Bull of the Woods Mine, Gold Hill Mining District, Jackson County, Oregon

Bull of the Woods


Major Commodities: Gold, Pyrite
Trace Commodities:
Host Rock: Quartz, Diorite
Legal Description: 36 South, 3 West, Section 15, NE 1/4
Elevation: 1280 feet


The Bull of the Woods mine consists of 31 acres of patented land located above the east side of the Rogue River on the western slope of Gold Hill. Very little is known about the mine prior to the 1930's except for the fact that the property was originally patented as agricultural land in the 1880's by Francis Marion Fredenburgh who was a prominent businessman in the Gold Hill area until a few years prior to his death in 1903. There is no indication that Fredenburgh engaged in any mining on the property or any indication of when mining began on the property, although it is certainly in a desireable area due to its close proximity to the famous Gold Hill Pocket.


In 1934, J.A. Clements leased and operated this property for two years, producing close to 145 ounces of gold. In 1936 and 1937, George Tulare operated the mine but production figures are unavailable, if any actually took place. In the Fall of 1938, Clements again secured the lease and began to drive a second shaft about fifty feet south east of the oldest workings. At the time, the property was owned by Mrs. Vella Hays of Gold Hill and Mrs. Rena Davis of Fort Klamath, California.


Reporting in January of 1939, J,.E. Morrison informed the State Department of Geology that there was a good road into the mine and that the topography consisted of rolling hills. Next to no mining timber was available on the property and no water was available with the exception of about 130 gallons per hour which was produced by seepage in the mine itself. Equipment at the mine included a 7 X 8 Chicago pneumatic compressor that was powered by a 4 cylinder Liberty engine, a small air powered Denver Gardner steam hoist, one ore car, an air hammer and misc. small equipment. Sometime during February or March of 1939, Clements installed a two stamp mill.


Development inside of the mine iconsisted of a total of 266 feet of workings, which did not include a vertical shaft 100 feet deep with three levels at the 35, 50 and 95 foot marks. The 35 and 50 levels connected to the mine's oldest workings, while the 95 foot level consisted of one drift that ran North 55 degrees West for 35 feet and another than ran South 55 degrees East for 25 feet. About fifty to sicty feet south west of the main shaft, a 105 foot tunnel with eight drifts ran North 5 degrees East.


According to reports, the dark country rock is: "probably diorite. (The) vein appears to be aresilicified shear zone from two to six feet wide and is composed of quartz and wall rock which breaks free from the hanging wall. (It is) difficult to determine how much of the foot wall should be mined. The values pentrate the walls. A sample cut for for 25 feet along the hanging wall on (the) 95 foot level runs $1.05 (at $34 per ounce). Samples from (the) foot wall run trace to $2.45. The 95 foot level has not tapped the ore shute (sic) found in the upper levels. (The) vein is of good mineable width. Its lateral extent is not known. Ore mined from the upper levels plated $10 per ton (at $34 per ounce). (The) vein dips from 75 to 80 degrees to the south east and strikes North 55 degrees West. (The) ore minerals are pyrite and free gold, estimated 50% free milling."


Nothing is known about this mine after 1939 and it is presumed to have been shut down in 1942 by Limitation Order L-208 and to have never been re-opened. 


Sources:


Oregon Metal Mines Handbook: Jackson County, 1943, pg. 57
Unpublished State Department of Geology Mine Report, March 16th, 1939
Obituary of "Francis Marion Fredenburgh", The Medford Mail, Eagle Point Eaglets, June 12th, 1903

From the forthcoming "Gold Hill Mining District:
Mines & Mining in South West Oregon" by Kerby Jackson
Copyright 2010 by Kerby Jackson

Chinese Miners Have Tough Time on Sailor Gulch

Sailor Gulch, Josephine County, 1864

The Chinese could be counted among the earliest of miners in South West Oregon and promptly poured into the areas richest mining districts within the first few years of their establishment. Sailor Diggings, better known as the Waldo Mining District, which was Oregon's first and now oldest organized mining district, was no different in this regard. With their sing-song accent, odd customs and strange manner of dress, the Chinese often took the brunt of the abuse which was dished out by the toughs of the early rough and tumble mining camps. In most of the early mining camps, not only did the Chinese enjoy little in the way of rights, but quite often, they were also afforded little to no protection by the existing law. This however, was not necessarily the case in Sailor Diggings, where in 1864, the early government of Josephine County investigated a major crime against a company of Chinese miners and successfully prosecuted the white perpetrators.

