The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-25
LETTERS FROM KLONDIKE.
THE NEW THERE Ron THEIR
FRIENDS TO JOIN THEM.

vyages Are o1B n Day-Frices Away Up-sur-
veyor Ogiivte Fears Troubie Over Conflicting
Clains-Oue miner Thinks the View finds
vii Cause the Demonotisatien OF Geld.
Evory mail from Alaska brings moro news oftho
almost fabulous richness OF the new Klondike
gold Geld. The Alaska Mininp Record Of July Ia
papor published in Juneau. contains a great deal
Of interesting information not yet published in
this country. In excerpts from the official ro-
port Of Dominion Surveyor William ogilvie is
found q now explanation Of the name Klondike.
Mr.. ogilvie says:
"The namc Klondike Is a INSTRUMENTATION OF
tho Indian word or words Thron-dak or Quick,
which means plenty OF fsh, from the fact that 1t
10 O famous salmon stream. 1t is marked Ton
OAK on our maps"
After telling Of tho discovery Of gold there in
1887 by @. w. Carmach, Mr.. 0gilvie presages
considerable trouble and confusion in the near
future from the lack OF system in making out
claims. He says: when II was fairly cstab-
lished that Bonanza Creek was rich in gold
which took u few days. for Klondike had been
prospected several times with no encouraging
r~esults-there was q great rush from all over
the country adjacent to Forty Mile. The town
was almost deserted; mon who had been in a
chronic state Of drunkenness for weeks were
pitched into boats as ballast and taken up to
stake themselves q claim, and claims were
staked by men for their friends who were
not In the country at the time. All this gave
Else to much confiction and confusion. there
being no one to take charge Of matters. The
agent not being able to 10 up and attend to the
thing, and myself not knowing what to do, the
miners held q meeting and appointed ono Of
themselves to measure of and stake the claims
and record the owners names, for which he got
. fee OF 81. 1t being Of course understood that
A.-I ---l tt
claim with the Dominion agent and pay his fee
OF $15. am afraid that n state Of affairs will
develop in the Klondike district that will worry
some one. Naturally, many squabbles will arise
out Of those transactions whom tho claims
como to DO considered valuable and
worked, and those. together with the dis.
putes over the size of the claims will
take some time to clear of. Many OF the claims
arc said to be only 800 and 400 feet long, and OF
course the holders will insist on getting tho full
800, and 1t is now probably impossible that they
can without upsettinR all the claimholders on
the several creeks. Many OF thom will be rea-
Uonable enough to see things in their proper
light and submit quietly, but many will insist
upon what they call their rights"
In reference to the richness Of the Klondike
field, Mr.. ORilvie snys that rich fields in that
district, such as Miller, Glacier and Chicken
~NSS@S eN'S ~ " thho
K!ondike. Men cannot be got to work for love
or money, and the standard of wages is $1.5O
an hour. Some Of the claims are so rich that
every night a few pans Of dirt Is sufficient to
pay all the hired help.
"The extent of the collaborating section here"
Mr.. Ogilvie continues" is such as TO warrant
tho assertion that We have here a district which
will give 1000 claims of 500 feet in length each.
Now 1000 such claims will require at least
5000 men to work them properly, and. as wages
for working in the mines are from So to $40 a
day. without board. We have every reason to
assume that this part Of our territory will with.
In o year or two contain 10000 souls at least, for
the news has gone out to the coast and an un-
precedented influx is expected next spring.
And this is not all. for a large creek called In
dian Creek joins the Yukon about midway be-
tween Klondike and the Stewart River. and all
along this creek good pay dirt has been found. All
that has stood in the way Of working il heretofore
has been the scarcity Of provisions and the diff
Guilty of getting them up there even when here.
Indian Creek is quite a large stream. and it 10
probable it will yield 500 or 600 claims. Further
south yet lies the head of the several branches
Of Stewart River. on which some prospecting
has been done this summer and good indications
found. but the want OF provisions prevented de-
v%clopment.
Crock and tributaries are increasing in richness
and extent. until now it is certain millions will
DO taken out of the district in the next few
years. On some of the claims prospccted the
pay dirt is of great extent and very rich. One
man told me yesterday that he washed out u
Bohsnza Creek Di and ' found H%i S i .ae f In Il. OF
Sen. But th 4. tn may ~ be e,r an n,s exceptionally &c e. nSd!. rich h
dirt and the width vet undetermined. But
known to be thirty feet; even at that figure the
800 feet long, is "a, O0O, 900 at SIS per pan. One.
fourth OF this would be Enough
are SI az least ff has ne1 miles esn Of II this sn eStr se@t hhers
richness, and the indications are that We will
have three or four times that extent, If not all
equal 10 the above, at least very rich"
Mr.. Ogilvie complains sorely of the need Of
some kind of a court TO settle The various claim
disputes that are continually arising between
the miners. He says that the force and virtue
OF miners meetings prevailed until the mounted
police made their appearance. after which sneaks
The morality of the Klopdike would seem to
Pc OF a much higher order than is usually found
mounted police seeming to have n most ~salutary
eject. Mr.. Ogilvie seems to regret 1t, for he
The man who was stabbed here in November
has quite recovered. but. may never have tho
same use OF his back as Of old. having received
|, the police are here. there viii pc no lynchine;
traffic also. saying: THE impression OF the best
men mere, saloon men and all. is that the liquor
trade should be regulated, that no one but re-
eponsible parties should be allowed to bring
liquor in: men in business here OF esta blished
reputation and having an interest in tho
country and the retail traffic, licensed As In the
Eastern provincea, giving licenses TO men Of fair
character only. Now any loafer who can gather
enough money to secure IA few gallons and a few
glasses and wanls to have an idle time, sets up q
saloon. 1t is my opinion that it Is imperative
that the business BE- brought under control at
once, or II may develop phases that will be at
least annoying in the future
Mr.. .Ogilvie announces the location of n quartz
lode showing free gold in paying quantities along
one OF the creeks. The quartz has tested over
300 a ton. The lode appears to run from three
70 eight feet in thickness, and is about 10 miles
found also at the head Of u branch OF the Alsek
River near the head of the Chilkat Inlet. inside
ritory also along Davis Creek in American ter
ritory. The hills around bonanza Creek also
contain paying quartz. Copper in abundance ia
found on the southerly branch OF the " hite
River. and silver ore has been picked up In a
creek flowing into Bennett Lake. Mr.. 0gilvie
says that the placer prospects continue to DO
more and more encouraging and extraordinary.
1T 10 beyond a doubt" he says. that three
pans OF different claims on Eldorado turned out
1904, $2l2, and $216, but 1t must be borne in
mind that there were only three such pans,
though there are many running from $40 to
The Mining Record announces that Hamilton
Smith, the consulting engineer of the London