Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1897-08-22
WERE FISHERS FOR GOLD.
The Experience of American Pros
pectOrS at PiCton Island.
The Party Was Made Up ofOhioans
and One Erie Man They Began
Work by Dredging for Gold in the
Marie Lopez River, Sut Were
Not Successful.

New York, August 21.-The four
masted schooner Nimbus, Capt. Young
arrived here from Pernambuco. She
carried one passenger, who got on
board when the vessel was leaving
Montevideo for Pernambuco. a repre-
sentative of the Associated Press had
a long talk with the solitary passen-
ger. He is Douglas Perkins, about
% years old. OF / Dorchester avenue,
and I25 Euclid avenue, Cleveland, o.
Young Perkins, who, up to last Octo-
Der, held position in a bank in CleYe-
land is on his way home after having
had a good deal OF experience in pros
pecting for bold in the vicinity of Ter
ra del FuegO Ten moaths asD he,
with eight others, left this city on the
old New York pilot boat j. Z. Loubat,
and while that vessel was being lifted
out for her trip tOVards the horn she
was closely watched by the Federal
authorities, who suspected that she
was a fili6uster
Speaking of the venture, Mr.. Perkins
said: For some weeks prior 20 last
October heard q good deal Of talk
as 10 the possibility of finding gold
near the Straits OF Magellan, and at
few hours notice left my position IN
Cleveland to accompany party 70 that
locality. The party was composed OF
Moses Y. RansOme and mis- son Charles
, x. c. Gardiner and ". II. Harris,
+ all of Cleveland. O.;R. W. Huntington.
of Cincinnati; Z. r. Grndley, II ETe
Pa, and j. A. Murphy The elder
RanSome was the principal person
connected with the expedition. We
sailed ICr the South on October 10th,
last year. Mr. Grindiey acted as sail
ing master and had charge Of the eX-
peditiOn, and Murphy acted as mate.
When the vessel arrived at Buenos
Ayres we remained there for time
transactine business in reference TO the
I papers drawn up in the matter ana
this delayed US six weeks. When we
had all our papers ready We proceeded,
/ J.. W. Warren, of NorfO k, Va, hav-
ing become one of the party. Oar
idea was JC get into some place in
i the Autartic Ocean AM lay UP until
early in the spring. Everything went
along smoothly until We were off Pic
ton Island. and there d l.tlc friction
arose. There were grulabl'ng ard
growing on all sides, but they did
not amount 10 anything serious. Mr..
Grindley had refused 10 so further
! South and left us, but Capt. Dart, a
! Nuvo ScOti;Cu, WAS hired in his stead,
accompanied by OirssiS nnD1ei IS@dt.
/ tbs Capt. Dart naVl91ted the NeSSei
/ and we reached Picton Island safely.
We got our machinery out Of the
D schooner and soon erected an endless
cable from a drum on shore 10 a
Z pulley loop in a buoy, about 700 leet
/ OFF shore. Our vessel was well equip
| ped with mining appliances. Out first
/ attempt was attaching l cOue-shapci
/ bucket to the cable. We endeavOred
/ in this way to fish for sod in the bed
/ Of the Marie Lopez River. We worked
3 for weeks with no success and some
Of the party began making demands
on Mr.. RansOme Wnich lie considered
unfair. We worked inland and along
the coast for a EOatl, but our con-.
+ bined efforts only amounted to 19E
/ CRANES. which in American money
would mean S1.10
Z
| with provisions chartered our schoOn-
er, which had previously been bought
( by Capt. Wilson The latter chartered
| her TO 90 to Punta Arenas. Mr.. Ran
! some went and Harris. Warren and
/ myself accompanied him. Mr.. Ran
some returned with the vessel to Pic
| ton Island, but we three went on. We
/ left BuenOs AyreS and reached Monte
/ video. | am satisfied that there is plen-
/ " of gold down there and l intend
. To return. l hear that Mr.. RansOme
and the others are now on their way
/ 10 this country via Hamburg.
/ Seattle, Wash, August 21.-With
: several millions more in sight the
principal Treadyille mine, on Douglass
+ Island. ALASKA, is soon to have the
| largest stamp mill in the world. It
i has been decided 10 double the capacity
of the plant, making the number of
I stamps 500 The next largest mill in
B size IS located in South Africa, and
has 2S0 stamps. The Treadwell Will
mine its own products at a cost of
/ 81 ton and viii produce S125000
month.
Victoria, B. c.. August 21-The
steamer George +. Starr called a.
Union. having on board a number of
? KlOndikers, one man from Seattle hay-
f ing $4,000. Four NictOrians have
+ between them S25. 1000. They went N
last May and Will return Immediately.
They say they can set through to Daw-
( son City this season.