Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-10-31

An Interview With Parties Just
From the Gold Fields.

An Interview With Parties Just
From the Gold Fields.
TeiIsame Trip Of Three Minerva
rhoWsand aen VIII winter There
-Dcseription Of she C~sHntfy-An
Ugly Region - Get Ous 81.
Hdily Ness- kine.
Sunday morning Tom Bentley arrived
in HALEY from the placer diggings In the
Occur d'Alene District. His partner. Pat.
Flynn, came in from the same place yes
terdsy. These gentlemen have been we'll
nigh besieged by the curious and inquisi-
tive ever since their arrival, and thinking
. brief account Of their travels and OBJ
servations would not be uninteresting TO
the public, we had . quiet interview with
them yesterday, and learned many things
hitherto unknown about the country and
placers.
Tom Bentley, Pat. Flynn and Robert
Smith left HALEY on the 29th OF last Au-
gust for the Occur d'Alens country. They
started out horseback, and in twelve days
completed the journey to Missoula, Mon
tana. At this point they took three men
started, this time for Miners Camp, which
10 on this side Of the Occur d'Alens Mis-
sion. From Missoula the journey was
made over the Mullen road, which runs
from Fort Benton, Montana, through TO
Walls Walla, Washington Territory, via
Missouls. 1t was originally . Government
road, and was built in 1858. Starting
from Miners Camp the party reached
Pritchard's Greek, on the ground Of the
present placer mining excitement. Sept.
16. Thu journey was IN exceedingly hard
one, but proved not 80 irksome and peril
| GUS IN undertaking % coming out.
Pritchard's Greek, or gulch, ID about
eighteen miles long, varying in width
from twenty TO eighty rods. It 10 fat md
smooth, having = fall Of two feet to the
hundred, with . gradual and even slope.
| The gulch 10 all covered with heavy tim
bers. Rocks are also quite numerous, but
the largest one seen can be easily handled
by two meD. Water 10 abundant and sufi-
cient for the d~iggings. The ground will
be worked BY either stripping or drifting.
but most likely it will not pay to drift
very extensively. Ten miles Of the gulch
have already been prospected and pay dirt
L AV0n0s OA0AQ4O law U0Cu
located, and every claim opened up thus
far pays from $40 to 500 per man daily.
Only ter strings Of sluices are now rum
ming. The bedrock 10 slate, and pays
from n to " ounces per pan. There
are . few inches of pay gravel on the bed
rock which prospects from two bits to $40
per pan. It is not yet ascertained how
wide the pay streak is, but parties are now
working in the center and on both sides Of
the gulch in various places.
When Bently and Flynn's party reached
the gulch they found only two men OPEN
ing it up-George Ives and . man named
Gillette. After looking at the records
they discovered that several men were
holding all the way from 60 to 220 acres
apiece in their own names, a. we'll - the
names OF those who had never been near
there. They accordingly staked of twenty
acres Of such land apiece, and were imme-
diately followed by others, who did like
wise. Miners came in from oil directions,
and now only two men have their twenty
acres each-Ives and Gillette. The claims
were voluntarily divided up and given to
newcomers. The miners generally were
in favor Of not asking Ives and Gillette to
divide up. - they were the first in the
gulch, and had shown such energy in
opening it up.
There are several gulches tributary to
Pritchard's, which have all been taken mp.
namely: Eagle Greek, about seven miles
long; Butte Gulch, three and . half miles
long; Gold Run, two or three miles long;
Quartz Gulch, on the south side Of Pritch-
ards, four or five miles long. On the
latter there we're only two claims when
the party left. This gulch gets its name
from an extensive quartz formation 1t
its head.
1t it thought some eight hundred or one
thousand men will Winter in the gulch.
A postofice will soon be established.
Seven hundred names have already been
signed to q petition for the establishment
Of mail service. A trail 10 now being made
from Heron Siding over the Occur d'Alene
range to the new gold fields. It will be
completed by the first Of November.
On Monday morning, the 18th Of the
present month, Bently and Flynn. in com-
pany with five others, started out to make
the return trip over the Occur d'Alene
| range. The names Of the i've were John
Curry. Cass Lee, Jimmy the Spirit. Barney
Rowdyb bush and AL. Dell. The two last
named partners, 800 after leaving camp,
turned back down the creek toward the
diggings, thinking the party were not tax
ing the right course. It 10 supposed now
that they lost their way, a. nothing has
been heard from them.
The five men were four days getting out
to the railroad ct Trout Greek Station ON
the Northern Pacific Railroad. On the