Chapter 02 - An Addition to the Family; Time to Move

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On January 2, 1897, the Strongs became the parents of a son, and this event may possibly have inspired the search for greener pastures and more promising prospects. Elk City was a "boom" gold mining town some 65 or 70 miles east of Cottonwood, in the heart of the mountains, and almost at the center of Idaho County. Idaho County is the largest County in the State, blanketing an area across the mid - northern section from Montana on the east to Oregon on the west. With the exception of a small table - land area in the western portion, known as "Camas Prairie" the County is all mountainous and largely a wilderness area. Gold had been discovered in Elk City in 1861, and the district had gone through the usual phases of gold mining typical of the gold rushes of the old west. First, the white miners had arrived from all over the West, and for many years had worked the easy diggings of the stream beds and gulches. As the pay dirt became poorer, the white miners became fewer, and they were partially replaced by Chinese, who were willing to work poorer diggings. Various estimates have been made of the millions in gold that was extracted over the years, and reports, -probably exaggerated-, have indicated that as many as 2000 persons at one time inhabited the Elk City "Basin". But, as in other old mining areas, the free placer gold became scarce, and then the search began for the lodes, or ledges, or veins from which the placer gold had presumably eroded. This search was seemingly meeting with some success in the mid 90's, and though the former population of Elk City had dwindled, a quartz mining boom was now developing.

So it is not surprising that in late March or early April of 1897, Elk City became the destination of the partners, Strong and Argetsinger, and their commercial venture. It was an untimely season for the move, for there had had been a bad winter with heavy snows in the mountains. Furthermore, there was a three months old baby to contend with. The hardships encountered on this trip can not be envisioned without understanding the roads, the accommodations and the transportation facilities as they existed at the time.

It would be mild exaggeration to call the route from the Camas Prairie Cottonwood area through the mountains to Elk City a "road". It could be more aptly described as an Indian trail through the wilderness, widened to two ruts to accommodate the wagon wheels or the runners of a sleigh. The route followed over mountains, into valleys, up stream beds, over ridges, and all of this through pine forests and lush brush undergrowth, with little attention to mapping or grading. In fact the following story was often repeated, - and an examination of the old road would lend credence to the story;

Of course, the first miners arriving in the Central Idaho County area followed the Indian trails, the Nez Perce hunting trails and the Lo - Lo trail leading through to Montana, on foot, and with saddle and pack horses. Many years later, as activity quickened a need was seen for better transportation facilities to import supplies and mining equipment. So, it is said that a scouting a route party was organized in Elk City to explore and map out a route on which a wagon road could be built to the "outside",- the Clearwater - Camas Prairie country. Naturally, it was known that a water grade route could be found by following down the streams to the Clearwater River, and then down the Clearwater all the way out. But most of these streams ran in deep steep - sided canyons, and grading a road in such terrain with the hand and horse tools of the day would not be possible. So an overland route had to be selected. The scouting and survey party started into the wilderness with confidence, provisions and some vague ideas of a route to follow. After a few days, the group found themselves completely lost in the forest and underbrush, in areas where it would be impossible to clear a right - of - way and grade a road. They fell to arguing among themselves over the matter; some wanted to continue on, some wanted to return to base. But they had been entrusted with the task, and didn't want to return to the settlement and admit that they had been lost and defeated. So they finally agreed to try to make their way back, unseen, the Nez Perce trail not too far from where they had started. Then they blazed a route closely following the old trail, making only such deviations as might barely accommodate a wagon,- without themselves again becoming lost. And on the blazes and markings of this "survey", the old wagon road was built.