The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-12-15

I /
NnsipRs ce,ptnstp NIX coN'e
GSAZl >-r9N-sa~s(S
knew absolutely nothing Of prospecting
or mining. At the same time they
were poor, having invested the only mos
ney they could raise in this dubious
enterprise many leaving families IN
almost destitute circumstances,
Again, the greater number had no
business venturing into a terra-ineog-
nita. lacking stamina, perseverance, en-
ergy and-being born tied
| a powerful constitution was not the
main essential. Nerves OF Iron and q
viii Of steel proved requisites, 1 never
saw o mans innermost powers 50 rap
idiy tested as In Alaska Some saw
the snow-cOvered mountains and cold
defiles. and never left the steamer till
II once more touched the wharf at Sc
attic; others tried sled pulling, and
were found wanting. Many stuck TO
work for q month or two, but found
| the glacier With its storms and snOw-
peRred.
Then spring and boot-bulldlng! Have
you ever whip-Sawed lumber? You
will know that even for labOrlng man
| It Is back and arm breaking. Imagine
bank clerks. conductors, Insurance
men. teachers, tradesmen and the like
doing III Consequence? In four cases
out Of i've a sudden malady known as
cold feet" resulted-i. e., 1ome-sick-
ness. Stlli many worked undaunted,
completed their boats and started for
the Copper River via Hlutlna. A NUM-
Der swamped and lost their goods few
I fHRpo 0RfaV fRa 40 ~ Tb1f h1t6fN-
sand reached ScaFetown at the head OF
the rapids appropriate nane) thirty
miles In length, with numberless bould-
ers, dangerous twists and bends and a
flfteen-mlle current. About three hun
dred attempted TO shoot them; the
rest camped above them, Three boats
would start. and only one finish. The
other two were upSet-provlsiOns hard
ware, ammunition, everything lost. and
the men barely saved. Strange to re-
late, though Thousands Of dollars worth
Of goods were devourcd by the angry
waters, no loss OF life occurred.
However, miners hitherto uncou-
quered now became dlsheartened and
inactive. Some rOped their boats
through the rapids. To sum up, about
eight hundred reached the Copper
River. and OF these. about four hun-
dred began running over the country.
| They took enough provisions on their
hacks or in boats to last them several
weeks. BY the time they reached any
favorable territory, ratiOns ran short
and necesSitated speedy return. Many
seemed to have conceived the Idea that
that person was the best miner who
could take the largest pack and walk
the farthest. Naturally, no work being
done, nobody WAS able to report favor
ably. know what say. when state
that three-fourths Of all these would-be
prospectors never applied q pick or
shovel or washed pan OF dirt They
looked at surface indications and ren-
dered a declsion-no goldi Thus II con-
| tinued TIL fall as regards the territory
at the sources OF the Copper, like
Wise the suslota. Slana and other
tributaries Of the former.
| The large mountains east Of the Cop
per, Drum. Sanford, Wrangle and Till
man, received their quota OF transient
attention. Without trying. the verdict
| was: Bedrock can never be reached,
hence II would be time wasted II one
| undertook TO dig! People who never
moved from camp and people who ran
| over the country became alike discOur-
aged. Tips and inside tracks became
alike unavailable. no stream answer
| ing the given descriptions being found.
Auctions took place daily, ana prices
dropped to almost nothing. So eager
! were the tenderfeet to leave that they
deserted their entire outfits rather than
try to realize 4 reasonable sum for
them. BY the score they departed
1 hopes blasted, theories exploded, Illus
Ions vanished, and reality frowning.
Who would acknowledge their defeat
1 under the circumstances? They had
promised their friends relatives, and
themselves so much, and now they
were fnllurcs
Do you think one out OF the forty
five hundred for moment accused
himself for the outcome? The trans
| portatiOn companies, the newspapers
and the country were to blame. Espe-
cialiy was the song and chorus There
Is no gold in Alaska!" Certainly this
was a convenient mode OF Disgusting
personal shortcomings and mismnn-
4 agement. They were the people who
gave Alaska the black eye" 1t to-day
bears.
Notwithstanding the exodus of the
thousands several hundred steadler
men stayed in the country. They pros
pectod thoroughly and discovered
creeks bearing gold in paying qunntit-
les thereby giving the lie TO tnat
sweeping statement, There is no
gold"
While am not prepared to estimate
the output while realize the difficulty
OF getting at It. will say that the
opening Of the country By the govern
ment. by constructing trail from
valdes to Eagle City, on the Yukon, for
the purpose OF mall transportation, the
application OF proper machinery. the
facilities In connection with the coast.
and perseverance VIII unearth vast
wealth. l therefore consider the pros-
poets OF the coming years very favor
able.
Alnska is not, as far MS can discern.
a poor mans country. The country Is
large from meteorological point OF
view. Its mountains aud valleys are
beautiful. The formation Is granite,
Rinte. Quartz. and ahAle Iron and cop-
per abound. Platinum In claimed to eN-
list by assayers who analysed specI-
mems,
For my part. am thoroughly salts
fled with my venture, aB my expectn-
tions were I'm no wise Overstrung and
the outcome has been quite gratifying.
II IL not possible to enter upon dis
cusslon Of Alaska at large have only
endeavOred to show why so many were
disappointed In Alaska.
w. II. EGERTER.
Wheeling, Dec, Il.
A Frightful Blunder.