Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1897-12-27
WINTER MINING IN KLONDIKE.

WINTER MINING In hLONDlhE.
The country is covered with moss
and frozen to bedrock, and no one
knows how far beyond. There is very
little wash, and especially on Ell
Dorado creek, where the glacier mud
seems to have frozen, and is found al
most to the bedrock. In sinking to
bedrock the shafts pass through this
frozen dirt, and in many instances blue
ice is found two and three feet thick
in strata Immediately above the bed
rock In some places it is found near
the surface. 1t is difficult and almost
impossible to drift this ground in tn
summer season, ais even by close tim
bering, the thawing of the Ice Will
cause the shaft to cave in.
The method of working in the Win
ter is the same as that used In Siberia
where the ground is frozen to great
depth They build a big fire which
they carry a breast of 80 to 4O
feet wide, and one burning along this
length will thaw in about six or elght
inches. The thawed dirt is then taken
out. and another fire built. By this
method they seem to get along very
we'll. 1t is the usual custom to have
two shafts, unconnected, so that While
they are working in one shaft the
fire may be burning in the other, SO
that the work of extracting the dirt
may be continuously prosecuted.
There will be great deal of activity
and a large amount of work done on
Bonanza and 81 Dorado creeks this
winter Most of the ground is worked
on what they call ''lay'-that is, the
owner, or owners, of a claim 500 feet
long give a party of two CIR three lease
of a piece of ground to drift out, the
persons who work the ground receiv-
ing one4half Of the gold taken out. On
the richer claims it is often drifted out
for 40 per cent. of the yield Nearly
all the claims are worked under this
method Of leasing. Some Of them are
leased in sections to different parties,
and the owner sits around watching
the different sets Of men working out
his ground.
By this system a great deal of
drlfted out this winter. AS some of
these claims will have four or five
sets of men working OIL them their
output will be large next year. The
dirt taken out will be washed in May,
June and July. There are very few
summer diggings where they can
Shovel into sluices; therefore, there
will be but little gold taken out aside
from the drifting process.
Some of the claims are very rich,
and the dirt will average 81 or 81 SO
to the pan; that is to say, where the
bedrock is shaley. They take this up
Tor nearly three feet in depth. Where
there are no quartz stringers in the
schist the bedrock seems to be decom-
posed, and is quite SOFT Such claims
are not of much value, except that
they about pay wages. The ground is
spotted. In some instances there are
rich spots, where $40 or $50 a pan has
been obtained, but these are only phe-
nomenal instances. We hear a great
oCCI coOOUb L1ICI1, UuI we never NEAL
anything about the poor claims.
But, on the whole, the placers are
good dlggings, and a good many
outputs for 1898 will be in the neighbor-
hood of $5,OOO,OO0 Of course, this
will depend somewhat on the success
| Of the prospectorG this winter. The
country will be well prospected be-
tween now and next January which
is the best time for that kind of work
1t is almost impossible to get around
in the hills in the summer ON account
Of moss and swamps and the difficulty
of taking along supplies.
Horses cannot be used, and the pros
! pector can only go SO far as he is able
personally to carry his provisions.
There is very little feed or grass to be
, had for animals CT any kind. There
was more feed on the Dalton trail
than in any other part of the country
I travelled through. The further north
one goes the less grass Is found. There
is an ample supply of men there to
do all the work that can be furnished
this winter; indeed, there will prob
ably be some who will find it difficult
to get work.
[ have no doubt that other paying
eulches will be discovered this winter
and for a good many winters to come
| travelled overland 800 miles from salt
water to the Yukon river, and there
is gold to be found over the entire dis
lance. This indicates that there is a
large gCld-bearing country not only
in the northwest territory, but in
Alaska as well. So no one need be in
a great rush for fear they will get
left. There is enough country to last
for years to meet the desire Of all who
wish to go there and prospect.-H.
Bratnober in the Engineering and
Mining Journal.
TO PROSECUTE A BANKER.