Down the Salmon River, by S.E. Crie
Chapter One
Our Camp Has A History
In our next issue will appear a lengthy article from the pen of Mrs. J.A. Callahan containing a story of the mining camp of Shoup and the surrounding country. — Ada Merritt, Editor, Idaho Recorder newspaper, December 26th, 1889
Author’s Note:
The following article first appeared in the Idaho Recorder on January 1, 1890, under the pen name of “J.A.C—K.” It was written by Annie Crie (Graves) Callahan, who only three years earlier had arrived in the downriver mining camp of Shoup, Idaho— a newlywed who was expecting her first child. For decades afterward, this history of the downriver mining communities near Shoup, Idaho was quoted as “author unknown” or credited to men with similar initials. In truth, the voice was Annie’s—author of the history of the downriver mining camps.
Composed on Christmas night of 1889 by the firelight of a pitch-pine log, Annie’s piece is equal parts record, reminiscence and boosterism. What begins as a visit to a local prospector soon widens into a detailed—and at times meandering—account of the early mines and characters that shaped Pine Creek and Shoup. Some passages were crafted to entice investors; others reflect her determination to preserve a history that might otherwise vanish.
While the Salmon River itself stretches from below Galena Summit all the way to its confluence with the Snake, Annie’s experience was rooted in the upper portion of the Main Salmon, the part she knew best.
What follows is Annie’s account, just as her neighbors first read it in the New Year’s edition of the Idaho Recorder.[1]
Idaho Recorder, January 1, 1890
SHOUP AND PINE CREEK
Early History of the Mines
And the Original Locators
And Purchasers.
The First Freight Boat Down
The Salmon River-
Sam James, the Prospector.
The Famous "Kentuck" and
"Grunter" Mines at Shoup
-Pine Creek Mines
Pine Creek Dec. 25, 1889
To The Idaho Recorder:
In the twilight of one of our perfect days in the mountains, ye scribe and a fair companion with ponies at our bidding, cantered up the trail a couple of miles to have a chat with “Uncle Sam” who lives on what we may term upper Pine creek. Our host is none other than the well-known pioneer, Samuel James,[2] who still chooses to live according to the customs of border life, as everything pertaining to the surroundings of his wild mountain home go to prove; and contrary to the theory that "it is not good for man to be alone," he evidently shares the views of the author who says -
"How much more sweet is zephyrs wholesome breath
Than that applause vain honor doth bequeath!
The world is full of horror, troubles, slights;
Woods harmless shades have only true delights."[3]
But to return to our subject. We were not entertained in this poetic strain, and conversation drifted to the early days of Pine creek, where "Uncle Sam" most prominently figures. It then and there occurred to us that our camp has a history. And that it only required a few strokes of our vanity Faber, wielded by a more detective brain motor, to furnish an article history of a place in which so many have been and still are interested. And now, though harvest morns have intervened and Winter's garb of "the beautiful" surrounds us, as we sit by the blaze of the pitch pine log, we will devote the hours of one Winter's eve to recording the events which mark the history of our camp, and also our neighboring town of Shoup, across the river.
Prior to the date of 1881-2, quartz mines were unknown in this locality, but in 1868-9 or thereabouts straggling parties of placer miners had each by an alternate pendent route, found their way across the mountains from Leesburg to bars on the Salmon river-and by washing wherever "pay" could be found--they took the primitive steps in mining operations here.[4]
On the 24th day of November, 1881, Sam James and Pat O'Hara arrived at this place from Big creek,[5] and being the first travelers to spend the night in town, they spread their blankets under the inviting branches of a big pine tree near the abode where "yours truly" now resides.[6] "Uncle Sam" with note book in hand gave the place the name of Pine creek, the name suggesting itself by the dense pine timber growing so spontaneously in every direction. We will rise to a point of privilege here and explain that this is not the Pat O'Hara (a superintendent of the Kentuck mine three years ago this month) but a pioneer and prospector who is yet without a rival in finding the yellow metal which is so safely hidden within the storehouse of our mountains.
On December 11, 1881, Messrs. James and O'Hara discovered the Grunter at Shoup.
