Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-09-27
DISASTROUS SPECULATION.
The Big Bend Tunnel and Mining Com
pany on the Feather Collapses.

The Big Bend Tunnel and Mining Com
pany on the Feather Collapses.
BUFFALO, September 26th.-One of the
largest financial enterprises in which Buff
falo speculators ever engaged has practi-
cally collapsed and the net loss is 50 000,-
coo. The enterprise alluded to is the Big
Bend Tunnel and Mining Company, with
the principal office in this city and branch
at Big Bend, Butte county, California. The
field of operations is at the latter place.
The capital stock of the company is 500
100000, of which 100000 has been paid
in and sunk almost beyond redemption it
is feared by the stockholders. The Presi-
dent of the company is Ray V. Pierce, of
this city, and DR.. Pierce is at the head OF
the enterprise and owns from sixty to
seventy per cent. of the stock. and the
shareholders are widely scattered through
out the country.
THROUGH HUGE TUNNEL.
The Feather river, in Butte county, Cali
fornia, is rich in its deposits of gold, and
the north fork of the river called Big Bend,
was always considered particularly rich in
the way of gold deposits in its gravelly bed
A friend of DR.. Pierce called his attention
to these deposits, and about five years ago
DR.. Pierce organized the Big Bend Tunnel
and Mining Company. The scheme was to
through huge tunnel, thus exposing the
rich golden deposits supposed to be lying
along the bottom of the river
GREAT EXPECTATIONS.
Visions of untold wealth foated before
the stockholders and there never was any
difficulty in disposing of the stock as fast
as it was offered on the market. The ex-
pectations of the shareholders were of the |
most sanguine sort, and many predicted
that DR.. Pierce would become the richest
man in America. Every stockholder ex-
pected to become a millionaire, but, alas |
these dreams have gone to naught, for the |
bed OF the north fork of the Feather river
has been drained, and shows far more
gravel and powders than gold.
DIR. PIERcE's CIRCULAR
DIR. Pierce, President of the Big Bend
Tunnel and Mining Company, in circular
TO the stockholders, announcing the future
of the company, says: "Since the issue of
bulletin No. l, on September 90, 1888, |
there has been no material change in the
prospects developed by our mining opera.
tions last year at Big Bend The vast
quantity OF powders uncovered completely
handicapped our operations and made
them so expensive as to prevent realiza.
ton of profit. In fact, in view of the ad-
verse developments of last season and the
work and further experience of this season,
1t is doubtful if our mines ever can be
worked at profit. Certainly not at the
present prices of labor, nor unless some
more economical method may hereafter be
invented for handling the vast quantity of
powders which exist in the river bed.
VAST QUANTITIES OF GOLD.
Our operations demonstrated the fact
that there is vast quantity of gold in our
claims, but, in the face of the obstacles
mentioned, it seems impossible to extract it
at profit.
THE total output from our mines last
season was SIT, ,832. This did not pay the
cost of actual mining operations. Some of
the ground washed was quite rich and
everywhere gold was found to exist in suffi-
cient abundance to have paid largely, but
for the unexpected obstacles"
THINGS RUN ECONOMICALLY.
During August of this year, DR.. Pierce
says the output was about 500, but"
he adds, lit is doubtful if we shall be able
to do much better than pay expenses this
season. Everything has been done to
operate cheaply and effectively, and every
thing else likely to facilitate the work that
experience could suggest has been done"
In conclusion, he says: But after all
our efforts aud as much as we regret to
acknowledge the fact, yet we are quite pre-.
pared to admit at present that we see no
prospect of realizing our former expecta-
tons with respect to these mines. Great
as is our disappointment at this unfavor-
able termination of our great undertaking,
we at least have the satisfaction of know
ing that we were not more at fault in our
judgment with these mines than were the
most experienced mining experts of the
Pacific coast, and that we have been de-
feated by no fault in management, but by
the existence of unfavorable conditions
which could not possibly have been fore
seen or supposed to exist, and which were
only disclosed when the mines were fully
opened up by our excavations in the bed
of the river"
WHY IT WAS a FAILURE
In answer to an Associated Press CORE.
spondent, DR.. Pierce said: "The statement
that our company has collapsed is mis-
leading and uncalled for. The COMPANY
can pay all its debts, if it has any; it is per
fectly solvent. 1t is true our expectations
have not been realized in the venture, but
We have still valuable property, some four
thousand acres of territory, which can be |
utilized to advantage for irrigation and
other purposes. The operations were cal
ried out as at first planned, with every
prospect of success; but the outlook, for
the presence of the great bowlders under
the sand changed the entire tendency of
the venture; and instead of producing gold
at profit, it seems to be losing operation.
BEST MINING AUTHORITIES.
1--WE had the favorable opinions of some
of the best mining authorities in the coun-
try, and everything looked favorable for
large return on our investment, but as
stated in the circular, we did not find
enough gold to pay expenses. ANY mis-
statements are entirely unjustitiable, as the
actual condition of affairs has been clearly
set forth in the bulletins which have been
issued, copies of which have been fur
nished for publication.
'If the company was in a state of col
lapse, it would be the duty of the Attor-
ney General to close up its affairs"
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