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Show 4 INTER-MOUNTAI- N dtstrict are essentially low grade, and easily affected by conditions of the market. Time and time again the camp has been confrontd by what appeared to be an absolute cessation of all work, but the men who were each time knocked out of days wages turned their attention to other lines, with the result that from each sqeezing the Old Reliable has emerged in better condition than she was in when the pressure commenced; with new ore bodies discovered and her resources further developed. It is not too much to say that the splendid mines on York Hill, in Carr Fork, might yet have been undiscovered had it not been for one of those periodical occurrences of hard times. Their discovery is directly due to the fact that in April, 18S9, the Winnamuck mine, in another part of the camp, men took a lease on the worked-ou- t closed down. Some of the laid-of- f York, drove a tunnel into the vein, and found a bigger mine than it had been in its supposedly best days. The position taken in this article is well exemplified by the present showing on York Hill, where there are now a number of heavily producing mines. A Bingham man this week stated that hard times was the cause he presof the discovery of the rich Julia Dean by Dan Clays, sure of low prices and consequent inactivity drove Mr. Clays from his usual money-makin- g pursuits, and having nothing else to do, he worked on the J ulia Dean and found the richest silver ore ever discovered in the camp. Many similar cases might be enumerated, but these two instances are characteristic of the development of the district, and explain one reason why it is called the Old Reliable. Another reason is that on account of its adjacency to the smelters, and the general occurrence of ores all over the district and of varying character, it is essentially a poor mans camp. And it bears this character easily, and at the same time offers unusual opportunities for the investment of capital. No figures are at hand .showing the output of the district, but it would go well into the millions, and only the surface has been scratched. The South Galena is credited with a gross output of fifteen millions, yet the main shaft of the mine is only 4.00 feet deep. The opportunities for profitable deep mining are apparently as good as in Park City or Tintic. The only true deep mining enterprise yet undertaken is the long tunnel of the Butterfield Mining Company, which is composed of Frenchmen represented by George W. Keel. This tunnel proved the contin. uity of the veins, and cut three distinct veins, each preserving the characteristics of their upper workings at the depths of 1,100, 1,500 and 1,800 feet respectively below their When deep mining starts in Bingham the camp will take a new place, but there is every indication that a hundred years hence she will still be known as the Old Reliable. out-crop- s. THE ASPHALTUM LANDS. In his annual report of the Interior Department, which has just been made public, Secretary Francis finds it convenient, and not at variance with his private interests, to agree with his predecessor that the beneficient policy of the government by which all the mineral wealth of this great nation has been discovered and developed, should be abrogated in the case of the valuable gilsonite lands in the Uncompahgre reservation, and instead of these lands being thrown open to location under the laws of the United States, he recommends that they be sold to the highest bidder or leased to responsible parties. Referring to the deposits and the settlemen with the. Uncompahgre Utes, he says: Itis my judgment, that some legislation should be enacted whereby the people of the United States can at an early date have the , benefit of these valuable and useful deposits. It is claimed a considerable portion of the Uncompahgre and Uintah reservations known as the lava beds contain a substance MINING REVIEW. called elaterite. which, with a solution recently discovered, nvikes a valuable paint and an insulator of incomparable quality. Such deposits of gilsonite, or elaterite, are of rare occurance; in flct j know of no other within the limits of the public domain. I recommend that Congress authorize the appointment of an other committee to negotiate with the Uncompahgre and explain to them how the lands allotted can be paid for without depleting their trust fund, and that authority be given such commission to sell (subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior) the remaining portion of the lands of the reservation to the highest bidder, to lease them, or to negotiate with responsible parties f0r the working of the deposits, in arder that the government may be fairly compensated and to the end that the public may enjoy the benefit of a highly useful gift of nature. Thus, the gentleman who is a shareholder and an officer in the St Louis Gilsonite company, the company that is uow operating the gilsonite mine at Fort Duchesne under the sanction of the government, expresses his solicitude about the people of the United States getting the benefits of these valuable deposits, and in the following paragraph recommends that private individuals, or trusts get the benefit of the deposits. The recom- mendations are humiliating to American pride, for they show that there are some men who, regardless of their elevation to high honors in the government, are not above the methods of the shyster when their self interest can be advanced. In effect Mr. Franciss recommendations are simply a request that all American citizens be excluded from the asphaltum lands of the reservation, and that he and his St. Louis company be allowed to acquire them. He makes the plea that the government should be fully compensated for the lands, but the course he recommends would, as every think- ing citizen would see, have the directly opposite effect. Viewed from any standpoint it can readily be seen that the only purpose in the recommendations is to give a clique of which the honorable secretary is a member, exclusive control of the lands. If it is that the lands are so valuable that this unusual method for their disposition is suggested, why not apply the same rule to other mineral lands ? Why not exclude the miners from further locations in the Camp Floyd district, and sell the rich gold reef of the west dip to the highest bidder? These are valuable lands. The explanation is that Secretary Francis is in the asphaltum business, and in his business needs the asphaltum lands. If these lands are thrown open to location tinder the mineral laws of the United States, the secretary and his company, who are the responsible parties referred to in his recommendations, would be compelled to buy this asphaltum, whereas his suggestions, if carried into execution, will obviate this expense. Will any one assert that if this policy had been effective on the mineral lands of the United States, that the government would have been better compensated for their value by disposing of the lands to combinations of capital that could and would exclude the working miner? It is scarcely possible, yet the details of this gigantic steal, carrying with r . m the authority of government, are spread before the nation, ami iot a voice has been raised in protest against the unparalled corrupt n. Senator Frank Cannon called on Mr. Francis on Monday and diat scussed the opening of the reservation, but it is to be presumed he had not read that interesting part of the secretarys repor as he allowed the excellent opportunity to pass without enterin a protest in behalf of his state and against the proposed outrage. e Unless the men of Utah, whose interests are at stake, immediate action, the robbery will go through. Franciss ten of office will end on March 4th, next, but a special session of Congn'ss is likely to be called, and as the President himself has apprised the recommendation, it would be easily pushed through. ; ; I cor-poratio- ns 1 ; i 1 ; j 1 |