| Show highlights lights past and present by E T wolverton february 6 1928 continued from last week all of the upper portion of straight creek was located many prospects opened and a camp built ruth two californians located and worked a claim on what is now known as rico no I 1 for the purpose of re the ore taken out they built a crude arrastre at the foot of the steep hills using the waters of straight creek as power their work showed that they knew little of applied mechanics and probably less of practical mining methods however they made a limited success for a number of years operating only during summer at the same time that the camp was being built on the head of str abight creek simmer sumner and butler were opening the bromide mine on the head of crescent creek mount ellen this proved to be a real mine a stamp mill was in stalled and a camp eagle city built also good placers were opened five miles below the town and a real boom developed kimball and turner of colorado were largely instrumental in opening up many of the prospects on the head of straight creek but consider ing mg they would woul d have a much better opportunity of handling property in a boom camp acquired some claims at eagle city built a small mill and operated their prospects for a num ber of years at mr air turners turner s suggestion the bromide mining and milling corn com pany bought the californians Cah formans claims and null mill on the head of straight creek hiring the former owners to operate for them in the hands of inexperienced men the bromide company came upon evil days petty quarrels and con fusion was allowed to grow until a complete shutdown was brought about the placers on cresent creek had given up their best values the boom burst and the whole henry mountain district appeared to feel the effects kimball and turner still worked their claims on both straight and crescent creeks the starr bro and ward and woodruff were working claims nearby the writer first visited the district during 1900 found dead camps and old timers hanging on making lots of locations but doing little or no work careful investigation showed that the bowen mine so called had ample foundation in fact but the ground was plastered with location notices again in 1912 the section was in vesti gated but again locations were in the way finally late in 1915 the ground wanted was found to be free from claims and early the next ear our locations were made the first three locations made viz rico rico no I 1 and rico no 2 cover the ground from which bowen and burke took their ore during 1916 and 1917 location work had to be dons done camps built and 0 trails and roads opened the world war I 1 with its resultant financial and other confusions made any work excepting the most necessary very difficult during 1921 work was started in earnest and has been vigorously prosecuted since trails and road opened veins developed a mill built and in operation camp rico henry mountains february ath 1928 signed E T wolverton editor s note notel the last short paragraph is 11 a sue dicent statement of great hardship pr vi tation and a stupendous amount of energy and work done it is almost unbelievable that one person with few tools could have transported sawed and put in m place with faultless accuracy the heavy timbers that is expressed by the two short words mill built his sons bad had large families to sup port and could give him hun little help with the physical work altho one summer was spent in building corn com fordable for table living quarters his ills wife never robust usually spent the sum mer months with his pue due to an ac aident he had a chronic trouble that when acute was very painful and required immediate medical atten tion by the merest chance 9 4 sheep herder stopped at his cabel and found hiro him in intense agony and in a very critical condition by fast work he was gotten to a doctor and big his life saved his doctor advised that to prevent another suet such an attack he should have an operation he arjang ed to go to a hospital in colorado to a surgeon ui pi whom he had bonfi dence it was also arranged that when the oppe ration was over he should come to the home of the writer to convalesce and visit and talk over the many things we had in common the operation was success ful but pneumonia set in and death came quick lly Ily thus ended the life of one who had more exact know ledge of southeastern utah than any half halt dozen other men bert berdj J silliman green grep kiver river utah january 1950 |
