The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-25

Easily the most interesting of the
small army of klondikers who went
through st. Paul yesterday bound for
the gold country was DR.. Daniel c. Van
Wagenen, mining engineer, assayer and
practicing physician, who has been in
Alaska off and on for the past eleven
years.
DR.. Van Wagenen first went from
Frisco on the bark Wanderer, of the
Pacific Steamship Whaling company,
the same vessel which is now locked in
the ice just east of Point Barrow in
latitude " degrees 80 minutes and to
the aid of Which the Bear relief expedi-
ton was sent out by the government
recently.
The doctor came out of Alaska in
November and later came out from
Lake Tagish the last Of January on the
steamer Noyo to recruit the party
which he had with him yesterday In
the party are Messrs. Herman, Peru,
Ind; Coates, Germantown, N. Y; Fox,
Ardock, N. D.; three Hill brothers from
South Chicago; George Rersdorf, head
engineer from the railroad shops at MI
not, and two Norwegians, JurgensOn
and Larsen, practical miners from
Butte.
The leader of the party has, under
the Canadian laws, taken out claims in
go back and commence work with the
most approved hydraulic machinery.
These claims, ten in number, were Sc
cured by the doctor for $50 900, the
papers for the transactions being in his
possession, and he will receive a third
of all the gold taken out by the mem
bers of his party. This is in return for
the experience he has had, and the adj
vantage they will reap from diggings
where his knowledge makes him believe
there is gold TO be found.
DR.. Van Wagenen makes the state
ment that the newest and richest find
yet made in Alaska is the one where he
and his business partner, H. +. Norton,
of San Francisco, have put in all their
money, and the exact location of which
he was careful not to make known until
all the claims, supposed to be of little
value, had been taken up. This is at
the headwaters of the Pelly, Mcmillan
and Stewart Rivers, on what is known
as West creek, under the Irene glacier.
The property in this immediate dis
trict is known as the Bessie group, and
according to the doctor was purchased
from the different original locators.
The group runs at bed rock $14 to the
cubic yard. This new lead where all
this richness is said to lie hidden is
right at the Tay creek on Pelly river,
where the Iast-named river runs into
the Yukon just above the entrance of
the Stewart to the Yukon. The doc
tor says the common supposition that
the Pelly and Stewart rivers join near
this spot is incorrect, and the mistake
is caused by the presence Of several
good-sized islands which deceive the
average prOspectOr.
The Widlman party, of Philadelphia,
is now dredging and mining at Ross
Forks on the Mcmillan river, near the
head waters Of the Pelly and Stewart,
in district called the Pelly Post dis
trict, near Mount Logan, the highest
point in the British portion of the
country.
Dr. Van Wagenen makes the state
ment that on one side of the Peel river
which emptieS into the Mckenzie river
in latitude 68 degrees north, a number
of claims have been worked for forty
years, and some very rich finds have
been made All the gold discovered
has, he says, been found on the Arctic
ocean side. From here it is drained,
and If the mother lode is found, the
doctor says it will be found near the
headWaters of the three rivers named
The mother lode supposed to be located
on Mount Dome, between Indian and
/ Bonanza creeks, is all humbug, says
| this miner, and the big lead OF colo
| found there, some eighty miles east
| and south Of Dawson City, is but ar
| immense drift, as conclusively shown
| by the presence of wash gravel.
| The utmost secrecy has been OBJ
served, the doctor says, and the only
! reason the matter is now made public
| is that the claims have all been taken
| and Notwithstanding the immense mum
Der of people who will rush thithe1
from Dyea and Skaguay, the claim
owners fear nothing, now that they
themselves are on the ground with i'm
proved machinery to search for the
| vast hidden treasure.
DR.. Van Wagenen, clad in g. native
seal suit with oiled seal trousers tuck
ed securely into high laced boots, lef
on the Great Northern train at the
head of the party which has a most
complete outfit, including all the neces
saries and some Of the luxuries Of min