The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1894-09-07
The Sturges and Sterl-
ing Properties.
The Winner, Bybee Cam
erOn, and Other Mines.
An Interesting and Valuable Descript.
ion of Southern Oregon's Rich
Minerat Fields.

inhabitants, and the county seat of
Jackson county, Oregon. The mine is
north of the Siskiyou mountains, twen-
ty miles from the California line, and
in the very heart of the Southern Or
egon mining district, which embraces
section of country about eighty miles
square, the whole area Of which is
rich in the precious metals, and has
been constant producer of gold since
its discovery in 1851, to the present
time. The Sturgas property comprises
900 acres. Much of this land is very
rich, is susceptible of high state of
cultivation, and may be made to serve,
as a part of it already serves, a val
liable purpose in the production of
fruit and cereals until it can be
reached and rendered more profitable
for mining purposes. The pIacers of
this camp were originally believed to
be confined in the new or present
channel, and, acting upon this belief,
all work was confined to this channel,
which was worked over many years
ago, in the crude way, with toms and
rockers, for a distance of $50 feet in
width by about ten miles in length;
but the miners of an early day were
miStaken-later years and more ex-
tended prospecting have developed the
fact that there was not one, but three
channels running parallel with each
other, AMI that in some remote period
of the past the two back channels,
since discovered, have been covered up
by slides from the adjacent noun
tains. The situation of the camp, and
the difference in the conformation of
the mountains skirting the stream on
70 4 .-I,, mt <rJo hot
the back channels are the result of
two distinct slides from the north side,
each in it's turn filling and covering
up the old, and forming the latter
channels further south. These old
channels-the boulders of which are
rapidly deoomposing and falling to
pieces with age, and which are mostly
broken to pieces and dissolved by the
force of the pipe and passed through
the fiume-extend the full length of
the property, with an aggregate width
of $50 feet; and though they have as
yet been but partially prospected by
actual working tests, enough has been
shown to prove that they are equal in
richness to anything yet discovered in
the district.
This little camp, unpretentious as it
hppGdiS, pccIl NcllldUlc opilli ,
and has yielded no less than $4,000, 900
since it's discovery; and 1t is earnestly
maintained by many miners still living
and mining in the district, and who
worked in the camp in an early day
until it was considered worked out,
that by the crude methods in use at
that time little more than half Of the
gold was saved, while the bed rock
oI of al
miners believe, and the proprietor of
the mine confidently asserts, that from
careful snd extended prospecting, a
second working of this entire channel,
witk pipe. will pay much better than
when it was hurriedly gone over in an
early day with toms and rockers.
Piping WIS commenced on this prop
erty about five years ago. Up to this
time the existence of the back chan
nels, discovered by means of the pipe.
was wholly unknown. During these
five years the annual output has been
$4,000, while the average yearly ex-
pense has been less than $4,000; and a
consideBble part of this time has been
given to preliminary work in opening,
draining, etc, for which no returns
were had or expected. This has been
every way, has not been operated at
more than third of it's reasonable
capacity-the day work being prose
cuted leisurely, and no night work
| having been done at all; and in the
| opinion of practiced and expert modern
| miners, the proprietor has entirely ig-
nored the presence of fine gold, of
which it is believed there is a large
percentage, and which no attempt
| whatever appears to have been made
! to save. This very important conSid-
GRAFTON appears never to have engaged
| the attention of the management in a
serious or practical way and all efforts
have stopped short of any carefully de-
vised system or method for saving
| other than ohe coSrse or heavy gold.
| This opinion is greatly strengthened
and will receive much added weight
| when the fact is stated that a f1ume of
| only sixty feet in length is used, and
| no rifles or other appliances for saving
| gold, except half round poles laid
| length-wise in and covering the bottom
| of the flume. 1t is confidently believed
| that if the fume were materially
| heightened and under-currents and 9TH
| er modern gold-saving devices en-
ployed in connection with it, suffi-
cient quantity Of fine gold would be
saved to pay the entire expense of op-
| Grating the mine, and thus leave the
| full output Of coarse gold as clear
| profit to the owners.
By the construction of a suitable
reservoir to save the excess Of water,
which now goes to waste when it is
| flush, for use when it is needed-which
| can be done at a small cost-and then
| running the plant to its full capacity,
| it would easily net an annual income
| sufficient to pay 10 per cent on an in
vestment of 100000. This is the larg-
est, and all things considered, the
cheapest and most valuable mining
property in Southern Oregon. There
| is good dump and plenty of fall, no
| debris law in Oregon, and no property
| below the mine to be damaged-no
counter-claims, no intervening or con-
tiguous property to annoy or disturb
operations. The mine in all respects
is absolutely free and unencumbered,
and is so situated that it's peaceful op-
GRAFTON cannot be interfered with from
any source or upon any pretext.