Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-09-16
THE LOST ROCKER STORY.
a TALE WHICH ANNUALLY INTER-
Esrs ALASKAN MINERS.
The Hunt for rabuioasiy Rich
Placer DtsTinHs Lost Through nm
Indian Attacis-erews In Interest
Bach season.

- 's' ~ N%N hrNANhs among Nnc fnOny
expeditions Gifted out by miners and ptos.
pectors waaonc bound ON search for the
long lost and fahnlously rich Lost
Rocker claim. Eyefy summer at least
ono party hts out n Juneau TO hunt Tor
H. Usually thew are several searching
parties, and occasionally some ndyentur-
Gus prospcctor starts out Of Sitka and
urops down across Chatham straits, hon
ing by going ~ nearly rs he can In tho III
Netion taken by tho prospcetors who
found the Rocker 90 come again on the
lost gold mine The Rocker Ia tradition
4 In Alaskan mining towns now, ana each
/ year as the season goes by and none IL the
searohers iudE Il, the stories of its vast
riches grow and incrcasc IN number
lt was In the spring OF 1875 that the
/ only two men who ever saw the Rocker
loft Sitka ON the prospecting trip which
has started out oil the subsequent partics
( They wore looking for placer dlgglngs,
ana they meant 20 strike tho mainland
somowhoro down toward Fort wmngui.
Their big canoe was we'll, stocked, and
they took their time, exploring tho Is.
lands along their routo and prospecting MS
they went along The islands didn't show
much color" however, and along In tho
carly summer they crossed Chatham straits
came TO tho mouth OF cruek Tho crnok
bed gave evidence TO their experienced
eyes OF tho presence OF tho metal forwhich
they were searching II was strewn with
quartz, and the gravel showed a good
color" for every pan
Tho two pno+pootors pitched their camps
and began work. Tho gravel nlwNys
panncd 'color" but II wasn't rich
enough for them 40 they cached their
store, pulled out their boat and pushed up
stream, climbing over big bowidors and
smashing through the heavy undcrbrush
until they reached the head wators W tho
creek, From there they went on TO the
top Of the divide Beyond and hollow
stretched broad basin, In which lay u
beautiful little lake, a small stream emp.
tied into tho lake, coming down from tho
cast, and another flowed out OF It toward
tho north Tho prospeotors went down
the slope OF tho divide to tho lake and
oanpod near the stream which flowed down
the eastern slope.
Tho strnm had n gravel bottom, and
the ilrst wash showed tho miners that they
had struck bonanza The gravel yielded
coarse gold the si1o OF hoan and always
washed moro than 81 TO tho pan. The
lucky gold hunters lost no tlnu In Rettlqg
down TO business, ono went bnok 10 tho
cache for supplies, aud tho other vet 10
work 10 build a rookori or uradlc, us some
placer diRgrrs call H. Whom tho rocker
was finished the two miners worked rs hard
as they could realizing that tho short
Alaskan season was vol under way, They
stopped only 60 make occasional trips bnclt
10 the beach for supplies, and spent all tho
rect OF their time panning tho rich gravel
They had hoon AZ II about two weeks
and had washed ont something moro than
5000 worth Of rough gold, whom ono day
when they quit work about noon 20 pro.
pare dinner they were ainhuahcd by In.
dinna who, had tracked thon from tho
bench Tho Indians opened ilfa from b..
hind olump Of bushes near the camp. ono
OF the minors WINS killed At rho first ilrr
but tho other escaped unburt, As no saw
his companion fall lac dashed into tho
short timber ON the western slopo beyond
his camp and raced up the divide Tho
Indians eont shower Of bullets after
him, but not ono touched him, and he
managed TO oludo them all and get back to
the cache IL siidn't take him long to
tumble some provisions into his canoe aud
push out into the channel. Hard padding
soon put HIN out of rlfo range from tho
shofo, and ho had u chance 70 case up aud
take stock.
He was safe and sound and he figured
that he Ind provisions enough ~ take him
back TO SitliA, whore he could organize n
party, return 20 tho dlg9ings, ayongo his |
oomradc aud wash out fortune. SO no |
shaped his course as he supposed, No that |
10 would bring him 10 Sltkn But tho
prospcctors had travelled devious way |
from the little old Alaskan capital They |
had stopped a. hoycrnl islands aud crossed /
and rccrossud the winding, toriuonh chan
ncls, and the survivor Of the attack Of the 4
Indians ON Tho Rocker dlBgiDgs, "a lie aft
erward called thoin, soon found that no
wns lost In tho iBtricaolcs Of tho ever
changing courses. Al last he WINS picked
up by gunboat bound down from the
Boring sea 10 Puget sound IIo was land
ed Ia Port Townsend with something
moro than 81, 800 IN coarse gold, which he
carried slowed IN leather belt around his
waist II was his share OF tho two weeks
work at tho Rocker In similar belt
around the waist OF his dead oomrAde there
WINS ma much more
Promptly the miner started back 20 sit
ka. There he told the story Of tho murder
Of his companion, but the showing Of gold
bo mnde aud his description Of the fAbn.
lous riches of the little stream where he
got Il made the hardy miners forget the
danger and pnrty was quickly organ.
lied 10 recover and work tho>Rocltcr. Aft.
er great hardships tho expedition failed, ns
did all those which have since followed II,
As season after season rolls By tho story
grows At the winter headquarters Of the
miners In juneau the prospoptors roll II I'M
dor their tongues as they shift their guilds,
Every season one expedition at least starts
out, half hopciessiy and expecting 20 be
jccred Sometimes two or three start
some from sltkA and some from juneau.
As each one comes bnok empty handed the
story q tho mine they hunt grows Largo
rewards baye been offered TO the Indians
n they would guide miners to the lake.
But perhaps because thoy fear they would
DO implicated ia tho murder, perhaps DO.
cause they don't know, perhaps because
there IL no Lost Rocker, they always
refuse. Some day tho country viii be
opened up, and then JUNEAU will learn
The true story OF the Lost Rocker. -
New York Sun.
ss-a--s7-7vs-
The number d Jews IA tho world is o.
MINATED 70 10 q, 900, 900. on these about
500, 900 Are IA America. These arp divid
- ftfa eltraa rlaaaaa m aarta.L Ito the fr. !