The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-07-17
IA NEW LAND OF GOLD.
MANY DECLARE IT'S MINES THE RICH
EST IN THE WORLD.

Reports From the Yukon Country That
Recall El Dorado-Iate Discoveries Seem
, to Indicate That the Mother Vein of tho
Gold OF the Continent IL In Alaska.
Those familiar with the history Of
gold mining declare that the goldfelds
of Alaska are among the richest both
In quality and In extent that have ever
been known. The stories that the Span
ish explorers heard about El Dorado were
no more wonderful than those which
are now coming down from Alaska
with every steamer, except that tho
Spaniards heard Of gold already mined
and refined, whereas the Alaska gold Is
not yet dug. The Spaniards never got
their gold, the Alaskans are getting 1t
by the ton. Here, for instance, il q quo
tation from recent Issue Of The Alas
IA Mining Record Of Juneau. It relates
to the arrival OF one Jack Hayes. the
mail carrier for the Yukon district.
Hayes left juneau ON Jan. IA and COM
pleted his tour Of duty on June 20.
After an interview with him about his
experiences The Record says:
"Much excitement prevails all through
the Yukon district over the Klondike
discoveries, and all kinds Of stories of
the riches there are told, many Of which
Mr.. Hayes says are true. It Is true that
two tenderfeet, railroad men from Los
Angeles-Frank Summers and Charles
Clemens-have struck il rich. They
went in year ago and located on the
Klondike last fall. Clemens sold his in
terest for $35, 900 cash. and his partner.
Summers, held ON two weeks later and
got $50, 700. The money to pay the
men was taken out Of the dump which
had been lifted from the shaft ON the
claim during the winter. These two
men had each panned ont %, 500 ON their
claim while prospecting it.
"The man that bought Clemens inter
est bound the bargain with e282 mug
get which had been taken from the
fKlondike. Summers Is a single man.
sClemens has wife and two children in
Los Angeles It is said that both will
come ont on the next boat via st.
Michael, bringing with them their lit
tile fortunes. Neither man had ever had
any experience in mining.
"Alec Mcdonald took one pan from
his claim which tipped the scales to the
tune Of $500 and offered wager of
81, 900 that he could pick his dirt and
in 30 minutes get pan that would 60
over 100 ounces ($1, ,600). No one cared
= to cover the wager.
"Dick Lowe is panning for living
and is taking out the modest sum Of
800 day.
"In personal letter dated at Circle
City Oscar Ashby says in part:
"'Our town is very quiet at present,
every one having gone to the big excite
ment at Klondike Everybody has gone
crazy over it. This country has an nm
paralleled future. There are thousands
of acres that men will not-in fact, can
not-look at until provisions are cheap
er. understand that wages here will
he $12 day. There is not enough help
to supply the demand on the creeks.
Dogs are worth all kinds Of money,
from $50 to $500 each. :"
There are one or two men in New
York who know Alaska mining and
Alaska mines well. A reporter asked
one Of them the other day to talk about
the gold diggings of Alaska. He did 80
after stipulating that his name should
not be printed. He opened drawer of
his desk and out Of number Of speci-
mems of ore selected chunk as big as
mans thumb. It was as heavy as a
bullet.
"This," he said, as he laid it away
in the drawer again, "was picked up on
the surface soil six years ago. Another
piece as big as my fist, picked up at
the same place, we have been offered
$3.50 for. Now, when there is gold like
that lying about open to the air there
is just one inference to be drawn--it
comes from some place. The man who
finds the place is rich. The man who
tells the world in general what he is
looking for and why under such cir
cumstances is fool. BY the same token
he usually dies poor and complains of
hard times and sighs for the return of
the good old days of 1S49.' Why, man,
1849 was nothing to this Johannesburg
is no such center Of goldfelds as is
Juneau.
''But there is this difference between
California in 1840 and Alaska in 1897
Alaska is all staked out. The news has
not gone abroad until the people near
at hand, the people who have spent
money, time and their very lives in de.
veloping the country. the people, in
short, who deserved the reward, had
seized on everything in sight. Down
along the coast in the quartz lodes the
stamp mills have been established one
by one, 20 stamps here, 40 there. They
have not any Of them begun to be
worked as hard as the available area Of
ore will permit. With mills running
altogether $40 stamps, more than half
the stamps working only half year,
Che product Of the quartz mines of
Alaska in 1897 yielded $2,355, 900. /
say to you earnestly, honestly, that is
only pin scratch. Work in Alaska
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