The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-01-03
THE SWAUK DISTRICT.

The SNAJk DlSI XIII.
swauk creek and rs tributaries have tor
twenty years been TIE Sceaa Of the mos.
active anG successful placer mining oper-
tio7s IN Washington. but o. late years
attention has been returned with equally
good results 30 quartz Mining. The
mines are al within = few miles around
Liberty, IN tEse Swa9k valley, sixteen
miles north az E.Eensburg. from which
city they are reached by a good wagon
read. but the miners form ! peculiarly
Independent community. seeking no out-
side investments ana living on the gold
they take out Of the ground.
The PAGER gold Of this district has
been brought down from Table mountain
on the east. By SwaGk. Williams Gnd
Boulder creeks. and from the Teansway
mountains on the west by Baker creek.
II is found in bars along these creeks.
both lha low bars close 10 the water and
the high ones, rising as muca as 100 feet
above. Tia gold IS more abundant and
Cosrser on the bedrock Of the osA channel.
which Is cut By the present channel. but
IN many places runs from surface 20 bed
rock. though finer towards the surface.
The nuggets range II size from PIN
head up, the larger ones being generally
rough fat pieces about three-auartsrs OF
an .nch thick. or IN the shape q 8 tanSle
OF wires mashed together. The value
IA REes from sl2 30 s1S.5e an ounce on the
Swsuk and sl4.5e to SIS on Williams creek,
q large proportion OF silver accounting for
the difference. OF course, the district
sbounds in stories OF big nuggets. The
largest weighed s.. oo< and came from the
bar at the mouth Of Baker creek. another
from the other side OF that creek was
= 49,
running into the hundreds OF dollars.
The ground Is 50 rich la coarse gold that
the miners make no effort 10 catch the
finer particles and. II a bar does pay
well ia coarse god. they put II down as
no good. Thus they have been led to
condemn the bars near the mouth OF
Swauk creek, for gold 10 always finer as
one goes down stream. Yet those bars
were worked in 8 primitive way by China
man many years ago and paid 81 to IS
q day 20 the nan. and shafts sunk deeper
than the Cinnamon went showed dirt
carrying twenty colors TO the pan. There
is no doubt that thu dirt further Up
stream carries much free gold. which is
lost through the primitive methods in
vogue. for banning from the dump shows
abundant colors.
The Best-Paying Piacers.
A8c HAoACCA Va AAS dAcS1AIN 10 Twill
Black, who owns the hydraulic shown on
the page OF mining Illustrations. and has
taken at least $751; out OF it. He has
washed out a bar Is feet high for a dis
tanoe Of 400xl00 feet down 10 bedrock, and
gets many nuggets OF SO 10 $50. his largest
being s565. W. A. Ford has been n.y.
at the mouth of Baker creek
for the last season. and has found mug
gets as large as $500. The Green Tree
Mining Company has four claims adjoin-
ing John Blacks. on which a tunnel has
been run 800 feet on bedrock and has
given good pay. Gus Milton has done
1900 feet OF tunneiing on claim at the
mouth OF Williams creek, and taken out
from $4,000 TO $4,000 L. II. Jansen has
done a large amount OF work on two
claims adjoining and with equally good
results. David. Thomas and George Liv-
ingstone and F. w. Clayton. Of Seattle.
have several long tunnels on bedrock.
where they find nuggets averaging 30
cents. John Mayer has 20 work by shaft
and pump water, as the bedrock on his
claim IS below the present creek bed.
On Williams creek the most extensive
now In operation are those OF
c. Il. Bignsy, who has sunk shaft lis
feet to bedrock. put down an air-shaft 90
feet and done about $3.50 feet of tunnel-
Ing. having struck bedrock at a depth OF
H. AEGL 4uJ AGGL lnC AdEG OF TIE OAR.
He has taken opt from 5000 to 500 Q week,
and in 1895 produced $1,000. Other mines
on Williams creek have been worked by
Andrew Flodin. Thaddeus Neubaur, John
Doyle and Thomas It. Meagher, the last
claiming a record Of $4,000 for one
year.
On Boulder Creek.
During the last five years placer mining
was extended up Boulder creek, where
the principal and best-paying claims are
worked by Thomas r. MeaEher. c. c.
and A. F. York. Last May
they hydraulicked gulch and found pay
dirt from the grass roots down, the
pieces ranging from $50 down 10 -four
gold, and the product of a months work
being s.. 900. There are other good claims
on the creek. but water interferss with
work on them.
Free Milling Quarts.
Attention of late years has been turned
to quartz mining. and the mountains OF
williams, Boulder and Baker creeks. far
up towards Table mountain, have been
found laden with lodges, often Of great
richness. They have carried free gold as
far as present workings show, bat tho
value is aiready beginning to change 10
sulphurets. In this branch OF mining. as
ii the placeTs. the miners have shown
a preference to produce and mill the ore
IN small way and by crude
rather than invite the aid OF
outside capital TO mine and mill it on a
large scale by modern and more economi-
cal methods. Thus they have built about
a dozen arrastres 10 grind the ore as fast
as Il IL mined and have obtained good re-
suits, although they must lose a larger
proportion of the value Ia the form OF
sulphurets than they are willing to admit
Outside investors are, however. Begin
ming 10 work their way, and already a
email test stamp mill has been erected.
From a break-over OF quartz ledge on
the Swauk, near Blacks hydraulic. VIII
lam Johnson and Thomas Tweed have for
ten years been taking cut wire nuggets
running as high ss S.. They have taken
out over $40. 90 from one pocket. grinding
the rock In an arrastre. On Kruger gulch
George Hampton found three-foot ledge
Carrying SIS to $40 gold. mostly In sui
phurets, on which he has sunk shafts IS
snd 50 feet and run crosa-cut 200 feet.
On The First OF August ledge, four feet
wide with q twaive-inch pay-streak. An
Drew Flodiu has sunk 4 shaft IS feet. and
has milled the ore IN ar srrastrs with a
capacity OF $500 pounds day. the ore
Yielding 81 e ton In 1875. On the Golden
Ridge Mr.. Flodin and his son has ledge
Is pped BY an 55~foot cross-cut. on which
rs will build five-stamp nil.
The First stamp Mil.
AZ TIRE head OF Kruger gulch Keith W
Dunlap and others of Yakima have the
Brown Bear group Of two claims on a
three-soot ledge. sssaying 500 20 $40. and
have G shaft IS feet deep and 10 tens on
ths dump. Some ore milied from william
Cueltsch's six-foot Dandy ledge yielded
50 20 SIS ton. DR.. O. ". Graves has run
$50 f7esGa -
ing. one rs to q inches. no other three or