An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 77

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172

USA > Washington > Skagit County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 77
USA > Washington > Snohomish County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 77

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During the early days it was customary to float almost all logs cut on the east side of the sound down the rivers to salt water, then tow them to the west side where all the large saw- mills were located. But for many years now Sno- homish county has had mills of its own, and since the advent of the railroads these have increased in number and capacity until it has been sug- gested that Snohomish might now very properly be given the nick-name of "Mill" county. In 1905 the assessed valuation of saw, shingle and other wood working mills exceeded $500,000, and they are not assessed at their full value by a long way. The Weyerhauser Lumber Company leads off with a valuation of $59,000; then come the Clark Nickerson Lumber Company, $54,000; the Mukilteo Lumber Company, $51,500; the

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Three Lakes Lumber Company, $28,500; Parker Brothers & Hiatt, $22,500; Eclipse Mill Com- pany, $16,500; Ferry Baker Lumber Company, $16,500; Wallace Lumber & Manufacturing Company, 813, 400; Gold Bar Lumber Company, $12,400; and the Mitchell Lumber Company, $11,000.

A complete list of the saw-mills of Snohomish county without shingle mills in connection is as follows: E. J. Anderson's, capacity 20,000 feet per diem; Arlington Lumber Company's, 20,000; Clark Nickerson Lumber Company's, 160,000; Cedarhome Lumber Company's, 80,000; Crescent Lumber Company's, 20,000; Dexter Mill Com- pany's. 15,000; John Johnson's, 5,000; Kruse Brothers', 15,000; Lake McAleer Lumber Com- pany's, 20,000; G. H. Mowatt & Company's, 15,000; Marysville Shingle Company's, 40,000; Maughlin Brothers', 20,000; Morgan Brothers', 35,000; Robe Menzel Lumber Company's, 30,000; Stanwood Lumber Company's, Sauk Lumber | Company's, 30,000; Smith Lumber Company's, 25,000; W. E. Stocker's, 10,000; Seymore Brothers', 5,000; Summit Saw-mill, 5,000; Totham-Nelson Lumber Company's, 10,000; A. M. Yost's, 10,000; Hydraulic Power & Mill Company's, 5, 000. The saw-mills with shingle mills in connection are those of the Cañon Lumber Company, Eclipse Mill Company, Ferry Baker Lumber Company, Gold Bar Lumber Company, Gray Lumber Company, Heath- Morley Company, Mukilteo Lumber Company, Mitchell Lumber Company, Parker Brothers & Hiatt, Silver Lake Shingle Company, Stephens Brothers, Three Lakes Lumber Company, Wal- lace Lumber & Manufacturing Company, T. H. Williams & Company, Weyerhauser Timber Company.

The shingle manufacturing industry is much younger than logging and lumbering, but it has had a rank growth, encouraged by the great demand of the Eastern states for red cedar shingles. The Blackman Brothers in Snohomish county and Mortimer Cook in Skagit were leaders in introducing the sound shingles in the middle West, and to them is due a large measure of credit for the building up of the splendid shingle industry and the very important effect it has had on the general development of the country. Prior to about 1886 there were no shingle mills in the sound basin; now there are eighty- three in Snohomish county alone, in addition to those in connection with the saw-mills. These are the property of the following firms and indi- viduals:

American Red Cedar Shingle Company. capacity 00,000 a day; Advance Shingle Com- pany, 80,000; Arlington Shingle Company, 50,000; Arlington Shingle Company, 110,000; John Anderson, 90,000; Anderson Brothers, 40,000; C. A. Blackman, 120,000; Brady Shingle Company, 60,000; Barlow Shingle Company, 22

