Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1895-02-22
TIE Elk CRY DISTRICT.
It's quarts Mining Interests are
Very Great-- But IT Needs
n WdGOn ROHd.

.. w. 6Illtll vi Elm WY, lNdhO'
is in the city on business. Mr.Smith
is heavily interested in the mines
of the Elk City district and is firm
in the belief that as soon as the
means of ingress and egress to Elk
are placed in a condition beyond
their present status the country
will blossom asst deserves and add
its shape of gold to the circulating
medium of the world.
The Elk City district is situated
in the foothills of the Bitter Root
mountains, ar ID quartz mining
there has only recently come to
the front. I'll g lodges are very
wide and sufficl emily rich to make
ther working extremely profitable.
The district is decided by quartz
experts as being one of the womb
ers of the Pacific coast in its sur
face display of mineral wealth, but
like many other districts it can
only be reached by mQnatain trail
and it's isolation keeps it in the
background. With wagon road
communication Elk City will easily
produce million of gold, and it has
quartz in sight to justify the pre-
diction that it will employ 10000
men when the camp is accessible.
The Buster is the best developed
mine in Elk CITY. 1t is opened by
tunnels, shafts and slopes, and
shows a fourteen foot vein Of gold
bearing quartz, with ore enough to
run a 20-stamp mill for two years.
The Cleveland mine, on Relief
creek, seven mi les from Elk, is a
goldbearing quartz vein from
which money has been made
grinding the q uartz in a rude
arastra. These mines are the
property of individuals who are
working them on the scale
commensurate with the size of the
lodges.
The town itself is located on the
old Nez Perez trail, which in early
days extended from a point near
Gregson Springs to Walla Walla,
Wash, and is one of the oldest
mining camps in the west. When
Alder gulch, this state, was in its
zenith vast gu antity of the goods
consumed there came from Elk
CITY, as did also the supplies for
other sections of Montana. In
those days Elk was distributing
point and was a prosperous place
containing GO or 20 occupied
houses built after the style of arch
itecture then i D vogue. There
were among them several large and
elegant structures and they are
still standing as monuments to the
genius of man in wilderness
where genius was needed, and are
also bearing silent testimony to the
former greatness Of the district as
a Montana supply point and pla-
GER camp.
Mr.. Smith was seen yesterday by
n Miner reporter and asked
a few questions with refer
ence to the future outlook for Elm
district.
"You can say" said he, "that
Elk CITY and the surrounding
country have only one drawback
to becoming of vast importance to
the mineral producing world-a
better and easier way of getting to
and from the outside. We have
many rich gold properties there,
but on account of the absence of
even a wagon road over which to
haul machinery for treating our
ores or hauling our ores out we
cannot accomplis b much in the way
of turning out tn yellow bars
GLOW long hav you been there?"
was asked.
II have been holding my claims
about ten years and have performed
enough developme nt work thereon
to satisfy me of their worth and of
the future greatn ess of the district
as gold producer. All We lack 10
realise the fond anticipation of
what we know will eventually
come is wagon road TO connect
us with the outside. We now
reach Elk City via Lewiston,
Grangeville, Mount Idaho, RE
holds ranch and Newsome creek.
During the last year we succeeded
in getting wage n road built from
Riebold's ranch to NewsOme creek,
a distance of 90 miles, but this still
left us with only a trail from New
some creek to Elk, distance of 10
miles. The road was commenced
at the Clearwater crossing ten
miles from Grangeville. The
grade TO the SUI nmit is gradual;
the work cost between $500 and
$500 per mile. At the point of be-
ginning the elevation is 1875 feet
and at the summit it is only 600
feet"
rs it theintention of the people
in that section to complete the
road from Newsome creek to Elk
City?a
"Well, we are now figuring on
something else. ] have been over
the trail between this city and Elk
md l>pau- fbot n mood from Non