Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1885-09-19

Gen. McClellans' Mining Enterprise.
The following appears in the Enancia
and Mining Record, edited by Gen. Thoe
Jordan, formerly Of the. United State
army, and more lately chief of staff t.
Gen. Beauregard:
Gen. Mcclellan is utilizing in his ole
age SONS information which he acquired
in his youth, when in this part of the
country as an officer in the regular army
In the spring or 1882, Gen. Mcclellan
who was then q brevet captain, was or
dered by Jefferson Davis, the secretary
ofwar, to accompny an expedition that
was sent to explore the Red river of the
south, the waters of above Chase creek
were unknown. From the Indians the
war department had learned that the
river flowed beneath the sands of what
was then known as the Great American
desert. Capt. r. B. Marcy led the ex-
petition.
On the morning of May 12, the party
were encamped where the Wichita river
flows into the Red. After cutting down
the banks of this stream to allow the
wagons to get down into it and make q
ford, the expedition passed on up the
Red river until they reached Cache
creek. During the day they found the
surface of the ground covered in places
with detached pieces of copper ore, which
had been washed out of gully. Speci-
mems of this ore were saved, and after
wards analysed in Washington. They
were found to be very rich in metal. At
Cache creek, which flows through the
south western part of the Indian territory,
the expedition remained in camp until
the morning of May Is, and then pro-
ceeded fifteen miles up stream. More
copper ore was found, which proved to
be, on chemical analysis at Washington,
q new species, and which averaged fifty
four and one-third parts of copper to the
100. The Red river actually flowed
through banks of almost solid copper ore
at that place.
After thirty years, Gen. Mcclellan has
organized company, patented $4,000
acres of land and begun to work this
rich deposit of ore. His representatives
here says that the company can break
oven the present low price of copper by
cents, and yet have q bonanza richer
than the Comstock. While copper is
apparently all the company proposes to
mine for, it was not the only valuable
find of the expedition. The Goth of May
found them on the bank of Otter creek.
In the hills through which this creek
runs were found specimens of gold-bear-
ing quartz, which led Capt. Marcyt o
make casual examination of the wash
ings of the creek. Several particles of
pure gold were found in q few minutes.
The soldier, had no time to 60 washing
for gold, and everybody else in the
country was just then trying to get to
California, so this discovery passed un-
noticed. As the gold is in the Indian
and no one has been near the
place since except the Indians and cow
boys, no discovery has been made.
Perhaps lees important, but not less
interesting discovery was made on the
return trip, when passing through the
mountains, as they are called, 4
although the highest rises only about
700 feet above the plain. That discovery
was the finding of petroleum. 1t was
found oozing from the foot of precipice
Ind was described very accurately by the
,eologist of the expedition. q
Al uOTGucIu I0Adb 6uu 6OuLuWc6CcIu |
[1dian territory should become mining t
'egion, one of the most beautiful parts Of t
his country would be ruined in the eyes e
If herdsmen and sportsmen. Prairie
md woodland and rolling hills and fer
lie valleys alternate. Herds of deer
md antelope roam almost unidsturbed
'ver the flower-decked carpets of grass
hat are green almost the year round,
While droves of wild TURKEYS and swarms
# prairie chickens, quails and pigeons T
'bound everywhere. To give zest to the
:hase an occasional cougar is found in 9
be thickets. The air is bracing. Springs g
# cool, pure water bubbles from the
ocks among the hills. The soil is of
wonderful fertility, and in every way
his is the ideal happy hunting ground of
he red man. 1t only needs a railroad
r two and the influx of enterprising
'eople to change it into the richest farm
ng community as we'll as mining district
q the states.