Show BLACKB llRTT DISTRICT I The Blackbird coppergold district is Ii situated 100 miles due west of Red Rock Mont a station on the Butte branch of the Oregon Short Line and thirty I I miles west of Salmon City the county seat of Lemhl county The district I dis-trict is I approached by 1 good mountain roads with dally stage connection from Red Rock via Salmon City and the old gold placer camp of Leesburg Blackbird creek Is a small side tributary tribu-tary of a large mountain stream called Big creek misnamed Napiers creek on the recent Government maps of Idaho This small tributary which promises to cut such a large figure In the worlds copper production was christened In 1SOO by Mr Samuel James for some tame blackbirds that used to come and I pickup crumbs at his camp at a point now called the meadows throe miles above the mouth of the creek where he was sinking some holes for placer gold The first copper ore discovery In the district was made in 1892 by i Lemhi I Indian named Tom who was out in that region on a hunting expedition and got lost In a wilderness of young brushy pine trees and down timber where ha > found the ground strewn with copperflout ore and bad the natural Intuition to select a few small pieces I of the very richest character and bring i thMii out with him I During the summer of 1RS3 thc writer was living at the Salmon tlty Hot Springs when Indian Turn camc along and pitched his wickiup in iL gulch I nnr by The Indian diMilgud the secret of his big copper discovery He cx hlbllcJ I 1 two small I pieces of c II nil te ore which ho called money rock and staled that the ground was strewn with the same kind of ore In heap big pieces and offered to guide the way to the place which was a thiee days Journey from the springs Th ore was assayed at my suggestion and found to carry GS per cent copper and SS gold I THE DISCOVERY 1 I Along in the fall when the weather cooled and I felt able to make the trip I offered lo accompany the Indian and see what his discovery amounted to Wo were outfitted by Mr T K An I duced him to take his proposition to Boston where he ould have u good chance to enlist capital owing to the great boom in copper values at that time After the Legislature adjourned Dr Wright took a copy of my report and a lot of samples of the ore and WOIM to Boston to seek a buyer for the property I prop-erty where he IntrociucKl the matter lo a number of likely people without making much headway and was becoming be-coming discouraged and getting ready to return home when he accidentally met Dr Franklin who listened to his story read his report and smiled at what seemed some exaggerated estimates I esti-mates of the number of millions of dollars I dol-lars worth of ore that might l be put Insight In-sight by the development of one claim to the moderate depth of fiOO feet However I How-ever he told Dr Wright lo leave the I report and cal again the next day Dr Franklin being a practical expert j I ex-pert In ore concentration recognized J I the admirable character of the mineral specimens exhibited for treatment by I that method he figured out the enormous enor-mous tonnage and values that might be rapidly developed In a 100foot zone of ore and decided that In spite of Its Isolated locution the pioposition 1 had the earmarks of making a very blS property which if the values and quantities mentioned in the report holdout hold-out on a lose examination and increased in-creased with depth as suggested would soon dovelnp a resource of coppoi bullion bul-lion that would Justify tie constiuic tiol of a t railroad branch of itself i I to fad lIla I e its profitable production Dr Franklin i laid the maltcr before his friends Cliiirlc r North of BUffalo N Y and 1 P Gilbert of thlcago 11 I I I and these gentlemen accompanied him 10 Salmon City Jn June 1SHD and I went over Ito mines whore they found that the statements made not only held out but that the values had been I somewhat underestimated These gentlemen gen-tlemen at once secured a two year op ton from Dr Wright and his associates I I asso-ciates on the Brown Bear group and about forty other groups In the heart of the Blaclblld district at an aggregate aggre-gate purchase price of 250000 Some small cash forfeits were paid down I These gentlemen Interested some East em capitalists In the project among 1 whom were John E Dubois of Dubois k > fi < j > V J I 7 4 I r w r i C KtlF e veil 2JBrwrwJer > C fade d5aa veto veli 4 Otld Th > zu z Safa ftie 771old l 1 Lacl J9eairer Creet CJpBP 7te Yellojac lead Copper vctt JJtf wtered oiZizc2itoi2e IJ 513 cl5t0e Tl C C C Igneous actoJe 4 CC IgleOl ijei Leeilarg nzJ L jVlddlerkrtnge rZgcree U eeiiy1bz ra Katharine Vein Blackbird Distrist I drews and started for the bonanza October II Oc-tober 17 J ISl3 t We finally reached the place after a three days Journey and