Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-11
PARRETT PROPERTY
IS A RICH Mine
MCCORMACK GETS BONANZA
FROM HERMIT
Jasper Parrett Penetrated WiIds of
Mono County in 1879 and Has
Lived Hermit's Life Amid
SnoW=CIad Mountains
Especial Correspondence


en- Hills Mining company of Nevada,
of which he is president and manager,
bids fair to result in the opening of
productive mine of the first magnitude
and to attract renewed interest to
formerly prolific district in which one
property has been operated at a large
profit for over twenty-five years con-
tinuously The Parrett property, for
which Mr.. Mccormack is reputed to
have paid $4,000, was first located in
1880 and from the operations of a prim-
tive arrastra its early owners cleaned
up the sum of $4,000. Ten large veins
are exposed on the claims, carrying
both milling ore and high grade, and
samples brought here recently assayed
as high as $500 per ton.
In area the claims cover 200 acres
and with them was purchased mill
site and water power sufficient to op-
crate 1000 stamps The company will
install a mill next spring and in the
meantime extensive development work
will be carried on to open the veins at
depth. The values in the ore are en-
tirely in gold and the ore is of a char
acter readily treated by the milling
process and insuring a high percentage
of extraction. One lease is now work.
ing and has opened high-grade ore.
The claims adioin and embrace the
same vein system as the famous May
Lundy mine, which has paid dividends
for many years. The latter property
is operated by the Crystal Lake Mining
company, a close corporation, and is
developed on a vast scale, the work.
ings including a 5000-foot tunnel and
raise 100 feet in extent. A road has
been built to the mine costing $4,000;
it has a powerful plant with air COM
pressor and a Cotton mill, the capacity
of which is to be increased to 200 tons
doll fc nA 70 n off af
S2,000,000 was refused a short time ago
for this mine.
At the camp of Lucky Boy, near
Hawthorne in this county, the Broken
Hills company is operating a lease
from which a number of shipments of
rich silver-lead ore have been made.
Three carloads have been sent to the
smelters recently of ore averaging $120
per ton and a good ore body of ship
ping grade is exposed near the 300-foot
lateral. Sinking is in progress and the
shaft will have reached a depth of 800
feet by February l. This ground is
near the rich Hubbard lease, the veins
being the same from which the latter
produced over $4,000 within a period of
five months prior to its expiration on
August /, and is near the lease from
which shipments are being made by
Mitchell e. Fairfield of this place. The
Broken Hills lease runs until March,
1911, and from present indications IL
may be relied upon to furnish funds
for the development of other holdings
of the company.
In addition to these enterprises the
Broken Hills company owns what is
known as the Comstock Merrimac
property of 100 acres, situated between
Virginia City and Ramsey in Storey
county, upon which work has been in
progress for the past year with small
production of good ore, a group COM
prising 100 acres of highly mineralized
territory in Nye county, near the camp
of Silver Bow, upon which develop
ment has resulted in opening most en-
couraging values and which viii be
opened up on a large scale, and an
other group of 100 acres near this
ground and of similar character. All
of these properties are equipped with
excellent plants Of mining machinery
and all give promise of making pro-
ductiVe mines.
The Parrett mine was located by
Jasper Parrett in 1879.
Here is a man and a scene worthy
of a place in the romantic history of
California; man who has "out-Cru-
seed" Robinson Crusoe, and who has
during a lonely, companionless vigil
of thirty years wrought work of as
tonishing and intensely interesting
phases.
on the northern slope of one of the
most precipitous mountains in this re-
gion he years ago located a group of
six claims which are known throughout
the country as the Parrett mines.
Single-handed he built his cOmmodious
cabin in the gulch at the bottom Of the
hill, and then proceeded TO develop the
claims he had located. He built trails
up the mountain side for thousands of
that fairly shout with danger TO the
traveller The veins proved rich in gold,
some Of them averaging about $50 per
ton and others close to 800. Parrett
quarried out tons upon tons of the ore
from big surface cuts, and then, still
unaided by anyone, constructed an
arrastra by the side of his cabin, built
a long fume for water power for the
immense oVer-shot water wheel with
which the arrastra was run. Some of
the timberS he has used in the con-
structiOn of his mill would put to rout
half a dozen men of the ordinary type,
but with pulleys and haudspike he
wrestled them into position and was
under obligations or thanks to no one.
When it became time TO convey the
ore down the hill he was compelled to
call in the services Of a Spaniard and
a mule train, but this was the limit of
his hire or assistance. He shoveled
the ore into the arrastra and the water
wheel furnished the power for dragging
the big boulders around the pit. BY
these crude methods the hermit has eN-
+racted many thousands of dollars, one
shipment of bullion having brought him
SAT 600.
Now that Mr.. Mccormack has sue
ceeded in buying the mine-there will
soon be a decided change in methods
of operation. A long tunnel is to be
driven from the base of the mountain
to tap the network Of rich veins that
course through the property and which
higher up the mountain and across the
ridge form the source of revenue for
the famous May Lundy group that has
produced its millions Of dollars and is
still adding to the worlds wealth on
a large scale,
AS soon as possible Mr.. Mccormack
will install a power and compressor
plant for driving the big tunnel and
stamp and cyanide mill sufficient to
meet any demands of tho property
will be constructed when needed, which
will be during the summer or next
year, as the tunnel will intercept
strong, ore-bearing veins every few
hundred feet along its course. A
depth of 2400 feet can be secured under
the crest of the mountain by this tun-
rich stopping territory. Two sets of
leases have already secured blocks Of
ground from Mr., Mccormack.
Water sufficient for generating 10000
horse power is available and has been