40,000; Bass Shingle Company, 90,000; Best Shingle Company, 60,000; Big Three Shingle Company, 40,000; Bolcom Bartlet Mill Company, 1 80,000; Bolcom Bartlet Mill Company, 120,000; Bryant Lumber & Shingle Company, 90,000; F. H. Benedict, 40,000; Carpenter Brothers, 100,- 000; Cavelero Mill Company, 140,000; Chappel Shingle Company, 40,000; Coombs Lumber Company, 90,000; Cooper & Aplin, 90,000; Cras & Larson, 40.000; Carlson Brothers, 180,000; Dorgan Brothers, 60,000; Edmonds Red Cedar Shingle Company, 80,000; Eby Mill Company, 90,000; Edgecomb Mill Company, 60,000; E. Eggert, 120,000; Ewald Brothers, 90,000; Ford Shaw Lumber Company, 110,000; Florence Shingle Company, 90,000; Fenton & Kimbal, 60,000; Fortson Shingle Company, 80,000; Grace Mill Company, 90,000; John Hals, 120,000; Han- son Timber Company, 90,000; Hartford Shingle Company, 110,000; Hazel Lumber Company, 110,000; G. K. Hiatt, 160,000; August Ilolin- quist, 120,000; Harrington Shingle Company, 100,000; Wilson Hill, 60,000; Keystone Mill Company, 80,000; J. A. Kennedy, 90,000; G. J. Ketchum, 40,000; Lake Riley Shingle Company, 40,000; R. A. Lauderdale, 80,000; Lincoln Shingle Company, 100,000; Lea Lumber Com- pany, 120,000; Lochloy Shingle Company, 60,000; Mann Shingle Company, 120,000; R. J. Mclaughlin, 90,000; Monroe Mill Company, 120,000; Maughlin Brothers, 140,000; Marley & Church, 90,000; Marysville Shingle Company, 90,000; Meuret Shingle Company, 40,000; James McCulloch, 120,000; Neukirchen

Brothers, 60,000; Newcomb McCall & Company, 60,000; J. H. Parker, 140,000; Puget Shingle & Lumber Company, 200,000; Rainier Cedar & Shingle Company, 120,000; Robinson & Idema, 100,000.

It is not claimed that the capacities assigned are absolutely accurate, but they are given by Assessor E. M. Allen as close conservative esti- mates.

In this connection it is proper to mention the sash and door factories of the county which are owned and operated by the following companies and individuals, namely: Arlington Shingle Company, John Anderson, American Lumber & Manufacturing Company, G. W. Mowatt & Com- pany, Marysville Shingle Company, Snohomish Shingle Company, J. Swartz, Totham-Nelson Lumber Company, Wheelihan Weidauer Com- pany Western Shingle Company, A. M. Yost.

From what has already been said in these pages regarding the mines of the county it must be evident to the reader that they have from the first given great promise. While it is frankly admitted that so far their promise has not been fulfilled, there is no good reason for discourage- ment, for if the mineral belt has not been proven by development, so far as it has been carried, to be one of great merit, the contrary has certainly not been shown. Furthermore, there are many

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good reasons for the slowness of the region in coming to the front other than lack of merit.

In an interesting article on the mines of this section Hon. Albert W. McIntre calls attention to the fact that many meritorions districts in Colo- rado, California, British Columbia and elsewhere had the same experience. They were once un- known to fame and had to struggle through ignorance, scepticism and poverty. He also de- nies that there is any antecedent improbability that a great mining industry may be developed in the Snohomish county Cascades arising out of geological conditions.

"It was, " said he, "the writer's good fortune, last August at the session of the American Min- ing Congress held at Portland, Oregon, to meet Prof. J. S. Diller, of the United States Geo- logical Survey, and personally of the highest authority in economic geology. Recognizing my opportunity, I asked Dr. Diller whether there was anything to justify the statement I had heard more than once very dogmatically made in Seattle, I think, to the effect that there was no use of looking for mines in the Cascades because the geological conditions were wrong. Dr. Diller answered that there was nothing to justify such a statement but, on the contrary. that suffi- cient disturbances had occurred in those moun- tains to produce the necessary fractures and that the vein contents or deposits were mineral as in other like regions; that this was apparent from the fact that there were mines to the north and the south of us (in the Cascades) and further that reports of the geological survey in the field indicated that doubtless upon development our part of the Cascade range would be found fully as rich."

