The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1900-07-12
THE JOHN DAY VALLEY
Many Locations Reported on Dixie
and Strawberry Spurs.

Portland, July g.-The Oregonian
has this news from the mining center
of the John Day valley in Eastern Ore
gon:
Prairie City, in tho upper part of the
John Day valley is attracting consider.
able notice as a mining center.
Placer mining has been carried on
in the valley since the early eos, and
the quartz lodges were known to the
old settlers 25 years ago. Many quartz
locations have been made in the past
two years, and if the 50th part of them
amount to anything, the Prairie City
country will certainly be large pro.
ducer of gold, copper and cobalt.
The mineralized belt. aside from the
placer deposits which are found in
every creek. comprises Dixie Spur OF
the Blue mountains, eight miles north
of Prairie City, and Strawberry Spur,
nine miles south. Dixie Spur is about
% miles long, and skirts the northern
side of the valley. Its highest point
is Dixie Butte, which has an elevation
of z 200 feet. Strawberry Spur is AZ
miles long. extending from Canyon
creek along the southern bound.
airy of the valley. into Malheur county.
Its highest point is Strawberry Butte,
which has an elevation of 5000 feet.
The principal development has been on
Dixie Spur. Here along the forks Of
Dixie creek. and in Quartzburg dis.
trict, several properties have been
opened. Principal among them are
the Standard, the Lone Star, the Key
stone, the Sherbondy, the Clayton, the
Present Need and q few others. The
Strawberry country has hardly been
touched. The Cleaners think they
have Treadwell In the Oregon Won.
der. Others ale of the same opinion.
j. F. Rodgers, who has examined
the country on Strawberry and Dixie
Spurs, says the formation is porphyri'
tic granite, pierced by porphyry dikes.
A third rock is pure gray granite carry
ing little porphyry. but much mica
There is also quite bit OF serpentine,
and dlorite without qnartz.
H. E. Stewart, one of the owners OF
the Lone Star, SAYS the Dixie Spur
country is unquestionably q copper reg.
ion, although he is mindful of the fact
that gold predominates in the rock
The copper belt, SO far as known, ex.
tends, he says, four miles north from
Johnson's arastra along both sides Of
the east fork of Dixie creek. There il
cobalt in the rock, as has been demon.
strated by the work in the Standard
group. but Mr.. Stewart thinks consid.
cradle depth will be required to get al
the large deposits OF this metal. Cop
per is oxide and carbonate at the sur
face, but is found in the sulphide form
with depth. On the surface the cop
per is streaky and bunchy, but as depth
Is attained it solidifies and increases in
quantity. This is the experience of all
the claim owners in the Dixie creek
country.
] There is considerable placer mining
in and around Canyon City. Probably
$35, 900 was taken from the creeks
within two miles of town last year
At Canyon City the Humboldt Com.
pany Is working two hydraulics or
Canyon creek, taking its water from
bitches. A number of Canyon City
men are interested, among them Ira
Sprout. Fred Yorgensen and Herbert
Hunter. No figures of the annual out
put are obtainable but it is believed tt
be about $4,000.