The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-08-07
RICH MINING REGION.
State GeolOgist Bethune Talks
of Hidden Wealth.
ALL TRIBUTARY TO SEATTLE.
Large Collection OF Mineral Specimens
TO BE Put In the Chamber Of Conn
nerce Cabinet.


weeks official investigation of the mining
interests and resources OF Okanogan
county. He was accompanied on the expe-
dition by Hon. John +. Convey, chairman
OF the Republican state central committee.
and ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Laughton. They
made a thorough examination OF that
fiourishing country. and report that the
crops in the Big Bend country are excel
lent. the grass, even to the summit of the
mountains, reaching to their thighs. They
also found hunting good, and they are as
sunburned and swarthy IN complexion as
If they had been harvesting all summer.
In speaking OF the railroad developments
of the mining country Mr.. Bethune said
yesterday to q Posi- repor-
ter that while up in the mountains they
had met the engineers of the Great North
ern railway.
.sAs far as l can learn" said Mr.. Beth
une, 1.-THE Great Northern has possession OF
the Spokane Northern road. At least that
is the common rumor up in the mountains.
They will probably reach Spokane this fall
and then, with the branch at this end lead
ing up into the Cascades built, there will
only be a gap of $50 miles to complete to
give Seattle q transcontinental line leading
country
"What will be the effect of the compile
ton OF this road on Scatter"
ut will throw all of the product of that
country directly this way, and its natural
outlet and shipping point will be Seattle. /"
'sWhat are the facilities for mining in
the ConconnHlly region?"
They are the best in the country for
<.6~ sx.s - ot.xx,
dant water power and timber in endless
quantity. Mining roads can be con-
structed at almost no expense and the
railroads can 60 through with next to no
grading. In the San Juan of Colorado,
millions of dollars have been invested in
building roads to haul supplies to the
mines; here there viii be no expense, and
the yield OF the precious metals promises
to be greater than any other
mining region ever heard of. Another
reason why mining can be done cheaply
is that the veins nearly always crop out
and in nearly every instance the miners
have been able to show good ore without
any expense to speak Of
I'm this region are found good smelling
ores, good concentrating ores and good free
gold stamp ores"
How many mining districts are there in
Okanogan county?"
There are six regularly organized min
ing districts in the county, although it has
only been two or three years since they
were much known of.
I'm the Ruby districts there are great
many Montana and Idaho miners at work
Among the principal mines is the Fourth
of July. Here there are thirty or forty
men at work, the wages being $3.50 to 81
per day of eight hours shift. They
have large hosting apparatus and
are sinking three-compartmen
shaft. SO that they will be able,
in a short time, to reduce fifty to sixty tons
of high grade ore per day. The mine has q
large ten-foot vein of ore with pay streak
of eighteen inches of sulphate of silver.
They have in all 400 feet of work done in
the shape of shafts. inclines, drifts, ETC.,
and have good clearinghouse, quarters
ETC., and are now building an ore house
140xS0 feet in size. At the head of the
Fourth of July are some of the wealthiest
Montana mining men. Two months ago
they shipped several carloads of ore to q
smelter at Butte, and it averaged $3.50 in
silver per ton above expenses. There is
300 or 400 tons on the dump waiting for a
railroad.
'The Arlington Mining Company, in
which Portland capitalists are interested,
hiss large hosting works up and about / 200
feet of shafts and tunnels built. They have
probably spent $4,000 in development
work and were preparing to sink 200-foot
shaft on the vein when 1 left. They have
600 or 700 tons of hIgh-grade ore ready to
ship as soon as the railroads come. Some
time ago this company shipped large
amount of ore to San Francisco, where
trial tests were made, and as a result of
these tests they are about to erect large re-
duction works of their own.
Among other properties rapidly COM
ing to the front is the First Thought,
where 800 or 800 feet of development work
has been done and where they are now tax
ing out large amounts of>ore.
1.-The Idaho Mining Company, the War
Eagle and the Ruby claims also show large
quantities of native silver and ore very rich.
six miles from this district, around the
town of Conconnully, is the Salmon River
district and among the principal mines is
the Lone Star, owned by Allen C. Mason.
OF Tacoma. He has q large hosting
apparatus, works forty men and owns
concentration below his works which
he expects to have ready by spring. Fire
recently burned out his plant but he went
to work Immediately to rebuild. There is
1900 or 100 feet of work done and 100
tons Of lead and silver ore are on the dunn.
Other promising properties are Tough
Nut and Homestake, both of which are
being worked for a patent, Launa and the
Salmon River Chief group, which all show
high grade ore and have considerable GUAM
titles taken out
"West of the Salmon River district is the
chloride district. where there are several
rich veins of silver ore in different stages
OF development.
'Still west of this is the Methow district.
where one gold property is being worked
by Montana syndicate. In the foot hills
there have been some fine veins OF bitumin-
Gus coal found and the surrounding country
is looking to this source for their future
fuel.
East OF the Salmon river district is the
Galena district. where there has as vet
been very little work done. Large crop
pings are TO be seen on the surface, how
ever. and the ore assays all the way from
fifty ounces OF silver up to $4,000. For
some reason very little work has been done
on the properties, probably because the
late gold excitement up in Rock creek, in
British Columbia, took all the miners away.
North of the Salmon river district are the
Wannicut lake and Palmer mountain dis.
tricts. Here are some of the richest free
gold properties on the North American
continent. One lead there from which ZOO
pounds of ore was taken showed S. To 81
per pound and the parties who are working
1t have made big money for the last two