Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1900-04-14
NEW Ell DORADO FOUND
Surpasses the Klondike and
Cape Nome.
ROOM FOR FIVE THOUSAND MEN.

Pny streak known "a he More Than
Thirty Feet Wide and Three e.
seven Feet Deep-DigginGs Hard
to Rcaeb.
Victoria. b. c., April 12--Jaek Bourne
who reached Dawson ON March % Will
dog team from Koyukuk. carried news
which fred the miners with new golt
fever. Because OF his report very many
men from the lower river were strung
along trails bound to the new lei Dorado
at the head OF the koynkuk river. BE
sides Bournes story reports of almost in
credible wealth are circulating all along
the river, and il is asserted that as a gold
producing country the Koyukuk will out
class both Cape Nome and the Klondike
THE diggings are situated about 9Ot
miles from the mouth OF the river,
Bourne says, "and are difficult TO reach
on account of the task of getting in sup
plies, which have to be hauled by dog
teams or on hand sleds. Pay dirt Is not
found on the river proper, but on -four
tributary gulches debouching on the left
These gulches head in low range OF
hills to the south OF the Koyukuk. and
the pay streak is known to be more than
30 feet wide and from three to seven feet
thick. Bed rock Is only II feet deep and
consists of shattered slate, in which the
best pay is found.
"1'he miners have bestowed the names
of Mckinley and Bryan on the best two
gulches, and there Is some rivalry as to
which will make the better showing dur
ing the winter. There are about 30 min
ers on Mckinley and an equal number on
Bryan.
only small portions OF the creeks have
been staked, as it was decided at n min.
ers meeting TO prohibit locations by
power of attorney The size of the claims
has been limited to 500 feet along creeks
and stretching from rim to rim. 1t Is
estimated that there are claims for 5000
miners, and as there are less than 800 in
the entire country the stampeders who
have left Circle City expect to get in on
some exceptionally good ground
wild Stories In Circulation.
Mr.. Bourne says the widest stories are
circulating as to the extent Of the pay
dirt. One report has 1t that 500 to the
pan Is common thing, and he was as
sured by q reliable and conservative min
err that the digg;ngs would average 500 q
day a man. The gold is bright and very
pure, assaying more than $13 TO the
ounce.
After the stampede TO Myrtle creek, on
the Koyukuk. last summer 1t was gener.
ally supposed that country was failure.
and miners left it for better known fields.
Some pay had been found, but 1t was
small and limited in extent, and there
was little to induce one to even prospect
In the country. The cost of getting in
supplies was tremendous, and only the
barest necessities could be taken along.
II was in the face OF difficulties of the
gravest character that the discovery on
Mckinley gulch was made last fall, the
finders being on their way to Fort Yukon
and temporarily camping at the mouth OF
the creek. Their first pan yielded $260.
The Koyukuk is best reached in winter
by the divide between Fort Yukon and
the headwater streams. 1t is only about
$50 miles across, while by way of the
mouth of the river it is fully 800 miles.
About 800 miners have stampeded to the
diggings since the news of the strike
reached the Yukon valley, and as the re-
suit fairly good trails have been broken.