Douglas Island news., 1899-02-23
FROM PORCUPINE.
P. R. McGuire Returns From the New Ei dorado-Timber and Sheams-The Character of the CountrY-The
 Claims All Gone,

Claims All Gone,
 MT. P. R. Mcclure, whom Douglas City claims as a resident, has made two trips into the Porcupine country this winter. He was in the city yesterday and the News man tackled him for an interview which of course was granted.
 "Wen, you are back and looking none the worse for the trip" said the scribe.
 "Yes. back again. Nothing occurred to change my personal appearance. l had nice trip, in and out, in fact, you have no doubt had colder weather here than any have encountered while gone, then was not away great while for l left on the second and returned on the twentieth. gone eighteen days"
 Hell us something concerning your trip, the readers of the News will be interested with it." said the reporter.
 "I landed from the steamer at Haincs Mission. From there started up Co the Takhiu river,which is twelve miles above the Mission. We there went if teen miles up the river and campcd. We took packs and started for the head of the river which is about thirty five miles to glacier We prospected some going up and coming back. The rivers and some of the creeks were open. We stayed up there some sixteen days. The weather was nice during that time eX- cept one day that it showed, but there was no bad wind
 What are the miners doing up there?"
 "They are prospecting, digging holes. and getting from 50 to 100 colors to the pan. They seemed to be well satisfied with what they are doing. At bed rock the gold is coarse and that is what they are after"
 "What is the character of the country up there?" was asked by the News man.
 "Weu. the rivers are finely timbcrcd with spruce. fir, hemlock and balsam, and it is the finest timber l have sceu in Alaska. remember one tree, it was more than seven feet in diameter, fully 60 feet without limb and at least l3o feet high.
 "As to the general formation of the country, the bed rock runs in places as low as twelve feet and is sand and gray el mixed with glacier mud. In other places we found a slate formation and seven feet to bed rock. The bed of the river is composed of crushed granite and quartz. In others we found de composed slate formation. The forma- tion varies very much.
 "There are twenty-four glaciers upn the part of the country 1 was in, l2 OH each side of the river. The Mann moth is the largest of these and is about I9O feet high, two and half miles wide and extends back into the mountains some seven miles. There is one flat glacier on the summit"
 "What is your estimate as to the number of men there are in the dis trict?"
 "I should think there are 1000 per sons in the district at this time and more are going in all the time, count ed fifty four going in within the dis tance of one and half miles. The prospectors are going about their work in a systematic manner and l saw none who seemed dissatisfied. We were within ten miles of the head of the Porcupine, and when at the head of Takhin river, we were one-half mile over the divide toward the Salmon river. Walker camp is new town started twenty-five miles from Haines' Mission. < store is opening there, sa