The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-10-04
AMONG OLD PLACERS
The Earliest Gold Diggings
West of the Cascades.
TIE GREAT COPPER LEDoEs.
The Little Chief Hoodoo and Other
Pxopersfes-Tke First Shipments
0f Ore-A Sp1~ndgA Gssiook Tor
Great Nines-Hew 10 Reach the
District.

Sultan. sep z.-Tae Oldest placer rines
w.ss o. sEa1 sarnni. II the Cascade r1ossH-
fAsns are On tie Sultan river. sxfsr1i1g
srorn this s8sn ~ iks course. and have
BEEN worked "a = 6ss4ltosy manner Ter
nearly . years Of late years attention
las been mere diverted 20 prospecting Tor
sg.s1 .sxseRstk q ore Al the hes9SAssrs ~
the several .orss Of IRE river ard us trio-
.sars<z and such valuable discoveries have
fssa rsA2s that placer mining has i4Se1 ,
secondary pace. In fhe 9recssstc1z ridges
1n3sss divide tas Sa.Ezn so4Eh fork from
the silver ersss canyon On tie east 2H1
ras snasa fork from me Stlilag1aEu4sn ard
Fslchucx on The nort8 ard wss5 are ce-
POSTS 81 copper gyy!tes ~ Eueh stze ard
richness as 70 have srsEa capital from
Eaglszd - csve4op t5sru, sE8 % the
mountains forming TIE ssiGaEHanrikA d
ysae almost wifhl1 zaogeI3g 9st&ncs o.
the larKesf eoQSy@r 5aposits ar .e5sss II
gold ana silver ore. tEe rshest Of ~na1n
have yssa = gacd preSEs sven after nfafAfzg
heavy sspssse e transportation 70 Fat4-
rozG or EsasA horses. Seattle men are n
terestea Nth the Engllsh investors "a de-
yslGping fbS copper 8sgosfis and SeaEtle
and ExeEsEt men have combined 70 deFel-
% the geI sEe silver deposits AZ IRE
s4nss tfEae znStlssr fsaFfy ~ SEATTLE men
has sakes - ia Vigorous stFss the E0fh-
ing by ny9rzgIlss = he great g5.6-oesf-
.ag bAHs On he Herseshae Bead. Only
eigAi miles from this tsSa. where Eea
have for E1any years bssn making Is-
Ing ~ mining In Z primitive manner.
Topography Of the Country
Hasr oDs comes 10 make iae aissnps
TO give e.sar idea Or tie tosograpty %
THIS assfrIes. the urgent need of good
ssFses os county maps becomes apparent.
Tsse course Of rhe streams and az the n
fsrysning mountain gssges - a matter Q:
tradition among arospect9Ts ans has
nsssr- 10 The knaule3xs Of any man here,
been plaIaly Traced our on paper ia the
shape ef al accurate map. The whoie dis
tFtet drained uy the sultan II without
roads. except for ak miles from the ;csn.
and ali trassl Is done on trails made By
the or0Spectogs. Nh!es are 10 mauy cases
merely saT 81 getting Through some
how ar ots@g. and IA some places car oa4y
De tTaos-s ~ q stranger through the sxsr-
etSe az constant vigilance. YET 20 one @ho
even casually notes the wealth OF the
country ia timber Rad mineral on the
mountains. and 81 agricultural land along
the valleys. u II evident that the opening
CT This see1.oa 10 DEVELOPMENT ~ the con-
ssruefsen q a system OF good roads would
repay the cost many fold In the increase
cf sssessable property.
The Sultan river has three forks Of
ynteh the north fork fows almost due
soashsard an9 e formed By the confia-
stsce OF Williamson creek and Copper
creek. the farmer coming from the range
overlooking sas s;lllSxaamish. the latter
from Copper laks IN she basin al the head
Of thts range. Thss fork Is Joined at
BrgnBer'S crossing. some ten miles be-
low. by the mh1dl. FORK. which rises in the
Sheep Gap mountains and ia the basin
cgrvtng around from u ard floss south
wess. receiving Elk creek from Elk basin
Ia It's course. mile and a hair further
Nas
westerly course. Is joined by the south
fork from ths east and flows On southwark
IN winding course OF twenty-five miles
&c Join the sAykouish at Sultan. sixteen
miles above Saohomish.
