The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-01-15


significance il this connection il that gold
possesses the property OF being welded
xh@n II & cold New we knew that we
cannot weld two rlsces Of iron together
unless they sre made intensely hot. and
while in this condition pounded together.
Cod Possesses the same property without
being heated as any ore who has had
his teeth aned hy dentist can witness.
"An that II necessary 70 do in order 70
make nuggets out % Snake river gold is
TO take a great number OF these fine.
scalv uarsfcle~ and pound them togethe-.
Another fact Of great significance is that
nuggets are seldom found anywhere ex-
ceps IN beds az creeks or whore creeks
have some time bsens and these creeks
ara almost invariably on the sides % higls
or mountains or WHARF, this pounding
process must have been going on for
countless ages. ard generally on pitching
bedrock among rocks, bouiders ard large
sized graves.
Eastern Oregon and the Big Bend
country contain a great amount OF fine
xosa. but few nuggets. while British CO.
lumbla has contained many nuggets, but
nttls fire gold. This may be explained
BY what seems 10 Be a fact that the east
ern parts OF Oregon and Washington are
now in much tire same condition that they
were when this sea dried Up. In Brit
ish Columbia e IS quite different. The
sea that We presume once covered that
country dried 10 q a much earlier period
and since that time there have been up
hezvals ali over the country. and II now
consists OF sman mountains. at least over
the central part. If a sea did once cover
that part OF the country X seems 20 ma
probable that where the last remnant Of IL
dried up was In the Csriboo country, and
II this was known 70 be a fact, the con-
eentrstlon OF placer gold IN that section
could be explained
IF We only knew that away back Ia thu
past sea did cover that part OF British
Columbia and was dried up, and very fins
fakey gold was everywhere deposited
over its bottom, the changes that have
since occurred would fully explain why ii
Is now coarse or IN the form OF nuggets.
ard on account OF the upheavals suiches
have everywhere been formed. More than
that, the country has been swept by
glaciers; and rocks and stones have been
moving IN all directions, Independent OF
gravitatton; and after the glacial period
passed away this rolling and sliding OF
rocks commenced again; and this pound
Ing process was renewed on larger scale
"You should. however. bear in mind that
l am not describing the way the gold
came into the creeks OF British Columbia.
! am only indicating TO you what seems to
be a possible, IL not a probable vvav. and
been said as to the origin Of placer gold,
applies TO no part OF the world except tbs
country east Of the Cascades.
II the time Is not too much taken up
l viii endeavor to tell you Of my trip to
Alaska.
Hi. Experience in Alaska,
Il, with two companions. left Juneau
about the middle Of last May in a dory
with about three months provisions.
ms sAf s.-&-
was seen until we reached TAYLOR hay.
which Is the last OF many bays that we
passed before we reached the Pacific
ocean. Our Destination was Lituya bav.
which Is on the Pacific ocean and about
zoo miles above juneau. II had been
Known for some years that there were
ruby sands on the beach that we-e very
rich In gold. and as sand Is known TO be
palverized rcok. il was inferred that there
must be rock Of extraordinary richness in
the nsighborhooi. AS far as finding this
rock was concerned, the expedition proved
10 be as great fools errand as I ever
undertook. TAYLOR bay is about the size
ana shape OF Elliott bay. and to give an
idea % resemblance between the two
you would have to imagine Elliott bay
with no Seattle on its shores nor a white
human being within a hundred miles OF
IL IN any direction. and between where we
are now and West Seattle a wall OF ice
several hundred feet IN height and reach
Ing back 10 Mount Rainier This would
give you some idea OF the Brady glacier.
The Brady Is dead glacier. A live
glacier is CHASTITY enough to look at, but
a dead one is much more so. and nature.
II seems. out OF connpa ssfon or for some
other reason. has spread q black veil as
pan over its otherwise corpse-like faea
What this black veil consisted OF after
wards learned under very peculiar cir
cumstances
We prosr~cted the ruby sands which
were plentiful IN its neighborhood. and
found gold, bat not sufficient TO make II
profitable. We then went out on the
ocean, and after several DAYS reached
Lituys bay. A day or two after we land
cd / started fer bare mountain six or
seven miles distant The first two or
three miles OF this trip was amongst small
lakes that seemed 70 cover about t--o-
thirds ~ ths country. After. the lakes
we're passed I assembled a thickly wooded
beach several hundred feet in height. on
ny way I noticed small creek of muddy
water running down. Anxious to fnd out
what kind Of bedrock was IN the bottom
of the creek. I struck IN my prospecting
pick. snt 70 my surprise found that il
was not rock as al. but ice l. then
cleared the moss and stones Of the
sides Of the hank and uncovered
mass OF the purest Ice tina, T ever
saw II was Just Ike looking down
into clear lake too deep for the bottom
70 Be seen. then went on 70 the foot OF
the mountain. but about a quarter OF q
NILE from the base OF the mountain came
- a preclpics shout Do feet in height.
Below WAS a muddy t2ks with trees lying
IN every ina gin8oie shape some with
their roots Up and several hanging from
TIE tor % the rrecipice b. their roots
with their tops down ! soon discovered
that the 7rec3r3cs was az ice and extend
ID FOR several miles along the base OF the
mountaia. ! spent altogether about three
weeks prospecting along a range OF FOOT
HIS tlat lie about half way between the
ma{n range and thu o~ean These foot
hills s~e two o. three thousand feet hixh.
ard between them and the main range
l. a glacier several miles IN width.
tHcrcNEhiy examined fte rock that those
foothUls were uaaae Of. but fauns nothing
a. any vsiGe IN the way ~ mineral ex-
ami~e1 ere creeks bat c0aId not Tad the
slightest Indication - rol8 theu exam
tne3 The rocks on the Fa3rvyeAt her glacier
where specimens can }a seen ~ Al that
ire mountains contain but found nothlax.
and after I examined q long red ridge
ae5lg seven miles assay or the glacier
declared that - ta7e prohl eEs ~ where tss
rutv sand ca1ra trcu vac len % re f.
wcss.t remain rEScivsi forever.
- gave q - anf v-1t 70 zr1rk wash
iuE the sands on t1e aeac h After zA.ut
two months determines 20 new NJ Taiv-
weat wfs.. wh.cs involves a %o,s-r~~
o. nfgssa rfes - rnore eerees & glacier
Ag.er aad got about halfway across.
tSs rocks end stones disappeared ard tas
glacier lcoesa Ike a great frozen lake
T'ast csul@ Back vel covered a co-ssder-
ahls part = r tSat 7 had sesn on IRE
RTE3y glacier s1G on So dad part q sAs
parassss EiE~t4r. sgt Z rstf~al1 sb~s q VS.