Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-01-07


ed roads or after the winter has set in pay
freight at the rate of 10 or Is cents
pound In summer freight Is from Is
cents to 81 pound from Dawson or Cir
ole City or Forty Mile out to the creeks.
20 the prospector this is prohibitive, for
to move out to one of the creeks with
small outfit takes long time. One must
build cabin or sleep in q tent with the
thermometer registering at times 70 or 50
degrees below zero.
Prospecting itself when on the ground
involves much more labor for the results
than In any other mining district in the
world It is seldom that the pay dirt is to
be found uncovered, and shafts must be
sunk to bedrock by thawing the ground
with fires and digging out.
The pay channel, as it is called, Is gen
orally from 10 to so or so feet wide In
order TO locate it prospect shafts must he
sunk at short distances across the valley
Of the creek, which may be from 100 to
1000 feet wide. H., ~ ...,,-.. r.
Prospecting is all different to what it
was in California in the early days. In
the first place, the gold is not in the beds
of the present streams nor In such bars as
bordered the California creeks, but In the
It'll or ground moraines Of ancient gla'
oilers left there ages before the streams be.
gan to cut their present channels, and a
] week g hard work Is necessary to reach 1t
through the muck and gravel that covers 1t.
In all parts of the Yukon country are to
be found alluvial deposits in the shape OF
bars and benches which contain gold, 1t
is true, but SO far none has been found to
/. compare in richness with the gold bearing
deposits of Ell Dorado and Bonanza creeks,
which have been the cause Of this useless
influx of thousands from the outside world.
The best proof of the fact that there are
already here many more persons than can
\ hope ever to obtain claims without going
] far away Is in the figures of the gold COM
missioner as to the number Of locations
that have been made. The whole length
practically Of every creek within distance
Of 40 miles and in some directions more
has been located. -, a., r Nc a.: g.
Yet all these locations. together with q
few IN the Forty Mile district, do not ex-
coed in number /, 800. But under the min
ing laws man may locate one claim in
each division Of the Yukon district. There
are eight divisions and many men have
claims in several OF these So 1t is safe to
say that about 1000 men own all these
claims ...s. r., "a, ,'a't+~''
There are in Dawson and in the mines
af these districts at the present time Ger
tainly over $500 persons, and probably
5000. Besides this there are, of those who
came in late by St. Michael and those who
went down to Fort Yukon In order to OBJ
tain food, certainly not less than 1000
who intend to come here a. soon as navi-
cation opens in the spring. 50 .y5'.-s =. Z
There are coming into Dawson from up
- ~
boats. It is said BY those who have come
on the road who have crossed the passes
early In the spring. Il 30 ssa4f 81 GA!ass 5sas
From all indications this is Is low esti-
mate In other words, there are here, or
near here and to come as soon a. roads
open, 1000, men, and there are mines In
the district for 1000. The other g, 900 can
only hope to work, Tor wages or 60 long
distances from here to prospect,
OF all the mines located not more than
$50 have been proved to b Of value under
present conditions, and OF these many will
not be worked full handed until wages
are still further reduced. So TAT O. can be
learned from the mine owners themselves,
about 900 men will be- employed In the
mines ii wages areo1 an hour Then as
many more will work on lays In addi-
ton TO- these not more than loco will
work on their own claims prospecting, de-
veloping or mining them;' making In oil
about 8, OOO,men employed II the mines.
Yet II Is probable that not q many viii
have supplies Of provisions to last them
until spring. OF the rest of the populA-
tion 81 tho district 1. 500 Or more will b
Idle unless they move out and prospect.
When the winter work is over, there VIII
be. employment for far less men In sum-
mer OF sluice mining, and with those COM
ing there will be but a small proportion
OF the men here employed unless new
mines are discovered.
There have bsen during the last decade
many, thousand men in the Yukon coun-
&y prospecting and mining all the way
from the HootalinquA river to the koyu-
INK, dissak.ss q 500 MILES IN as..sSsiSht