Bisbee daily review., 1909-01-08
FINE GOLD OF SNAKE RIVER.
lBy C. B. TrVinel


 The origin of the fine gold of Snake river, Idaho, has been a subject of much speculate on for years, and has entirely baffled the theories and re searches of prospectors as well as the scientifis investigator who have traced it from the mouth of the river to its very ~source, "only to find writes Robert Bel of Blackfoot. Idaho, contrary to the experience of al most all other placer fields; that the anne uniform fineness end f-lmy con lit'ou of the delicate colors prevail throughout"
 One of the most plausible theories suggested touching the origin of this extensive distribution of the precious metal was advanced some years ago "y N. l.. Turner. who spent consider tble time in an investigation of the problem. In his opinion, the gold was "riginally held in solution by the wa ters of great inland sea or lake that occupied the Snake River valley sub sequent to the MiOcene period and that the gradual and repeated eyapo- ration of this great body of water by subsequent lava flows resulted in the precipitation of it's metallic contents. generally and evenly over it's basin area.
 MT Bell thinks that this theory would seem to account for the unl form size and quality of the golden colOrs so generally disseminated throughout the enormous acreage of the fine gravel beds through which the Snake river now flows. He ar gues that the geological record of the rocks left along the borders of the stream offer conclusive evidence of , lanG locked body of water that GOV 7red the whole valley. This greaI ake was created by the closing of the 'ower valley by a great dam of brown lava, $500 it. high, now plainly ex- posed by erosion. The conformabIe shoreline conglomerate gravel would indicate that the waters of the lake must have extended along the present 3ouTse of the valley for fully 500 niles. The lake was probably 150 miles in breadth and over 4,000 deep at the deepest point. This lake sui tered numerous and extensive varia- tions of level during the later Tertiary periods, as shown by some of the ECre recent hor zOns that are ex- .Osed; and 6 succession Of low step erraces Of lake shore gravel plainly indicate the rapid recession of the lake levels of this period and it's final drainage and complete obliteration by the erosion Of the Snake River chan Eel to it's present level.
 Tho eO1clus on reached by Mir Bell Is that the cOnglomerate deposits are sclabfariRg and that their sub-serial llsiutegration and erosion by recent stream action Is doubtless responsible TT the immediate source of the fine icst colors SO generally .distr bute1 throughout the loose gravel and silt
 !. the present river channel and its
 1de flat bars. The chemical rea,.
 0ns set up by the combination of ondsdons would readily account for le aqueous origin of the gold, inas- luch as the great floods of black lava ere composed of granite and Palaeo- c formations rich in placer and uartz gold.
 Another writer says the SOath fork { Snake river Is the most important f it's tributaries. beth on account of he large area of the country it drains nd also because 1t is the chief ource of fine gold that is found along ,oth banks of Snake river from where ae waters of the South fork flow into he man stream or the river at Lew soon, 500 miles away. According to his same writer, the source of the soid seems to be the Caribou, Snake ''ver and Jackson's Hole mountains whose waters flow entirely Into the icUth fork. The origin of the gold 'eems to him to be the gold values hsst once existed in veins of pyrite n the Caribou and Snake River mount iins. Tremendous erosion and SCOT ns away have taken place in past 1ges, the glaciers and torrents of an ,ient times acting upon the sulphiue eius of these ranges, wore out the i oyr'te, whose particles. becoming ox-l dized, released the tIny points of gold ] 'nd sent them in countless millions down the great river to lure the miner Of modern days. 7 Discussing this same question in 1899 before a meeting Of the Ameri- CT Inst tute Of Mining Engineers, T