The herald., 1897-08-07
AN ALASKA
BLIZZARD
Seals the Fate of Three
Miners
ONLY ONE BODY RECOVERED
A BRIEF RECORD OF THE FATAL
TRIP
ONLY ONE BODY RECOVERED
A Mint Clerk Estimates That Two
Million Dollars Will Cover the
Klondyke Output
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
SEATTLE, Aug. 6.-News has just
reached here OF the death last April of
George Blackstone, George Botcher and
j. w. Malinque, miners who went to
Alaska in 1896 and were frozen to death
in trying to make their way back to
Seattle. They were last seen alive on
March 9th. Friends from this city, who
went to Alaska to investigate, found
BlackStone's body, but no trace of the
other two could be found.
The following statement was found on
Blackstone's body: Saturday, April A.,
1897. This is to testify that Botcher
froze to death on Tuesday night. j. w.
Malinque died on Wednesday afternoon,
being frozen badly. C. A. Blackstone
had his ears, nose and four fingers on his
right hand and two on his left hand froz-
en- an inch back. The tsorm drove us on
before it. 1t drove everything we had
over the cliff except blankets and moose
hide, which we all crawled under. Sup
posed to have been 40 degrees below zero.
On Thursday afternoon l gathered up
everything. Have enough grub for ten
days, providing bad weather does not set
in. Sport was blown over the cliff. 1
think 1 can hear him howl once in a
while"
The bodies of Malinque and Blotcher
were never found.
AMBITIOUS BROOKLYNITES
NEW YORK, Aug. GA half-dozen
ambitious Brooklynites are organizing
an expedition to Alaska to search for
some fthe Klondyke gold David P.
Watkins of Brooklyn, clerk of the Re
publican general committee, is making
up a party, of which he will be one, an
which will leave early in February to
seek fortunes in the gold fields of the
north.
THE GOLD OUTPUT
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 6.-Speaking g
of the Klondyke output of gold, the chief
clerk of the mint said: "Allsthe gold
brought to this city from Alaska mines
will not exceed $500, 900. and all that has
been taken out this year and sent the
oher mints of this country will not ex-
ceed S2,000.000.
| THE gold from that part of the coun-
| try is generally from 700 to 500 fine, and
some of it ran to 900, the average being
worth from $155 so to SIT an ounce"
]. G. Butler of the Pullman Car COM
pany is in receipt of letter from r. P.
Taylor, a financial broker of Seattle. A
few days ago Taylor received word from
some men whom he had sent to the Klon-
dyke region last spring, in which they
inform him that every claim within $50
miles of Dawson City has been taken up,
and that men are rushing all over the
country looking for locations. He says
that starvation and hardship stare many
| of them in the face.
| Captain Niebaum of the Alaska Com
mercial company, who has made care
full study of the situation, fears there
will be a great deal of suffering in the
mining regions this spring. He thinks
the people going there are far in excess
of the supplies that have been for
| warded.
| LEAVING CALIFORNIA MINES
STOCKTON, Aug. 6.-The rush to the
Klondyke gold fields is effecting the mine
owners of the mother lode in the vicinity
of Sonora, Jackson and Sutter Creek,
and if it continues will cause the closing
down of the mines in Calaveras, Amador
and Tuolumne counties or their opera
tion with depleted forces.
| In the past week 200 men have left
Amador county alone for the gold fields
in the north, and others are preparing G
to follow. Some of them are hired by
mine owners in Alaska, but many of
them went on their own resources, The
other counties have also sent expert
miners in large numbers.
| ENNGJ.ISH RTyVEDS
NEW YORK. August 6.-The Tribune
says: The boom in gold mining ventures
that the Klondyke discoveries have
started in this country has apparently
spread to England. For some time agents
representing several syndicates of Lon
don capitalists have been in this city en-
deavorng to acquire gold mines of i'm.
proved value for exploitation on the
British markets. The latest deal report
ed in this city is the sale by the Gold
Creek Mining Company of Nevada of it's
property to a British syndicate for $15,-
900 900. The original capital stock of the
company was 100000. The greater part
of the stock is held by officers of the
company who are Major Joseph L. Rob-
ertson, President; George l.. Hutchln-
| son, Vice President; Francis Dickson,
Secretary; William Fl. V. Paulding, S.
L. Steele. Henry j. Moyham Directors.
Col. B. S. Bush, formerly chief engin-
eer and constructor of the Croton Aque-
duct, is the engineer of the company.
He estimates that over $43, 900, 900 in gold
| is contained in the placer. which con-
tains 100000 acres in Elko county along
the banks of Gold Creek. OF the above
named officers only Messrs. Hutchinson
and Dickson are in town. Both refused
to give any explicit information regard
ing the reported sale. Mr.. Dickson ad-
mitted, however, that negotiations We're
in progress with an English syndicate
and would probably be completed in a
| short while. Mr.. Hutchinson would only
say that any statement that the Gold
Greek mines had been sold was pre-
mature.
A LOCAL STRIKE
REDDING, Aug. 6.-The people of
French Gulch, twenty-five miles from