Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-08-06
PIONEERS IN
MINING CAMPS
How MoTmonS Figure in First
Gold discoveries in Cali
fornia and Utah.
ONE CAMP AT GARRISON.
Incidents Which Led Up 10 This Find
The Late William Van Dyke
With Party.
ONE CAMP AT GARRISON.
special Correspondence.

Milford, Aug. 5.--Speaking of this
county containing the pioneer mining
district and pioneer mine. calls up
another circumstance of like charac-
ter which but comparatively few peo-
pie, even newspaper readers. are
aware Of Some few have learned that
first gold found in California was by
Mormons. but a vastly smaller num-
Der are aware that the first gold dis
covered in all this great region out
side of California was also by Nor
mons; yet so it was The record abb
breviated stands thus: The Mormons
discovered, located and worked the
first silver mine ever found bv white
people in all the vast region west of
the Mississippi and Missouri rivers;
they found tho first gold ever seen
and utilized by white people within
the same region, and they found gold
in Nevada when II was not known
that that or any other precious metals
existed in the then unborn state quite
record, but the last part of 1t may
need a little something in the way
of explanation
In 1855 a party of yonng married
men were given colonizing mission
to Lake creek, few miles north of
where the present town of Garrison
stands
WILLIAM VAN DYKE THERE.
A few of those missionaries, one of
whom was the late William Van
Dyke We're out hunting for lost horses
and while so engaged found a small
boulder which, being decomposed
quartz was accidentally broken open
and discovered little particles of gold
amounting to fully one-fourth of the
whole substance. Being a dislodged
and undoubtedly drifted framgent
from a depository up among the en-
inences. and having no particular use
for such things. just then anyway, the
source of the find was not looked for.
In the light of more recent events.
with the Osceola discovery, few
miles from where the mission spoken
OF was locaA1, where $500, 900 In mug
gets have been taken out and which
but for want of water, might prove
a second Alder Gulch; with Black and
other camps the gold ore and sand to
be found anywhere in the region. there
should be no feeling of disbelief any
where regarding this little scrap of
history The writer inherited 81 piece
OF the boulder which the mission
aries found and has been out there
in quest of the source OF 1t five times;
SO have many others: but while very
neighborhood. the assures containing
the identical ore which was found
then still await discovery. It is here
proper to say that the missionaries
spoken of, after being recalled. which
was in two or three years after locat-
ing. campel on or near the ground
which now contains the Cactus. the
Horn Silver and the town of Milford.
ACTIVITY AT LINCOLN.
The revival OF mining at Lincoln
has given an impetus TO the business
throughout the entire Wasatch spur
cutting through the middle OF this val
ley north ana south, of which Lincoln
district embraces all OF the southern
end. IL is joined on the north by
Bradshaw district. which contains the
Old reliable Cave lline, one OF the
least touted and thereby most unfa-
miliar to the public, and yet among
the biggest, OF our producers and still
producing as actively as ever. Its
record up to date must be il the neigh
borhood OF 100000 Further north
is the youngest OF all our shipping
propositions, the Hecla. Although
nut few months of age, so TAR as
paying productiyeness goes, II has
shown itself to be "all there" and is
already recognized as a wealth dis
trbutor with a big record coming.
other properties with more or less
development and many others with
none at all are strung along the spur
all the way to its junction with the
big range OF which Il is the ofrshoot,
and as previously suggested, general
activity is manifested IN almost every
mile OF 1t. This relates chiefly to this
side of the spur, although for a dis
tance of a dozen miles or such a mat
ter along the southern part OF the
eastern or Beaver side Is showing up
finely. a sale was recently made over
there for $4,000 and others are be-
ing negotiated. Prospecting Is going
ahead actively and scarcely day
passes that the information OF some
new strike (they are all strikes" for
while) is not brought in. All the dis
coveries made and all that Will be
made for some time to come, pay trib-
ute In some form to Milford whether
producers or not. Supplies are OBJ
tained here, business negotiations Of
| tener than otherwise begin here, ship
ments to or from come right here,
| and it as easy to discern that we could
| scarcely help being a town of some
| consequence even II we didn't happen
TO want such a thing, which is not the