Elk City mining news., March 12, 1904, Image 1

About Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913

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OK City Mining News
Elk City, Idaho, March 12, 1904
$2.oo The Year
Vol. I, No. 11
THE ELK CITY DISTRICT
ni-,
'-V
Report of Robert N. Bell, Inspector of Mines, Relative to This
District, is a Very Clear and Concise Statement.—Some
thing of the Tellurium Ore Found at American Eagle.
This district is one of the old historic
filacer districts of Idaho. Its total pro
dUctioh of placer gold is estimated at
$10,000,000. It is situated among the
low rounded ridges and flat tributary
streams that empty into the Upper
South Fork of the Clearwater.
Elk City, a neat little mining town
with a good hotel and several good bus
iness houses, is situated twenty-five
miles north of Buffalo Hump. -The for
mation here is a gneiss, of much older
date thbn the eruptive granite of the
Hump, a coarse granular rock, carry
ing arl excess^ of bronze-colored mica
arranged in vjavy lines, and lenze shap
ed segregations of feldspar.
The low rounded ridges are covered
with a deep mantle of sandy soil and
: densely timbered with black pine. Al
most every little flat tributary gulch
- and draw over an area fully twenty
miles square has been worked over for
placer gold, and practically the only
boulder residue left in these miles of
old placer pits is gold-bearing quartz,
of which there must he many thousands
of tons ricked up, and while quartz
vein croppings are scarce, irvestigation
proveSsUAt the district is reticulated
with deep pitching fissure veins that
vary all the way from a foot to twenty
feet wide.
This district is probably the most
deeply eroded placer district in the
state. The general elevation of the
• placer beds are about 3,500 -feet above
■ the sea level, and the grass was just as
green there on the 20th of October ^as
it is in the upper Salmon river counties
the first of May, and the district
should afford an ideal field for insistent
and intelligent prospecting with the
y chances of striking big bodies of good
pay ore, and possibly sensational ship
ping values, for it is evident that the
source of the rich placers was not en
tirely exhausted in spite of the deep
, erosions of their parent veins, and it is
not at all improbable that the district
will become an important producer of
quartz gold in the future.
The American Eagle mine, situated
on one of the placer tributaries eight
\
on
miles east cf Elk City, is opened on a
vertical fissure of white quartz ten feet
wide, accompanied with a narrow dike
ot fine grained igneous rock speckled
1 with quartz crystals. The strike of
this vein is northeast and sduthwest.
The development consirts of two adit
tunnels five hundred artjl one thousand
feet long respectfully, and connected
with raises to the surface. *1 he general
massive white quartz filling of this vein
about four dollars in gold. It
makes several shoots of much richer
ore ; one of them is from two to ten
feet wide and three hundred and fifty
feet long in which the quartz is more
shattered and richly impregnated with
brown cube iron (oxidized pyrites) and
Carrie's an average milling value of
twelve to fourteen dollars per ton.
The American Eagle mine was equip
ped with a ten stamp mill with Wilfley
tables in the full of 1902. The mill was
started January 1, 1903, and
steadily during the year, producing
$75,000 worth of gold bullion or about
twenty-eighth of the total gold
runs
was run
one
yield of the state, a pretty good show
ing for a starter in the quartz gold his
tory of this old placer district.
The lower tunnel on this vein was
run at an elevation .of not to exceed
twenty feet above the level of the
Creek; it passed through a shoot of ore
75 feel long and four feet wide that
contained average values of thirty-five
dollars per ton. In driving through
this ore shoot quite7i spriVikling of live
iroh pyrites were encountered, rather
coarsely crystaline and containing high
values in gold up to twenty ounces, and
in addition to this some bunches of tel
lurium ore of the variety petzite, a tel
luride of gold and silver.
Tellurium ore has frequently been
reported from many points in Idaho,
and there is good reason to believe that
it is widely distributed over the mining
districts of the state, but this is the
first instance that 1 have personally
met with it. I was presented with a
handsome specimen of the mineral at
' this mine, and to make'sure of its iden
tity T sent a piece of it to Mr. Henry
V
-'•'i
$. Wood, the well known assayer and
chemist of Denver, who has probably
handled as many telluride samples as
any map on earth, and received the
above classification from him.
specimen tested assayed at the rate of
seventeen ounces gold and four hundred
and eight ounces silver. This sample,
of course, was mostly quartz and a
specimen .pf the clean black mineral
would have run very high,
pieces of it in the company's office at
Spokane which had been roasted and
was literally matted over with beads of
light colored gold after the manner of a
rich specimen of Cripple Creek ore.
