The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-06
An Interesting Article on the De-
velopment of That Section.
MONTANANS INTERESTED
Surveying and Grading for Four Diff
ferent Railroads to the New District
Under Way-The Cuprum Com
pany L. Operating Extensively.

wv
Seven Devils mining district. The ar
ticle makes special mention of the
properties owned by a number Of Mon
tana people. There are many mining
men in this state who have property in
the Seven Devils country. and the fol-
lowing excellently prepared article will
be read with interest by mining men
in general:
AT a mining bureau in this city is to
be seen a souvenir bar of copper. the
nrst output of the smelter at Cuprum.
in the Seven Devils copper district,
and the first ingot or copper ever pro-
duced in the state of Idaho. The run
was made May 20. and the result is
more gratifying than the most san
guine had reason to anticipate. The
extraordinary fact is demonstrated
that the ore from this district runs INTO
almost pure (9s per cent? copper, in
stead of producing a matte which has
to undergo additional treatment. 1t
k five tons of ore from the Peacock
mine to produce n ton of this cop
per, which has a value of $3.50 per
ton on the ground: gold and silver
amounting to $50 is included in his
figure. Thu bar was made for Isaac e..
Blake, manager of the projected rail-
way, who happened to be on the
ground when the smelter was blown in.
The bar measures 16 inches in length,
is 5 inches wide and q of an inch
thick, and weighs 21h pounds.
In 1855 some Lewiston placer miners,
while washing gravel on a claim which
has since become famous as the Ca
cock. uncovered a strong ledge of cop
per ore. e Allen, one of the own
ers. located the ground for copper and
interested Mr.. Lewis. a Lewiston.
Idaho. banker in the pnfarnriGp The
attention of H. Kleinschmidt of Mon
tana, who was heavily interested in
copper mines, was called to the prop
erty, and he purchased a one-sixteenth
part of the claim for 1000 and kept on
buying at the same ratio until he had
acquired a ine-sixteenths ownership.
Eighty thousand dollars was paid for
the surface showing of a fraction of a
claim, no development work having
been done on the property, aside from
~uncovering the ledge. Governor Haus-
er and A. M. Hotter of Montana pur-
chased the other seven-sixteenths of
the claim.
K~leinschmidt built a wagon road from
the mine to Billiards. landing. a dis
lance of IS miles. with the intention of
running a boat from there to Hunting
ton and establishing a transportation
line. The road proved to be one of the
best pieces of engineering work ever
attempted III a mountainous region,
but the steamer Norma, which was to
be the connecting link, failed to pass
the rapids, and no further effort to pro-
vide transportation was made until last
year. when a wealthy New York syn
dictate became interested in the camp,
and it is u to the untiring energy, IN
domitable pluck and Astounding faith
of these Eastern capitalists that the
camp now bids fair to prove of the ut
most commercial Importance to the two
states of Idaho and Oregon.
1t is an open secret, and one of pecu-
liar interest at this time, that for sew
eral years large sums of money were
annually paid by one of the largest
copper s~yndicates to Mr.. Kleinschmidt
for a bond or his holdings. and that
experts were sent in regularly with in
structions to bring out adverse re-
ports. These reports, often prepared
by men who lounged around Weiser
and never went near the camp, were
duly published in the most influential
journals of the country. and for a long
time had the desired effect of giving
the district a BLACK eye" That the
truth as to the Importance Of the
camp can no longer be hidden is evil
denced by the fact that four different
railways to the Seven Devils mining
district are in contemplation. and that
surveying or grading, or both, are ac-
lively being pushed OF three of them.
Waltemar Lindgreen. in a paper read
before the Geological Society of Wash
ington. said:
The region around the junction of
the Snake and Salmon rivers in Idaho
n Oregon is of exceptional interest.
Here is the eastern margin of the great
Columbia lava fields, where the molten
flows were stopped by the
of Idaho. Near Weiser the Snake
river leaves the open valley. turns north
ward n flows across the great lava
masses in a canyon which in grandeur
is only second to the Grand canyon of
Colorado. The deepest and most i'm
pressive part lies in the vicinity of the
Seven Devils. a name derived from seven
torn, rent and inaccessible peaks a
short distance north of the Peacock
mine. which rise in elevations exceeding
5000 feet on the eastern side Of the
river. From the summit of these there
Is a sharp and continuous slope of 1900
feet down to the level of the river.
The region is an ideal one for cheap
and successful mining; tremendous
of crystalline water can be made
to serve the will Of man for water
power. Veritable mountains of lime. a
valuable ingredient for fiuxing. surround
copper belt, and wood is abundant
for all purposes.
The mines operated at this writing
are the Peacock, White Monument, Hell
ena DEBORAH n River Queen. Among
those deserving mention m possessing
merit are the Blue Jacket,
Copper Crescent, Mountain Queen. Jupi-
ter, Calumet. 1. Y. L.. Grey Horse,
Legal Tender. Cleveland, Fair
Play, Blue Grouse. Circle c.. Green
Vale. Arkansaw, Maud S. and the Placer
Basin mines.
The most active of the many compa-
who are nj nraEapT nnaraffno fp sbfe |
mining belt is the Cuprum Smelling
an organization which was
recently Incorporated with a capital
OF $500. 000. and has expended dur
ing the past IL months over s125.O o in
opening up and developing the camp.
A smelter of 90 tons capacity has been
by IL in the new Gown Of Cup
rum. situated about half way between
the Peacock mine and Billiards. landing.
The next stem In the prngram ma il the /