The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-06-03

COLORADO Springs Gazette).

for 35 years a resident OF the
Thunder mountain country up in
central Idaho.
He has lately made sale of
part of his extensive holdings up
there and is now indulging long
cherished desire to visit some of
the famous mining camps of
Colorado.
Yes" he replied to the Gaz-
cite representative last evening,
''the rush for Thunder mountain
has begun and Colorado is con-
tributing lot of clever looking
and energetic young miners and
prospectors to the infowing
tide. We are glad of that, be-
cause Colorado has a great name
for producing the right kind of
miners. II Idaho we have the
opinion that you make the best
miners in the world, and the fell
lows you are sending up to the
Thunder mountain country look
it every inch. They are the most
intelligent looking of all that are
swarming in and our folks will
give them the glad hand all along
the line-you may be sure of
that.
Eyes, we have great mineral
region up in the Salmon river
country. We have known this
for a great many years, but the
region has been so remote from
railroads that it has been hard
till now to interest capital or
to even get good intelligent pros
pectors enlisted in the field
mean lode miners and prospec-
tors, you understand, for as to
placer miners, we have had them
for nearly forty years.
"Placering is a very different
story from lode mining, you
know, and it is but very seldom
that a placer miner can be con-
verted into a good prospector
for lodeS or to lode miner. His
experience spoils him for that.
Lode mining is too slow for him.
He hasn't the patience tc wait
and work for results as a rule.
1.-The Salmon river country
was fine placer region 81 years
ago, and had three times the
population which it has contain
ed in the last 25 years.
"All the streams up there
carry placer gold, and many of
the bars were enormously rich.
Why. the whole of what you
folks down here call the Thunder
mountain region-we called it in
the old days the Salmon river
country, because the three
branches of the Salmon river
drain 1.-THE main branch, the
Middle Fork and South Fork,
all of those streams fully as
strong as the Grand river in
western Colorado-yes, the
whole of that interior Idaho
country that is now attracting
the attention of the whole country
as if it were a new land just dis
covered was surrounded by {
; circle of placer camps that were
famous for their riches all ovel
the West 35 years ago.
"Thre were California Bar
Robinson Bar, Stanley Basin
Idaho Basin, Florence, Elk City
: Pierce City, and Warrens-why
some of those places actually haC
a larger population 35 years age
than Boise. the capital of thu
, state contains today, but they
were placer camps, and when th'
richest of the washings played
out the population gradually
.. drifted oft to other fields.
, "Why, there was the old Lool
creek washings half way between
Thunder mountain and Estes
peak, in the northern part o
. Custer county-that was one o
: the.richest placers l ever saw
though not extensive. Men mad,
\ 5000 a day with a rocker, and i
] was the fame of that little CAM
; that first drew me into centra
: Idaho 35 years ago-and l hav
stuck there ever since, because
\ got interested in lode mining.
THAT little Loon creek cam
: was called Orc Grande, and i
: contained twice as many peopl
as the whole of central Idah
\ had before the Thunder mountai
excitement broke out.
You will find Orc Grand,
maps of the older maps of Idaho
: but it has been a deserted an,
forgotten camp these % years
y There are but two cabins now i
a place that once contained 400
\ people.
: THAT famous old Oro Grand
: camp on Loon creek is not NOR
\ l@han 1S Or % miles in n StraiUh