The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1898-11-09
MINING RUSH is DUE.
Veteran Prospectors Predict bis
Stampede In 30 - Comes
Every Ten Years.

"The next big mining amp stampede
In the United States will be due about
next May" said Col. Edward A. Graves
the other day. "Since the finding Of
god BY Marshall on the American
river, in California, there have been
great gold or silver mining excite
ments regularly every decade. Thus,
there was the unprecedented rush of
10000 men to California in 1870. In
1859 there was the Fraser river gold ex-
citement. that attracted $4,000 Ameri-
cans. In 1869 the bonanza lodges in
the Comstock lode at Virginia City,
New, set the whole world crazy. in
1879 the american miners were aim
equally divided between the silver
mines at Leadville and the free-milling
gold mines at Tombstone, 4. I. In
1889 the newlyfound Harqua Hela
gold mines on the Colorado river, and
the silver mines at Chihuaha, Mexico,
stirred thousands of old-time prospcc-
tors ana miners as nothing else had
done in several years. The western
miners have come to have firm faith
that there is pound TO be great,rush
to new bggings every year that has a
Q at the end OF its date. In my travels
among the California, Arizona, and
Colorado camps lately | have been
asked dozens Of times where | believe
the rosIectors would strike it so as
to have the expected mining stampede
next year. confess myself to the
belief that we shall hear of a great
gold strike somewhere in the west in
1890"
The most senseless stampede that I'D
miners recall was the -one to camp
known as the Rocky Belle. 1t was &C
miles ..orthwest from Prescott. The
time was December, 1876. Nc less a
person than john w. Mackay, the DO
lama mining king of the Comstock
lode, was deceived by the news from
the Rocky Belle, and spent several
thousand dollars in sending expert
miners posthaste across the mountains
and valleys to see what the chances
for new mines were. Hundreds of men
travelled 90 and 500 miles on foot and
with mules and donkeys TO the new dig
gings, and nearly all travelled across
desert and mountains for distance
of $50 or 300 miles. A large number Of
air of the semi-tropcs lost their lives.
amid the snowbanks and ice. and many
man was nude an invalid for life be
cause of exposure to the biting cold
during the stampede. 4 severe biz
zard raGoc in the mountains for sew.
erai days while the miners were slow
~ trud2lEg through them. In one
party of 100 men from New Mexico fouI
men were frozen to death one morn
ing. and 1t is thought that fully 90 more
died in the same way in the mountains
at that time.
When at last the Rocky Belle dig
gings were reached it was soon seen
that there was no ore in the district
worth digging except in the claims |
held by Henry Binford and his friends. |
and that the report of their find had |
been exaggerated beyond all reason.
Binford's own mine petered out year
or two later, and he got only few
thousand collars from it.
Along in the summer of 1875 a miner
named Stevens wrote to a friend in
Phoenix that he had found claim
that oeat anything in mining this side
of the Cnmst Jck lode in Nevada, and
that with a common mortar and pestle
be had pounded out from $40 to 500
worth OF gold dust day. The claim
was LOGAN ed 1870 miles northwest from
kingInaa, near the since famous Har-
qua IIala mining region, and there was
n chance. so Stevens wrote, for other
men to strike ii rich up there. OF
course, such news could not be kept
quiet. II travelled with miraculous
speed through every camp in the Salt |
River valley and over to Prescott. In
less than two weeks all that part of
Arizona was deeply stirred by the re
ports, which no one seemed to have
time to investigate, of the richness of
the mines that Stevens had found. a
thousand or more miners caught he
fever so badly that they started on
foot across the country for Stevens
camp without DELAY. 1t was a hot, dry
summer, and the journey entailed tor
turing thirst and endurance of a tenn
perature usually about 40 degrees in
the shade. A dozen men died from
fever under that awful sky. ard as
many more miners never recovered
from disorders caused by the priva-
tions Of that stampede across The
desert Of Arizona. Having arrived at
the Stevens camp, the excited men
realized that there were claims worth
working Tor about 100 men. Severa
hundred claims were staked out in less
than FAY, but N a fortnight the ca mp
population fell from 200 to less than
400. In about n month no more than
100 persons were left to do all the |
mining. The camp was abandoned en-
tircly ton years ago.-Los Angeles Cor.
Chicago Inter Ocean.