Sultan City.
The sawu Of Sultan stands on Tho aata
a. the confluence OF the Sultan with the
sgysgo mtsh where broad stretches o. bot
t9m land up aa1 5own he latter valley
sEe rooD Ter expansion and have tempt
ssf nary farmers - settle On the riEh:
81 the basin 81 ses bead OF the north FORK.
a. you look up stream. IS TIRE Little chief
group u copper pyritcs claims. srai on the
lsts tewsF* the summit ~ TIRE Sfiiiawnarr1-
ish divide = the Fgrsy-slye Kroup - gold
silver ans galena cis szs. @ith many Others
Etite X ~ all developed, scattering
through the Intervening peaks At fhe
head - the middle sork are tae sultan
ara Heie0& groups aF COPPER claims w4th
efe sluliisr IN character 20 thai q the
Lizzie ChisE sru8a
10 reach shs bead ~ sltaer the narsh
or middle FORK require nrarssorna tay's
journey. fhe d3sgMnea from sultan being
about twenty-five snsIss fa esch mace
For about tNo mites a eao8 read sass
across fhe eoftptm Lands Where several
farms have been cleared o1t - tha fa~rst
aas erase rsf3s have grown - among tss
efnwrs short cisuh ua 30 fhs a~xs
feneh takes y8r 3sta tas forest. e~hssh
NeweFer. PAS been thsunea hy fss ~t4.ftrsr
e cedar fsf sAfnste h-sits arr; tn sw.a
-0ofe miles vnu ra@x &8aterz ana tFr..s-
la5en Ia&ra go 'se .sff. both famed or
fhefv a1uafsr~e 80 t*nur nevasgs s9e-.
corr sfftnr ~ farms -l~a~s sas - ,hs
~ae}s SIS WAsr g En@wr aS Hsrav va5gsv
$50 sAst sss-sysa aert sefsffriss-s .rs tae "a.
"e tSe stTee. I'm sasay fa~ rsetst asa-.s
thn Fn2d s. cAeanes bss- sa .u ~-~.s},
hsr9 ans aFy % ~ tnfs no{nt Tfte0 how
ever. you plunEe .nsa the Dense fer.4t
s~s~rf al n1snar- - uniere-tleh crews
shivk sna rank ar,s tAr -as- ~e -,t,..~.-.
- the iree trunks ahGt r. tNe rfra ehsf~
SesfwAs fsssek}. covered th every sa~t-s,,
g r3-h green moss Wherever sAs t.e.ssA
permits a wslnp@~ ef ere es~tA 81 ia
elethe8 ~5gh this usess 49, every ree&
SRI Souhfer ls H~swhs wgfh t. seee sea
r0ss CROSSES Cintv efcek a9# axis,sf f@-s
'sAH sna ;he faress ght-kvos 50 -sses
ths' ese1 after 4 ieur slTY s4rnrns~ rot
enough sunlight has p~nef~ata8 tns s,.f-
$50 70 drY $50 ere "a 81 80 tas. sfs ro-
Were tss sraenA - moderately hert
sH2 = fs8s sNlSsaeis eishou* fssr-'s ae-,4
tfse tran So aeTm {nso a series ~ f,.essesas
fe@sw~~n 93sf1snNfsvs hftfR Gar every "a 4
heTsa steps t0to ere setes mate tv - rs,a
BEFORE = a&tt these ho ~ az es~ A=sax
tae orfT1u~&i grsts ara each a-e IS ev7s.s
VIII muddy safer e~ As~ a g.sss.esfs Nssssa-,.
haf Tor .sfSe 9a~s - t7e ststs1-e fhf