The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1922-04-06
Central Idaho---Graphic Description of
Section Rich in Mineral Resources
and Astounding in Water Power
CGeo bancroft in the Eng neering Mining

that the thunder and rumbling OF
most impressive. one can often leel
the ground shake when am extra bis
one goes visiting During the spring Oh
the year great quantities OF rock come
tumbling OF the Gifts. Much live
stock and some men are thus killed.
countries. as in the san Juan noun
tains of Colorado, for instance; but
nowhere have l seen 50 much rock fail
as in the Idaho bathOlith. In u recent
iour mile trip along the cliffs OF the
Salmon canyon. l venture to say that
fallen boulders, and in places it Was
evident that great masses had come
down. Yet the great Salmon river
moves all this material, every year
clear out of central Idaho and is ready
next year for more. We are accus-
toned to regard erosion as deduction
OF abstract reasoning. We can seldom
actually see much erosion take place;
but central Idaho is an exception in
this respect as in many others Here
one can actually see material erosion
take place from year to year. The
central Idaho region is naturally the
home of landslides. one sees them
every few miles. Some, no doubt,
come down like snowslides, attendant
with terrible havoc, but most of them
are relatively tame affairs. There are
two kinds: one the creepy kind the
other the sluffing kind. The creeping
landslides are the larger so far as my
observation goes. Sometimes they in
Volve eighty acres or SO. A steep side
hill will start slide. Every spring it
creeps a little further. During the dry
season there is no movement but il
the wet season it groans and cracks
and the trees tilt and fall; and alto
gether things ominous Then the dry
season comes, and men cross it again
with unconcern All the east side Of
lower Bear creek is involved in a slide
Of this type.
The sluffing type seems to be often
caused by a vein or a moving fault
fissure The sulphate solutions from
an oxidizing vein soften the rocks and. |
IN favorable locations, they crumble |
and fall. There are numbers of these !
5luffing slides, and they are unpleas- |
ant to inspect because they are never
inactive. Even in the dry season, |
showers of rock come tumbling down |
At intervals Hence, my curiosity |
never prompted me to inspect more
than two of them closely. One l To-
Gated as a mining claim; it was caused |
by vein which assayed $40 per ton, !
and which had been exposed by the
slide.
One of the most prevalent causes of
loss of stock and even of men is called |
rolling" in the local vernacular. BY
rolling" is meant tumbling to death
down the steep hill slopes. The winter
Of 1920-1921 was exceedingly bad for
rolling" OF the fourteen horses
which wintered on Crooked creek, six
rolled" This was caused by severe
cold weather in November, which froze
The ground so solid that even the
slopes etayed frozen AL win !
.er.
Men sometimes roll" as well as
lorses. L have heard of three deaths
rom this cause, and mysterious disap-
,earances are not uncommon.
With all the heavy fall of snow in
he highlands, and the long steep
Hopes, snowslides are remarkably
are. l do not understand why this is.
have seen twelve feet of snow resting
N a 37-degree slope half mile long,
Which had no live timber upon it. In
colorado these conditions would almost
urely produce a snowslide, but not in
daho.
The winter of 1920-1S21 was marked
y a few serious snOwslides because
+ the early freeze. The Crackerjack
lill was carried away, and trees that
yere probably one hundred years old
yent with it. The slide must have
cen impressive. The mill was fully a
bird of a mile down a gulch of mod
rate slope from the center of the ba
in that slid in. A river of snow was
Drmed that filled the gulch about 300
eet wide and 60 feet deep, and flowed
D a point a little below the mill. De-
pite the bad conditions of last win
er, there were relatively few slides,
ut those that did run were wicked.
Roads and Trails Built on Ridges.
The foregoing description shows that
he logical avenues of transportation in
his country are the deep snOw-free
anyons of the larger streams. The ex-
sting roads and trails, however, are
lmost all built on the high ridges.
The canyons are difficult places in
,hich to build roads or trails. There
re no river banks. The slopes run
light to the waters edge for the most
art. Where there is a bank deposit it
likely to be composed of great an
ular boulders. and is sure to be tam
lie of brush and timber. Naturally,
he Indians Travelled the open ridges.