Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1896-02-28
MINING ON RELIEF CREEK
Quartz Operations in the Old Elk
City District
A GOOD CHANCE FOR CAPITAL
Superinien 'ent ). w. Smith Comes in TO
A. cnd the Mining Associa-
tion Banqu t.

Spokesman review, feD ~
= w Smith. superintendent of the
Relief Milling Company, operating on
Relief creek Elk City mining district.
idaho county, Idaho. is at the Hotel
Spokane and will remain until the meet
ing OF the Northwest Mining Associa-
ton. on Saturday next He visits Spo-
kane a this time for change of climate
ard rest. Mr.. Smith Is a native of san
Esancisco, a miner of the 1854 class, and
has followed mining all his life. He
was thu first to undertake the develop
ment OF quartz in his section, and has
worked faithfully for the past II years
and has unbounded confidence, stating
that development always shows inn
provement and calls for more
The company he represents owns a
group of 10 gold quartz claims, on which
they have been doing development work
for the past six years, and Mr. Smith
reports that they have shown up in the
Cleveland lode a chute of rich gold
quartz 200 feet long and from two TO
seven feet wide, averaging over $50 per
ton. 60 per cent free milling and the re-
mainder a very fine concentrating ma
terial He estimates, from tests made,
that they will concentrate six tons into
one. The past season the company eX
pended several thousand dollars in
equipping the claims with a complete
quartz mill, saw MILL buildings and
roads, and will resume work about
March 1.
Before going to the Elk City country
Mr.. Smith had a large experience in
mining matters in Utah, Montana and
Arizona. He talked freely with a
spokesman Review reporter concerning
the Elk City mining district and cx-
pressed the opinion that with further
development the district would be an
inviting field for the investment of cap
ital in the auriferous pyritic quartz
lodes Of that mineral belt.
In addition to the Relief creek int ar-
ests, Mr.. Smith is sole owner of the
Buster group of gold quartz claims,
four in number, which are the only pat
ented quartz claims in Idaho county
The company's mines on Relief creek
are situated eight miles south OF Elk
City Relief creek was one of the rich
est streams of placer gold in the Elk
City basin. the ground yielding as high
S % cents to the pan in the early days,
and several fortunes were taken from
it's bed by the lucky owners in those
palmy days. Mr. Smith believes the
source of this gold was the Clevela nd
lode, the principal claim now owned by
the Relief Milling Company. The ere
chute on which the development on this
claim has been done was uncovered by
ground sluiclng and tunnels
The quartz mill owned by this COM
pany is the only one in that county, and
the individuals owning the enterprise
are all well-known citizens of Idaho
and Montana.
Mr.. Smith brought with him a mas
sive chunk of ore from the Cleveland
mine to be placed on exhibition at the
mining exchange for the purpose of m
forming mining men of .he general
character and value of the quartz of
this coming gold quartz section of the
northwest.
Mr.. Smith is close reader of The
Spokesman-Review and in further con-
versation with the reporter expressed
surprise at the number of confidence
games worked off on unsuspecting in
vestors by the green goods" men of
the mining fraternity. His own section
has happily escaped the operations of
these nefarious gentlemen, and he saws
that country have come to the conclu-
sion to put their mining pl operties on a
paying basis before attempting to dis
pose of them. He makes the further
statement that investors would escape
these fraudulent enterprises if they
would only investigate them the same
as they would any other business prop
osition, and he appreciates the good
work done by The Spokesman Review
in exposing the work of the fakirs. who
are detriment to the industry of legit-
innate mining.
Elk City is 120 miles from Lewiston
and about 60 miles from Grangeville.
and to reach the nearest railroad Mr.
Smith had to stage about 125 miles. 1t
Is now proposed, though, to run a light
draft steamer on the Clearwater a far
as the forks of that stream, and If this
we're done it would reduce the wagon
road haul to about 60 miles.