Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1895-12-20

pared III desOlatiOn to q deserted
mining camp. The ravages made
by the "gold bugs" in the anxious
search for the precious metal leave
scars upon the bosom of mother
earth which somehow always re-
mind me of a cancers ravages
upon human body. / am famil-
lar with nearly all of these scarf
fed old placer camps from the
10th parallel to the Utah boundary,
and from the centers of their for
mer population the evidences of
the scars made by the human gold
bugs are plainly in sight. With
the lapse Of time mother nature
makes her kindliest and most Wig
orous efforts to cover up and hide
these scars which deface the land
scape from the gaze of man; but
she has never been able to clothe
the dismantled and disemboweled
earth with any semblance of it's
former beauty. The contrast is all
the more striking becamse of the
immediate unbrOken surroundings,
which seem to exult in their own
virgin attractions with as much
assurance as though certain
they would be allowed to remain
undisturbed in their possession for
evermore. But wait until the sue
cessful prOspector makes q strike,
and no matter how enchanting the
loneliness he desecrates it is all the
same to him if the gold is there.
Those who have visited the old
camps of Pierce City, Florence and
Warrens will understand the pic
ture.
But in old Elk City these rava-
ges of the human mole upon the
fair face of nature are not in evil
dence. Mining there is and plenty
of it in all variety in the camp
itself; but there is none to be seen
in the immediate vicinity of the
city, which is a central point and
rendezvous for the surrounding
country. The diggings in the Elk
City basin were discovered in the
fall of 1861, short time before the
discovery Of the Florence placers
by a party of prospectors from
Pierce City who came over the old
Nez Perez Indian trail to the
Buffalo country which strikes the
basin six miles up the creek. They
struck their first prospect on ELI
creek half-a-mile above town, and
in the summer of 1862 Elk City
had population of 5000 souls
and they had the largest Fourth O
July celebration on the Red river
meadows that summer that ha,
ever occurred in Idaho. Thos,
were the old war days and tn,
patriotism of the people was all a
fever heat, and being nearly al
war democrats from California
they were intensely loyal to tn,
Union-the only mining camp il
northern Idaho, by the " ay, wher,
the Union sentiment had a pro
nounced majority. In Florenc,
those whose sympathies were will
the Confederacy organized an op
position town called Virginia, tn,
principal building of which is nov
utilized as stable by John Clark
In Warrens there was bitter strif
between the Union and secession
elements, and as the Union peopl
named their town Washington, ,
the other side retaliated by start
ing q rival town at the mouth O
Slaughterhouse gulch and namir,
it Richmond" But that i
another story.
Two miles below Elk City tn,
American and Red rivers unite AN,
some few miles further down tn,
Crooked river comes in from tn,
east and northern slope of Buffal,
Hump, and the union of thes,
three streams form the south forl
of Clearwater. The principal min
ing was done on the bars of thes,
rivers and their tributaries ant
gulches. The gulches in the vi
entity of Elk City were fairly rich
notably Glass, Relief, Wheeler
Campbell, Deadwood and Bake
gulches. Buffalo Hill, worked b,
James Witt, now of Deadwood
was the richest claim in the basir
and paid well. American Hill
Gold Hill, Nez Perez Hill, Black
foot Hill, Red Horse and othe
claims and localities also yielded
good pay. Elk creek itself has no
been worked ON account of deptl
and flatness. The opening up O
Buffalo Hill by the hydraulic ele
vatOr process will also open up
very extensive area of the riches
virgin ground in the camp. Beins
interested in the ownership of tn,
Parker placers," embracing mil,
of the main Elk valley and havin,
had the ground prospected anl
given personal study to its condi.
lions and development, as shown
by work done, l have no reason
able doubt of the existence of 8
channel of considerable width con
tanning gold in quantity sufficien,
to pay handsome dividends. In
|