Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-05-02
IN THE CGUR D'ALENE.
A Region Where Spice and Variety of Life
is not Lacking.

81 tell you there are rough times
now up in the ceur d. Alene mining
district" said John Thiare, one of the
pioneers of the camp and owner of
mines there, to a San Francisco
EGan1traer reporter yesterday at the
American Exchange.
'tYou asked if it didn't use to be
rough and wild. Well, it did; and it
is rougher now than it ever was.
There are five towns in the Ceur
d'Alene Observation-Disclosures Burke, Wall
lace, Mullen and Murray. Of these
Burke, which is on Canyon creek, is
the biggest and liveliest, but all are
chock full of gambling-houses, saloons,
dance-houses, and about everything
else that can be thought of in con-
nection with mining camp. As
many as five or six large gambling
tables may be seen in one ordinary
sized gambling-house.
''These are always surrounded by
scores of long-haired rough miners,
who are trying another way to win a
fortune besides digging in the hills.
Day or night you will always see these
houses agoing. Shootings are tolera-
bly, frequent, too.
s'In short, there is all the spice and
variety to life in Ceur d'Alene that
any of the old mining towns could
boast of.
''Stages and freight wagons took the
place of toboggans, which at first
brought all the freight into the district,
but now the former have given way
largely to the railroad, which brings
things in, from Spokane Falls. Going
up the streets of these five towns in
Ceur d'Alene you see long strings of
teams hauling ore. 1t is most all
galena, whose principle combination,
as all of the initiated know, is silver
and lead. 1t is pretty sight. The
Tiger mine at Burke is shipping from
$50 to 200 tons every week of very
rich ore. The Elk Greek Mining
company is working the only gold ledge
in that region. From $4,000 to $4,000
every day is the amount realized from
the twenty stamps which are worked
by this company.
sin 1888 Mr.. Clark, the banker of
Butte, bought the Sunset Galena mine
for $4,000. Since then he has been
offered 100000 and wouldn't take it.
1t is one of the most promising mines
there. Portland parties bought the
Silver Tip for $4,000, and three ad-
joining claims for $4,000. They are
working heavy forces of men on these,
and getting out considerable ore.
Then S. G. Reed and others of Port
land, who bought the Bunker Hill and
Sullivan mines, are doing well and get
ting rich. These mines were bought
very low somewhere about $780, 900 for
the two, Ithink-and now they couldn't
be bought for good deal over 81, O00,-
900.
'sThere is one thing, though, that is
bad for Ceur d'Alene ore outputs just
now. The railroad freight tariff is too
high. Unless the Northern Pacific
makes a reduction, a good many of
the mines are liable to cease working
for the winter.
There is division of sentiment in
northern Idaho in regard to the taking
on of the bottle-necked region to WASH
ington territory and admitting the
whole as one state. If you cut off
Kootenai and Shoshone counties,
which Washington wants. there ant
much left of Idaho. Everything con-
sidered, however, think it would be
better for northern Idaho to be
annexed. All the trade could then
be thrown toward Spokane Falls, and,
probably, a bigger city than other
wise would result, although Spokane
is a city of destiny, and nothing can
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