Arizona republican., 1898-04-09
Something More Of the Find On
 the American Side
DIVIDING WITH DAWSON
The Attention of the Growing
 Horde of PrOSpeCtOrS
Several Reasons Why the Last Dis covery Should be More Important Than ths First Which Set the World On Fire,

Seattle, April Especial correspon- dence of The Republican.)-W D. Wood, ex-mayor of Seattle, has arrived from the north. It will be remembered that Mr. Wood left here last August, at the head of an expedition of over 200 men on the steamer Humboldt, bound for Dawson City via St. Mich aels. The expedition was winter bound at what is now Rampant City, nera Munook creek MT. Wood let them on December IT, pushing On to Dawson, and thence to Seattle. via Dyea. More recent adviceS have ar rived from Munook creek coming overland to Cooks inlet, as noted in former letter. but MT. Woods story is far more detailed and is most valu- able, coming from we'll known and representative man.
 The members of the Humboldt party were naturally disappointed most bit terly at their failure to reach Daw- son. But they set to work building cabins for the winter, and some few of them. to kill time, went prospect ing. They found pay dirt. Then all the rest went prospecting, women in cluded. And as they discovered a large mineral district and had it all to themselves it is supposed that they found enough pay dirt to go round. According to advices received two weeks ago, via Cooks inlet, every one of this party had a claim, and the more developed ones were extremely prom ising. The same thing is true of other parties, caught at the same time by the ice. and, to their despair, forced into winter quarters along this part of the Yukon. They have found gold. They were forced most unwillingly to remain within the territory of Uncle Sam. They have developed district second only in importance to the Klon- dyke district itself But will it re- main second in importance? The Dawson district is year ahead of these new American fields in develop ment. And men by the hundred are leaving Dawson for Munook creek, Panama river and it's tributaries, Kyu- kuk river, Birch creek and others, all in American territory. Why? You | may say that stampedes to new discov- | cries are of daily occurrence. That in ] place like Dawson there must needs I hrs ed and broken men who will rush anywhere on rumor of a strike in the | hope of picking up something. This | is absolutely true. But could broken men travel 700 miles over ice and snow with dog teams in an Arctic winter? Could broken men have made
 trip of twenty-six to thirty days
 when a days provisions in Dawson City cost $1O? This was no stampede.
 It was a deliberate movement towards
 United States territory, and United
 States laws. It would never have oc-
 cured if the American discoveries had
 not been important. It would never
 have occurred if the mining laws of
 the two countries had been equally lib-
 era1. But it is better to dig out $SC
 from American soil than $100 from
 Canadian soil, since of that hundred
 dollars the Canadian government ex-
 acts twenty as royalty, besides heavy registration and other fees The Ca
 nadlan government allows 25O feet to a claim. Our government allows .32C
 feet. The length of claims has. in some cases, been reduced by common consent of all interested, to 800 feet.
 But the law allows quarter of mile. At Dawson the food supply for winter must always be precarious until rail-
 road reaches there. Such a thing can
 never happen at these new American
 fields, since they lie just below the point of difficult navigation, where the
 last boats for Dawson always get
 stuck by ice and low water. Finally these diggings are far more easily
 reached, either via St. Michaals o1
 overland via Cooks inlet or Port Val
 dez, and the Panama river, than i:
 Dawson City by any known route.
 l advise nothing, except to stay out
 altogether. It is to my own personal 1 interest to see as many people as pos sible go in by way of Dyea or Skaguay
 for I expect in about two weeks to be
 running a pack train at whichever ot
 these places find to be best for busi
 ness. I have endeavored to offer tht
 main points of the case, without exag geration, for the intelligent consider
 ation of intelligent people. My infor
 nation is from the most reliable