The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-07-05
New Idaho County Mining District.
From the AREA, Stewart, Idaho.l

A very important discovery, and no
doubt the best so far that has been made
on the Middlefork of the Clearwater. was
made about thirty miles from Stuart.
The discovery was made about three
weeks ago by ID. j. Wheeler and j. M.
Gates, who afterwards associated with
them William Perry and Bowen brothers
of this place. and together they have made
five locations on mammoth quartz |
ledge that promises to outrival the Big |
Buffalo. Mr.. Wheeler is a prospector of |
many years experience, and was in this |
country ten years ago, but left and went
to other places where there was more ex-
element, but not because he had no faith |
in this country, for he has always believed
that there were great lodges somewhere
in that part of the country. When the
Big Buffalo was discovered Mr.. Wheeler
advocated the theory that this zone must
extend up through this part of the coun-
he came down from b. G. to prove his
theory
The ledge described is rose colored
quartz varying in width from 30 to 30
IT, The five claims they staked out are
all on this one ledge During the past
few weeks some people have been placer
mining just below this point, and have
taken out from FIVE to eight dollars a day.
The formation of the district is porphyry
and granite, and this vein on which the
locations were made is contact vein,
the footwall being porphyry and the
hanging wall is granite. The ledge has
an easterly dip and the trend is little
east of north and west of south Last
week Mr.. Wheeler loaded up pack
load of the ore and took it to Grangeville
to test it. They took careful sample
for 30 #. across the ledge, and it gave an
average assay of over twelve dollars in
gold. Although the surface appears to
be free milling the owners are satisfied it
can best be treated by the cyanide pro-
cess. The mountain through which the
iSbSC iuiio bho OVtH NOuSul
mountain. which is very suggestive as
to the kind of wild animals that pre-
dominate there. The original location is
called the Black Hawk, and the district
will most likely be called the Black Hawk
district An effort will be made to get a
deputy recorder appointed for this dis
trict in very short time.
The place of this discovery is about s
miles up the Mddlefork from the mouth
of the Locksaw. The mouth of the Lock-
saw fork is about % miles up the Middl
fork from here, thus making it nearly 30
miles from this place to the scene of the
excitement If line was drawn starting
from that old historic town of Florence.
which enr ched so many during the COS,
and running little east of north to the
new discovery, it would pass through, or
very near the now worldwidefamou
i Buffalo Hump. Newsome Creek, which
boasts Of having the best paying mine at
this time in Idaho County, would also be
found near this line and in this same zone.
The road to this new discovery is not a
very easy one, and it is at the present time
the only one by which this place can be
reached. By crossing the Middlefork here
at Pings ferry and going up the trail on
the north bank of the river as far AS the
Locksaw fork, then crossing back to the
south bank in canoes or RATS, thence uI
along this side to the locations. The orig
, inal locators are endeavoring to keep i
quiet for short time, in order to Civ,
their friends a chance TO get first choice
and the question most often asked her
the first of the week was, Can you tel
e me where the new discovery is located i?
All week prospectors from the Dewey dis
trict, Mount Idaho. and Grangeville KEEP
: coming down with prospecting outfits an
n going up in search Of this new Eldorado
Some have been told where it was, an
+ others were following them a short dis
: lance behind. The excitement at tn
present time is greater than it has bee
in this country since the discovery of tn
Buffalo Hump mine. Almost every prot
pector in Stuart has left for this place, an
others have left their business and ar
now there or on their way. The greal
4 ness of this discovery is not In the grea
~ surface values, but on account OF tn
great width of the vein, all of which
we'll mineralized.
MI. IL l~otl and ali nlotn q