Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1899-05-20
! Wonderful Cola Deposit.

! Buffalo ll!ll and american Hill
u, . k City are the most mysterious
I 2o.,t .s, posts IN the United states. The
anrlierous deposit is gravel wash an
| old river bed miles away from a river or
other large stream. The deposit con-
sists Of hundreds OF acres and it is upon
and makes up a high hill. This pay gravel
has been worked for 50 years has yielded
/ millions in gold dust, and still holds
other millions to he wsshed ont by
! future generations of miners.
The Elk City diggings of early days,
very rich camps, were the deposits from
this great gravel he'd that spreads over
succession of high mountains The
available places were washed out year
by year then the industrious miners drift
ed like gophers on the pay streak till it
was not rich enough to compensate for
the toll of whco ling of tile gravel to the
water.
over an above the pay streak which the
whiteucn and then the Cinnamon fol
loMC'4 III Cd4iN way - tIitlC i Il tClbsll Oh
gravel that will pay well with hydrau-
lie equipments, the American Hill Com
pany took out $4,000 i'll one wear by
means of hydraulic elevator from this
gravel deposit. This large sum Of mon
ey was taken ont of less than half an
acre Of this vast deposit
Buffalo hill is lust as rich as American
hill. Rod Leggatt, a Montana capitalist,
now CONTROLS the water supply for this
hill. The history of this great claim has
been one of disaster. 1t has broken up
many good confident, enthusiastic own
ers. There are millions in sight. 1t is
only question Of gathering the gold. 1t
is apparently a simple process. The
water is accessible, the necessary dump
seems possible, and there are millions to
pay for the development as sure as the
value of gold coin in the United States
treasury. 1t is there, and it has been
practically in sight for thirty years, vet
no man has ever got value received for
labor and money spent in trying to work
this placer ground.
The questions Of water and dump have
been the stickers with the mining men
who have tried to work the Buffalo hill
and the American hill. This question
was solved by the Edward Jeusscn COM
pany, who utilized an elevator and real
lied a Torture. By stroke of good
| fortune this fortunate company set
their elevator i'll just the right place.
The pit they dug by was in the lowest
point iii the bedrock and the deposit
there was very extensive, and the hv-
draulic system put i'll as an experiment,
was great success. More money and
much engineering skill was applied to
the Buffalo hill group of claims The
good luck Of one company was reversed
i'll the case of the Buffalo company They
first run tunnel through great noun
tain for sluice and for a dump. They
learned when too late that the tunnel
was above the gold deposits. This en-
gineering blunder broke up the COM
pany and set them to fighting so that
one partner was satisfied if he could ruin
the other. This rum was mutual,
Later long bed rock hume was run
by new company twas found to be
too high above the bed rock to be practi-
cal. SO thousands of dollars have been
Iexpended on this mine and vet its mil
lions though in sight have never been
appropriated,
This old gravel bed is in many WAYS a
mystery The gold is distinct from that
found i'll the lodges i'll the vicinity. 1t is
reasonably coarse and could not have
washed far. The belief now is that this
gravel bed was once the bed of Clearwater
river. In that prehistoric age the various
branches of the Clearwater must have
been united i'll one great river. Some
volcanic uplieaval must have divided the
stream and left old bed Of the great river
on mountain top. The gold i'll this
deposit must have been ground iuto this
great river by glaciers that ground the
sides OF Buffalo Hump This heavy
, gold could not have Travelled farther than
, the great mountain that overshadows
the district today.