The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-20
ALL ABOUT KLONDYKE.
One Man Says 1t Means Deer River
Called Reindeer on Maps.

PORT TOWNSEND, Wash, July 19.-The
excursion steamer Queen has arrived from
Alaska with 10 passengers, principally
tourists The officers of the queen state
the merchants and tradesmen in both
Juneau and Sitka are closing their stores
and shops and Fastening to the new Ell
dorado Fifty business men left Juneau for
Dawson City on July II, and $50 were to
leave on the 18th, two days after the queen
sailed The officers say by the time the
Queen returns to Juneau on her return
trip, nine days hence, there will not be an
able bodied man left in the town. Many
men are leaving Juneau for the gold nelds
without provisions or means to buy them.
The steamer Alki sailed for Alaska at mid
night. She carried forty horses and 1000
sheep for Dyea, where they will be landed
and driven across the summit TO the Yukon
valley Stock men say the sheep are the
finest kind ever collected off eastern Wash
ington ranges. They will be taken to Circle
City and Klondyke and slaughtered. Any
kind of fresh meat there sells at 80 cents
per pound.
IN interesting letter telling of the recent
trip to Alaska of the steamer Excelsior,
which arrived at San Francisco last
Wednesday, has been written by Captain
j. +. Higgins of the steamer, to a friend
in San Diego, Cal. He says: The word
Klondyke means deer river, and is called
Reindeer river on charts. 1t emptieS into
the Yukon fifty miles above the Big river
The geogra phical position of the junction
is IS degrees 10 minutes north latitude, l3S
degrees so minutes west longitude. Bonanza
creek dumps into klondyke about two
miles above the Yukon. Edorado is a
tributary OF the Bonanza. There are nu-
merous other creeks and tributaries, the
main river being 800 miles long. The gold
so far has been taken from Bonanza and
Eldcrado, both well named, for the rich
ness of the placers is truly marvellous. Ill
dorado thirty miles long, is staked the
whole length and as far as worked has
paid. As each claim is 500 feet along the
creek bed there is half a million TO the
claim. So uniform has the output been
that one miner who has an interest in three
claims told me that if offered his choice he
would toss up TO decide. One of our pas
sengers who is taking 500 COO with him has
worked 100 feet of his ground, and refused
100000 for the remainder, and confidently
expects 10 clean up 100000 and more. He
has il a bottle S212 from one pan of dirt.
His pay dirt while being washed averaged
S25e an hour to each man ShOVeling in. Two
claims cleaned up $1,000 from the days
washing. There is about fifteen feet OF dirt
above bed rock the pay streak averaging
from four 10 six feet, which is tunneled
the ground taken out is thawed by build
ing fires, and when the thaw comes and
water rushes in they set their sluices and
wash the dirt. Two OF our fellows thought
4 small bird in the hand worth a large
one in the BUSH and sold their claims for
$4,000 getting 81 500 down, the remainder
TO be paid in monthly installments of $40 900
each. The purchasers had no more than
ing and getting out dirt. Then there was
water to sluice with but one fellow
made rocker and in ten days took out
the $4,000 for the first installment. Then,