1903 — Planting, Plucking and Pensions

There wasn’t much to report aside from what came in the paper—and half of that, I suspect, came from my own pen. Life unfolded with few disruptions, barring the usual cats, cougars, avalanches and pension seekers. Billy kept to the mills, Ed to the freight runs, Alta off visiting while I kept the hens laying and the wood stacked. The neighbors stirred now and then, but mostly we all just got on. So I’ll let those columns do the talking and pick up the thread again once the water rose, the mills roared, or someone gave us something worth setting down.

Lemhi Herald, February 11, 1903

Movements at Shoup

Shoup, Feb. 6. (Special cor. Herald.)—Robert Forbes of Colson and Owl creeks came up a short time since for mail of which he found a pack load awaiting him. A.G. White of Ulysses went down with him and stopped for a while with Joseph & Groff. He seems much pleased with the showing there. They are working in two new places this winter but have not been able to learn the results so far.

Charles Neff is at work on Big Sheepeater this winter on property owned by himself and Chas. Foley. They will probably make a run in the arastra the coming summer. They made a run two years ago on good ore.

Chas. Spayds made a flying trip to Gibtown—was gone about two weeks.

J.F. Rowe is working his property near Little Sheepeater. He has good ore but intends to develop thoroughly before erecting a mill as he wishes to know the exact character of his ore before going to the expense of a plant for treating it.

Dan Langel was over from Pine creek a while back recording some locations that he recently made.

Charles Metz came over from Garden creek where he is camped. When coming along Big creek by the old boarding house, he saw a dead horse lying near the road and signs of a mountain lion. On looking for him he was discovered crouching in a clump of bushes and shot him in the end of the nose, the ball passing back through head and neck.

W.W. St. Clair and Jim Stewart were shoveling out a snow slide in the trail near Tom Wend’s ranch, when another slide came without warning, and the first thing they knew they did not know anything but finally found themselves in the river. They were evidently buried under the snow, but the water was deep and swift enough to break up the snow and let them to the surface. “Scotty” soon got out but Wallace was carried some distance before he could reach the shore, ice where it was impossible for him to get out on account of his exhausted condition but held on until “Scotty” got there and pulled him ashore. Neither of them seem to care to repeat their adventure to see if they could do better next time.

“Wild Bill” carried the mail a few trips, but said he was not hunting pleasure this winter to he threw up the job. St. Clair carried it for awhile and now George Newbauer is on the line.

Dan Langel and Jim Stewart are working on Pine creek, taking out ore which they will run through the mill next spring. They are said to have a good body of ore in sight.

Frank Hopkins went to Salmon a few days since to hurry up his pension.

Mark Quinlivan has been to Indian creek as witness for Charles Gale on pension papers. Mr. Riley is notary public, which makes it very handy for making out papers for parties in this section, and then the boys will not have to go to Salmon to get married; only as far as Indian creek.

Two of our local hunters were out the other day and met a lynx face to face but did not dare shoot for fear of scaring more valuable game.

Frank Haynes’ dog “Dewey” and a wildcat met at a feast of dead horse at Mark Quinlivan’s ranch. In the discussion, the cat relinquished all claim, and now the county’s finances will drop about one dollar and fifty cents.

According to the statement of E.S. Suydam there has fallen 55 inches of snow here this winter, which has settled to something over two feet of hard snow. It will be very hard for stock on the flats to pull through.

The coal famine had such an effect on Lee Ellis as to cause him to get out and rustle wood in the deep snow. He says it will not catch him with empty bins again.

Ed. Taylor has been bringing eggs to Shoup from Pine creek. Says the hens are working full time.

A wildcat killed two cats for J.F. Rowe; then Johnny took a hand so that made three cats.

Julius Weimer has gone back to Sheepeater to work on property there owned by himself, Mike Coan, and the Shenon estate. There has been two good runs of ore worked in an arastra from this property.

Spayds and Smith have quite a pile of ore on the dump at the Eagle’s Nest.

Hugh Dougherty was down visiting Chas. Huestis a few days since.

“Captain Harry” Gulicke was a visitor among friends at Shoup and Pine creek last week. He says San Francisco is quite a camp.

The river at the present time is frozen about as hard and fast as at any time within the recollection of the oldest inhabitant.

About ten degrees below zero is the best I have heard of here.

Lemhi Herald, February 19, 1903

Movements at Shoup

Shoup, Idaho, Feb. 13, (Special cor. Herald.)

Chas. Metz came over from Beaver creek where he is living at present near the Gilbreath Bros. He visited a few days at Shoup and the Kentuck.

Fritz and Earl Gilbreath are running a tunnel this winter, and understand have some good ore in the new works.

