The indicator., 1897-07-31

Joseph Ladue. who has recently come
from the Clondyke district. 1t says:
Joseph Laduc, the richest man that
ever came out Of Alaska, passed the
day In the city yesterday, and left last
evening for Schuyler, New York, to
meet old friends. Mr.. Ladue was en-
gagged every minute of his time in Den
yer IN answering questions from excit
ed inquirers and his modest manner
and ready replies carried conviction
That lie spoke the truth. He reached
Denver in company with n friend,
John ii. Harris, of the office Of the gcn-
trni superintendent of the Denver n
ltio Grandc railway, and Il representa-
i've OF the News was so fortunate MS
To he present for an hour or more while
the visitor was describing the wonders
of the gold fields mt Rio Grandc head
quarters. His recital elected rxclnma-
tons OF establishment which We're
doubled IN intensity as he drew from
his capncious pockets the largest and
.'nest specimens of gold nuggets ever
displayed ut the headquarters of the
company. The nuggets which he is
carrying home, Mr.. Ladue snys, are
ignoblc samples of the big chunks of
yellow metal which are picked up
daily In the valleys of the far north.
AZ result Of Mr.. Ladue's stop over
IN Denver, II syndicate was organized
last evening which will send two stout
young men into the wilds of the froz-
en- north in search of the yellow metal
Mr. Ladue is about forty years of age
and was Black Hills miner He will
return 10 Denver within six weeks ac
compnnied by IL bride. aud may make
Denver his permanent residence.
"Thc largest nugget | saw M any
"a N tt.,t. tn. ti.,s
clipped the scales at forty ounces. 1t
was forkcd out of hole in which a
miner was working last winter and
picked up on the dump when tile
ground began to yield under the heat
of the sun. The gold runs about SIT
To the ounce, so that the nugget was
worth $3.50.
No Imagination can conceive of the
wealth in the Clondykc and ncighbor-
ing districts" said the lucky miner rs
he pulled buckskin bag from one of
his pockets and proceeded to cdify his
listeners with Il magnificent display
from one of his thirteen placer claims.
Tint is :: sample of the kind of stuff
we get when at the close of the days
work we wash n bucket of dirt in or
der TO pay the men their wages. The
usual method is to pay for the days
operation out of single bucketful of
dirt The dirt is washed out in the
chDin ana the wages, which are SO n
day. are weighed on the scales. Gold
nuggets and gold dust is all the money
we know anything about in the dig.
gins. Every man carries IL pair of
scales, and SO Is the days salary of
n common laborcr. \ miner who may
he detailed to cut wood receives the
same wages as though he is In the bot
tom of the pit.
After the listeners had regaired their
composure Mr. Laduc proceeded: 81
have been Alaska. on and on, for IF
teen years. Part of the time was en-
gagged in mining and part of the time
as n merchant. | know II good deal
about the country, its climate and its
pecularities, and the chances which
are offered TO energetic men. My ad-
vice is for outsiders to stay away I'M
I'll next spring and then will be The |
ulne to make II rush for n fortune The |
excitement next summer will be much
grcntcr than ii is to-day. and the diili-
Guilty in procuring miners will be much
greater than the present time. |
would not be surprised if they will he
paying SD n day for good miners. for
everybody will be wild over prospect
Ing. aud the men now mt work on the
pincers VIII go prospecting. The day
before left the camp there were 100
claims staked ont OH the banks of the
river Somebody went ,ip on the
bank and panncd II pan of loose gravel
nj the surface. He found it carried
$50 iii gold and the camp went wild.
On the high ground II man is al
lowed to stake out II claim 800 feet
square. and a man can stake only one
claim in the same district In the val |
la stnt to-
the stream. and it extends side ways
to the banks. even if they are ten |
miles apart. That is the law and as |
me district Is seventy miles inside the
Canadian possessions, The man who
stakes claim is protected by the best |
mining laws in the world. never
Knew mining claim to he jumped in |
Canada, and the protection of the gov
crnmcnt commences from the moment |
the stakes are driven. In order to |
mold a placer II man must do three
months continuous development work
Then he is given II patcnt and that is
all there is about It,"
Mr.. Ladue showed the most perfect
familiarity with the practices and laws
of the country. and lie patiently an
swered every inquiry, although he was
hoarse from tile constant eX,.r- !
ton Since landing in San Francisco in
company with a party of twcnty-siX,
which created such n furore through
out the country. He estimates that the
party brought out about S50O.ODO in
gold, and modestly says that lie is car
rying only $4,000 for his expenses He
filed upon the town site of Dawson,
the only town of any importance in
the gold regions, and MS lots are al
ready selling for sums as high as So
ooo, ana he refused an offer of $4,000
for one of his placer claims. it was cs-
timnted yesterday that Mr.. I.aduc had
II snug little fortune of not
less than S2,oO0,Oo0 since that lucky
day In August last summer when he
stakcd out the townsite of Dawson. II
do not know how many thousand dol
lars took out of the ground last win
ter" said Mr.. Lnduc. but | had faith
in the region and | put 1t into the
ground ms fast MS II came out NY opm-
ion is that Australia, California and
South Africa are not to lie compared
with the new gold fields of the north.
There has been exposed If it were on
one stream. at least thirty miles of
placer and the higher ground has Lccn
tested only in one place. OF course. we
thing about the lodes. The lodcs are
there and when II comes to lode min
ing 100 yenrs will not exhaust them.
The character of the finds Is proof that
the gold has not travelled far and
believe 1t dropped down from the
banks of the stream in the course of
disintcgration. The seams from which
such Tremendously rich deposits come
must be immense and must he of al
most fabulous wealth. The lode min
ing will require heavy machinery aud
n large. population will he attracted
into the frozen regions of the North
II IL UOssiblp and MT Mt all iuurpbn-