Mohave County miner., 1899-05-06
Copper Riuer District.

A special correspondent to the Times
hom Seattle, Washington says: When
the gold.fever bacillus was permealIng
the atm osphere Of the United States dur
ing the summer and fall OF 1897, three
men, who are at present at the National
hotel in this city, recovering from an at
tact OF scuivy contracted in Alaska, were
among the victims inoculated by the
dread disease, and although they are
slowly regaining their health, they have
sunk the savings OF lifetime IN a vain
endravor to reach the golden treasure
they were falsely lead to believe lay hid
den along the shores OF the Copper River
This remnant OF a once fairly wealthy
party OF twenty one ablebodied men are
J. T. d xon Of Sandy Hook, n j JOS
eph ! Moswrz of No 504 East Eleventh
street, NV York City, and w B, Crane
OF Lees Summit, Mo
Mr.. Dixon, who, for many years prior
to going 10 Alaska, was 10 the employ of
the United States government at Sandy
Hook, acted as spokesman for his party,
and he told such tale OF death. suffer
ing and hardship, theirs and other par
ties had encountered in that country,
that its recording ought to deter many
who may be contemplating star ing for
that country
-, ha
River district, Mr.. Dickson said: "Our
party Of twenty two men left Seattle in
the fall OF 1897. bound for Valdes. We
expended on our outfits, transportation,
etc., over % 000$, and of the origin Al in
vest ment, We nave lost every dollar, two
OF our party their lives, and several have
been 80 badly injured by frosthites, dis.
ease and scurvy as TO render them unff
for hard labor for the rest OF their lives.
1--WE we're induced to 90 TO Alaska by
the extravagant claims made for that
country in the daily press, and the cir
culars OF the transportation companies,
all OF which were TO the effect that all
any healthy man had to do TO win a for.
tune was to reach that country. One
story that was widely circulated about
the wonderful richness Of the Copper
RIVER country, and one that had much
to do with our going there-though look
ing back | cften wonder how we could
have been so foolish as to believe it
was to the effect that the Copper River
Indians used golden bullets, because
gold was more plentiful than lead, and it
was easy TO trade lead for gold with the
Indians.
MANY time since, in dreary Alaska,
have We wished We had the mean liar
who started that story, ana can ass ure
you if We could have had him there we
would have filled his CARCASS with some
Of the common lead he claimed was 80
valuable in that country.
"When The goldset kers began to pile
in that country by the thousands, Evack,
the chief OF the Honikaton Indians, SAID
Are all the Boston men gone crazy, that
they come to this far northland% And
when he was told the object OF the ex.
pedtion, he assured them that there Was
no gold there, and advised the Boston
men to return south and not to attempt
to cross the glaciers in the winter In
spite OF the warnings OF Chief Eyack,
men began 10 scatter all over the coun
try, and great as has been the loss of
life, it would have been much hsavier
had It not been for the Indians, for on
inDumerable occasions have they render.
ed invaluable assistance to the whites,
but for which many miners would have
met death on the barren wastes OF Alaska.
Too much praise cannot be accorded
these Indians; particularly IN the light
OF the yarns circulated about them be
ing 80 ferocious and boodthirsty.
"One thing that attests the deadly con.
ditons that exist there is the number Of
grsveyards that have been brought into
existence since the rush Of gold seekers
invaded that country. Fully a dozen of
these silent tokens OF the daily actual
dangers are to be found all the way from
VaIdes to Copper Center; at Twelve
Mile Camp there sleep beneath the fro
zen earth fourteen men; at Seven Mile
are the graves Of six min'rs, and all
along that country where the loot Of man
trod are these silent reminders Of the
dread dangers constantly to be encoun,
tered. Just how many have died in thai