The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-11-13
iners NJ Cook in,.. are sv No

The miners Of Cook inlet are by Nc
means prepared TO admit that all the good
placer ground in Alaska is 10 the Yukon
hasln and they show the gold from their
own district 10 prove X. Among ths
passengers on the Topeka yesterday wers
w NJ. Wheeler. the storekeeper az Sun
rise. on Cook inlet. who was formerly =
resident OF Sidney. and Francis Taslia-
hue. deputy United States surveyor Tor
Alaska. who IS one of the pioneers OF tha
territory. Together with them were
about thirty miners from Cook inlet. who
brought out about $4,000 among them.
This is Mr. Wheeler's estimate. and. ~
most OF the gold OF the district passes
through his hands, either In trade or
deposit. he is in q position TO know. Hs
estimates the total production OF the Dis
trict 10 date at stc1.ooo 10 sSoo,dlo
Il have been at Sunrise for two sea-
sons said Mr.. Wheeler. land can say
positively that the miners have not COM
menced to mine. they have not even be-
gun to prospect, for 1t takes one solid
season 10 thoroughly prospect a claim.
Men VIII work away for time without
getting anything, and then go away and
say the district II no good. Here ia an
illustration Of what man gets by stay
Ing with e. Fred Smith came up last
season and deposited about $500 with ma
and went to work on Lynx creek. He
took out about si5o a day To the man. and
was drawing on his deposit 70 pay his
men 81 a day. until II was down TO 81 90.
The other miners pulled out and pro-
nounced the creek no good and I was
beginning 10 feel sorry for Smith, when
one day he came In with a sack OF 81 nsa
he had taken out in a week. and he took
out 1900 week for the rest Of tho sea
son. This year he has taken out about
$50 n1o
.'OnIy two streams ana their tributaries
have ever been mined-Six~Msle and Res.
direction creeks. both ernptying inio
Tgrnsgain arm. The tributaries OF Six
Mile creek which are paying are Canyon.
Mills Ia tributary OF Canyon). Gulch ana
Lynx creeks. They are also mining all
along the banks OF Six-Afila creek but
II Is big stream, is5 feet wide at Sun
rise. and runs an average OF three feet
of water. with rapid current It has
any quantity OF gold in the bed but on
account of its size and rapid current I.
is not an easy stream Ia work. so the
miners keep to the rulches. where Il In
easy TO work, and they 40 not know what
IL In the bed OF the streams having never
prospected them. There are places where
YOU could turn Six-Mile creek or Toke;no
creek. as the Indians call it. out Of It's
channel and know one place where you
could expose the channel for five miles
at small expense. believe the best-pay-
ing property Is on Granite creek. .rfb-
utary of Six-Mile. but nobody has ever
seen bedrock there. The tributaries OF
Resurrection creek which are paying ara
Bear and Palmer The gold or Bear
creek is worth xi4.4o an ounce. while all
the other gold In the district is worth
SIS 20 Si7.
They talk about taking ont pans Of
500 to 500 on tho kiondIke but thev
don't say how much work II took 20 get
to that pan. OF course. when man gets
10 bedrock he can 20 along from ora
crpvice IN another and take out rich pans
all the time. The Polly Mining Company
took out $50 a day 10 the man.
Right across Turnagain arm 10 Bur,
creek. which has been the scene Of quite
rush. II was not thoroughly prosrected
last year. bat this year A man struck sn
10 So pan right on top. I know this.
for he brought each pan If gold 10 ma
wrapped In a separate paper and
weighed H. The men who had abandoned
their claims last year made rush to
hold them ard work them when Alfred
came out. The law allowing a man 70
hold claim until January ] Il a draw
back To development, for If these mems
stakes had not been In the ground others
might have gone In long ago and de-
veloped IT.
THE Dora brought down about thirty