Wm. Bush, who has a ranch near the mouth of Big creek, is feeding stock with sufficient hay to last until feed starts in the spring.

Tom Wend is feeding a large bunch of cattle this winter. It makes a long time for feeding, as he began to feed about the first of December and there is no sign of a break as yet.

Lee Ellis has lost some fine pullets by a wildcat getting into his hen house. Cats seem to be very plentiful this winter. Probably are driven down by the deep snow in the mountains.

Geo. Newbauer went up to his ranch on Wagonhammer a few days since and started hunting horses that were strayed. Went as far as Niemann’s without finding a trace. When he got back to Northfork he found them eating hay in Geo. Thomas’ corral. Man or beast cannot pass George if they are hungry.

Mr. Scofield came up from Cove creek where he is camped. Took back a load of mail for the Owl creekers.

A very rich strike has been made on Pine creek by Dan Langel and Jim Stewart. The boys say it is the richest ore they have ever seen in camp. It is a honeycombed quartz. The best rock there heretofore has been a very hard solid quartz. It is on the old Fissure ground formerly owned by the Pine Creek Co.

Mr. Scofield was at the Keno No. 2 as he was roaming up the river. He says Johnny Rowe has just opened a new body of good ore in the face of his tunnel—three feet of fine rock.

Mrs. Suydam and Mrs. Labricque have been taking advantage of the fine ice bridge and are visiting back and forth occasionally.

Idaho Recorder, February 20, 1903

LOCAL AND OTHERWISE

W. E. Taylor of Pine creek, was in town this week.

Lemhi Herald, March 11, 1903

Shoup, March 6. (Special cor. Herald.)

D.A. Herron of Marysville, Mont., accompanied by Hugh Roberts, paid our camp a visit a short time since. They had been to Indian creek on business and concluded to continue on as far as Shoup. They did not come to purchase the property, nor is there a deal on between Mr. Herron and the Kentuck people as reported in the Recorder.

Tom Wend made a flying visit to the county seat a few days ago.

Julius Weimer was up a few days since from his Sheepeater property.

Charles Metz has lost all of his jacks and one horse, and expects to lose all others.

Mark Quinlivan went fishing the other day and caught a duck—fell through the ice.

C.H. Spayds and Hank Smith have been throwing dirt lively on the hillside above Pine creek.

News came from Big creek that the Rood Bros. have turned their cattle out as their hay is nearly gone.

Joseph and Groff are working hard as usual. One is stoping ore for next summer’s run, while the other is doing development.

W.W. St. Clair, who has been lost, strayed or stolen for about a month, returned recently. He has been on a visit to Salmon and Carmen creek.

Barnum Doan was up from Owl creek last week. He says it is the finest traveling he ever saw on the river from there to Shoup—all the way on the ice.

Robert Snell who lives near Colson creek caught a real raccoon this fall, an animal that is not common in these parts. Expect to see an exodus of Missourians with coon dogs in the spring.

E.S. Suydam has been running his tramway for a few days to clear the chutes of ore, some seventy tons which nearly filled all available space. He is now ready to begin stoping again in very good ore.

While Mr. Herron, Hugh Roberts and Chas. Huestis were at the Kentuck mine, one night the dog made a fuss to be let out and soon had a large lynx treed. After wallowing through snow two feet deep, he was finally shot and cheered until he gave up the ghost.

Charles Brady went to Owl creek to look after his horses and found one dead and the others in a bad fix. He returned to Shoup and procured some oats, which he took down on a sled to tide them over the balance of the winter if possible. There is plenty of grass but the snow is so hard, that in digging for it, they skinned their front legs to the shoulders.

Lemhi Herald, March 25, 1903

Shoup

[Special Correspondence]


Shoup, March 20—There have been many snow slides in this section of late. Near the mouth of Pine creek there were eight heavy ones within an eighth of a mile.

W.W. St. Clair and Wm. Verges paid a visit to Pine creek on St. Patrick’s day.

The trail is said to be very bad between here and Northfork. We have had only letter mail lately. We may have to stand it for a while, but do not think there is need for any very long holding back of the mail on so short a route.

E.S. Suydam was inspecting his flume when a snow slide came and caught him and carried him for some distance, landing him on the ice on the river. He kept himself on the surface for quite a distance, but it finally rolled him under, and when it stopped, he was buried underneath the snow—but with considerable digging he managed to extricate himself. He felt for a few days as though he had been through a rolling mill but received no serious injury.

The writer paid a visit to the Clipper-Bullion mine a while back and was very courteously shown around by Eli Suydam. He has a fine showing of high-grade ore. One stope just opened up shows a face of ore 30 feet high and about the same distance along the vein, from 2½ to 3 feet between walls, all good ore.

