The daily mountaineer. (Dalles, Or.) 1861-1866, 1865-12-07
LETTER FROM IDAHO CITY.
IDAHO CRY, November

paper takes great interest IN representing
the section of country lying between the Cas-
cades and Rocky Mountains, ! thought Iwould
pick up my old neglected goose quill and
give your printers half an hours amuse-
ment at the noble art OF sticking type.
BOISE BASIN.
This camp has maintained its reputation
from its discovery up to the present time, as
the richest, both in extent and duration, OF
any yet discovered outside of California. 1t
contains population variously estimated at
from twelve 10 sixteen thousand people, al"
thoush it has lost four or five thousand this
fall, who, on the breaking out of the Blackfoo'
excitement, pulled up their stakes and mi
grated to that Ell Dorado of the Rocky Noun.
tains. The mines of this CAMP mean
placer mines-are not near worked out. 1t
is true, that some of the creeks and gulches
are not as rich as they were two years ago,
but assert that no creek in Boise Basin is
half workt out yet, and the bills, and flats
remain to give employment to thousands OF
practical miuers for years to come Placer
mining at this moment is being carried on
more extensively than at any period during
the entire summer We were blessed by
Providence with bountiful supply of water
during the last two weeks. All the bitches
are full 10 overlooking, and in every camp the
busy stroke of the pick and shovel may be
heard. A nugget weighing thirteen ounces
and half was found this week on Buena
| Vista Bar, and the mining claims in general
are doing well.
QUARTZ LoDEs IN BOISE BASIN.
If every foot of the immense range Of placer
mines in this Basin, yet undiscovered, was en-.
tirey worked out, the quartz lodes of this
camp would give profitable employment to
fifty thousand men for ages to come. This is
no idle or wanton assertion, but is based upon
ter and extent of the innumerable ledges OF
gold and silver ores lying idle or undiscovered
in this country. There are, perhaps, not lese
than FIVE thousand quartz claims recorded in
Boise County. And there are but few of this
number but will eventually pay good interest
upon capital INFESTED in developing and work
ing the same. The great drawbacks to al
this, is that the owners of lodes, as a genera
| tuluR, CduuOJ uuOIu W RO VI
lodges, as they are, in general men, who have
no means save their own labor, and who have
no capital TO invest in mills, etc. Anothe
misfortune, in my opinion, is that the mel
sent out here by Eastern capitalists, are en-
tirely unqualified to act as supern,endents o
agents, as they have little or no experience il
such matters, and become an easy prey to tn
sharpers who abourd in all mining camps, an
who await the advent of those unsuspectiu
S victims as the wolf would the straying off Q
: q lamb from the fold. The consequences ar
in many instances, that the ipexperience
S agent of company fiuds too late, after b
e has erected n mill and gone to the expense @
building Offices, roads, ETC., that he has n
quartz to crush. This, am grieved to say
e is not uncommon, as it gives to the camp
o doubtful fame. But reasonable and practices
|. men can readily discover the cause and guar
against it. The remedy is simple. If moneye
~ men are willing to risk their means in tn
IL hands OF incapables, well and good, they mus
le blame only their own negligence or s'upidit.
ii Let them but employ skillful, experienced an
practical men at the head of their enterprise
and my word for it, their sptculations will /
8. fruitful of success, and matter of incalcul
~ bic benefit to the country. There are hui
- dreds of good and valuable lodes in this cou
IT, try, the owners of which do not wish to gi'
to them away, nor can they bring them un
,e market. As it would appear that those cap
~ talisls or brokers, who have visited tn
" camp, are possessed with the strange n
ne tion of buying large tracts of ground for lit
g. money, and sometimes-tor it will happen
ke the lodes are in the imagination of the pu