Undaunted by all obstacles which then beset their way, such as being the most unfavorable time of year for mountain travel, having to make their own trails in whatever direction they went, the river freezing and full of floating ice, but these were but trifling annoyances in comparison to a degraded remnant of a most fiendish tribe of Indians which then lurked about the hills.[7]
Those are some of the circumstances under which the first quartz mine was found in Shoup. Before recording this claim, O'Hara sold his half interest to John Ralston[8] (one of the present owners) for $250. James and Ralston then decided to record the mine at once, and set out on snowshoes for Salmon City via Big creek and Leesburg, and under date of March 24, 1882, duly recorded the location of the Grunter mine. In the following month of April, James sold his interest to Messrs. Harrison[9] and Richardson[10] his interest for $5,000.
William Wallace (now deceased) afterwards became a fourth owner, and his unsettled estate still in the hands of money grabbers keeps the working of the mine in a very cramped position. With what little work has been done on this mine the three present owners Messrs. Ralston, Harrison and Richardson, have a property valued at $100,000, and the opinion is often expressed by those who profess to be authority in mining lore, that should this mine ever be worked in a manner to show what it is capable of producing, that it will prove to be a Comstock in embryo.
Next in order is the Lost Mines now owned by the Kentuck Company, discovered and located by Sam James on April 21, 1882. The name of this mine is to the memory of an unknown man who was found dead in a shaft near Spring creek, on what is now Merritt's ranch. A man's camp was found on the bank of the river a few feet from the ford and a short distance from the Grunter mine. It contained a "bunk" for one man, a small quantity of provisions and clothing and some samples of ore. Everything had the appearance of having been left in the morning with the intention of returning at night, but it is yet a matter of conjecture as to whether the man found in the shaft three miles from here was the owner of this camp, or whether there were two men and both had been killed by the Indians, as there was no way of knowing how the man in the shaft had been killed.
The next mine discovered was the True Fissure on Pine creek by Pat O'Hara, May 12, 1882. This mine is now owned by the Pine Creek Mining Company, and is the one the company has taken two runs of ore from the past season, and it still awaits development to prove its value.
The Spring Lode on Pine creek was next discovered by McLain, Donovan and James and located June 17, 1882. This mine is noted for a series of ownership having been located twice, and is now owned by McLeod, McCullough,[11] Palmer[12] and Callahan[13]. Under the same date as the above mine and by the same discoverers was also located the Humming Bird, now owned by the Pine Creek Mining Company.
Shoup again sounds the discover's bugle note, and on the 11th of July, 1882 was recorded the famous Kentuck, discovered by Sam James. Here we find that H.C. Merritt,[14] deceased husband of the Editress of the Idaho Recorder,[15] was the individual founder of the Kentuck Co. and consequently the town of Shoup.
In October, 1882, Mr. Merritt bonded the Kentuck mine of Sam James for $10,500 and paid $500 down to secure the sale on the bond. He then gave the contract for running the first tunnel to Messrs. Sanborn, Stanley and McLelland, and they then went to Salt Lake to form a company. To aid his own influence he gave an interest to ex-Govenor Murray of Utah, and by their combined efforts a company was formed to the most staunch moneyed men of the West. The Kentuck Co., at the time the sale was made, included Merritt & Murray, Gilmer[16] & Salisbury and Higgin & H_.
In November, 1882, the first run of ore was made from the Kentuck, 6,300 pounds was sacked at the mine and taken down the hill to the Grunter and carried by Dick Johnson's pack train to Salmon City, and thence to Salt Lake City; where it was milled and cleaned up $375. There is no better proof of this mine being a success as gold producer than the fact that it has never experienced a suspension of operations, and though employing but a small force of men its working facilities are thoroughly perfected.
On October 12, 1882, Messrs. Stanley and Adams located the California, now owned by Larry Donly. On October 25, 1882, Stanley, Merritt and Adams located the Monolith, now owned by D.V. Sherman & Co. Mr. Sherman is also the individual owner of the Golden Crest and has built an arastra[17] on this property.
All of the above named parties who are owners of mines at the present time are also owners of numerous other undeveloped lodes.
Travel the river again and follow "Uncle Sam" to upper Pine creek and look over the group of mines which surround his home. The Virginia located by Sam James on November 24, 1884, is now owned by Joshua Brown, Drs. French & Kenney,[18] Frank Pollard and Sam James. This mine is a ten foot vein assaying from $30 to $60 per ton, and is developed to a 35 foot tunnel.
On April 8, 1885, Sam James located the Uncle Sam and Pawnee, now owned by James and Brown. These mines are three foot veins, assaying the same as the Virginia and developed to fifty foot tunnels.
