Delaware gazette and state journal., 1895-12-19
A Former Wilmingtonian in
Rare Luck.
LIKELY TO TURN OUT MILLIONS
Glowing Prospects of Profit
able Returns.
john b. Dougherty. Formerly of This City,
One of the Owners of the Mlne-It is
Located in Central America-only Seven
Miles from Steamboat Navigation.


Dougberty, formerly of this city who
spent number of years in engineer
ing work in Central America. He now
resides at Bill Page street, Philadel-
phia. His special partners in the en-.
terprise are S. M. Whelpley and Frank
M. Whelpley, of New Orleans.
The development of the gold field
now held by these parties is not ex-
pected TO realize the enormous sum of
$40, 600, COO, as quoted by the New Or
leans paper. but they are certain that
several millions dollar of clear profit
will result. Arrangements are now
being made to raise the necessary capi-
of their rich find ie as follows:
Millions of dollars of gold ore within
seven miles of excellent transportation
facilities, and lying on level plain
that offers none OF the difficulties 60
often the sentinels that iealously guard
the treasures of the earth.
Such in brief was the glowing pic
ture painted OF recent discovery made
in South America by well-known
mining expert The news of the won
derful mine has never been published,
and only reached New Orleans Satur-
day night on the arrival of the steam.
ship Yucatan. Among the passengers
on the last trip of the steamer was a
civil engineer who has filled many re.
sponsible positions in South American
porte and whose standing gives weight
to the startling stories of the lavish de
posit of gold ore.
As further evidence of the veracity
of his story the gentleman showed a
reporter of the Times Democrat speci-
mems Of dust and ore to the vale of S120,
which he said had been taken practi-
cally from the surface of 30 yards of
the plain.
The tract of country described by the
passenger is located in the republic of
Colombia, and the district Of San
Martin de Loba, and Is about 300 miles
from Barranquilla, city of over 20, 900
inhabitants, the chief commercial
centre of the republic, near the Carri-
bean Sea. The tract is short distance
east of the Magdalena river and only
few miles southeast OF Mompox and
west from Ell Banco. 1t is an extern
sive level plain bounded on the west by
the Quebrada Regla, while the other
sides are almost surrounded by noun
tain ranges and hills. Through the
centre Of the plain runs the Quebrada
Rica river. emptying into the Queprada
Regla almost at right angles
The credit of the discovery of this
tract as mining region belongs to Mr..
John B. Dougherty of Philadelphia,
who for the past seven years has work
ed the plain, until at last he found
what promises, from the present out
look, to be mine that will eclipse the
most fabulous finds in the old gold
days of California. 1t has been the
mistake of prospectors and miners to
pass this plain by in their hunt for the
bright metal, and almost passing over
the very wealth that had brought
them thousands of miles from homo
and lite comforts, march into the noun
tains of Antioquia to locate claims that
even should they pan out we'll are only
reached after many days hard travel
and through regions in which II is
practically impossible TO convey any
heavy mining machinery. t|
Mr.. Dougherty in his hunt for ore
felt satisfied that there was wealth and
plenty of it in the plains that lie Mt
the foot of the mountains that were the
goal OF all gold hunters, and in the
section already described he located q
claim of 8, 600, 900 meters, which he hhs
called the Josephine mine. He found
that be was within easy reach of the
Magdalena river, and by it in COM
munication with Barranquilia, the
coast and the outside world. The Que.
brada Regla and the Quebrada Rica
were streams that 10 the rainy seasons
permit of the handling of big canoes
that are OF great value in lessening the
small trouble of transportation, and
every detail OF the location was all that
the gold hunter could ask for should
the metal be found.
Several experts we're put in the field
seven months ago, and the result was
beyond even the sanguine expectations
of The owner of the claim. All brought
in reports of lavish deposit OF dis.
integrated quartz that had been wash
ing down from the hills ever since time
began, and the loose soil and quartz
were found to be literally filled With
pure, virgin gold. Various reports
were made as to the probable wealth Of
the tract, and the estimates givon
went as high as $40 yard. These re-
ports were all made from practically
surface examination, and it is not
known just how much the tract is
really worth. but with the lowest esti.
mate Mr.. Dougherty found that he had
control of a piece of property that
promised yield of $40, 000 600. lie saw
at once that the territory was so vast,
and the same time so rich that he
could not work it out in 100 years, and
he decided to divide the tact up into
six portions and sublet sections to
miners for 20 per cent of the gross re.
turns. The formation of the claim was
excellent for such division, as the
Quabrada Rica river cut the tract into
two almost equal parts, and the further
division could be made by laying out
two lines completely across the entire
plain.
Ono-sixth has already been taken,
and while the active mining is still in
its infancy on the claim the work will
be pushed forward. and results are
assured that will make the Josephine
mine most famous one. The soil is
described as being particularly easy to
strip of its wealth, and as it is all loose,
disintegrated quartz there is no neees.
sity for any OF the heavy blasting and
other machinery that is used in quartz
mining.
The passenger, in telling Of the
wealth of the mining land on the plain,
told the reporter that there was story
told in the district Of San Martin dc
Loba that in little village postholes
were being dug for the erection of a
church, when gold was found in suf-
ticient quantities to pay for the strucr
ture. When the discovery was made
known a party of German capitalists
offered to buy the village (which was
only composed of a few rude little
houses and the church, for So, GOO, 600,
and build another village for the in
habitants in a much prettier spot not