The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-08-19

They were still five miles from Cripple
Creek, but they thought he soil look,
ed promising. Burns named his claim
The Professor" because he had met
a man who was prospecting who said
he had been a professor of an eastern
college. Doyle found only a fraction
OF a claim, a strip Is by Ill feet. thar
a been overlooked. He named his
claim the Portland in honor of his old
home. The next day they pushed on to
Cripple Creek.
At the end of two months thew pava
John Harnan a third interest to ASSAY
Inc claims. This consists of digging
TWO holes 10 feet deep and testing the
ore. During the next two months
burns n Doyle worked wherever thew
could get a job. They were hard
pressed at the end of six months. and
trled to sell the claims for $40 h,,t
could find no purchaser.
After awhile a terderfoot came along
ana offered $500 for the claims-s5O in
cash. They were sold, but the claims
reverted to the men who had located
them the other $3.50 was nor
PAID. They sold those claims no favyer
than four times, and each time +hav
reverted to the original owners because
Oh an unpaid balance. The region was
getting richer every year. The ,ast
sale was for SIS, 900, with a cash nav
ment of $4,000. the balance to be maid
at the end of the year. When the
year was up again the balance waa rot
paid. Burns and Doyle proceeded to
oeVeiop the Portland, which had proved
70 be the most promising.
Wltn1n ten days they had uncovered
a bonanza.
Burns was afraid to let anv ono
Know of their luck. The Portland bod
oeen sold and resold so often hat the
ute was clouded. He knew that If Il
were known that they had ore running
INTO the thousands per ton the working
OF the mine would be enioined. After .
hard days work they would pack 100
pouds of ore down the steep grade nm
oer cover OF night to the railway track
TWO miles away. No one knew thar
the Portland had pay ore until Rurns
ano Doyle had more than 500. 600 in
bank.
1nen a stock company was organ
lzed and the storm broke, There was
injunction after injunction. orders ~
sNo" cause orders of arrest and all
manner OF legal proceedings. At one
'line there were thirty-seyen suits
against the Portland's owners Rurns
oetalled an armed squad Of miners
around the shaft house, and no one
could break through, either sheriff or
'""Ser' armed with an order from tho
court.
owners OF adjacent claims said that
thelr ore was being taken out throuph
lhe Portland. BY this time Burns ara
Doyle a half a million dollars at
tnelr command. Every adjoining cla i'm
was purchased, and Burns O. rr;ed +hro.
every suit successfully. The result ia
tnat burns and Doyle's claim Of rs bv
Ill 1eet has developed into the Portland
Gold Mining company, of which R,,rns
IS president, with a capital of ga ono
! a A1tVVVs
ooo' owning 1923 acres of the richest cold
mining property in the United States
Burns Is a man of strong convic.
tions.
Duflhg the strike a lynching marty
on Battle with q
victim. Burns rode up to the moh ord
talked to them.
Boys, he said ct Lo
cry one OF you and I know what vo,,
are gong TO DO. If any harm happens
- those TWO men I'll spend my last
cent to run you all to earth"
Inc 1ynch1ng was promptly aban-
ooned and the prisoners released.
Ihere is a saying about Cripple Creek
that Jim Burns never goes back on
his word"
1rn0ovrS~ g.