The mineral belt of Snohomish county is roughly speaking twenty miles wide and thirty- six long, covering the eastern portion of the county and including the Darrington, Monte Cristo, Goat Lake, Silver Creek, Troublesome, Sultan and Stillaguamish districts. "Beginning near the north line of the county in the Darring- ton districts in a schist country rock, chalcopyrite occurs carrying gold in veins up to one hundred feet wide, between diorite or porphyry and slate walls. These are low grade ores. On White Horse mountain, on the west side of the Sauk river, the country rock is granite. Copper occurs as bornite in the veins with good values. Pyrrho- tite often occurs on the surface. The ores run from sixteen dollars to eighty-four dollars in value. Darrington seems to be on the eastern side of the copper belt. Silverton, about twelve miles due south of Darrington, is well in the copper belt, which seems to run from a point somewhat west of Darrington through the Silverton district, although perhaps the center line is to the west of Silverton. This mineral belt continues almost directly to Mount Index, thence toward Mount Stewart, running roughly parallel to a line

between those mountains and somewhat to the west of it. Granite is the country rock about Silverton, although the veins often occur between diorite and granite, and also in the diorite. The ore is chalcopyrite carrying gold values and silver when galena occurs.

Among the pioneer prospectors of the Dar- rington districts were Soren Bergenson, Knute Neste, Charles Burns, George Knudson, B. C. Schloman, John Robinson and William Giesler, who went in about 1890 and located numerous mining claims near the head waters of the north fork. Almost southeast of the town of Darring- ton stands Gold mountain, with the Sauk river laving its southwestern base. Upon it something like one hundred claims are said to have been located between 1895 and 1900. The formation is slate with porphyry dykes, and the ore is iron sulphurets carrying gold, copper and other minerals. On the southwest side is the Myrtle C. group, with four hundred feet of development work; and just south of it is the Blue Bird. Both these properties are owned by the Blue Bird Consolidated Mining Company. North of the Myrtle C. is the Forest Lode, discovered by S. B. Emens, but now owned by the Darrington Mining and Reduction Company of Seattle. About three hundred and sixty feet of development work has been done, but for the past two years the prop- erty has stood idle. On the west slope, a thousand feet up, is the Burns group discovered by Charles Burns, which in 1900 was bonded to Montana capitalists for thirty thousand dollars. It was sold two years ago to J. G. English of Danville, Illinois, and is now in litigation. The Sauk River Mining Company has a group of claims on the northeast slope of this mountain, with several hundred feet of development work, and, it is said, a fine body of ore on the dump. On this mountain also are the properties of the Huron Mining Company, adjoining the Sauk River Company's on the east; the Frank Lode claims on the northeast end; the Harley Gold Mountain Mining & Smelting Company, and Hawkinson & Snider. Considerable develop- ment work has been done on some of these prop- erties, and almost all promise well.

Jumbo mountain, about two miles south of Darrington, is of a porphyry and schist formation and its ores are sulphates carrying copper, gold, lead and other metals. On its east side Knudson Brothers have seventeen claims, with ore assay- ing from three dollars to seventy dollars per ton but in recent years they have done nothing but assessment work. The Keywinder group, located by Bergenson Brothers, Charles Burns, Knute Neste and George Knudson, has between five and six hundred feet of development work done on it and has made some good showings. A mile southeast of the Keywinder is the Hunter group, with two hundred and fifty feet of developments, now owned by Charles Burns, while on the

ON PUGET SOUND

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

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western slope of the mountain in Cedar Basin are several properties owned by James Smith, Charles Hudson, Martin Evert, James Elwood and John Spangler. These are said to be high grade cop- per and lead properties but at the present noth- ing but assessment work is being done on them.

