Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1899-02-17
MOOSE CREEK PLACERS.
An Idaho County Mine With A
Record of Thirty-Five
Years Continuous
Production.

owned and operated by Chas.
p. Richardion aud situated in
the Newsome Mining district,
on the breaks of the South
Fork of the Clearwater river,
form one of the historical mines
of Idaho county. 1t was dis
covered in 1862 by VIM. Ali
son, who located in Allison
gulch and began rocking there
in. From that time on, year
in and year out, the Moose
Greek placers have added their
quota of protitably produced
gold to Idaho county's output,
with an aggregate estimated
from the most conservative
and reliable sources, of not less
than $500, 900, with the proba-
bilities in favor of a much
larger figure.
A company, of which those
genial old timers, paddy"
| White and Matt Truscott are
still Idaho county residents,
did the first extensive work on
the property, building upwards
of fifteen miles of ditch from
Moose Greek from which the
property took its name-and
later from branches of New
some creek.
The season after the COM
pletion of the Moose Creek
ditch, this company cleaned up
$4,000 in less than 90 days,
with the water from the Moose
Greek ditch alone.
Passing through several
) hands, among whom were Joe
Vicory and "Shipmate" Jimmy
Burns, it came into possession
of a Chinese company. If the
Cinnamon did not discover,
b they at any rate did the first
a extensive work on the old
0 channel deep gravel deposits,
. all mining heretofore being con.
; fined to Allison gulch and ad
jacent side gulches. Popular
$ report ascribes an immense
q output to the Cinnamon. The
y fact that their store bills al
e Weiser and Wax's ran from
n $4,000 to $4,000 per annum
y lends color to the stories Of
/. their OUTPUT. They also
v bought additional water rights
s built bitches thereto, built ;
is flume 5000 feet long, 65 fee
, high, to convey water across
; low saddle to the top of tn
y deep deposits at a cost of So,
" 900, and later laid 6 incl
d wrought iron pipe inverted
o siphon $500 feet long acros
N this same saddle. This wa
y the first, and perhaps the onl.
e important inverted siphon lai'
er in Idaho county, and cost S.
y 900.
Q The Cinnamon, being alien
:; :. and therefore unable to legal
J. ly locate and hold possessor
lie mining claims, were Jumped
lg in 1880 by white men from
lg the Occur d Alenes. They a
u lowed heavy SHOWS and falling
timber to destroy both fun
ly and pipe line. Work was
g. therefore abandoned on tn
!, old channel deposits, and no
~ y resumed until Chas. p. Rich
" ardson bought the property
E, and started in 1897. eXter
II slve improvements, and the lr
L stallation of a modern hydrau
. ic plant and up to date meth
m DDS of operation on the prop
is erty.
y There are zoo acres of pla(
/ er ground in the property, an
u u a total of 81 miles of ditche.
- The old channel deposits thre
~ in number, are situated on tn
le ridges, separated by intersec
&c ing gulches. The width {
:, ~ the deposits vary from 10
he feet to 1900 feet, their dept
l. from so feet to I55 feet. Pra'
IL tically all of the work done i
TO the old channel has been cor
! fined TO a space 1000 feet Ion
by l, 400 feet wide in the mic
die deposit. The gravel fo
H. the most part is a fine roun