many of the great- est values in precious metals have been found at great depth. With only two hundred and fifty feet of the jour- ney already traveled, Taylor and his companions have every reason to ex- pect great things farther on. There are other fabulously rich mines in the Goldfleld district, but none show more promise to-day than the Jumbo. It has produced more thag any other claim in Tonopah mining district, and its limits cannot be defined. Taylor gives his and his brother’s interests as 42 = per cent combined. As a matter of fact C. D. Taylor owns much the larger part of this amount. Of course an outsider would say that his discovery and lo- cation of the claim followed by months of mental and physical labor would entitle him to the biggest share of the entire property. But the exigencies of business and excusable mistakes have reduced his Interests to an enormous extent. He has plenty of money, how- ever, to keep the wolf from the doer for the remainder of his life, and from the present outlook he may easily go far beyopd the place where it wonld take seven figures to tell the size of fortune.