The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1903-08-03
PYRITE MOUNTAIN
Col. Parker EnthuSed Over
Mining Claims
IN THE CENTRAL IDAHO COUNTRY
With Two Partners Is Rapidly Drilling
Into Favorable Looking
Quartz.
Black Lake, Central Idaho,
90 00Q


The more work we did on our pyrite
claims the more plentiful and harder
they were, in fact, the whole mount
ain, 1000 feet wide, up the hill and
over the ridge it is all the same or
better. But do not go much on them,
as | have little idea they carry gold
enough to pay. So we hung it up and
paid our respects to very promising
looking ledge. Just to see what it
looked like inside, we put in shot
and to our great satisfaction found II
full of fine looking gold bearing sulph-
urrets. which are now being assayed.
We do not get excited up here over a
prospect as we have been disappOint-
ed too many times and can always con-
sole ourselves with the reflection that
the ore will go 1000 pounds to the ton,
anyhow. 1t is new country but has
been run over for years by sOcalled
prOspectOrs. These men go out with
an old pick and if they make a hole as
an old hen would scratch, they think
they have done enough, locate their big
claims, pretend and swear they have
done their assessment work year after
year and so tie the country up waiting
for more energetic prospectors to
prove the value of their claims SO
they can sell out.
To prospect at all you have to use
giant powder. We have put down IS
holes, some 40 foot deep. I brought
out three lengths of stove pipe to use
for a draught for sharpening picks
and drills, so with foot length of rail-
road iron for an anvil We manage to
bo c friend nf
mine says somewhere in the Bible,
there is nothing lost in having tools
sharp.
My partners have had to leave for
a few days to get their hay in so they
brought me over here to put in my
time until they return We left our
camp, 5000 feet altitude, last Sunday,
with one horse, went straight down the
steep mountain $500 feet and finally
struck a trail on Rapid river which
helped us very much as We were get
ting tired Of climbing over dead timber
and through the brush and arrived
here in three hours and ten minutes,
thereby breaking the record from
camp to camp. We had not seen any
one but ourselves for three weeks be
fore we got here.
| have found a trail that in ten
miles, or two hours ride or walk will
take us from our camp to the stage
station, at Price Valley between
Council and the Meadows. From there
can take the stage IL the morning ar
irving at Council by 10 2. m. next
morning can arrive in Walla Walla on
the Spokane train. Yet here have l
been going IS miles and two whole
days out of my way to get to orr
camp. But | don't do it again. We
have to live and learn and find things.
There is little, if any, free gold in
this district, all the values being of
sulphites.
The Gold Coin Mining company here
at Black Lake are taking out lots of
money by the cyanide process. Under
the energetic management Of Mr.. E.
D. Ford wonders have been accom-
plished The cynadie mill is COM
plete in every respect and is a great
success, but | greatly doubt if any
other man than Mr. Ford could have
made it so, for the country is terribly
rough, everything having a list to
either port or starbOard. Immense
| peaks Of granite arise around us in a
semi-circle ascending around the high
est range. | was here 27 years ago
| when the red Indian '.5it&E.f.r ..3.
| "Once took his delights r''s
! 80 p Fished, fit and blei ~s.s
1t was formerly the home Of the
mountain sheep, but now they are all
gone: fl. ~ -.:.-i.
f. | have made friends with the butch
er who supplies all the. camps with
beef and ! start today with him to
take in the Mace and Rankin camps
Huckleberries are getting ripe and
the mountains are covered with them
| The young grouse are getting ripe and
we know where there is deer lick.
| So long.
,.... F. J. PARKER.
| U n, 70 h11cinocC nallnuo coha 70 h In