The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-06-21
How Yukopsrs Prospect for Gold, and Then Ibaw
Out and Dig Frozen GrayeI---NeW Processes
Will b ADOPTED, Says 0gilvie.

soon enable one 10 determine tust how
much there Is n pan. To the uninlttated
70 cents 70 the pan looks nt'se more IAN
a few snecks Of geld in one corner OF me
bottom except n the case Of lake gold
which may be 80 thin that cent worth
OF IL Will apparently cover the Whole oo.,
tom 81 the pan and the beginner Will
think 10 has struck something very rich-
little water poured into the pan sooH
and coarse though Il may not be appifths
10 the eve. The flake rises IN the aS!iAteo
water and sinks slowly. which, OF course
heavier gold will no, do. >
the gravel s washed "a before described.
has 20 be whipsawed. This involves lot
Of tedious. difficult work. The o9iy msi
in the country was too much taken up
with saving lumber for building purposes
10 devote any attention 10 ssu!ce box ium-
Der. Hereafter sawm.lls may De more CON
veu.ent Siuice boxes require careiui-y Sc
lected lumber, as free as posslo!e iron,
knots or knot holes. This. OF course, those
who go mining VII soon ascertain. ior
ihnsmS May T. s seS over xtso these dcutes
Hillside prospecting has oeen resoftea 70
already there and some fair CLAIMS round.
This Is conducted on the same ptihclp.es
as gulch prospecting, with the dineTence
that there Is much less depth or art on
the hillside as rule than In the bottom
OF a gulch II is well 10 bear in mind that
hillside claims are :nconvenient to Work:
the water has to be brought down
along the hillside from high level on the
creek which may necessitate very iOhs
d!tch Tie working Of them VIII he sure
10 conflict with the working Of the Suich
claims ard thelr location until after tho
slilch or creek ella ms are worked out Is
not desirable.
Prospecting for Quartz.
Quartz prospecting has been prosecutor
to a very limited extent In That country,
but that little has revealed that there are
a great many lodes Of w-grade gold
bearing rocl0 there, some OF Il too low 70
be considered at all in connection Win
milling for some time 10 come. Time, no
doubt Will develop improved means and
methods OF meeting and comba ing the
peculiar conditions existing there and rem
derng profitable the most OF this rock
The hills,des. for a height of ABOUT loo
feet above water level, are thickly covered
with an underground Of scrub and moss
This practically pvecludes attempts at
prospecting FOR quartz except in Few
isolated spots. The mountain tops them
selves, or the crests of the ridges, are
bare Of timber. but are covered with d
sub-Arctic moss which almost completely
conceals the character or the rock. This.
OF course. is easily gotten over ny smash
ing few specimens here and there with
a hammer, but prospecting for quartz III
this way. 10 be prose cuted successfully.
requires more geological know edge and
technical training than the vast majority
OF the miners are possessed OF, besides
keenneSs OF observation that is rather
rare. 7 think small diamond drill plant
would he about the most effective and sat
hearing rock. 1t could readily De used. no
matter what the surface was IKE | have
often thought that some sort OF Il mOdi-
fication OF It would be more convenient
for prospecting for placer gold than the
present method of burning down. by the
time few quartz mills are established
there VIII no doubt be very many extern
sive and valuable quartz lodes discovered.
as Il Is highly Improbable that all the
gold-bearing rock has been wea altered or
ground down. deposittng Its gold in the
,f.,}a ID - gnF ram n
the hills and mountains OF the region OF
the digg!ngs The only question being. IS
il concentrated enough 10 pay for work
ing, or scattered about in TIM stringers.
a the miners term II, At such distances
apart as to preclude any .dea OF mining
enterprise in that direction? Attention il
called 10 the fact that many OF the lodes
found and doubtless many To be found.
are so situated that water is practically
not available during six or seven months
of the year. The small streams ak freeze
sold and remain 50 from November until
May, and maybe longer. This VIII neccs-
state some other method on milling than
filed with water ana those contemplating
quartz mining viii do We'll TO take this
question into consideration.
Value of Gold.
A few remarks on the value Of gold
found in that country Will not BE- out Of
place here. As a rule it ranges In Zine
nNss." technically termed. from i23 to .S15.
that =, from about go per ounce. Troy
weight, after melting. to about $IA per
ounce, Troy weight. after melting. Be
lore melting. and thus cleaned OF the sand
ard quartz associated with =. the value
per Troy ounce runs from Sls.H% 10 $i7to
on Bonanza ana Colorado, and as high as
A76i IL other places The value OF pure
gold Is s-o.67 per ounce. Troy weight. The
other part OF the metal AS e y mined Is
principally silver and COPPER. The low
quality of Roma MA and Eidorado f. more
fban compensated for by It's quantity.
While prospecting the miner had better
take a ge0logist = hammer with HIM II
Is SINAI! and devised specially for that
purpose. He also requires d shovel and
pick
Lumber small and Scarce.
As 20 lumber The only lumber Of any
value found in that region Is scattered
along the bottoms Of the river valleys and
streams. few hundred feet up on the
niiiS3es timber dm.nishes in size The
cause % t1is * mat tie ground il eter-
Eally frozen. hN3..z -reVsTei win thick
deposit - moss - 4 depth Of TWO or more