Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-10
VISIT TO THUNDER MOUNTAIN
omahan Tells Of Thrilling Trip to New
Gold Diggings.
FOLLOW THE coUNcIL-wARREN TRAIL
-Four Horses ca Skating Down side OF
Mountain-severaI Omaha Peo-
pie in the New
Communities"

m, l.. Kuhn. a local druggist. has Just
returned from Thunder mountain, Idaho,
the new mecca Of the gold seeker. He re"
ports two prosperous young towns in the
d~igeings uhe sites Of both being the prop
erty OF former Omaha mem, the presence
of gold in paying quantities, a gratifying
absence Of rowdyism and many thrilling ex-
periences on the route.
There were three OF us in the party
that left Council, Idaho, for the mines on
the morning Of June 4, the other two MEM
bers being veteran prospectors. We trav-
eled over the Council Warren trail, which Is
about 1870 miles in length, and a most
treacherous route; at this time OF the year
Il is passable only to the most sure-footed
Of horses. The earth Is rotten from melt
ing snow and the narrow lodges OF the
trail are blocked at frequent intervals with
the trunks Of fallen trees or with powders
that have slid Town the mountain side. We
saw the carcasses of dozens Of horses that
had been drowned in the creeks, the banks
of which had probably caved with them.
It was estimated that 125 head Of horses
had been lost there during the last two or
three months.
"It is the most magnificent country for
scenery I ever saw. In my estimation II
beats Yellowstone park in this respect, as
the mountains and gorges are wilder and
more picturesque.
At the Dewey Mine.
Elm the Thunder mountain d~iggings there
are four communities Of contiguous claims
known as the Dewey, Rainbow, Sunnyside
and Fairview groups. At the Dewey mine
which is at Thunder mountain proper, there
is a ten-etamp mill, and a 100-stamp mil
has been ordered and is on the way. In al
this district, for miles about, there are sole
mountains Of porphyry carrying gold from
81 to IS to the ton, and the whole country
IS mineralized with base gold ore that can
not be handled until a railroad is built t.
the district, or until there is a smelter OF
the ground. Porphyry, by the way, is some
thing new to the prospectors. They hav'
always maintained that porphyry was not
gold bearing rock, but the operations a
Thunder mountain prove the contrary. Th'
prospectors have also run across larg'
quantities Of silver, lead and copper.
There are two towns in the diggings
One, named Thunder, has about $50 peopl'
living in tents. 1t was plated by c.. s
Toseelman, who wac formerly a travelling
salesman for an Omaha wholesale drul
house. The other is Roosevelt, which hai
about fifty people, and is managed by M
4. Kurtz, who was formerly proprietor o
G woman's furnishing store in the Creigh
ton block, Omaha.
Horses Go Skating.
o our way back we were accompanied
by Postofice Inspector Butler Of Boise
Idaho, who had been inspecting a route FOL
che mails to reach Thunde mountain. w
had twelve horses, some of which wer
used to carry packs. Wishing to avoid
some Of the wide circuits made by tn,
Council Warren trail, we chose a new AM
unexplored route, which promised to Gu
off about thirty miles of the distance. /
took us through a wild tract Of country
The snow had not yet melted from tn
mountains and each night It freezes, pre-
senting In the morning a surface as hart
and slippery as glass. One morning a
we were winding a corkscrew down one o
these peaks four OF our pack horses go
upon a slippery patch OF snow and all fou
of them skated down the mountain side 40
feet to the gully below, where they landet
safe and sound, as the gully was full o
snow. Then one OF the prospectors foldet
an overcoat into a cushion, sat on 1t, an
slid down after them.
1.-THE nearest railroad point to Thunder
mountain on the main line is Weisner
which is q junction on the Oregon Shor
Line, but a spur from this point to Coun
ell, a distance of sixty miles, has beef
built, and this spur is under the manage
ment of p. p. Shelby, who was formerly al
Omaha railroad man. I met several forme
Omahans In the ~diggings."