Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-11
Hugh O'DOnnell Will Leave for
Alaska Tomorrow.
HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL
In His Mining Operations in the Klor-
dixie C0uutry-Out on a
Vacation.

Hugh O'Donnell, we'll known in this
city several years ago as a mining man,
| and who went to the Klondike country
in the fall of 1897, is at the McDermott.
He has been very successful in his oper-
atoms in Alaska. a fact that will give his
many friends in Montana much pleasure.
and has with him a number of large and
beautiful nuggets, dug from his claim
last season on Dominion creek. One in
particular is Il very handsome specimen,
an Il" shaped piece of gold which weighs
nearly 500. Mr.. O'Donnell came out
about two months ago.and- has spent the
greater portion of his vacation with rela-
tives in st. Louis. He, and Harry Nc
Crimmon. another Butte boy, will leave
for Dawson City tomorrow.
"Our trip this time will not be fraught
with hardships. as it was two years ago.
said Mr.. O'Donnell to an Inter Mountain
reporter this morning. Instead of spend
ing weeks, and possibly months. in a tor
tuous journey, and meeting with every
obstacle when the frontiersmen must
encounter and surnlount, living on poor
food and enduring every hardship that is
AAS V ~ IN A" "bA0tAs WV IVA ASS
into Dawson City and enjoy every luxury
of modern travel. The trip, which for
merly required some time, can now be
made in comfort, by rail and water, from
Butte to Dawson City in nine days, all of
which goes to show that the Klondike
has kept pace with the march of progress
during the past two years"
Mr.. O'DOnnell states that Dawson City,
now a place of about 10, 900 people, is on
tho Nlnn and 61rinr the nnXt few vn1 r0
the population will decrease materially,
the result of the natural wedding out of
the unsuccessful ones. During the past
season., he said. where so men ave gone
INTO the Klondike country, 100 have come
out. Supplies have come down in price
and living is cheap, when compared with
what it was in the old days. A drink Of
good whisky, worth from 81 to $1.5O two
years ago, can now be had for the rea-
sonable price of 25 cents. Money is plen-
ty and the buckskin purse for gold dust
has almost been %relegated to the rear.
Mr.. O'Donnell has some property in the
northwest territory, almost 43 miles from
Dawson City, on Checkaow creek. which
he is going IN to work. The word
"checkaow' is Siwash for "tenderfoot.'
Speaking of the methods of working, he
said the old plan of thawing the ground
out in the winter time. at night, with
wood fires. and digging the six or eight
inches of thawed ground out in the day
time, was much in vogue, although steam
thawing machines We're being very sue
cessfully used in damp ground. A steel
pipe is driven into the frozen ground and
attached to a boiler. During the night
steam will thaw out the ground for a
considerable radius. The new method,
where practicable, is much cheaper than
the old plan, and enables the miner tn
work his ground much faster. Gravel
that will not pan seven cents to the pan
! cannot be worked at a profit.
The rigors of the Alaskan seasons have
had no a effect on Mr.. O'Donnell. He
| is looking very well, and is delighted with
his vacation.