USA > Idaho > History of Washington, Idaho, and Montana : 1845-1889 > Part 58
USA > Montana > History of Washington, Idaho, and Montana : 1845-1889 > Part 58
USA > Washington > History of Washington, Idaho, and Montana : 1845-1889 > Part 58
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523
THE WAR CONTINUES.
On the 8th of July three companies of cavalry from the department of the Clearwater, under Throck- morton, marching from Lapwai via Walla Walla and Pendleton, made a junetion with Howard's force at Pilot Roek on Birch Creek, a branch of the Una- tilla River, which skirts the reservation of the Uma- tilla Indians on the west, and near which, in Fox Valley, the Indian army had received a reënforce- ment of disloyal Umatillas, the number of the hostile Indians being now estimated at 1,000. The scouts at this point discovered the Indians in foree six miles south-west of Pilot Rock, on Butter Creek, directly on the route to the Columbia, forty miles distant. Strongly posted on the crest of a steep hill, which could only be reached with difficulty by crossing a cañon, they awaited the approach of the troops, who skirmished to the top and drove them from their position, capturing some camp material, ammunition, and two hundred broken-down horses. Again they took a position among the pines which cover the crests of the Blue Mountains, but were soon dislodged by the eavalry under Bernard, and fled still farther into the mountains, where, owing to the roughness of the country, they were not pursued. In this skirmish the Indians sustained slight loss. Their best horses, with their families and property, were between them and the Columbia River, but, as Howard thought, going toward Grand Rond. On the same day several small bands effected a crossing to the north side of the Columbia, driving large bands of horses. Cap- tain Kress with his armed steamboat intercepted one party below Umatilla, and Captain Wilkinson another above that place. The presence of boats at the crossings, notwithstanding Captain Worth, just from San Francisco with his company for this service, had been for several days engaged in seizing boats to prevent the passage of the Indians, showed the complicity of the Columbia River Indians.
Howard having satisfied himself that the principal
524
INDIAN WARS.
movement of the marauders was toward Snake River, through the Grand Rond, sent Sandford's three com- panies of cavalry and a company of infantry under Miles to follow them. The remainder of his force, under Forsyth, was ordered to Lewiston and Lap- wai, to intercept the enemy at the Snake crossing. At Weston, on the 12th, he had a conference with governors Ferry and Chadwick, the latter endeavor- ing to show that the movement toward Lapwai was premature, and the country in danger if the troops abandoned Oregon at that time. He requested that Throckmorton, who was stationed on Butler Creek, should be ordered to the Umatilla ageney. Howard maintained his belief that the Indians were hurrying toward Snake River, and departed the same afternoon for Lewiston by steamer, Chadwick returning to Pendleton. As he did so, he observed signal-fires on the Meacham road over the Blue Mountains, east of Cayuse station, where he had dined that day, and learned that the station had been attacked and burned, the raiding party pursuing the stage from Meacham's, and attacking another party of travellers, wounding two, one mortally.22 Turning aside, he reached Pendleton by a different route during the night, finding the towns-people greatly agitated, the Indians being within six miles of that place, on the reservation. The governor had just despatched the few arms at his command to La Grande, and could do nothing toward arming the citizens. He had hastened a courier after Howard, who did not, however, return; and to give the people confidence, organized a bat- talion of three hundred men,28 who ignorantly believed they were to be armed.
In the mean time, however, couriers had overtaken Miles, who was not far from Pendleton with one com-
22 George Coggan, proprietor of the St Charles Hotel, Portland, died of his wounds. Alfred Bunker of La Grande and a man named Foster were with him. Foster cscaped.
23 Chadwick, in Historical Correspondence, MS .; Governor's Message, Or., 1878, 13-22.
525
WHEATON'S CAMPAIGN.
pany of infantry, one of artillery, and Bendire's cavalry, and who, being joined by a company of volunteers, gave the Indians battle on the morning of the 13th, and drove them in confusion several miles, or until they again escaped to the Blue Mountains. Five Indians were killed, and many wounded, while the loss on the side of the troops was two wounded.
