The evening times., 1897-08-04
KlOND|KE RUSH DANGERS
A Warning Hat Officially Utte..-
ed TO ProspectOrS.
WISDOM WOULD IMPEL DELii
Pamphlet Written by Land Surveyor
Cpilyie. of the Canadian Interior
Department. Containing inforh'a-
ton Upon the Hardship In the
Yukon District.

Tn, Canadian government has issued a
pamphlet On Klondike placer mining, which
contains mrch information concerning TIE
Yukon district, the method of mining the
baroships, the cost and the general chances
of success. 1t is issued under the autioi-
ity OF the department of the interior OF
Canada. an5 Is written by the Dominion
Land surveyor, william Ogilvie.
The report starts with warning that
there are dangers in the great rush 10
Klondike.
The object of this report is not to induce
anyone ~ gu to that remote country IT 't ene
present time. Until better fneaus oi so ''i'r
munlcatso are esta nIlsned, a man ubuer
takes serious risks In going JheI e. uihess hr '
has sufficient resources 10 ude over ' .l'
long winter After september egress ironi %
the country is practically impossiDe eh.n ~. !
the following June, and person WHO iEts
not been successful in locating u paying
claim has to depend for his subsistence upon
finding employment. wages are at ti.,iGs =
very NARROW aud easily oyerstocked ~ 10
estimated that up to the middie or MAY
] 500 To 500 people had crossed the
Taiya Pass this year. Severai hunureu
m,ae VIII go by steamer up the Yukon
Whether employment will be available Tor
all and for the considerable popuiauon
already in the district u somewhat doupt
fuI 1t will therefore De wise for those
VINO contemplate going to the Yukon dis-
tricl to give serious consideration 10 the
matter before coming To decision.
The process or placer Inlnlngin Aiaska
is about as follows: AFTER clea ring all the
coarse gravel and stone off patch or
ground, the miner lifts little OF tne liner
gravel or sand in his pan, whlchls bio4d'
shallow dish, made of strong sheet IRON
he then puts in water enough TO III tne
pan. and gives a few rapid whirls ana
snakes, this tends To bring the Solu 10 tne
bottom, on account OF ITS gleatet spessiiI6 sI,
gravity. The dish rs then shaker and held
IN sucn a way that the gravel aud sand are
gradually washed out, care being taken As
The process nears com pietion toaYOld letting
out the finer an heavier partsthat nav set
tied To the bottom. Finally all that is left
in the pan is whatever gold may have teen
in the dish and some black sand. which al
most invariably accompanies IT,
The black sand Is nothing but pulveriZed
magnetic iron ore. Should the gold thus
found be fine, the contents of the pan are
thrown into a barrel cont aiming water and
pound or two or mercury. IS soon as the
gold comes In contact with the mercury il
Combines with 1t and forms an amalcam.
The process is continued until enough ANAL
gam has been formed TO pay for roasting"
or firing" It is then squeezed through y
DuCkskin bag, all the mercury that comes
through the bag being put back into the bar
rel 10 serve again, and what remains in the
IstS is pldCtu ih n TttOfb, III the miner mas
one. or, u not, on shovel, and heated
until nearly al the mercury is vaporized.
1iIe gold then remains In a lump. with some
mercury Sill held IN combination with it,
Ihis rs called the pan" or hand
method, anu Is never, on account OF its
siowness and laboriousness, continued for
any length OF time when II is possible TO
procure rocker, or TO make and work
siuices.
A rocker issmply a box bout three feet
long and two wide, made In two parts. the
top part being shallow with heavy sheet
iron bottom, which is punch ed full of quar-
ter-inch holes. The other part of the box is
ntted with an inclined shelf about mid WAY
IN Its depth, which Is six or eight inches
tower at its lower end than at it's upper.
over this is placed a piece or heavy woolen
blanket. The whole is then mounted on two
rockers, much resembling those of an ordi :
nary cradle, and when in Use they q re placed
toe readily rocked. After the miner has Sc
Iected his claim, he looks for the most con
yenieDt place TO set his ''ICcker" which
must be near good supply OF water. Then
he proceeds to clear away all the stones
and coarse gravel, gathering the finer
gravel and sand in a heap near the rock
er. The shallow box on top is filled
with this, and with one hand the miner
rocks il, W while with the other he ladies IN
water.
The finer matter with the gold falls
through the holes ON 10 the blan ket,
which checks its progress, and holds the
fine particles OF gold, while the sand and
other matter pass over it to the bottom Of
the box, which is sloped so chat what
comes through is washed downward and
finally out OF the box. Across the bottom
of the box are fixed thin STATS behi nd which
some mercury is placed to catch any parti-
cles OF gold which may escape the blanket