Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-04-01
OLD ELK CITY.

Elk City, idaho county, was ont
Of the best gold-producing camps OF
the Pacific coast during the COS
II is again attracting attention and
bids fair To experience something al
a boom this summer Following il
an extract from letter written from
Elk City to the Northwest Mining
Review by Michael l.. Murray. The
letter deals at length with the oper-
atoms now under way, and has this
To say of the camp in former DAYS:
Fla City mining district embraces an area II about
100 square miles AMI covers nearly all the water shed
o. the upper south fork ~ thu Clearwater river TIE
main streams are American river Red river and Elk
week The south fork Of the Clearwater heads al
the confluence o. the American and Rel rivers. a
short distance below where Elk creek Ho~s into the
American river. few miles helos the head n Clear.
Nater cnmcs In Cracked creek from the SOUTH about
thlrtv miles lS from source 10 mouth. Red river Is
about III miles long aud drains the country southeast
~ the head Of Clearwater American river Is about
80 miles long and hovS into Clearwater from an east.
erly direction Eik creek Is about 80 miles long and
puts into Clearwater from the north These streams
With their plany hranhcS and small feeler. form the
eHtree head OF water shed OF the south fork OF the
Clearwater river.
In lssl gold first dis.o, erel on the south fork
Of the Clearwater. At or noN Kamt,h, by party 81
pro-peetnrs ~ho followed this branch up to the head
and established the town oi FIN Guy Ella creek
about one mile e. 1m Us mouth
The news spread like wldAre Of the discovery ~
rich digging on The south fork ant miners came IN
from every dir elton In search ot the golden treasure
ami hne every gulch and stream Tor miles ar,un1
II has heep estimated that In ls82 thee ~sre f1lty
10, men working within ten milcs Of Elk City
In those DAYS Ella CITY was typical mining tawn
and had its full shsre Of saloons gambling houses
dance halls and hard cases and the miner who came
"a town IN the evening tempted to try his luck
bt the seductive click " the faro hips ar the whIz ~
the roulette wheel. Or u his weak point uas the
OF the pfonii,cr caught his with, Take your
partners Tor the next guadrr, ending with, IAN
4 promenade IN the bar ("
4 such WAS Elk City in o. After six or seven wears
OF surface mining this army ~ miners commenced 10
\ dWihdir down to a few hundred some going Ia hunt
richer heia but the greater number .oing 10 live In
ease and comfort the remainder ~ their lives Those
WI" remained formed combinations TO work the deem
ground OF hill diggtngs. These cumuanies dug
uches built reservoirs tunnels and laid bedrock
huines-tn fact, commenced TO work scientifically
with hydraulic pipes and by these means to extract
the gold at about ole tenth the expense OF the old
Z rocker process 1hese eomIancs worked Ia this
manner tor several years, until OF the smaller
deposits we're nearly exhausted, when they were
either abandoned or sold l., Cinnamon Tor a very
small amount. Tins the county hecame oyerrun
with Chinain,n AMI all the ground worked .ter
from which the white men had taken the cream aud
left sur,hess AMI Elk City after increasing the
WORLDS wealth by seyelal millions 81 dollars was
looked upan with contempt and avoided by Mining
men as "Chjna camp
But things have changed and Elk
City is now promising quartz
mining camp.