Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1921-09-08

and the lore OF mining as recOrded
the textbooks, discoursing learnedl
: of indications, - periods, F." dips,
5 "apexes, - Globes familiar with al
the jargon of the mining game, AM
bringing their stores of learning wol
in other fields to apply to the presen
find.
And here was where nature sprun.
her colossal practical joke on the gen
GRAFTON of the day, for in time pas
not so far distant as measured in geo
logic terms, one of the volcanic vents
of the region had engulfed a vein OF
richly laden gold bearing rock, to scat
ter it's values in volatile form ovel
miles of the surrounding country. Ev
erywhere the surface was impregnated
with the sought-for mineral. Every
ledge and boulder, even the sparse soil
of the gulches, gave testimony Of the
precious metal. Far INTO the cleav-
ages of the rocks the minute particles
had seeped, giving the appearance of
vast riches awaiting the miners eff
forts.
SPECIALISTS LOSE OUT
The stage setting was absolutely
unique. Nothing was wanting to con
firm the promise of wealth untold to
be garnered. No instance recorded in
the textbooks or hard-won knowledge
of experience east shadow of doubt
On the seeming Golconda, and Thur
der mountain, in the final outcome,
was the graveyard of more technical
regulations than any ten such fields
before exploited.
The experts sampled, assayed and
computed, and On their estimates of
ore by the millions of tons in sight to
be extracted. the reserve of capital
thawed and dollars flowed from all
sources by the tens and hundreds of
thousands, to reap the promised incre-
ment. just at this time the east had
seen the climax of the steel boom, and
many "steel millionaires, flushed
with easy money, were looking for
more worlds to conquer, and from
Pittsburg especially the golden tide
flowed westward.
CITY OF ROOSEVELT BORN
The Valley of the Monumental at
the foot of Thunder mountain, Of
fered the only possible site for camp
and here sprang up town, at first of
,ents, later of logs and frame houses,
which was named after the president
If the day, whose strenuous nature |
to these pioneers of the |
Mountains. After the naming of the |
amp, some imaginative soul discov-
red that a cliff overhanging the set
lement had been carved by wind and
Weather into a passable likeness, when
iewed from a certain angle, of the
reat American. This coincidence vas
AIKEN as an omen of the success of the
amp, though the final event can hard
be said to reflect new luster on the
anne of Roosevelt.
With the occupation of the available
round, claims began to command an
lcreasing price, and the locations of
he Caswell brothers, the discoveries,
ere soon the objects of animated bid '.
ng among the later arrivals, and ..
ere finally released 10 new owners at /,
hat were imposing figures for the
me and place. The more precipitous
i'd broken the ground, the more
ger the demand, as offering the ,
eater prospect of collaborating
iges. One central claim, lying in a :,
sin near Thunder mountain s crest. 81
rough its lack of these supposed in y
cations of value, was neglected. until NJ
ally taken by Col. w. H. Dewey of ~
yer City, for the pittance of $4,000 o.
ONE PAYING MINE 60
That basin proved to be the extinct tn
l hlled-in crater that had "salted'' st
whole region, and as in the course to
time the outfiung values, naturally 10
thing in heaviest deposit in its i'm mi
date vicinity, had washed back av
and finally filed up the cone, that GU
i'm was the one paving mine in tbe tr;
ire district, and richly repaid the
IS investment. His mill. a five br
MP, sectional affair, packed into rio
camp on muleback, was early in de-
ration, and its returns, magnified no
rumor, added fuel to the flames of ms
itement. as
he mining of this claim was a Gu aic
$ proposition. AS one of the min $l(
expressed it, the ore was "everv ]
thing you'd find in city gar ple
dump, except the tin cans. y tai
IL the debris of the eruption. soil. pie
blocks, granite boulders, heat Tn
nbied quartz even charcoal. run mo
!. to instances of entire carbonized sec
5, was hoisted from the ever nar- all
ng funnel and fed to the stamps by
paying results. When at a depth car
about 300 feet the crater had
he'd down to its original throat. :,
diminishing area shut off the =,
ly Of pay ore and the mine was 'ne
, but before this event its fame and
spread far abroad and was ac- up
I'd without question as proof posi- gee,
of the richness of the discovery. anu
der and wider was heralded fbe ioae
of tho new Ell Dorado, and the -
ng summer saw even bigger fish
ut In the net of nature s stu -
ous confidence game. Tenderfeet
At the fever and rushing in, iIlv
rad