Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-07-14
SUCKER
CREEK
STRIKE
Gold Ia Barrels, Buckets and
Cans Tell the Story
of the Find


A journey by wheel to Holland and
thence by trail on foot up Sucker
creek and over the mountains brought
us to the spot which is justly en-.
titled to be- considered one of the
wonders Of the yorld says the Ash.
land Tidings.
David Briggs and his family, son.
in-law and brother, in all five men aud
two ladies are in camp by their bo-
nanza, carefully watching and guard.
ing it and taking out some gold from
time to time. They are making nc
effort to mine it and are merely TAX.
ing out a few slabs of gold or hand.
some quartz specimens to pass away
the time until they can safely deposit
the treasure already secured. They
argue with reason hat the gold is
safer in the ground than it is out of
II. 1t is one of the peculiar condi-
tons of this mine that the gold can
be taken out far more rapidly than it.
can be taken care of. The fact that
they are not working night and day
on the vein, has been misinterpreted
by some one, who do not understand
the conditions and the report has thus
got abroad that the place is worked
out. Nothing could be further from
the truth. From all appearances they
have only just begun to take out the
gold which is lying near the surface.
The milk pan full of gold in slabs,
which was on exhibition at a Grants
Pass bank, is only a preparation for
the wonders that greet the eye when
the mine is visited. At the Briggs
tent, there is gold in sacks. in cans.
and in bottles, in the mortar, in gold
pans, in tin cups and cooking utensils,
everywhere. There seems to be
enough gold in sight around their
camp to satisfy a family for a life
time yet the major part of what they
have taken out has been cached away.
The place where all this treasure
has been taken out, is an insignia.
cant hole some twelve feet in length,
as wide as a ledge, which seems to
run from ~ to IA inches, and from
n to two feet deep.
All the excavation which has been
done could be done by one man in an
hour, though it would probably take
him longer than that to pick out the
gold. Mr.. Briggs estimates that all
the work which has been done is not
more than half a days work for one
man, and the estimate seems a rea.
sonable one.
The find is no pocket" 1t is a
true issure vein on a contact between
granite and porphyry and is traceable
for a long distance along the side of
the mountain. No tests have yet
been made to show the extent of the
rich pay chute, which still continues
both longitudinally and vertically from
the excavation. The quartz, exclus.
OF the seams Of pure gold, carries
mining values from So to 500 to the
ton. Gold is dinused through the
rock itself and is not found alone in
the seams. This is presumed to be
a good indication of permanency. The
vein at the enl of the excavation Is
about ~ inches wide.
The find is located on one of the
spurs of Tenant peak of the Siski.
yous. Tenant peak is the culmina.
ton of a triple watershed which EN-.
braces tributaries of Sucker creek,
.lthouse creek and of the klamath
The ledge is on the slope
which leads to Thompson creek, a
tributary of the klamath, and is only
about 100 yards from the top of the
divide which slopes on the north side
10 Fehely gulch. a small tributary of
Sucker creek. 1t may be considered
he same divide or backbone" which
separates Sucker creek and Althouse
This ridge is one of the biggest gold