The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-03-02
MURRAY MERCHANTS TAKE TUNGSTEN
FOR GOODS AS GOLD IN EARLY DAYS
FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS scHEELlTE FRIDAY
ouMP-REPoRTEo STRIKE OF TUNGSTEN
MoUNTAiN-FiELD FOR PRosPEcToRs
(By Adam Aulbach, Murray, Idaho)

= (By Adam Aulbach Murray, ldaho)
MURRAY, Feb. 2S.--A small ship
ment, perhaps 500 pounds of scheelite
will be made from the Friday group.
two miles west of Murray, during the
present week by e. NJ. Smith, the les
see. The product was realized en-
tirely from an old dump, which was
extremely difficult to disintegrate as
the cold during the winter had frozen
the rock solid. Sluices had been put
in with rifles and the work carried on
as in placer mining, Much of the
finer mineral was lost but enough
was saved to pay more than the ex-
pense of extraction The sale was
made to q local buyer, acting as agent
for a Colorado firm. Tie highest mar
ket price was exacted and Is to be
paid when the ore reaches Its destln-
alton. While the rate per unit Is not
known to the writer definitely, he
knows that it is not below $50, which
would make the shipment worth about
$3.50. AS soon as the weather di-
vorces itself from Jack Frost active
mining is to begin on the Friday
group for the tungsten values and in
all probability considerable of the
rich mineral will be produced during
the open season.
Tungsten as Current Money.
In the not long ago placer gold and
gold bars were as good as coin of the
realm for the purchase of supplies by
miners. Now tungsten (scheelite)
sand has taken the place Of the yellow
metal. Last week miner walked in
to grocery store and asked the mer-
chant if he would take tungsten ore
in payment for a bill of goods up to
SIS Sure" replied the merchant.
Well" said the miner, II have 30
pounds of the stuff" The merchant
thereupon satisfied himself that he
could get a guarantee of the amount
and to secure its shipment with other
ore from here then proceeded to fill the
miners order for the supplies. While
the transaction was not as satisfactory
or convenient as the pioneer method Of
placer gold purchases it nevertheless
keeps the wolf from the door of the
humble cabin, and demonstrates that
tungsten has a local money value Of
immediate application, by leaving
sufficient margin for possible fluctua-
ton in market price
Report of Tungsten Strike.
A report has been current during the
week that a strike of scheelite ore has
) been made on the east slope of Bald
mountain, somewhere near White Rock
on East Eagle creek. According to the
| report the finders, members of, the
Robinson family, took some Of the ore
: to Kellogg where a business man had
the rock tested. He found 1t to be the
real stuff, whereupon he is said to
: have provided the prospectors with
7 an adequate grubstake to prosecute
the work of exploration and the ex-
traction of the mineral. Bald noun
tain in times past was the scene of
extensive in local history, much free
gold being found all over the huge
mountain, the slopes covering an ex-
tensive territory. There are great
groupings of white quartz, down to the
, creek levels on all sides. The east
slope up to about 10 years ago was
covered by locations owned by Charles
w. ONeil. He patented several of the
claims and his widow afterward had
the remainder represented by assess
ment work. She got tired Of paying
out seven or eight hundred dollars
!, yearly and abandoned the ground, not
withstanding a number of very prom
ising lodges had been found. These
were promptly relocated, and it is said
; that on one of these lodges the tung-
J stem was uncovered. The writer rep
resented Mrs. O'Neils interests on the
mountain for three years, and his re-
: peated trips made him familiar with
the mineral possibilities there. 1t is
! his belief that as white quartz has To-
cally been the main matrix for the
scheelite of the tungsten family the
mountain looms up as an inviting field
5 for prospectors, but it will be fully
| two months yet before the snow is re-
: moved. The east slope Is covered with
/ a fine growth of fir timber, but it is
: not Dense so that prospecting is easy.
1t is about nine miles by good wagon
5 road from Murray to White Rock.
Terrible Edith Ore Shipments.
Conn and son, the lessees of the
Terrible Edith group, a mile north
S east of Murray, shipped 100 tons CT
S ore during the present month not
r withstandng the deep snow and poor
4 road down the mountain to the rail-
e road. One-half of the shipment was
= zinc, the other half lead ore. These
e lessees have been regular shippers
= since they have taken hold of the pro-
), perty and will no doubt be until their
Y option expires some time in June. They
= have been fortunate in operating un-
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