Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-10-17
THOSE IDAHO OPAlS.
Young william Lessure's Find that His
Father Despised
Moscow idaho letter 10 the Spokane spokes-

Father Despised.
Moscow idaho letter 10 tho spokane Spokes-
mani
A year ago William Lussure dug q
well near his house. The volcanic rock
that underlies the alluvial deposit in all
this Palouse country was thrown to
pieces beside the well. Mr.. Lessures
only son, some thirteen years old, began
finding beautiful stones in the volcanic
formation. His father said it was glass,
but the boy persisted. Il know they
are worth a good deal because they are
so pretty" the boy would say.
For year he has been hunting for the
pretty stones. His father scolded him
and told him to go to work at something
useful bat the boy hung around the
well. He went down into it and threw up
loose, volcanic rock, and these he broke
to pieces looking for the pretty stones.
The father began to despair OF ever
making useful man out OF the son.
Last Saturday Mr.. Allen. jeweller,
was out hunting. He stopped at the
Leisure well for drink. AS he raised
the cup to his lips he saw something
sparkle IN the rock before him. His ex-
perienced eye told him that he had
found beautiful opal.
Mr.. Allen glanced around him and 1t
was net long before he was stalking a
mineral claim on William Lessures
ranch 600 feet wide and 1000 long, with
all the ct ceteras of corner stakes, aud the
notice that he had located a mineral
claim there. Mr.. Leisure WAS aston
ished to see his valuable land taken
without so much as 10y your leave.
He was simply paralyzed when
Sunday came, aud wi h it hundreds of
Moscow people. Lawyers, doctors, real
estate men, and nearly everybody else
went on William Lessare's ranch and
began stalking mineral claims. Mr..
Leisure was not in it. He was told that
he would be given bonds to indemnify
him for the loss of his land, and he ac-
quiesced for the time. Not less than
600 acres in all were staked that day.
Some OF it is school land, and some be-
longs to neighboring rapchers.
The formation where the opals are
found is volcanic one. At Lessire's
well there is about seven feet OF earth.
Then comes a soft volcanic rock. which
is easily removed. II is porous, with
air spaces running through it. The
white opal is found through this forma-
ton. Next beneath is hard, volcanic
rock, very difficult to work. The besuti-
full specimens SO freely exhibited here
are found in this rock. Ii is not known
how far down il extends.
The excitement over the discovery at
Lessure's has caused revival OF the
talk about the earth formation through
the falouse country. Below the surface
here at Moscow there is ample evidence
that well-defned surface forty feet be-
low the existing surface once bore a
luxuriant vegetation. Not well is dug
in Moscow but old logs in various stages
of decomposition are found and have to
be removed. Once, in well forty feet
In the lava formation. peach pit was
found Wise people say that the great
tragedy of Pompeii and Herculaneum
had been preceded by one infinitely
more terrible in the Palouse country,
and lava and ashes from great volcanoes,
now long since effaced, had been poured
out on the plain. At some stage of the
game nature went into the opal business
end scattered her product in the lava
/ But all this is for wise people to decide.