, 1885-08-22
The COEUR D'ALENE MINES.
A California Experts Opinion Of
Their Extent, Richness and
Permrneney.

1t is with pleasure, we can, at
least, present our readers with a re-
liable account Of our neighborlng
mines. Mr.. Leigh Harnett, a gen.
tleman associated with the local pa
per, the Sun, published at Murray,
on his way to Portland, arrived in
Spokane on Saturday evening, and
we interviewed him on the subject
Of the mines, when he gave US a
most fiattering account Of their rich
ness and permanency. All we need
add, to make the following state
ment the more interesting and i'm
portant to our readers, Is that Mr.. Har-
nett Is an old California miner OF pio-
neer days, Is thoroughly postei on
placer and quartz mining, who
Judged the Coeur d'Alene mines
from their intrinsic merits, and by
comparison with California results.
What he says below therefore may
he thoroughly relied upon.
Mr. DALLAM:-I promised on Sat-
urday evening to prepare for your
paper, a statement Of the actual con-
ditlon and future prospects Of the
Coeur dAlene mines, as they pre-
sent themselves ut present to the ex-
pert on examination. l have the
more pleasure In doing SO, because,
| wish to present their claims In re-
liable form to the merchants, trad
ers, capitalists and general business
people Of Spokane, as they must
reap or ought to reap, the great ad-
vantages Of the enormous trade
which eventually must spring from
these mines. NJ appears to me the
people Of Spokane and Portland are
negligent Of their own interests In
paying no attention to this trade at
present and III letting eastern people
get in before them. 1t Is singular
fact in this connection, that while
the traders Of Murray receive every
week business circulars from Chi
cago, St. Louis, st. Paul and other
places east, they are totally ignorant
Of the names Of the business houses
Of Spokane and Portland, the line OF
goods they carry, or the conditions
on which they sell. Thus, hom
business apathy when it ought not
to exist, an immense and profitable
trade Is passing away from them
which hereafter no energy or liber-
ality can regain. 1t may the trad
ers Of Spokane and Portland have
lost some money In the past by the
mines, but that is no argument at
present, for the mines Of the past
and the present at Coeur d'Alene bear
no comparison. Nor are the mines
themselves altogether responsible
for these losses. Much Of the loss In
carly ventures must be placed to
want Of development. hard roads.
difficulty Of packing in the goods,
and injudicious energy on he part
Of the traders themselves. Now all
these drawbacks have passed away
forever; the mines are developed;
the country Is prospected; the popu-
lati0n large and fixed; a splendid |
wagon road connects with Murray,
over which Nelson Martins four
horse stage coach, and six-mule |
teams pass daily; the weekly |
yield OF gold at Murray, Myrtle and
Delta, under the circumstances Is
enormous; new water bitches are
being introduced to extend mining
operations; and altogether the pros
poets Of an immense future are such
that, l confess, / feel surprise, II not
astOnlshment, the business people
Of Spokane should treat these
prospects with Indifference and neg
lect A business opening such as
the mines offer Is always desirable 10
any town like Spokane; at present,
It Is a thousand times more so; but II
her merchants desire to obtain their
share Of the business, they. must
make an effort to do 20. 1t is an old
phllosOphic axiom--'to hunt money
where 1t was lost" Those people Of
Spokane who lost money at Coeur
d'Alene In early days, will soon find
1t there again, II they hunt for It
diligently and with a proper spirit.
Now for a few words on the mines.
Their extent is much greater than
supposed. Prlchard creek, from the
head to below Murray is about II
miles. The mines on this creek all
along are developed; In most cases
paying well whore the owners can
get water to work them. Then
comes Osborne 3 miles below in a
direct line to the north fork Of the
Occur d'Alene river, where the same
result is found. On the Goth Of this
month, New York capitalists are to
bO In Murray to complete arrange
ments for cutting bed rock hume
from the river to Murray at an estl-
mated cost OF S5OO,0 This is one
Of tho great things needed to open
the mines fully and to develop their
immense riches; and while 1t will
necessarily DO permanently profitable
to the owners, 1t will place the mines
on equality Of footing with the best
on the coast The side gulches
north and south Of Prichard are nu-
merous, and while all pay well
where properly worked, 1t is Is i'm
possible to say which Is the richest.
At present Dream and Alder Clutches
take the pre-eminence. On the
former in the last two clean-ups,
with thirteen men in day and night
gkFfN9 ky.N vv.geI. -..rT.- !