Idaho Springs siftings., 1902-12-20
Great Wealth in Alaska.

1898, SAID MI. Smith, for the seat OF
what was the greatest gold mining ex-
citement the world has ever known.
Considering the hardships connected
with getting into the country, and the
length of time required, nothing in the
history of stampedes to new camps
has ever occurred to compare with it.
The first discoveries were made only
in 1897. l had been interested in pla-
Ger mining in Gilpin and Clear Creek
counties and | caught the Klondike
fever because | realized what might
be expected by an experienced man
there.
81 started with my wife, who would
not remain behind. l took twelve
dogs, gathered wherever / could pro-
cure them. There were Great Danes,
Newfoundlands and Shepherds. We
packed all our freight over the trail
from Skagway, and over the ice to
Lake Linderman, built a boat there,
foated down the Yukon and through
the dangerous rapids, reaching Daw-
son IN July, six months from the time
we started. Only three of the dogs
survived the journey.
Il went to leasing ground immedi
ately and built my first cabin near
Bonanza park, five miles from Daw-
son. l gradually acquired placer
ground, and did quite well all the
time, working winter and summer.
Bonanza park is now the summer re-
sort for the people of Dawson, there
being a fine mineral spring there,
which l own, together with the picnic
grounds. A new railroad will cross
this property next year.
"Since the discoveries of the placers
the entire country has been progress
ing very rapidly in every way. This
may be illustrated by the statement
that while it required six months for
my wife and to get there from Den
yer in 1898, we came back this year
in less than twelve days actual trav.
cling. We rode on a steamer from
Dawson wharf up the Yukon to White
Horse and there took train for the
coast. The trip costs 800 in summer
and $3.50 in winter, and is not accom-
panied by any more hardships in sum
mer than journey from Denver to
New York. In the winter the traveller
goes by stage over the ice foes from
White Horse to Yukon, which is the
cause of the increased transportation
rate in the winter.
Dawson is building up rapidly, and
men who have been engaged in busi-
ness there are bringing their families
In from the states and are permanent
ly located. Everybody is making
money, and while the total aggregate
output of gold from the Dawson sec
ton is less this year than it was last
that is due entirely to the fact that
this year hydraulic methods of work
ing the placer beds were introduced
ana the experiments required use of
the ground and the time of the men
who had been in previous summers
washing by the old methods. Hy-
draulic mining has proved successful
and will be generally adopted. 1t does
away with the work of thawing the
ground with steam. Next year will
witness a greater placer output than
ever before.
Tin appears in the great Corbin
ledge, which is twelve miles long, and
carries the mother lode from which
emnnated the gold of the placers in
the gulches below. Tin, in conIunc-
tion with gold and silver and lead is
unusual, but there is no doubt that
these metals are predominant. |
bfrlght out 157 pounds of ore sam
pies from this ledge and intend to
have them assayed here this winter,
so that when l go back next summer
will know just what they carry. The
lack of adequate facilities for assaying
in Dawson has retarded the work of
quartz mining severely. There is no
better opportunity anywhere for q
thoroughly practical and educated
metallurgist than at Dawson. We have
had to utilize the old prospectors'
methods to tell what we had in the
lodges and these were unsatisfactory
except to demonstrate the existence
Of the metals. Here | have about two
pounds of pure tin which l melted out
Of twenty-five pounds of ore in heat
ing stove"
lie said that the vein from which
this ore came is twenty-five feet wide
and accessible by wagon road five
miles from Dawson Several very
large quartz veins, he said, were dis
covered this year, most OF them free
milling.
THE Kiokuk country. 1900 miles
north of Dawson, has produced largely
this year, but the product was not re-
ported at Dawson when l left. Re
ports were not in either from many
of the surrounding camps, so it will
be impossible to know until next
spring what is the gold production of
the territory.
Reports that Cape Nome is worked
out are erroneous. | met Red Nc
Connell as l was coming out. He has
taken thousands of dollars out of his
prospects at Dawson, and no better
Alaskan miner lives. He was en- route
to Nome and SAYS it will produce more