The Early Days

When John G. Morrison heard the news, spread by the trappers, that gold was evidence in the sands of the Yankee Fork, he geared himself; and in the summer of 1873 he made his way across the mountains into the narrow valley of the Yankee Fork.

He was the first prospector to make a strike in the district, locating a rich placer at the junction of Jordon Creek and the Yankee Fork. Before winter set in, he ha hired forty-five men ro help him drift on bedrock under the Jordon Creek channel…

Morrison and his men lived out the winter of 1873 and ’74 in tents grouped beside the stream. With their time limited and because they had to pack all tools and supplies from a long distance on their backs over steep treacherous trails into the district, they chose not to cut and haul logs for the building of shelter.

When the snows came, they soon found it necessary to move about on snowshoes. They did their cooking over open fires, often enduring weather that sent the mercury to 20 and 30 below zero. But these men were a hardy lot and soon became used to the rigors of the country….

Most of them (the prospectors) came packing their meager equipment on their backs. And while a few were fortunate enough to own a burro or a horse, each of them found it necessary to carry special items so essential to their way of life. An ax, gold pan, a pick and shovel made up the tool list, while a coffee pot, frying pan, a dutch oven, eating utensils and a blanket or two made up the remainder of their outfits. The amounts of extra clothing and food staples man carried depended on how strong his back was, or if he afforded a pack animal or not.

A number of the men had canvas tents, but the majority managed to build small, windowless cabins, or construct a dugout at the base of a hillside. A few added rude, rock fireplaces to their cabins to provide warmth and cooking fires. The ones that didn’t, and the ones who live in tents, had to do their cooking over open fires. All of them slept on the ground, since there was no way of securing lumber furniture.

Fish and wild game were plentiful; such was their main fare, supplemented by a few beans, wild berries in season, and dutch oven bread. It became imperative that they be schooled in the ways of the wild in order to sustain life in this primitive land of the Yankee Fork. Oftentimes the men paired up, not so much because they liked one another, but more fore safety and convenience.

These men carried tinder pouches, or tinder horns, just as early pioneers had done, for making fires; matches were not always available, of dependable. A little knowledge of herds used by the Indians for medicine helped broaden their self-confidence, too…

The lives of these men were filled with hardships, privations, and loneliness, especially during the winter months when they were virtually cut off from the outside world by the deep, drifting snows. The location of the Yankee Fork district places it at the highest elevation in the state of Idaho- the elevation at the old town of Custer is 6,376 above sea level- and thus explains why winters in this part of the country are usually so severe. Many of the men left wives and sweethearts behind. Yet, their dreams of finding gold kept them from returning to civilization and to those they loved.

From- “Land of the Yankee Fork” by Esther Yarber