On the same day Wheaton, being informed that Indians were approaching Wallula by the Vansyele cañon, sent an order to the cavalry under Forsyth, moving toward Lewiston, to turn back and intercept them. On learning of the invasion of the reservation, Forsyth was ordered to hasten to the assistance of Miles, and Wheaton himself joined the commands at the Umatilla agency on the 15th. Sanford, who had by this time reached La Grande, was ordered by tele- graph to return and cooperate with Forsyth's column, which was in pursuit of the Indians, in attacking the Indian position on the head of Mckay Creek, in the mountains, not far from Meacham's station on the road to La Grande. He found his force too small to meet the Indians congregated at the summit, and retreated to Grand Rond, where, with the assistance of volun- teer companies, he kept watch upon the passes into that valley.
On the 16th, while Wheaton was marching toward Meacham's station, a company of Umatilla Indian volunteers pursuing the raiders killed their chief, Eagan, and brought in his head for identification, together with ten scalps. These sanguinary trophies looked less horrible after finding the bodies of seven teamsters killed along the road to Meacham's, and the contents of their wagons strewn upon the ground for miles. Again on the 17th the Umatillas, in charge of three white scouts, found the trail of the savages near the east branch of Birch Creek, on the Daly road to Baker City, and battled with them, killing seven- teen and capturing twenty-five men, women, and chil- dren. Egbert's command on Snake River had taken
526
INDIAN WARS.
an equal number of prisoners. These reverses, and particularly the death of Eagan, dispirited these Indians, who had never shown the persistence or the bravery of the Nez Percés under Joseph. They were soon scattered in small parties, endeavoring to get back to Idaho or Nevada, and the troops were em- ployed for several weeks longer in following and watching them. Little by little they surrendered. On the 10th of August 600 souls were in the hands of the commander of the department in Oregon. But it was some weeks later before depredations by small parties ceased in Idaho. The loss of property was immense. To the marauding parties were added, about the 1st of August, a portion of White Bird's band of Nez Percés, returned from the British pos- sessions, where they had not met with satisfactory treatment from Sitting Bull, the expatriated Sioux chief, to whom they had fled on the surrender of Joseph. The elose of hostilities soon after their arrival rendered them powerless to carry on war, and they became reabsorbed in the Nez Perce nation. The establishment of Camp Howard, near Mount Idaho, and Camp-later fort-Cœur d' Alene, followed the outbreaks here described. After this no serious trouble was experienced in controlling the Indians.
CHAPTER VI.
NATURAL WEALTH.
1865-1885.
MINING PROSPERITY AND REVERSES-EARLY AND LATER DEVELOPMENTS- THE SEVERAL GOLD AND SILVER MINING DISTRICTS-THE SNAKE RIVER REGION-PRODUCTION-BASE METALS-IRON VEINS-SALT-SULPHUR- SODA-MICA-STONE-AGRICULTURE-SOIL-GRASSES AND GRAZING- FORESTS-CLIMATE-HEALTH-BOUNDLESS POSSIBILITIES.
FROM 1865, when quartz-mining was very promis- ing in Idaho, to 1876, a fair degree of prosperity was enjoyed by the owners of mines. Prospecting was, however, much retarded by the Indian troubles from 1865 to 1868, an account of which has been given in my History of Oregon. Expensive milling machinery had been hastily introduced in the first excitement of quartz discoveries, which lessened the profits with- out much increasing the results of reducing the ores in arastras. But the straw which broke the camel's back was the defaulting of the secretaries of three of the richest mining companies in the Owyhee region, and the suspension of the Bank of California, which occurred about the same time. These combined mis- fortunes operated against investment from abroad, and checked the increase of home enterprise; and as min- ing property is taken hold of with great caution except in the excitement of discovery, the fame of the Idaho quartz lodes became overshadowed by later discov- eries in other territories. There occurred no mining rush, no brain-turning find of incredible treasure, after the close of what might be termed the second period ( 527 )
528
NATURAL WEALTH.
