Show THE SEVEN DEVILS COUNTRY Y I 1 WRITTEN FOR THE MINING REVIEW BY M E JONES E M chis HIS is a curious name for a mining re gion but it is one applied to a very rugged range af pf of mounta mountains ilas by early miners who were possessed with more expressiveness si veness than piety this range lies in the extreme western part of idaho and is formed by the erosion of the river and its tributaries tributa ries B e g i 1 nning at huntington the snake river turns abruptly north and cuts its way feet deep through a great plateau for a a istance distance I 1 of about m miles iles the wall the canyon are in some places perpendicular r but rarely are they less than on a 45 degree slope most of the formation c cut u t is a schist with many twisted and veins carrying gold silver copper and even lead in places at a distance of about three miles east of the river in an air line the schist gives way to granite which runs parallel with the river nearly throughout its course A mense and have for far vein filling garnet instead of quartz they run run from a few feet to io feet wide and standa nearly vertically the seven devils mining region is divided into about four distinct camps be ginning beginning i at the south we have mineral the next camp silver copper deposits in irregular veins very high values ha have ve been taken out and much tonnage but every attempt to work the ores has proved a failure fai luie through the ih e wrong wron g processor process or incompetent management or both that the ores can be easily worked is 19 evident evident but cofar so far no good has been done there are NOR i bof ail 1 1 A SNAKE RIVER AT BALLARDS LANDING IDAHO mile itile or so farther farmer east this granite is replaced by basalt or lava which also parallels the granite and for thousands of miles caps it the tremendous I 1 changes bange made by the ini intruding of the granite and later eruptive rocks has prod produced deed many fisser fissure and contact veins veils in in the 86 schist ast 1st and granite some of these contact veins are im north is ruthburn Ruth burer burz then the seven devils proper then rapid river mineral lies about twenty five miles northwest from weiser and a few miles from the snake to the east and like all the camps but 0 one is on the west slope or snake river r sid side e the lower mines are all in the schist and are 11 many old mines and one or two active ones in this camp higher u up on the crest of the ranc range rein in the region of fine timber a and d plenty of snow ar are elarge large deposits depp sits of hematite and copper some development work vo r k has been ane done here but investors have been handicapped by the high prices asked by owners when these prices ar are e cut down to a fair consideration era tion then this will rapidly come to the ahe front as a copper producer Ruth burg lies not far in an air line nort north 0 of mineral einera inera but ut is approached only by a wao wagon on road fro from in salubria Sa lubria idaho t being distant about eighteen to twenty five miles Ruth burg proper lies under the crest of the range rane and its claims are in the schist they are silver ores in or with with a quartz porphyry and are very extensive on the crest of the range rane east cast of Ruth burgl buril and nearer salubria Sa lubria are the 6 g granite canite contact and veina here we find large larg e blowouts blow outs of hema tite silver copper gold ones ores an and d now and then lead mining has been done here but high prices of claims have kept progressive mining men out of thel the theama amp camp the granite veins have a garnet gangue this is a region of heavy timber of large size ize and like mineral of fine water and grass the nearest railroad is at cambridge near sa lubria seven devils mining camp is clustered around Helena and decorah idaho about 40 miles northwest from council the nearest railroad point the deposits of copper ore here are immense j 3 they occur in one great contact and several fissure veins with garnet gangue therease Ther eare about tons of ore going from 3 to 5 per cent copper here while many carloads of ore going 40 per cent copper have been shipped out so far the most development work has been done in this camp of any though there is probably no mine this whole region is an ideal one for great mining camps because of the great resources of the country there is no end to the hay and grain that can be raised in the lovely mountain valleys which fill the region to the east of the camps and which are easily accessible and traversed by the railroad the lower valleys near and at weiser raise great quantities of fine fruit beginning at council is an immense forestor fore forest of yellow pine 60 miles wide and miles long through the heart of which the railroad passes there is an abundance of fish and game at salmon meadows there is one of the finest summer