Show biography of leading mining men NUMBER FOUR BY WILL C HIGGINS the name of john dern bern of salt lake will go thundering down the pages of history as the cognomen of a man who was identified with the making of the great mercur mine at mercur utah the first practical development of the cyanide process of gold ore reduction in the united states and a thousand years from now when the scientists of that ago age have discovered a copy of the salt lake mining review containing this biography buried under the ashes and lava vomited from the volcano erupting from ensign peak which totally destroyed our beautiful city and have succeeded in translating the biography into the language of ten centuries hence they will sit up and take notice they will be overwhelmed with wonder for the accomplishment of such deeds which the subject of this sketch has perfo performed will then have been classed among the lost arts and sciences they will wonder because it is not often f that a man who has grown to vigorous manhood and goodly proportions proportion s with his feet in a cornfield and his hands bands reaching out to a grain elevator can become transplanted to a mining camp carlip and still make an overwhelming success in his new and adopted occupation and yet et this is the history of john dern mr dern was a resident of nebraska his sons and daughters growing up in entire ignorance ot of the charms and attractions of the mining industry and he was happy when he gazed out over the wavy fields of ripening grain the long and noble rows of corn for the country was fat and smiling with contentment but it was at this stage of his existence and one which will long be remembered by him that the mining promoter first held him spellbound spell bound with descriptions of the great and easy wealth to be made in the mining regions of the west ln indeed eed so interested did mr dern become in these recitals that he forgot to go to church one sunday evening and before the last rays raye of the setting sun had faded into twilight the following day he had become co owner in a hole in the ground in the mercur district of utah which the promoter had embellished with the name and title of a mine and he at once ordered a larger box in the local bank vault in which 1 to safeguard safe guard I 1 the heavy dividends on his investment he was to receive within pix months at the very latest for some months mr dern dem was content to let two or three of his associates manage the mining en end d of his enterprise and in the meantime his ardor began 0 to dwindle while his temperature continually increased for reports from the mine were not of a favorable nature and money for development rne nt and operating purposes was going out at a rate that was not all in keeping with the coming in of anticipated dividends in other words the mine was not as 9 gentle antle and responsive as expected and seem inclined to balk and shy in the middle of the road looking more carefully into his new enterprise to see if it had been properly ploughed sloughed hed and harrowed and that no unexpected drough drou gath th had scorched sc it to a dusty brown mr dern bern found that the gold was in the ore in goodly quantity but that it wass was as difficult to separate from its matrix as it was to eliminate mustard seed from r C C hon john dern the choice wheat in one of his numerous elevators the gold was not free milling and would not amalgamate it would not concentrate and was of too low a grade to ship to the smelters shelters sm elters and still pay a profit from which the fondly hoped for dividends could be paid As a matter of fact MT mr dern and his h is associates were up a tree and a tall one at that and the indications were that as they slid down down they I 1 would again find themselves in the midst of a nebraska wheat field instead of digging out gold in great hunks and nuggets from their utah mine but mr kr dern was made of sterner sterile r stu stuff ff such as senat senators ors are made of and he would gift be thwarted by one fail ure and his great aim in life at this stage of the game was to find a process which would inveigle the mercur mine into giving up its wealth ot of the precious betais ia i a mariner manner calculated to enable the treasurer of the company to steer clear of the red in ill the keeping of his bank account it if was as troublous times for mr dern and ills his crowd and life had not the same pleasing and mellow look it had presented a few in months before but the turning point was reached at last joy came in the morning like a tiny bird and by nighttime night time had as fumed the proportions of a mt baldy the cyanide process had been fully tested and had proven a complete success the riddle had been solved and like the coming coining of harleys Hai leys comet mr dern appeared resplendent and flushed with success as a benefactor to the mining world for he had been instrumental in supplying the milling industry with a method which would treat low grade and rebellious gold ores at a profit and this process with improvements is still in successful use at the great mercur mine with the mine on a paying basis mr dern forsook the green fields of nebraska w where here he had been engaged in the grain and lumber business for many years and cast his lot with the people of the saints he opened up roomy offices in salt lake and the most useful article in his office equipment was the check book from which dividends were regularly paid until the sum to total tal has now reached the magnificent sum of nearly three and a half million dollars and the mine is still paying the success of the mercur mine gave mr dern entre into the best mining society in the mining west As a matter of fact he became prominent in mining circles before he was fully aware of the distinction bestowed upon him and today he is classed among the solid broad land and heavyweight mining operators of the country and more not only is he a potent I 1 factor in mining affairs but he has gal gained ned renown as a successful business man as a leader in political affairs as an enterprising citizen and when his name is mentioned men lift their hats for they know and feel that here I 1 is a man in whom every confidence can be placed |