in the history of mining in Idaho, when placers were exhausted of their first marvellous wealth,1 and veins
1 Some of the first discovered veins, already mentioned in a previous chap- ter, retained their productiveness. The Gold Hill mine was sold in 1869, since which time to 1884 it produced $2,850,000. It was not until 1878 that the Banner district, north of Quartzburg, in Boisé county, began to be really de- veloped. The mines of War Eagle Mountain, in Owyhee county, continued productive. Oro Fino, the first discovery, yielded $2,756,128 in six years, without any considerable cost to its owners. The Elmore, later called the Bannack, in one month in 1868 yielded $500,000, the ore being crushed in a twenty-stamp mill. This mine, irregularly worked, a few months at a time, produced from 18GS to 1SS6 $2,000,000. The entire production of the Poor- man previous to its suspension was $4,000,000. This mine yielded a large quantity of extraordinary rich chlorides. Some masses of horn-silver looked like solid lead tinted with crimson, and was sixty per cent pure silver. Its second and third class ores yielded $230 to the ton in the early period of its development, and the first grade as high as $4,000. A block of this ore weigh- ing 500 pounds was sent to the world's exposition at Paris in 1866, which ob- tained an award of a gold medal, and was regarded with much interest. But the Poorman, after various changes of management, owing to litigation, suf- fered a final blow to its prosperity in 1876, when the secretary of the company absconded with the funds, and it suspended work, along with every other in- eorporated mine in Owyhee except the Golden Chariot, which ran for some time longer. A period of depression, followed by the Indian disturbances of 1877 and 1878, involved many mining operators in apparently hopeless dis- aster. But in 1880 capital began once more to seek investment in the long- neglected quartz mines of Owyhee. It may be interesting hereafter to be able to refer to the names of mines discovered in Owyhee previous to 1865. They were the Whiskey Gulch, Oro Fino, Morning Star, Ida Elmore (Ban- nack), Golden Chariot, War Eagle, Minnesota, Silver Bullion, Hidden Treas- ure, General Grant, Noonday, Centurion, Golden Eagle, Allison, Blazing Star, Montana, Home Ticket, Floreta, Silver Legion, Eurcka, Calaveras, Caledonia, Empire, Dashaway, Red Jacket. Poorman was discovered a little later than these. Between IS65 and 1880 many other mines were added to the list. Ma- hogany, Stormy Hill, South Chariot, Illinois Central, North Extension Illi- nois Central, Belle Peck, North Extension Poorman, South Poorman, Lueky Poorman, Big Fish, Boycott, Glenbrook, Clearbrook, Idlewild, North Empire, South Empire, San Juan, Dubuque, Silver Cloud, Louisiana, Ruby, Jackson, Silver City, Ruth, Sinker, By Chance, Potosi, Rattling Jack, St James, South Extension Morning Star, Northern Light, Trook & Jennings, Whiskey, Brannan, Home Resort, Savage, Piute, Miami, Lone Tree, Home Stake, Lit- tle Fish, Silver Cord, Golden Cord, Standard, Ruby and Horn Silver Lode, Philox, Webfoot, Wilson, Idaho, Gentle Emma, Stoddard, Ohio, Henrietta, Tremont, Crown Point, Redemption, Boonville, Empire State, Florida Hill, Seventy-Nine, Paymaster, Black Jack, Leviathan, Sierra Nevada, Owyhee, Treasury, Yrcka, Crown Point, Avenue, Rose, Hudson, Phoenix No. 1, Phœ- nix No. 2, Phoenix No. 3, and Carson Chief, were all more or less prospected, and about half them being worked to some extent.
