The state herald., 1897-11-12
LIFE IN DAWSON CITY.
PLENTY OF EXCITEMENT THERE
Stampede to New Distrlcts--vice ReIgns
Everywhere A Horse That Ran Away
With $4,000 Worth of Gold Dust.


Chicago, Nov. 4.-The correspondent
Of the Record sends the following inter-
esting description of life in Dawson
City:
Stampedes to new creeks or gulches
are of semi-daily occurrence. Hardly
an evening has passed during the last
ten days when there has not been from
two to three rushes, or rather STAN
pedes, off to newly discovered dig
gings. Over 200 men left day or two
ago for Eureka creek. one of the tribu-
taries of Indian river distance of
seventy-tive miles, through pathess
tract Of wild, mountainous country.
To create n rush of this character all
that is necessary is for n whisper to
be overheard, the exhibition of half
an ounce of coarse gold and hint as
to where 1t came from. In half an
hour from ten to 100 men will be
strung out along the trail in the direc-
ton Indicated. Some of them are in
such haste as not to take along blank
cts or food though the distance is
from thirty to fifty miles.
A few nights ago some one came In
and reported Il gold strike on Montana
creek, little stream entering the Yu-
kOn ON the east side. The night was
miserably dark and stormy and light
snow was falling. "Cheechacoes," on
tenderfeet. the appellation applied to
new arrivals. We're wildly excited and
flew of toward the creek. Some went
In boats and poled up against the
strong current, and others crossed over
the mountain and two OF three gulches.
The first arrivals built fires. and with
torches measured 800 feet and planted
their stakes. Frank Slavin. the we'll
known pugilist. was the second man
TO locate claim. At 1870 O'Clock at
night seven claims We're stakel of,
and people continued to arrive by the
score and now upward of 400 claims
have been located. Every locator was
tired, wet, hungry and cold.
:. At present the mine-owners are bus.
lily engaged In cutting cordwood and
erecting cabins for the accommodation
OF workmen this winter. As soon as the
heavy frosts freeze the earth To dis
tance OF twenty or twenty-five feet
holes will be sunk and the work of
drifting commenced. Reaching bedrock.
large fires are started to thaw the ice
ont of the ground Workmen immedi-
ately pick and shovel the gravel into
buckets and haul 1t up on the dumps.
The drift or tunnel follows the pay
streak along On the bedrock. and in
most instances runs on in three or four
directions. Naturally the tunnels are
dark. and candles are used. The men
work in their shirt sleeves while down
In the drifts and do not feel the cold
The man above who stands by the
winch and hauls up the gravel has the
coldest job Of them all. particularly
when the thermometer registers 20 or
60 degrees below zero. Last winter
only two or three of the mines closed
down on account of cold weather. but
most of the claims were worked con
tlnuously until warm weather Owing
TO the marshy condition of the soil and
the abundance of water seeping
through the gravel, IL Is impossible to
drift In the summer.
Some very large and valuable mug
gets are being found in the tallings
of the sluicos. ON Berry's claim the
other day. one of the richest in the dis
trict. a SIS nugget was picked up.
The tailnrs are being reworked and
several other pieces of gold ranging in
value from 81 to SIS were found. The
abandoned tailings of other claims are
equally rich. and many of the owners
are calcplntings,n working over the old
ground inext year The sluicc boxes
are adalhs5, for saving line gold, and II
sometime Ratrens that large nuggets
nre carried OF in the swift water with
the gravel. The finest gold that is now
being saved Is about one-,hird as large
ms n grain Of corn or the size Of n kcr-
mel OF wheat All of the miners agree
that much ilno gold escapes, and that