Weekly journal-miner., 1917-12-12
WHITE HILLS ID bE SOLD UNDER
 THE HAMMER
FAMOUS OLD BONANZA MINES OF MOHAVE COUN- iTY TO BE AUCTIONED BY SHERIFF TO SETTLE DEBT OF S1,200.
(From Sundays daiiy.i


 cd the notice of the sheriff's sale of
 the mining property of R. T. Root,
 and while to the casual observer the
 sale notice contained news of noth-
 ing unusual, to those familiar with
 the mining affairs of Mohavc county
 of two or three decades ago, the an,
 nouncemcnt carried with it the news of the prospective dissolution of the
 famous old White Hills Mining Com pany, which in the early ninetics op- eratcd the world-famous silver camp in that county near the Colorado River.
 The proceeds of the several years operation made a millionaire many times over of the owner, K. T. Root, but through unfortunate investments
 Root was not long able to hold on to his wealth, and today he is in a hnan- cial condition which apparently pre- vents him from raising the necessary Sl200 to settle the judgment which is hanging over the famous old group of claims.
 For long time following the dis covery of the rich silver mines in the White Hills district, orc of such fab ulously rich character was taken out that it seemed as though the Com stock had at last found rival worthy of its metal, and while many mil lion dollars worth Of the white metal was taken from the group, the high grade pinchcd out and ran into low grade, which on account of the great distance to a shipping point, did not pay to mine uSdcr the conditions which existed in those days.
 The great silver deposit of White Hills was discovered about 1890 by a Mohave Indian, the buck reporting his discovery to Judge Henry Schscf- fer, Kingman mining man. Schaef fer is said to have traded suit of clothes to the Indian for the latter's interest in the property, and the camp began to boom a short time later. On the Prince Albert claim, sulphidc ore carrying as high as l5,0O0 ounces in silver was taken out in large quanti- ties. Root later obtained an option on several of the claims, and through the profits of the operation of these groups, he was later enabled to buy out Schaeffer's interest in the big company. Thousands of tons of the most expensive mining machinery were unloaded at kingman and freightcd across the 60 miles of coun- try to the new camp. Miners, ad> vcnturcrs, and characters of every sort poured into the camp until pop. ulation of 5000 had been attained and the camp assumed all of the characteristics of its latcr-day proto- types, Tonopah and Goldfeld. One of the largest stamp mills ever erect | cd in the Territory in those days was put up, and the bars of bullion were turned out in an apparently endless stream and sent out through the | Wells Fargo office at Kingman.
 The high grade began to peter out about 1898, and with the evcr-dc- creasing price of silver, the operation of the mines became unproitable and they were eventually closed down and allowed to fill up with water. Root | became interested in some of the rail road financing fcats of the late Dave Moffctt in Colorado, and when the | railroad man hit the rocks of adver- sity, Root went along with him, los | ing practically all of the fortune l which White Hills had ncttcd him. 1 When silver began to raise in price the first of the present year, Root made an attempt to reopen the old l time bonanza camp, but after several exhaustive examinations, it was found l that White Hills had taken its place | in the ranks of the things that used | to be, and that its glory, as we'll as its high grade, had departed, prob ably forever.
 With the exception of the aband- cred piles of mill tailings, there IS to- day very little to mark the place where the city of White Hills once stood The writer made "trip to the site of the old camp last Spring, | and there was but ono small building left standing. this being occupied by the solitary watchman who had for a number of years been stationed there to keep company with the ghosts of other days. The milling had been torn away and luONtu tO OluNl lll lhdl try, and the wooden buildings of the camp had long since been removed or torn down and used for iircwood by the few residents who for long time continued to live in the camp after its hcy-day had departed.
 The announcement of the sheriff's sale states that 4 patented claims will he sold on December Doth, the ground comprising 70 acres, among the claims to be put under the ham mer being the famous Prince Albert, the G. \. R.. the Occidcnt, the Norma the Blind Goddess, the Garfield and the Horn Silver. each of which pro- duccd enough silver ore, which aver aged from 5000 to l5,0O0 ounces per ton, to make dozen men indcpcnd- ,ntly wealthy.
 RESERVE WANTS
 20O0 YOIJNG MEN