The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29
GIRO ULATION. 1850

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proper, which is three miles bv two
miles in extent, and on the top of
the main mountain, and extending
its full length is great dyke or hogs
back standing 700 feet high and
half mile thick This dyke is
nothing more or less than peculiar
quartz or porphyry bearing gold 1t
was discovered by the Caswell brothers
several years ago and for five years
they have been cleaning valuable re-
venues by washing or placer mining
the decomposed surface Of the dyke
during the fleeting days when the
snow is melting. They discovered
the gold by tracing it up from the
creeks below, where placer ground
exists in quantities. AT one end of
the dyke there is "A perpendicular
break of about $50 feet with the less
precipitate ground at its base cover
ed with decomposed material from
the body Of the dyke-some claim
that this is slide and others that it
is the crater of an extinct Volcano
The formation appears to be volcanic
and the plausible supposition is that
in eruption the volcano came in
contact with mommOth lode or
vein and thus has thrown out the
gold and matter which forms the
dyke. No writer on this singular
formation suggests any other theory.
II it is ledge it is 80 large that 1T
has never been measured and ex-
plorers and experts pronounce it one
OF the most wonderful features of
mineral history In the face of the
$50 foot break, the Caswells have
run tunnel rs feet without change
in the character of the white, soft
ore except to get higher values. 1t
was in the loose decomposed material
at this break where the Caswells did
most of their placer mining with a.
hose, their isolation preventing any
attention to quartz mining. In five
days in 1897 they cleaned up $3.50
with rocker, in 1898 $3.50 with
hose and in 1899 $4,000 by the same
means, the maxium period of water
supply not exceeding ten days each
year on account Of being on the top
of mountain. Immediately below
the break in the dyke the mountain
pitches 1000 feet to large sized
creek, furnishing ample mill faoili-
down by gravity through chutes. All
the values saved by the Caswells
was without the aid of quicksilver
and at least half the value contained
in the ore was lost, as tests of the
tailings show and they remain there
today as proof The Caswells pack
ed out two tons of the tailings to
Warren and worked in the lola mill
with the result that one produced
80. ! ) and the other so. A test of
four tons of ore taken from over 200
= places on the ore dyke gave returns
of about SO per ton. The lowest
! assay ever obtained is So and the
highest $3, GAG. 1t is undoubtedly
one of the greatest bodies Of gold
bearing rock ever discovered in the
world and the most careful tests de-
monstrate that the enormous dyke
bears at least an average value of
not less than So per ton throughout
its entire depth. width and length,
furnishing material above the ground
to keep the largest mill running for
years. The great Treadwell of
Alaska bids fair to be excelled.
Thunder Mountain is in the center
of vast mineral zone, with Boise
and Deadwood basins on the south,
/ Warren on the west, Florence on the
north and Loon creek on the east, all
interspersed with smaller or lesser
known camps, all of which have pro-
duced an aggregate of 5000, 600, 600
in gold since 1862. All of the adj
jacent country contains veins of more
or less width and values. There is
abundant timber and water for all
purposes. The gold taken from the