The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1893-09-07
PROSPECTING ON THE PAYETTE
A Trip Through Tripod and
Long Valley Diggings.
No Notable Deposits Yet
Discovered.

About two days travel from
Weiser, in that neighborhood around
the head of Squaw creek, Tripod val
ley and the west fork of the Payette
river, is section of country which
has long been known for its prospects
in gold, but which has never resulted
in anything of notable nature. One
spot, known as Prospect Flat, has
been literally overturned in the search |
and colors found everywhere, but not
in paying quantities. Some few spots
have been found that paid small
wages The Walker boys, of Squaw
creek, worked claim couple of
years ago and got fair return. There
is certainly gold in good quantities
somewhere in that vicinity and also
up in Long valley, and when the
source from which the colors come is
discovered a new field will be opened
which will be a notable addition to
Weiser's trade tributaries. Tom Sut-
ton has been on an unsuccessful pros
pecting trip in those localities and
writes the Boise Sentinel as follows:
"The first place prospected was
Tripod creek. This stream lies be-
tween Upper Squaw creek valley and
the West Fork of the Payette, and
empties into the latter stream. The
country round it is densely timbered
and the creek carries, at its lowest
stage, from $50 to 200 inches of wa
ter. Gold is found in the creek and
in all of its continents, which pecul-
iarity has led to much prospecting in
the locality, but so far, nothing has
been found that would pay. A
color can be obtained almost any
place on the hills, in the gulches, OF
along the creek; and this is IN man
ner true of the Payette river and OF
all of the region around Long valley,
still the number of claims that have
paid in the region are surprisingly
few. Copeland's old claims, discov
cred away back in the early sixties
were good property. They are nov
owned by Messrs. Haines, White an(
Gardener, who have nearly completed
a ditch to supply them with water TO
piping, and expect handsome retur
for the labor next summer. The
are working hard and told me the
bad excellent prospects. Higher u
on the Gold Fork are two other com
panies at work. One of these claims
owned by Boydston, Barker and Rad
cliff, ! prospected and found gol
PLENTIFUL but they had just con
, menced work, and the day left struc
a deposit of boulders that seriousl
W threatened to balk their efforts. Bl
1t for those, five or six dollars a da
is could be made on these claims. I'll
other claims, owned by Hurst an
Nelson, did not visit, but understoc
IN they were paving well. MIR. Cop
er land, the pioneer of the place, now
old man, has mines on the Payett
three miles below the Red Fish lax
n. and is constructing ditch. He e
poets to begin piping in a year or tw
A great deal of mining ground
re also held there by the Standard I
in Co., but the prospects | got the
were discouragingly small; would n
m; paw one dollar day. Hence co
' clude the great monopoly has SON
thing besides legitimate mining
view in holding the mining ground
r, that locality. ] also prospected
:, ~ y little on the west side of the w
ial Fork of the Payette, in what is kno
his there as the Tamarack swamp. Th'
is said to be gold there, but fou
none. | did, however, see as fine
n.y. body of timber as can be found al
AN where, and decidedly the finest fl
~ of timothy ever saw The lat
was on Mr.. John Coonrod's farm,
the west side of the Payette river, 8
stood from three to four feet hi
1t grew on irrigated ground,
would probably yield from two
X. one half to three tons to the aC
And it might be as well to say b
int that timothy growing must be
eal- main dependence of the people
'ery Long valley. When they get Il
uts, lands irrigated, immense crops
that grass can be raised and pI
,ach realized by feeding it to stock;
n a little else can ever be successf'
Try grown there. When l went, ali
!, the 9Th of August, found some
patches of potatoes, but they wer'
ness killed by frosts before the /
e S Turnips and rutabagas can be gr
there, but there is no profit in t
cultivation. except for feed for sto'