The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-05-18
RICH AND EXTENSIVE STRIKE MADE ON
UN|ON;,--OVER THREE FEET SHIPPING ORE
PREPARATION BEING MADE AT GREAT DEPTH
THROUGH OLD TuNNEL-FAMoUs OLD PROPERTY
WITH AN INTERESTING HISTORY.

The strike In the Olu Union Slouilu
has been the most interesting devel-
opment in the mining situation dur
ing the past week Under ordinary
circumstances the strike would be re-
garded as of great Importance and
looked upon as the forerunner of a
great mine, but tinge of romance is
given to 1t by the fact that the dis
covery was made in ground that was
purchased years ago by men famous
in the mining world, who spent many
thousands of dollars in developing and
equipping the property, and who fin
ally abandoned ii so far as operations
are concerned without having recov-
cred their original investment. The
property, consisting of the Union,
Union Fraction and Sherman claims,
were purchased in 1891 by John A.
Finch, A. B. Campbell and ]. B. Grant,
ex-governor of Colorado and presi-
dent of the Omaha & Grant smelter.
Large boarding and bunk houses were
built high on the hill above Burke,
and a gravity tramway, the longest
that was ever built in this district,
connected the mine with large ore
bins at the railroad just below Burke
The Union mill was built in this city
which was afterwards transferred to
the Standard company and is new te-
ing used oy the Green -CleveE.ud.
The transfer was made when it WAS
found impra ctical to treat the ores of
tie / lor mine profitablY, ami about
the time that Finch & Campbell
struck the great Standard ore body
and required a mill for that property.
Received the First Strike Breakers.
During its short life the Union
came into prominence as the rendez-
vous of the first strike breakers
brought to the Coeur dAlene district
in 1892. They were brought on a
special train from the copper mines
of northern Michigan. A heavy guard
accompanied the train, which glided
up the canyon without having made a
SlOp dll6I ClOSSlll5 LlC lueNiio AtAiS'
There were about 200 miners on the
train, all of them Finlanders. Arriv-
ing at the Union mine as many of
them as could be utilized were put to
work. The mine and buildings were
surrounded by guards, and the sur
plus men were gradually distributed
to other mines which had been closed
down by the strike. But they proNec
to be an inferior lot of men, most of
them unable to speak the English
language, and their coming proved a
failure. Little was ever done after
that toward working the Union mine,
and weird stories were told of ghosts
that haunted the old Union tunnels,
for there are those who to this day
believe that many of the Finnish min
ers who climbed the steep hill to the
Union mine never came back Years
later the buildings and tromway
burned, and with the lapse Of time
growing vegetation has concealed the
old dumps and tunnels, the men who
figured in it's brief operation have
gone to their reward, and nothing re-
mains to remind one of the stirring
scenes once enacted there.
Leasers Find Rich Ore Shoot.
A few months ago Axel Swan, of
Burke, secured a lease and bond on
the Union. The first work he did was
tho
outcrop of the lead on the Sherman
claim, about 300 feet from the east
end line. More or less ore was found
from the surface and in the bottom
of the shaft were streaks of carbon
ate ore for a width Of three feet from
which assays show II per cent lead
and 16 ounces silver. With this prom
ising showing it was decided to ar
range to get further depth by tunnel
and permission was secured to drive
a crosscut from Oreano tunnel No z.
1t was in this crosscut that the strike
was made last week, the vein being
cut about 80 feet nearer than was eX-
pected. The vein where encountered
is about 12 feet wide and along the
footwall there is between two and
three feet of shipping lead ore and on
the hanging wall there is about six
inches of high grade zinc. Between
these two shoots there is also ore OF
milling grade. The galena assays 69.S
per cent lead and 50.25 ounces silver
The zinc ore carries 42.2 per cent zinc
and 2.75 ounces silver. The strike was
made about 200 feet west of the shaft
and at a depth of between 45O and 500
feet and drifting is now in progress
both east and west A gasoline COM
pressor was installed the day the
strike was made.
viii Use Hidden Treasure Tunnel.
Confident that they have the Custer
and Tiger Poorman vein, the Union
leasers will proceed at once to open
up the property at great. depth This
will be comparatively easy, as the old
Hidden Treasure tunnel will be util-
lied for that purpose. This tunnel
was driven many years ago by the
Tiger company just back of the old