The Portland daily press., 1896-07-28
STRANDED MINERS I'm ALASKA.
The Thousands Who Went to Cook Inlet
Are Having Sorry Time of 1t.

Tacoma, Washington, July 18-Abeut
I, 900 miners are stranded ut Cooks Inlet,
which is nearly 1000 miles northwest of
juneau, Alaska. They crowded in there
during March. April. and May, reports
having been circulated that gold was to
be found in great abundance. During
the spring months every steamer to Alas
ka was crowded with passengers and a
number of steamers and sailing vessels
made special trips to carry miners.
| About half Of the prospectors went over
| the Chilkoot Pass to the Yukon basin,
where there Is known to be gold. 1t is
| yet too early to learn what success they
will have. The 5000 prospectors at
Six Mile and Resurrection creeks, which
empty into Turnagain Arm. the head,
| waters of Cooks Inlet. A long these
creeks the ground was staked off foi
| claims before the snow went off. In
many cases claims underneath the snow
the latest prospectors got there. The
result Ia a large number of conflicting
claims which are likely to cause trouble
should gold be discovered in paying
quantities.
Along the beaches a few colors are
found to the pan, but they consist of such
light fake gold as to be practically worth
less, man being able to wash out only
few cents worth per day. Sons of the
prospectors are putting down shafts, but
up to June 20 no better results had been
obtained.
The brigantine Blaksley. which sailed
for Cook Inlet in April, carrying sixty
prospectors, has just returned. She brings
news that the miners were becoming
vely much discouraged when she left,
and those who had any means were pre-
pairing TO leave as quickly as possible.
The Blakeley's crew say that each day
they were there squads OF miners, num-
bering from dozen to fifty each, were
30 be seen going up and down the various
| creeks searching for gold. All returned
empty handed. Considerably over half
of the prospectors had no money left
when they landed, their passage money
and extensive outfits having cost from
500 to $500 each. Many had become so
Disguised that they were selling their
provisions to get money to secure passage
for home. On this account provisions
were very cheap. -four selling rs low as
% cents sack and other things in pro-
portion.
AT Hope City, on Resurr cotton Greek,
there Is one saloon, but the business is so
poor that the proprietor intends leaving
as soon as possible. Nobody had any
money and no games of chance were to
be seen, very unusual thing for an
Alaska mining Damp. Game there is
scarce. An occasional moose is found.
When the Blakrley left some of the
minors were striking for the headwaters
OF the kenna1 River, eighty miles south
Of Turnagain Arm. The Russians form
erly operated rich mines on this river.
but they were Later abandoned, the ore
being SO oily that quicksilver does not
| readily take up the gold. James Chur-
chill, rRncher, who returned on the
Blakeley, says that it is not unlikely that
the miners left on Turnagain Arm will
seize some of the vessels there and helm
| Themselves to get away. A bout a dozen
vessels are there now, large and small
| mostly from Puget Sound.
| The Blakeley had a very rough and
exciting voyage. She was the first vessel
| to get as far an Resurrection Creek. but
could not remain there on account of the
strong currents and heavy winds which
| blow of the glaciers and down Turna-
gain Arm like hurricane. The tide
| rise in Turnagain Arm amounts to thirty
| five feet, and the current is SO swift that
a skiH scOntGining two men travelled
twenty-six miles in an hour and half
Tho rolling in of the tide forms treacher
GUS tide-bores, which ars great rolling
waves eight and ten feet high, that
mark the advanoa Of the changing tide
Those tide. bores possess terrific force. and
have carried a number of prospeotors to
| death beneath their swirling waters.
Two miners who remained on sand spit
awaiting the tide we're thus caught and
drowned on June 15