The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1909-08-31
YANKEE FORK coLoRs.

The Fork is hot and quiet. No
rain for weeks and the sun tierc-
ely shining every day. The
streams are narrowing down to
mere threads, and vegetation
(what little there. isl begins to
look "seedy, likewise the pop
ulation. Even the hot air"
usually floating around, seems to
be burnt up.
But, barring these unaccount-
able freaks of Nature, no com
plant is heard SO far as money
affairs are concerned. Every
body seems to be amply suppli-
ed with all the lawful currency
of q. S. for present and future
needs; it is only the sight of
empty woodsheds that clouds the
happiness of the Yankee Forker
as the days shorten and the
nights lengthen. The spare
teams and the wood choppers
have all gone down the Salmon
to work on the Butte Boise Coos
Bay Railroad, which is on it's
way up the river and will be here
as soon as it is possible to pre-
pare the roadbed for the rails.
The Sunbeam M. Co.'S. power
plant at the mouth of Yankee
Fork, on the Salmon is being in
stalled rapidly as possible There
are 40 to so nen employed at
present. A Golfer dam is heing
put in and the permanent dam
will be set in the bedrock of the
river. The tunnel to convey the
water of the river out of its chan
mel was completed last week. 1t
is 1O3 feet long, and 10 feet
square, and was finished in 80
working days; three men to a
shift of 8 hours, or nine men in
all, Carl Hartzell and Fred Nav
ity had the contract. The power
tunnel will not be so large. The
1Ox1O tunnel is in hard granite
and was handdrilled. The Sun
beam engineers figured that the
Salmon, at this season of the
year, this high up, will just nice
ly fit a 1Ox1O foot hole.
The Sunbeam mill is running
regularly on ores from the 'glo-
~ hole" opened to the surface
some time ago by cave on the
inside last winter, and is rapid
way of handling ore The wat
ers of Jordan creek are becOm-
ing limited, but sufficient as yet
Electricity will supply the power
little later on. The ore supply
of very good grade of free
milling, is said to be almost lin
. itless in extent. or sufficient a
least for many years to come.
Sunbeam is now school dis
trict, and neat and comfortable
school house is being erected
The population there is increas
/ ing, and quite good many nev
residences are being added t
the town.
The road to Loon creek ha
been repaired and is in fine trav
f cling condition. The Lost Pack
2 er and some other mines are be
!, ing regularly worked. Th
Packer keeps a full force of me
: on and is extracting and expos
. ing much ore of the usual hig
d grade.
The monotony of The Fork
h was pleasantly intruded upon
;, few days ago by the sudden al
:, pearance of two jolly and gOOt
q looking newspaper solicitor
e from the town of Boise, one {
the Statesman and Capital New
each, travelling together in tt
interests of their respective jou
nails. They were both fine sinl
h ers and good takers and mo
excellent entertainers general.
> They were here from Saturds
till Tuesday, and had scarce
introduced themselves before tt
people of Custer, Sunbeam, BO
10 ANA. Loon Creek and the su
10 rounding wilds we're runnir
NJ over each other to get in on Il
" advance pay list, which was a
~ parently largely increased al
- no questions asked. MOnds
!" evening the young folks of Gu
ter and Sunbeam gave dancil
20 party in honor of their BOi
No guests and good time was ha
N The pencil hustlers left Tuesd'
~ morning for Stanley and r
:" Fish lakes to view the wonde
Gus scenery of that section a:
80 to shoot birds and catch fish.