The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-12-08
AROUND K0OTENAI lake
A Section OF Country In British
Columbia Which Is Attract
Ing Attention.
NSA s.. H .-=E E-
The Discoveries OF It's Mineral
Wealth Have Made It
Famous.
what Is Believed to Have Been the First
Claim Worked ON the Pacific
Coast.

Correspondence Of The INDEpENDENT.l
SPOKANE FALLS, Dec. 6-The Kootenai
lake country in British Columbia Is attract
ing worldwide attention, and Montsnians
are heavily interested in its development.
The country will soon be connected with
Helena and Great Falls by the Great North
ern railway. In view Of these facts q des-
oription Of the country may be interesting.
Kootenni lake is a body of water nearly
100 miles in length and from three to five
miles in width. It's direction is about north
and south and the elevation of its surface
above sea level an even LOO feet. The
climate is all that could be desired, the
mercury seldom falling below zero, INT
along the lake shore tho snow rarely Mt
tains q depth of over two feet. but falls to
a depth OF from six to twelve fost on the
high mountain ranges. For health a better
climate was never known. as a sick person
ID a curiosity in that entire section. From
Bonner's ferry, OF the United States side,
at the head of navigation all the year
round, and the point where the Great
Northern crosses the Kootenai river,
it is nearly 100 miles to
the south end Of the lake.
Along the river bottoms a great many
ranchsrs are located whose principal bust
ness is the raising of cattle, yet they supply
the mining camps of the lake with hay and
vegetables. Sixty miles north, and down
stream from Bonner's ferry the inter-
national boundary line is reached. The
British government has a custom house
and collector at this point, while the United
States official is located at Bonner's ferry.
Nine miles below the line is the Goat
river district, only discovered one year ago
last August, yet many claims carrying
silver-lsad ore and gray copper. have been
discovered. One claim, the Alice, has been
quite we'll developed and it is quite prob
able that by spring it will pass into the
hands of an English company for the oon-
sideration of $4,000. On the east side
of the main lake. and near the south end,
are the Lakeview mines, but they have not
been developed to any great extent as yet.
Thirty-eight miles from the south end of
the lake is the first point of interest on
that magnificent body of water. Here a
large peninsula between Crawford's bay on
the east, and the lake puts out, forming O.
its extreme end a bold promontory called
Cape Horn. A wide bay with numerous in
let's extends into the end of the peninsula,
and along its shores it ia at present, m
will be for all time perhaps, a bee hive Of
industry. Here are located the extensive
saving and lumber dressing plant and
yards of the Davies Sayward Lumber COM
pany, which is one of the largest concerns
of the kim in British Columbia.
Back of Cape Horn. and on a neck of
land so that it can be reached from either
the lake, or the still safe waters of the bay,
is the site Of the smelling works of tho
Kootenai Mining and Smelling company.
mines on the lake. This company has a
large force at work on the smelter. and
propose to blow in an eiRhty-ton water
jacket furnace by July 1, 1892. They will
treat ores from their wi property and also
purchase custom ores, making a home mar
ket for the mines of the district.
Opposite this point is the outlet. or west
arm of Kootenai lake. The town of Bal
four is situated at the junction. Eight or
nine miles north of the sme!ter, and on the
west side of the lake. is the town of Aims
worth, in tho Hot Springs district. Here
hundreds of locations are made on a belt
about six miles in length by over three
miles in width. The majority OF these
claims are dry silver ore bearing and hun
dreds of tom have been shipped to Helena
for reduction.
Nearly opposite Ainsworth, e~asterly, and
about three and one-half miles by water,
are the Blue Bell and Kootenai Chief
mines. These immense deposits of mineral
are situated on a peninsula which extends
out in tho lake. On this point of land are
two buttes. not much over 200 feet in
height. The Blue Bell is located on one
butte and the Kootenai Chief on tho other,
the former being the property of the
smelling company, and the other of the
Ainsworths, of Portland, Ore. The Blue
Bell 10 the best developed and contains a
body of low grade silver lead ore
over eighty feet wide in places.
Singular as it may appear this is surely the
coast, having been found in 1926 by Doug
las, a botanist from Boston, who, as far az
is known, was the first white man ever on
lake. Somewhere near twenty
years since. the late Senator Hearst, Of Cal
ifornia, visited the mine, and tho ruins of a
Scotch hearth furnace built of rocks by his
hands. can yet be seen near one of the an
cient dumps. This same mine came near
causing trouble between the United States
and Canada less than six years ago, when
Hammil was found in a dying JON
dition on one Of its dumps. Robert Il.
Sproul, an American. was arrested for fir
ing the fatal shot, and after a long trial in
Victoria ne wAs convicted ON circumstan-
tial evidence, and although reprieved sew
eral times by the powers that be at Ottawa,
he was finally hanged for the crime. 1t
was from the lead ore on tho surface of this
ledge that the Hudson Bay CON-
pany made bullets for their flint-look mus
kets in the days long gone by.
For n long time, except for placer min
ing on the Lardeaux river, at the extreme
end of the lake. mining operations
were confined to The localities described,
but the finding of rich ~silvor, lead and cop
per ores on kaslo creek tho past fall. ak
teen miles farther notch Of Ainsworth, rave
the impression that the country had not
been thoroughly prospected, and II few
ventursome spirits pushed out across a spur
the Selkirk range and made tho astound-