What the discovery of this rich min
eral will mean t,o the American Eagle
company is hard to say. It may con
tinue to be found in isolated kidneys,
but occurring as it does just at the hori
zon of change from the completely ox
idized condition of the vein, there is a
■•strong probability that below the water
level of the creek the quartz will be
highly charged and may probably carry
enough of the petzite to sweeten it up
to a sortable, high grade shipping pro
duct.
The
I saw
It is gratifying to be sure of the oc
curence of this rare gold bearing min
eral in Idaho, for its discovery and
development has led to such sensational
results in the Colorado camps in the
psst few years. Its discovery in our
extensive areas of almçst virgin mineral
territory may hold similar agreeable
surprises.*
Among the other quartz properties of
the Elk City district which have consid
erable development work and good ore*
in sight, the Buster, Blue Ribbon and
Cleveland mines rank high and all carry
similar large quartz fissures to the
American Eagle with fine pay shoots of
rich ore. There are half a dozen other
quartz properties being developed in
this district and large shoots of good
grade milling ore have been uncovered
at several points and the outlook for
this old district is very bright indeed.
Give Them
The Route.
Elk City wants a tri-weekly mail ser
vice with the camps in the Buffalo
Hump country, and "Barkis is willen,"
and more as far as the camps are con
cerned. There is a disposition mani
fested by the postal department to
grant the request. There- is no reason
why it should not be granted. Strange
as it may seem, a letter addressed to
any of the Bufialo,, Hump camps'- and
posted at Elk City has to travel a dis
tance closely approximating 125 miles
to reach its destination, whereas the
distance from Elk City to any Buffalo
Hump camp with à post office is less
than 30 miles. Elk City, geographi
cally, is one of the natural entrepots to
the big gold region and it certainly
should be afforded better postal com
munication with it than it now enjoys.
—Grangeville News.
Slides arkd
Wrecks.
In a letter to this office which was
received Thursday, the postmaster at
Stiles, P. E. Ellis, says:
"We are having bad luck with the
mails down here 'lately, have had no
mail since Saturday àhd the • prospects
that we will have, nothing before
about Thursday^ If there are any of
the people up there wondering why
they don't hear from the outside you
can tell them the reason. The train is
in a washout down the line hut the
wrecking crew catmot get to it owing
to the fact they are tied dp in a wreck
near Kendrick. There are also some
small washouts and slides along the
line. There was no one hurt. Thought
I would tell you that as there was some
of your people on the train and they
might worry about them. The Grange
ville stage has not been able to ford the
rivef for two day. They are taking the
passengers across m a boat.
are
™ ^ick
son Group.
That the vast low grade ore bodies,
known locally as.dykes, are not confined
to the Crooked river section of Elk
City district, is evidenced by the fol
lowing information elicited from H. D.
Poyneer during a recent conversation
held with the News man.
This dyke is situated about six miles
north of Elk City between Little Elk
creek and American river. This dyke
is without doubt the soiyce of the gold
in the Erickson placers, which have
yielded so many thousand dollars the
last few years and whicl).*vill continue
to yield \pa yellow harvest for years to
come, sit)-is situated do. is enough to
American'river for the use of that
stream's hundpeds of cubic feet of
water for electric or direct power, and
judging from Mr. Poyneer's dep<"-iption
it is destined to be a great property. It
is also well enough timbered for all
purposes. c
"We have four claims located upon
this dyke,'' said Mr. Poyneer, 'fthe
Erickson Reef Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4, -re
spectively, with fair values the entire
six thousand feet and the average
width is two hundred feet. The sur
face is exposed by numerous crosscuts
and ten foot holes. In the main ore
shoot which we opened up so far, a dis
tance of four hundred feet along the
dyke, panning results would indicate a
very even distribution of values. We
have thus far failed to ran a single
sample that did not yield some colors,
from assay samples we obtained all the
way from $1.65 to $25, but to be on the
safe side I place the average at about
three dollars per ton. ''Dan McDonald
is associated with me in the group.
The strike of this dyke is about north.
News of
The Hump.
Grant Litchfield came down from the
Hump the fore part of the week on a
visit to his parents, J. C. and Mrs.
Litchfield.
>
He reports everything- moving along
satisfactorily in that bustling camp.
The Jnmbo mill is pounding away
day and night, twenty-four stamps on
the night shift and fourteen on the day.
The Atlas is also working a full crew,
sinking and drifting.
The Del Rio tunnek is in 400 feet,
but one crew is workit'g on account of
bad air. »
The Concord* is working a full force.
Dan McDonald is foreman.
John Brown and W. A. Wylie are
working'the Old Bill..
Two men are working on the Little
Giant.
The Big Buffalo is working one shift.
