The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-02-22
OUR BONANZA LETTER.


The Mining Oui1ooK- Weed River
- County Seat Removal-Elc, Etc.
Regular Correspondence of the MINER.
Winter is gradually wearing away, and we
look eagerly forward to the time when we
shall see the flowers once more blooming ia
the valleys and the grass growing upon the
hillsides and a general awakening to active
life of all business operations which is sure to
follow the coming of spring.
Our winter began so late the residents of
Yankee Fork aatter themselves they will not
only have an unusually short but mild enc.
We have had but two protracted snow storms,
and to say the least they were first class. In
the early part of December the snow fell to
the depth of two feet and settled to fifteen
inches. Following this we had a month Of
very espcctable weather-sunny days and
cold mghts-which led us to believe the
clouds had exhausted their strength and VAN
ished; but they returned again laden with a
fresh supply, which they emptied out upon
this land of great expectations until it was
completely lost to sight. Day after day the
snow, damp and heavy, continued to fall, un-
til it had reached the depth of five feet. The
great weight on the hard snow of December
caused many slides along the Yankee Fork
from the mouth of Jordan up to Eight Mile
creek. At one time il, was feared many of
the houses in Custer would be swept away,
but the damage was comparatively slight and
copfpoI IN 1ocoIit,oc iruoIiato1u hapoofh
steep points of the timberless hills. Several
families had narrow escapes from death, and
one white man named Lang was killed. The
other casualties were confined to the Chinese
quarters below Custer, where a house con-
tanning a large number of Chinese was COW
cred by a heavy slide and three of the in
mates killed. With the cessation of the
snow storm came cold weather again, which
lasted until the first of this month, since then
it has been as warm as April and considerable
rain has fallen which has materially dimln-
ished the snow.
The stage road from this place to the sum-
NIT (1S miles) was closed for two weeks ow-
ing to heavy slides at different points along
the route, and the mail was carried by men
on snow shoes.
There is no snow at Challis. or in Round
valley, (35 miles east of Bonanza,) and
scarcely any on the Salmon in the neighbour
south).
One singular and very pleasant feature con-
nected with the winters here is the almost
entire absence of wind storms. A "blizzard"
is something unknown in the valley of the
Yankee Fork. During the whole of this
season there has not been as much as a breeze
even a gentle zephyr to mar the beauty
of the snow-clad pines. But the whirl os
snow on the crests of the high peaks tells uf
there is an upper current that is ever fondling
with the snow drifts and tossing them here
and there with the strength and fury of mad
dened mountain gods.
1t was a strange freak of nature to put
manyl'of the best mining districts in the high
est and bleakest kingdoms of old Boreas but
it no doubt enhances the value of the metals
in the eyes of the miner, after he has once OBJ
tanned them. Still, considering the elevation
of the Salmon river country, we have had no
more disagreeable weather, on an average,
this winter, than have many sections in much
lower attitudes. The east and south have not
escaped the fury of the storms of the past
two months and the residents there mourn the
loss of their fall wheat, spring calves and
orange groves, while we of the mountains
look serenely forward to a bountiful harvest
OF that ever precious crop of goodly metals
that the frosts cannot nip nor the storms of
winter decrease the yield thereof.
MINING
There has been no important changes in
mining matters since l last wrote you. 1t is
reported, however, that some more of our
bonanza mines will change hands in the
spring and in that case more mills may be ex-
pected in this district next season. Negotia-
tions, l understand, are pending with a view
OF the transfer of some noted properties in
this and adjoining districts, which will give a
new impetus to our mining interests.
Several of the mines that passed into the
hands of capitalists last fall-among them the
Badger, Lucky Boy and Annie-will be de-
veloped sufficiently by spring to justify the
erection of mills for the reduction of the rich
ores OF those mines. The day of erecting
costly machinery on prospects :" has passed
away and now there must be a we'll deyeI-
oped mine with sore in sight" sufficient to
pay for the cost of the mine and machinery,
before a company will go to the expense of
putting up a mill. With this precaution min
ing mas lew risks and is made as safe, or safer
than almost any other business where a like
amount of capital is invested.
The additional machinery required in the
Custer mill arrived last week and the stamps
are now at work. The whistle is nlainlv