A Report On Washington Territory Part 15

[Sidenote: Large copper vein in Stevens County.]

The same gentleman, who is a resident of the Okinagane region, reports a remarkable lode of copper ore running due south across Stevens County, from the Canada line to the Columbia River. It shows a plain outcrop for about forty miles. The vein carries both native and gray copper and a small percentage of silver.

[Sidenote: Precious metals on Methow River.]

Reports, apparently authentic, are made of numerous other veins of metal in the same region, particularly in the valley of the Methow River and the valley of the Okinagane River. The Colville region, beginning fifty miles north of Spokane Falls, is well known as a rich mining centre.

What I know of these regions I learned from the oral or written testimony of men who had seen what they described, and some of them residents of the localities.

The basin of the Methow River has been but little prospected, and although I gathered many favorable items concerning the mineral deposits there, I met but one man who had personally examined the country, and he confirmed the favorable reports. He said the ores were similar to those on the Okinagane, but were more abundant.

[Sidenote: The rich mines of Okinagane.]

The Okinagane country is well known, hundreds of men having been at work there last summer, and some of its mines, particularly the Ruby and Arlington, having become notable for their richness. Among my informants are Mr. Burch and Mr. Thomas Lothian, who both reside on the Okinagane River; and also Mr. J. E. Clayton, mining engineer, who made a professional report on the country, which was printed in the Spokane Falls _Review_.

The mining district is on Conconnully Creek (misnamed Salmon River), which enters Okinagane River from the northwest, about twenty miles from its mouth. There are two wagon roads to the Conconnully, one from Spokane Falls, with a branch from Sprague, distance 150 miles, on which stages ran last summer. Another road starts from Ellensburg on the Yakima, and is 195 miles long. With an expenditure of a few thousand dollars on the channel of the Okinagane, the mouth of the Conconnully could be reached from the Columbia by light-draught steamers, from which a railway fifteen miles long would reach the mines. Mr. Burch says that he and his father sounded the river, and also the Columbia, and that steamers can start at Rock Island Rapids and go to the mouth of the Conconnully, and, in flush water, can ascend the creek. Mr. Clayton makes the same statement as to the river. The country rocks in the mining districts are of the same character as those a.s.sociated with the iron ore on Mount Logan and the Denny Mountain--hard metamorphic and plutonic rocks.

The princ.i.p.al mineral lode is described by Mr. Clayton as "composed of true quartz gangue carrying the silver ore in disseminated grains of black sulphurets of silver, with some copper-silver glance, and a brittle sulphuret, resembling tennant.i.te, giving a dark, red, powdery streak, approaching the characteristics of dark antimonial ruby silver.

In addition to this is found galena and zinc-blende."

a.s.says made by Mr. Wm. H. Fuller, of Spokane Falls, gave for first-cla.s.s ore from this lode: Silver, $186.45, and gold, $4.50 = $190.95 value per ton. Second-cla.s.s ore a.s.sayed $34.16 silver and 45 cents gold. Mr.

Slater thinks that one-third of the vein will yield first-cla.s.s ore. It is a rich vein, averaging eight feet so far as opened. There are two or three lodes in the district. Years will be required to ascertain their limits. But all the indications point to large mining operations in the Okinagane country as soon as the transportation can be supplied.

My chief authority for the following statements concerning the Colville region is Mr. Kearney, one of the firm of Kearney Brothers, owners of the two largest mines of that country, namely, the Old Dominion and the Daisy. I incorporate some statements also from two articles published in the Spokane Falls _Review_, one by W. E. Sullivan, and the other by J.

B. Slater.

[Sidenote: The mines in the Colville region.]

The Colville region is the east end of Stevens County, the part lying east of the Columbia River and north of Spokane Falls. Its chief town (500 inhabitants) is called Colville, from the fort of that name which was situated there. It is ninety-one miles north of Spokane Falls.

Between the two points there is almost a continuous valley of great productiveness. The mineral region begins at Chewelah, fifty miles north of Spokane Falls, and continues at least forty miles north of Colville.

Granite, porphyry, and limestone are found here, as in the other metalliferous regions. In some cases the ores are in slate and quartz; in others, in granite and porphyry; in still others, limestone. Some of the ores are iron carbonates, carrying silver, gold, and lead in paying quant.i.ties. In other cases, as at the Old Dominion mines, the ore exists in the form of a chloride and black sulphate in limestone walls.