White Horse mountain, three and a half miles southwest of Darrington, whose higliest peak is 7,000 feet high, and which is glaciated in places, is also the site of some promising prop- erties. The formation is gray granite and ande- site, the contact extending north and south through the center of the peak, with slate lapping up on the north side and porphyry dykes in several of the north spurs. On its east slope are the Coffin & Mallet mines, owned now by Samuel Nichols of Everett, said to be rich in lead, gold and silver. The Buckeye basin, on the northeast slope of the mountain contains over twenty mining claims carrying copper, lead, gold, silver and other metals. They are now known as the Roosevelt group, having been relocated last year by Charles Burns. It is said that there are also some valuable mining locations in and around Wellman Gulch on the north side of the mountain, and near the base of White Horse is the Schloman mine, with one hundred feet of development work, a gold and copper proposition, sold recently to A. L. Purdy, of New York. Jasper Sill, S. S. Stevens, and Charles Wrage, of Arlington, have valuable locations on the north slope of the mountain, yielding lead, copper, gold and silver and on the southwest side, J. W. Morris has five prospects.

Almost south of Darrington, and some twelve miles distant is the celebrated Bornite mine, owned by the Bornite Gold & Copper Mining Company, of Bangor, Maine. It is by far the best developed of all the properties in the Darring- ton country, many thousands of dollars having been spent in the construction of a tramway to connect it with the railway at Darrington, in the harnessing of water power and the installation of aerial trams, air drills, air compressor, electric lights, etc., also in work on the ore body itself. At the time of the writer's visit to the district, a tunnel was being driven under contract three thousand feet to strike the ledge some twelve hundred feet down. Charles G. Austin, of Seattle, who is interested in the company, states that he expects to ship ore about the first of December, 1905. He also informed the writer that ore from this mine is of a quality that smelters desire; hence either the smelter at Everett or that at Tacoma will gladly reduce it for one dollar and eighty cents a ton. As soon as the Bornite mine begins shipping there will no doubt be a great revival of interest in the Darrington district, which will probably result in the development of other producers. A branch road from the Northern Pacific at Afling- ton gives the district a convenient outlet. 1

South of the Darrington district the mineral belt widens out considerably. This central por- tion has been rendered readily accessible by the construction of the Everett and Monte Cristo railroad, now owned by the Northern Pacific. The Monte Cristo branch leaves the Bellingham division at Hartford, follows the Pilchuck a short distance, then the south fork of the Stillaguamish to its head waters, passing thence through Bar- low pass to the south fork of Sauk river, which it ascends to the junction of Glacier and Seventy- six creeks. In less than fifty miles of road six tunnels have been constructed, one nearly a third of a mile in length. Four per cent. grades are numerous and in one place there is a six per cent. rise ; that is to say, the road climbs 317 feet to the mile. The final ascent to Monte Cristo is accom- plished by means of a switchback. The tunnels are all between Granite Falls and Robe station, in the cañon of the Stillaguamnish, and just below the latter point a half mile of concrete road bed has been found necessary as the cañon is here a deep gorge, through which, in flood time, wild torrents race madly with their burdens of debris.

The scenery from the entrance of the Stilla- guamish cañon onward is everywhere grand, but it increases rapidly in sublimity and impres- siveness as the train proceeds. In no part of their course are the Cascades without scenic charm, but at Monte Cristo they present their wildest, most fascinating, most overwhelming aspect. The town lies in a sort of basin, sur- rounded by a complex of precipitous ridges, thousands of feet in altitude, their bases laved by rushing crystal creeks; their crests crowned with perpetual snow. From the glaciers of this region come Glacier and Seventy-six creeks, which, uniting at the foot of a bold, sheer head- land known as Wilmans peak, together form the south fork of the magnificent Sauk, noblest tributary of the mighty Skagit.

