, 1889-10-31
THE RICH KOOTENAI
A Spokane Falls Man Makes
a Favorable Report.
A LUCKY STRIKE OF WIRE Sill YER
All That the Camp Needs is a
Smelter-A Country for the
Poor Man.


reporter, to whom he furnished the fol-
lowing interesting account of his obser-
yations In that rich mineral section. Mr..
Davidson acquired most of his kootenai
property by purchase, based on favor.
able reports received from friends who
had null information concerning the
merits Of the camp, and says he regards
the Investments as particularly tortu-
nate. He is interested in the Dictator,
which Is situated abouta mile and half
southeast Of the Warm Springs, in tho
Siwash Chief an adjoining claim, and
the Thanatopsis, which is on
the same ledge about 1900 feet
from the south end of the Dictator.
Considerable work has been performed
on all three of these claims during the
past summer. A tunnel has been run
on the Dictator about fifty feet, showing
vein thirteen and half feet in width
OF zinc and coppsr blendc, silver and
lead. Assays of the ore show from III
TO 1873 ounces of silver per ton,
"a claim In that country is not re-
garded ns promising unless IL will pay
SlOO per ton," said Mr.. Davidson, "be.
cuuse 1t costs so much to get the ore TO u
smeltcr. BY the time tho ore is taken
from the mine and shipped by wagon,
steamer and rail 10 n smelter 1t has in.
CURED an expenditure of about $50 per
ton, so you see 1t takes pretty good ore
TO pay profit at that rate. have
about forty tons OF ore on the dump and
| propose to let 1t stay there until n
smelter Is built in the camp or cheaper
transportation Is secured.
sMELrER.
"l saw DR.. Hendryx, of tho Kootcnai
Mining and Smelling Company, during
my stay there, and he informed me that
n smelter would certainly be built on
the east side OF the lake, but he could
not tell when tho work would begin, but
certainly not later than next spring, and
that possibly work would begin this fall.
IL Is reported up there that the colonial
government will encourage the building
of the smeltcr by admitting the machin.
cry free of duty. In the first place 1t
will cost large amount of money TO get
the machinery IN there, aside from the
duty, which is very high-about 40 per
cent, | believe. The machinery will
have TO lie shipped from this side, like
everything olse. All the miners sup
plies are shippcd in from tie
United States, as there Is no means
Of getting anything into the camp from
the other side. The colonial government
is disposed to he friendly toward those
who are trying to develop tho mines and
the collector, who is located about thirty
tive miles up the kootenai river from
the lake, is very liberal in the matter of
collecting duties. He informed me that
he had always tried to make IL as easy
on prospectors as possible, but some Of
them, after getting over the line, had
boastcd that Ncy had been allowed to
slip through unquestioncd by the col
lector, and these boasts, coming to the
ears of government officials, had very
nearly gotten him into trouble, aud he
had been compelled to be more strict
than he would otherwise have been.
THE Ainsworth company, who own
the Nelson townsite, are talking of
building II smeltcr near town. They
have an excellent location for n smelter,
and if they build one II will be with n
view TO enhancing their town property
more than anything else. The X. 81. x
s. smelter, if built at all, and 1t almost
certainly will he, will he put at or near
the Blue Belle mine, which is owned by
the company. IL would not pay 10 ship
the Blue Belle ore because IL is low
grade, but IL will pay to build smclter
OH tllt lUt due btIlc Is 10
wonderful mine, The orc only assays
lead, but the vein is SO feet 8 inches IN
width, with n fine body of ore
inexhaustible. The Work of
developing the mine is being pushed in
earnest. a tunnel has been run 256
feet. and will be driven forty feet more,
which will strike the vein.
SOME or THE MINES.
II visited every claim of importance
in the Warm Springs camp. Develop.
ment work is being pushed on the Little
Donald, No. /, Sky Line, Let 'er Go, Gal.
lnghcr and Spokane, and force of men
is TO be put OH the Krao for the winter.
All these mines are in the same neigh.
borhood, and tho greatest distance be.
tween any two of them will not exceed
five miles.
"Thc lodges arc all located on the side
Of u steep, rugged mountain and run
parallel with the lake, which extends
north and south. Going up the noun
tain west from the lake tho ledges are
encountered one after tho other at an
average distance of about quarter OF q
mile apart, The first ledge encountered
In making the assent is the Little Don.
aid, then the Dictator. Krao, Oronoco,
Black Chief, Arkansaw, Union, or No. /,
named. All the veins can be traced for
miles, seldom dipping as far as 200
yards in any one place.
A RICH DISCOVERY.
Gone of the richest discoveries ever
made in the Kootenai country was made
during my stay there. on Sunday, the
A. t,,aN U,x... "a
tramping around, and when two miles
southwest from tho springs uncovered a
fine vein which they fully uncovered at
brought back some beautiful speci.
mems of wire silver as bright
as newly coined dollar. Tho new dis
covcry is right In the midst of some oi
the richest mines In the camp, and the
groand where 1t is situated has been
tramped over by prospectors ever since
the camp was discovered. The new dis
covcry had not yet been christened when
came away.
PROMISING CAMP.
"Of all the numerous claims which are
being developed in the Kootenai region,
not single one has ever failed to show
better as depth was obtained. Not on.
OF them has ever been known to pinch
out, but on the contrary not one Of them
has over failed to widen out.
"The Kootenai region Is not only very
rich, but II Is the best quartz camp for q
The trouble With nearly oil quartz camps
is that II takcs SO much capital to dc
velop the claim that poor man doe,
not stand any show, and Is forced to sell
his claim, because he has no funds tc
open II up, and the man who buys 1,
and has the money to develop II rcspi
the benefit. This is not the case, how
ever, in the Kootenai country, The
claims pay from ths top, and freqnenti,
feet above the ground, from which
thu ton can be removed. DISCLOSING