Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1893-06-22
PROSPECTING IN THE NORTH
WEST .
Hard life Led by Gold Hunters In
the Forests of Washington.

the Forests of Washington.
In western Washington civilization Is
confined to a narrow strip along the
borders of Puget sound and to some
Of the best agricultural lands that lie
in the large wooded plains about its
southern end. says the New York Sun.
All the rest is covered with great rocky
mountain ranges, cleaved by deep,
dark, valleys and covered I'D 10 the
line of perpetual SNOW with heavy for
ests of fir and cedar. Every spring
hundreds Of p~rospectors plunge into
this wilderness on a search for gold and
silver, some on their own account, but
most of them 90 ~grub-staked by local
capitalists, that is, all their expenses
are paid and in return they give a
half interest In whatever mines they
may discover. With n rifle, a Ratchet,
a bag of -four and a frying pan slung
over his shoulder, the prospector starts
on his quest. He goes as far a posi-
BILE by stage or carriage, then on foot
enters the forest and follows for many
miles a narrow trail that winds in and
out between the trunks Of great trees.
whose heads, reaching up hundreds of
feet. shut off the sun and keep the
earth in a twilight so deep that only
moss and fungi can grow. At times
the path skirts the side Of a rushing
mountain river, where in every eddy
are dozens Of darling trout. Then il
.l; ~ lrS aud u-;pIc hinh nm tho mountain
side, grows fainter, and finally disap-
scramble on over fallen logs and
around precipices as best he can.
When night comes he stops usually
in the bottom of a valley by a stream
of melted snow water, fries and eats
some pancakes, cuts a great pile of fir
boughs for n bed. throws himself on
it and is asleep in a moment. All
through the night the cold and damp
from the stream and the messy ground
creep up and in the morning he is stiff
and scarcely able to stagger on. He
continues thus day after day, seeing
only the trees near about him, and
occasionally a bit of dark mountain
side through a rift in their tops. FL
nally he has climbed high up and
SoAieS Out dDO't the lDEtStS. anu sees
again. for the first time in days, the
full daylight. Here, high above the
world on the mountain sides, he spends
weeks searching for silver and gold
veins and hunting goat and deer for
meat. Sometimes he loses himself. his
food gives out, and he starves, or by
a misstep falls thousands of feet from
a precipice and is dashed to pieces In
the valley below. If fortunate. he To-
Gates several claims. stakes them out,
finds bearings for them on the peaks
about, and then, loaded with speci-
mems, makes his way back TO ciyiliza-
ton, where his ores are assayed. He
has brought the best specimens only,
so they come out splendidly. People
become excited, and a party, includ-
ing mine spectators, goes up TO see
what he has found. If good. the mines
are sold on the spot to spectators, who
in turn sell 70 rich eastern or English
mining companies. These cut trails
through the woods, send up machin-
cry piecemeal on donkey or mule back.
hire a lot of miners at s. a day. and
the mine is started fro profit or loss,
according TO the way the lead holds
out.