The first mining property one reaches in traveling eastward on the Monte Cristo branch is the Wayside, on the extreme western edge of the copper belt, just two miles east of Granite Falls, its supply point. The ore carries copper, silver and gold, in the proportion of six parts each of the first two to one of the yellow metal. There are two veins, the Phoenix and the Red- bird, about 900 feet apart, the former of which is developed by 200 feet of tunnel and several open cuts, the work of the original locators years ago; the latter by 1,500 feet of tunnels and one shaft down 212 feet, and being sunk to a depth of 300 and raised 100 to a new tunnel to be driven into the hillside above the railroad track. A cross-cut will then be run to connect the main tunnel with the Redbird vein at a depth of 300 feet. A compressor, hoisting works and electric light plant are now being operated at the tunnel's mouth and it is expected that when the improvements now contemplated are completed,

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the company will supply Granite Falls, as well as the mine, with light and power. C. M. Carter, who has been superintendent of the mine for the past four years, states that last winter the mine shipped 1,200 tons of ore which averaged thirty dollars to the ton, while several ears went as high as fifty-four dollars. From fifty to seventy-five men are employed.

The Wayside was discovered by H. Il. and James Humes, of Seattle, shortly after the rail- road was built up the Stillaguamish. They expended about eight thousand dollars in devel- opment work. In 1902 they sold to Dr. Alexander DeSoto, who at once transferred a half interest to J. J. Habecker and his associates of Philadelphia. They expended, it is said, forty thousand dollars within a few months. Subse- quently the property was acquired by a stock company, headed by Mr. Habecker, which has been pushing developments with vigor and plans to continue so doing.

Farther east is the Silverton district, one of the best known in the county. Granite is the country rock, the town of Silverton being very near the center of a belt of granite several miles wide, extending a little east of north and west of south. This copper-bearing granite formation has been traced from the north fork of the Stilla- guamish, southward across White Horse moun- tain, the south fork valley and the Sultan, Silver creek and Index districts to the head of Miller river in King county. The ledges carry chal- copyrite, bornite, iron pyrites, and arsenical iron and are rich in copper, gold and silver, while occasional bodies of galena are found. The Silverton distriet was opened in 1890 and 1891 as a result of the Monte Cristo excitement. In the summer of the latter year the Hoodoo ledge of pyritic ore was located by Abe Gordon and Fred Harrington, and a few days later William and James Hanchett staked out the Independent on Silver Gulch, a great ledge carrying arsenical iron and galena. Before the close of the season George Hall and W. M. Molesque discovered the Anacortes ledge, now known as the Imperial ; then the Bonanza Queen was staked out on Long mountain by J. F. Bender, Z. W. Lockwood and J. O. Marsh. The district was organized August 26, 1891, and during the winter following, the town of Silverton was founded by Charles and Parker Mckenzie, J. B. Carrothers, William Whitten and J. F. Birney, who cut a pack trail to Hartford in November. In 1892, a wagon road was constructed down the valley and the Monte Cristo railroad was graded to the town and beyond to Barlow pass. That year also the Helena ledges, on the divide between Deer and Clear creeks, were discovered by Louis Lundlin, John Jackson and Thomas Johnson, and the Perry ereek elaims by Theodore Lohr. In 1895 it was found that the mineral belt extended over Long mountain to Martin creek, and in July,

IS96, an asbestos deposit was opened on the divide at the heads of Deer, Martin and Clear ereeks, by R. C. Myers and Louis Callihan

At present there is only one property ready to ship in the Silverton district, the Bonanza Queen, although several other mines have in the past shipped rich ore and could be doing so now if they were not shut down pending reorganiza- tion. The Bonanza Queen group comprises ten claims, owned by the Bonanza Queen Mining Company, S. A. Warner, manager. The main ledge of this great copper property on which are four claims, erops out sixty feet wide in a gulch running down Long mountain to Deer creek. Until the present owners took the property recently, two tunnels, one three hundred feet long and the other one hundred and twenty feet along this outerop constituted the major portion of the development. Now the main working tunnel is eleven hundred feet in length Twenty- six men are employed at the mine and in building a surface tram to the railway about a mile above town. The company expects to be shipping by the middle of October. The principal value in this mine is its large body of high-grade copper ore. A compressor plant is operated.

