The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-08-14
AN EXPERTS VIEW.
Frank E. Howard on the Situa-
tion at Cook Inlet.
FROM AN UNBIASED STANDPOINT
Four Hundred Men At Work on six
Prospecting Chances for Miners.

EcS~-4E z&4sl EcfEce9 . printed Ecre& III. MI
Howard ass for some time been connect
Ell vita the juneau Mining Record. aad
Hzs spent fourteen years In the mining re-
gioas cf the north. This "a not his first
season az Cook Inlet. aai bis article = a
truthful exposition oE the resources Of that
much rnaIgnsd country.
Mr. Howard tells OF the first discoveries,
Of the disappointment and chagrtn OF the
te11srfeeE who focEed into the country
when the ground was covered with snow.
only % ind that the country had already
been rrospectsd and claims staked out
These are the men. he says. who. instead
OF striking out 10 hunt % ne~ creeks. sold
their outfits and left the country, OF course
giving IL black eye. Others who arrived
later were so filed with bad news they
returned on the same boat that brought
them ~. and brought back with them
the yarns OF the first ones But a large
number or the newcomers remained. and
most % them are working and doing well.
Dir. Hogards letter seems 10 bear out
the statement already made by the Post
1ntel}igencer that men who 20 10 Cook IN
let VIII fare about the same as men do in
other localities IL they are miners. will
Ing TO wcrk hard. bear hardships and stick
10 II. they VIII not Starve 10 death. and
stand 4 chance OF al least making a lIy-
ing. Mr.. Howard's letter follows:
sunrise City, Cook Inlet. Alaska, July
settler Of this section OF Alaska 10 read
the CARRIED and ofttimes contradictory
reports that have appeared of late in the
columns or the Pacific coast newspapers
relative 10 the mines and general outlook
OF this country. Some give highly fiat
tering reports OF great richness In the
beds OF the streams wherein sacks filled
with golden grain only await the packing
on, ana others are so contradictory that
one after reading them would naturally
tnier that even the color OF gold was
a scarce production OF the country. There
Tore, 10 enIighten an inquiring public this
arucle Is given them from both an un-
biased and unprejudiced standpoint of
View taken by persona, observations
gathered through nearly four months
travelling and panning from the mouths
10 the headwaters of the streams. In the
article We endeayor TO give an account
OF past and present happenings in the
district and general description of the
country's geological features.
First Discovery.
The first discovery OF gold made In Sun
rise mining district was IN the fore part
OF the summer OF 1895, by one Sanford j.
Mills. an old placer miner OF forty years
experience. who is now the elected re-
eorder OF the district. The original dis
coyerer located for himself one claim,
and one only up 10 the present time, Of
twenty acres Following upon the heels
OF the discoverer came hundred pros
pectors or more who began prospecting
the stream from the mouth to the head
waters. and staked of claims in the most
favorable spots where gold could find per-
manent Judgment along the banks and
IN the beds. Some of these men were
'grab-staked' and others were one OF
party OF several who were scattered out
"A m. II a
tons. and in such cases more than one
claim was located By such representa-
tves OF other men by power-of-attorney
and as partnership agreements. and these
arc the causes whereupon later arrivals
in the field have entered protest against
the discoveries locating so much ground.
But more of this later on.
Some time after the discovery of the
creek the miners, according to law. at a
public meeting. laid out Sunrise mining
district and elected a district recorder;
no local rules and regulations were passed
upon governing the size of a claim or the
number Of claims that any one man could
locate, the law governing such, as laid
down IN the United States statutes, being
adopted Therefore, IL a man saw 1T he
could locate a claim Of twenty acres and
Was not restricted TO only one claim in a
district. The heaviest flow Of gold SEEM
Ing 10 come down Mills. Canyon ard Six
Nile creeks. which form one continuous
stream in like rotation. before fall the
ground was nearly all taken up along that
line. and IN one or two instances ore man
had located as high as three claims, or
one claim upon each OF the forks. To
make description OF this line of streams
palmer. first comes IN Six-Mue creek
starting from It's mouth where Il empties
into Turnagaln arm. and running up
twelve miles 10 the forks with Canyon
creek, thence up Canyon creek ten miles
10 the forks with Mills creek and thence
up Mills creek about eight miles 10 It's
source. making a total distance Of about
thirty miles. along which line. even Up to
the present time, al the richest claims
OF the district are located. when the
spring rush arrived men on snowshoes
and some without. wadlng through snow
up 10 their hips, continued hastily on in
their rush up the main golden artery
The most OF these men were tenderfeet
IN mining camps-never saw mine In
their lives. or had the slightest idea how
10 reduce pan Of gravel. They expected
70 see the bars and beds of the streams
glistening with yellow metal, and all they
had 20 do was 20 drive a stake. camp
thereon and commence panning out
fortune. But imagine their disappoint-
ment and chagrin when they found
through looking the ground over that
stakes had been driven thereon the year
before and the record books showed uaetes.
bounds and dates Of valid prior locations
according 20 the laws OF the land and
the district. Then these people grew wild.
they ciassed the discoveries and original
locators Of the ground as a set OF hogs
and laid plans 20 call miners - meetings
20 adopt local rules and regulations 10
cut claims down 10 so feet square and
limit man 70 the location Of onsy on~
claim N a district: they were going 10
of-attorney. or one partner beating for
another, In fact. they were going - gov
err the district With laws az their own
making. With this Idea IN view numerous
written hanahilis were posted throughout
the district calling \ miners meeting AZ
a certain date, putting by Ortrsr OF the
Committee az Signature to such no.
ti-ss n one instance a few miners gath
erred A. the forks, the place desirnstea
FOR saeb meeting AZ the date uleationea.
bat as ths sid committee failed % nut
In an appearance and make themselves
known AMI heard on the premises me
meeting was net called TO order. ard the
miners decided % pay no more attention
20 such calls unless they bore the sigma
tu-e q the rscordeF q the District.
Advent Of the Jumpers
Following TIE schemes 20 limit ara e,t
down Gains cans TIE Jumpers ana a.
course nothing hut choice claims were
Jumped upon. As natural consequence
thlS plan % securing cairns has caused
trNueie with one shooting scrans on the
calendar ard several rfore hreyxfr< = the
jumpers are Allowed 20 continue ans hos4
possession TIE shooting Scrane above r.
ferrea 90 was the FesaIt OF gang q
twelve newcosaers jumping . claim on
Canyon creek owned ~ Mr.. Eseze The
osucr ordered the Jumpers 10 quit the
claim. bat shey wogl3 bot 20 a-4 tha