Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1893-03-03
ELK CITY MINES.
TIE Greatest Cold quarts Camp
In the United States.
by N. l.. Murray.I

by n. l.. Murray
Continued from last week.
GEOLOGICAL FEATURES.
The country rock of the district
il stratifed or secondary granite,
being mostly gneiss, with large
dykes Of syenite running northeast
and southwest, in some places hav-
ing a metamorphic cast, being tilt
ed and twisted in every conceiva-
bic shape. Towards the eastcrly
part Of this district porphyry oc-
ours more frequently and nearly al
ways constitutes one Of the walls
Of the contact veins.
The assure veins of this section
run nearly east and west and dip
south, cutting the formation at an
angle Of about 45 degrees. The
matrix or gangue in the veins of
this district is principally quartz
and iron. In gold bearing veins
the iron is in the shape of sulphur
cts, generally in cubes, but some
times In irregular massive lunches
or kidneys.
Arsenical iron pyrites take the
place of the sulphurets of iron
when silver is found in paying
quantities; that is when the ore is
more valuable for the silver than
the gold it contains. But this oc-
ours only In few places in this
district.
THE CALIFORNIA MINE.
The California mine is owned by
AnaGOrtes parties and worked by Il
force Of six men under the manage
nent Of K. w. Brownell, one of the
owners. 1t is situated about one
mile from Elk City, on American
river. A tunnel is being run on
the ledge thirty-fve feet above the
water level of American river, and
Is now in about 1876 feet, exposing
four foot vein of very good con-
Centrating ore. There are about
300 tons of ore on the dump that
will run Mt least $50 per ton and
will concentrate at the rate of ten
tons to one. In the tunnel the
gangue is soft, dark, unctuous,
talcose mixture, with stratas of
dark blue quartz running through
1t, and all of it highly charged with
arsenical iron pyrites and blotches
of antimOnial silver. About 800
feet further up the mountain a
shaft has been sunk about IS feet
deep. This is also on the ledge,
but shows a much better grade of
ore than that in the tunnel, as
says from the shaft running from
AZ OF. to $50 OF. in silver per ton.
The tunnel will tap this body of
GRE 900 feet below the surface.
OTHER MINES ON GOLD HILL.
West of the California, and on
the same vein, John Redmond
owns the Cornucopia. This ledge
is similar in appearance to the Cal
ifornia, only carries little more
antimony.
Mr.. Redmond also owns the Last
Chance lode. This is a parallel
vein and looks very good. Both of
these lodges are about the same
width, viz: four feet, and promise
with development to equal the Cal
ifornia.
The strike of these veins is about
100 feet above and east Of Red riv.
er.
East of the Last Chance and par.
allei with the California, is situa-
ted the "Gold HILL" owned by
Jake Prichard and r. w. Brown
ell. This claim, like the rest O
the group, carries arsenical iror
and a little anthony, and runs
about as high in silver. Here OF
this hill are two fissure veins, run
ming nearly but not quite parallel
The COrnucopia and Last Chance
on the west are but 800 feet apart
while the California and Gold Hill
are $50 feet apart.
A BONANZA GOLD GROUP.
About three miles from Elk City
In an easterly direction is situated
one of the finest groups of gol6
quartz claims in the Elk City basin
This group consists of the "Ninety
twO," owned by S. B. Irwin and N
B. Pettibone; the "Greenhorn, >
owned by Mitchell, Lauer, Duffield
and Terwiliger; the Triumph,
owned by E. w, Gray, and tn,
"World's Fair" owned by NJ. L.
Murray. These four claims are all
on the same ledge and crop out
boldly nearly the full length of all
four. This is a contact vein, the
foot wall being granulite and the
hanging wall feldspathic granite.
Assays fiom these claims run from
$3.50 to $21.00 in gold and about
$3.50 in silver. The ledge varies
in width from five feet to sixty-fve
feet, and wherever work has been
done 1t shows up as a well defined
vein, with smooth, clear cut walls
The Clearwater river runs through
this group, the Worlds Fair being
on the north and the others on the
south. At the present time the
water is at its lowest point, yet the
Clearwater river has within its
banks $500 miners inches of wa