SILVER AND GOLD, CONTINUED. 223 



2.10.14. Ouster County lies north of Lemhi and contains 

 several well-known mines. The Ramshorn is in metamorphic 

 slates on a fissure vein that has rich chutes of high-grade silver 

 ores in a siderite gangue. The Ouster and the Charles Dickens 

 are farther west, near Bonanza City, and afford both silver and 

 gold in quartz gangue from veins in porphyry. Smelting ores oc- 

 cur in the region and have been used in some operations based on 

 this treatment. In Boise and western Alturas counties a granite 

 area forms the greater part of the surface, and in it are numerous; 

 productive veins. In the former they are chiefly gold quartz ex- 

 cept in the Banner district, where silver predominates. 



The placer deposits of Boise County, which were developed in 

 1863, were very rich, but are now less productive than in former 

 years. In Alturas County gold quartz veins occur, and also 

 others carrying silver, and the county is a strong producer. The 

 Wood River mines in slates and limestones, southeast of the 

 granite, have already been referred to under Example 32a. Owyhee 

 County is in the southwestern corner of the State. It is probable 

 that the granite of the two last mentioned counties extends under 

 overlying drift and comes up again near Silver City (Becker). 

 Southwest of it quartz porphyry and metamorphic rocks are found, 

 with dikes of basalt. Gold quartz and high-grade silver ores are 

 present. The Poorman Lode is famous for ruby silver ores. W. 

 P. Blake mentions seeing a piece from this mine at the Paris Ex- 

 position which weighed about 200 pounds. 1 It was awarded a gold 

 medal. The crystal from which it was broken weighed 500 

 pounds. 3 In Cassia and Oneida, two other counties in the southern 

 part, placers are being or have been worked, and in Bear Lake 

 County, in the southeast corner, salt and sulphur deposits are re- 

 corded. 3 



1 Amer. Jour. Sci., ii., XLV. 97. 



2 Raymond's Reports on Mineral Resources West of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, 1868, p. 523. 



3 G. F. Becker, Tenth Census, Vol. XIII., p. 59. Raymond's Reiiorts. 

 on Mineral Resources West of the Rocky Mountains, Rep. Director of the. 

 Mint, 1882, p. 227. 



