The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1905-05-23

Every now and then the little Ida
Valley in Southwestern Nevada wakes
up and finds itself an important mining
center. This spasrnedic existence dates
far back to the days when the Indians
and Spaniards first found gold in tine
hills. With their primitive means they
took all they could and departed. Then
came the early prospector who called
the others fools for having left so much
behind. and in his turn departed thinking
he had exhausted the valley. From that
day till the discovery of gold at Tonopah
the Ida Valley enjoyed a nice, long
sleep. But now it is awake once more
Mining men pouring into Tonopah and
Goldheld have not been slow to refund
the valley. Mines that were aban-
doned years ago, wfien machinery was 50
scarce and primitive that it was i'm
possible to work them to the fullest adj
vantage, have been reopened, and daily
tons of paying ore are being taken out.
Old mines like the Ida Belle. Buster.
Death Valley and Florida, all fortune
makers for their owners in the past, are
being again developed to the good profit
of their proprietors.
Besides these old deposits, the erosion
and storms of years have at last washed
away the soil in many places and laid
bare rich veins unguessed before. Nearly
all the gold found is free. and in addition
the quartz is full of black copper, silver,
iron oxides and silver chlorides. To make
matters still better the hills about the
valley are densely wooded and the wafer
supply is a most unusual one for such
parched desert region
Already two main mining groups. the
a-Detroit and the Caledonia, are max
ing name for the valley. The first
covers an extensive, we'll defined vein.
whose ore runs up to $50 ton AS yet
the values of the Caledonia have not
run as high but some of this ore is of
the same composition az that of the
famous Florence and Wisconsin. These
are the richest, but there are thousands
of tons of lower grade ore scattered
throughout the valley; the owners only
waiting fer the coming railroad to con-
meet this district with the Santa Fe and
Salt Lake main lines before shipping it
with good profits.
INVESTING CAPITAL.
Men, however, with funds to spare are
not sitting idly waiting for the railroad
They are getting in ahead OF it. Only
the other day the old and still wonder
fully rich Wisconsin was sold for 100000
cash to a new company, composed of W.
r. Hale of San Francisco, August Stein
and Francis Burton, with other Eastern
and Western capitalists. The new COM
pany is capitalized for So 100000 and has
already begun work on its property,
whose eighteen claims practically cover
the whole Wisconsin Mountain. The
deepest shaft of the old days was $50
feet. This will be kept, and another of
500 feet sunk from the highest point on
the mountain, at the contact of three dis
tinct veins. AS soon as possible a smelt-
er of a hundred tons capacity will be
put I'D. Since the option was secured
a month ago, vein sixty feet wide has
been uncovered. This ore assays up TO $1,000
a ton, and more than ten tons have al
ready been sent out under a strong
guard to the smelters at Salt Lake. These
may only be the leavings Of the past,
but they are substantial and extensive
leavings. For the mining district of Ida
alone extends ten miles each way from
the town, and is only a part of the min
eral zone, running twenty miles wide and
forty long, through Nevada
OF all the mining towns Of the west