, 1890-06-12
THE SWAUK PLACERS.
Diggings That Have Turned
Out Much Gold.
NUGGETS Big AS YOUR HAND
A Typical Mining Camp in tho
Hoart OF a Beautiful
Wilderness.


ELLENsBURoH, Wash, June g.
For many years probably forty min.
ers on the Swau< creek have bscn
diligently washing for gold when.
ever n sufficient amount Of water
could bo obtained TO enable them 60
do so. The remaining or dry months
of tho year were devoted TO drifting
and getting out pay dirt. The dig
glngs ARE spotted" and for days
and weeks there would perhaps be
no sign OF the precious metal In the
sluice boxes TO reward the patient
miner for his labor, until some lucky
Saturday night his heart would be
made happy by the discovery Of
great chunks of gold when his clean
up was made that would pay him
well for the weeks gone by when
there was nothing In the rifles
some mngnificcnt nuggets have been
found, some weighing as high as
300. One could have been seen ut
he banklng-house OF Ben II. Snlpc
x 20. last fall that weighed about
$3.50. II was Hat and about the size
OF u mans hand. Considerable
prospecting has been done In hor8
OF finding tho mother lead,
but so far without success,
yet II surely will bc discovered
some day and the result will bo
wealth for the owners and the de.
velopment OF an exceedingly rich
district.
Recently parties have prospccted
the stream further UP toward its
source, and have discovered fine
gold from the grass roots down as far
~ tesetd. Bedrock has not been
reached, but Ben Hanson was In
Eilensburgh this week with "a specI-
men retort weighing 81. Is, the result
OF q half days work with the pan.
From forty to 100 colors 10 the pan
could be found anywhere In the
vicinity, and 1t Ia thought that de-
velopnient will prove those fine gold
dlgglngs to bc equal 20 II not superior
to the district where the coarse gold
Is found.
II Is well worth ones time TO take
a team and buggy at I;llensburgh
and drive to the diggings, where the
cabin and accompanying
scenes remind one OF the old DAYS
before steam and enterprise had
opened up to the eiiete East tho
wonders OF the great Northwest,
The drive is q delightful one through
waving grain fields and up the
canyons, crossing aud re-
L 1T streams as clear as
crystal, fringed with alder, willow,
1uaking aspen and other trees
Indigenous To the country. Now and
then the drumming of pheasant
Or the hooting of a grouse may DO
heard, deer aud bear ''signn Is occa-
,ionally seen. and soon dirt COW
,red miners cabin breaks the Wild
ness of the scene. Near by il the
tunnel with pay dirt piled up below
lis mouth, a long line Of sluice boxes
IN convenient proximity, and shov-
Els, picks, wheelbarrows on tho
lump, denoting that here is the
workshop OF the miner. Within
he cabin Is the bunk In one corner,
\ homemade table against one
wall and n Fireplace at the end, or
perhaps civilization has entered this
'eglon To the extent Of a cook stove,
where rashers of bacon, huge SOUR
Tough biscuits, and quarts OF black
Office are prepafed for consumption.
The same old-t!ne hospitality that
distinguished the Argonauts Is
of the Swauk miner,
and you are sure of being well
entertained should you desire to
AIRY. From now on for several
miles you will find IA succession of
niners' cabins and claims, and for
he time 1t takes but slight stretch
1f the imagination for one TO feel
hat the past twenty years OF
and improvement are but a
pleasant dream, aud 1t Is an easy
matter to forget that ten miles away
hat great civillzer, the locomotive,
s flying along with its train of liv-
ng freight, huriying east and west,
,s the case may he, the passengers
otally unconscious OF the pictur-
ssque wildne-s 80 near them. For
me who is tired OF the heat and
lust OF city life, this trip Il truly an
enjoyable one, and time will not
lang heavily on his hands II he Is
provided with trout rod and gun
Il T.