Mr. Suydam and Gus Labrecque have retimbered quite a portion of the mine which was needed, as it had lain idle so long that in places the pressure had become quite heavy. Gus understands that kind of work as he was timberman in the Kentuck mine for several years along in the eighties.

Lemhi Herald, April 29, 1903

Shoup, April 19—[Special Correspondence]

W.W. St. Clair and Lou Heacock have gone to Salmon for supplies for several parties here. They will make a team from Indian creek to Salmon and haul the supplies back to that point, then transfer to pack animals for the remainder of the trip.

We have been congratulated on having a road finished to a point so near this place; but coming to move it up, it means from 1 to 2 cents more on a pound for us unless there happens to be a boat coming down.

Earl Gilbreath is working in the Clipper-Bullion for E.S. Suydam.

George Frary is working for Tom Wend on the ranch this spring.

Tom Wend went to Salmon lately to give the "county dads" a sledding talk.

Mark Quinlivan is mending his fences, getting ready for the summer crop of alfalfa.

Harry Gulicke came down with another boat a few days ago, and went to Pine creek with supplies.

Word comes from Big creek that the Rood Bros. lost about one-third of their cattle for lack of hay.

W.E. Taylor and family are plowing and seeding. I am told they will raise considerable grain and hay this year.

Mrs. Labrecque has opened a restaurant at Shoup. The traveling public need not fear going hungry while visiting this camp.

Charles Brady is working for H.F. Haynes. He is doing development work and reports lots of rock mixed in with very little gold.

Chas. Neff is working his property on Big Sheepeater. He has struck two feet of fine ore and is now getting ready to make a run in his arastra.

E.S. Suydam and wife intend to go to their home in Salmon soon—before the high water comes. Then Eli will return and see that the mill is kept busy.

We have a rival to Mount Pelée just below Pine creek, lacking the fiery furnace. There are rock slides that are a terror to the beholder unless he is at a safe distance.

Chas. Brady has gone to Owl creek for his horses and Julius Weimer went to Pine creek for his. About this time of year the prospector wants his horses where he can hear the tinkle of the bell.

Walt Verden, who has been working for the Kittie Burton Co. all winter, came down a short time ago and after visiting a few days at the Kentuck went to Owl creek to visit his old friends Joseph and Groff.

Dan Langel and Jim Stewart have a fine body of ore on Pine creek. They have cut a lot of fine rock which they will soon run in the mill. At present they are plowing and getting ready to sow potatoes and carrots.

W.D. Cross with a companion came down a short time since bound for the Middle Fork for a prospecting trip. He seemed to be well supplied with all accessories, provisions, and tools. He was under the direction of Capt. Gulicke.

John McKay is rocking along the river near the cribbing above Shoup. He has his rocker arranged in such shape that he can handle about the same amount of gravel that two men would with an ordinary rocker—so say old prospector men.

E.S. Suydam started his mill about the first week of March and has been going ever since with the exception of one or two nights when the cold froze the water. It seems like old times to hear the stamps going.

J.F. Rowe is helping Eli in running the mill on nights shift under protest, as he is very anxious to be digging on his own claim he thinks too good to be off much longer.

Idaho Recorder, June 19, 1903

W.E. Taylor arrived Monday from Pine creek. He made a social call at this office with Chas. Crandall, Tuesday morning.

Idaho Recorder, August 7th, 1903

Ima Consolidated Co.

Newton Hibbs, of this city, reports an interesting visit at the Ima mine on Patterson creek as follows:

One of the most extensive ore bodies in the country has been exposed in this mine. The development work consists of 1,00 feet of tunnels, saw mill, an electric light plant for power and lighting and a modern concentrator on the ground ready to be installed. The Ima company is now employing 14 men including Superintendent Taylor and Foreman Smith. A long working tunnel is now being run on the main fissure vein to tap the ore shoot that has been extensively exposed by the preliminary work.

A splendid water power is now being harnessed to replace the steam power which has been used in the past. The mine carries values in gold, silver and tungsten.

The Ima mine is being developed under the advice of Prof. Talmage, of Salt Lake, who is enthusiastic over the present showing.

Lemhi Herald, August 26, 1903

Leesburg (an excerpt)

Miss Callahan of Pine Creek was a visitor here last Friday. She is spending a few days with Mrs. Ed. Randolph.

Mr. And Mrs. Ed. Randolph, Pearl Leacock and Mr. Suitor returned last week from a pleasant outing on Big and Pine Creeks.

Idaho Recorder, October 9, 1903

LEESBURG LOCALS

Mrs. Alta Taylor visited friends at this place yesterday.

Idaho Recorder, October 16, 1903

Messres. Langell and Sandilands left Saturday with their boat loaded with supplies for Pine Creek. Mark Qunliven, who spent a few days in town last week, was a passenger on the boat.

