The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-11
Excitement at Vernal Over New
Discovery.
RUSH FOR LOCATIONS
PLACE Is TWENTY-FIVE MILES
EAST OF VERNAL.
Representative o'Neil One of the For
tunate Men-Story of the Search
For the Vein-Soldier Gets Infor-
nation From Rich New Yorker
Petroleum Find In Colorado.
fspecial TO The Herald)

Vernal, Utah, Jan. 10.-A new mining
excitement has struck this section in
the shape of a reported rich gold find
twenty-five miles east of Vernal and
across Green river. The history of the
new strike, as learned from reliable
authority, is as follows: Arthur john
son, who years ago started the first
store at Jensen, on Green river, and
ranged horses and cattle in the Blue
mountains east OF The river, found some
promising looking float at a point sew
eral miles below the Golden wonder
mine, and along what proves TO De the
same belt Mr.. Johnson sent specimens
to different assayers, and the returns
were uniformly encouraging, and ne
spent considerable time in vain effort
to locate the vein. Several years ago
Mr. johnson inherited a large estate IN
New York and moved to the Empire
state, where he now resides in beauti-
full mansion on the Hudson.
| The outbreak of hoSul1teS between
Spain and the United States found
E"Doc" Macdonald as he is Familiarity
known, attached to the Ninth cavalry,
as veterinary surgeon, and stationed
| at Fort Duchesne. When the Ninth
was ordered to the front, Doc" was
included. He got as far as Jacksonville,
Fla. and was stricken with fever. Re
10 covering lLl5. the lOI VI wal
! took him to New York, where, by acct
dent, he met Arthur Johnson, whom
he had known during his residence in
/ Utah. Doc was Hospitality enter
! tanned by his host.
JOHNSON'S INTERESTING STORY.
The conversation one day turned up
on mines and mining, and Mr.. John
/ son referred to the assays he had re
ceiyed from the float found east of
1 Green river. and expressed the, opinion
that men with mining experience would
! certainly be able TO locate the rock in
place.
When B and F troop of the Ninth
cavalry appealed to the war depart
lowed to return to Duchesne from the
fever-Stricken camps of the south. none
was more anxious to come than Doc"
Macdonald, who expressed himself as
being satisfied to live and die among
the mountains and valleys of Utah. b
and troops never came back, but
Doc" did. and or arriving he at once
communicated with William O'Neil,
Uintah cOunty's representative in the
state legislature, with whom he was
already interested in several mining
ventures, and together the two fortune
hunters repaired 10 the locality as de-
scribed carefully by Johnson.
FOUND THE VEIN.
They were more fortunate than John
son, and found a great vein many feet
in width. which. it is found, assays
from $50 up away into the hundreds TO
the ton, received from various reliable |
aSSayers.
The matter has been kept very quiet. I
only a few being let into the secret ]
until the last twenty-four hours, when /
the story leaked out. A number left I.
today for the new EldOrado. and more ]
Will go tomorrow, although the ground /
is said to be pretty well located al /
ready.
The ore it is said, is capped with por- /
phyry, Il huge dyke of which cuts the
lime formation with a true fissure vein.
The locality is easy of access and not
far from the line of the long-propOsed /
railroad. Mining men of experience
who have been on the ground say there
is every Indication of a good camp, and
predict that shipments VIII be made at
an early date.
OIL FIND ALSO.
While gold is attracting the attention
of prospectOrS in the Blue mountains
there are others who are having a lit
tie excitement of their own further
south, along White river and just over
the line in Colorado. where d petroleum !
Mexican, who brought a bottle of the
oil to Nernal some time ago. He hand
ed it to Jess Henline of the Vernal
Drug company, who sent il east for
analysis. BY this analysis it was found
to be crude petroleum of good grade.
Henline and City Marshal Pope are
now out locating the ground. The
spring from which the stuff was OBJ
it is estimated. Will run from
ten to fifteen barrels per day
Mr.. o'NEIEs ACCOUNT OF IT.
Representative O'Neil, who is in Salt
Lake attending to his legislative du-
ties, was seen by a Herald reporter last
evening and gave an account of the
Vernal gold discoveries, about as fol-
lows:
About two years ago Mr.. O'NeiI and
his associates discovered a large assure
vein of low-grade gold ore in the Blue
mountains. about thirty miles east of
Vernal. The ore assayed from $3.50 to
So ton and appears to be an excel
lent cyanfdinS proposition They made
locations and spent about 81 600 in de-
work, and the indications
are that with depth the quality of the
ore will improve. Last year some more
development work was done and, more
by accident than anything else, another
vein was discovered 500 feet north of
the original and larger one, and Mr.
O'Neil located three full claims on and
around that vein, which is thirty feet
wide. Some samples from it assayed as
high as $2,117 in gold to the ton, and
last fall thirty samples taken promis-
cuously ran from from $3.50 to $6S to
the ton. The vein is not solid ore. but is
with a strata of non gold
bearing rock In sinking. however the
Indications are that the vein will be
found to be solid gold-bearing ore. The
formation is irony ochre-
Mr.. O'Neil says the ground is so deep
y covered with snow at present that
40 prospecting can be done, and he adj
rises prospectors TO wait a little for
further developments before making a
'ush for what appears to be a new Ell
Dorado.