The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-10-09
ROAD To Open
BIG DISTRICT
Will Make Deep Creek and Tribu.
tary Country Fifty Miles
Nearer Ely.
GRADE WILL Be MUCH LOWER
This Point Will Be Made Supply Gen.
ter for Rich Mining Ter
ritOry.

Within the next sixty days, unless
something unforeseen transpires to
defeat the purposes of the promoters,
there will be opened for traffic,
first-class toll road between the
mouth of North creek, in Spring val
ley, and Ely, which will cut off fully
fifty miles from the distance between
these points, and will reduce the
grade through the mountain pass so
considerably that it will be an easy
matter to transport the heaviest loads
at all times of the year between the
points affected.
The Importance of this toll road
to Ely, cannot be overestimated. 1t
will bring Muncy Creek, which is now
eighty-seven miles away, to dis
tance of thirty miles; Orem, now nine
ty miles distant will then be but forty
miles distant will then be but forty
miles from the camp; other distances
to be reduced will be as follows:
Trout Creek, Utah, now 40 miles, to
be ninety miles; Tibbetts, now 10
miles, to be seventy miles; Deep
Creek, Utah, now 140 miles, to be
ninety miles.
This road will make all of these
districts directly tributary to Ely and
will make this point the supply sta
ton and shipping point for all of the
great mining areas that will be op-
ened by the road.
The road will make Ely the ship
ping point for all Muncy Creek min
ing district ores, to the smelters at
let, by way of Ely, for the ores that
i,, Cio0o1 Tihhntfc Si1Unr
Mountain, and all districts in the
Spring Creek range and the tribu-
tary ranyes.
These districts are especially rich
in lead, silver and copper, and the
tonnage that can now be shipped
from the mines will aggregate 49,
900 tons per year. The districts
have been seriously handicapped by
reason of the inaccessibility of the
country, and the lack of means of
Transportation. The long freight
haul to the railroad here, has mill
tated against the development of the
country, but now that this haul will
be cut down by fifty miles, and that
the grade will be materially reduced,
the development of the country af-
fected will be greatly facilitated.
1t is conservatively estimated that
within a year from the time of COM
pletion of the road, the output to the
smelters, coming from that territory,
and passing through Ely will be not
less than 10000 tons.
The road will also place the stock
raising and agricultural belts trav-
ersed, fifty miles closer to the mar
ket and fifty miles nearer shipping
point The value to these interests
cannot be overestimated.
The project is one on which e. L..
Fletcher, prominent as a promoter
and mining man in Tonopah, has
been carefully working on for sew
eral months. Mr.. Fletcher has re-
Gently acquired extensive interests
in the Muncy Creek country, where
he has large area of exceptionally
promising copper property which is
already producing a high-grade of
the ores; he has acquired the Cam
eron estate and the Noe estate, with
their valuable water rights; the Sill
yer Mountain group near Orem, and
the Grand Deposit group north OF
Muncy Creek.
1t is his intention to develop these
extensive holdinsg as rapidly as pos
sible and for the purpose of creating
new and better outlet for the ores,
determined to bull da new road to
Ely. To make the road pay for itself,
SO that he would not be placed at the
enormous expense consequent upon
its building, he has determined to
make 1t a toll road, with low tariff
on travellers and freighters.
While the tariffs that will be
charged upon traffic have not all been
arranged, it is understood that they
will be moderate, not more than 80
for a six-horse team for the round
trip from end to end.
The fact that the present route is
195 per cent grade as general av-
erage, and that for distance of be-
tween one and one-half and two miles
at Shellbourne pass the grade is fully
az per cent, while the new route
will have an average of % per cent
and at the heaviest will not run more
than 3 per cent, and then for only
comparatively short distance, will
make the road popular with heavy
freighters. The shortening of the
haul by fifty miles will also ado
greatly to the popularity of the road
The pass through which it will trav
erse is 200 feet lower than Shell
bourne pass, or about the same a!
Mr.. Fletcher, soon after securing
these properties, and deciding to con
struct the road, came to Ely and en-
gagged Attorney Charles R. Reeves tt
attend to the legal end of the ar
rangements. He also engaged Engi
neer w. P. O'Craney of Tonopah tt
run a preliminary line and to esti
mate the cost of construction. Thi
line has been completed, and the es
Inmates are now in the hands of Mr.
Fletcher.
The road will be macadamed owe
the soft spots that have been encoun
tered in the preliminary, and at al
points where necessary. the sides will
be rip-rapped. Bridges and culvert
will be placed in the few points wher
they will be necessary, and the roa,
will be maintained in the finest pos