Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-04-06
ROMANCE OF MINING STRIKES
MOST OF THE GREAT BONANZAS IN WEST HAVE BEEN
DISCOVERS THROUGH SHEER LUCK.

llad dislodged during his slun,ber
Kicking it up from force of habit. Inc
examined 1t closely. lie could sec
no signs of value. but it seemed tc
him that it looked exactly like tn,
rich ores Of Goldfield and Tonopah
So he placed it in his pocket and
FASTENED OH his way. He gave tho
piece OF rock no further thought TO,
about three months, when he handed
1t to an assayer. Imagine his surprise
when told that it carried more than
one thousand dollars in gold to the
ton.
ne and his brothers lost no time in
hurry1ns back to the scene of the
sciesta, where they experienced nc
difficulty in finding the ledge from
winch the rockSfragmcnt had been
broken. 1t had been passed by thou
sands OF miners, cowboys, ranchers
prospcctors, tenderfeet and soldiers
OF fortune; but no one had thought il
worth looking into. There they staked
their iirst claim. naming it April Fool
III comm emoration Of the day of the
discovery. Then they went to work
sackinG ore from the cactus roots
down. The first carload shipped av.
erascd $500 to the ton; and the Man.
haitian boom was on. The camD now
has population OF 5000, and every
one OF the Humphreys is millionaire.
That was probably the most profitable
spree recorded in the whole history of
dipsomania
Nearly every one has heard of Dia.
mondfield, another of the new bonanza
camps OF Southern Nevada: but not
every one knows that ii was discov.
cred by Diamondfield Jack, who was
convicted of murder in Idaho. Through
the disinterested efforts of a lawyer
who believed him innocent of that
particular crime, in spite OF an exceed.
insly unsavory record, he was par
TONED. The lawyer wanted to get him
out of Idaho, so he grub-staked him to
a burro and Il months rations and
sent him forth, much as one might
throw Il stray dog bone. pat il on
the head and turn loose to starve.
Jack started across the gray desert.
neither knowing nor caring where he
landed. One morning when his food
was running low he decided that if
he found nothing that day he would
turn back. AT noon he stopped tn do
Il little prospecting in Il place that
looked favorable. On that spot the
camp of Diamondfield now stands.
and the eX-convict counts his wealth
IN seven figures. For the confusion of
cynics let it be recorded that he re-
warded his lawyer friend so munifi
Gently that he is now counted a rich
man in his community.
A Prospecting Burro.
Most famous Of the mines of Idaho
is the Bunker Hill and Sullivan. in
the heart of the Occur d'Alenes. Like
the story of Manhattan, the tale of
discovery carries no moral that would
bear recital before Sunday school
class. \. S. Kellogg was prospector
who had been grub-taked by Ed Coop.
er and Q. o. Peck, of Spokane. One
day Kellogg went into Peck's office
with specimens of ore which he had
secured near the site of the present
town OF Wardner. Idaho. Peck pro.
nounced the ore worthless, and de-
clared the grub-stake partnership dis.
solved. Soon afterward Kellogg fell
in with Phil O'Rourke, OF Denver, who
thought the ore was good, and joined
the prospector in second expedition.
grnb-staked by Harry Baer and Jacob
GoetZ, of Spokane.
The pair soon CHANGED upon burro
which belonged to Peck. Ii was not
much OF burro, even as burros go.
1t would have been dear at three dol.
lars, and Peck had turned it loose to
forage for itself. 1t was pressed into
service to carry the grub and outfit.
and did duty for thirty days. The
Bunker Hill and Sullivan properties
were located, and it was not long un.
til they were demonstrated to cover
one of the greatest ore bodies that
has ever been found in the Occur
d'Alenes.
Then some one told Peck that his
worthless old skate Of IL Durro Dad
been one OF the prospecting party, anG
he brought suit for shdra The case
was fought through all me courts of
Idaho. attracting widespread attention
and inspiring new jokes by the hun
dred. 1t was brought to an end by a
Solomonic opinion delivered by Judge
Norman III. Buck of the State Supreme
Court, of which this is an excerpt:
This court is o. the opinion that
the Bunker Hill mine was discovered
by Peck's jackass, Phil O'Rouke and
N. S. Kellogg. AS plaintiff owns the
Jackass he is entitled to a one-third
interest in the claim
The properties in litigation were
then valued at fifteen million dollars.
and the decision of the court gave
Peck clear title 10 interests from
which he realized more than four and
a quarter million dollars. At the time
of his death, last July, he was count
ed one of the richest citizens If Spo.
kane
Within the last few weeks Lead.
vile has been the scene of greater
activity than at any time since the
repeal OF the Sherman law in 1898.
The rise in the price of silver has
created new demand for the car.
Donate ores that made the camp IA.