The mining districts of Owyhee were five in number. Carson district began on the summit of War Eagle Mountain, and ran west 8 miles, and north and south 15 miles. French district began on the summit of the same mountain, and ran easterly toward Snake River, and north and south about 12 miles. Steele district adjoined French, and was about 8 miles frem Sil- ver City. Flint district was 9 miles south of Silver City. Mammoth district was 12 miles south-west of the same place, and Wagontown district 7 miles north-west. South Mountain was 30 miles south of Silver City. The min- eral characteristics of the several districts were gold and silver in the War Eagle and Florida mountains; geologically, War Eagle was granite and Flor-
529
IDAHO MINES.
of gold and silver quartz were eagerly sought after. For several years no one thought of mining on Snake
ida porphyritic. In the Flint district were found refractory ores and tin; geologically, it was granitic and porphyritic, as was also Wagontown, which produced silver and milling ores. South Mountain produced argentiferous galena, its rocks being limestone, porphyry, and granite, with some meta- morphosed slates. Lithologically, the two extremes of the Owyhee region, War Eagle and South Mountain, were separated by a mass of basalt and lava. The gold veins ran almost due north and south; the silver veins, north-west and south-cast. At the centennial exposition, 1876, medals were awarded to the gold ores from Golden Chariot and South Chariot, and silver ores from Home Resort and Leviathan; for silver-gold ores from Oro Fino; for lead bullion from South Mountain; and silver-lead ores from the Silver Chord mine.
117
Mundy's Ferry 116
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-1-14
SOUTH-WESTERN IDAHO.
In 1881 the depth to which Owyhee mines had been worked varied from 150 to 1,500 feet. I am indebted to a series of articles by Gilbert Butler which appeared in the Silver City Avalanche, in ISSI, for much knowledge of the condition and history of the Idaho mines down to that period.
The Owylee Treasury on Florida Mountain furnished ore, one hundred feet down, that yielded seventy-five cents to the pound. A 'stringer' in the mine yielded nearly $46 to a pound of ore, worked in a common mortar. From 120 pounds was taken $2,344.80; but the ordinary milling ore was rated at $50 per ton. Several mines in the vicinity promised nearly equal riches. The bullion output for Owyhee county in ISSI was nearly $300,000. Silver State, June 24, ISSI. Sold to the Varkoff Mining, Smelting, and Milling Company were the mines Catalow, Graham, Tuscarora, Venice, New York, Gazelle, Belcher, Mono, Black Warrior, New Dollar, and Red Fox, aggre- gating 14,200 linear feet. Silver City Avalanche, May 7, ISSI.
For many years it was known to prospectors that the Wood River country contained large ledges of galena ores. The first lode was discovered by W. P. Callahan, while on his way to Montana, in 1864. Nothing was done until 1872, when Callahan returned and relocated it, naming it after himself. It was on HIST. WASH .- 34
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530
NATURAL WEALTH.
River, that stream not presenting the usual features of a placer mining district, although flour-gold was
the main Wood River, 11 miles above the crossing of the Boisé and Salmon City road. A little work was done on the vein annually, the ore being shipped to Salt Lake for smelting, at a great expense, where it sold in ISSO for $200 a ton. The second eamp was 5 miles north of the road, and named after the discoverer, Frank Jacobs. Silver City Avalanche, March 13, 1880. The bel- ligerent attitude of the Indians of southern Idaho, who knew that settlement followed mining, prevented the occupation of that region until after the sub- jugation of the Bannacks in 1878. During the summer of 1879-80 in an area of 60 miles square as many as 2,000 claims were taken up, the ore from which, shipped to Salt Lake, yielded on reduction from $100 to $500 per ton in silver. Several towns immediately sprang up. Bellevue had 250 houses at the end of the first seven months, and the Elkhorn mine had shipped $16,000 worth of ore, besides having left 150 tons. Rock from the Bullion mine assayed $11,000 per ton, and although not all showed equally rich, the yield of from $100 to $500 was common, making the belt in which the Bullion mine was situated, and which gave it its name, one of the richest as well as one of the most extensive in the world, being cighteen miles long, extending from Bellevue to Ketchum, and a part only of the silver-bearing region, which comprised between 4,000 and 5,000 square miles. The gross product of the Bullion mine in 1883 was $250,000.
