The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-06-09

take on q "helper" engine to take il
over the mountains. The train only
stopped at Spring Hill 20 minutes
and then started for the great Beaver
canyon, which I presume is the
toughest part of the Utah T. Northern
railway. The roadbed down this
canyon has been greatly improved
since I passed through it three years
ago.
At the mouth of the canyon is 10
Gated the town of Beaver Canyon,
devoted principally to the produc'
ton of lumber, it having in it and
the immediate vicinity eight saw
mills, one planning mill and one shin.
gle mill, which altogether employ
about 125 men. Most Of the lumber
is consumed by the U. & n. and 0.
s. L. railroads. The capacity OF
each mill is about 1O,OOO feet per day.
The place has two general merchan.
disc stores, Stoddard & Son and w.
Il. VannOy. 1t also has a fruit and
news depot kept by Frank Blanch-
ard; tive saloons, one by Poulson &
Jackson and the other by c.. B.
Mount, in both of which is kept the
best the market affords.
Having concluded my business
long before train time, it was sug-
gested that perhaps the best of the
many ways of killing time at Beaver
Canyon was to 20 fishing, and I was
told that somewhere down the creek
there was a hole in which fish were
abundant. AS a number of young
men readily consented to accompany
me, I had some suspicion that it was
a sort of "snipe-hunting" expedition
in which I was to hold the bag, but
as good luck would have it, I found
one of the party to be an old-time
friend from boyho0d days, and in
fishing for early "reminiscences 1 for
got all about the finny tribe. There is
peculiar charm in this new land in
encountering men that we have
known or who know our early friends
and acquaintance.
The down train arriving, 1 babe
the friends and acquaintance that
had made my stay at Beaver Canyon
exceedingly pleasant q ha.ty fare
well, and was off for Eagle Reck, a
distance of sixty-eight miles. The
load between these points passes
through some pretty county, but the
greater portion is almost a bar
rem desert, there being nothing in
sight but some scattering sage brush;
but as We neared Eagle Rock the lit
tie mounds fattened down to a level
plain which is covered with nutri-
cious grasses. There seemed to be
little stock grazing upon it, however.
Eagle Rock is built on the left bank
of Snake river, a beautiful stream
which winds its way through noun
tain and plain for hundreds of miles.
Eagle Rock has some half dozen mer-
camille houses, of which Anderson
Bros. is the leading one, the Eagle
Rock House, A.. 2. Nelson, proprie-
tor, and several restaurants, all OF
which seem to be doing well. The
round house at this point has roor1
for ten engines and the L and
machine shops employ apout 200
men.
After completing my business at
Eagle Rock [ visited the Snake river
placer mines on a bar of the river
two miles above. The gold dust gilt
tering in the sluices almost made me
feel like quitting the newspaper bust
ness to return to my old business of
placer mining. 1t has been known
for several years that this ground con-
tanned gold in paying quantities, but
on account of the ineness of the gold
it could not be saved. At last a party
of miners, J. E. Edwards, J. Guirk,
VIM. Gwayle and w. H. Edwards,
fell upon a scheme for saving the
precious. They commenced work
about a month ago on a 6O-acre bar
claim, and have made something
over $40 per day to the man since they
started. They have about eight
sluices, four of which are lined with
perforated iron through which all the
gold and black sand falls on a second
bottom, while the gravel and coarser
sand runs off. Near the river are
three boxes on each side of the main
hume into which the gold and black
sand are run. They are lined on the
bottom with gunuy sacks and bur-
laps, and all that is neces-
sary when a cleanup is de-
sired IS to take ont and wash these
burlaps with quicksilver. Mr.. Ed
wards panned several shovelfuls OF
gravel from the bank, all Of which
showed fine colors in abundance,
and l have no doubt they have a
good thing. Since these parties have
hit upon a plan of saving the gold by
such simple means it has caused
great excitement, and the bar has
been located some six or seven miles
below and above Eagle Eock.
B!ackfoot is about thirty miles be-
low Eagle Rock, and with a good
road bed and down grade We were
not long in reaching it. This is a
supper station, and the passengers
rushed over to the Keerey House to
make good use of the twenty min
utes allotted for eating. AS l was
going no farther on that train l could
afford to take things easy and as [ wa.
waiting about the office whe should
I e but Mr.. Alex. Thorn. an old
Butte acquaintance, to whom l SUD-
mitted to a lengthy interview in re
gard to his eager desire to he in:
formed concerning the people and
prosperity of Butte. l also met here
Walter Hemby, printer, formerly an
attache of the MINER Office. He has
charge of the Register office. The
next morning I put in my little book
the names of several elegant gentle
men who possessed the good taste tc
wish to become subscribers to the
MINER, and boarded the afternoon
train for Pocatello.
This place is twenty-seven miles
from Riackfoot, and where the Ore
gon Short Line intersects the Utan
& Northern railway. Everything al
this place is hustle and hurrah. There
are about 200 men here, including
graders of the road, and Restaurants
and other necessary accessories o!
frontier civilization. The railroad
company is building a commodlou'