The following East Mojave Desert news items were copied from the Barstow Printer by Ted R. Weasma. Spelling errors and grammar were copied as printed.

Barstow Printer News Items: 1915 - 1917

March 5, 1915

Kelso

• Mr. Alf was in town Friday.
• Mr. Ed Barker is in Needles for a visit with Mrs. M. M. Brame.
• Mr. E. B. Wood visited her husband here who is on the Parker run.
• Doc. Daugherty and I. N. Hughes were in Santa Barbara for a few days.
• J. W. Rowe returned from Los Angeles last Saturday evening where he has been in the hospital.
• Mr. and Mrs. McDonald entertained Mr. and Mrs. Honan and daughters, Sunday last at dinner.
• Lou Hart spent last week in Los Angeles and Terminal, and looks in fine health from the change of climate.
• Mrs. John Schrader and her sister, Miss Irene Walsh of Ontario, Cal., are spending the week with their old time friends, Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Ames.
• Fireman Akra Jones and family have left for Las Vegas, Nev., Mr. Jones having been relieved on the hill run by Mr. Lowel. Voe Newcomb is succeeded on the local run by John Ludholm of Las Vegas.
• About fifteen couples enjoyed the dance given last Friday night in honor of Mr. George Barrett, foreman of the S. L. painting gang, who was in town on company business. Mr. Barnett and Miss Bulah Clark presented some of the latest new dance steps, much to the envy of those who are not quite up to date on these matters.

August 20, 1915

Barstow

Auto Trucks take place of Twenty Mule Teams on Desert- At the Wild Rose Antimony mine six auto mooreland trucks are carrying two and one forth tons each trip in transporting the ore to the station at Torona. To the end of economy and to more readily fill the urgent orders for their product, the mine has placed in operation, two Renard “Auto trains” capable of hauling from thirteen and one half to twenty five tons per train load over the desert and the mountain ranges. These trains have been successfully operated between trona and a point half way to the mines where large ore bins have been built. Twenty five tons per train have been carried over this part of the road. Last week one of the “trains” made a complete trip to the mine carrying thirteen and one half tons. This new auto train, or tractor, consists of a gasoline tractor with a series of trailers all connected with the engine by a flexible shaft. The engine striking a bad piece of road, where the wheels block or turn, the power is transmitted by the flexible shaft to the trailers, and the trailers push the engine out of the mush or sand to more solid ground. Fast time is made.

The method of mining at the wild is that of quarrying, antimony ore being found all through the hills in lease. It is hand sorted and the 50 per cent ore brings about $500 per ton. The mine is situated 45 miles from the rail road shipping point. The autos make a round trip each day.

At the carbonite mine in Death Valley, autos make the trip hauling ore to Zabrisky station. The ore is in the neighborhood of $30 grade, lead and silver. The slow and expensive ten and twenty mule team freighting of a few years ago, is rapidly disappearing where auto trucks and tractors can be used. Owen Valley Herald.

September 10, 1915

Desert Mining News

• NEEDLES SMELTER-The Needles Mining and Smelting Company has within the last few days put into operation the machinery of its flotation plant. Already the slimes from the mill are being run through the settlers and agitators where the oil is added. At present experts are makings tests of different ores and combinations of oils, keeping a complete record of heads and tails, percentage of concentration, etc.
• C. H. Whipple, from Needles, passed through Barstow en route to Los Angeles in connection with business pertaining to the Deposit Mining and Milling Company, recently incorporated under the laws of Arizona, and whose properties are situated in the Providence Mountains, San Bernardino, county.

October 22, 1915

Ivanpah

• A large auto truck, loaded with provisions and supplies passed trough the Valley enroute to the Paris mine. The mine will resume operation immediately and begin shipping ore from Cima this week.

November 5, 1915

Providence Mountains

The Bonanza King mine and mill are working day and night, with a force of thirty men. E. H. Tracy, superintendent, has a well-organized force under J. F. Guerney, foreman of the mill, and Walter Schinnle in charge of transportation. The mill is working between forty and fifty tons of ore daily and producing a high grade concentrate, as well as precipitate. High grade ore is also shipped from the mine.

Many changes have been made by Superintendent Tracy and results are repaying him for his efforts. He has installed an electric lighting plant and a water service, which is of great benefit.

There are five families now in camp, thus giving a more charming appearance to the surroundings. Two trucks are operated between Fenner and the mine, hauling ore and supplies daily. Several properties near the Bonanza King are being investigated and no doubt some of them will be working in the near future.

