The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-24
CAPE YORK DlCC|NlCS
Miners Say They Will Be as Good
as Cape Nome.
DISCOVERY OF RICH OIL FIELDS
The White Pass Railway Company VIII
Connect Beunett and White Horse
Rapids by Next June Low
Rates Promised.

A Tacoma dispatch of Nov. 10th says:
Herbert Buchanan of Helena and Z.
Gould Of Oakland. Cal, are the first
men to arrive here from the Cape York
diggings, above Nome Gould says that
Cape York, as far as prospccted, has
given as much promise as Cape Nome
However, there has been no deep pros
pecting, all the work done up to the
time he left being surface work. This
paid from ten cents to twenty-five cents
pan ON the average with occasional
pans going as high as ninety cents to
Si.50.
The first men who reached the dis
trct were a small party that went up
from Nome prospecting along The coast,
while another small party prospacted
I'D from Port Clarence. Gould and his
partner dropped in from there from II
prospecting voyage TINT began at the
mouth of kowak river, in the Kotzebue
sound country. The diggings proper
are about fifteen miles from Cape Prince
Of Wales, III Behring sea, and in the
direction Of Cape Nome The country
is dpsola'e and barren, without stick
of growing timber the only fuel beiug
drift that piles mp along the coast.
| The character of the country is simi-
lar III all respects to Nome, being tun-
dra, finally running back into small
mountains. Most of the prospecting
was done in the hills and on lit le creeks
and all panned out well. Gould says he
has seen half a dozen pans Of gravel
taken out one right after the other that
returned twenty-five cents to the pan.
There are two main treams in the
district explored These are he Onoko-
wax and the Kiosa. both emptying into
Behring sen The Onokowak runs bacl,
into the country eighteen or nineteen
miles The main tributaries Of the
Onokowak river are the Ishut, Buhna
Ituk and Jarvis, the last named after
the captain of the Bear All the tribu-
taries of the Onokowak show good
prospects. The Kiosa river has two
tributaries, the Jordan and the Sa
keena.
Advices from Cook Inlet, via juneau,
state that miners have struck rich oil
springs on Kyak Island. The oil is fine
quality of petroleum, and exists in such
large quantity that traces OF it can be
found for twenty miles around the
island. The men owning the oil fields
are Englishmen. About twenty miles
from Kyak island, on the main land a
rich strike of gold has been made aud a
trial shipment Of ore sent to IL aroma
smelter.
There are many indications that the
Copper river country i, on the eve Of an
immense development through copper
mining. Engineers are now surveying
for a proposed railway from Valdes &c
Eagle City, distance Of $50 miles.
Within sixty days the White Pass
Railroad Company has purchased ;.303,
900 worth Of steel rails with which tC
extend its line from Bennett to Close
leigh point on Fifty-mile river fonr
miles below White Horse rapids OF
this amount 2,400 tons have been deliv-
cred under rush orders to Bennett, to-
gether with locomotive to be used on
construction work between Bennett and
White Horse. By June, at least the
railroad company expects to have its
line completed to the rapids and il
operation
The plans of the company for build
ing Its line from Bennett have beer
largely governed By the discovery OF
big quartz ledges in the mountail