The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1884-03-22
THE OTHER SIDE.
An Old Miners Opinion Of the
CQur d'Alenes,

Yet WIJIIcu ~ GAgIe City Oy MI
John McCafferty to Andy O'Connel
of Helena. The whole letter appear
In the Independent of recent date, hu
as the subject matter Of much of
has already appeared in the MINER
we give only such parts as may be Q
interest to the reader.
EAGLE CITY.
This town Is situated in the verte,
of PritcLard and Eagle creeks Abou
twenty log houses are rooted over
but without either doors or wind
ows. Several Others are in course O
construction, but may never reach
completion. There are about 1,5O(
people already scattered over this
wretched camp-and, "still they
comet" This mining centre" beinl
much lower than the surrounding
mountains, the snow ranges a
present from five to eleven feet deer
over the entire district. On the 27tn
the mercury stood nineteen degrees
below zero. Fancy the intense suffer.
ing of may of these Adventures
| who, for the first time, left elegant
surroundings to participate in this
s%enseless stampede.
Having diligently devoted money
and time
IN THE PURSUIT OF RELIABLE IN
FORMATION
in connection with the question, els
there any considerable quantity OF
| gold Ia the Cpur d'Alene noun.
tains ?" I can now assert beyond the
possibility of truthful contradiction,
that there is not che existing result to
justify the QUILTING of half q dozen
prospectors for that range Of noun
talns.
THE FIRST STAMPEDE
for the C9ur d'Alene mountains,
you will remember, was created and
led by one Wilson in 1864. 1t was
then intimated that not less than ten
thousand people poured In and were
injured by that excitement. AS no
gold had been found Wilson, on re-
turning to the Mission. was seized
and would have been executed but
for the timely intercessiOn Of the
Catholic priest. so ended the first
Coeur d'Alene gold excitement.
THE SECOND STAMPEDE
was worked up and led by this man
Pritchard, about n year ago. A
party of forty QUILTED at Bozeman
and struck the Coeur d'Alene noun
tains, with Pritchard in the lead.
They followed their guide from creek
to Geek, from excavation to excava-
tion, washing pan after pan Of dirt
without getting a color "It's am
other biik!" said they, and s'we'll
hang Pritchard." He, receiving
timely hints, skipped out during the
midnight hour and was seen no
more by his dupes. After devoting
several days more to the prospecting
of these creeks they returned with
an experience that did them good.
So ended the C@ur d'Alene snipe
game.
This Retrospective examination of
our Coeur d'Alene spectre necessarily
LURED ME AWAY FROM THE LOG
HUTs
of Eagle City. These huts can only
be regarded as the asylum for YER
min, disease, prostitution. and, I
may also add, many pitiable human
wreck. Coughs and c Ids, con-
tracted over the trails and during the
wintering in this cherries camp,
have rushed many a strong man into
quick consumption. It now requires
Ouly the spring breakup, with its
cold rains and over fl wing streams,
to send them into premature graves.
FOR NINE DAYS I PRosPECTED
this camp as few mining centers, I'M
der like circumstances, were ever
before worked. I uudged over the
snow to, I believe. every duly re-
claim, Many of these have
been located since the deep snow fell.
Yet their owners will take the ten
derfoot aside and show them splen-
did nuggets and fine dust, ''taken,
you know. from nv claim before the
snow began to fly" In my earnest
endeavor to reach bedrock fact, l Of
fered these il fated mine>owners
ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR EVERY
dirt which would clean up ten !
cents worth of gOld-I, of course, to
work and pay the men, with the
privilege of prospecting the ground
1t will; that IS, of sinking whert ever
[. should select, to bed rock. But,
strange al it may seem, not one of
the bombastic frauds would &C.
,ept the proposition. Their mug
zets and samples of dust were
brought
FROM DEADWOOD AND OTHER GOLD
CENTRES.
It ID not q bright outlook for the
EN-, twenty. or fifty thousand tend er-
'eet said to be en- route to this grand
blk.
In conclusion, from q careful
analysis of puolic and private matter,
t would seem that, after the BeZe-
nan expose, Pritchard, through the
fundamentally Of a townsite manipu-
ator, arranged with two old cronies,
4irard and Gillette, for this STAN
oede. Accordingly, about the mid
lie Of July last they QUILTED and
truck for what is now known as
City. And, about this date,
he TOWNSHIP manipulation sent out
THOSE MYsTERIOUsLY FASCINATING
RUMORS
# an immense discovery of gold In
he Cour d'Alene mountains. AS
now began to fly, these wild, mad
sprang captlvatingly into the
degree-"there are mill
ions in it," Yet. with the flying of
now, Pritchard, Girar1 and Gillette
etired from the field with millions
l., without an ounce Ut gold.
This is in strict accord with their
statements. l must here
ay, as neal rs the truth can now he
cached. q few days after their
another party gathered a
ew colOrs from what Is now known
. the "Widow's Claim" but
"As she ding. her white arms in a passiou-
ate plea
many an orphan will ever regret this
hid winters Irritation with thesnOW.