The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1906-12-08

| Inc SOutn mountain section is OF
unusual interest to the people of
Caldwell, because when that section
is thoroughly developed, large
trade will naturally come to this
city. Steps have been taken on
previous occasions, looking to the
shipment of ore from South Noun
tain to Caldwell. That our business
men may keep themselves well in.
formed as to the activities at South
Mountain. we clip from the Owyhee
| Nugget the following account of the
South Mountain district
A crew of miners, cook and
several loads of supplies have been
taken to South Mountain, and an
active campaign of development
work begun, to be continued during
the winter, upon the Sonnemann
group of patented claims. This
group comprises nearly all the mines
which were conspicuous producers
more than twenty-five years ago,
when smelter was run there and
! the. camp contained nearly one
thousand people. The mines, near
the surface, were rich in lead and
/ silver, but when water level was
reached in any of them, where the
ores were not oxydized. they
changed to black jack or zinc, In
those days bar to their being
worked for silver-lead contents and
the booming-camp fell down. The
smelter went out OF commission,
with quantity of coke still on
hand, which had been brought from
Scotland by vessel, shipped up the
Columbia river and hauled to South
Mountain from Umatilla by wagon,
a distance of four hundred miles.
Almost every structure in the once
booming camp, in few years disap-
peared. The buildings, and hund.
reds of cords of wood and thousands
of bushels of charcoal, burned for
the smelter. were hauled away, or
rotted. The lumber went to build
houses in the valleys. Even the bull
lion molds from the smelter can,
many of them, be found doing duty
as chicken troughs, on ranches. The
site of the charmingly located camp
became grazing ground for sheep
and cattle.
But a few men held on to or re-
located nearly all that were then
considered valuable claims and kept
them represented, until about a doz-
en- years ago, man from Northern
Idaho came on, the ground and or
ganized a new company, paying the
men who owned the claims in stock
in his company and then made
fiuke of the whole thing, even fail
ing to keep the claims represented,
and the greater number of them
were forfeited to the government.
only. few of the former owners
still holding on - s,
Then Sonnemann and Brans-
combe, two Spokane mining men
who were handling the Cumberland
mine, on War Eagle, land made
quite fortune out of that venture)
got over. to South Mountain, relo-
Gated or otherwise aquired titles to
most of the properties in the group,
did large amount of development
work. proving the great value OF
the properties. and secured patents
on~them eight years ago. Mr.
Branscombe dropped ont soon after
ward. and Mr.. Sonnemann continues
to control the group. He has had
numbers of offers for the property,
all which have been declined, he
simply contenting himself by pay
ing caretaker, George Rasner, to
look after them and do little fur
Their development work up to the
present time.
But this last summer, state mine
inspector Robert y. Bell, went to
South Mountain TO inspect the
Standard Mining company's lead
carbonate anu copper properties, more
recently located, on the eastern side
Of the mountain. and while there he
examined the Sonnemann group.
When he went away he told his
friend, Wayne Darlington, former
State Engineer. and later superin-
tendent of Mackay mines, thai
those fellows over at South Noun
tain don't know what they have
got. and Mr.. Darlington wen
straightway and secured an option
for the Sonnemann properties, Sc,
cured the capital to develop them,
hence the work being started, to be
kept up until spring, when we win
be certain to hear big renorts from,