, 1883-09-22
CGIT d'AlGlG Mines !!
The Gold ExciterPent at
Fever Heat
New Developments with
Rich Results !
A Perfect Stampede into the
DiggingS
THE RICHEST PLACER MINES
ON THE COAST

NOeuF u AlSHe placeF ulRBlnBS, mas
been augmented by still further de.
velOpments and more startling dis.
cOveries, until the gold fever has
reached the highest pitch, and squads
Of prOspectors are scurrying to the
new camp. The excitement has not
wasted its force in this place, but is
spreading through Washington, Ida
no and Montana territories. And
the wonderful productions Of the
mines are enough to awake emotion
in the most lethargical. There is no
exaggeratiOn in the statement that
If the pay gravel holds out, there has
never been placer mines discovered
that would surpass these in richness.
Sunday, d. ID. Squier and w. j.
Knox returned from the scenes of
labor, and their reports have added
fuel to the fame. Upward of one
hundred prospectOrs have left this
vicinity during the week, and, al
though late IN the season, the rush
promises to be unprecedented in the
history Of new mining fields. The
mineral bearing dirt is located in the
fastness of the CGur d'Alene noun
tains, distant about 100 miles from
Spokane Falls. The road from here
to the point on the old Mullen road,
where the trail turns into the noun
tains, is very good and can be trav-
crsed by wagons But the noun
tain path is very rough and can only
be Travelled by sure-fOOtcd animals,
and even then the road is so encum-
bercd with rocks and fallen timber
that a man is compelled to walk and
lead his herse for n number Of miles.
With good horses a man can make
the trip from the Falls in four days.
The great drawback is the heavy
grade to cross in the mountains.
The snow falls early and to great
depth, making ingress and egress in
the winter months almost impracti-
cable. However, there is no doubt a
good wagon road-that is, good in
comparison with none at all-will be
cut through, as there Is no obstacle
so great that men will not overcome
in their thirst for lucre. If those
who are going in now meet with the
luck they anticipate, we may look
for a perfect food Of prospectOrs
early in the spring. Oflbourse the
placers can not be worked in the
winter, and those who conclude to
spend the cold months on the ground
do 50 merely to hold claims and to
be on hand at the first breaking up
to work the mines. 1t Is the inten-
tiOn Of most Of those who struck out
this week to return to the Falls after
taking up claims.
From Messrs. Squier and Knox,
who have such confidence in the
camp as TO return to-day to remain
all winter If necessary, we have
gathered the following information:
They both state that it is the most
promising placer mines they ever
saw. When they left there were
some 60 or 20 men on the ground.
A great deal of the land had been
taken up, but not much work done.
The miners live in tents, not taking
the time to construct houses, al
though timber exists in abundance.
A town site has been laid off which
is called Eagle city. The gold is of
a course quality, mixed with gravel,
and is found on the bed rock at a
depth Of to 10 feet. The whole
country shows indications Of having
once been under water, and the de-
pOsits have been washed down from
some ledge in the mountains. On
Prichard creek, which, with the
other numerous small streams that
cut up the country, is a tributary to
C9ur d'Alene river, gold can be
picked up in nuggets weighing from
50 upward. On the 10th a man
named Fis .er found a solid nugget
in his claim weighing $3s.4s. One
miner was seen brushing out the
crevices with a rough broom whit
tied from a piece Of pine, and the
amount Of gold found by this crude
means almost filed a common yeast
powder can. Supplies Of every kind
are very scarce in camp, still it will
be but a short time before some
enterprising individual runs in a
stock Of goods.
All of the old miners we have
talked to are bewildered at the rich
ness of the diggings. Many were
willing to doubt the existence of gold
deposits, and would hardly believe
theiF own eyes when the pure, solid
nuggets were displayed. Men who
had experience in the golden days OF
/ California say that the products sur
pass anything they ever heard Of. Oi
course the mines may peter out, OF
only be limited in extent, but those
who have been there say that color
has been found wherever the pros
pectOr has sunk a pick. This can
only be determined in time, Now
there is no trouble to find the prec-
lous metal. Men are averaging from
$40 to $50 per day, and have only the
most primitive tools to work with.
1t stands to reason that the fine gold
Ia entirely lost In fact no effort is