The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-26

A great deposit Of iron, acres and acres
OF 1t, topped by a layer OF the finest mar
BILE, lies In a body one and one-half miles
northwest Of Snoqualmie pass in the
Cascade mountains. over this great met
al layer was for years waged O. war for
possession by the sturdy discoverer, +.
nj. Guye. Seattle pioneer, who now has
complete title and only awaits the con-
clusion of pending negotiations looking to
the development Of the property VIII
these negotiations ever be concluded?
well. perhaps not in my lifetime" says
the gray-haired owner of the rich ground,
but some day."
1t has been some day. with Mr.. Guye
for seventeen years now and still he has
not lost hope. Experts have been sent
here by Eastern capitalists time and
again TO examine the ore. assays Of the
most favorable character have been made
and many f1nanciers have been interested
almost to the point of taking up propo-
sition to develop the mine, but always
drew back at the last moment and left
the end to come some day."
How II Was Found.
In August Of 1881 Mr.. Guye was pros
pecting in the valley " the south fork
of the Snoqualmie river. Within few
miles Of there iron had been found years
before, and Mr. Guye was not surprised
when ne uisCONereu III Tile VdIey II large
chunk of the native metal. 1t had rolled
down the mountain side, and MIR. Guye,
following its track straight up the noun
tain, the face of which at that place was
$50 feet perpendicularly, came upon an
outcropping six or eight feet thick and
covered with a deposit Of crystalline lime
stone, the same as Vermont marble.
Subsequently, when the deposit had been
stripped down. It was found to be forty
0vyo ~ ciy RI
feet wide. and outcroppings on the noun
tain top indicated that it ran back at
least 5000 feet. The whole is covered
with marble about 200 feet thick, the two
lying together like vast blankets.
In the same mountain another opening
was later discovered, being apparently on
the same body of ORE At that point the
deposit is 100 feet thick. $50 feet wide and
has no bottom. About a quarter of a
mile north of the latter opening on the
west side of the property the iron comes
out naked just as nature had left It,
fifty or sixty feet thick and $50 yards
long.
Not long subsequent to the original dis
covery Mr.. Guye found second deposit
about six miles from the end of the Seat
tie & International railroad. This is $50
acres in extent, and is mixture of soft
and hard ore. such as would be most
desirable for manufacturing purposes
The deposit Is twenty-five or thirty feet
thick and open on all sides.
Trying to Attract Capital.
Mr.. Guye spent several years In an eff
fort to induce investors to take hold of
the property and develop 1t. Several
capitalists came here from the East and
inspected the ore. They seemed pleased
with it. but negotiations were always
pending-they were never closed up. Con-
siderable attention was attracted to the
mine. and In 1887 a contest for title was
entered against Mr. Guye by Paul
Schultze of Tacoma.
In the fall of that year Mr.. Guye made
a visit to the property. and upon arrival
found his cabins in the possession of six
men hired by Schultze to hold the place
against all Corners. They ordered Mr..
Guye off, and said the land belonged to
the Northern Pacific and that no trespass-
ing would be allowed. Mr.. Guye laughed
at their pretensions, and one OF them went
so far as to shoot at him as he sat on
his horse arguing with them.
But the original claimant was not to be
frightened away. He stayed at the mine
several days, and on his return to Seat
tie told his friends what had occurred
during his trip to the mountains. Indig-
nation was aroused, and, had he at that
time given the word a number of his
friends would, 1t is said, have followed
HliH 10 lne ITCH flIlle valley IN the CAS-
cades and driven away the intruders.
In April of the following year Mr. Guye
made another trip to the mine. He ar
rived there on horseback in the evening,
and riding up before the door of the cabin
in which the six rival claimants were
living, called them out.
Trouble With Claim Jumpers.
IT have a crowd of men waiting for
me in the valley" he said bluntly. "They
only wait the word. Either go before me
down the mountain, or I'll bring them I'D
here and We'll clean out the place"
Mr.. Guye was armed with a Colts re-
volver of ample proportions, and vi
cious looking bowie knife. The claim
Jumpers concluded that he meant busi-
ness. They asked for time to pack their
belongings, and the next morning at peep
Of day left for more congenial climate.
Meanwhile the contest for the title
dragged on in the general land Office for
ten years. being finally settled in lss6 in
Mr.. Guye's favor.
The great drawback to the development
of the mine has been lack Of transporta-
ton facilities. Any capitalist or company
taking hold of the proposition would be
put to the expense of building at least
twenty miles of railroad, and erecting a
furnace. Among those who have had the
mine under consideration, possibly the
most prominent Is President James ].
Hill, Of the Great Northern. He sent an
expert there about year ago, and while
he seemed to be satisfied that the iron
was In the ground, and was of good quail
ity and extent, yet he has taken no steps
towards financing the proposition
Mr.. Guye says he will take s125,Oo0 for
the mine or royalty of twenty to TWEEN
ty-five cents per ton. He has begun to
despair of seeing the contamination of his
long-cherished hopes In this direction.
but is satisfied that while 1t may not come
in his time there will be some day a great
iron mine and marble quarry in the Cas-
cades near Snoqualmie pass.