Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1893-09-15
The Captain Gives an Interesting
Account of His Experiences in
That Far OF Land.
The Place Where All the Gold Comes
From Discovered on the
Yukon River.
An Isolated, Cold Country-Didn't
Know Who Was President Until
Last June.
A Day of Three Hours of Sunshine.

A Day of Three Hours of Sunshine.
Capt. Barr passed through Bismarck
on the special Tuesday morning. The
TRIBUNE didn't have an opportunity to
interview him on his Alaskan expert
ences, but Ernest Sanford got hold Of
him in Minneapolis with the following
result:
Capt. Barr brings tidings from a por-
ton of Uncle Sam's possessions from
which news rarely comes and of which
little is known. He has been 1000 miles
up the great Yukon river to the rich
gold fields of Alaska which are now but
just beginning to be developed, and he
does not hesitate to say that the pros
poets for gold in that country are as
good as they ever were in California.
81 left Minneapolis in May said
Capt. Barr, land IN due time reached
st. Michael's Island in Martins Sound
in the BehrinR sea. On this island a
steamer was being built to take rs up
the river and although work was pushed
as rapidly as possible, it was the 26th of
September before the boat was finished.
We had before us a long and adventurous
voyage up an unknown river and we IN
mediately set out. The Yukon freezes
up in October, however, and We had not
gone far before We were frozen in solid
for the wlnter-and a winter in Alaska
means seven months of bitter cold.
However, we had 200 tons of provisions,
90 that there was no chance to suffer
from anything except the solitude and
lonesomeness of the situation. The
lowest the thermometer went was 50 de-
gress below and there was no let up to
the cold. The days in that latitude ale
very short in winter. One of the shortest
days there is three hours of sunshine.
The few light hours, however, We
utilized in building about our boat q
dyke for protection against the ice when
it should break up.
"We managed to build a dyke 80 feet
high and 100 feet long, and We did not
finish it an hour too soon. For almost
Immediately after it was done the ice
broke up and the water, let loose, came
tearing down like the Mississippi on a
rampage. Had it not been for the dyke
our boat would certainly have been
chewed up. However, we weathered it
all right and went on our way, reaching
the gold district 1000 miles up the river
on the eth of June. We found that
rich discoveries had been made in Miller
creek, which empties into Forty.M Mile
creek about 70 miles from the Yukon.
Four different placer claims were being
worked and were averaging 126 ounces
of gold a week-a big yield. You see
it's only possible to work about 80 days
in the year on account of the cold.
"There is plenty of gold.
"The only drawback is the climate.
The ground is constantly frozen to such
a depth that the pay streak, to make the
mine a paying one, must lie quite near
the surface. The ground never wholly
thaws out. The indications were excel
lent for gold bearing quartz. We had
in our company two old experienced
miners who grew quite enthusiastic over
the quartz, saying that they believed
that they had discovered the place
where all the gold came from.
"Last year s65,0OO was taken out of
four claims. This year it is estimated
the yield will reach s25O,OOO. Alaska
has mineral that are not vet
dreamed of.
The Yukon is a wonderful river.
Think of the magnitude of a country
which has a river in it navigable for
1000 miles, and having five tributaries,
n of those navigable for 1000 miles.
1t is full of salmon. In fact there are
more salmon in the Yukon than there
are in the Columbia. For game the
country is full of ptarmigan, arctic hare,
caribou and moose"
Capt Barr says that they are cut off
almost entirely from communication
with the states. For instance, they
never knew who was president until
last June. Capt. Barr is on his way
to the Worlds Fair, and injoys the
distinction Of having travelled the
furthest to see the fair of any subject
of Uncle Sam.
Clearing City Property Titles.
City Attorney Stoyell, who has the
matter of clearing the titles to the
numerous descriptions of city property
in hand, says he has notified all the
parties in interest of his orders to move
in the matter. Owing to the failure of
certain city officials a number of years
ago to properly classify the descriptions
OF property the titles to which are now
clouded. many parcels Of the city's own
property were sold by the city for taxes,
and 10Y some parcels have three or
four tax titles plastered upon them.
Among this kind is the city school
house IN the south side of the track.
which wa sold for taxes for three or