Douglas Island news., 1900-10-31


 his face. This gentleman is perhaps
 the only man iu Alaska who can carry
 the complete details of stamp mill in
 his head and not look confused. He
 has been in the business of building
 mills since boyhood and keeps himself
 thoroughly up with the times. The
 monster mills on Douglas Island, which are not surpassed by any on
 earth, stand as a monument to his abil- ity. which cannot be questioned.
 "Have you been inside?" asked MT. Mackay.
 Our answer being in the negative, he invited us to accompany him. We started for the entrance when large sign "Danger. Keep Out" attracted our attention, and a question brought out the information that tourists and others who were inclined to be too in- ouisitive while the alterations were be- ing made, had been saved from acci- dent by reading that sign. MT. Mack ay said it was most effectual in the case of tourists, who never dared to pass it.
 The door opened and we stepped in side, and the deafening roar of the stamps crushing the ore into powder, effectually forbade all further efforts at conversation, which was limited to vivid and impressive motions with the hands and head. And what sight greeted our eyes! Where few months ago had reigned a perfect consterna- tion of dismantled machinery and tim bers now stood long even rows of bat teries. sIuices and concentrators, moY ing swiftly and smoothly, as if the pull sations of some mighty heart were con- trolling their actions. The whole is it. luminated by a system of incandes. cent lights, the wires radiating from switchboard near the center of the buildings. New ore feeders have taken the place of the old ones. The sluiceS on the battery floor have all been pro- vided with new plates Each battery has been neatly numbered; water pipe and fire hose have been conveniently placed, and also sink for the conven- fence of the workmen. In a hundred different ways the mill has been better ed and improved and now the Old TreadweI Mill, which is the pioneer of. the Island, is complete and modern in every particular.
 On the 18th day of last May this stu undertaking, which has been likeued to the' building of a new mill, but which entails more actual work than the building of two new mills, was begun On Oct 3rd, 12O stamps were put in operation and Oct. 2Oth the whole mill was started up. During this time tons and tons of massive machin- cry have been removed, new founda tions built from bedrock up, and the replaced. The fact that the large building that encloses the whole was left intact during the entire time, added to the hazard. Yet not a single accident occurred to endanger life or limb, which speaks much for the man. agement.
 The "24O" is supplied with steam as we'll water power and will keep steadi- .y pounding away, both winter and The two great mills-"24O" and "3OO"-are supplied with ore by one mine, the Treadwell, and it takes about 2OOO tons per day.
 The Treadwell company, engaged in an exceedingly low grade ore, cannot afford any experiments, and for that reason always get the best of ev- erything. When they build mills, Mir Angus Mackay, a man of unlimited ex- perience and capacity, does the work. Their superintendent, Mir. J. P. Cor bus, is a most capable man and hard worker. We notice that all recent ad- E ditions to their machinery come from Fraser E Chalmers, of Chicago, which speaks volumes for the excellency of