Arizona republican., 1899-12-11


miner came into play, and the years he
had devoted to the scientific part of
mining stood him in good stead. He
took charge, and, clad in overalls and
jumper, spent three weeks under
ground. The sampling of the former
experts had been ineffective. Mr..
Clark took his own samples and made
his own assays. He took samples on
each side of the tunnel at intervals of
twelve inches with infinite pains. This
proceeding experts had sampled in a
circle at five-foot intervals. They had
encountered the lean streaks. as it hap
pened. and they could see nothing in
the result of their analysis to justify a
large expenditure. Mr.. Clark backed
his judgement with his money-and
his Judgement made him the owner of
perhaps the richest copper mine in the
world. The output today is not less
than 100000 pounds of fnecopper per
month, containing more than enough
silver and gold to pay for the separa-
ton of the metals. 1t is the largest
copper mine owned by a single individ
ual in the world. He secured it for
500, 600, has refused $6OO0O,00O offered
him by a French syndicate, and the
copper in sight is said to be worth near
~ 5000, OC0O coo.
Mr.. Clark has established what are
known as the Waclark Wire Works, at
IllizabethpOrt, N. j., which We're fully
completed during the autumn of 1885,
and have a productive capacity of fifty
tons of copper wire a day, and double
that amount when at work day and
night The copper is shipped from the
West in bars and anodes, and refined
at three different electrolytic works in
the Eastern states. Much of the Ari-
IONA product is made into wire at Mr..
Clarks own factory. To make it rank
among the leading wire factories of the
world MIR. Clark studied the necessities
of the business. and went into a study
Of machinery for the manufacture of
crude copper into the finished product.
His friends now point with pride to the
result-the most complete, modern, and
economical plan of it's character in the
United States. It is today II operation
in full force, running to the height of
its capacity.
Mr.. Clark has stood aloof from the
copper combination sought to be or
ganized by the Decentralization
syndicate, which has been taking ac-
tive steps within the last three years to
secure control OF the copper of the
world, and which has included even
the Anaconda Company in it's grasp.
With his Butte properties and his rap
idly growing Verde mine he controls
effectually q sufficient proportion of
the worlds copper output to be able to
laugh at the threats and to even take
o 1t,
( the greatest syndicate connected with
the metal production Of this country,
He ships copper used in the wire fac
tory from Jerome, Arizona, where the
United Verde is located, twenty-seven
miles, over his own railroad to Jerome
Junction. where he connects with the
Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Rail-
road. The railroad is Mr. Clarll's own
property and Jerome is his. The coal
mines that keep the Jerome furnaces
going, which are located at Gallup, y.
M, also belong to Mr.. Clark.
This railroad. which is an engineer
ing marvel, is the only railroad in tie
world with a forty-fve degree curve. 1t
has thirty forty-degree curves, nearly
all of which are on 3 per cent. grades.
This road cost him about $500, 900, and
has proven profitable investment, for
it is always busy. It follows the lines
of the hills, and has only one cut in the
entire length, and that is through the
high ridge of the mountain summit.
The United Verde mine lies on the sur
face of a tremendous mountain slope
just under the brow of the hill 1t is
1,500 feet down to the Verde River
which winds through the barren hills
like a broad silver band. Tt is six or
seven miles to the river from the mine.
but the clear atmosphere of Arizona
makes the distance seem much less.
The ore itself is an even rock of green
ish gray color, and gives few indica-
tions of the richness it hides. 1t con-
tains so much sulphur that when fire
is lighted beneath it, the sulphur keeps
burning until the ore is practically free.
There are few of even the trivial
things connected with his many enter
prises that Mr.. Clark does not know
about. Men who know him best Won
der how he has succeeded in crowding
so much in one lifetime. He has been
an enthusiast in every business enter
prise-in every vocation and avocation
he has become interested in. His abil-
tty to seize upon the essentials of life
and knowledge, and to weed them out
and retain them and make use of them
has been the secret of his success in
life He has been recognized among
men prominent in the country as an
authority upon some of the public
questions of the day. AS long ago as
1876, when Gov. Potts appointed him
State orator at the Philadelphia cen
tennial, his Grafton on that occasion
did more than had ever been done be-
fore by a single man to make Montana
known to the outside world. He was
elected grand master of the Masonic
fraternity in 1877. He found time in
1878, during the Nez Perces' invasion,
to take the field as major of the Butte
battalion in pursuit of Chief Joseph.
He won new laurels as a public man
and q presiding officer when he acted
as chairman of the constitutional con-
Yention in 1884.
Mr.. Clark has found time to respond
IN Tho calls Of n; no Wv h