resorts to be found anywhere just over a low range and only eight miles off to the east is the payette lake ahia h is as fine a mountain lake as can be found it is about twelve miles long by two or three wide is surrounded by a dense forest with elegant camping grounds endless flowers and fine scenery f 1 ly V K t 7 V ss ia sa tal r S w BE pa cia i 1 JS ak 1 11 w ll r B s s t sia rs ata ili s j by 7 j X a 1 p g 5 7 mm 77 y 31 s 3 ajo aj o ys 1 alj i v tal ll 11 w ki 1 t a 4 1 fin M hiim fi y i it if k iab fe s c 44 1 l t s 11 y sy 1 vhs 11 ll il fa dykta K alv ii A fett SALMON MEADOWS AT HEAD OF LITTLE SALMON IDAHO is down over feet this is the objective point of the P 1 I N R R which is now only 40 miles away down on the river are a number of fine claims in the schist carrying gold silver and copper the descent here is is great being about feet in an air line of three miles from crest to river the timber supply is unlimited water is plentiful and good all these three camps have the most mirable admirable facilities for running tunnels to tap the mines at great depths and so cheapen the mining and drainage 1 rapid river kiver lies about 10 miles northeast from the seven devils camp proper and is on the eastern side and slope it is a gold camp with some copper there are fine porphyry ledges here but values so far as found are low it is ia finely situated for power fuel timber and water it is approached from the little salmon and since the road has just been finished down that river it is easy of access ru good hunting and fishing and is delightfully delight full 3 cool in the summer this whole region is rapidly filling 11 up with well to do settlers s ett lers weiser idaho is the nearest town on the 0 S L R B R and is destined to be the fore most town of western idaho it is the natural supply point cfall of all this mining region it is beautifully situated on the lower end of the great snake river valley which begins at glenns fery ferry and continues unbroken to huntington oregon the soil of this valley is practically inexhaustible and raises the finest hay grain and fruit the valley is dotted with young and vigorous towns from one end to the other it is nearly miles long and never less than five miles mile wide the water supply seems to be unlimited as it is at least cubic feet per second in addition ad there are the rivers payette and weiser Zarr carrying ying great quantities of water and which are also the feeders of large culli bated areas the country ignot broken full of waste land as is usually the and case in the west but it has a nearly level floor the whole way with gently sloping sides side 8 which at length rise into low mountain fountai n ranges in the background and which furnish the best grazin ground for stock the climate is about grazing mild as that of salt lake city though there as is more snow and rain the elevation is only about 2000 feet above the sea with ith the building of the salmon river cutoff cut off along the little salmon and the completion of the boise butte short line this section will have admirable facilities for disposing of all its surplus products and will become the granary of the middle snake region good schools academies and colleges are rapidly coming to the front the churches are already well established there the facilities for unlimited water power are at hand on the river north of the bend on the snake at hunting Hun tinor ton there is power enough to run all 0 railroad trains in the united states As the mines mines are opened this power will be utilized utilize di for reduction works and mining purposes purpose land sand will make mining here cheaper than in any a n y other section of the west it has been the dream of idaho men for years to open the snake for navigation from weiser to the sea were this ever accomplished the trip down the great snake river canyon would be one of the experiences never to be forgotten and would remind one of the grand canyon of the colorado boats have gone down the river many times but the rapids and rocks have made it very dangerous along this canyon the winter climate is so mild that the miners have for many years come down from the snow clad hills a few miles away and wintered where the the grass is always green and feed good here are chances for multitudes of tine fine health resorts and even now we find almost every available spot taken up by some old miner or ranchman with his fruit orchard and little patch of lucern plenty of fresh mea meat is always at hand and also fish in tle the river such as sturgeon salmon trout etc the people are self contained and independent and seem to prosper with the least exertion ever seen outside of the tropics the cosy nooks along this river and the little and big salmon with their sleepy dreamy climate cli are ideal places for re restoring tired nerves and overworked over worked bodies |