The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-10

Q
/ last year. At that time there was no
! Dawson City. La Due had a little
! cleared place where he intended 10 put
/ up 4 saw min, and there Was q tent
I in which some fishermen lived, These
( were the only white residents Of what
/ is now Dawson City. Dawson City is
} from II to Is miles from the Bonanza
creek diggnSs, but the town was To-
I eated at the La Due saw mill because
( it was the best river landing and there
! was more room for q town.
! went over with a party composed of
/ DR.. Willis Of the northwest mounted
/ police, Frank Jones and a man by
J the name OF NIcBeller We had
an indian guide ana worked our
! way over the mountains with Indian
: packers 10 carry our outfits. when we
reached Dawson We found only about q
! Dozen men on the creek. The rest had
) stahed their claims ana gone home. and
NE went in. Ali of the men who had
! stahe6 there up to this time had come
! from Forty-Mi creek. We remain Cd
/ there day and prospeeted the lowe end
! Of Bone ga creek. We found uAat We
/ could get y cents to the pan on the bars
! There were no holes sunk at that time,
and, as q matter OF fact, the richness of
/ the district was not. known. The lOca-
J strength Of what was found upon the
bars Inere VAS one nugget valued al u
! picked up on the creek bow the DiscoT-
/ cry claim. This was the largest nugget
/ found until the holes were sunk IN the
| winter, Corlnack went 10 work washing
( on the rim rock and took out S1,G0, work
( .ng three men for one month. i4le 2thers
( did not attempt TO Do any work and this
I was the only work that I know of having
! been done there that fall.
We all went back to FortY-Nile crock
! and did not return until June Of tuis
! year. When l got there there vas a town
( Of probably Lea people about 800 tents
/ and % buildings. There were seven 6a-
! looms and things were booming. The men
! were beginning to bring in the results Of
( their washings and every night pack
I t~a.n would come down from the creeks
/ bringing lW pounds or more Of dust. The
! stories about bringing gold into camp in
! baking powder cans and syrup cans Is
! true. but the coal oil can story is a little
: 1ff. because il would be impossible to
/ carry coal oil can filled with gold
7 The actual winters work turned out q
round milton of dollars from Bonanza
/ and El Dorado creeks. FL Dorado pro-
/ duced about 100000 of this amount from
/ the creek Half dozen claims pro-
/ duced the majority of this amount-prob-
! ably S5o0,o00.
The claims that turned out this large
amount are: No. ., z. Phiscator; No. g.
! Clarence Berry: No. s, Lamb & NIcNa-
NEE: Nos II and Is, owned by Sloane
/ bros. who afterwards gold to K2use &
! Co. and No. 1G. owned by L. S. Lippy.
The story has got GU. that many of
! these amounts were made - a few weeks
| Or a few days. This is not correct. owing
! 10 the peculiar way in which these mines
/ are worked. The finds a1Suaily represent
( the work Of the winter, for the men work
all winter digging out the ground and
| pIlinS up their dump, and then wash Il
but in the spring when the water begins
! 70 run The largest single pan of which
! there is any authentic record was 81
! ounces. or about $50. taken out by WI
! liam Ogflvie. the Dominion land surveyor.
! -1-Tr
There. are about 20 claims on BONANZA
( creek that viii compare favorably with
those OF, Ell Dorado. There are alto
EGs aTs r about 9 , SS claims on IH3unker FL
worked quite extensively this winter.
There are about COO claims that have been
, recorded IN the KlondIlle district
To those who may be going up there it
! is well to say that al of the available
I claims in that section have been taken
Z IN. and If ANYTHING is tn he done there
! ii viii have 70 be in the line of finding
new creeks. These may turn out we'll or
may turn out little. It is very unlikely
that there viii be another strike in that
sertson Ike the Klondike
The Indian river, which e1nptie5 into the
Yukon ABOUT 40 miles above the Klon-
dixie, will be Thoroughly prospectad this
winter, Dominion creek a tributary of
the Indian river. has been located on ex-
tenS1Vely. and there are about 100 claims
/ in that district. Stewart river NTH be
given considerable attention this winter
and next year. There. has been nothing
done fheTe since ti1e old bar fsggings. and
no gulcb disSinSs have heen attempted.
\ little gold comes out of there every
year where n few men have been work
ing. and t9lre will be n rush there -.hen
tn, new corners find that the ISlondIke IS
entirely taken IN. After that 1T viii be
necessary to branch out into the almost
une3plored districts between Forty Mile
creek and the Arctic ocean. I expect that
the new gold dlSEerS viii force their Way
INTO al OF these sections, and there may
yet be big finds made in these unexplorcd
Mining is conducted in Alaska upon a
different plan from arg other section of
th9 Elooe- There are two methods used
winter. Formerly tde only work was
done IN summer. but about three years
aSo winter mining was tried. and now
most Of the work Is done that way be
cause OF the saving Of time.
The ground is covered with a TOP SOL
from one 70 ten feet in depth and on top
Of that the moss OF Which 50 much has
dccaYcd vegetable natter and is 4 black
muck. Ii never 1haWs. even in summer,
more t9nn q for or eighteen inches deep
y cannot be thawed by fire more than an
men or two at tins. and in consequence
uaS TO he nieked out, When the gravel
IS reached fires are built upon it Until Il
uh1Ws out sufficiently to pick and shovel
out section This is thrown on the
dump. and the operation repeated until
bedrock is relChed- If 4 pay streak is
struck then drifting commences. The pay
streak IS generally ebout four feet OF
gravel ard two feet of bedrock The
pay critic = stored on the damp, and Whcn
the water first runs 81 the spring washing
begins
This method is pursued because IL s
simple. aud allows the use of the long
winter. which would otherwise be lost
The net results are not 50 great as by the
summer Sluicsn~, but the time when the
S:on0d Will Permit Of that method of W.lrl1
) limited. The summer method is dLf-
tefent. As soon as the water -u-S in
the sNFing 81 IS Turned oyer the ~rouDd
ana VIA The aid of the water the sol IS
removed This Is called ground sluscing,
II Ndter cannot be procured il must be
stepped bY hand The gravel after the
80 Is removed viii thaW rapid'C'- Then
drain must be dug or Il pump started in
oruer 10 dsdiN the bedrock This X thu
expensive portion Of tins method fo- the
cram VIII an~e TO be frcm 800 To > 90
ieet long, according. to The depth Of tie
bedrock. and the lall % The oreell. Luna-
her l0r slu-oo boxes * WhipeaWed By
hand, and costs about $3.50 1hGUeaad zee
After the boxes are set Clen s.laUeltrg
: b5Elns ana the sEic method is pursued
as elsewhere. TIE taiEngs nave s1rne-
times to be saorclcl awaY from the siuice
BOXES because oi tnc slight grade Of the
creeks. This IS really cheaper IN the end
because when work IS once begun more
dirt can na handled per man and le-ce~
results follow fer the ttrle of WORKING.
The cost of preparation for this method
IS such thar i prohibits many from OPEN
ing and developing claims Uhat canuoc be
worried b9- the winter method
There ere difficulties IN the ny OF
hYerauite mining in A!aska. the principal
one Of which IS, Of course. the cl.:.,4fte
Some mining by hydraulic process may be
accom9AgAed- II would be difficult and
extensive to maintain bitches. for when
the ground freezes in Writer it bulges and
the bitches would be destroyed There
are large chunks OF blue ice under the
moss, and Il would be impossible to run
ditch through this ice. Fiuming is, al
nost prohibited by the expense of iupl-
Der Still, the ingenuity of man may