Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-06-28
owing Remarkable Activ itv
~ IN Camps of Marion
County
Agreement Reached Between Mine
Owners and the County Court
for Bui1ding Road In
to the Mines

lcountry. He has opened trails pros.
t pected and located mines. built cab.
ins, cleared land, and acted as gem
eral guide, overseer and bridge re-
pairer on all the mountain roads in
the two districts. only last week he
took four men and cleared the road
into the Lawler mines.
Opening a Trail
1t took four days and hundreds of
logs had fallen across the trail; but
Church drove his mules in with a load
of supplies, and wherever the upper
wheels can get crack to hang onto
his trusty freight team will pull his
double-tired Studebal1er wagon. With
a brake that locks the rear wheels,
he goes laundering down the rocky
sides Of the mountains in a way to
strike terror into the hearts of his
tenderfOot passengers. His lead mules
are Pete and Jerry, and his trusty
wheelers, Beckie and Ginnie It's
'haw boys" and gee girls" and a
crack of the long whip and they go
tearing up a 50-percent grade. For a
man who lost both legs, one hand and
part of the other and who walks on
his knee stump. To see Church hook
up his mules and get around sets at
! defiance all previous conceptions of
human limitations. AS an entertainer
Church has few equals. He is a man
of wide general information, a good
business man and a perfect gentle
man. He is one of the best all-round
mountain teamsters in the state, and
just as much at home in the valley as
he is in the Snowbanks of the highest
ridges. On his first trip into Quartz.
Vile last week he crossed six-foot
I snowbanks but little above the mining
camp. At the Lewis and Clark mine
there is ice and frozen snowbanks
between the tunnels and our party ate
snowballs for dessert. On the night
of June 23 a light snow fell on the
ranges above Detroit, where a party
of forest rangers were camped under
the trees. The ice-cold water of
every creek, and the Chill that is
still on the river smacks of the great
ice masses in the mountains.
Two Mining Districts.
Some Portland newspaper man re-
ported our party as going into the |
Quartsville mines, but the Santiam
mining district lies about 40 miles to !
the northeast as the trail runs.
The Quartzville district is in Linn
county about 70 miles southeast of
Gates, while the Santiam district is
in Marion county about 20 miles
northeast Our party including the
county court of Marion were at the
latter.
The Santiam district embraces
about 40 miles, all undergoing devel
opment work, from a rude cabin with
assessment work going on to large
electric-lighted, powerful dynamo-drill
plants employing a score Of hands
and requiring pack trains of provis-
ions.
Gold Greek Camp Active.
While little or nothing is doing in
Quartzville, the Santiam district is
all activity and is the most rapidly
developing group of mineral proper
ties in western oregon. 1t is esti'
mated that the assessment work of I
800 on the claim will take 100 to 200
men into these mines as there are 200
claims prospected and established.
Marion county can be proud to contain
such group of mines.
While so far all has been develop
ment work, single mining companies
are spending thousands of dollars
month as evidence of good faith and
have hundreds OF tons of valuable
ore on the dump, and great deal
washing down the canyons. When it
IS considered that all. the supplies
nave to be packed or slelded from 10
% 20 miles over primitive trails, up
ong mountains, slipped down rocky
iecleMtles, arouni points OF clhffs
hundreds Of feet above roaring noun
ain streams, we get some idea of the
,aith these companies have in their
properties. From Gates it is eight TO