Rich mines of argentiferous galena were discovered last summer three or four miles east of Chewelah, and vigorously developed at numerous points. Seven miles west of Chewelah shafts were sunk on a rich vein, three feet wide, of gray copper and silver chloride. The Eagle Mine was the first discovery, and is the most noted. It is black metal, containing galena, silver, and gold. Altogether, there are said to be two hundred mining claims, more or less developed, in the district around Chewelah.

[Sidenote: The Old Dominion Mine.]

The mines in the Colville district are very numerous. The Old Dominion Mine is six miles east of the town. It is on an 8-foot fissure vein, which a.s.says 150 ounces silver, 25 per cent. galena, and $7.00 gold to the ton of ore. There are ten mines in the Old Dominion group; and Mr.

Slater states that the $80,000 worth of silver reported as the product of Washington Territory in 1886, all went from the Old Dominion group.

[Sidenote: The Daisy Mine.]

The Daisy Mine is twenty-four miles southward from Colville. The vein here is 25 feet wide, with a streak of ore in it 18 inches wide, which widens to 11 feet 8 inches at the bottom of the shaft. This shaft is 127 feet deep. Seventy-five feet from the top of the shaft, a tunnel has been run off horizontally in five feet of ore. The a.s.say reported for the Daisy ore gives silver 50 ounces, gold $2.00, lead 30 per cent., and iron 25 per cent. It is self-fluxing.

[Sidenote: Young America Company.]

Sixteen miles and a half northward from Colville, near the Columbia River, a rich discovery of silver-lead ore has been made by the Young America Consolidated Company. The vein averages five feet, runs northeast and southwest, and has been shafted through ore to the depth of 180 feet. A test showed 90 ounces of silver and 40 per cent. of lead.

A number of other openings have been made on the lode.

[Sidenote: The Little Dalles.]

The Little Dalles, thirty-eight miles north of Colville, is another neighborhood rich in mineral. The ores are galena and lead carbonate, with silver. On Bruce Creek, and east of Bruce Creek, twelve miles north of Colville, are similar veins. A smelter of twenty tons capacity has been erected at Colville, which affords encouragement to mining; but it is not satisfactory to the largest owners. Smelting should be done on a large scale, and in a centre of large business. There can be no doubt that here, also, will be a region of great activity and large production as soon as it is connected by rail with Spokane Falls.

I have indicated the mining localities on the map accompanying this Report as nearly as my information would allow, but only an approximation is expected.

[Sidenote: Coeur d'Alene Mines.]

The region that just now is attracting most attention is the Coeur d'Alene country, because the mines are more developed; and they are more developed because the miners have better transportation than exists in the Colville and the other mineral regions. Some thousands of men were at work last season on the streams entering the lake, particularly on the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River.

At Spokane Falls I was able to get reliable information concerning the region, and would mention as chief among my authorities Mr. S. S.

Glidden, at one time well known in Alabama as an able iron manufacturer, now proprietor of the Tiger Mine, on Canyon Creek, which empties into one branch of Coeur d'Alene River. By reference to the map, the following description may be readily understood:

The Coeur d'Alene Mountains, River and Lake are in Idaho Territory, near the line of Washington Territory. The drainage is through Spokane River into the Columbia. The distance from the nearest point on the lake to Spokane Falls is twenty-five miles. The Coeur d'Alene River has two branches, on both of which mining has been done, but most largely on the South Fork. Previous to 1886, all the mining on this fork was done at Eagle, Beaver, Delta, Murray, etc., and was chiefly gold placer mining, which was not particularly remunerative. Placer mining has also been done on the South Fork; but the chief ores on this branch are argentiferous galena, with some gold in quartz. A large number of claims have been worked into since the beginning in 1885, and the increase of mining population has been going on rapidly. Mr. Glidden thought that there were ten thousand people last fall in the Coeur d'Alene mining country. The veins are accessible and very thick, some of them as much as forty feet. The ores usually carry 40 to 60 per cent. of lead, 5 to 50 ounces of silver, and often about $3.00 in gold to the ton of ore.

The veins are true fissures, and strike across the country rocks, which are princ.i.p.ally porphyry and quartzite. The strike of the main veins runs parallel to the river, and at a distance of two to six miles from it. There are many cross gulches which cut the veins at right angles, and thus present vertical faces which offer the best facilities for prospecting and for mining.

