The Silver King Mining Company was organized under the laws of New Jersey, by Philadelphia parties, with Henry Tevis as president. They have two groups of mines. The Davitt, a silver-lead property, is located on Deer creek, a tributary of Wood River. The ore occurs in a granite formation. A large and continuous seam has produced a great deal of silver and lead. It was operated with a shaft; but a snow-slide ruined the hoist and operations were abandoned.
The company also owns the Silver King, a group of four claims located four miles above Sawtooth on the Salmon river, in a granite formation and quartz, being very rich in silver, with sulphur, antimony, a sulphide of iron and zinc. Gold has been found in the iron to the amount of twenty-four dollars. The silver Values have been very high, averaging at times three hundred ounces, with sometimes as high as fifteen hundred ounces, and many shipments running to four, five and even six hundred ounces.
Major Hyndman had a lease of the property for three years and paid the company in one of the years ten thousand dollars on a fifteen per cent, royalty; but little other work has been done on it. At length he acquired an interest in the enterprise and finally became half-owner, and was leasing the property in 1892 when the saw-dust covering of the boiler at the hoist caught fire and the hoist was burned; and the apparatus has not since been repaired, and after Major Hyndman’s death disagreements with his widow have prevented work. The improvements of the property consist of mill, rolls and two frew runners.