White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-12-23

Seven miles northeast OF LOVelOcK,
Nevada, a hill shaped like some pre-
historic monster rises abruptly from
the surrounding plains. Concealed in
that hill with just an edge showing
here and there above the surface is a
bar of soap seventy to five hundred
feet wide and nearly half a mile long
and extending down no one knows
how many feet below the surface. 1t
IS estimated by the discoverer Of .his
huge deposit that if on an average II
extends only eighty feet below the
surface its commercial value baseo
on a price of but one zen per poune
is thirty-five million dollars.
Returning 10 Lovelock from the
mining camp of Willard one January
afternoon George H. Mccormick, min
ing man and prospector, found his
car was developing trouble. Stopping
the car an examination showed that
n of the spark plugs was the seat Of
the trouble. After making the neces-
AIRY adjustments he, as all ~prospec-
tors unconsciously will, glanced
around at his immediate surround
ingS with an eye to any indications
of minerals. Walking over to the
hill near the base of which he had
halted his car his attention was
caught by a number of peculiar glob-
ular shaped rocks. Upon picking up
one for a closer examination his hand
encountered a sticky paste adhering
TO the under side of the rock. Find
ing his hands smearej as a result
OF working on his automobile and
which a previous strenuous watching
with snow had failed to remove.
Highly interested now he dug into
the ground under the former resting
place of the peculiar shaped rock. A
few inches under the surface lie m
covered a substance solid IN fern, yet
easily crushed or cut with u knife.
Crushing a little of this substance and
adding a little snow he obtained the
same sort of a paste as his original
discovery. A test quickly proved that
it void remove oil and grease from
his hands. An extensive examination
of the hill proved the immensely of
the deposit and convinced Mr.. Nc
Cormick that he had made a discov-
cry that would become of immense
value, and he quickly staked out a
number of claims covering the full
length of the deposit of the unknown
mineral.
Analysis of samples sen to various
laboratories, including the Solvay
laboratory at New York showed that
this mineral when ground into pow
Ter was, without the addition OF n
single chemical, an :deal product for
all laundry purposes; that it would
wash clothes, removing all dirt and
grease without injury to the most
delicate fabric; that it would clear
overalls filed with dirt and grease
just as easily as 1t would launder
silk or laces. Experiments conducted
by Mr.. Mccormick and people to
whom samples of this mineral have
been given prove that it is of high
value for many varied purposes. A
nurse in a California hospital to
whom a sample CT the mineral had
been given decided that as the
chemical analysis proved that it con-
tanned nothing that was injurious to
the human system to' try some of it
as a tooth powder. The result was
a surprise to her, because the pow
der not only cleaned and whitened
her teeth, but the continued use of
it for a short period cured and healed
the sore and bleeding gums from
which she had suffered a long time
A prospector out IN the hili., alone
became i'll with a severe cold that was
fast congesting his lungs and threat
ening pneumonia. Having some of
the mineral soap powder in his tent
he made a thick paste by mixing
some of it with hot water and made