The Sumpter miner. [volume] (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905, 1900-03-28
ONLY ABOUT $1,000 A TON.
Located First in 1874, Relocated Few
Wseks Since.

Weeks Since.
The La Grande correspondent of the
Portland Telegram springs this interesting
story on the reading public
Today Jack McCombs, perhaps one Of
the Oldest prospectors on the Pacific coast,
passed through La Grande en- route to his
claim, located, he says, near the North
Fork Of the John Day.
Mr.. McCombs says he Is 90 years Of
age and has been in the mountains al.
most continually for the past 2s years;
that he located several claims in the vi.
cnity of where Granite now Is in 1874;
that he and another man left their dig.
gings, on the Feather river, In California,
to make prospecting trip through Ore.
gon at that time, and on that trip located
the same ledge, near the North Fork OF
the John Day, which he relocated several
weeks ago.
he said he had seen so much In the
California papers about the wonderful
strikes being made in eastern Oregon
tina, he concluded to come up to see Il he
could lind any of his claims. He says
the claims in he Granite district which
he s,aked yeals ago, one OF which is now
the Magnolia, ARE all located, being worked
and are great properties. The only claim
he located at that time that he found un.
localed, was his John Day claim, which
he says is the finest copper proposition he
has ever seen. The ledge is fifteen feet
wide and Is identical with that Of the
Granite and Grand Ronde river mining
claims.
"Why," said Mr.. Me- Combs. 81 propose
TO live on that ledge the rest Of my life.
II is the greatest mine for surface show.
ing ever heard Of. On samples Clipped
right OF OF the top Of the ledge, that we
sent to San Francisco short time ago
for assays, we procured soos In gold. The
formation in which this claim Is located
is granite and cyanite and Is In a south.
westerly direction from Granite. At a
depth Of 20 feet on the ledge We procured
an assay Of 5000. 10 In gold and $3.50 In
silver. The returns from this assay came
to us this week. believe, sir, that am
not overdrawing II when ! say we have
a million dollar mine in sight.
"iou La Grande people, though, have
the same thing; the trend OF the mineral
belt at the head OF the Grand Ronde River
and Granite leads right to my claim. The
boom that will be on in the near future
will I've the greatest ever known In the
history OF mining. The mineral district,
now bu, little known, reaching from the
John Day to the head Of the Grand
Ronde River, southwest Of la Grande, is
on the verge Of one OF the greatest mining
booms ever heard Of, there being now
moneyed mining men coming in by stage.
via Sumpter, every day from all sections
Of the world.
"Our claim is not on exhibition, nor Is
Il for sale. There are any amount OF
good claims over there, some OF which
show gopher holng' by prospettors
many years ago.
"My partner and followed the summit
Of the mountain almost through from the
John Day to Granite, and that is the
route the proposed hilgard, Granite &
Southwestern Railroad wants to take; II
Is good one and, besides. II will pass
over the richest mineral and timber pro-
ducing mountains on earth"
The La International (Mexicanl cigar
A.