On July 11, 1886 the upper and lower Richmond mines were located by Sam James, and now owned by James & Brown. These are four foot veins assaying from $40 to $100 per ton and developed to forty feet tunnels and twenty five foot shafts.
On March 1, 1887, the Lexington was located by Sam James, now owned by James & Brown. This is a four foot vein assaying from $50 to $100 a ton and developed to a twenty-five foot shaft. A good mill site and water right is located with this property, and divine nature has provided the rest in the way of water and timber enough to supply all demands for generations to come.
The years 1886 and 1887 takes us back to Shoup again. On October 1, 1886 Robert Bell[19] located the Brittanic. This is a twenty foot vein, assaying $? per ton and developed to a thirty foot tunnel.
On January 1, 1887, Robert Bell located the Speculation, now owned and operated by Bell & Sandilands.[20] This mine lies between and joins both the Kentuck and Grunter property. It is a two foot vein, assaying from $50 to $300 per ton, and is developed to a forty foot shaft and twenty and fifty foot tunnels.
At Pine Creek on July 16, 1887, John Quick and Louis Lorenz located the Red King, now owned by Lorenz & Parfet.[21] This is a four foot vein, assaying $50 per ton. The present work of development which is being done on this mine, is yielding a higher grade of ore than the given assays, which bespeaks a promising future for the property.
The Big Oak and Little Darling, located by Messrs. Quick and Lorenz, are now owned by Mr. Lorenz individually.
The Union mine, near Indian Creek, is owned and was located by Frank Hopkins on June 12, 1888. The first work of development is now being done on this mine and it assays $50 in gold and $16 in silver.
The Clipper Bullion mine, which is situated on the hill just across the river from Shoup, was located on April 7, 1888, by Geo. Hearst and Mark Ainslie,[22] and is now owned by E.S. Suydam. Two runs of ore from this mine the past season has milled from $50 to $60 per ton, and it is generally believed that Mr. Suydam will build a mill in the near future.
Over 300 claims have been located in this district, and with the annual number of prospectors making this their field of research, the number yet to be recorded is unlimited. It is a profitable fact to be remembered, however, by those owning large veins of of low grade ore, that that when the Salmon River Railway[23] brings King Capital here to invest and smelters and other appliances follow in the wake of gold mills, it is then that quantity as well as quality will tell the story.
After eight years growth as a mining town, Shoup now contains two 10-stamp quartz mills, four arastras, one saw mill, one store, two boarding houses, a Post office and one saloon. No one has ever settled here with the intention of making a permanent home, therefore houses are an unknown quantity.
The first glimpse of town, coming down the rail is apt to give anyone the impression of a collection of hen coops,[24] and though bearing the illustrious name of Shoup, the population of Chinese and Italians to be seen in passing through the town suggests that it might more appropriately be called Peking or Milan.
It was originally the intention of those signing the petition for a Post office to call the place Boulder, the same name as the creek on which is located the water rights of the Grunter and Kentuck mines, but Governor Shoup was one of Idaho's delegates to Congress at the time, and the name was changed in Washington to Shoup in honor of the worthy delegate.[25] The naming of the town dates back to the month of November, in 1882, which was the same month in which the first freight boat of supplies was brought down the river from Salmon City.
On the first day of December, 1882, five men and fourteen gallons of whiskey embarked with a cargo of 7,000 pounds of supplies, which they safely landed on the tenth day out. Now two men will make the trip in two days with a cargo of 24,000 pounds, but whether the quantity of whisky is decreased in the same ratio as the number of men required, we are unable to state.
The first woman that ever came down the trail in saddle was Mrs. Neil Sweeney in the Summer of 1883, then followed Mrs. Z.L. Merritt,[26] and these were the pioneer women of Shoup until 1885.
The first woman passenger to come down the Salmon river in a freight boat was Mrs. J.A. Callahan[27] in October, 1886. Alta Hawthorne, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Callahan, was born in February, 1887, the first child born in Shoup. The first birth, death and marriage occurring in the same years.
On April 6, 1887, a man by the name of Merrill, from Montana, accidentally shot himself while stooping down to take a drink of water from Boulder creek.
On May 29, 1887, Henry Westfall[28] and Mrs. Lizzie Gidly,[29] of Big creek, were married by Judge D.V. Sherman, this also being the initiatory steps for the Judge in this line of business.[30]
The youngest passenger that ever boarded a Salmon river boat was Miss Mary Arvilia, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Boyle, Jr..[31] At the tender age of one month and three days this diminutive lady made her first appearance in Shoup on the 17th day of November, 1889. Although not born in the town she numbers one of the juvenile delegation which represents the new element in the population of frontier towns, and doubtless some Lincoln or Livermore of the next generation will trace back to some picturesque calm in the mountains as his or her birth place.
