The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-01-15

sA1 ihteresunE Paper
AZ nnsssing hsld Thursday night OF the
re&iF4e Mining Bureau q paper xas Rad
" Peter L Trout, a mining man Of large
experience, which contains some novel the-
cries concerning the origin of the placer
mines IN British Columbia and Alaska
Il Is, OF course. the general balssf thar
wners the faky gold Il found in the beds
OF ersexs, tSsrs must OF necessity be quartz
further back. from which the little mug
gets and fakes were worn and washed
away. DIR. Trout says dc has another the
ory. and Il comes from ripe experiences.
The gold comes from the kies. Mr.
1ronfs interesting paper follows:
Mr.. Trout. Paper.
''At our last meeting consented to READ
paper on my experiences in Alaska but
cic not intend TO give any detailed &C
count OF what happened 20 me In that
country and were Il not that found gold
under very peculiar and extraordinary
circumstances ! would not have thought
that there was anything IN Il worth tell
ing. as with this single exception taers
Is nothing in the trip 10 which I can look
back with any degree Of satisfaction or
pleasure.
Among the properties that gold pos
s@ssss, one. IL seems. is that Of being just
where IL ought not TO be. and In many
cases being IN places where reason. COM
mon sense and scientific research have
declared that Il is impossible for Il 70 be.
And on the other hand where reason.
common sense and scientific research
have declared that II is, Is very likely 10
prove to be the place where IL Is not.
so often have I seen In my own ex-
perience examples OF this condition OF
things that have long since believed that
al that has ever been written about
where gold may De found and where IL
may not BE- found is not worth the paper
on which 10 has been written as my own
experience has furnished exceptions 70
every stategnapt that / have ever read
"a the subject OF all that has been writ
ten or said in regard to gold there IS
I1othtng more universally believed than
that placer gold. or the gold found in
creeks, comes ous OF quartz veins. In
81 my experience / have not seen any
thing IN print that even casts the shadow
OF doubt on ths truth Of this theory,
for theory Is as good a name as IL de-
serves.
During the last ten years 7 have al
ways maintained that the placer gold In
British Columbia did not come out OF
quartz veins. or, II any. only q very small
portion OF II. Whenever made any state
ment Of this sort was AZ once asked. IL
u QId not CONS Q-S OF quartz veins W@lSES
did IL come from? To which I have oftsn
very eiuntly replied. How do you suppose
! known have learned 20 think this from
dear experience. ! have seen a creek
rich IN gold, and have spent tine and
money looking Tor quartz that the gold
ia the creek must have come from. In
every instance Il was time and money
wasted. and still worse. in one instance
when i was persuaded 10 20 on one OF
these fool erranes an opportunity was
missed that would have made me some
thousands OF dollars richer. But all the
time and money that / have lost looking
for quartz veins that supplied the gold
to the creeks is nothing compared with
what others have lost. I know Of fortunes
and lives that have bean wasted IN this
vain search. Others who might have been
wealthy have gene down 70 their graves
"a the deepest poverty because they vast
IS their time and missed their opportuni-
ties while looking for the quartz veins
that they supposed supplied tbs gold TO
tbs creeks.
May OF this class Will unhesitaiingly
say that Il Is no use booking for gold In
the rock Il you find II IN paying quaint
ties In the creek. There are others TO
whom experience can teach nothing. and
they stHl persist in saying that ths veins
must b there ana viii be found at some
Gay.
Not From Quarts Veins.
Nov, the facts 80 the case are that
after more than thirty years OF patient
toll and search. the richest creeks In Brit
ian Columbia, or what have been the
richest creeks in the country, have failed
20 show up any kind OF rock In paying
quantities anywhere in the nsighoorhood;
and on the other hand. we have Trail
creek. which has been considered about
as poor a gola producer as there vas
IN the country and which has during the
last year yielded up over s. ooo. c0 IN gold,
al OF which came from The rocks in It's
nefsl1b1rhood. Now, for many years ]
have firmly believed that gold found in
the creeks OF British Columbia did not
come from quartz veins. but during ruy
trip 20 Alaska during the last summer my
views on ,his- matter received q rsmarka-
biz confirmation. as ] found gold under
circumstances that anyone vii say could
no; possibly have come from quartz vsias.
un,e@s they were up ~ thu SKY.
and believe that U I can show that there
IL even a possible way Ia which ms gold
IN British Columbia came iate the creeks
without coming from quartz veins ] shau
be 6oiag THE mining community a very
great service. Tais / propose 10 90. and
have committed them 20 manuscript.
which vii take great pleasure ia read
Tag to you.
"Taose % you who have seen Pro- Wiz
,helgs geological mars win have noticed
that Ga hls map % this continent during
thu E0Eoie period = great ocean rolled
over what Is now these Pacific states. and
thu only lard above water was part OF
California and a few long islands that
stretched rorthwara where the Pacific
coast now Is And IN another map OF the
conntryat thu hegiaaingot the careonifsr-
Gus age these lonE islands stretched much
further 70 tha NORTH ard nsariy enclosed
a vast holy OF water that BE called TIE
CorCFiersn ocean. which covered the
country between what Is 1ow TIE coast
ard the Rocky mountains. This range O.
mountains that Al thai time stretched
atcnx TIRE ccast stsn exists. though n
seine places tbey have sunksH beneath
t1e cceau favel ara row afford as q shell
tered passage between here and Juneau.
Thev fret appear Tar cut 90 the North
Pacific oresa i0 what is called the Aleu-
ttaa 0r Fox }sIau.ls sn8 d5aanu~a~ gain
henesth the ocean ~ TIE southern point
o. ths peninsula % Lower California.
''Ilasse mss reag 1e tolafahiy correct arF
they may rot. hut enough IS known 90
make tt certain thaf ar ore tjrne p great
hesv q salt wErer covered tn court~v
between the Cascade and the Ro~kv
u,oaatains A sCn later msp shows tha
Cascade mountains 90 have srlse- a16
gas great Ccr8iHeTsa 9roa1 - be orlv
rsrrcsaarc6 by sarss iarxe bodies CT sal
water that IL aetGche3 he1ies covered tha
greater rart q ths state - Etah. arH ths
R-Aater paris % EsSta-u G-eEoz and East
srn rashlnEten. TIE Lass remnant ~ re
mighty Cor1flsraa ocsan Is row 1ryfnF
en IN fha state % Ue&h ana Is called fAs
Ersaf salt ake, ard % seems - re ner-
es--ty reasonable 20 irFar that thH sara
Fate taas has eefal4sn the seA that naoa
covered IRE greater part q the state OF