The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1896-11-17
death On The Trail"

and scout, returned to the city
yesterday, says the Spokane
Chronicle, after one of the most
eventful summer trips he has
ever made, a trip into the new
Yellow Jacket mining district
$50 miles over the mountains
from Warrens in Eastern Idaho,
through one of the widest dis
tricts in the entire Northwest.
death on the Trail" left Spok-
ane on the morning of July Is,
going first to Elk City, then to
Warrens, across the south fork
of the Salmon and on the head
of Big creek. In speaking of
the trip to the last named point
Death said
II found two distinct mineral
belts going from the headwater
of Big creek to the Middle Fork
and traced them clear through
to the Yellow Jacket camp. SOn
Wilson creek, which flows into
the Middle Fork of Salmon, l
found gold bearing ledges in
places averaging from three to
fifteen feet in width. | found
that a number of prospectors had
been working in the camp with
good results. Jim West and Ed.
Russell and 'Pudden River Smith
and 'Burro jack and Mr.. Cove
are the principal locators in that
vicinity, however, and I found
that they had taken assays from
some of their properties that run
from $50 to 81, 900 in gold in free
milling rock. The rock of the
country looks yellow with gold,
just like the rock found along
the Salmon river that made those
diggings so rich in the early
days.
THE mines of the district are
all being worked steadily and are
yielding good returns. On a
property called the Lincoln a
five-foot body of ore has been
struck that assays 1920 in gold
and 60 ounces in silver and from
four assays made there was not
a variance of $50. The Colum-
bia, owned by Mr.. Armstead, was
shut down while the owners are
putting in cyanide plant. A
| full force of men will again be
put to work as soon as the mach
inery is placed. The Columbia
assays from $50 to $500 in free
milling ore and the vein has
been tapped in seven different
J places. The foreman of the
placer ground showed me sever
, al hundred dollars in large mug
gets that he had collected. They
had not cleaned up yet, but were
almost ready to begin. 1t is be-
; lieved the clean up will take a
month, and the result will be
from $1,000 to $4,000. A Mr..
Williams owns a ledge of decom-
posed matter which connects
with the Yellow Jacket property
and which has been traced
| through the Wilson creek, where
they just struck the rich depos-
its this summer, from which he
has been able to take 81 per pan
! to S3 per pan. Other properties
in this district are looking al
most equally rich. -r
In general the country is a
I good mineral bearing belt and il
? would be a good place for specu
lators to look into. The mills in
the districta are running constant
ly and giving good returns. The
Yellow Jacket camp was the live
t liest camp have struck in year:
and it put me in mind of the six
d ties. People don't buy single
, drinks, but everybody was treat
5 ed, the gold sacks being shool
over the scoles as they used tC
= be in the early days. 'Puddel
= River Smith who owns the sa
4 loon is very popular. He dom
allow any man to go hungry ant
will drink the blood of a grizzl,
a bear or live on mountain liol
T straight. He owns some fine
r properties in the camp"
death" came near losing hi
life on the way home. He start
ed down the impossible canyol
on the Middle Fork on Octobe
r 1st, and everything went wei
: until he got to the mouth of Fid
/. die creek twenty-five miles abov
S the White Bird, when the boa
e capsized. He lost everything
:. and if he had not been an exper
g swimmer would have lost hi
l. life.
e 1.-Two men saw the accident,
f said Death, " land when | wa
O carried through the rapids | say
+ their startled faces. | was pei
h fectly helpless in the raging cur
y rent, but protected my head an
n face from the rocks with M