The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-13
AHEAD OF KLONDIKE.
AN ALASKAN GolDFIeLD NEAR CAPE
PRINCE OF WALES.

Remarkable Story OF Rich Find Made
Through the Agency Of an Old Indian
Shot Bullets of Pure Goid-Oniy Forty
Miles From the Coast.
Captain John Reynolds of Florence,
q suburb of Omaha, has just contributed
story of Alaska riches that is more
extraordinary than are the startling re-
ports from the Klondike The captain
is an old whaler who has sailed all over
the globe and in his wanderings made
two expeditions through Boring strait
into the Arctic ocean. On the first of
these he met with an adventure which
is replete with romance and which
reads like a tale from Mexico or Peru
in their palmy barbarian days of gold
and silver.
I'm August, 1872" he said, I'VE
sailed from New Bedford on long voy.
age. Our vessel was the first to pass
through Boring strait into the Arctic
ocean. We went first to the Azores.
then to Tenerife, the Cape Verde is
lands, Falkland islands, through the
strait of Magellan to Juan Fernandez
and the Sandwich Islands, and thence
up into Boring sea.
During the whaling season as many
as 80 men deserted the ships for the
goldfields of Alaska at the head of the
Yukon. Our ship was beset with ice at
Cape Prince of Wales, and while we
were there an old native came aboard |
We were breaking up some boxes that |
day. and he asked US for the leaden la |
bells which were on them. We asked |
why he wanted them, and he showed |
us an old fashioned Russian gun which
he treasured very highly and said he
wanted the lead to make bullets for it.
In our idle curiosity, having little to
do while lying there, we questioned him
as TO where he usually got his bullets
for it, and he told us there was place
'one sleep Zone days Journey away
where he found the material for bullets.
We were anxious to make little trip
out into the interior, and one day start.
ed off with him as our guide.
1--WE travelled about 40 miles mp the
country through valley easy to tray
erse and at length reached ledge at
which the native stopped and began
picking up pieces of gold The ledge
was full of it and crumbling away.
Here was the old fellows bullet field.
He was shooting gold bullets from his
Did Russian gun. The party of US car
ned away 39 pounds of the ore, and
when we had it assayed in San Francis.
Q it turned out $500 ton.
Captain J. n Knowles, a wealthy
resident of San Francisco, fitted out a
hip and sent it back in charge of one
If my crew, Swede, to investigate
As near as we could learn, he loaded !
lis schooner with 90 or 20 tons of the
IRE and started back. That was the last
heard of him, and it is supposed that
lis ship went down in a heavy gale.
Since then no one has visited that place,
md yet it is as rich as any mine discov-
red in Alaska and far easier to reach !
han is the Klondike The ledge is 500
Get high and was crumbling away
when we were there 1t is only 40 miles
rom the coast, and there are no diff.
ulties whatever in reaching the place "
This expedition Of Captain Reynolds
vas the first to pass Boring strait into
he Arctic ocean in search Of whales,
nd IL was so successful that ON his re.
urn 10 new vessels were built for arctic
Whaling His was a beautiful vessel,
he decks and cabins finished in hard
Tood, and it was afterward sold TO the
overnment for arctic exploration So ,
lany whales were killed that the ships
rovisions were brought up on deck to {
make room for the oil in the hold and ,
hen, in addition, 90, 900 pounds of
ones were slowed on the deck. These {
yere worth $3.50, 900 at that time, and I
hey would bring three times that '
mount now. Even the staterooms were q
lied up even with the berths. The
essel had stormy passage home, at $
mes the deck and every bit of cargo a
eing under water, yet they reached b
an Francisco safely. The crew were
one IA months. Chicago Record