Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1893-06-23
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 Il 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 clcavcd by deep,
dark. valleys and covered up to the
line of perpetual snow with heavy for
ests of fir and cedar. Every spring
hundreds of prospcctors plunge into
this wilderness on a search for gold and
silver, some on their own account. but
most of them go 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 Il rifle, 81 hatcher.
a bag of flour and a frying pan sluns
over his shoulder, the p%rospector starts
on his quest. He goes as far as pnssl-
bic by stage or carriage. then on foot
enters the forest and follows for many
miles Il narrow trail that winds i'll and
out between the trunks of great trees.
whose heads. reaching up hundreds of
! feet, shut off the sun and keep the
Garth in IL twilight so deep that only
moss and fungi can grow. AT times
tne path skirts the side Of Il rushing
mountain river, where in every eddy
are dozens of darting trout. Then IT
climbs and winds high up the mountain
side. grows fainter, and finally disap-
pears. leaving the gold hunter to
scramble on over fallen logs and
around precipices rs best lie can.
When night comes he stops usually
lin the bottom of Il valley by a stream
of melted snow water, fries and a
some pancakes. cuts a great pile OF hr
boughs for Il 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 i'll 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 n bit of dark mountain
side through Il rift in their tops. III
nally he has climbed high up and
comes out above the forests. and sees
again, for the first time i'll 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
IL misstep falls thousands of feet from
II precipice and is dashed to pieces in
the valley below. If Fortunate. he 10
J 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 civilian
ton, where his ores are assayed. He
has brought the best specimens only
: so they come out splendidly. People
} become excited. and Il party. includ
, ing mine spectators. goes up to ses
. what he has found. If good. the mine!
are sold on the spot to spectators. Wilt
l in turn sell 10 rich eastern or Englisl
mining companies. These cut trail
through the woods. send up maclin
+ cry piccemcal on donkey or mule back
, hire IL lot of miners at SD Il day, ant
the mine is started fro profit or loss
1 according to the way the lead hold
t out.