The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-09-01

with sosls Indians. This left us free
banded, and we scudded over the noun.
tains, carrying only our mining outfit,
about 100 pounds to the man. We were
among the very first to reach Bonanza,
They did not seem to pay as much as
we expected and so we concluded to go
back and try some place else, holding
our claims in case of emergency.
The First Find.
"We were creeping down from b.
nanza when we came to a camping
place little below the mouth of FL
Dorado. i think the men with me were
ready to throw up their hands. They
were glad TO act as cooks on an offer
that if they would cut the wood and
get the meals l would take a run up to
Ell Dorado and see what could find. 1t
was about all could do to get my 100
pounds on my shoulder and get started
1t was apparently the last chance. as
the grub was out and there was none to
buy and no money to buy with.
Planned Out a Quarter.
II confess was feeling good deal
like man just waking up from good
dream. 1t was hard mile and a
rough mile to the creek, and with dis
couraged heart the tools were unpacked
and the old pick again whacked into
the ground. You can't tell there is gold
in the ground by the way it looks, and
don't think l expected to find bit of
the yellow metal within 40 miles of
where l was working. There was q
little excitement in washing the first
pan, and tell You handled that SHOW
ell full Of Alaska gravel with great care.
The sand gradually ran out, and with
close searching was able to get togeth-
er about % cents worth of yellow dust.
1t was big come down from the stake
set when we left Montana, but it was
the only stake in sight at the time. 1t
was that or nothing.
1T was joyful night in Phiscator
camp that night, if it was not very hot
The boys were happy even in their
hunger, and could hardly wait for
morning to get into the field and locate
My claim was No L. and the Others
took claims on both sides.
"We actually danced up the Ell DO
RADIO about O'Clock next morning.
think each of us could have carried *
ton. We forgot hunger and weakness,
with only very poor wages in sight. 1t
was our only hope, and we made tho
most of it,
81 went to work on the spot where
L.1 he 4 4
1t was good Twas of stout and rugged
disposition l shoveled one scoop into
the pan and began to sift. ! got mug
get worth 81 1t was enough to cause
! heart disease. The other men did as
! well, and there was no doubt we had
made our pile
1--WE three were the only ones on the
| creek We saw there was no danger that
our claims were not clearly marked,
and then prospected all the way up the
stream, about 80 miles. We found ii
! good in spots and bad in Understanding
at least 80 locations where one was as
good as the other
Riches Going to Waste.
| "We sat in our tent at night and al.
most wept that we could not get word
| back to our friends. We saw millions,
with no one to claim them. l do not
think claim of the 80 is worth today
cent less than $1,000, 900 each. The
law allowed us only three-one each.
"This much for the way we found il
| and the time we had in finding it, This
is the way the gold runs after you have
good claim.
1T is possible to work the claims
about 2 y months year. You can { get
water any Of the balance of the time.
/ put in this amount of time on my
claim and took out exactly $96,072. II
was done by myself and two men, who
earned $40 day as laborers.
lit is beyond comprehension to i'm
agine the richness of the soil. During
the summer we worked over a space 81
feet long by 30 feet wide TO the depti
of 4 feet The find was $40, 0S4
1.-The biggest pan ever turned ont OIL
the claim held $50. Berry, who has &
claim near by, beat this by picking his
dirt He got 1896 at one sitting The
nuggets run from $15 to $40
cit sounds big and comfortable an6
pleasant, but want to tell you that il
costs all it is worth
Horrors of the Climate.
"There are troubles in the air and on
tho ground and everywhere. 1t gets
down TO 20 degrees below zero an6
sticks there for ten days at stretch,
and it is all bosh about the cold being
so dry that it is not felt 1t is the cold
est cold out of doors. 1t will run along
at go degrees below zero for three
weeks or month at time.
cit is so cold that the ground IL
frozen to depth of 30 feet 1t does moi
! thaw out in the summer time, even un.
| der the redhot sun. The cold from the
frost comes up through the moss, ano
in the middle of August the cold oozine
out of the ground freezes the low places.
1.-The winter days are horrors. The
sun gets up at $3.50 in the morning and
disappears at $3.50 in the afternoon. II
SHOWS all the time. and there is moth.
ing to do but to keep from freezing tC
| 1eath.