Lyric: Joe Moris
©2001 Wayne Krewski (SOCAN)  All rights reserved.

"Joe Moris" can be found on the CD   "Stories From Rossland"

In the spring of 1890 Joe Moris hired on to do some assessment work on the Lily May
Joe and Oliver Bordeau left Colville by sleigh; at the Little Dalles they hired a boat and crew.
They went on up the Columbia River, disembarked at Trail Landing, the snow too deep for horse to haul supplies.
Over 5 feet of snow they packed their gear, only travelling in the mornings. The Dewdney Trail took them right to the Lily May.
 
Assessment work was almost done when bare ground first apeared on the south side of Red Mountain; the colour caught Joe's eye.
Oliver Bordeaux had no money, said he'd pay Joe when they got to Nelson.
Joe said "That's okay, I need supplies."
 
At noon on the 18th day of April assessment work was done. Joe went to have a closer look at Red.
On the way he found a cropping, located the Homestake claim; never made it all the way to Red.
They went to Nelson, but still no pay for Joe he went to work at the Silver King; 17 1/2 shifts; he bought supplies started downriver.
At Trail Creek the weather was too bad to prospect so he went to work on the Homestake and waited for the weather to clear.
 
Along came Joe Bourgeous and said: "Abandon that claim and come with me. I've found some good prospects up on Red.
They located the Centre Star and the Idaho, the War Eagle and the Virginia.
They staked the Centre Star extension and called it Le Wise.
 
They went to Nelson, their samples assayed; the best at 3.25 a ton. Bourgeous said: "Well that's not worth the price."
Moris said: "We'd better record, go back and find some better ore." Bourgeous said: "Okay, but I won't pay."
They went to Topping to record their claims, said: "We've got 5, we can only keep 4. If you pay them all we'll give you one."
For $12.50 Topping bought the Centre Star extension. He went, had a look, said: "I'll keep it!" and called it Le Roi.
 
As time went on they all sold their claims. Centre Star, War Eagle, and Le Roi became household words in the mining world.
Trail Creek grew into Rossland; 7000 people at the height of the boom; from the Rossland Stock Exchange grew the TSE.