The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1895-11-19
RIsckbird District.


from last week:
"hs there is not hole in the
camp over ten feet deep as yet it
is hard to define the character of
the veins; they seem to follow
the bedding of the formation at
some places and at others to
quarter across it. One thing is
certain, number of them are
true contact veins, and accom-
panied by strong intrusion dykes
of igneous (having been molten
rock), locally called gneissoid, a
heavy micaceous rock, full of
iron and visculated air cells in
places and in others largely
made up of sparry fibrous crys-
tails of hernblast and angite,
probably a variety of deorite. 1t
Is customary to call any strange
or unrecognizable variety of ign
eous rock porphyry, and it will
be as well to use that term in the
present case. The general for
nation of the country is, start
ing at the mouth of Blackbird
creek and for six miles up the
canyon, highly metamorphosed
siliceous sediment, commonly
called block slate. At a point
about half a mile below the
mouth of Meadow creek this
changes to a black, soft, talcy
mica schist, very easy ground to
work-just hard enough to stand
without timbering-and largely
made up of the numerous por-
phyry dykes and large veins of
soft, granular, sugary quartz.
There is also a large dyke, ten
TO twenty feet thick, crossing
diagnally through the camp, that
is volcanic brecca made up OF
angular fragments of the wall
rock cemented together with OK
ide of iron and copper, and with
bright, jetty spots and threads
of gothite.
Speaking of formations remind
me of story for which Uncle
Bill Davis, the veteran clerk Of
the International hotel, is res
ponsible. 1t happened away
back in the fall of '49 or the
spring of 80, when Bill was in
dustriously chasing the festive
colors on one of the origina
California Bar claims. A pill
grim prospector, who had beer
over in the Middle Fork country
and had found some very ricf
copper, had brought specimen
! in to show to Bill, who aked hin
what per cent. he thought il
would go, when the fellow assur
ed him it would go fully 500 pei
cent. copper; then, after some
other inquiries Bill asked him
what kind of country rock it wa:
in, and with look of derision ht
replied, Country rock be damn
ed, its not in country rock; its il
granite and porphyry !" Th'
pilgrim spoke better than h
knew; applying an authentic
sense to the subject, granite i:
not common country rock it il
an aristocratic formation-th'
bedrock of the world, the mothe
of quartz and the original home
of all the precious metals, whil
porphyry is deeper seated still,
rock that has been forced up il
a molten state from the interio
of the earth, and bears a fa
truer relation to the origin o
the earth than present kings ant
princes do to the Deity.
Gold, as the Good Book tell
us, is truly where you find il
and it has shattered more scien
tific theories in regard to its or
} igin than probably any othe
simple element, but there is on
fact which has become patent
and that is, that porphyry ant
its numerous igneous varietie
have played a more importan
part in the deposition of gold il
the veins than any other forms
tion, as is proven by the work
ings of all the most successfl
gold mines in every country /
the world where mining is ca
ried on for the precious meta
i, Contacts and unities in the mil
!. eral kingdom has played an in
e portant part in fertilizing veir
:, and influencing the deposition
i: their metals and their presel
o productiveness as they do in II
animal and vegetable kingdom
: So stay with your porphyr
f contacts, boys, and if you find
f big vein in one don't be afraid
e dig on it, for it will stay wit
a you as far through towar'
d China as you care to follow
It 1t may fault, or you may getpa
d one of its productive zones, b
4 A L