The San Francisco call., 1899-10-05
BRIGHT FUTURE
FOR CAPE NOME
Observations of General
n. |. Wiley.
PREDICTS A BIG INRUSH
GOLD IS VERY FINE AND MUCH
OF 1T is LOST.
Under the Present Mining Laws an
American Has Very Little op-
portunity to Make Money
in Dawson.
GOLD Is VERY FINE AND MUCH
OF 1T IS LOST.
BY HAL HOFF MHN.

JUNEAU, Alaska. Sept 26.-General H.
l. Wiley. formerly Surveyor General of
the State of California and well known
in San Francisco, has just returned from
a round trip of Alaska-that is, from Ju-
neau to Juneau. He went by way of the
Yukon, touching at Dawson and all the
principal points on the river and at Cape
Nome. He Travelled 1860 miles and was
gone eight weeks. He said with close con-
nections he could have made the entire
distance in twenty-four travelling days.
General Wiley will make a trip TO Sitka,
where he is interested in the Pande Basin
Gold Mining Company, and in few
weeks he will go to New York, probably
returning by way of San Francisco about
Christmas. Concerning Cape Nome, ne
said
cape Nome is a wonderful place. Yes,
ii is going to be a hot town next winter,
and it is also going TO be very cold town.
1t is the coldest place on earth, and windy
there's nothing in Alaska like it. DR..
Call was on the same boat with me from
St. Michael to Cape Nome He was with
Lieutenant Francis in the reindeer eX-
pedition to Port Clarence. He says they
had more trouble with the cold and wind
on the plains back of Cape Nome than
any other place in the north. 1t is open
on the north, east and south, there being
a low range of mountains a considerable
distance away on the west, but the wind
does not come from the west. The build
VIII give very little protection against the
storms.
Morton Sotnd freezes over and the
winds pile the ice high. probably about
80 per cent of the population want to leave
Cape Nome for the winter, but not one in
five will be able to get away. There will
not be ships TO carry them.
wv hen the beach diggingS were dlScoV-
cred many men who had claims on the
creeks temporarily deserted them, pre-
ferring to work for sure thing rather
sight Their idea may have been to use
their savings to develop the creek claims
The beach diggings are peculiar,
continued General Wiley. Il never saw
nor heard of anything quite like them. In
the first place, about two-thirdS of the
gold is lost. 1t is very fine, almost as fine
as flour. 1t is found in black and ruby
sand. This sand is on a thin layer of clay,
from which the sand is scraped. There are
usually three such layers of clay but I
never heard of anybody going down
layers of clay. One reason for this may
be that if they went lower the water
might come in on them. l do not think
more than one-third of the gold is saved.
There are several ways to account for the
great loss. The rockers are as a rule very
crude. Considerable of the gold has thin
coating of rusty iron. and for that reason
will not hold TO the plates. Then the black
sand Is almost as heavy as the gold and
is an impediment.
THE beach is open to all corners. and
ii
that will hardly be seen again in a CEN
tury. From the time of the discovery Of
the beach diggings prospecting in the
surrounding country was practically
abandoned I saw the gold with my own
eyes taken out on the beach and creeks
On the beach they are making from s. to
$3.50 per day to the man just as they hap
pen to strike 1t. Cape Nome promises to
rival Dawson.
Dawson IS. the toughest town on earth.
your face. You must see; YOU
there are localities just as bad
in San Francisco. Chicago or New York
but a gentleman seldom has to see it and
a lady never.
ut looked to me at Dawson as though
the Britishers intend to keep the country
for themselves and freeze out all others.
do not think the mining laws ever will
be modified. Americans and other aliens
who are hoping for change had better
decide to make the best of it. If an alien
strikes piece of new ground. one-half
of 1t goes at once to the Crown Then
over $1,000. Well. that is 60 per cent for
the Crown. A least 10 per cent more Will
be eaten up in the cost of working the
property. so that what remains for the
miner is at best about so per cent There
isn't very much money in that
81 wouldn't live in Dawson and drink
that foul water for all the gold there
believe, though. waterworks are nearly
completed and that will make il much
better. Dawson is a dirty town-dirty in
every sense of the word But they are
cleaning up some now and filling in the
swampy places with sawdust Everybody
who could get away-who didn't have
anything to do in other words the scum
Of the town. has f1Ocked down the river
TO Cape Nome. or is going to flock"