Show j THE CffiUR DALENE COUNTRY I I A Correspondent Gives a Good Account Ac-count of the Gold Mines There I The character of the mines cannot be I questioned for it is established long since on a paying basis Prichard creek from the summit to the mouth is occupied and developed and wherever worked advantage advant-age has in all cases paid well Murray the chief town is a large place and probably proba-bly every house will eventually have to be moved that the ground may be worked On Main street in the business center is located the Pacific claim and is now being worked The first week I was there the owners sank a pit some fifteen by twelve feet with four feet stripping and took out twentyfive ounces 400 Yet the work on this pit was very bad both as regards re-gards judgment time skill and economy So on all down the creek even where many obstacles to good and effectual work exist at present the same result will be found by the honest inquirer enormous pay for the amount of ground worked The great wants for good mining min-ing work on Prichard creek are more water to wash with and a bedrock drain ditch On the high bars on the sides the pay almost in every case is enormous for the amount of ground washed but j I the deep channel in the center of the creek although proved to bo rich wherever wher-ever prospected cannot be worked like similar diggings in all other places from the great flow of subwater To remedy this evil a party of New York capitalists are now in Murray I looking into the practicability practi-cability of cutting such a drain ditch from the North Fork of Cceur dAleno river I The estimated cost is 500000 but itS it-S must be remembered the ditch if properly prop-erly worked will be a paying investment from the start If that ditch is well constructed I con-structed Prichard creek in Cocur dAlene will excel Williams creek in Cariboo and the latter when not worked out at the time the writer visited it had paid 2500000 in two miles length Last year on Prichard creek the Porter Hend erson claimed yielded 30000 for the season sea-son From this claim the large nuggets of pure gold on exhibition still in the Murray Bank were taken ranging down at all figures from nineteen to five ounces to the nugget This season some of the local difficulties have stood in the May of the claim being worked and only about 6000 have been taken out but Mr Henderson recently told the writer he expected to take out quite a sum before the season closed if the property did not pass into the hand of Ness York capital ictn i Turning to the numerous and largo side gulches running into Prichard the same result is foundimmense pay for the amount of ground washed Yet if we except the bedrock flume of the Alder Creek Mining Company the hydraulic rig of Treglone Co on Dry I Gulch the long flume of the Webfoot Company on Dream Gulch few if any of the claims are worked to real advant I age The results of hydraulicing on Dry Gulch I did not learn not being able to I see the owners before leaving but I can I speak positively of others The Webfoo I Company on Dream Gulch in two successive suc-cessive weeks took out twenty pounds of gold each washup or in other words at 16 an ounce which is less than paid by the bank 7080 for the fortnight To j I take out this largo sum there were ically I only four days washing to the week and the expense would be about 350 a week The writer saw both these cleanups j t Again the Alder Creek Mining Company Com-pany with eight men working took out j i eight pounds of gold the first week they i struck pay dirt some of the nuggets j I weighing 150 This also the writer I I saw personally The result was a pound j I of gold or about 200 to the man for the I i week I could instance numberless other I cases of claims paying well say from five II I I ten twelve to fifteen ounces a week to I four or five men but these I shall omit I as I desire to speak of other points 1 i think I have said enough of Prichard I Creek and its tributaries to prove their richness and reliability when properly I j worked PorlJand News 3d |