The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-09-10
GOLD MINE In ILLINOIS.
Paying Dirt FoEnd Along Sugar
Creek In Logan County.
A Sample Of the Clay Tested by an Expe-
rienced Assayer shows 026.9 % OF Gold
and Thirty-Ose Cents of Sill
yer to the Ton.

With the name of ga gold mine" there
mountains, and for that reason it is not
to be expected that gold deposit will
be uncovered in the great prairie state
of illinois. However, some such de
posits have been discovered.
Logan county is a county whose roll
ing prairies are as fertile as any in the
whole rich Mississippi valley, and waste
land is almost unknown there. A drive
along the country roads takes the trav-
eler across few hills, and even where
the timber-fringed CREEKS are crossed
there is but little inequality in the lay
of the ground. Ten miles north of Lin,
coin, the county seat, there is an excep-
ton to this rule. Where Sugar creek
cuts its way through the northwest
corner of the county there is a success
sion of hills and Wales which remind
one of scenes much farther west. as
here and there huge powders show
above the surface. However, it is not
from the rocks that the gold is taken,
for the Logan county gold mine is a
placer digging" and not quartz mine,
and the gold is washed from the yellow
clay in the gulch above the Quisenberry
springs. These springs are on the side
of the hill which overshadows the Gold
Mine lake.
The lake is fed by the cold, clear
water Of the springs, and there is an
abundant supply for carrying on any
mining that can be done in the gulch,
while the creek beyond receives the sur
plus water, which works its way over
the dam at the foot of the little lake.
These springs were so popular as a re-
sort at one time that hotel was erect
ed there for the accommodation of sum-
mer guests, but this is now used only as
a farm residence, and but for picnic
parties the lake and springs would be
visited but little.
Long before the place was fitted up
for the accommodation of parties of
gay picnickers it had been known that
shining grains of gold could be washed
from the sandy clay which formed the
bed of the little streams at the bottom
of the gulch. Little attention was paid
to this fact by the staid old Scotch COM
munity which lived thereabouts, and
when it was found that stranger who
was ostensibly working the mine was
in reality using that as cloak for cOun-
terfeiting it made the neighboring peo-
pie doubt as to the authenticity Of thu
gold which had been shown.
For years little was done with it, but
finally Tom Quisenbcrry, the old man
who owned the land, made some expert
nents in panning out the dirt which
convinced him that it was rich with
precious grains Of gold. His age and
his health prevented his working the
mime as others might have done, but it
has attracted the attention of oldtirne
miners and caused some of them to In
vestigate. Quite recently visit was
made to the mine by an experienced as
sayer and geologist, who found that,
while some free gold could be obtained
by washing, the whole was a glacial de-
posit differing from the ordinary pay
dirt" although in part like it, and that
much of the precious metal was COM
bined with less valuable ores. In the
sample tested the dirt showed S26.93 of
gold and 81 cents worth of silver to the
ton, but the fear that the glacial driftwill
not extend over sufficient territory to
justify heavy machinery will doubtless
hinder the full development of the de-
pOSit