Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1894-06-15
OUR CORRESPONDENTS.
K0OsLia Items.

or eight years ago, when loggers
were plying their vocation here,
have SO many strange faces been
seen on this the Middle 0ndian-
Selwa) Fork of the Clearwater as
have already appeared this spring
For the last two weeks, however,
the high water has stopped all
travel either out or in. On the 4th
of the month, the water reached a
stage two feet higher than ever
reached before in the memory OF
any white man ON the river and
within foot of the highest drift
that is any where to be seen along
the banks. For ten days or more
the ferry at Kamai was tied up and
it was too risky to swim horses.
On this account many of the pros
pectors on the trail along the river
were water-bound and compelled
to camp until the water went
down. On the 9th it began
falling and is now six feet below
its highest mark.
About the first of April, three
Elk City men. James WEIGH, V. S.
Bressler and Charles Lampher START
ed up the North Loksa) Fork.
They expected to get above the can
Won before the river rose and will
prospect in that section this sum-
,mer. AS they will be in the coun-
try where the Carlin party left
Colgate, they may find some traces
of that unfortunate man. Welch
was boatman on the Zahner sur
veys up that fork some 10 or II
years ago when he is said to have
found some very rich float.
The only mining now being done
in this district is on the east fork
of Maggie creek in Happy: Jack"
Swans "Hard Pan" diggings. These
diggings can only be worked during
the spring months, the water failing
in July. Jack expects 10 clean up
in about two weeks. A. G. Nc
Lean and AL Peters are also work.
ing a claim there and Messrs. Cum
ningham, Walker and Diedrich
are on the way into lizard Pan"
with supplies.
Messrs. Radcliff and Dawson
have claim on a bar opposite the
mouth of O'Hara creek which they
will work as soon as the water in
the river goes down enough to per-
NIT mining.
Messrs. II. M. Kinds and Rory
Burke's place at Smith creek is be-
ginning to take on the appearance
of village. They have about 10
acres cleared, on which they have
two handsome cabins with neat
and commodious outhouses and are
now engaged in building a large
barn the frame of which is now up.
A large garden and field of
timothy form veritable oasis in the
wilderness. These gentlemen have
some Is to 20 quartz claims, all
gold propositions, and have this
spring located placer claim on
the river opposite Smith creek.
Their quartz is low grade but can
be worked cheaply and its easy
accessibility will no doubt attract
capital to develope the claims as
soon as confidence returns to the
financial world.
Virgil Gedney, who has been
trapping along the river for two or
three years has settled down on
Wynkoop fat and put in a gar
den. The garden ought to do well
if plenty of water is what is needed,
there having been water enough on
it to float light-draft steamer
during the recent floods.
A. J. Purcell and j. w. Molri-
son have been engaged this spring
in clearing land on their ranches
which are located on the bench
north of the river and east of Mag
gle creek.
Surveyor Wait who has been
expected in for some time has not
yet arrived.
+. P. Turner has secured a large
number of names to petitions ask
ing the commissioners to make
Kooskia a voting precinct and
school district.
Gardens and fields along the
river all look fine and fruit and
berries promise large crop.
Your correspondent feels it his
duty to mention for the benefit of
those who intend coming into this
section the fact that there is absol-
utely no alkali in the soil of this
country. Ignorance of this fact
might cause the unsophisticated
much unpleasantness and prejudice
them against the country. AS a
result of this lack of alkaline mat
ter all range cattle have an insatia-
BILE craving for salt. Should a
camper, careless or forgetful, leave
anything lying out around his camp
about which there is the least trace
of salt, must not be surprised to see
the cattle pounce upon it before
his very eyes. Though experience
had taught the unpleasantness of
any disregard of this fact, your
correspondent must confess that he
was staggered recently at the
prudence displayed by Mr.. James
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