R. McGregor is keeping books at the
Jtimbo.
The snow is fifteen feet deep at
Hump town. People gain entrance and
egress to their houses thro' snow tun
nels.
■^Billy McKinzie, a freighter loaded
with hay for the camp, was storm
bound at Squaw meadows and was
forced to burn part of his cargo to keep
from freezing. .Squaw meadows, are
between Hump and Moose station on
the Adams route.
Mr. Litchfield will return to the
Hump next Sunday where he will re
sume his position with the Jumby Co.
i? That many valuable mines have been"
discovered by the class of men known
« , ,
among experienced miners as "tender
feet" cannot be gainsaid, but many
more have been found by men who are
, ... ,
known as "prospectors men who
form a.distinct class;.n the great army
of miners, says the Mining and Seien
«»r spect<,r » f Wom
satisfied to work for wages, preferring
. y . . . ■ * , r
to take h,s chances m the unequal bat
tie With nature. H.s calling indistinct
\
Science in
Prospecting.
ly an art—a science. A man may be a
scholar and student of many sciences,
but unless, he has had the training "in
the/jjeld,'* as a prospector he is likely
to prove a dismal failure. \ The pros-1
pector is usually opTîmistiè, "as he mus f
MR. FARRIS MAKES REPLY
County Commissioner For First District Submits a Statement
in Regards to the Salmon River Trail and the Bill of Mr.
Maxwell, Road Supervisor for this District.
Referring to the statement in the
Mining News, regarding the county |
commissioners allowing $1000 on the j
so-icalled goat trail on Salmon river, is j
wrong as well as misleading for such is j
not the case. The following are the I
facts;in the case:
We allowed John Riggins 50 pounds i
of giant powder to blow of a cliff on I
Salmon river, what is known as the
crevice. Road supervisee's were lap
pointed in the various districts in,- - -the
Salmon.-ri.ver country without allowing
them a dollar outyof the road fupd, they
proposing to do the work at their own
expense. -As .to the statement that!
county commissioner Griffith is at the
head of this is wrong, as well as mis- ■
leading, as Mr. Griffith was not present !
when this work and appointments were j
made.
, 1
As to the Mäxytell bill I wish to stâté j
that I did all in my power to get at
least a part of his bill allowed. I noti- |
fled him twice to appear before the
board in his own behalf in the matter, '
but instead he wrote a threatening let
ter to the board, threatening to sue us
for the entire bill. We could not have
allowed his entire bill but we were
willing to allow his just dues. We not
ified him to do no more work after a
certain time but he ignored our order
and still continued to work and brought
in his bill. Now, we are under the law
as well as other citizens and are sworn
The readers of thé MtStlS'G News can
learn for themselves by consulting the
records that we have but about $10,000
to spend on roads and this is to be
divided among 44 districts. At the
rate of Mr. Maxwell's bill his district
alone would have taken nearly one-half
of the whole amount of the road fund,
We publish above a letter from
County Commissioner Farris in which
he attempts a defense of the recent ac
lion of the board in establishing road
âisiricts on Salmon river where the
Mining News believes no new districts
were needed. Mr. Farris, however,
without entering into that part of the
question, contents himself with the as
sertion that it cost the county nothing
to create those districts, that the su
pervisors volunteered to work without
pay, etc. Now admitting the correct
ness of Mr. Farris' statements as re
lates to this year, is it not a fact that
those districts Will receive their appor
tionment of the road fund in future
years? We imagine that the county
to conyjly with the, law.
Now from the above facts, which is a
matter of record, your readers can see
the inconsistency in the matter on the
part of Mr. Maxwell.
Most respectfully submitted,
. ... ..... ..JÇ. H. FARRIS* V .
■' County commissioner, 1st distric t
Idaho county,
> .
needs be» for his disappointments out- ;
number the realization of his hopes,
, , . „
»The man who is not of sanguine tern
v . ... . , ,, .
perament will probably soon give up
f, » -U î
the task of wooing fortune among the
, • ... m, ,
rocky hills, in a wilderness. The real
. , ,, j,
prospector, however, lives in the fu
f „ v v.
ture. If disappointed today he lies
, . , . ,. , , , . , . » . * e
down m his blanket at night .hoping for
, ,. , '
and expecting success tomorrow. His
r * . .
eye scans every rock, every mineral
: . TT . , , . . I
stam. He is on the lookout constantly ;
, ... ,. ». ,, m. . , ,
fer "indications. These include!
