The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-08-30

One cleanup on claim in FL Dorado last
spring gave eighty pounds avoirdupois, or
over SIG, 000-the product OF few hours
shovelng.
Now. suppose that some of the gold con-
tanned in the gravel is SO fine that ii will be
swept on and out of the boxes this will be lost.
To obviate this quicksilver is used. TO do this
one of the boxes IS prepared in a suitable way
with small receptacles in which some quick
silver is placed. This box is at the lower end
of the line OF rifles, and all the fine particles
escaping the rifles is caught and held by the
quicksilver. The quicks liver is afterwards
volaIilized ana recollected, The gold remain
ing in the retort. So far as | know, this pro-
cess with quicksilver has not been used on
either FL Dorado or Bonanza
In all the mining on Stewart River the
tributaries of the Yukon here to fore mined no
quicksilver has been found necessary Coarse
gold has been eagerly sought for, and was
found in 1886 on Forty Nile River, about
twenty-three miles a Dove its mouth, just about
where the 141st meridian international
boundary crossed. This discovery soon spread
through the country, and soon Forty Mile was
the only camp on the whole Upper Yukon
Valley. Numerous good guiches were found
on the side waters of Forty Mile, which were
soon overcrowded, and the overflow spread
about and soon found Miller Glacier and
JOINS the Yukon nearly 100 miles above Forty
Mile, but they were in the same region, so
that the same post Forty Mile, situated on the
Yukon at the mouth of the river of that name.
was the distributing point for that region.
Some of the claims on Miller Creek were con-
sidered especially good as much as SAC, 900
being taken out by one individual.
Archdeacon Mcdonald, an Anglican mis-
sionary who labored among the Indians along
thn vic tnH thA Nt,I-A fIanr
cinity OF Forty-mie in the seventies. In his
ram Dles over the country he found gold on q
creek tribu tary to British Greek. in the VIZ
emily of what is known Circle City. The
news soon spread, and gold was discovered in
large quantities in some OF the gulches, and
Circle City was born about 200 miles below
Fortymie. These two centers up to August,
1896, attracted the great bulk OF men entering
the country. On August 10, 1896. George W.
Cormack discovered coarse gold in what is
now known as Bonanza Creek. lie PANIED
out about $12 in a few moments. On the next
day he located Discovery claim and No. be-
low 1t for himself and No. bove Tor his In
dian assistant Skookum Jim, and No. below
for his other Indian associate, Tagish Charlie.
Ha then spread the report OF the discovery,
and before the LIST oil Sc ptember upward of 100
claims were staked, and before October over
500 had been staked on this creek and on Ell
Dorado and their tri tributaries.
Gold Bottom had been discovered before
Bonanza and Hunker creeks had obtained
some notorety, and might have been mucn
more largely developed than il now is had not
Cormack, about the middle OF September,
come down to Forty Mile with $1,000 in dust
which he and his TWO associates washed out
in II few days with limited and crude appar-
atus. Rumor got to Circle City of the rich
ness and extent or the new diggings but it
was not credited until December, when au-
thentic and reliable news was taken to that
place, ana resulted in Circle City utterly dis
gorgiug itself, and to-day it and Forty Mile are
practically deserted. Men from both places
considered themselves extremely lucky 10 Sc
cure the working of twenty-five more feet
some of the claims what is termed
"lay." That is paying dirt, wash 1t and pay
percen tage OF the output In this way
man working a small fraction of a claim of
thirty or forty feet has taken out good home
stake. l think it can be safely asserted that
more substantial homestakes have been taken
out in 'lays" on Bonanza and Ell Dorado dur
ing the past season than were taken out of all
the Forty Mile, Sixty Mile and Birch Creek
Circle City, districts com bined during the
three best years In this way all the other
creeks tributary 10 Klonaike, yes, even
branches OF the Bonanza and Ell Dorado them
selves, were practically abandoned for the
time being.
So that all the rest of the Dawson district re-
manned undeveloped, and as all the claims To-
cated in Canada have TO be represe ted with
in twelve months from the date OF their rec
ord. the claims the other creeks will have
to be developed or aban doned. Very few of
them will De given up. From this fact we will