On the evening of February 22^nd, 1864 a company of Chinese miners working in Sailor Gulch were relaxing for the night. The nine men, (identified in the records as best as their names could be pronounced) were named Gou, You, Ohu, Hung, Ran, I, Fook, Sit and Toh and they had just completed a hard day's work and were preparing for dinner. All the while, the rest of the small mining community were attending a ball at the nearby town of Waldo. At around 6:30 PM, as most of the other men lounged about the room smoking opium and reading “China books”, Hung went outside to fetch a load of firewood.

While their partner was outside, three men slipped through the front door, drew their pistols and quietly took the eight Chinese miners captive. When Hung came back into the house with an armload of firewood, one of the men shoved the barrel of his revolver against his back and ordered him to tie the queues (pigtails) of his friends together. Once they were restrained, one of the men came forward and tied Hung's hair into the knot of his compatriots pigtails.

Having the situation completely under their control and knowing that the rest of the community was too occupied with their festivities to intervene, over the next two and a half hours, two of the men went through every nook and cranny of the house in search of their valuables, while the third man kept guard over their prisoners. Whenever one of the captives fidgeted or attempted to speak, the guard would promptly strike him over the head and threaten to shoot them all down like dogs if they watched as his fellow outlaws scoured the building for loot.

All in total, the three bandits stole the following items:

Three jackets belonging to I. One clasp knife, one bone handled knife, one pair of boots, a sliver watch worth $15.00 and a revolver belonging to Ohu. A carpet bag, one hat, awhite handled sheath knife and a clasp knife belonging to Gou. A gold ring worth $8.00 and a pair of boots with plates on their heels belonging to You. One hat belonging to Fook. They also located nearly 15 ounces (then about $250 worth) of gold that had been secreted away in various locations throughout the house.

To illustrate the thoroughness of the crooks, the records indicate that the gold had been split among three separate purses, one of which contained $110 and belonged to the company and was hidden underneath a pillow on the bed, another $84 worth belonged to I and was hidden in a box, while the remaining $56 worth belonged to You and was hidden in the blankets. Meanwhile, the pistol and the knives had also been hidden inside of several beds, while the watch had been hanging on a wall and the gold ring had been wrapped inside of a handkerchief that was again, hidden inside of a bed.

After being satisfied with their takings, the three men walked out the door, climbed aboard their horses and raced off into the winter night.

Once the Chinamen finally managed to free themselves, they promptly summoned the local authorities. The victims described their assailants as three white men, one of them with a blond beard, one with a dark beard and the third with nearly red hair and beard. The red haired fellow was described as being about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, while the dark haired outlaw was rather short and the remaining man had a missing tooth.

Sheriff Jeff Howell and one of his deputies, George M. Banks, followed the footprints of the men and then promptly mounted up and trailed the group of outlaws over the next several days into California where they were holed up at Tenmile House in the mining camp of Yreka. The three men surrendered without incident and were brought back to Oregon where they were lodged in the Kerbyville Jail. Once held, the men were promptly identified and were found to still be in possession of the majority of their loot.

On the second Monday of April, 1864, at a regular circuit court of Josephine County, Judge P.P. Primm called together J. Kennedy, A,F. Mitchell, Daniel Green, John L. Powell, James Turner, James Turnbull and Henry Thomas as jurors. John Powell was appointed as foreman and Dan Green was elected court clerk. Some of these names will be recognized as notable early miners in Southern Oregon. John Powell is of course, the man that Powell Creek was named for, while Dan Green, along with his brother George, discovered the famous Sugar Pine Mine near the mouth of Mill Creek in the Galice District.

With very little fanfare, the three outlaws (who never would identify themselves by name) were tried, convicted and sentenced to hard time at Oregon State Prison in Oregon City.