The Bullion belt and district was the richest yet discovered. The geologi- cal formation was quartzite, slate, and porphyry. The ores were galena and carbonates, with antimony and copper, yielding sixty to eighty per cent of lead. On the east side of the river the best mineral was found in limestone, or limestone and granite. The ores were enbe, leaf, and fine-grained galena and carbonates, yielding lead in about the same proportion as the Bullion belt, and silver at the rate of $100 to $300 per ton. South-west from the Bullion belt was the Ornament Hill and Willow Creek district. The ledges in this district were immense in size, and in a granite belt, containing, besides lead and silver, antimony and gold. Again, on the Wood River Mountains, on the east side, was another belt of mines in calcareous shale, limestone, and quartzite, yielding from $50 to $100 per ton. The Ornament Hill mines, very rich in silver and bearing traces of gold, were the only free-milling ores in the whole silver region. The Mayflower mine, discovered in ISSO, was sold to a Chicago company and consolidated with two others. It had shipped in 1883 three thousand tons of ore; the first thousand tons yielding $152,000, the second $144,000, and the third $276,000. This mine adjoined the Bullion. On the same lode were the Jay Gould, Saturn Group of four mines, Ophir- Durango group, and Highland Chief. This was the middle one of three lodes running north-west and south-east. On the western lode were the Mountain View, Red Elephant, O. K., and Point Lookout. On the easteru lode were the Coloradan, Fraction, Chicago, Bay State, Iris, Eureka, Idahoan, Parnell, and Pass. There were in 1883 four smelters at work on Wood River between Bellevue and Galena, two of forty tous capacity per day and two of sixty tons, producing together an average of fifty tons of bullion daily. The names of other mines favorably known in tho early days of Wood River were the Star, Minnie Moore, Gladiator, Concordia, Idaho Democrat, Solid Muldoon, Over- land, Homestake, Guy, and Monutain Belle, in the lower Wood River or Mineral Hill district.
North of Mineral Hill district, which contained the above-mentioned mincs, was the Warm Springs district, containing inany locations considered of great value; north-west of this, the Saw Tooth district; and west of it, the Little Smoky district-each rivalling the other in promising ledges. There were the Imperial, Oriental, Greenhorn, Perry, and Maud May; the Kelly group, comprising the West Fork, West Fork 2, Yellow Jacket, Black Hawk, and Big Beaver; the Moffit and Irvin group, comprising 18 locations, among
531
WOOD RIVER DISTRICT.
known to exist in considerable quantities. But about 1871 the experiment was made, which resulted in find-
which were the Ontario, Niagara, North Star, Sunday, and Black Horse. The Mountain Lily, owned by Lewis, produced copper-silver glance assaying 900 ounces to the ton. Wood River Miner, Aug. 12, ISSI. The Elkhorn mine, 4 miles from Ketchum, also belonged to Lewis, and produced very valu- able ores. On the east fork of Wood River were the North Star, Ameri- can Eagle, Silver Fortune, Champion, Boss, Paymaster, Summit, Silver King. The Elkhorn was discovered by John Rasmussin, the North Star by William Jaikovski. In the same district were the Star Mountain group, consisting of the Ohio, Lulu, Hawkeye, Commodore, Bellevue, Star Mountain, Garfield, Amazon, Empire, and Hancock. On Deer Creek were the Narrow Gauge, N. G. No. 2, Banner, Kit Carson, Saturday Night, and Monumental. The Little Smoky mines were at the head of Warm Springs Creek, and assayed from 100 to 3,000 ouuces smelting ore to the ton. Among them were the Climax and Carrie Leonard.
& Concordia
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T 1
WOOD RIVER MINERAL DISTRICTS.
