The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1897-12-31

next few weeks IN prospecting and
finally locates claim. There is then
but short time left in which to gather
fire wood and prepare for work. Dur
ing the winter he sinks his shaft and
piles up the dirt to be run through
sluice boxes the next summer. When
he can get water he begins washing,
and by the time he has completed it
more than a year has passed from the
time he first arrived in the gold fields,
and it may then be too late for him to
get out OF the country that season. II
he went in supplied for 8. months and
has kept his supplies he is all right. If
not, he may be in the position of those
Klondike miners this winter, who have
not supplies to carry them through till
spring and can not buy them at any
price.
So much for the necessity of an
ample equipment. Now few words
about the nature of it. Some things
are absolute necessities, and one of
these is quicksilver for saving the gold.
Take~five pounds. To be without it
would be like soldier without ammu
milton. It should be in metal flask
of some kind, something that will not
break, and care should be taken not to
spill it. A pick and long-handled
shovel are necessary tools, also gold
PAN You will want kit of tools for
making boat, as we'll as for building
cabin, fumes, etc. It should consist
of whipsaw, handsaw, jack plane,
draw-knife, axe, claw hatchet. ham,
mer, square, chisel, files, milestone.
chalk line and wire anu galvanized
nails, also oakum. pitch, oars, row.
locks, ca1king iron, boat cotton, twine,
sail needles, wooden block and manila
cotton rope.
The necessary camping outfit con-
sists of tent, Yukon stove, nest of
three camp kettles, fry pan, bake pan,
water bucket, plates, cup and saucer,
coffee pot, knives, forks, spoons, two
large spoons and butcher knife. The
best materials for utensils are alumni
mum, graniteware and steel in the or
der named. No tin, china or glass is
desirable. There is no economy in not
getting the best and a full equipment.
Food must he good and properly cooked
if one would retain health and be in
condition to work. Insufficient or
poorly cooked food, with little variety,
is the chief cause of scurvy. Too much
care cannot be exercised in this par
ticular.
As for food, an adequate supply for
18 months weighs about ton. The
chief items are 600 pounds of flour, 800
pounds of bacon, $50 pounds each of
beans and sugar, rs pounds each of
l<,.5o 81 !, tor oil
corn meal, so pounds of rice, six dozen
cans of condensed milk, 35 pounds of
butter in sealed cans, $50 pounds of
evaporated vegetables, 100 pounds of
.eyaporated fruit, SO pounds of prunes
and raisins, 80 pounds of dried fish, 40
pounds of coffee, with baking powder,
soda, salt, pepper. ginger, mustard,
yeast cakes, tea, soap, matches, lime
juice Every important), dried beef, ex-
tract of beef, soups in tins, sausage, to-
bacco, etc., as desired, bearing in mind
always that variety of food promotes
health. There has more or less been
said in the papers about various con-
centrated foods, but with the exception
of evaporated vegetables and fruit,
condensed preserves, condensed milk
and beef extract there is nothing yet
been brought forward which has been
proved desirable. One can not afford
to experiment with his stomach in
Alaska.
All supplies should he carefully
packed in canvas sacks Of a total weight
of so pounds each as nearly as possible.
Canvas of superior quality should be
,1co1 I,o nhin0t hotp frs. la
food from loss by dampness as well as
by breaking or tearing of the packages.
Fifty pound packages are the most con-
venient for handling, and this is often
as great a weight as one man can carry.
It is better to have these canvas sacks
paraffined, to resist dampness. Do not
use oiled canvas, as the extreme cold
ness causes it to crack, with consequent
loss of the contents of the sack. This
is true also of oiled clothing, sleeping
bags, etc. Plain canvas is better than
oiled, and paraffined better than plain.
A canvas tarpaulin is necessary as an
outfit cover, and this may also be fitted
up and used for sail. The canvas
sacks should be numbered and list of
the contents of each kept. The owners
name should be plainly marked on
each. Such necessaries as matches.
candles, etc., should be distributed
throughout the sacks, SO that loss of
portion of the outfit will not deprive
the owner of these things. Put
matches in tin boxes The camper
will require tent, Sx10 or 10x12
being the usual sizes taken. Each
man should have canvas sleeping bag,
preferably paraffined, with hood to-
draw over his head. He can have an
other heavy woolen sleeping bag to go
inside this, or use blankets, as he may
prefer. though there is more warmth
to the same weight in the sleeping bag.
As for clothing, the essentials are
mackinaw suits, heavy wo0len under
wear and overshirts, heavy woolen
socks, wooden mitts and fleece lined
leather mitts, heavy leather boots, gum
boots, overalls, wooden cap, soft felt
hat and a waterproof clothing sack. To
this equipment one may add whatever
he may think desirable, but these at
least are necessary. The question of
footwear is an important one. Gum
boots are worn only while at work in
the water, either in claim or along
the trail Leather boots crack and are
easily ruined in the snow and cold
The Indians make a moccasin boot,
called "muckluck, which is the usual
footwear along the Yukon, but it will
of course be impossible for them to sup
ply the demand for them next year.
This renders it advisable for the gold
seeker to take at least one extra pair of