found that for once an Indian story had come true iOn i-On I denselytimbered roundtopped i ridge at an elevation of about S500 feet the schist debris covering the surface I was strewn with boulders of hi own oxidized oxi-dized and honeycombed quartz well mixed with greenstained copper carbonate car-bonate and occasionally a handsome I t chunk of rich icd oxide ore like the I small pieces the Indian had selected and brought oul I We camped at a small coppertainted spring half a mile beyond the discovery I In the morning I retraced my steps and i i made L hurried location of the I ground I I and willed It the Indian claim This I location Is on the divide between Blackbird Black-bird creek and Little Deer creek I Today the Indian claim Is the central pivot of a belt of connected lode claims that cover an area of mountain ridges and canyons fifteen miles in length and from three to five miles wide VEIN CROPPINGS I Most of the vein croppings were filled with U soft spongy brown oxidized I quartz that panned well in free gold j I This was particularly true of the UncleS I I I Uncle-S m vein also the Ella Brown Bear Chicago Columbia and SL Joe and I most of the prospectors were firm in I their convictions that they had a free I I milling gold camp I The Uncle Sam group was located In August 1SIM by Mr Samuel James During the summer o 1895 Mr r 0 I Swift of Haley visited the camp and entered Into a contract with Mr James I to build l fivestamp freegold mill on the property and pay a certain amount j I of cash for a half Interest in the mine the mill to be got In over a snow road during the winter and some development I develop-ment work planned in the mine in the meantime A tunnel was started on the course of the vein and before it penetrated the formation fifty feet copper pyrites commenced com-menced to show at a face depth of seventyfive feet this tunnel showed a vein of blue sulphide over three feet wide worth 2o per cent copper and 20 gold per ton Thi experience changed the whole complexion of the camp and wherever liie I veins have since been penetrated to a depth of twenty to fifty I feet anywhere In the district the oxIdized oxI-dized character of the surface ore has changed to su1phIdcsN SInce iStiu tile writer has regularly contributed to Tin Tribune an account of ovcry stuge of Importance In the development of the Blackbird district In 1SGC Mr Otto Slalmann look an option on the Uncle Sam group In behalf be-half of the Glasgow Western people all spent about 515000 In development work on the mine but not being satisfied I satis-fied with the showing when his option expired to pay the exorbitant figure at which the property was held at that time something like 5200000 and being be-ing refused a further extension In which to prospect the mine threw the proposition ui > The mine was sold during the past summer to the Blackbird 570000 Black-bird CopperGold Mining company for TIIE BROWN BEAR MINE I This property was located In June 1S95 by Messrs Ford and Brown who J were working on a grubstake lay from Dr F S Wright oC Salmon City In the fall of 1S08 these boys by steady Industry had driven In on the Brown Bear zone 100 feet of tunnel work besides be-sides l keeping up the assessment work on about I dozen other claims This development Included n crosscut of tho ore zone at a depth of 100 fwt whiMi showed an average value across the course of the strata for 100 feet In width oC 2 per cent copper and 1 gold per ton In addition to which there were two large pay streaks several feet in width worth 5 to 15 per cent copper and JJ5 to 7 gold When the property was In this con dltlofa the writer made a report DrlWrlsht Was elected to the Slate Senate which convened In Boise In January 1SJO where some friends In A J f o Jf i I Pa P Jr Thompson of Buffalo and D1 KImball of Boston A party of I them headed by Dr Franklin visited the district In September 1S99 having J with them Prof Max Boomei > an eminent emi-nent mining engineer of Leadville I Cola who carefully examined the mines and district and recommended the further development of the property I prop-erty I The Blackbird CopperGold Mining company was at once organized The board of directors are Dr P H Franklin I Frank-lin John E Dubols Charles J North J f Gamblll I V Van Pelt Carl H Fowler and M P Gilbert Dr Frank 11 ling being made president John E Dubois vicepresident Charles J North treasurer M P Gilbert secretary secre-tary and general manager All the options op-tions on these mining claims were taken over by this company By the expiration of the first year of the option in July last the development develop-ment of the mines had made such a remarkable re-markable showing that the company decided I de-cided to take up the option which they were able to clq at a handsome cash I discount so that they now own the properly