Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1899-09-08
FABULOUS MINERAL WEALTH
Maj. Williams Confirms Former Reports
Of Mineral Wealth.

Major Geo. A. Williams who is
generally acknowledged to be one
of the best authorities on mining
matters in the west has just re-
turned from trip to what is
known as the Big Creek country,
which contains the Thunder noun
tain section in it's boundaries. As
has been heretofore told in the
PRESS, Major Williams together
with his partner Gov. Vic Bier
bower staked a man named S. w.
Emerson to prospect for them, and
when Emerson came into Grange
vile with extravagant stories as
to the mineral wealth of the sec
ton, little credence was placed in
his statements, but now the Ma
jor has returned from an extensive
and exhaustive examination of the
entire section and entirely endors-
es everything which was said by
Emerson. To PRESS reporter the
Major said: cit is certainly a
country of vast possibilities. All
the minor creeks in the section are
tributary to Big Creek, which
flows into the Salmon river. l
went out purposely to examine the
properties which we hold in that
section and am more than graft
fed with the results. | find that
we have four claims which are es-
sentially copper propositions, the
surface showings of which are
very large. 1t seems incredible,
but is nevertheless true, that one
mammoth ledge is clearly trace
able for distance of ten miles
and is all the way from 100 to 600
feet wide and is solid quartz, not
one particle of gangue matter in
the entire composition. This is an
absolute fact on which / will stake
my professional reputation. The
Virtue property is the most promi-
nent prospect in the section at
present and is on this ledge. There
are also properties owned by War.
rem Helm on the same ledge. Maj
or Wood informed me that he
treated at his mill, the lola, at
Warren, seven tons of this rock,
the production of Helms proper
ties and it Melted yield of Is
ounces, or little over two ounces
gold to the ton. This was free
milling ore, but l fancy that the
major portion of the ore in the Sec
ton is base ore. Along this big
lead, different owners informed me
that they got assays of all the way
from 50 to $40 per ton. The Nir-
tue mine is about midway on the
vein and at its widest portion l
gather from facts CLEANED, and /
was reliably informed, tina, a sam
pie taken from the south end of
this claim Melted s110O. About
the center of the claim is on Smith
creek and it crosses Government
and Logan creeks running south
and keeps down Smith creek, GO
ing north towards Beaver creek.
There are some fine locations all
along this big lead some of them
carrying free gold. This also APP
plies to Beaver creek but the
lodges are not by any means as
wide as the big lead.
On Smith creek there are four
parallel, well defined lodges which
| measured, the smallest one be-
ing go feet in width.
The country is about 60 miles
square and is about % miles south
easterly from Warren. There are
many other gulches in the section
which are being prospccted thor
oughly. There are fully 700 men
in the section. While / was out
there some samples were brought
in from Monumental creek which
We're rich with free gold, and mug
gets are found running from %
cents in the rock. Now as said,
there are four big lodges and our
properties are on the fourth cast
from the Virtue ledge and are es
sentially col per, the vein Icing
about 200 feet wide. 1t is cap
per stained quartz on the surface
with about % feet of good copper
ore which assays very high. The
results which we got from the
groupings were copper five per cent