The San Francisco call., 1897-03-21

Puget Sound ports is overloaded with golo-
seekers and their outfits. Estimates on the
number OF men who will push into the re-
gion vary from 5000 to twice that number.
The great majority of' these thousands VIII
be men of little or no mining experience, VINO
expect to prospect ana work some OF the new
Yukon diggings. But besides these there Will
be vastly increased influx OF capltai ana OF
experienced mining men, whose attention
will be given to the development OF the e4-
tensive quartz deposits along the coast, which
are of low grade, but extensive and little ex'
plored. Hydraulic operations on large scale
will also be begun in the rich field above
Cooks Inlet.
Altogether Alaska will see this year great
o boom in gold mining, e considerable increase
of production over the 81 ,000, 900 or so pro-
duced last year and discoveries and develop
ments which will make progressive future in
crease certain.
This mining development will, of course,
hfsten the permanent growth and develop
M OF Alaska in other ways, giving popula-
tH, capital and enterprise, fastening the
exploration of the great region, the establish
ment OF territorial government and so on.
Alaska is q great new mining region, des-
tined to become one of the important ones of
the world, and it will afford a world OF inter
esting features its development goes on.
1t has characteristics and conditions of its
own, and will present problems aud methods
OF its own. This is especially true of the Yu-
kon region which is spread over a large terri
tory on both sides of the Arctic circle, hun
dreds of miles inland, difficult of access and
with ground that never thaws
The recent reports of the fabulously rich dis
coverfes On the Klondeik River and its trlbu-
taries added to the knowledge of the richness
OF the placer fields before known, have been
the chief cause of the great rush OF this year.
The developments of quartz mining along the
coast will be overshadowed in public interest
by the placer diggings of the Yukon, whittier
the human tide is rushing. The stories that
float out of this region include some of 500
and 1926 to the pan, but these are undoubt-
edly wild exaggerations.
While this region continues to be known as
the Alaskan fields, the new and richest discov-
cries are across the line in the British North
west Territory The most populous diggings
have heretofore been about the junction of
the Yukon River, the boundary line and the
Arctic circle, but mainly in American terri
tory. Here on the Yukon, close to the circle
and few miles from the boundary, is Circle
C:ty, the metropolis OF the region, with pop
ulation of 2000 or so. Here is Birch Greek,
which has yielded dust, and not far down the
river.is the mouth OF the Porcupine.
In American territory and within seventy
miles of Circle City are the tributaries of
Birch Creek, which afforded the principal
placer diggings of last year and the one before
-Deadwood, Greenhorn, Independence, Mas
todon and Eagle creeks. Forty-miIe Creek,
near the mouth of which gold was first dis
covered in 1888, flows northward through
American territory and just crosses the bound
ary line, as It's location is now understood, to
beach The Yukon, at Fort Cudahy.
y But the most recent and the richest dis
hov hapn nada n ~ fcr1r1n-
mer and fall up the Yukon fifty miles or so
into British territory, and thither the tide has
turned Lsst August prospector struck it
rich in the bed of the Klondeik, a stream
emptying into the Yukon from the north,
about sixty miles up from the boundary.
Other discoveries and rush followed Next
rich discoveries were made on Bonanza and
Hunker creeks, small tributaries of the Klon-
deik near its mouth. Smaller creeks and
canyons, all included in II region within
twenty-five miles of the mouth of the Klon-
deik, are rewarding prospectors.
One of the most reliable reports on these new
fields has Just come to the Mining and Scien-
tific Press from a young mining engineer,
Byron L. James, who writes from Forty-mile
under date of January d. In speaking of
Bonanza Creek, he says:
Zone of the richest claims has a pay streak
thirty feet wide of three feet of bedrock and
. 10ur 1eeL OF gravel WHICH Will average, II Is
claimed, 81 to the pan, but think so cents is
nearer to it. For two miles each way from this
claim good pay has been located at close in
tervals. Hunker Greek has not been pros
pected much yet, but Will doubtless have some
good claims. Bonanza Creek is about twenty
five miles long, and on it and its tributaries
there are located probably 400 claims of 500
feet each, and half that many in Hunker dis
trict. OF that number some will never pay
many will pay wages and perhaps little more
and goodIy number will give their owners
snug sums. The prevailing wages of the
country are 81 per hour
So the Yukon gold diggings are extending
southeastward into British territory. and the
development is tending 10 close the gap be-
tween the mining field of Alaska and the Rrit-
ish Columbia fields, which are growing north
ward with so much excitement and success
The mining future of this vast portion of the
continent seems Hmitless, the gold belt, of
which little glints here and there are seen
stretching into the frigid zone and bending
westward into the waters of Bering Sea.
The placer diggings are naturally holding all
attention, for it must be years before discov-
eA and development of the quartz veins from
WI ch has come this placer gold. The country,
huhdreds of miles in the interior, behind a
mountain range, is a barren, frozen mass and
snow. covered, and presenting insuperable dif-
fculties to quartz mining.
The past winter has developed an entirely
new and novel method of placer mining. In
the brief summer the creekbeds never thaw
but g short distance below the surface and
most of the year the water is frozen up. So
this winter ingenuity developed the method
of thewing the frozen ground with fire, thus
drifting out the gravel under the frozen creeks
and piling it up to be washed during the three
summer months when water could be used
By this novel plan work is pursued the year
round. though gravel must be rich to pay for
working in this slow way, with the tempera-
ture at from 10 to 65 degrees below zero and
all supplies at fabulous prices
The little-heeded warning is constantly re-
peated by every authority, that no man should
start for the Yukon without rugged consti-
tuition to endure hardships and at least $500
besides his outfit. Hundreds of those who
are starting for the perilous trip of hundreds
of miles across the mountains will suffer un-
told hardsnips during the coming winter,
when -four will doubtless again be $40 sack,
as it is now, provisions scarce at any price,
and nothing to be had except for cash.
The general appropriation bill as finally
passed by the Legislature, in which the appor-
tionment OF $50, 900 10 the Mining Bureau for
the two years is restored. maintains this insti-
tuition on the same financial basis as that OF
tie past TWO years. and the new State miner
.sogist will assume office on the first of the
Month with fairly adequate supply OF money
For.ihe rest of this fiscal year and during
this season the bureau win be operated On
about the same lines as formerly, and the sea-
sons field work has begun. One OF the most
valuable portions of the work will probably be
the geological survey of a section of the south