outright with the eXcel ton of five claims which are still under un-der bond The ground has all been surveyed veyed and patent applied for Considering the short period of time I the mines have been under develop mca the results obtalrol I have cx ceccicd the anticipations of the company 1 com-pany A wagon road had to be built from the mouth of Blackbird creek to the mine eight miles lumber gotten out and buildings erected elf before the hoisting machinery could be put in r place all of which took up a good deal of time and It was February 1st before sinking was commenced in I earnest The hart Is 1 IxlO fed In the dear I tocompartment and equipped with a I slxtyhoisepower hoist and a No 7 Cameron sinking pump I IS now down 205 feel on the vein or zone and I from It there has been driven 1 tolal of lOCO feel of crosscut and drifts throuirh and along the course of the vuIn distributed from throe different levels The first one Is 65 feet the second 105 feet and the third 2H5 feet The Hone Is 100 feet wide and the J I crosscut and drifts so far completed I have l cubic contents of measurable ore equal to 200x250x100 feet which figuring 12 cubic fet to the ton gives a gross amount of 41GGGO tons whlch carries an average value of I percent per-cent copper and about 2 per i l ton gold And thl present top price of copper means a gros cash value of ovi SfiOCUOOO A magnificent showing for 1 the time spent In developing It yet only a small precui or of what lay I t In I I I t I U lllILU UIUI VL e IVI I iL which Is now rapidly approaching territory that by surface indication should contain much richer values and cleaner ore bodies than any point yet encountered The ore Is 1 variegated copper pyrites that shines and sparkles In a fresh broken face of the crosscuts like the show window of a jewelry shop I Is quite evenly divided through u steep pitching schlsty gangue in little Jle threads kidneys bunches and lencl cular masses of clean ore The schist Is I granular and easily crushed and will admit of rapid and clean concentration Tho formation In the bottom level Js still soft and loose the shaft will be continued down to permanent water level where much richer copper values will be encountered The present water In the mine Is surjSTce seepage and is handled by running the pump about three hours In tho twentyfour The bedding of the quartzose sohlwty ore one strikes north and south whit 1 very sleep pitch to tho casl l I is bounded by strong gouges of soft black talc and sllckensldcd KllrP evidences evi-dences of deepseated motion and there Iso likelihood of the ore volume contracting to a very considerable depth None of the formation penetrated within the shows less than wihin zone Jes 2 percent per-cent copper and there are qome bands In It several feet lnvwldthj tliat give i ltC A4 K p r average values of 10 to 15 per cent copper The accessory minerals are sulphides of iron cobalt and fickle PROSPECTING HOIST Vest of the Brown Bear the company com-pany have a small prospecting hoist on the Katherine claim and f shaft now down 100 feet from the bottom of which a crosscut has just been made through the vein This Is I a true fissure vein that courses north and south parallel to the Brown Bear It stands nearly vertical but dips slightly to the west and cuts the bedding of the formation I is twenty feet wide In the crosscut cross-cut at tho bottom o the shaft and has a pay streak on the footwall eight feet wide of soft sugary quartz well sprinkled with copper glance and worth 10 per cent copper and C gold Pet ton I On the Chicago claim 1500 feet south of the Brown Bear shaft the Brown Rear ore zone has agam been cut by a 200foot crosscut tunnel which has gained a face depth of 150 feet the last forty feet driven through in this tunnel Is i per cent copper ore with the same character of ore still In the face To thousand feet still further south on the course of this zone and on the St Joe claim n short crosscut was run Into the zone for twenty feet near the bottom of the gulch all In oxidized ore A shallow shaft was sunk by the original owners of this claim and some very handsome boulders of 20 per cent copper ore taken out outThe The company have gone up the hillside side fifty feet to get dump room and sunk a twocompartment shaft fifty lVi t deep This opening Is now having a substantial Hhafthousc built upon it and a small hoisting plant will he Installed In-stalled by January 1st when the shaft I will be continued TOO feet below the level of the creek bcforo crosscuttlng is commenced II The latest acquisition of this company com-pany is the Uncle Sam group which joins the St Joe to the southeast This property carries another nearly I crtical ell Jlssiue vein that courses north and south with a slight dip to the west The Uncle Sam developed by two adit tunnels driven on