Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1897-10-14

province, was famous lew years dSo.
The Cariboo district, lying on the fifty
third parallel of latitude, has proved
the most steady and continuous pro-
ducer. Still further north, along the
Peace river, (Which flows eastward and
discharges into Athabasca Lake plac-
ers have been worked for several years.
Most of the old placers Of British Col
umbia have been worked out, however
There was a period along in the sixties
when the annual production of that
province considerably exceeded 81
100000, and in 1864 it rose to $3,-
735,85O. By 1890 it had dwindled
away to less than half a million, owing,
it has been asserted, to the exhaustion
of the known deposits.
The Yukon river, which crosses
Alaska from east to west and empties
into the Pacific little south of Bering
Strait, is said to be a mightier stream
than the Columbia. River steamers
navigate it hundreds OF miles from its
mouth. Passengers from Seattle are
usually transferred from ocean steam
ships to these vessels at st. Michaels
Island, near the mouth of the Yukon.
The source of the river is in British
territory, 200 or 800 miles south of
the point where the stream crooks
away westward into Alaska. In fact,
it may be said to drain very nearly
the same mountain slopes of the Fra
ser, Columbia, Peace and Stickine. 1t
was natural, therefore, to expect that
gold would be found along the main
channel of the Yukon or some of its
tributaries. Explorers were sent out
from GWO UdSeS. Oue SeI ncuG ~ Vic
river from its mouth, traversing the
whole of Alaska from west to east, and
another pushed up from the south,
from the vicinity of Juneau, through
Chilkoot Pass. The North American
Transportation and Trading Company
established trading stations near the
source OF the river five or six years ago.
Most of the prospecting has been done
either between this locality and the
point where the river crossed into
Alaska or within the first one hundred
miles over the line
Fine gold dust, in small quantities,
was found at the mouth of the Porcu-
pine river, stream that joins the Yu-
kon about one hundred miles west of
the boundary, and also near the mouth
of Forty-Mile creek, most of whose
course lies in Alaska, but which crosses
into British territory before emptying
into the big river. Fort Cuhahy Is
located here, and Circle City, where
there were other mining camps, Is
about fifty miles further west. These
places are about eight hundred or nine
hundred miles from the sea, if one
travels by steamboat, and in the win
ter are completely cut off from the
outer world.
The Klondike river is not to be
found, or, at least, is not easily iden-
tilted, on any existing maps, but it Is
probably small stream, like Forty
Mile creek, and discharges into the
Yukon not many miles from the east
ern boundary of Alaska. Still, Seat
tie papers advertise transportation to
the Klondike region, to Fort Cuhahy
and Circle City by ocean steamers
that transfer to river boats at st.
Michael's Island.
The district is on or near the sixty
fifth parallel of north latitude, and has
an Arctic climate. 1t is habitable
only for a few weeks, or at most two
or three months every year. The
gravel is frozen solid the year around,
and has to he thawed out in some way
before the gold can be separated. The
streams which supply the water for
washing the dirt also freeze up. Hence
placer mining must be conducted there
under great disadvantages.