Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1893-03-03


hour Here is water power to run
a large milling plant right now,
while in the summer months there
will be 10000 miners inches of wa
ter running past this point. For
cheap, convenient and unlimited
water power this group of mines
cannot be excclled in the north
west. Here nature has thrown in
juXtapositiOn an unlimited amount |
of fairly rich quartz and an unlim-
tied water power, steep mountain
sides and deep canyons from which
to run tunnels. The streams run
ming from the summit to the river
through these canyons and cutting
through and grinding up the quartz
in this reef or ledge for countless
ages, left a rich streak of gravel
from the ledge to the river, which
was taken advantage Of in the ear
ly sixties by the placer miner and
worked with good results. The
naked bedrock and piles of bould-
ers and roots of trees, bear evidence
of many hard days work by the
pioneers when wages were from
500 to $1,000 per day, so that
ground had to be rich to be work
ed at all.
NATHAN SMITHS GROUP.
Southeast of Elk City about five
miles there is located a group of
mines known as the Smith proper
ty. This group is owned by Ma
than Smith. There are seven To-
cations in all the "Black Rose"
and the Clinton" are the princi-
pal locations i'll this group, al
though the others are very promis-
ing claims. "Old Nate" as the
boys call him, is a pioneer of pion-
GERS, having crossed the plains in
1S47. He took in nearly every
mining excitement or stampede
since gold was first discovered at
Suffers mill in California, and
many are the stories he can tell of
rich strikes and blank disappoint-
ments. 1t was this same old Nate
Smith that PANIED out the first
gold in the famous camp of Flor
cnce, that has enriched the world
to the amount of several millions
of dollars. And now while speak
ing of discoveries, | believe the
honor of discovering Elk City basin
belongs to Jake Pritchard, another
old pioneer. At least Jake was
the first man to locate claim here.
He, like Mr.. Smith, has been in
nearly every excitement and rush
since the discovery of gold in Cali
fornia.
OTHER DEADwoOD PROPERTIES.
On the north of the Clinton c.
l.. Rice owns the Golden Queen
and Silver Bow claims. The ore
in these claims is the same as that
found in the Smith group, viz: Sui
phurets Of iron. There are seven
claims on this vein, which runs
nearly north and south and varies
in width from four to twelve feet
and crops out at intervals for over
10000 feet. Assays from this
property (the Smith and Rice
ledges) show an average of S12 per
ton in gold. Little more than as
sessment work has beep done. yet
that little shows the lodges to be
very strong and well defined, with
a streak of tale ON each wall of
from an inch to six inches wide
and highly charged with iron.
} Near here there are several 9th.
er claims, but the underbrush is sc
thick. .hat it is almost impossible
! to make any Roadway at all. Mr.
: James Mitchell owns two claims il
here and several others whose
names | do not know.
THE CLEVELAND GOLD GROUP.
Southeast of the Smith property
9 about two miles and about 81,
miles from Elk City, the Cleveland
/, mining company own group o
six claims, the principal one o
which is the Cleveland. A sixt,
foot tunnel has been run on tht
vein exposing an ore body of from
two to six feet in width between
clear cut and well defined walls
with an unctuous clay streak OF
side. The matriX is of that gener
Gus maternal nature ESQ hard t,
7 describe yet so well known to tn,
miners practised cye) of a rose O
| flesh color, and highly charged
with the oxide or sulphurets o
: iron. There are three claims OF
this vein, or 4 800 feet. South O
the Cleveland vein about 400 fee
is located the Mountain View
and Sun Rise" ON a parallel vein
which shows just as good ore wher
ever work has been done as tn,
Cleveland. A combination TUNE
is being run to cut both these veins
and is now in about 40 feet. Thi
} tunnel will cut the Cleveland 25C
, feet deep and the Sun Rise abou
600 feet deep. Across Relief creek
and on the north side opposite thu
, Cleveland, is located the Colder
J Crown. 1t is similar to the Others
: and shows body of ore of tn,
same width and character. Sever
al TONS of thiS nra hoe baap uorIy oc