the vein I or The upper tunnel is 350 feet long and has gained n face depth of 200 feet The lower tunnel Is 700 feet long and has a face depth of 400 feet The measurable ore exposed between this lower tunnel and up to within fifty feet of the surface Is estimated at 10000 tons and its average value is 10 per cent copper 8 gold and r ounces silver In addition to hIs clean pay streak the mine also carries C large reserve of good concentrating ore The pay ore in this mine would be great shipping material for railroad transportation I can also be matted direct on the ground In q reverberatory furnace and a highgrade product made that will bear wagon transportation transporta-tion to the railroad GEOLOGICAL The geological structure of the Blackbird Black-bird region is i not very complicated yet it I bears evidences of some earth movements of remarkable proportions that argue well for the deepseated permanency of the ore bodies The Blackbird ole belt seems to follow fol-low a north and south line of faulted compression for thirty miles halfway between the valley of Big creek and the Middle Fork range This line was afterward Intruded with great dykes of chlorite rhyolite and quartz porphyry and Ich i mineral solutions A similar line of schlsted and faulted compression courses parallel to the Blackbird belt on the opposite slope of the valley at about the same elevation on the Leesburg range In which occurs oc-curs the rich coper deposits of tho Black Pine group o mines on Copper creek also the rich veins and placer gold deposits o the Leesburg basin with their 15000000 worth of gold bullion bul-lion produced also the big coppergold veins of the Beaver creek district still further north I would appear from the pitch of the metamorphosed sediments on the summit sum-mit of these two ranges that the coarse granite bed of Big creek now an anti clinal trough was at one time the axis of a i superior mountain range probably 15 000 to 20000 feet high which at Che time of the extrusion of the enormous mountain musses of Igneous rock to the south gradually subsided and was af teiward eroded and reversed In contour con-tour to the bed of a large mountain stream producing the Ideal con itons of faulting and fissurlng so essential to the occurrence of large and permanent mines The accompanying sketch will illustrate the conditions here presented A PLANT The company has ample means for thi development of the mines The force will be Increased as rapidly as 1 place can be found for them and as the ore resources continue to develop They will be in a position to build their own railroad if necessary within a couple of years Dr Franklins advent Into Lemhl COlt is balled with delight and he has the I confidence and support of the ti nnnnln 1 It I nl n nln u n v I I IUl ton of a few years when these great copper properties will make him tie Marcus Daly I of Idaho and that his as soclUtes shall reap rich rewards for the confidence they have placed In his judgment > COMPARISON The KJIackblrd district compares closer with Butte Mont than any other camp The region is essentially essentaly granitic and the ores occur diroctly In the granite as well as in the schist and gneiss immediately overlying It The region is of far superior arual extent I Is cut by enormous intrusions of Igneous I dykes like Butte The ores are of tho same sulphide character In larger bodies and will how the same permanency and Improvement in J value with depth as tho permanent water level Is approached With railroad transportation added and the natural advantages of such magnificent reserves of timber and water wa-ter power as U ound this district copper I cop-per can be produced hero as cheaply as at any point In Montana I Dr Franklin and his associates have also organized the Red Bird Mining company and acquired gold propertIes near Salmon City Their first purchase was the Red Bird group of claims situated situ-ated twelve miles north of Salmon City In the Eureka gold belt and only ono mile from the Salmon river and the < stage line to Glbbonsvlllc which makes It very accessible THE PROPERTY This property consists of ten lode claims and two placer claims I carries car-ries two welldefined veins The principal prin-cipal Red Bird vein is a steep pitching bedded contact deposit filled with honeycombed quartz ten to fifteen feet thick between walls of soft fclslte porphyry and talcose slate I courses square Into a steel mountain spur that abuts on the Salmon river and has been developed by two main adit tunnels tun-nels which are connected underground by raises The lower tunnel is 700 feet deep below tho bold outcrop of the vein on Its dip The main ore chute which It undercuts Is 20 feet long with an average width of fifteen feet and contains above this tunnel level ITiiOOO tons of ore that carries L milling value of G