Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1907-11-09
Says Kemp in Northwest
Mining News.
HE MADE PERSONAL VISIT HERE
Compares Camp With Butte
Thirty Years Ago.

Randall H. Kemp gives Elk City dis
trict the following in the November
number of his Northwest Mining News:
Coming mining camps always pos
sess fascination, especially when they
are in state of transition from the
placer to the quartz period and the
metal that is sought for is gold-a
metal that is the standard of value in
the civilized world and is not liable to
depreciation by the action of trusts,
combinations or money jugglers.
GAS Elk City, in central Idaho, has
been attracting quite an amount of at
tention during the past year on account
of its great possibilities, and the addi-
tional facts that large bodies of gold
bearing quartz were being developed in
that section and that some of the most
conservative mining men of the Pacific
coast were investing heavily in the dis
trict, caused the editor of The North
west Mining News to make flying
trip to that section during the month
and, as far as the limited time allowed
would permit, size up conditions gen
orally.
Compared With Butte.
'1t is coincidence that just 80 years
before had first visited Butte, Mont,
when that for years past world famed
mining camp was practically in the
same position that Elk City is today.
There are some differences, however,
Butte was $50 miles from railway
while Elk City is So miles. Butte was
a combined gold and silver quartz camp
and had wonderful future as copper
producer, although in 1877 the ores of
that metal were valueless on account of
the lack of transportation. NO high
grade silver ores are known to exist
around Elk City as far as my knowledge
extends, but l am not afraid to make
the statement that in time the produc-
ton of copper will be quite feature
from that point.
Present Drawbacks.
= Zone of the principal drawbacks at
present to the rapid development of
Elk City and the numerous mining
camps lying in different directions and
not many miles from it is lack of trans
portation by rail. To reach Elk City
from Spokane it is necessary to travel
over the Palouse branch of the Northern
Pacific railway to Sites. Idaho, dist
ance of 191 miles. Here daily stage
line covers the remaining 81 miles, re-
j. quiring one and half days to make the
trip each way. This four-horse stage
line will compare for comfort with any
other in the west and the roadhouses
are as good as could be expected; while
every attention is paid to the comfort
of the traveller, yet it is staging, anc
staging is fast becoming an obsolete
method of transportation.
Causes for SIowness.
'When the experienced mining mar
arrives at Elk City and looks over the
country surrounding and tests the many
prospective mines that are in various
stages of development, he naturally in
quires why that entire section has not
moved faster, and why are the quartz
mines not more productive. A number
of reasons can be given for this condi
ton of affairs. Isolation and the cos
of securing supplies has been one. The
lack of interest shown by the old placer
miners in quartz development is an
other, but the most serious of all, &C
cording to my belief, is one that ha'
, been the bane Of so many promising
mining camps Ignorance of require
ments by those in charge OF operations
and the extravagant expenditure O.
, money advanced by confding peopl'
who realized the possibilities but mad'