Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1906-11-08
BEST CLAIMS
GO TO S00NERS
Indian Police Ignoredain Rush Into
Walker Lake Reserve.
Law Was Entirely Ignored by Miners
and When Law Abiding Settlers
Rushed in at Proper Signal They
Found All Valuable CLAIMS Taken
Land Agent Very Angry.

HAWTHORNE. New, Oct 3d.
Walker Lake Indian reservation was
! opened at noon yesterday and half an
hour after the signal admitting thous
ands Of prospectors had been sounded
countless mining claims had been To-
Gated, tOwnsites established and mush.
room cities are now springing up at
the mouths of Dutchman and Cotton
wood Creeks, in the vicinity of which
the richest mining territory is sup
posed to lie.
Although many preferred to locate
claims according to the law surround
ing the opening Of the reservation and
waited at the boundary lines, numer-
Gus men had rushed into the coveted
land the night previous. AS a result
the race from the boundary was a
farce. j. P. Miller, who started from
Hawthorne with about 500 men when
the dynamite signal was fired, beat au-
tomobiles and vehicles with his fleet
horse, covering the distance of seven
miles in 20 minutes. He secured as
locations valuable mining property.
George Green, with A. Nye and P.
O'Brien, of Tonopah, in the race from
Walker Mountain from the Yerring-
ton side, covered four miles of precip-
itous country in 21 minutes. They
also secured IA Arastra properties.
George Nagle, supposed to be acting
for United States Senator Nixon,
staked out townsite at Dutchman
Creek.
Holders of claims Immediately pa
trolled them with Winchester, but,
as nobody cared to dispute their loca-
ton, there was no bloodshed 1t is
feared, however, that when surveys
are commenced tomorrow there may
be disputes which may cause trouble.
Half dozen participated in the strug-
gle for mining land, and in some in
stances succeeded in securing rich
As rule the people who waited
until the regular time before rushing
into the territory did not secure any
thing for their efforts, and many hon
est prospeetors who had spent all |
their savings to participate in the |
opening turned back defeated.
So great was the rush across the |
l,sert from the line nearest Thorne |
hat number Of persons narrowly |
being trampled over, and in
numerous instances injuries were re-
ported. Horses were ridden until they
iropped, and men recounted their i'll
ortune when their automobiles be-
'ame stalled in the deep sand
Jaded and overcome by thirst, num-
,ers of prospectors barely summoned
iDnnph @ n fn 1o1- |
ions. Those who had waited for the
ignal from the top of Mount Grant
'efore rushing into the reservation,
ound that all the most valuable
laims in the vicinity of the rich
Cottonwood and other s
reeks emptying into the southwest
rn portion OF Walker Lake had been
aiken up by men who had rushed in i
he night before. Even men who en-
loyed launches to take them across I
Walker Lake from the eastern side t
ound that their efforts were of no
vail, as they were much too late to f
e on an equal footing with the men s
Tho had disregarded all law. 8
Special Land Agent Frank Parks I
as received no reply from Washing
On to his recommendations that the
resent opening be annulled on ac-
ount OF irregularity. He asserts that
)day's proceedings are an injustice 9
those who sought to obey the laws =
egardlng the opening and whose ef- ;.
'rts were baffled by those who rush :
d through ahead of time because the
lines were not properly "
larded. Had it not been for the s
ork of private citizens, who assisted i,
le IA Indian police, there would not h
ave been the slightest sembance of 2
in the opening.