per ton or a gross value of 1050 000 When the property Is properly equipped with a large mill the natural advantages for handling the ore by gravity and waterpower are such that this ore should be mined and milled at C total cost of not to exceed 52 J eton e-ton when the size of the dividends 0 will only be gauged by the capacity of the mill built upon the property for It promises lo develop a remarkable I reserve of ore The Red Bird vein can be traced by slight Intermission thiough the full length of four contiguous Cms and has several hundred feet of tunnel development de-velopment scattered along Its course at short Intervals in addition to that on the Red Bird claim The porphyry contact rock foimlng one wall of this vein assays from SO cents to 150 per ton and points strongly to the deep source of the gold This property also carries a parallel vein called the Daisy which is about four feet wide and gives average values of no per ton In spite of the great reserve already in slghl the company will continue to block out ore and probably will not consider the construction of a mil before be-fore next summer by which time they I expect to have enough ole tonnage insight in-sight to warrant the erection of a plant of not less than forty stamps capacity capa-city I From the Inception of the two companies com-panies the management of their large properties has rested upon the shoulders shoul-ders of Mr Gilbert His energy and executive ability have resulted In a most extraordinary I how i nl for less ban I ten months labor There has been no step lo be retraced and all the work accomplished Is part of a general plan which will not be ended for many years A review of the developments lo the present lime shows that there has been no haphazard work but that the various operations have been entered en-tered upon after a reliable knowledge of the country and formation was obtained ob-tained and with a full appreciation of the magnitude of the Interests at slake I is an Interesting fact and one which reflects much credit upon Mr Gilbert who had the options In hand that while the options for these properties la led for 250000 Mr Gilbert closed out all the purchases for the Company at a great reduction Since May 100 the camp has been under the personal supervision of Mr Barney whose selection is another pi oof of the good judgment shown by thc management Another gold property in which Dr Franklin and his associates have become be-come Interested is the Queen of the Hills group also in the Eureka gold belt on the same strike as the RedBird Red-Bird rime Qucen of the IIIlls is only Seen miles from Salmon City I consists con-sists of a group of fourteen claims that carry a parallel system on nearly vertical ver-tical fissure veins In granite These veins are from four to ten feet wide with unusually wcldefined talc gouge on ono or both walls There Is also one cross vein called the Mammoth that Is twenty feet wide i DEVELOPMENT I The prlnclhal development is cm the Queen vein I consists of a shaft 256 feet deep from which there has been three levels driven aggregating 1200 feet in length The mine Is equipped wlt l small hoist and 0 fivestamp mil run by steampower This little plant under the management of R W Mc Brlde was put on the mine two years ago when It I was a mere prospect pros-pect hole and has since that date paid for Itself the mine and all the development develop-ment above described The ore in these veins runs from 5 to 12 per ton and averages about 7 This portion of the Eureka district has been noted for occasional oc-casional discoery of very rich specimen speci-men gold ore worth thousands of dollars dol-lars per ton and the extensive development develop-ment of this property will doubtless result 1 re-sult In the discovery of some shoots of bonanza ore In addition to the regular average values This property was bought from R W McBrido o Salmon City and Emerson Hill the wellknown merchant and mining mi-ning man of Red Rock Mont They In turn have already disposed of it by bond and lease to a New York syndicate syndi-cate culled the Idaho Exploration company com-pany h The property is now being efficiently managed by r Rosenkrands who has the machinery on the way to Increase the capacity 0 the mill to ten stamps also t stronger hoist will be put In place The shaft will be sunk 200 feet deeper and a new drain tunnel has been projected that will be 800 feet long and cut the whole system of veins at a depth varying from COO to COO eeL This consei vatlve method of opening up the property is highly commendable When this development of the mine has sufficiently advanced to justify It a large mill will be built at the foot of the mountain and supplied with power through electric transmission from the waters of the Salmon river neil by n BELL Salrnon City Ida Dee IS 1900 |