The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-07-23
REPORTONCOLDLAND
DR.. Dali of the National Museum
Reports on the Locality.
STORIES ARE NOT EXAGGERATED.
The Metal Was First Discovered In 1866
and Has Been Taken Out In Paying
Quantities For Fifteen Years.
Methods of Mining.

Washington, July 21.-Dr William H.
Dali, one of the curators of the Ma
tional museum, is familiar with the re-
gion of country in which the Klondike
goldfields are located through having
been on several geological expeditions
to the region in Alaska adjoining the
gold district and says that in his opin-
ion the reports from there probably are
not exaggerated. He said:
"When l was there, did not find gold,
but know of it being taken out in prof.,
table quantities for Is years or more
1t was first discovered there in 1866. In
1880, when was up in that country-my
last trip having been made two years
ago-the first party of prospectors who
made the mining profit started out.
The gold is found on the various tribu-
taries of the Yukon, and ! have been
within a comparatively short distance
of the Klondike fields / made one
trip to Circle City, just over the bound
ary of Canada.
'The gold bearing belt of north
western America contains all the gold
fields extending into British Columbia
what is known as the northwestern ter
ritory and Alaska. The Yukon really
runs along in that belt for 500 or 600
miles. The bed of the main river is in
the lowland of the valley.
The yellow metal is not found in
paying quantities in the main river, but
in the small streams which cut through
the mountains on either side. These
practically wash out the gold. The
mud and mineral matter is carried into
the main river while the gold is left
on the rough bottoms of these side
streams.
I'm most cases the gold lies at the
bottom of thick gravel deposits. The
gold is covered by frozen gravel in the
winter. During the summer, until the
snow is all melted. the surface is COW
cred by muddy torrents. When the
snow is all melted and the springs be-
gin to freeze, the streams dry up. At
the approach Of winter, in order to get
at the gold. the miners find it necessary
to dig into the gravel formation.
Methods of Operating.
Formerly the5ssstripped the gravel
off until they came to the gold. Now
they sink a shaft to the bottom of the
gravel and tunnel along underneath in
the gold bearing layer. The way in
which this is done is interesting, as it
has to be carried on in cold weather,
when everything is frozen.
"The miners build fires over the area
where they wish to work and keep
these lighted over that territory for the
space of "a hours. Then at the expi-
ration of this period the gravel will be
melted and softened to a depth of per-
haps six inches. This is then taken off
and other fires built, until the gold bear
ing layer is reached. When the shaft
is down that far, fires are built at the
bottom, against the sides of the layer,
and tunnels made in this manner
Blasting would do no good on account
of the hard nature of the material and
would blow out just as out of gun.
The matter taken out containing the
gold is piled up until spring, when the
torrents come down, and is panned and
Graded by these. 1t is certainly very
hard labor.
Il see many reasons why the gold
fields should be particularly rich. The
streams which cut through the noun
tains have probably done so for CEN
turies, wearing them down several hun
dred feet and washing out the gold into
the beds and gravel.
1T is a country in which it is very
hard to find food, as there is practical
ly no game. Before the whites went
into the region there were not more
than 300 natives. They have hard work
to support themselves on account of the
scarcity of game"