e
everything that his long study of his
. / . 6 , . , • . , -ito
.u i.u-. aug nm o itgau as a a\
orable-possibility. A prospector pan
nmg j^Cavein a ne.ygu c % '- th '' SvC
"any gold?" "No," was the cheery
, « but p i en ty of iron rock and
rubies."' This tb him was ah idHièntii.n '
of the probability of finding gold in that
, , \ , . ■ . , , ».
gulch and perhaps m the nexi panful qf
dirt The reason of this was that the
gold accompanied other mineral of high
sp r if,c g T ity ; , Th %rrT t f
not reason it out along this line, but his ,
• i . v
experience had taught him that when
he did find gold in that section iron
j rock and rubies" (garneté) were also,
I always present. By many experiences
of this sort he learns his craft, and he
1 is not to be turned easily aside in his
belief^ for he has the "courage cif his
convictions" 'and is wil'ing to follow
will have trouble securing volunteers
indpffinitely for those districts. It is
our experience tbat such . public spirit,
where it exist at all, is very short
lived.
We are sorry for obvious reasons that
his discretion by his defense of Mr.
Grigi|h for his part in the miatter, in
asmuch as the Mining News did not
refer to that gentleman by name, in
fact, did not know the name of any of
the board except Mr. Simmons, of Cot
tonvyoqji, We are led to infer from
this thaï Mr. Griffith needs defense,
As to I. D. Maxwell's bill, which we
learn is about one thousand dollars, Mr,
Farris' and Mr. Maxwell's statements
conflict. Mr. Maxwell denies receiving
any instructions from the board to dis
Mr. Farris allowed his zeal to outrun
continue work but which was promptly
obeyed. That th^ weight of evidence
appears to be with Mr. Maxwell, we
think the following order will prove :
"Order of boaçd of county commis
sioners, January 91, 1904, book seven,
page 155: —
l "The claim of I. D. Maxwell, over
seer of road district No. 29, in the sum
of $548.48, and E. H. Aldridge for $1*3.60
I and James Smith for $81.00 for labor on
roads was examined, considered and re
jected for the following reasons :
"1st. That it appears to the board
1 that the services alleged to have been
performed were not absolutely neces
| sary to keep the roads in said district
in passable condition and that the labor
j and services performed were far in ex
1 cess of. the orders heretofore made by
j the board and contrary to any authority
of this board. - '-t ;
"2nd. That said claims 'are. too in
definite and Uncertain in this, that they
do not '.-itemize wherein said^ servicse
were "performed.- Nor do they state
that the same was absolutely necessary
to keep said roads in good repair and in
a passable condition.
'Ag. "3rck That said claims are not a
rqV charge against Idaho county."
. Lt; is worthy of observation here that
j-the hbove order makes no mention of
any specific, order to discontinue work
but Speaks" bf> "orders heretofore
made," thereby inferring a prescedent,
j of which, as a matter of fact, any road
supervisor would be, of'nscessîty, igno
rant unless deffinitely called to his at
| tention, which, so far, does not appear
j to be the case.
! As to Mr. .»Maxwell's dereliction in
! keeping his accounts, the charge is
; probably correct, few road supervisors
are competent to keep accounts. It
would appear, however, a not insur
mountable obstacle where a desire to do
justice is present. As to the statement
that Mr. Maxwell's bill is almost one
half of the entire road fund, which is
$10,000, it is to use the language of Mr.
Farris—"wrong and misleading. "
'
them to disaster if may be, figuratively > .
speaking, for nothing but absolute fail
ure will convince him that he was
, .. .
wrong, and even, then he has a 'notion
., . , . , „
to try it again. In his quest he finds a
. . a . u
piece of float. He will systematically
; .. . ., - ,
trace it to its scarce if the richness of
. ., T . ... , .
the rock warrants it. He will dig test
, ft
pits bv the dozen, and some sidehills
; , .. , , ...
have been "coyotcd into a labyrinth
... . - • .
of passages m the search of a rich
. .•
vein, the float of which has been dis
, , , , ... . , m t
covered below on the hillside. Two of
... . , „ , . ,
ten his knowledge of geology is limited
. . ,
the field of his own experience and
he misinterprets what he sees, but on
^ ticd side he is alright , a nd will
follow his "indications" unerringly to a
, „ * i
conclusion of spme sort. -It the find
^es t°° small or tco low grade or is
m any way unsuae o ns ancy e
moves to another place, pursuing his
callinR untiringly and often successful
Th e mininß industry owes much to
* DrosDecto r and he has been a fac
A Ä
West, which few who do not know him,
^ ^ ^ unfami!iar with what he
^ ^ for the world> can realize .
j
ville Tuesday to report on the Denver .
groitj) which he recently examined fö>
, Grangeville capitalist«.
Philo S. White departed for Grange- .,