The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-02-21

years ago he was clerk and reporter In a
St. Paul newspaper office. He was sent up
into the northern part of the state to in
spect some iron mines and learned that
gold bearing quartz was TO be found there.
Having some knowledge of mineralogy and
more than a smattering of geology, he de-
oided to thoroughly explore the region.
Davis was slim, pale faced young man
then, and the country which he had set
out to traverse was q wild one. He was
full of grit, though. He put his outfit
into a canoe and started alone for Rainy
lake. He made his start from Rat Port
age, on the north side of the Lake of the
Woods, where he had spent the winter aft
er a vain hunt for gold in that vicinity.
1t was perilous journey, and more
than once the gold hunter found himself
face to face with death. This may sound
strangely today, when the passage from
Duluth to Rainy Lake City can be made
with no more discomfort than that incur
red by stage ride from railroad to steam
boat 1t was far different then. Davis
had to depend for transportation on his
canoe entirely, and when portage had to
be made it was tedious work. Once his
canoe was smashed on the rocks of an I'M
known stream, and he narrowly escaped
drowning, only to wander about until al
most starved. Twice he was rescued by
Indians when almost exhausted. For
weeks he lived on raw fish and berries and
suffered all sorts of privations. One tribe
of Indians, to whom he showed how he
could roast rocks and produce beads OF
gold, elected him chief and wanted to
adopt him. He declined, and the Indians
took him to Fort Francis, where be OBJ
tanned a new outfit and finally reached
Rainy lake.
He camped on one of the many small
islands in the lake, and while picking ber-
ries for his breakfast discovered rock that
looked promising. Abandoning his break
fast preparations, he crushed some Of the
rock and roasted it in his frying pan.
The result made him almost wild with de-
light. In describing his find he said:
81 think 1 had the largest panning of
gold ever saw for the amount of rock
used. I laughed and cried like a crazy
man. guess I was crazy for the time
being, for realized that was rich and
that my hardships were over
He named his claim the Little Ameri-
can and soon after sold it for $40, 000
He located other claims and is now the
possessor of a big fortune. On the site
where he wandered, less than four years
ago, in the midst of a wilderness, is now
q booming town. In summer regular
lines of steamers carry prospectors and
visitors through the chain of lakes and
anu b0N0Fd1 TSAlIfOdQ Illus drS O6lIS
pushed toward the new goldfelds.
Gold has been found on both sides Of the
boundary line, but the mines
on the Canadian side are being more rap
idly developed. Many stamp mills have
been put up, and next spring machinery
will be rushed in that will greatly increase
the gold output for the coming year. The |
ore is very rich, running from SO to sos |
a ton, and 1t is easily worked. Here the I
gold bearing reefs lie almost wholly ex-
posed. Biologists say that when this part |
of the country was swept in the glacial !
period by great field of ice from the arc
tics the rock was left bare. Some of the /
richest mines have been located on the is
lands in the lake. but others are being !
worked on the mainland on either shore.
1t now costs less than So per ton to mill |
the ore, and when the transportation facil- |
tiles have been increased it will cost not |
more than So per ton.
Besides the gold mines the region is a t
rich one in other particulars. The great |
plain which lies to the south of Rainy
lake is one of the most fertile sections of !
Minnesota. This plain is over ., 900 square |
miles in extent and will some day support /
many thousands of settlers. There are
thousands of acres, too, OF valuable pine I
and cedar forests, and deposits of various /
metals, which will add to the riches of the
men who acquire homes in this region.
The climate is not half as bad as it is gen |
orally supposed to be either. The average /
.ainfal is no greater than that of other /
parts Of Minnesota, and the winters are no |
more severe.