Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-07-23
THE LAND OF GOLD.
THE ALL-ABSORBING TOPIC OF
THE HOUR.
derfeet' the Lucky Ones-MinPrs
Get Hundreds of Dollars to she
s. Pan:'-SOme of the Lucky Min.
ers-Said to BE the Richest Placer
Diggings Tn the World.

Get Hundreds of Dollars to she
Pan.'-SOme of the Lucky Min.
ers-Said to BE the Richest Placer
/ Diggings I'm the World.
4 lady in Seattle received a few
days ago the following letter from Ar
thur Perry, of Dawson City. bearing
date June 18th, which contains the
/ fullest, most >uccinct and accurate
account OF the great gold discoveries,
which has Yet been i'll Print. The
writer is well-known in Seattle:
The first discovery OF gold on the
klondyke was made the middle OF
August, 1896, by George Cormack on
a creek emptying into the klondyke
from the south, called by the Indians
Bonanza. He found $3.50 to the pan
on high rim, and after making the
find known at Fortv-Mile went back
with two Indians and took out 81 400
in three weeks with three sluice boxes.
The creek was soon staked from one
end to the other and all the small
Cuichc- were also Staked and recorded
About September 10th man by the
name OF Whipple pro>pected a creek
emptying into Bonanza on No. :,
above Discovery. and named it Whip
pie creek, He shortly afterwards sold
out and the miners renamed it Eldor-
ado. Prospects as high as 81 to the
pan were found early in the fall.
Many of the old miners from Forty
Mile went there and would not stake,
saying the willows did not lean the
right way and the water did not taste
right, and that it was moose pasture,
it being wide and fiat. Both creeks
were staked principally by "chee
chacoes" (new men in the coun-
trv), and early as they could get pro-
visions, about $50 men went there and
commenced prospecting, by sinking
holes to the depth of from nine to
twenty-four feet, doing so by burning
down, as the ground was frozen solid
to bed rock. November Odd man by
the name of Louis Rhodes located on
No. 81, above on Bonanza, got as high
as 5000 to the pan. This was the
first big pan of any importance, and
the news spread up and down the
creek like wild fire. This news
reached Circle City, 800 miles farther
down the Yukon river, but nobody
would believe it. Soon after, large
pans were found on both Bonanza
and Eldorado, and each creek was try
ing to outrival the other, until man
by the name of Clarence Berry got
800 to the pan. From that time on
Eldorado held high position. Many
claims from the mouth up for dis
lance of three miles got large pans
until they reached as high as $3.50.
About March Is, 1897, l reached the
diggings from Circle City, having
hauled my sled the whole distance
without dog. The importance of
the new strike had become too signifi-
cant to be overlooked, and about 300
men from Circle City undertook the
journey in midwinter. Such an exo-
dus was never known before in the
history OF the Yukon, but not man
lost his life, although several had their
faces and toes nipped at times. Even
some of the most resolute and disso-
lutte women made the journey in safe
ty. Fancy prices were paid for dogs
by those who were able to purchase,
and as high as SITS and even $500
were paid for good dogs. Almost any
kind of a dog was worth $50 and SIS
each.
When first reached the new camp
was invited by the butcher boys -
Murph Thorp, of Juneau, and George
Stewart, from Stuck Valley, Wash
to go down in their shaft and pick Il
pan of dirt, as they had just struck
the rich streak. To my surprise it
was $2S2.5O. In fourteen pans of dirt
they took out $l,565 right in the
bottom of the shaft, which was 4xS
feet.
March 20, Clarence Barry took out
over $500 to the pan. Jimmy Mac
, LAME took out over 5000 to the pan ;
Frank Phiscater took out $l35 to the
pan. The four boys from Nanaimo
took as high as $l25 to the pan. They
were the first men to get hole down
to bed rock on Eldorado and find good
pay. They had Nos. IA and Is.
In fact, big pans were being taken
on nearly every claim on the creek,
until 500 and 5000 pans were COM
mon. April Is, Clarence Berry took in
one pan 80 ounces-$495-and in two
days PANIED out over 1900. April
IA, we heard some boys on No. 80
Eldorado had struck it rich and taken
out $500 in one pan. This was the
banner pan of the creek, and Charles
Myers, who had the ground on lay,
told me that if he had wanted to pick
/ the dirt he could have taken 100
ounces just as easy.
/. Jimmey MacLanie took out Sill 900
during the winter just in prospecting
the dirt. Clarence Berry and his
; partner, Anton Strander, panned out
about the same in the same manner
! Mrs. Berry used to 60 down to the
, dumps every day to get dirt and carry
, it to the shanty and pan it herself.
She has over 5000 taken out in that
manner.
Mr.. Lippy, from Seattle, has rich
claim, and his wife has sack of mug.
gets alone of 5000 that she has
picked up on the dumps. When the
dumps were washed in the spring the
dirt yielded better than was expected.
Four boys on lay, No. 2 Eldorado,
took out $4,000 in two months.
Frank Phiscater, who owned the
ground and had some men hired,
cleaned up $4,000 for the winter
Mr.. Lippy. so am told, has cleaned
up for the winter $4,000. Louis
Rhodes, No. 81 Bonanza, has cleaned
up $4,000.
Clarence Berry and Anton Strander
have cleaned up $4,000 for the win
ter.
Enclosed are the names of some of
the boys who are going out on this
boat, with the approximate amounts :
Ben Wall, Swede, Tacoma O.OOo