The daily sentinel., 1907-05-29
Dramatic
Mystery of
Klondyke
Discovered 20 Years Ago
by Russians, the Fabul-
Gus Gold Fields We're
Lost Again - Intensely
Interesting Story.

AhASA CSlIllS StUTy.
SEATTLE, May 29.-while the
world Is still wondering after forty
centuries how such vast riches as the
gold and diamond mines Of Solomon
and Hiram. King of Tyre. could be-
come lost to the world, it forgets that
in the great gold fields of Alaska
there is a similar instance. confined
entirely within the bounds of the
nineteenth century.
There is ample evidence that the
klondike gold fields We're discovered
I by Russians in the early thirties. last
I century. and worked by political
slaves to considerable extent before
being abandoned and forgotten. And
. it is now recalled apropos Of the new
branch of the Alaska Central rail-
way mp the Neutna-receutly descrih-
ed 10y Or. Il. A. Cook the first noun
taineer TO ascend Mount Mckinley.
who took that route to the mountain
that in 1892 the Russians explored
that district thoroughly. and mined
thousands of dollars worth of gold on
the Anauk river I'm the Seward penin-
sula. In fact the Instruments which
they used and the chains with which
the convicts were hobbled while they
worked will be a portion of the Rus
sian occupation exhibit Of Alaska at
the great Alaska-Yukon-Pa Pacific Expo
sition which will he held at Seattle in
1909 Besides the Industrial, ngri-
cultural and mineral exhibits at the
I exposition. much space will be de
voted to displays dealing with the
early history of Alaska and Yukon
The discovery I'm the Klondike was
made in a dramatic way. \ short
! distance above Discovery claim on
Hunter creel-chicf tributary Of the
Klondike-a number of miners were
working a lay. That is the ground
/ belonged to someone else and they
worked il agreeing to pay all eNpeus-
es and TO turn over a certain percent
age of the gross output of the mine.
usually fifteen per cent to the owner
of the ground.
When the ground was opened a
couple of feet, the miners came across
traces Of an old tunnel At first
they paid little attention, as In the
early days of the country in 1897 to
I 1899 all kinds of tunnels were dug
and then abandoned by certain
class of inexperienced newcomers who
expected to find gold I'm millions for
few davs labor But as the miners
went deeper they saw that this tun-
mel could not be the work of miners
| digging at so recent a period. The
/ timbers that shored the walls wero
old and rottcd. the tunnel looked as
/ If il had not been worked for n cen
| tury.
At the end there were evidences of
1 a tragedy The bones OF a couple OF
men were found past a cave-in which
/ had evidently Imprisoned them be
Iyoud all rescue. and on their legs
there stiu clung the heavy manacle'
with which Russia in the old days
hobbled her prisoners. The men had
died misorably because Of the cave-in
and for some reason never to he
/ known. were not rescued The irons
which bound their legs had appar'
Iently hindered their movements. fol-
the situation would not have been
desperate to a modern miner. possess
ling full freemom of movement. Besid
them. were their century-uld picks
heavy. blunted and Inefficient instru-
|meuts. The remains We're respect
fully buried and the Instruments and
leg irons were saved, and viii be a
portion of the Russian exhibit in the
/ Alaska building of the Alaska-Gukon-
Pacific Exposition.
| In 1892 a Russian dog mail on It's
way from the interior 10 Sitya dis
covered traces of gold ON the NnaulS.
An old trading post on the Kosko-
vim. the ruins OF which are still to he
seen was the headquarters OF Rus
| sian trade in that district. The Anauk
/ river was known then as the yellow
river and so appears today on the
/ Russian maps. For years this discoy-
cry was worked. but the Russians
never good prospectors at best. aban-
doued gold mining as soon as the de-
posits I'm the immediate vicinity of the
original discovery were worked out
WHY the rich Hunker was aban-
doned will forever remain mystery.
II has been claimed that all along
the Russian government had records
Of the vast gold deposits In the
neighborhood Of the Kloudike. and
had that portion OF the country been
Russian and not British. the united
States would never have had me op-
portunity TO purchase Alaska But
that must remain a speculation as
Russian bureaucracy never gives up
Its secrets. One thing alone is GER
tain. that the gold deposits or both
Yukon and Alaska were worked hair
q century before Slookum Jim made
his famous discovery on the after
noon of August 1G, 1896. and opened
up a new frontier kingdom for the
troopers Of the Lost Legion TO con-
quer.