The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1899-11-03
Supplies Being Shipped There and
Preparations Male to Begin at
Once.

In letter written to the editor of
the NUGGET several years ago by Cap
| tain De La Mar, when he was owner of
the mines in this camp, the now famous
mine owner said:
"After coming to Owyhee and look
ing at mining properties on War Eagle
and then here, (meaning DeLamar)
went to South Mountain and spent
several days examining the mines and
mining claims there. Hal been able
to have secured several claims there
and obtained titles To them / certainly
would have done so, and am convinced
l could have nude very valuable
property"
That was Captain De La Mars opin-
ion twelve or more years ago. Eleven
years ago the writer spent some days at
South Mountain with John Des Loge,
then one of the owners of the st. Joe
lead mines in Missouri, we'll known
metalurgist travelling for the st. Louis
owners of the Granite Mountain mine
of Montana. Mr.. Des Loge then told
him that he had been travelling eighteen
months looking for mining properties
and had not seen any that had I'M
pressed him more favorabiy, or which
he would sooner recommend to his
principals than these, were titles pro
curable. But at that time there were
so many claimants and questionable
titles that he would have TO drop them
From that time up until three years
ago nothing has been done with South
Mountain. Three years ago some Spo
kane parties, by the help of Messrs
Dave Adams and Ben Hastings, sue
ceeded in acquiring titles to nearly
every valuable claim there and startea
q stock deal, after Incorporating com
pany. These parties did some work
since, but their stock speculation fail
ing, they failed to represent many OF
the claims and this year many of them
were jumped. Recently Nessrs Soune-
man and Branscom, the we'll known
mining men who made the deal on the
Cumberland and who are largely inter
ested in Oregon mines, have taken hold
of the South Mountain ropositions, sand
now control all the properties of known
value in that old aud once famous
camp. They have done what is better
than this. Last week they began ship
ping out winters supply of grub and
material, fixing up quarters etc. and
will put twenty miners at work without
delay for the winter. This looks more
like "business" than any attempt to
reinstate that camp which has been
within twenty years or more.
South Mountain is twenty miles
directly south of DeLamar In the
early seventies it enjoyed a period of
great prosperity. 1t is the only silver
lead ore district in Owyhee. 1t had a
smelter there which shipped away large
amounts of silver-lead bullion and a
town of 800 people grew up there, with
Telegraph line and daily stage connec-
tions with Silver City and Winnemucca.
But coke was first shipped from Scot
land by way of the Columbia river to
Umatilla and hauled by wagon 400 miles
to run the smelter and everything done
at most extravagant cost. Then when
the veins were worked to water level
the ores were found to carry consid
cradle amount of zinc blend. Then the
'bottom fell out" of mining in Owyhee
in 1875 by the California bank trouble.
Everything was owned or controlled
from San francisco in those extrava-
CANT days,) and South Mountain enter
prise went by the board.
Now it is different. Railroads are