Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-07-31
Madison. .Tl1ly 27

N1ctNAl0OA1s coAJ go
Thomas Davies of Dodgeville was in
the city yesterday on his way home
from the Klondike.
Mr.. Davies said that he started for
the gold region a year ago last Janu-
airy. He went through the Chilkoot
Pass with a number of others and on
reaching Lake Linden built a boat and
crossed over to Dawson City. An uncle
of his, William Davies, owned a claim
called Victoria Gulch about q miles
from the city, from winch he had taken
out about $1,000. Thomas Davies
bought this claim and worked
it for about year. Inc
distance to bed rock on this
claim was IA feet, from rim to rim
Git being in a sort of a bowl between
hills) it was Is to 25 feet, and the depth
of the gravel, which contains the gold,
was 4 to 6 feet. The method pursued
by Davies in working was as follows:
He would sink shaft to bed rock. IN
the winter time. Laying wood
against the wall in the direction in
which he wished to drift he would start
a fire in the night time and thaw out
the gravel. In the day time he would
drift onward by scooping out the
loosened gravel leaving the frozen
ground above as roof. He would
continue the process Of drifting in the
same way, burning wood as before
against the gravel wall in the line of
advance and subsequently scoop1ng
out the partly molten stratum.
Mr.. Davies said his property was
yielding we'll He had in his possess
sion, when visiting his friend William
A. Owens in the state railroad COM
missioner's Office yesterday morning
about $50 in nuggets of various Sizes
Mr.. Davies told many interesting stories
of successful prospecting in the north.
Apropos of nuggets he said that one
man had found a chunk of gold worth
$500 Davies knew Of shaft that had
been sunk 40 feet without getting
under the frost; while, on the other
hand, there were three claims in sue
cession which, being devoid OF moist
ure, were not in the least frosted, and,
as it was merely necessary to shOVel
OUT Iu0 uI1lI, L1C OWAC1O WIZ o. "AAAS
very rich A Swede, named Charles
Anderson, who by working had saved
I'D about 81 800 was taken out by de-
signing miners, made very drunk and
induced to buy for $500 claim that
was presumably worthless. Upon COM
ing to his senses the man made appli-
cation to the gold commissioner of the
+o iron a atiOn ~
nulled, but his appeal was denied.
Then hiring two men with what money
he had left, Anderson started out to
work his claim whether it paid
or not. In a comparatively short
time the three men sue
ceedei in washing out $1,2OO,OOO and
the property is now considered to be so
rich that the government has posted
troop of cavalry to guard it, receiving
in return 10 per cent. of the output.
There is comparatively little crime
in Alaska, said Mr.. Davies. The MIN
ers pan out enough gold each day 10
paw for their daily expenses, (about
So, which enables them incidentally to
estimate the richness of the pocket.
A stOckpile Of the gold bearing graVel
is kept until the water is running free
Iy enough to wash it out. When the
miners are ready to bring their gold to
the city, the government will, if mott
fed, send an escort to ensure its safe
delivery. Mr.. Davies said that the
coolest weather this last year was in
November, when the thermometer reg
istered Y degrees below zero. The
average cold temperature ranged be-
tween 20 and so degrees below zero.
The snow averaged three feet and a
half in height Mr. Davies was suf-
fering greatly because of his transition
from cold to hot climate. He said
he had taken Turkish baths every day
since leaving Seattle to accustom him
self to the change of weather as he
came south. On June "A, said Mr..
Davies, the sun of the Klondike never
went out of sight and at midnight two
thirds of the orb could Zoe seen at the
extreme north.
Mr. Daviec said he knew Jesse Ed |