The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-11-25
RICH MINING FIELDS
The C@ur d'Alene Country is
Scarcely Prospected.
HISTORY OF WARDNER. IDAHO
Men who Opened Paying Properties Like the
Stemwinder. Bunker Hill, Last Chance,
sullivan and Others.

Coming from Spokane by the Northern Pa
cific, the blue waters of the beautiful Coeur
d'Alene lake are passed over in a small but
commodious boat until when the river bearing
THE same name is reached and the fat bot
toned steamer follows its winding course
through the towering hills, thickly studded on
each side with cedar fir and hemlock, until it
reaches the Old Mission at the head OF naviga-
ton Of the Occur d'Aleue river, place that is
historic, and to establish which required the
best efforts of the most patient and brainy men
that were TO be found among the Jesuit order.
The Old Mission now has somewhat deteori-
eted with the advent Of the miner and gambler
and the general bad man.
on landing, the passengers are transferred
again to the Northern Pacific and carried dis
tance OF thirteen miles, when the ste1torian
tones Of the brakeman announce
WARMER JUNCTION.
Wardner proper is nearly two miles from the
railroad depot. First comes Milo town only
locally known. and where lives the big hearted
and generous Phil o Rourke, q pioneer OF the
camp and man whose name is well known in
the TWO sister states of Montana and Idaho.
Kennedy Hanley is also resident OF Milo and
is quite prominent mining man in Wardner
and like the average citizen. he is up 10 his ell
bows in a law suit, and I will say, if any
old o tab associate casts his eye on this, that
Kennedy is as young as ever and no flies roost
on him.
THE FIRST MINE
located IN the caTion where now the town of
Wardner is situated, was staked by man
named kellogg, and the town when founded
later was called Wardner, after John Wardner.
who came from the Black Hills and leased the
Bunker Hill mine and built the first mill. In
those days there were no railroads and the near
tant, now the county seat Of Shoshone county.
In fact during the month OF Sep
TENDER, 1885, when the mines were
first discovered, the principal parties
who came in to prospect were from Murray
But to give your readers a general idea of
Wardner and the location would ask. Were
you ever in Dry canon, Little Cottonwood OF
Binghamf II SO, imagine a canon somewhat
sleeper than the sboVe-nameo camps and a
town strung out for nearly two miles in length
and walled in by towering hills on every side.
Soft snow and lack of high winds saves tbs
town from being veritable Cottonwood or a
twin sister IN snowslioe resources Of the mourn
full Alta. Wardner has a population of 1900
enterprlsing citizensi II has city government,
and the mayor is Mr.. Sweeney, owner of the
. Last Chance mine; a man who was tnstru-
mental in introducing the electric light
TO guide the beIated Wardners home.
OF course II is strictly a mining town and
the properties so far developed will verify the
fact. Ever since the day that Phil O'Rourke
and Con. Sullivan placed their location notices
on the Bunker Hill and Sullivan, it has been
known to the English speaking world The
writer was accorded the privilege Of going
seventy five feet apart and the opening is
nearly one hundred feet in length and from
I0lS Was L6k6Q the urst ore. Inc reader
imagine solid wall of galena ore seyenty-five
feet wide and hundred feet high and then
understand why $4,000 was paid for the mine
Outside OF the Morning there is nothing TO be
compared with 1t. From all reports
the Sullivan has immense bodies of ore
equal to the Bunker Hill, and both
mines are under the same management.
The whole appearance of the slopes viewed
by candle-light puts one in mind of the light
generated by thousand gas gets sparkling on
every side. and yet no prospecting has been
2 n nN . IL Ioz faa., 49,
This company has a tramway which carries
the ores from the Bunker Hill and Sullivan. a
distance OF two miles, TO the mill where like all
TEE MINES OF TEE CGUR D'ALENE COUNTRY.
the crude ore is concentrated and brought I'D
to the proper shipping standard. witch is about
30 ounces silver and o. per cent. lead.
Adjoining the Bunker Hill the Stemwfnder
mine whose outCrop have been over and ad-
mired. Above the works it is fully three hun
dred feet in width, and it is one conglom-
Grated mass Of Quartzite and ga
lena mixed, and SO goes down
which makes the mine concentrating PROPOSE,
ton. There Is a small bucket tramWay which
carries the ore to the mill about two miles dis
tant. The mine is managed by George B.
McCauly who IS also manager Of the Sierra
Nevada and the Granite mine.
Now comes the Emma and Last Chapce
which are owned by Charles Sweeney a man
as the saying is, who came into the camp on
bed rock, but by energy and hard work in the
face OF dtn1culties placed the Last Chance mine
among the paying properties OF the Coaur
oAlene country A surface or gravity tranway
of eighteen hundred feet in length carries the
crude ore from the mine to the mill. The ont
put OF this mill is about thirty tons of
nrst-claSs concentrates daily. which rms
ABOUT thirty ounces of silver and from
% to 20 per cent lead. There are some
large ore bodies now exposed being worked bv
the Last Chance. But adjoining this mine and
on the same vein is the Tyler. property
owned by Barn, Eoneyman and others of Port.
land, Ore. These parties, while the owners of a
valuapIe property, were engaged in various
business enterprises which plevented them
from giving 1t their attention For years
certain amount Of hap hazard work was done
until the company began to wake I'D and real
lie the situation. Then John II. Long. of Mon
tana was engaged as superintendent and work
commenced il sarnest. A shaft was sunk and
a connection made with the Last Chance
works, and bright rays OF prosperity were over
Swallowed by the dark clouds of LITIGATION
which have so long lowered over Wardner An
injunction was placed on the Last Chance
Which was raised or modified to suit the parties
ana receiver appointed.
Going northwest from the TYLER is tha
Cheyenne, Omaha. Skukem and Sierra Nevada
mines; also the Palmer fraction owned hv
Kennedy, Hanley and others. few of these
properties are in litigation. but then il is an
OLD saying and true one, IL property is OF no
value there viii be no dispute about its owner
ship. Most OF
THE oLD-nMERs
who first crawled over the bows and cut their
way through the under brush of Wardnar
canon are still here. Phil ORourke Jacl,
Smith. John King and Sandy Devine are fire.
quently met with on the streets. JOHNNY
Flaherty has crossed the range" but the old
boys Still remember him. The towns has first
CLASS accommodations in the shape OF hotels
Ed Bolgen is proprietor of the Spokane and
the Central hotel is run by al Page as per-
msnent resort foT mining men, and the Ward.
ner house is equally as well patronized. There
are no Chinese allowed in the country, and
the guest at the breakfast table has MOTTO Sc
lect his choice OF the menu from the singing
plgeon-English of an Acknowledged pirate hut
is approached by roSy-cheeked damsel who
calls OF the Dill OF fare IN pure English. The
boys here are inclined to be humorous: but
they lack the talent that the Bingham bows
displayed IN the early seventies when thew i'm.
proylsed courts at old Headquarters" and
srI zee sne poor valley criminal for ignorance.
WARDNER NoTember20 1891
Ore and Bullion