The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-05-25

viz. the West Virginia, Charleston
Fairview and Fairview No. l. Abou
SOC, 900 shares Of stock stood in Work
mans name and about 100000 shares
remained in the treasury In Jann
airy, 1903, Pelton and his son took al
option from Workman for control o
the National stock at price of $780,
900. paying $1,000 down, to be applied
on the purchase price in case the OPP.
ton was exercised. No rich ore hat
as yet been discovered, except posi-.
bly, some small amount of float, bu
several people were now watching tht
Stalls with sort of premonition thai
something would turn up; and Others
were taking leases on, extensions OF
the vein north and south. In Febru-
AIRY, 1909, at the depth of less than sc
feet, from the surface, In the Stall
shaft, was found one of the richest and
most spectacular shoots of high grade
ever mined In America. The values
are in native metal in the shape of a
natural alloy consisting of equal parts
by weight of gold and silver, technic-
ally called "electrum," and the gangue
is white or dark -colored quartz.
The sensational and almost incred :
ible values can best be realized from
! the testimony of Frank A. Taylor,
then superintendent of the National
mine, as given in the Federal court
before Judge r. S. Harrington in June,
| 1912: 1.-THE first class ore Is worth
contains about one ounce of gold to
an ounce of silver. The second class
ore runs from $25 to $4,000 per ton.
Any ore of less than $25 value is
thrown on the dump. North of the
Stall shaft on the Az level we took
out in a space about 3 by feet $780,
$4,000. This bunch yielded nearly
TX tons. You might be within six
inches of such punches of ore and yet
not see any indication of their pres
ence. You might have piece on
ground in that fissure anywhere ex-
posed in a 10-foot circle and there
might not be any gold visible to the
eye in it, but in stopping that out you
might get $4,000 or $4,000 out of
that little piece of ground"
After the discovery of this bonanza
In February. 1909, prompt tender was
made of the $4,000 to complete the
payment under the Pelton option. 1t
can hardly be wondered at that Work
man was beside himself at seeing
such fortune slipping away for a
song. This resulted in a suit to COM
compromised by the purchase of more
of Workmans stock and settled in
August On August 30, 1909, the mine
was taken over by the present own
ers. Meanwhile the Stalls were min
ing the National treasure vaults. The
best ore was sent to the mint direct
When shipment was ready it was
sent out by auto, the treasure car be-
ing followed and guarded by trailing
auto carrying three or four armed
guards. Reports of the riches being
taken from the National mine at
tracted an assemblage of tough char
acters who settled In the hamlet of
National, and who made it their bust
ness to buy or steal National speci-
men ore from the miners. High grad
ing became a highly developed ac-
complishment, and large amounts
were stolen. A notorious character
known as Death Valley Seotty," con-
Quoted a thriving business with dis
honest miners until the chase became
too hot and prison bars too close. One
of the favorite methods of the high
graders was for a miner to enclose a
few pounds of rich ore in a sack which
was thrown in a car of waste rock
and discharged over the dump at
certain hour of the night. The min
er's partner waited at the foot of the
dump to receive the prize as 1t came
rolling down. This practice led to the
of searchlight upon the
hillside opposite the tunnel entrances,
and a revolving light was kept busy
searching through the hours of dark |
ness for treasure hunters of this de-
scription, Another practice was the |
removal Of the works from good |
sized hunting case silver watch. The !
of ore which could be packed |
In such a watch each day amounted
to several times a mans wages. Other
1evices such as little sacks to be hung |
under mans arm or suspended in
other ways under his clothing, were
discovered, and there is quite a little
shop full of such contriv-
lnces taken from miners to be seen at
he National mine office. Miners were
wen known to fill large ore sacks with
high grade ore and conceal the same
Underneath the track or in the slopes
II the mine. In one case discharged
miner returned after several months
md reported to the superintendent
hat he had been informed by an
'ther miner where such ore was bur
ed and offered to reveal the treasure
( sufficiently rewarded. This man
led the superintendent to the
ache and thnrn mara dinn.,..,...a a.