The Bornite mine, previously mentioned, is likewise on Long mountain, but as its produce will go out through Darrington, over the Dar- rington branch, it has been noticed in connection with the Darrington district.

The Imperial Company has been employing, for over a year, several men on its property, the Anacortes group, which lies on a ledge paralleling the great Independence vein. The property has made an excellent showing of arsenical iron, galena and copper. It is owned by Everett, Marysville and Monroe people.

What is perhaps the most prominent property in the camp lies idle at present, pending the adjustment of internal inatters. This is the Copper Independent group, right at the town of Silverton. The main ledge crops to a width of sixty feet in the bed of a gorge running toward the mouth of Silver guleh. Four levels have been run in the vein, developing it quite thor- oughly. Two years ago a three-hundred-ton concentrator, with modern equipment. was erected in the river at the town, and operated for a few days, but it has ever since lain idle and no further development work has been done. Boston capitalists own the group. The Indepen- dent is looked upon as one of the camp's sub- stantial properties and universal regret is expressed that its owners have seen fit to sus- pend operations.

Just over the divide to the south in the Sultan basin lies the noted "Forty-five" mine, nearer Silverton as the eagle flies but tributary to Sultan City is the Skykomish. Both districts receive benefit from its activity, the main offices being at Silverton in charge of Chester F. Lee,

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manager, while the heavy shipping goes in and out by way of Sultan creek. Extensive opera- tions are about to be instituted by the owners, the Lydia E. Pinkham estate.

Hundreds of claims have been located in the Silverton district upon many of which, in addi- tion to those mentioned, assessment work (and in some cases much more than assessment work) is being done. Among the more prominent groups and claims which have been considerably developed, but which for one reason and another are idle at present are the following: Hoodoo group, Cleveland, Helena, Eclipse Bell & Crown, Big Four, Hannah, Copperhead, Asbestos, Arlington, Deer Lake and Eureka.

Such were the difficulties of access to the Monte Cristo district before the building of the railroad that very few of the earliest prospectors ventured far into its rugged retreats. In ISS9, however, an adventurous mining man named Joseph Pearsall, came to the region. Pearsall had left the school room in 1878 to go to Lead- ville, and had since traveled extensively in search of gold, winning laurels wherever he went for his intrepidity and daring. These characteristics naturally impelled him, when he came to the Snohomish mineral belt, to push boldly forward over the bonds of the unknown, so he formed a partnership with a congenial spirit, named Frank W. Peabody, and together they began their explorations. Ascending Silver creek to its source, they climbed to the top of Silver Tip peak, whence, for the first time, they surveyed the majestic mountainous complex all around them. Carefully they scanned with their glasses the cliffs and mountain sides in search of indica- tions of mineral. They noticed great stains of red everywhere due to the presence of oxidized iron and finally far across the chasm of Seventy- six creek, Pearsall's sharp eye descried a glit- tering streak on Wilmans ridge, which he took to be galena. He lost no time in descending the mountain, and making his way to the spot, there finding to his great satisfaction that his surmise as to the character of the find was indeed correct. The ledge was a large one twenty to thirty feet wide. He staked out a claim for himself and Peabody, naming it "Independence of 1776," in memory of the fact that he had got his first glimpse of the mineral on the 4th of July. Without making public their discovery Pearsall and his partner went forthwith to Seattle to interview the Wilmans Brothers, who were friends of Peabody. They had recently con- cluded a highly successful venture in Park City, Utah, extracting a half million dollars in less than a year from a mine that had been aban- doned, hence had plenty of means at their com- mand. J. M. Wilmans grub staked the two prospectors and sent them back to explore the region thoroughly, and locate everything in sight, promising to push any worthy prospect

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An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 77

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1906 Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1172

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172