The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1902-06-19
A GOLDEN LAND.
Wonderful Discoveries Made i'm the United
States In Past Fifty Years.

States In Past Fifty Years.
The developments which are about to
make Idaho a center of world interest
show that in direct and emphatic de-
gree the United States is a land of gold.
The first of the great discoveries of that
metal in this country were those made
in California in 1S4S by Marshall and
others. Then came the great finds by
Russell and others in Colorado in 1885,
supplemented by Gregorys discovery of
a still richer field in the same district
find in the Pixies peak district Comstock,
Mclaughlin, OReiley and their com
panions struck the richest vein of silver
ever found in the world, that which fl
cured in the ANNALS of the time as the
Comstock lode. Then, in the next dozen
years, came gold and silver finds of
greater or less richness in Montana, wy
oming. Idaho, South Dakota, New Mex
leo. Arizona. Washington and other
places. Alaska soon began to show that
it could not be left out of the account as
a gold and silver region. The Klondike
discoveries of 1897 melted a search in the
United States territory of Alaska which
yielded flattering results. and in 1898 the
Cape Nome field was revealed
Now comes the word that makes Idaho
the center of attention. Great gold dis
coveries have been made at Thunder
mountain, east of the middle point of the
State. The first finds of consequence
were made last year, too lats for the
thrush which is soon to take place. Snow
lasts on the ground in the mountains of
that locality seven or eight months of the
year. The snow is still there, but thou
sands of prospectors are already on the
way TO the gold fields, and when the
trails are opened few weeks hence there
viii probably be an inpour which will re-
call the rush to Klondike and the more
recent exodus TO Cape Nome The re-
ports which come from the Idaho gold
district show that great hardship is be-
ing experienced by those who are on the
way to the gold country. but the march is
'kept up, and IL is expected that thousands
viii be in the district by the middle OF
June. The country will very likely then
have stories of adventure and peril like
those which came when Nome began to
attract it's prospectors.
OF course all of Americas important
gold and silver discoveries had great
social and political consequences. Mar
shalIs memorable find peopled California
SO quickly that that community was APP
pealing for admission as a State before
1t had been organized as a territory. Its
admission caused conflict in Congress
between the North and the South which
forced that series of deals called the
compromise of 1850 Russell's and Gre
sory's discoveries in the Pixies peak
country pull up 1oiorduo, anu Nom-
stocks great strike put Nevada on the
map. The gold and silver discoveries OF
Montana. Wyoming. Idaho. New Mexico
Arizona and other localities peopled them
in a far quicker time than would have
been possible IL these finds had not been
made and all of them have been erected
into States except New Mexico and Ari-
zona The finds of the precious metals
planted civilization throughout most OF
the region between the Rocky mountains
and the Pacific. attracted immigrants
from all over the world and changed the
contour of the map of the United States.
Possibly the Thunder mountain revela-
tions will give Idaho a bigger place
among American States than 1t holds
now, and plant many new and progress
sive communities among the mountains
and the valleys of the great Northwest.
st. Louis Globe Democrat.
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