The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1913-03-20
HUNTER MINING
DISTRICT, MULLAN,
ITS EARLY HISTORY
VERY BEGINNING OF THE GREAT
HUNTER AND MORNING
MINES.
Accurate Details and Names of the
Pioneers Of the District and their
AccompIishments-By One Of the
Number.
Written for The Miner by Charles f.
Ruddy, of Wallace.

w
Ruddy, of Wallace.
(Below is the first Of a series of arti-
ces to be printed in The Miner The
material will be furnished by Mr.
Ruddy and possibly a dozen others
who yet remain of that army of gold
seeking pioneers who came to the
Occur d'Alene mountains now nearly
thirty years ago, They will be found
accurate in the information they con-
tain and intensely interesting to old
timers as well as those who have more
recently cast their lot in what Is now
| among the greatest mining districts
Of the world~-a prediction one of the
hardy pioneers recorded below
Editor).
In April of 1881, j. G.. Hunter and
Frank Moore, who had been attracted
, to the Coeur d'Alenes by the Eagle
excitement, formed partnership to
prospect for gold and to share equally
, In what they might discover
Walter Smith, who had tent saloon
on the Thompson trail. gr,lbstaked
Moore and received one-half Of his
portion of the Gold Hunter and Yor
lande property, which was located
and discovered early in the following
May. thus this famous property was
originally owned by j. G. Hunter,
Frank Moore and Walter Smith. The
Smith interest was purchased the fol-
lowing year by Jake Goetz and Harry
Baer and later bonded to Martin and
Frank or Salt Lake and sold by them
through the agency of John Hackctt
to Dennis Ryan and associates of St.
Paul.
This was the first discovery of i'm
portancc made on tho South Fork and
made by inexperienced men who were
looking for gold but found lead and
silver Hunter for a number Of years
previous had been foreman of con-
structjon for Winston Brothers, extern
sive northern Pacific railroad con-
tractors, and Moore had been employ
ed in ranching in the Gallatin valley
At this time Is or 20 prospectors
were camped in the vicinity of George
Bursons on Prospect creek where they
had made discoveries of antmony and
gold lodges and meeting with Hunter
and Moore and getting a glowing de-
scription from them of the Mullan
road country, rolled their blankets and
started for Nigger Prairie, this being
a well known land mark on the Mullan
road, One squad pitched camp at the
head of Mill creek and made numer-
GUS locations on that mountain which
was called Chloride hill, as rich silver
chloride had been found in the Even
ing claim (now part of the Morn
ing). Among this bunch was c. c. A.
Earle. Johnny MARI, both dead George
Goode, now owner of valuable farm
in the vicinity of Thompson Falls
Charles =. Best of Chicago, James
Huminel and Waldo Clark.
Hummel and Waldo Clark.
Just What" and you Like" claims.
Mari and Earle the Evening" and
George Goode, the Morning." all con-
tieuous and now all Joined as the
Morning" mine.
An amusing incident of how mines
sometimes get their names Is worthy
Of note here. Jim Humnel was trac-
ing some iron float up the mountain
and just as he found a cropping he
also found Mr.. Clark, who had follow
ed the float from the other side of the
ridge. They Immediately agreed to a
claim each way from this outcrop and
to own and work them in conjunction.
Hummel began to wtire the notices
and when 1t came to the nam, he
said; CLARK, what will W. ~cmc the
claIms?" and Clark made answer;
Just what you like" So Hummel
wrote Just What" in one notice and
you Like In the other
About this time another bunch of
prospectors namely Frank Bal. Carl
Trowbridge. George Porter, Thomas
Nolan, William and Charles RlIddy
came to Niger Prairie where they
found old Doc McGreevv afterwards
killed in a snowsidc south of Mullan),
living in the old cabin Of the negro
the grave of whom was nearby and
written on Il tree at the head of the
grave were the words: Here lies the
Coon that died in ga"
The following day they met with
John Stoffel and Bill Samuels, who
had just come in, having prospected
up the river from the Old Mission
This party began prospecting on either
side Of the river and few days later
made permanent camp at what is now
known as the mouth of Ruddy gulch
Two weeks later they we're joined
by Phil O'Rourke, the locator of the
Bunker Hill and Sullivan group. w
D. McFadden, Lock Wamsley and an
other who did not stay long enough
to get acquainted. Plenty Of mineral
ouI ,,,irorai ipdicot ttopc vroro found