Cœur d'Alene Mines.The region that just now is attracting most attention is the Cœur 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 Cœur 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 Cœur d'Alene River. By reference to the map, the following description may be readily understood:
The Cœur 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 Cœur 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 Cœur 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 principally 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.
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 embarrassed by the difficulty in getting fuel. The timber is in patches, and often inaccessible; hence charcoal would be costly, and there is no coke 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 passengers.
As yet, the Cœur 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 Shore 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.