January 26, 1916

Barstow

• “NEW TUNGSTEN FIELDS WILL RIVAL THOSE OF ATOLIA” Much Activity in and Around Kelso large Shipments of Tungsten being Made-Many Prospects Are Being located. W. J. Boreham, an old-time prospector and miner, was in Barstow this week, having just returned form Kelso. Mr. Boreham reports much activity in a mining way in that country. Several large companies, one of which is Globe Mining Company, are making shipments by express. Tungsten claims are being located around Ivanpaugh, Cima, and Kelso. Kelso is ninety miles from Barstow on the main line of the Salt Lake.
• Mr. Boreham has been in that country for the last two months and has located new claims on which are to be found copper, coal, tungsten, oil and Wulframite. He has also located a number of water holes and placed sign boards on same.
• Mr. Boreham is one of the oldest miners on the desert, coming here in ‘71, and has been on the desert continuously since.

March 10, 1916

Kelso

• Mr. C. Phillips, a prominent railroad and mining man of needles, was a visitor in Kelso recently. He was a quest of W. J. Borhan, with who he is interested in some lead properties, which they expect to develop in the near future.
• F. G. Latham of the Tough Nut property is making good headway on tunnel, with excellent prospects of reaching something soon.
• W. J. Borham left Monday with his outfit for the “Old Dad” range west of here, and expects to be a good month or more prospecting.
• The five-ton truck of the Globe Mining Company has arrived and is at work hauling ore for shipment to the smelter.

July 21, 1916

Low Grade Ores

• How low grade is the gold ore milled at Juneau, Alaska, is not fully appreciated, says the Mining and Scientific Press. For example, The Alaska Gold Mines company, during its ten months of operation in 1915, recovered on 94 cents per ton from 1,115,294 tons of ore, obtaining therefrom 23 cents profit per ton. Miners are accustomed to think of the copper and iron ores of Lake Superior as being the last work in low yield of metal, but a 30-ton carload of 1 percent copper from a Lake Superior mine contains 600 pounds of copper worth $90 with copper at 15 cents per pound, and in recent times nearly twice as much. A 30-ton carload of iron ore is worth at least $60 at the mines and $100 at Lower Lake points. On the other hand, a 30-ton car of $1 gold ore can never have an assay value of more than $30. It is interesting to note that the three mines of the Treadwell group on Douglas Island extracted nearly $2 per ton from the 1,652,307 tons of ore treated in 1915; of this about 80 cents per ton was profit.
• J. Henry Wood, Will Investigate Kelso Mining Property
• The celebrated Greene-Cananea mines in Sonora, Mexico, are now rated at something over one hundred and twenty million dollars.
• Not so very many years ago the cananea properties were offered to Buffalo capitalists at only half a million dollars. At that time “Bill” Greene, George Mitchell and Professor Treadwell were then the managing directors of Cobre Grande Copper Co. and it was a money losing proposition.
• On the advice of J. Henry Wood now of Los Angeles. The Buffalo people purchased the property on a basis of $500,000. and put Mr. Wood in charge as its Secretary and Managing Director. Pretty soon the old plant was turning out a profit of $1500.oo per day net for every day its limited water capacity would permit its operation.
• This wonderful change attracted the attention and resulted in the marvelously quick jump which followed: first to a six million, then ten, fifteen, thirty and finally to a sixty million corporation, with its stock selling at more than double par.
• Mr. Wood has been requested to investigate properties in the Kelso district, with a view to reporting their commercial merits to waiting New York investors who are looking for mining properties in which to invest some of their surplus “War” stock profits.

February 23, 1917

Kelso

• C. P. Gould, of the Kelso postoffice, has purchased the store and other properties from Hotz and Sons. He will remodel some of the buildings and improve things in general. Hotz was in Kelso for the past five years and has now moved to Los Angeles.
• The miners all give good reports of their working up in the mountains.
• The Salt Lake has two large forces of workmen on the roadbed. They are working toward Barstow.

March 16, 1917

Kelso

• Mrs. Rouse, mother of Round House Foreman Rouse, is seriously ill in the hospital at Los Angeles. Her son is at her bedside. Mrs. Rouse, who lived in Kelso many years ago, was here again visiting with her son when she was taken sick.
• Almost the whole town has been down with colds, but are up again and well on the road to recovery.
• The round house is a very busy place these days. An extra helper engine tends the two regulars, and an extra local east and west are keeping the force busy.

March 16, 1917 is the last article that I could find that covered news from areas within the Mojave National Preserve. Papers were searched through 1919.

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