Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1884-05-30
COLLAPSED
An Old Mining Mans Opinion Of
Occur d'Alene.

Ihe B0ttom Dropped Ont of Bel
knap m the Whole Country
Going 10 the BOw.wows.
The Salt Lake Chronicle of May 20
reports the following interview with Mr..
Hale, an experienced miner, who returned
the day before from Ceur d'Alene:
"How long were you in the Cnur
d'Alenecountry, Mr.. Hale 2" inquired the
reporter.
II arrived in Belknsp on the 9Th OF
March and have been in the vicinity OF
that place and Eagle City ever since"
"What kind Of q country did you find
there?"
well, when I got into Belknap /
couldn't tell much about the country. The
snow was from two to three feet deep at
that place, and towards Eagle City it was
much deeper. The country is very densely
timbered, many Of the cedar trees being
from five to seven feet in diameter. In
some places the underbrush ia 30 thick
hat 1t is impossible to get through"
WAS there much excitement when you
got there?"
Eyes, the excitement was intense, and
men were coming in by the hundreds, and
" nSCu ~ ClH6Bcb, tEOuu t4t tiu-aOIu
gambler and dead broke ~prospector to the
capitalist with pockets full OF money. At
that time the principal occupation Of the
people at Eagle City was selling town lots,
and the entire gulch, from Eagle City to
the head Of Pritchard Greek, was staked
off. Men were coming in in crowds then,
and it was hard to get q meal, even ct 81.
There was very little money in circulation,
either at Eagle City or Belknap. Lots of
men were broke, and there is no doubt
there was and is yet q great deal Of suf-
fering."
"Does the excitement continue, or has
the country petered out?"
"Well, the excitement kept at q pretty
high pitch for about ten days after l got
there. Men came in by hundreds, and
when they got there all they could see
was snow, and as long as the snow
covered the ground the excitement was
kept up. II lasted till about the last Of
March and then began to slacken up. 1t
looked then as though those who were
there had written to their friends to hold
off a little, as they began to smell q mouse
About the middle Of April it commenced
to go down pretty fast, and by the last of
that month the thing was completely
played out. Then the suffering cammenced
Many men had remained there until their
last dollar was gone, hoping to get work,
but at last found they had to get out, as
there was nothing to be done and no pros
poet of claim-owners doing anything in
the way of giving work. Even the men
who had been employed by the Belknsp
Town Company in building a trail from
Belknap to Eagle City received nothing
for their work; as the company has col
lapsed entirely, and the day l left there
the Sheriff attached everything owned by
Howell, Baker & Chaplin, the principal
men in the Town Company. Some OF the
men became desperate, and took forcible
possession Of the trail upon which they
had been employed. hoping thereby to get
enough money to leave the country. Some
Of the poor fellows hardly had clothes to
keep them comfortable"
"What about the mineral found there2"
''There is no question but that there are
a few acres OF good placer ground there,
and what little there is pays big wages,
but / don't think there is enough mineral
bearing ground TO support q camp of over
300 or 400 men at the outside. / don't
think there are more hat 40 or 30 men at
work on the claims in the whole C@ur
d'Alene country. None Of the clsim-own-
ers will work more than four or five men"
What is thatf"
"Well, the class Of men who hold the
ground are not very energetic. A great
many of them are not able to handle as
much ground as the twenty-acre law gives
them. Another reason for their not work
ing many men is that the rich diggings are
in spots, and there is no certainty OF their
extent. They may be very rich in one
spot and the contiguous ground may be
entirely barren"
''Is the gold coarse or fine"
1.-THE most Of il 10 very coarse"
"Whst are the indications for veins"
''There has no quartz worth speaking Of
been discovered yet in the vicinity Of Eagle,
and the indications are not very favorable.
The formation is principally slate, and that
is not q good indication for veins"
sis il true, as has been reported, that
the country was sailed in the first place p
eyes. l have positive knowledge OF the
fact that ore was taken from the Black
Hills, Colorado. and other parts Of the
country, TO be exhibited as specimens.
These specimens consisted chiefly Of
quartz, showing free gold and ruby silver,
and no veins bearing such quartz have yet
been found in the Ceur d'Alene country"
"What is the best route to Eagle City ?"
II would advise everyone to stay away
entirely, especially such as are looking for
work, but those who are determined to go
had better take the Spokane route.
Although it is the longest, it is much the
best, as the other trails are almost impas-
sable"
"Are there many men going in now ?"
"No; they are going out by the hun
dreds. For every man that arrives 80
leave. When l went there ! should say
there were about 1000 men at Eagle and
outside towns, and nowI don't think there
are to exceed 800 or 900. The whole num-
Der OF people who have gone in since the
excitement began must have been ct least
70, 900 to Is, 00O."
''Then you don't think the future of the
Occur d'Alene country is sufficiently bright
and glowing to justify a stampede in that
direction"
"No; l think there are more men
already there than the country will sup
port"
after thanking Mr.. Hall and bidding
him good morning, the reporter walked
away with the determination to investigate
before investing a weeks net earnings in
Ceur d'Alene real estate.
A Good Dinner To-Day.
D-Al.- O-.kh AZ Aha a. Tnuin Raatau-