The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1912-10-17

The gold rush to Whiskey Flat II
the early SOS, when placer gold was
first discovered In Greenhorn gulch
near Kern river, and miners located
ground that yielded $50 to the pan
is described In the history Of the
southern mines by David b. James
who was one OF General Fremont's
staff, with Big Jim Freeman, 1.-THE
White Chief" when they came
through Walkers Pass In 1916.
James states that quartz discov-
cries in Rich gulch, by a young mar
named Jonathan and Col Keys soor
followed The first mine was named
the Brother Jonathan, an arrastra
| was built and as the ore all ran ovel
500 per ton they made money. Al
the Mammoth mine nearby they bull!
an arrastra and took out $4,000 In
couple of weeks. Captain Maltby
the owner, formed company In San
Francisco, and they erected costly
water power mill. But such mill,
there were four wooden mortars with
wooden bottoms. The cam shafts
were round logs with pins run
through for cams. The stems were
great pieces of oak, shod with sjuare
cast-iron bosses. and sjuare shoes
and dies there were Stats cut in the
stems, about two feet long. for the
wooden cams to run into to lift the
stems. There were wooden tappits
let into the stems and wore out rap.
idly.
The mill was a rank failure. The
mortars leaked out the quicksilver
that was recklessly thrown in. They
could get nothing out Of the ore
Col. Reyes put up the first practically
wooden stem, hog trouhg iron mortar
mill. It was four stamps. AS the ore
ran over 500 per ton and his expenses
on mining and crushing was not over
SIS per ton, it left him handsome
profit. Mr.. Caldwell put up a similar
mill and Mr. Lightner from San Jose
who had rich mine, did the same
The first big mill--20 stamps-was
erected by Major Erskine on Erskine
creek. The three Petes-Dutch, Irish
and French Pete--found the Mayflower
mine on Greenhorn, 6-stamp mill was
built to work the ore, which milled
over $100--handling and crushing cost
$40 per ton. They made money. Many
discoveries followed. Eugene a
Frenchman. starved for years, had
some rich mines, only to be killed after
amassing a fortune. Some old con-
trivances for crushing ore were often
seen. Doctor De La Borde put up one
of the first, most extraordinary mills
for crushing quartz. The mortar was
an old stump of a tree surrounded
with heavy sheet iron. The stamp was
wood and iron: undoubtedly he lost
more gold than he saved. The placer
mines paid well.
A man by the name Of Hight
cleaned up $4,000 In one season. Pow.
ell and Highdon had rich claim. Bap-
tiste, a Frenchman, had small juarty
vein that paid $40 to $40 to the pound
He took out fortune and went back
to France. The big flood" Of go
washed all the stamp mills on Kern
river away and so the mines were
ed up again on the discovery Of the
Joe Walker mine at Walker basin. The
vein was from four to eight feet wide
and milled $40 per ton, while a fortune
went over in the tailings. In 1851 a
prospecting party, consisting Of Lovely
Rogers. Oders and others, camped near
the forks of Kern river. One night
their burros strayed up the river. Rog-
ers followed their tracks for five miles
up the river and found them. Rogers
picked up stone to throw and turn
burrow toward camp, when he saw his
missed was piece Of quartz contain
ing free gold. Now the discovery of
Kernville mines was fastened by this,
II the burros had gone along as de-
sired Rogers would never have picked
up that piece Of quartz that led to dis
covery Of the Cove district and Kern
vile mines that have produced mil
lions and perhaps some Of the Identical
gold is doing business and causing the
usual trouble in different parts Of the
world. The ground in the Cove dis
trict has been reported as prospected
10 years before and no one thought