As this is not a favorite theme for the masses, a passing view of Pine creek will conclude our sketch. About a mile and a half below Shoup, Pine creek's empties into the Salmon River, and near here is an arastra owned by Bell and Sandilands.
Two miles up the creek is situated the Pine Creek Co. mines, which were purchased by O.W. Mintzer for the company three years ago.[32] A 10-stamp mill, a saw mill, our arastra and a boarding house are also company buildings.
One half a mile further on is the burg of Pine creek, and two miles from here on upper Pine creek is the group of mines owned by James & Brown, and on this property is a one-stamp mill owned by Kenney & Pollard of Salmon City.The town of Pine creek includes the remaining buildings—if such they may be called—which are built in a style of architecture similar to that of the raven, only differing in one respect, and that is where the raven has a dome to hold his structure together, mud has been used in this instance as a protection against the adverse elements of the weather.[33]
Crude and uncouth as these habitations may appear, they serve to keep up the illusion called home, but the romance of love in a cottage or in the cot on the mountain is often dispelled by the embarrassing discomfortures of living in one with a family.
We have overlooked the company dwelling house which is built of sawed logs and includes the company office and store house. This building bears the only outward resemblance of a human abode in as much as it has doors and windows. It also boasts the luxurious dimensions of two sleeping apartments and an attic which is very conveniently reached by a ladder put up to a window on the outside.
The present appearance of these camps is by no means a disparaging feature, but makes an era of progress bearing the close of one decade which has been attained without the spasmodic aid of a boom. All opinions of the future are favorably prophetic based upon the theory that there is no cause for any retrograde movement.
The chronic croakers is as lavish with his ideas now as ten years ago when he walked over the ground where the Kentuck and Grunter mines are crossing the country and avowing that here was nothing in it; but the little hammer of the prospector is still heard unmindful of his prognosticating adversary, and in his perseverance and the development of property already in sight, lies the hope of the future.
J.A.C__K[34]
Notes
[1] Reproduced as it appeared in the Idaho Recorder, Annie’s style, and cadence preserved, with some punctuation and paragraph breaks added for clarity.
[2] Samuel Mosby James, born 16 Sep 1834, Bloomfield, Indiana, came to Lemhi County before 1880.
[3] Thrice Happy He Who, by Scottish poet, William Drummond. Drummond is saying that the quiet joys of nature, simplicity, and solitude bring deeper satisfaction than the pursuit of honor, recognition, or worldly success. The woods are safe from slander, ambition, and betrayal, while the “world” is filled with them.
[4] Henry Grieber, his wife Clara and Eli Minert were early ranchers, establishing a ranch in 1872 to serve the downriver placer miners.
[5] Big Creek was renamed Panther Creek sometime around the turn of the century.
[6] Yours truly is Annie C. Callahan.
[7] Indigenous people lived in the Salmon River watershed for at least 8,000 years. There are but a few instances of the Lemhi Shoshone targeting miners in the 1880s. If a "degraded remnant," as Annie Callahan describe them, it was due to the influx of miners, ranchers and the policy of removal that followed.
[8] John “Jack” Ralston, also spelled Rawlston, born 1830 Arkansas, early to Lemhi County, placer mining before 1880. Married Carolina "Lena" Schmidt in Lemhi County in 1890.
[9] Benjamin Harrison, born England in 1833, placer mining on the Upper Salmon River before 1880, part owner of the Grunter mine and Shoup’s first Post Master, 1883.
[10] John Richardson, born in 1833 at New York, placer miner in Leesburg, prior to 1880. Partner in the Grunter mine.
[11] James McCullough, born 1865, Gilbetstown, Ireland. Emigrated 1 May 1874 to NY on the ship Victoria, married Sarah “Lilly” Palmer.
[12] Thomas Palmer, Sr., born in England 1846, immigrated with his wife, Sarah Ann Cook and daughter, Sarah in 1869; living in Georgetown, Cedar Creek, Colorado by 1880.
[13] James. A. Callahan born 1855, N.Y., married Annie Crie Graves in Butte, Montana on June 17, 1886.