Harry Gulecke left Wednesday with a boat load of supplies for E. S. Suydam of Shoup, W. E. Taylor of Pine creek and others.

Idaho Recorder, December 11, 1903

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE

Mr. A.W. Cooper of Arnett creek was in town last Tuesday. In conversation he stated that he had purchased the one 850-pound stamp mill, operated some time since on Pine creek, below Shoup, and will re-erect it on the Jointer mining claim, located directly across the creek from the Italian mine. Upon this claim there are three veins, all of which are more or less exposed on the surface and show and prospect well. A cross tunnel of 135 feet will be driven to strike these veins at some depth.

Mr. Cooper has, for the past thirteen years, traveled the Salmon River mountains, and is well prepared to direct people into that mining region, which he predicts will develop some wonderful mines. He confirms in every detail the recently published remarks by “Driftwood,” concerning that country, and although well acquainted with the country himself, was very much entertained by the series of letters.

NOTES

[1] While columns from Shoup and other Lemhi County communities of this era were attributed only to “Special Correspondents,” Annie’s voice is unmistakable in many of them. Her dry humor, clipped phrasing and eye for both domestic detail and frontier absurdity set her apart. Mentions of neighbors, livestock, mining gossip, weather and family doings—inflected with her sly turns of phrase—suggest her hand in shaping the public record during this quieter yet steady period.

[2] Annie may be poking fun here. While it sounds as though Frank Hopkins was pursuing a veteran’s pension, her phrasing—and the timing—suggests otherwise. She follows with a mention of Charles Gale doing the same, but both men may in fact have been pursuing widows. With Idaho’s 1903 mothers’ pension law in place and federal survivor’s benefits expanding, widows had become newly eligible for financial support. And with a notary now available closer to home, marriage required far less travel—perhaps prompting Annie’s sly suggestion that Frank and Charles were chasing widows and their pensions.

[3] Wildcat bounty: At the time, many Idaho counties paid bounties for predator kills, including wildcats (lynx, bobcat, etc.). If Dewey’s owner, Frank Haynes) killed the wildcat, he would be entitled to a small county bounty—often about $1.50 for a wildcat pelt.

[4] Ed Callahan has assumed the surname Taylor.

[5] The article, likely written by Annie herself, the deadpan line reports that a wildcat killed two of J.F. Rowe’s cats—until “Johnny took a hand,” presumably shooting the wildcat and thus making it three dead cats in total. The clipped phrasing and sly humor are characteristic of Annie’s style and it’s throughout this column.

[6] In mining terminology, “ore on the dump” refers to mineral-bearing rock that has been excavated and piled near the mine entrance for sorting, sampling, or future processing. During winter months the dump often grew larger when water levels were too low or frozen to run the stamp mill.

[7] Whether Annie is quoting local talk or slyly referring to herself as “the oldest inhabitant” is unclear—but the omission of the plural “inhabitants” leaves room for a wink. At 45, with almost two decades in the canyon and a reporter’s eye on the weather, she may well have claimed the title without saying so outright.

[8] Winter feeding in the Salmon River country typically began when snow covered the open range—often in late December. That year, heavy snow arrived early, forcing ranchers like Tom Wend to begin feeding hay by the first of the month. With no thaw in sight by mid-March, it meant a long and costly feeding season, especially for those with large herds and no stored surplus.

[9] “Throwing dirt lively” was common mining slang for actively working a claim.

[10] Stoping refers to the process of extracting ore from an underground mine by creating chambers or “stopes” along a vein. Miners remove the ore in sections, often leaving behind structural pillars or timber supports.

[11] Eighties refers to the 1880s.

[12] “County dads” refers to local commissioners. A “sledding talk” likely meant a formal or persuasive conversation about maintaining or supporting sled roads for winter freight—an essential concern in Lemhi County’s remote mining districts.

[13] Harry Guelke—Gulicke is a phonetic spelling of his name.

[14] A reference to the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée on the island of Martinique, which destroyed the city of Saint-Pierre and killed over 29,000 people. The comparison is tongue-in-cheek, describing dramatic rockslides near Pine Creek that, while not volcanic, were fearsome in scale and a spectacle. Local mining terrain was prone to slides, especially where steep slopes were disturbed by blasting or erosion.

[15] It’s doubtful that Dan and Jim were planting their own garden and more likely that Annie had wrangled them into helping to plant hers.

[16] A typesetting error, this likely refers to Miss Alta Taylor. Both Ed and Alta were sometimes referred to as “Taylor.”

[17] The letters by Driftwood, entitled The Salmon River, were written by Capt. Nathaniel Turner and can be found in the Online Resources featured in the Appendix.