Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1899-07-28
CROOKS CORRAL PLACERS
One Of the Standard Placer Properties
of Old Idaho County,

| One OF the DeSt ana most prOmlS.
ing placer propositions of the many
in this county is the property owned
by the "Crooks' Corral Mines,
Limited. These claims are stu
ated on the divide between Salmon
and Snake rivers, about twenty one
miles west OF Grangeville. There
are seven claims, containing lao
acres. The entire tract is covered
by gold-bearing gravel, composed
in the main of small quartz wash,
varying in depth from eight to
twenty-four feet,
The wealth Of the property has
been known for a number Of years,
and in seasons where the water
supply was sufficient it has been
worked on a small, crude scale by
such well known old-timers as Nc
Leod and others. In 1897 Fred
Hallett and the Morrison Bros.
purchased the property, and by
building reservoirs and booms to
utilize the local water they washed
out cut 800 feet long and "a feet
deep on the extreme eastern part
of the property, and 400 feet west
of this work they sluiced another
cut 300 feet long. From the big
cut the gravel produced 23i cents
per cubic yard, while on the smaller
cut the product was "a cents per
cubic yard.
1t is practically certain that ow-
ing to the crude manner in which
the ground was worked large per-
centage of the fine gold was lost, as
no quicksilver was used. The gold
produced in this work consisted
largely of nuggets of washed and
shot gold, weighing from few
cents up to 1918 in value. The
assay value of the gold according
to U. S. mint returns to the Bank
of Camas Prairie, which handled
1.-The product, is .955 fine, or 1920
per ounce.
The result of that work was SO
satisfactory that thereupon a stock
company was organized with the
intention Of selling treasury stock
to build bitches and equip the
property to the extent Of the water
supply. Last summer and fall the
bitches controlling the local water
were enlarged and this spring
another highly successful run was
made, which resulted SO satisfac-
torily that the management de-
termined to advertise for bids for
the construction of the entire sys-
tenn Of bitches for which surveys
had been made upon the property
of the company. These bitches
give IL total length of nearly five
miles, and when completed will
ensure continuous water season
and continuous operation of
the property for the whole of the
working season, from cold weather
to cold weather.
Preparations for the completio u
of these bitches has been progress
ing for some time. One division,
which controls one fork of Kirk
wood creek, was completed last
year and sawmill was purchased
and installed, logs cut and sawed
for fumes and sluice boxes, and
the contract for the completion Of
the remaining 81 miles of ditch
awarded to Ed. Liston, of Denver,
who is now OH the ground with a
force of men and will have his
work completed by November l.
The contract for 1900 feet Of
fluming around the rocky points
was let to Chas. Humphrey, and
next spring it is hoped to demon
strate that Crooks Corral is the
best of all the placer propositions in
this county.
The wash is all small size and
the depth of the bedrock, dump
and other facilities for successful
operation of the property are un-
surpassed. The property is we'll
supplied with cabins, tools and
everything necessary.
The expert opinion in regard to
the gravel deposits is that it is an
old river wash and the nature and
quality of the gold confirms it.
The seasons work further illus
trates, by the pitch of the bedrock
and increasing depthof gravel, the
theory that it is not only an old
river wash, but an old river chan
mel itself.
The entire stock of this corpora
ton, with the exception of few
scattering shares, is held in
Grangeville, Frank McGrane, Tom
McGrane, Jas. McGrane, Ben
Reeves and A. L. Parker being the
heaviest share holders in the com.
pany.