The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-07-27
THUNDER MOUNTAIN.
Interesting Letter About Idaho's
Treasure Land.

Treasure Land.
Last summer the country was electri-
ned by the story of mountain of COLDS
being uncovered in the wilds of Idaho.
Then there was another report to the
effect that it was merely the idle tale
OF some rainbow chasers. The new dis
covery has been the victim of exag-
Ecrated report from the outset First
1t was exploited too eXtrava gantly, and
now it is being condemned too severely.
What follows may be taken as the truth
about Thunder mountain.
in the heart of an all but inaccessible
region. where the earth is fearfully rip
ped and slashed by those awful uJheaV-
ais which made mountains and the dir
" canyons between them, the Caswell
twins. rowing hunters and gold-SeekerS,
stumbled across a place where there was
a leak from the hidden treasure chest
of nature. Now, mind you, this was II
years ago. The CaswellS were easy
ing chaps, more fond of chasing grlz-
lilies than panning creeks, so when their
find netted them $245 worth of the pre-
Cious metal. they said nothing about it,
but went back to their hunting and fish
ing until the frsshets of another spring
should provide water with which TO
make easy work of washing out more
gold. The second year the brothers
were late in working their claim, and
only realized $3.50 from it. but the third
cleanup amounted to $780,
As soon as the lucky twins realized
what a rich strike they had made they
began to lose interest in the mountain
lions and grizzlies. While 1t was slow,
exhausting work to whip-Saw lumber
with which to construct sluice boxes,
they found that 100 feet. of sluice would
pay for itself in ten hour run. Their
claim could only be worked about two
weeks each season, yet after several
years of hard labor they had 1000 feet
Of sluicing installed. and in 1901 took out
$1,000 worth of treasure. They washed
$3.50 from one pan in twenty minutes.
The ledge from which the gold came
was finally located and staked out, ana
then they began hunting for some one
who would provide the capital to de-
velop the claim. After much canVassing
they got the ear of Colonel Dewey of
Nampa, Idaho. whe took the mine un-
der a three years bond for 100000. One
OF the stipulations of the lease was that
he should spend 900 of the amount by
building wagon road into the district
within one year.
Thunder Mountain is one of the most
out-of- the-way localities in the United
States. The best route is 10 miles
from the nearest rail connectiOn-100
miles by wagon road and 20 miles by
trail
All this could not go on without Gre
Rting a stir, and the usual rush to the
scene of such discoveries set in. The
heartbreaking trail to the new Golcon-
da became congested with gold-hungry
men. To scale those forbidding peaks
was fearful strain on the muscles OF
man and beast. but they went over AT
the foot of a great rift in the noun
tains a huge snow drift was replaced
by the white-topped cabins of the town
of Roosevelt. New recruits came in
numbers. and Roosevelt. now stray
Cling along for three miles in its walled
canyon, found it had a population of
Zoo souls. Around the town. scouting
eagerly among the cliffs and CANYONS
Tor the pot of gold We're thousands of
prosecutors.
Then the reaction set in. The boom
collapsed with its back broken from it's
own weight. Those who had rushed so
trantcallY in took the back trail in a
gallop. The tri-weekly mail brought
many letters which had to be carried
back on the return trip. The chipmunks
mad the undisturbed run of many empty
cabins. After the shrinkage twenty feet
of snow fell on Roosevelt With its three
hundred hopeful citizens and the chron-
iclers spread the grewsome news of the
bursting of another bubble.
The exodus from Thunder Mountain
is not a riddle The majority of men
who follow in the wake of these waves
of excitement are poor They go in
scantily provided with provisions and
possessing very little money. When
their supplies begin to get low and they
fail to find work. they make for the
railroad like swamp angels fleeing from
high water.
The population of Boise is considera-
bly, augmented by the hard luck army
camping on it's outskirts
The booming of stocks and exploit
ing Of mining communities have been
carried to such an extreme in this cOun-
try that any new company Offering
shares for sale cannot altogether escape
suspicion, and any article speaking
favorably of a district is very likely to
be considered a paid advertisement. If
a correspondent should inculcate in his
report the claims of Idaho people for
this new district, he would certainly
arouse this suspicion. 1t is putting it
mildly to say that the Idaho enthus-
lasts think they have the world beaten
by several lengths.
They are aware of the fact that the
general impression has been created
that Thunder Mountain is a fizzle, but
they are going right ahead with a con-
fdence that means you just wait and
see." They are spending their own mon
ey. which is a big thing in their favor
The last legislature made an appropria-
ton of $4,000 and an equal sum was
subscribed by the mine owners. the
whole to be used in constructing a wa
gon road to Thunder Mountain. Twen-
ty-five miles have already been compile
ted and the first stage coach is expected
to enter Roosevelt before the snow flies
again. No stock in the Dewey mine
which, you will remember. was the
claim of the Caswen twins-is for sale.
A 100-stamp fill is now a Emmett ready
for transportation when the wagon road
is completed. The Dewey people won't
tell what they are doing at their mine