The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1922-03-09
MOTHER LODE NINE
AND SLAB OF GOLD
STORY OF DISCOVERY
Owners Made a Fortune and
Lost Another in the Creek.
Opportunity for Capital

(By Adam Aulbach, Murray, Idaho)
- TRANCE as it may appear, near
ly all the productive gold quartz
mines of the North Side of the
Occur d'Alenes were discovered
during January, February and March,
1884. when the section was blanketed
with from to feet of snow and COW
cred with an almost impenetrable for
est growth and dense underbrush.
Following the discovery of placers the
year previous, three miles up Prichard
creek from the historic town of Eagle
the point which became the objective
of the thousands who rushed over the
Bitter Root range in every conceivable
manner suggested To the pioneers, OF
which the toboggan became the tin
lizzie" of transportation, if a figure of
speech may be allowed in this connec-
ton, the tide of newcomers pushed up
the creek to the present site of Muir
lay. The placers had required no fur
Their prospecting and those first on the
ground in 1883 had covered the valley
with 2O-acre claims, and all the side
Murray sprang into existence almost
overnight but not an acre of placer
remained to be filed upon, either in the
main creek or the numerous tributar-
les The old miners and prospectOrs
began to chafe under the conditions
that prevailed. The 2O-acre locators
in general had put up stake and left
the ground to take care of itself, then
returned TO the outside with the inten-
ton of coming back in the spring to
begin work. or do nothing at all. The
real miners resented this and quietly
met to change the situation. They
promptly resolved that the placer |
claims should be reduced to 10 acres. |
This action was generally Endorsed and |
carried out. II led to some extensive
litigation, but hundreds of practical |
men secured claims and work.
The Days of Old, the Days of Gold.
While the placer situation vas being |
ironed out and settled as well as it
could be, the handbook prospectors /
were not sulking in their tents or ly /
ing awake under the huge cedars that |
furnished shelter to many. They had /
hiked to the adjacent bluffs and hills
and the camp became electrified daily
with reports of lodges and outcrops
that glittered with yellow metal. For
the time being the placer troubles were
forgotten, and every prospector who
could get hold of a pick disappeared.
Snow and brush. forest and weather,
offered no impeachment The town of
Murray added 1000 TO it's former al
nose congested population inside of
week Eagle was becoming depOpu-
lated. Log buildings were built from
the standing timber on the ground. for
permanency was assured, and few
idlers were seen for the time being
except those who could not tear them
selves away from the wet goods estab-
lishments which sprang up like mush
rooms over night. Practically every
other building or tent built upon logs.
was utilized as a symposium. Results I
from the new discoveries were daily ,
received and kept up the excitement
until the belief became general that ;
the richest camp ever discovered was
lying directly around the town But ;
the real thrill was experienced when
1t was announced that Il mountain of
gold had been found just east of Muir
ray, about a mile distant, where fouI ,
men uncovered a ledge of solid gold. ,
four feet of which was exposed as plain
as money could be on a bar counter.
This was the most convincing news s
that had been brought in. The report
was circulated in the evening and was
confirmed in a measure by hundreds of
miners and tenderfooters the following
day. who went to the scene They ,
saw. however, not actually a solid mass ,
of yellow metal. but the next thing to :
1t.
Famous Discovery Described.
In April the writer came over the :
Bitter Roots from Belknap on the
Northern Pacific railroad. on foot and
visited the strike. He found it some
what different from the news sent to
the outside world, but by no means 4
the result of a too vivid imagination.
There was enough in sight to make an
inexperienced person believe that the !
metal was a solid mass and could be :
chiseled out as such. At this time it =
was considered "a slab over which gold
had been poured" that is. quartz slab
Some work had been done to remove
the debris, but as the seasons high
water prevailed one-half of the glitter t
ing rock was under water. The other r
half. however measuring about five O
feet wide and four feet to the water e
was quite visible. the upper end being T