The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-12
FLOCKING TO COOKS INLET.
CROWDS OF MINERS GOING TO THE
gOLD DIGGING2.
The Rush DeveIopinE Into Proportious
hat Bid Fnir 60 Dwarf the Scramble for
the DiEginEs in the Yukon Couutrv-
The lniet Country and Etc Prospects.

INV y" " AA"a
The lniet Couatry and Etc Prospects.
JUNEAU. Alaska. March 2s. Il rush for
Cooks Inlet hns begun in full force. A party
of twenty. five left Juneau n week ngo to take
the steamer pertha from Sltka for the head Of
Prince William Sound. Others are getting
ready to go. and the Juneau men who are 20.
ing into the inlet this summer will all have loft
tlis town in tie course OF two or three weeks.
Ihere IL apparently an Unprecedented rush
Tor the promising placer diggings along Turna.
gam Arm. REPORTS received here from below
are to the effect that half a dozen schooners,
carrying about twenty five men each, and one
steamer with $50, have sailed directly from
seattle for the inlet. san Francisco and Oak
land have also caught the fever. and are send
ing out parties, all OF whom. apparently. cx-
pect to nan big fortunes out Of che diggings in
the inlc. this sumuar.
The indications are that the digzings at
Cooks Inlet will ultimately rival the diggincs
IN the interior along the Yukon and It's innu.
mereble tributaries. There was a great rush
to the inlet last season, hut a great many Of
the men who went in were either poorly pre-.
pared and not properly QUILTED. or else were
cutters at heart. More than half Of them
gave UP and came out before the season was
half through. They told all sorts Of stories
about the desolate country, and how useless IL
'' ~ ''NhN'N ~ AAA Nlt lltll W ~ Hkd gu
until fall told a different story. They did
some thorough prospecting, and as a result Of
their hard work. struck several claim. which
yielded about $50 a day a man. About $50
men wtntered In the inlet. and reports which
have come out from time 10 time indicate that
the prospects are first class.
Placer mining has been going on in the Yukon
for fifteen years. The interior is the old stand
by. The country II known. and its develop
ment progresses regularly: but Cooks Inlet
Is a new field, and its wealth in placer ground
Is rs yet undetermined. II is much more easy
OF access than the Yukon. living is cheaper, and
the working season is longer. so that cheaper
gravel can he worked at the same profit. The
early Russian settlers placer mined near the
mouths Of streams in the inlet as long as half
a century ago. but they made very little out
Of It. In late years white PROJECTORS have
tried to make wages In sluicing and rocking
in the beach sands at the mouths of the
streams, but the best ground wouldn't pro-
drce more than three or four dollars a day. and
no very extensive work was done. Late in
the fall OF 1894 a prospeCtnr named peebe dis
covered the first coarse gold some miles u2 n
creek emptying into TurnuSain Arm. which
is a narrow estuary branching out to the east
from the head OF Cocks Inlet The arm runs
to within about fifteen miles Of Prince Will
liam Sound with which 1t surrounds the Kenai
peninsula. 1t is on this peninsula that most
OF the prospecting which promises good results
has been done There are several creeks run
ming down into the inlet from the peninsula.
and in nearly all Of these good pay dirt has
been found. The streams which empty into
the arm from the mainland from the north
have not been prospected a. extensively rs those
which flow from the peninsula end Of the arm.
but what work has been done on them shows
49,. ~ -, - H. "
indicates that the extent and richness It the
inrat rrooa.s hora 49,. hr aans h,o, H.
u'e p'n'ers nave not ny any means zee" "e-
termined.
The miners who stayed in the inlet country
last wear did no. ..et 70 work witch was nroft
able until late in the season. because OF the
very high water. Pr3spectirg could not br
"ohe except IN very "IGn oars an" on 'he
side hills. 1t was not until about the first If
August that the waters receded and work
coulu De zone on 'he low oarS' aho 'heA II was
that the men who stayed through got their pay.
- uaaL. 49,. - -,
over TOUR weeks ou' several th"u7ahd u"'!ars
largest amount cleaned mn on nnv one c,afm
800 -, "a ooo ~
Those who 90 into the inlet by way of Prince
William Sound have 70 MAJ. , frtear.r,iI,
rortors rom rho sound 10 Trrna.,in Avn
The portage is not a hard one to cross. As the
range at that point is low. On the Prince Wi.
liam Sound side the ascent Ia the summit Is
pretty steep for about two miles. but from tho
summit down TO the arm the descent + gradual
and easy waking. Al the miners who 70 In
take snowshoes and Yukon S,eds to haul their
outntS over the divide. There are several
creeks and rivers on which miners settlements
have been made, Sunris. tity. at the mouth Of
Six Mile Creek, Is about thirty miles FROM the
head of the arm. The shore line l. rough. ard
before reaching sunrise there Is "a dangerous
on thu south side Of the arm. about
eight miles ga st OF the town. Onlv good strong
boats can run through il. sunset City is at the
mout,. Of Resurrection Greek. and ten miles
further down the arm Is lIoue city. Glacier
Creek l. the first stream that puts into the
lead of the arm from th' south. Five miles
below the mouth OF Glacier Greek comes ia
I(Iurt2 i-rr.E. upon which sonr pros pecting
has beer done. Halfway between quartz
Greek and six Mile come, in Little SIX Mile
Greek. From there down to Resurrection
Greek the heads of the streams have heca more
or less prosDeCted. TIL. tide in the arm rises
and fulls with n rush. which ueCcssitates the
use OF very stout boats Ia prospecting.
The range which makes the divide in the pOrt-
age in Prince William Sound To Turnagain
Arm forms the backbone Of the Keuai PENN.