[14] Henry Clay Merritt, born 1843 in Kentucky, the son of Zephaniah Merritt, stepson of Elizabeth Merritt; husband of Ada Chase Merritt. He was hit by a sweep, knocked overboard and drowned near Indian Creek in 1884.
[15] Ada Jane (Chase) Merritt, born 24 Feb, 1852, Clinton, Louisiana, daughter of Josiah and Emeline (Stevens) Chase. Widow of Henry Clay Merritt.
[16] John Thornton Gilmer, born 1841, Quincy, Illinois, later a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah where he died.
[17] An arrastra used two large flat stones that were dragged around a circular pit made from flat stones. The drag stones attached to a central pivot which carried them repeatedly over the ore that was placed in the pit.
[18] French and Kenney were saloon keepers. Annie sometimes called saloon keeper doctors.
[19] Robert Norman Bell, born 1864, England
[20] George Sandilands, boatman and miner born 1860, St. Cuthberts, Edinburgh, Scotland.
[21] John Motter Parfet, born 1857, Pennsylvania. Parfet was working for Hecla Mining Company in Glendale, Montana, in the late 1870s. Married Margaret Wells of Denver. In 1880, John lived in Moose and Camp Creeks at Soap Gulch in Deer Lodge County, Montana. He moved to Butte, landed a job as the postmaster, returned to Denver, married Mary Margaret, and brought her to Butte, then Lemhi County Idaho.
[22] Mark Oglivie Ainslie, born 3 Mar 1837, Scotland.
[23] There was never a Salmon River Railway, although there were multiple river surveys with the intention of laying tracks beside the Salmon River then on to Lewiston, Idaho.
[24] A stamp mill was a mechanical crushing device used in hard-rock mining to pulverize ore so that valuable metals—typically gold or silver—could be extracted. The “stamp” was a heavy iron or steel pestle that repeatedly dropped onto ore placed in an iron-lined mortar box, breaking it into fine particles. A ten-stamp mill, such as those common in Idaho and Montana during the late nineteenth century, housed ten of these stamps in a single frame. Each stamp weighed several hundred pounds and was lifted by a rotating camshaft powered by steam or water, then dropped in sequence to maintain a rhythmic pounding action. The pulverized ore was washed across amalgamation plates coated with mercury, which bound with gold and silver particles. This method was efficient for its day but highly dangerous, both to workers—who labored in deafening noise and choking dust—and to the environment, where mercury pollution had lasting effects on rivers and soils.
[25] Early Shoup was largely built with dismantled freight boats.
[26] George Laird Shoup (1836–1904), born in Pennsylvania and raised in Illinois, joined the Pike’s Peak gold rush in 1859 and later served as a captain in the Third Colorado Cavalry during the Civil War. Afterward he moved west, first to Montana (1866) and then to Salmon City, Idaho Territory (1868), where he built a prosperous mercantile and ranching business. Active in Republican politics, he helped organize Lemhi County, served in the territorial legislature, and was a delegate to the 1884 Republican National Convention. By 1886 he was among Idaho’s leading businessmen and party figures, well positioned for the higher offices he would later hold--Governor of the Territory of Idaho, and the State of Idaho. He later served as one of state's first Senators.
[27] Elizabeth Hannah (Spencer) Merritt, born 1828, married to Zephaniah Merritt.
[28] Annie Crie Graves, born 21 July 1856, South Thomaston, Maine, wife of James A. Callahan.
[29] Henry Westfall, miner and rancher born 1852, Germany.
[30] Elizabeth “Lizzie” Sperry, widow of __Gidley, born 7 Oct 1867, Nevada.
[31] D.V. Sherman died 1891 in Salmon, Idaho
[32] Thomas Wallace Boyle, born October 28, 1867, Cappamore, Limerick, Ireland. Married Arvilia Louise”Della” Frary in Shoup, 1888.
[33] Reverend Olin Wesley Mintzer, born 11 Oct 1853, Pennsylvania; married to Clara Smitt, born 1861, England.
[34] Annie (Graves) Callahan is describing her cabin. By the time of this writing the last week of 1889 she was living on Pine Creek.
[35] J.A.C___K was one of Annie Callahan’s early pen names proof being found in the Idaho Recorder, October 1, 1890 edition: LOCAL INTELLIGENCE: “Mrs. J.A. Callahan of Pine Creek, visited the city this week. This lady is well known to all our readers of the RECORDER as a correspondent from Pine Creek and Shoup, writing newsy and interesting letters under the non de plume of J.A.C.K.”