The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-07-10
ANOTHER BLACK EYE.
Discouraged Prospectors Com
ing Back From Cook Inlet.
The ANNIE NIXON ARRIVES
The Passengers Claim There Is No Gold
There, and That 4 900 Men Are
Likely To Starve.

at Is a fake, out and out" Those are
the terms In which returned miners speak
OF the Cook Inlet country. Fifteen dis
Outraged god seekers We're brought down
by the schooner Annie N. Nixon. which
arrived from the inle; yesterday after
noon about o'caock. These fifteen, aided
By The regular crew OF She Nixon. are ap-
pareatly united in the condemnation they
heap on The unfortunate met, ard the
Northern Mecca is branded as q ds.usiol
and a snare.
The schooner left here about month
ago and made quick and successful trip
10 Cook inlet. She started on the retur n
voyage June Il. with the disconsolate If
teen referred TO and her trip down was
under favorable conditions. with the ex-
ception OF q storm OF short duration This
was probably the tail end OF the sod'west-
er which worried the brigantine Blakeiey
for seven days.
Among <he passengers were James
Jones and Amos Speck. who left San
Francisco for Cook inlet last March. going
in by way OF the Portage. which they
reached on the steamer Bertha from Sit
ka. Their outfit consisted Of years sup
pies and they intended TO so in the gro
Gerry business. They were seen yesterday
afternoon aboard the Nixon by a POST
1ntelligencer reporter and between them
told the following story:
Why did We leaves Well. because the
country Is a fake. out and out There
are few spots on Resurrection and SIX
Nile creeks where gold can be found, but
in the rest OF them, Twenty Mile. Glacier.
California and Trout creeks, there is not
even color TO be found. AS far as Kenai
creek and others in that district are con-
cerned. you can get the color, and that Is
all. Good miners were coming into camp
all the time from prospecting tours, COM
pieiely discouraged with what they had
found. Claims located on Six Mile can be
bought from $50 up. There are only three
or four that are any good. On Bear creek
the claims are not turning out enough 20
pay the men, Mr.. Riley claims TO have a
rich layout on Bear creek. but he is be-
hind with bis men. Not a claim had been
opened up when we left. They claimed II
was impossible 70 open up on account OF
the frozen ground. but the fact is they
are simply holding their mines for specu-
laiion and are afraid to show up what
there Is In them. The river beds have a
slate formation with small quantities of
white or bastard quartz. In which no gold
is found"
Jones hunted about in his pockets and
uneartheo very small pill bottle with
about 81 in gold dust cleaning inside.
This is my Alaska fortune" he ex-
claimed. II got Il on the beach at Six Mile
creek. which is about as good a place as
there is In the country. Gold is to be fouad
there in small quantities between the
crevices OF the rocks. There are several
men working there with a rocker who car
not make over 81 10 $3.50 day. You CO ia
go to any of the diggings in Washington
and make that much or more"
They had found the grocery business
failure. they said. and IN explaining why
gave few OF the retail prices at which
goods are handled. why. groceries are
cheaper there than In Seattle, and people
are selling low In order to get rid of their
stuff and leave. Flour retails at $50 a
sack; fourteen pounds of sugar go for 81:
potatoeo s. TO s.. 50 a sack: Arbuckle's cof-
fee. IS cents package: bacon. IA cents a
pound. dried fruits, to 5 cents. and all
else In proportion"
What do they do In Sunrise City," was
asked.
"Oh. sit around and whittle and talk,
mostly" was the reply. THE town Ia full
OF men who are not doing anything. There
is no money IN circulation. Several OF the
fellows who crossed the portage with rs
didn't have more than $40 In their po-k-
cts. and II Is hard 70 tell what will become
OF them when Their supplies give out. There
are lot OF fellows who want to get away
but they have a whole lot OF supplies on
hand. and TANK they may as well stay In
the country and eat them up before they
leave. All are more or less discouraged
but some OF them don't care where they
ara as long as they have plenty to eat.
Three of those who came down with the
Annie NJ. Nixon had only been on the inlet
a week. A saloon at Sunrise City and an
other at the mouth of Six Nile creek are
doing good business as are also the two
small hreweries In operation.
Two Scandinavians who hailed from Sc
attic were drowned In Turnagain arm
about June 10. A party OF five started to
cross the arm in rowboat. They were on
prospecting tour, and had the boat heav-
lily laden with provisions. The tides and
current are very swift and capsized he
boat. drowning two.
'"rhe schooner Port Admiral. of Seattle.
arrived about two days before We left with
all well aboard"
j. j. Campbell. formerly purser OF the
steamer Umatila. returned from Cook in
let on the brigantine Biakeley. He agrees
perfectly with the disappointing reports
that have come from the inlet.
Mate b. Smith, OF the Blakeley, IL en-
phatic in his assertion that the govern
raent viii be called on 20 do some rescue
and relief work az Six Mile and Resurrec-
ton creeks. cat these two places" said
the mate last night. there are az least
1880 men. OF these 1909 have not money
enough TO pay their wav back and are not
prepared for wintering there. Game has
been driven back. Moose meat IS 10 cents
pound. Fishing Is poor. Mining claims
are hard 20 get. The very steamship COM
pany that induced most OF these men 20
go up TO Alaska. had already staked on
every claim at Six Nile and ResRrrec-
ton"
Mr. Smith seemed 70 be suffering with
a profound and abiding disgust. II have
been on the sea for twenty-five years -
he said. and around the globe several
times. and that is the worst country
ever saw. The devil made e. or rather he
began T. II has never been flushed -
He spoke Of a huge tidal wave twenty to
twenty-five feet high which sweeps In as
the tide rises, rendering anchorage pre-
carious and navigation unsafe. He closed
hts story with a wish that the govern
nleut might be insucesi 70 act prom pity, or