The Portland daily press., 1897-08-10
MILLIONS IN MINES.
Corporation With Se5, DOC. 900 Capital VIII
Control Big Eastern Alaska GoldProper-
ties.


Cudahy is at the head of a corporation to
be capitalized at S25, 100000, which is to
own and develop nearly all the gold
quartz mines in Eastern Alaska which
have been discovered up to this time.
The corporation will own properties the
present value of which at the elowest esti-
mate is $5O, ZOO, 900. The prospective value
is several times $50, 100000.
The organization is an outrgow tn of
the North American Transportation and
Trading Company, which was Incorporate
ed five years ago under Ethe laws of Hi
nois with a capital stock of $4,000. 1t
had two objects-doing business as a
common carrier and selling merchandise,
and also prospecting for minerals. John
Cudahy is the largest individual stock
no lder, and is understood to control a
majority of shares. He has personally
directed all the matters pertaining to
mining.
The company has prospected the noun
tains of Eastern Alaska for five years,
employing the best experts who could be
| induced to go into that region. This
prospecting has been carried on ,syste-
matically in the high regions sloping
toward the Klondike placers. While it
has been limited that good veins had been
| found, an approximate statement of their
value is now made public for the first
time. The richness of the placer diggings
points to enormous values in 1.-The veins
above them.
pany is that 1t is now being organized, ;"
said one Of the smaller stockholders of
the North American Company today.
"John Cudahy has charge Of that end
and attends to all the details himself.
London and New York syndicates have
been after the property time and time
again, but it will be kept in Chicago :.
foreigners. The capital stock will be
$25, 000, O00.''
"How many mines have you 10
cated?'
"How should know? Ask Jack
Cudahy. He's got the facts and figures.
do know that we have the cream.
Our experts put them down as worth at
the very lowest fifty millions. :,
at is not reasonable to think we would
have continued to spend money for five
years unless we had found gold. OF
course, we can't tell how deep these veins
run. If, as we expect, the lodes go down
a thousand feet or more and get richer
at the lower levels, may be we will have
to add another cipher to the figures.
With the facts presented by the placers
no estimate appears too wild"
EDO you think you have struck the
| mother lodep'
| "Well, III tell you. Everyb body thinks
he's got the mother lode when he strikes
la gold vein in the mountains, and he's
got to spend lot Of money to find out
! for certain. Flood and Mackay and Fair
and O'Brien thought they had struck
the mother lode on the Bonanza, in the
Comstock, but they did not, though they
managed to clean up $25, 900, 600 apiece.
We have specimens Of ore which assay
from $50 ton to--I guess I had better
not tell how much. Ask Cudahy.
"When the mining company is organ
to 1t our gold mining properties and
about one thousand acres of coal land
for which we hold patents.
"The North American Company will
continue the business Of common carriers
and merchandising, but on a much larger
scale than heretofore. We will own and
operate fleet of steamers and barges on
the Yukon River, and, if we can't charter
for long time, will buy ocean steamers to
ply between Seattle and ST. Michael Is
land. The mining operations will be con-
Quoted entirely by the new company.
These will include the coal lands, which
will be turned over to the corporation. .
John Cudahy returned this week from
out in Mackinac. He was found busy
in his office in the Rialto Building.
II prefer to say nothing for publication
at this time" he said. ~ have Just
got back from my trip, and will not be
ready to say anything on the subject for
| week, perhaps two weeks