Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1911-08-31
OBSERVANCE OF DISCOVERY
OF GOLD.
Continued from page II

on prospecting trip. Sam Dillinger
was, l think in this party. They
found the abandoned diggings on
Dixie Gulch which they staked. They
also prospected Crooked Creek. One
of their holes is yet to be seen at the
mouth of Dixie Gulch near Larson's
Arasta. In 1865, Andy Taylor came
and bought into the Dillinger COM
pany. This company gradually ac-
quired the water rights and bitches
in the basin, and for 10 or IL years,
there were no other miners in the
district. One season. 1892, / think,
Sam Dillinger was the sole inhabi-
tant of Dixie.
In 1885, George Blaine staked the
Crooked Creek placer and the On
tario mine. These were the first
claims in the district that were staked
in conformity with the requirements
of the mining laws of the United
States. Blaine left the country for
couple of years. and in 1884, p. S.
Prichard, Walter Stanley and Jack
Boyer came in and staked the Crooked
Creek placer. Blaine came back and
Prichard II Co., gave him an interest
Stanley left the country, and A.
H. Cummings bought Boyer's interest.
About this time Walter and Wells
Clark bought the Leach and Taylor
interests in Dillinger & Co., and
worked that property until 1892,
when it passed into the hands of E.
f. Milhoan Il Co. In 1893, Sam
Dillinger struck the Dillinger mine.
This was followed by quartz excite
ment; when the prospectors organized
Dixie mining district, and elected
Wells Nj. Clark district recorder.
Clark selling out his interests, turned
the records over to Tom Bollman,
who held the Office until 1902. Be
cause of the hard times of that year,
nothing in the way of work was done
in the district in 1894. In 1895,
Sam Dillinger built his arasta on
Rhett Creek and had it running
when my partner, z. H. Fairchild
and | got here, august 2, of that
Year, Blaine Il Co. had their ditch
completed and their sawmill up and
were cutting lumber for their fume
| had just got to Elk City anc
I. S. Ratcliff had written B. B. Stuart
about the discovery of the Comstock
by Thompson and Youngberg. Mr.
Fairchild was an old timer in Eli
City who had come back to prospect
for quartz on Gold Hill. When ht
arrived there he found the ground he
wanted located and being worked by
a man by the name of Leslie. Being
an old acquaintance of B. B. Stuart's
Mr.. Stuart had told him of the Com
stock strike and advised him to 90 t.
Dixie. The Elk City wagon roac
had just been completed, and l think
| drove the first buggy over it. The
first vehicles over the road, Other
than the wagons with the construc
ton gang, were driven by b. b
Stuart and Jim Nash. My partner
ship with Mr.. Fairchild was a typica
pioneer partnership We first saw
each other as we rolled out of oul
blankets July Both. That night We
had agreed to 60 to Dixie together
When We got to Dixie we went into
camp where the Hall cabin now is
In oe 8 days we went down to the
Idaho Reef and prospected for the
west extension of the Comstock. Mr.
Fairchild, the second, brought in 8
very rich piece Of float that he hac
picked up in the gulch just below
Larson's tunnels on the Gold Hill
That day We moved to the spring thi.
side and prospected the dixie bu
could not find the vein from which
our float had come. l think that
stuck the first pick in the ground OF
what is now known as the dixie. From
there We went down to Sans Creek
and located the Ironsides group nov
owned by myself and Mr.. and Mrs
Trader. just before we went on
Tommy Pritchard had began to buile
his arasta. While we were campee
at Boulder Gulch, Rory Burke ano
Andy Taylor came up from the Dill
niger neighborhood and went int,
camp above us. A few days after
wards, N. b. Pettibone and S. f
Bradford came in to examine tn,
Comstock for which Thompson ano
Youngberg asked $4,000, also {
party of prospectors came in from
Montana. These men located place.
claim on Long Tom gulch. They
put in long Tom to work the GROUND
which gave the gulch its name. In
GLIDING the transient prospectors, ther,
were about rs men in the distric