Beautiful certificate from the Chonchilula Gold Reef Mines issued in 1903. This historic document has a photo vignette of the property. This item has the hand signatures of the Company's President, Mark W. Musgrove and Secretary, W. T. Wimtemute and is over 121 years old. Shows signs of wear. This is the first time we have had this for sale.
The Chonchilula Gold Reef Mines was organized in South Dakota for the purpose of working mines in Chonchilula District, Trinity County, California. According to the prospectus received the-capital stock is $3,000,000, par value per share, $l. The officers are: Mark W. Musgrove, president; vice-president; W. T. Wimtemute. In addition to the above officers the Board of directors consists of P. M. Paulsen, Weaveryille, Hon. Sanford T. Church, New York, and T. P. Estes, South Dakota. The company intended working quartz mines in the Chonchilula district and its prospectus gives a very glowing account of the property.
Chonchilula Gold Reef Mines Co.
11757. (Oswego, N. Y.) I enclose letter head of Chonchilula Gold Reef Mines Company. The president of date the 24th ult., writes me "that the Miner's Dream is a great gold reef outcropping on the surface 400 feet long, 42 feet high and 50 feet high, which averages over 100 assays at $12.21 per ton, making a grand total of $750 worth of ore on top of the ground, actually in sight, ready to be reduced in the stamp mill. Here you have a gold mine without digging, tunneling, etc., worth $750,000, and yet the stock is offered at 10 cents, par $1. I should like your views on this wonderful company.
Ans. This company is organized under the laws of South Dakota with $3,000,000 capital stock full paid and non-assessable, the par value of shares being $1 each. One-third of the entire capital is retained as a treasury reserve. The officers are as follows: president, Mark W. Musgrove, mining engineer, Spokane, Wash.; vice-president, Hon. Sanford T. Church, deputy attorney-general, Albany, N. Y.; secretary, W. T. Wintemute; treasurer, P. M. Paulsen. The resident director at Pierre, S. D., is T. P. Estes, counsellorat-law. Following of the remaining directors: Hon. W. B. U. S. senator from Heyburn, Idaho, Washington, D. C.; E. M. Robinson, director American Asphalt Roofing Co., Jersey City, N. J.; Mark Manley, M. E., consulting engineer, Weaverville, Cal., and H. R. Given, district attorney, Trinity county, Cal. Disinterested parties Latouche Island Copper M. Co., Ltd. speak favorably of this board of directors.
Emil Marks is manager and James E. Blair, superintendent at the mine. The property of the company consists of 37 claims or 740 acres, southeast of Bisbee, Ariz., in the Warren mining district. The secretary of the company states that the shaft sinking is down 130 feet. A steam hoist and other machinery necessary are in place. He also states that over $100,000 has been received from the sale of stock and there are still 150,000 shares in the treasury. The officers of the company seem to be reliable, but their property is in a district that remains to be proven, and is purely a speculative affair. The home office is at Marquette, Mich., and the mine office at Bisbee, Ariz.
AFFAIRS OF THE CHONCHILULA MAY BE WOUND UP.
"The Chonchilula Gold Reef Mines Co." has suspended the payment of dividends, but the company has not quit lying about its wonderful (?) "Miner's Dream." This is the latest report sent out:
"December 14, 1903.
"To the Stockholders: "The Chonchilula Gold Reef Mines Company, after conferring with some of its largest stockholders, have decided to temporarily defer distributing dividends, so as to use all available funds for the further developments of its valuable properties. This course is considered advantageous to those whose interest we hold most sacred, viz. the shareholders.
"Mr. Brown, President of the Corporate-Agent Company, at a great personal sacrifice to himself, as he had to leave his professional work (receiving no salary or other remuneration whatever), spent three months on the properties of the above company in California during the past season. He surveyed the claims, laid out the mill, power sites, erected necessary buildings and placed everything upon a business-like basis.
"Now that the above has been accomplished and your company has bought the well-known developed Capps Mine at Charlotte, N. C., which has 2,000 feet of workings, a ten-stamp mill and ore enough in sight to keep the mill running several years (see bulletin No. 10 of the N. C. Geological Survey), it has been deemed wise to pursue the course indicated in former paragraph as to dividends because we feel absolutely sure later on they will be permanently resumed upon a much larger scale.
"The 'Miner's Dream' in California will be cross-cut before spending any more money on betterments. We desire to state in the most definite language that our big reef is mineralized and possesses wonderful possibilities which cannot be fully appreciated without personal inspection. A new shaft should be sunk on the Capps mine while the mill works on the ore in sight. We consider our company has a most promising future. Regular reports will be issued as to progress made, so that complete information may be expected frequently. Yours very truly,
"CHONCHILULA GOLD REEF MINES CO., "M. W. Musgrove, President. "P. 8.-Every stockholder is urged by the company to invest at least $100 in stock at the current price of forty (40c.) cents per share for additional development of the properties."
Of course all the previous paragraphs led up to the last and most important, where every stockholder is urged to send in $100 more. If they comply with that request, perhaps dividends may be resumed. But why not use the money which formerly went for dividends on "additional developments," instead of selling more stock? We have warned our readers against this humbug in several previous issues and denounce it now as a fake of the first water.
The company has moved its operations to North Carolina. Horse thieves and lesser criminals than stock selling thieves have ended their career at the end of a rópe in North Carolina. If the Chonchilula winds up its affairs suddenly the public will be the gainer.
Research by RM Smythe.
