The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1903-11-17
ORE IN PAYING QUANTITIES
m WICHITA GOLD FIELDS
speclal to DAILY leader.

d
most beautiful ana interesting in the
Uni ed states They are surrounded
by very rich and productive farming
country and contain many kinds of
precious ores. That the more valu.
able metals were to be found in these
mountains was doubted until assays
proved to the most skep ical that they
were there and in paying quantities
THE development of these resources
is going steadily on. Each day in
creased activity is reported
The mountains are a group Of peaks
Of volcanic origin pro,ruding through
the deposits of ages which form the
western plain. Since the discovery ~
gold immigration to this section has
become greater In fact. during the
last few weeks many thousands of
miners AMI prospectors have rushed
into this country
The immediate cause of this was
the publication Of the returns from
the car Of ore shipped from the big
-Four" to the smelters at Denver The
car assayed s11 60 per ton The ore
was taken from a shallow depth and
was unsorted The company has sunk
shaft to depth Of about 100 feet
ianG expects to soon make another
shipment o Colorado
A number of shafts have been sunk.
Numerous assays of the ore taken
have ben made by well known assay.
lists and these assays show gold run.
ming from So to $50 per ton, ami in
many cases even better Conserva-
tive busines men and reputable min.
ing experts testify to the truth of
this, and today every claim in the
woods reserve is staked off by miners
and prospectors. These mineral
claims contain twenty acres and have
1een secured by mineral filings at the
I.awton land office.
Lawton business men and on side
capitalists have formed about 100 com
lpanles for The purpose Of developing
the fell. These companies have be
gun the work On their claims. Some
of these have gone TO considerable
expense for machinery and the like
Ii is estimated hat fully 1000 shafts
have been put down Today on every
hillside and in every canyon and gulch
and along the valleys miners are al
work The Wichita mountains are
dotted with tents and shacks Many
miners are sheltered at night only by
quilts Although scores have spent
every dollar they had, they do moi
even thin kof disposing of their claims
so strong is thier belief that some day
in the very near future they win them
selves strike something exceptionally
rich
The Wichita mountains cover {
tract Of $4,000 acres. A large irri
CATION ditch has been formed at Graf
erville II is also used to furnisl
water power for mining machinery.
The mountains are composed almos
entirely of granite and other stones
that are generally found where golt
Is In various places the range bear
marks Of great internal disturbance
Of a bygone age, Specimens of or
containing copper are found on tn
surface, and few doubt that upon in
vestigation it viii be founl that th
Wichitas are very rich in this meta
also,
rae field is already an importan
oae however An Illustration Of thi
is ,he sale Of the Clark Bennett min
the oth1e day for $4,000. Al thi
lplace ierge force Of men is at work
The shaft Is some fifty feet deep an
the dump contains many tons Of ore
4 gold, silver and lead
Secretary Hitchcock has sent n. I
, Balm. government geologist. TO inve'
I. tigate this field One OF the object
in view Is TO fnd a method Of dispoi
y ing of litigation between miners an
p. homesteaders. Miners have insttu
4. ed more than 200 contests on hom,
steads. relying upon the law whic
opened the country to settlemen
have resented the stalking of miners
claims and the sinking of shafts o
their homasteads. The complaint ha
4 been made by the miners and pro
pectors that the land office official
are prejudiced against them and th'
the hoinestea lers are given preferenC
in lltigations The officials say thi
this criticism is unfonnded The nj
HI er Is 10 prove that the land mneri
and no. agricultural and more val
able for mineral than for agriculur