In the Upper Wood River or Galena district, in a formation of slate and lime with some porphyry, was another group of mines averaging from $175 to $200 to the ton of smelting ore. Among the locations in the Galena dis- trict were the Shamrock, Signal, Western Home, Adelaide, White Cloud, Gladiator, Accident, Little Chief, Big Chief, Eunice, Wood River, J. Marion Sims, Baltimore, Dinero, Grand View, Lawrence, Senate, Red Cloud, Inde- pendence, Wellington, Leviathan, Highland Chief, Monarch, Our Girl, Clara, Garfield, and Serpent, the latter three being consolidated. These mines lay at an altitude of from 8,500 to 10,000 feet above sea-level. In the Saw Tooth district, which was divided from Wood and Salmon rivers by a high ridge called the Saw Tooth Mountains, in a granite formation, was a group of ledges bearing milling ores of a high grade, but sufficiently refractory to re-
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532
NATURAL WEALTH.
ing good pay on the gravel bars in the vicinity of the Great Falls, the mouth of Raft River, Henry's Ferry,
quire roasting, the yield of bullion being from 250 to 500 ounces to the ton. 'The most noted of the early Saw Tooth mines were the Pilgrim, Vienna, Columbia, Smiley's, Beaver, Beaver Extension, Lucky Boy, Seotia, Atlanta, Nellie, Sunbeam, and Naples. This district was discovered in July 1879, by L. Smiley, a Montana pioncer and former superintendent of Utah mines, with a party of half a dozen men from Challis. An assay of the ore led to the return of Smiley in 1879, with E. M. Wilson, J. F. Kinsley, J. B. Richy, O'Leary, and others. Smiley located the Emma, Wilson the Vienna, Kinsley the Alturas, and many others were prospected during the season. Silver City Avalanche, March 20, 1SS0.
Lying north of Salmon River, and directly north of the Galena distict of Wood River, was the Yankee Fork district, discovered in 1870, but little worked before 1875, when the Charles Dickens gold-quartz lode was located by W. A. Norton, which paid $2,000 a ton. This renowned discovery was followed by the location of the Charles Wayne ledge by Curtis Estes, on Mount Estes, and a few months later by the location of tho General Custer and Unknown on Mount Custer, by E. G. Dodge, J. R. Baxter, W. McKcen, and James Dodge. The Custer mine was in every respect a wonderful one. It was an immense ledge projected above the surface, requiring only quarrying instead of mining, and was as rich as it was large. and con- veniently situated. It involved no outlay of capital; its face was good for a vast amount, which was casily extracted. The walls of this treas. ury had been nibbled away for several hundred feet by the tooth of time, exposing the solid mass of wealth to whoever would come and take it. A tunnel was run into this ore body and a tramway constructed, which served to convey the ore to the mill, 1,300 feet down the mountain. All the works were so nearly automatic in arrangement as to require at the mine and mill only fifty-two men to perform every part of the labor. The average value of the ore per ton was $133. From Feb. to Nov. ISSI, the owners sent to market $800,000 worth of bullion, half of which was profit. Other well-known mines of this district, which is high and well wooded, were the Montana, Bay Horse, Ram's Horn, Skylark, Silver Wing, Utah Boy, Bull-of-the-Woods, Cuba, Juliet, River View, Post Boy, Hood, and Beardsley. The Montana produced from 700 to 1,000 ounces of bullion to the ton. Wood River Miner, July 20, ISS1. The total value of 136,098 pounds of Montana ore, in 23 different lots, was $73,170.46. Yankee Fork Herald, Sept. 15, 1881. They shipped and sold 40 tons of ore which netted them $53,000. They are down 145 fect, and have a 165-foot level in $500 ore, 12 feet thick. Shoup's Idaho Ter., MS., 9. The Montana mine was discovered by James Hooper, A. W. Faulkner, Duncan Cameron, Amos Franklin, and D. B. Varney. Bonanza City Yankee Fork Herald, July 24, 1879. The Ram's Horn was the longest vein known in the history of modern mining. There were 24 claims 1,500 feet long located on it. It assayed 800 ounces in silver per ton. Other mines on Mouut Estes were the Tonto, Pioneer, Cynosure, Snow Bird, Hidden Treasure, General Miles, Colorado, Indiana, Manhattan, Golden Gate, North Star, Ophir, Polar Star, Last Chance, Lake, Snowshoe, King Idaho, Gold- stone, and Bobtail. A rival to the Custer was the Montana, a gold mine on Mount Estes, near which Bonanza City was laid out in 1877. The vein was six and a half feet wide, and the rock fairly welded together with gold.
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