The veins have been opened at so many places as to put beyond doubt their continuity on long lines, and their great abundance. In fact, the indications point to a development resembling that made near Leadville.

[Sidenote: The large tonnage from and to the mines.]

Some of the ore must be concentrated, and much of it must be shipped in bulk to the reduction works. Such tonnage is considered the best possible for a railroad. The ore can be carried in any kind of car, and is not subject to theft or any sort of damage; and yet its precious character enables it to bear higher freight rates than pig-iron. There are no fluxes in the country outside of the ore itself, and it will be more economical to carry the ore out than to bring in fluxes. The smelting of the ores on the ground would be further embarra.s.sed by the difficulty in getting fuel. The timber is in patches, and often inaccessible; hence charcoal would be costly, and there is no c.o.ke to be gotten anywhere near. The smelting of mixed ores of this sort is a very complicated process, requiring quite a number of different elements, and can be most economically conducted on a large scale, and by the mixture of various different ores. Hence the advantage of having these works at some great centre where ores of many kinds may be brought. In the establishment of such a centre, of course, reference should be had to commercial and trading facilities. A large mining community in one place and a large commercial and manufacturing community in another, involves large transportation of crude materials, and of manufactured products, of food, and of pa.s.sengers.

As yet, the Coeur d'Alene mining is in its early infancy. Means of transportation are partially furnished by means of water and short narrow-gauge railroads, but they are insufficient. Shipments now are small, but they will rapidly increase, and Mr. Glidden thinks that in three years 2,000 tons of ore will come out _daily_, and as many tons of freight go in--certainly a splendid outlook for business.

In _concluding_, as I have now done, the general statement in regard to the physical resources of Washington Territory, I would remark, that all the facts stated heretofore have a close relation to the interests of the Seattle, Lake Sh.o.r.e and Eastern Railway and its friends, and that the remainder of this report will consist in practical applications of the facts to the railroad and personal interests involved.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CITY OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON TERRITORY.]

SPECIAL REMARKS ON THE COUNTRY AND ITS RESOURCES ALONG THE LINE OF THE SEATTLE, LAKE Sh.o.r.e AND EASTERN RAILWAY.

SEATTLE.

[Sidenote: Commercial and manufacturing advantages.]

[Sidenote: Good climate.]

Concerning this city of 15,000 to 16,000 inhabitants, I need not repeat what has been so well said in the reports of Governor Squire, and of United States officers who have examined and reported to the Government with regard to this location--notably, Gen. Isaac I. Stephens, Gen.

George B. McClellan, Gen. Nelson A. Miles, and others; also by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Its location, its harbor, its people, its commerce and manufactures, its solid and rapid growth, and its local relation to all the great natural resources of the Territory, give to Seattle advantages which cannot be equaled by any other port on the Sound. Its climate, as to temperature, both in winter and summer, is remarkable. It is pleasantly cool in summer, and in winter rarely severe. Its only drawback is an excess of moisture for perhaps four months of the winter season. But this is preferable to the violent storms and deep snows and extreme cold to which the Eastern plains and the upper Mississippi country are subject, and which sometimes attack New York and the New England States. On Puget Sound there are no blizzards nor cyclones, and rarely so much as an inch of snow. The medical testimonies give a very favorable hill of health.

The industries of city and country are prosecuted with less interruption from weather than in any of the States east of the Rocky Mountains. The annual rainfall is not greater, not so great, indeed, as in some parts of the Atlantic seaboard. It is not so well distributed among the months as it is eastward; but outdoor work rarely stops on Puget Sound.

[Sidenote: Good population.]

[Sidenote: High civilization.]

The population of Seattle struck me as exceedingly good. Her controlling cla.s.ses are men of character, intelligence and substance. The appearance of the stores, the streets, the offices, and factories, would do credit to an old city. Water, electric lights, street railways, good fire companies, well organized police, handsome residences, churches, schools--all attest the progress of her civilization. Her wharves and railroad depots are crowded with business. The special pride of the city seems to be her schools, public and private. Her large and handsome school buildings seem purposely to have been placed in the most prominent positions. Her public school system is well organized and supported. The University of the Territory is located here, and in full operation. These things, considered together, augur most favorably for the future of this young city.