Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-11-07
The TOWN OF JUNEAU.
q Visit to Alaska's Three Year-old
Mining Camp.
t:iobe.Democras Correspondent
Ashore IRea utles OF the Land.
scspe-Mountain, village
nnd Wood.
lRuhnmah,s Alaska Letter, ,

| thnhGlnahS Alaska Letter.
When we steamed on mile and crept up
q the wharf at Juneau the whole town and
he Indian village were down 10 see US land,
and when the lines were cast ashore, the
eurio friends made rush for the assembled
Indians ard the trading stores The town Of
juneau dates hack as mining camp but q
little over three years. In 1879 the Indians
gave fine quartz specimens to the officers OF
the man-of war, jamestown, and in the fol-
lowing summer prospecting party was or
ganized by Joseph Juneau and Richard Har-
ris They eamped at the present town site
pu the LIST Of October and then following up
Gold creek to the Silver Bow basin, three
miles back, found the rich placers and the
outcropping quartz veins.
When the news Of their find reached Sitka
there was rush for the new Ell Dorado and
q camp sprang up that winter and has slowly
grown into an odd little town. 1t was first
called Pilshury for one prospcctor, then Flip
town with miners grim humor, then Rock
well for the lieutenant who came from the
jamestown with detachment of marines to
keep the camp in order. and fourthly 1t was
named Harrisburg. and filthy Juneau. The
last name was formally adopted by the min
ers at a meeting Eelo in May, 1852. and in
the same conclave resolutions were passed
ordering all Cinnamon out Of the district and
warning the race to stay away, which they
have done.
When the sun shines, as it has done to-day
and for two weeks past, Juneau is az charm
ing a little mountain nook as one need seek
for. The mountains go SO straight up to
their 5000 feet that the little cluster Of white
houses at the base look Us though they might
be bits Of the lofty snow banks that have
tumbled down the feathery cascades to the
beach. The site Of the mining camp in the
Silver Bow basin is even more picturesque,
and the trail from Juneau plunges straight
up the mountain side, then down to a second
valley, and along the wild canyon Of Gold
creek and into the basin Of the Silver Bow.
All the way it leads through dense forests and
uxuriant bottom land, where the immense
pine trees. the thickets of ferns and devils
club, and the rank underground of bushes
and grasses continually excited ones wonder.
We rose at $50 in order to go out to the
basin and get back before the ship sailed at
! 10, and in the fresh, dewy air and the pure
light of the early morning it was a walk
through an enchanted forest and a happy
valley. The trail wound up to 1900 feet,
dropped by long jumps and slides to the first
level OF the canyon and reached 1,5O0 feet
above the sea again in the BASIN The devils
club. a tall tborny. plant, with leaves twelve
inches and more across, grew in impossible
clnmps in the woods, and the sunlight falling
on these large leaves gave tropical look to
the forest The devils club is the prospectors'
dread, and the thorny sticks used to do to
switch witches with in the Indians old I'M
| ell, ,.I I,x-S Eel; 10 =. Al
botanist's awful name for it, and that alone
is caution enough for one to avoid it. There
were thickets Of thimhle-ber1ied bushes
covered with large creamy white blossoms,
and clusters OF white ranunculus, white
! columbine, blue eeranium and yellow mon
key flowers grew in patches and dyed the
ground with their massed colors. The ferns
were everywhere, and under bushes and be-
size fallen logs delicate maiden hair ferns.
with fine ebony stems, were gathered by the
handful We met few well-dressed In
dians hurrying to town and an occasional
miner who gave US a CHEEKY greeting.
Silver Bow basin is a place TO de'ight an
aesthetic miner in the way of landscape and
any one with soul in him would surely
appreciate that little round valley sunk deep
in the heart of great mountains, with snow
caps ON every horizon line, glacier tipping
from great Iavinc, and waterfalls milling
noisiiy down the slope. Timing ourselves by
our watches, we fingered long ON the las,
mile, sitting on log in the cool shade of the
forest. where the trail almost overhung the
little town. We could watch the people
walking in the streets beneath, and in the
still. slumtsring sunshine almost catch the
hum Of their voices Pistol shots raised
crashing echoes between the high mountain
walls. anil set all the big ravens to croaking
In b concert