The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1910-12-29
ALASKA ON EVE
OF GREAT BOOM
Especial to the Silver State)

WASHINGTON, Dee. 29.-J. III.
Young, the newly elected president of
the Alaska Steamship company and
vice-president of the Copper River and
Northwestern railroad, who has lust
arrived in this city from Alaska. pre-
dlets that next spring will witness the
greatest rush of prospectors to Alaska
since the discovery OF the Klondike in
1897. He said.
1.-The mining world is just begin
ming to realize the Importance of the
discovery, within the year, of gold
quartz veins in the vicinity of Valdez,
ON Prince William sound The first
strike at Valdez was made by "Redo
Ellis, a visionary prospeetor who had
become the joke of that part of the
country through his insistence that he
had gold mine right on the coast and
within walking distance of the town.
1t was only when Ellis had by his own
efforts sacked ten tons of ore, and
when it was found to run 5000 to the
ton in the smelter at Tacoma, that he
was able to get anyone to go ont and
/ look at his mine. When he finally per-
suaded some local capitalists to 90 out
and have look and they found a neat
tunnel running right down to tidewater
with apparently inexhaustible sup
ply of the same rich ore where the ten
tons came from, cred" Ellis ceased
to be joke
"a company was organized with
$4,000 capital and three stamp mill
erected. This has already yielded
100000, sometimes running as high as
100000 day. Red Ellis gets his 25
per cent, and is taking life easy on
from $3.50 to $4,000 day.
This one quartz lode has been
traced out from Valdez to the Tiekel
river, forty miles east, and it is be-
lieved to extend for over a hundred
miles.
cit is reasonable to suppose that
this is but one of countless lode de-
posits in the Prince William sound dis
triet. During the past summer pros
peeting has been active and some 25 or
30 promising claims have been To-
Gated.
"Tbe locating and tracing of gold
lodes in Alaska is difficult process
owing to the many feet Of moss, snow
and ice which must be cleaned off be-
of the rock can be studied and follow
ed. But the ultimate Importance of
lode mining to Alaska cannot longer
be denied. For years the Treadwell
mine near Juneau, which now operates
1000 stamps, has been practically the
only lode mine of Importance in Alas
ka. 1t has produced about s30,000,000
since it was opened. This means per
manent development, whereas the
placer miner rushes to the new dig
gings, keep things lively for while
and then fades away.
"Alaska's great future prosperity
and productiveness lies in its gold
lodes and in the development of its
agriculturalareas to feed the thousands
which the complete opening of the
mineral resources will ring into the
territory. Placer mining has produced
about 1926, 100000 since gold was first
discovered in 1879 on the Windham
Arms in southeastern Alaska. The flu
ture lode production of the territory
will make this amount look small by
comparison, and it will have the ad
ded merit of bringing in permanent,
prosperous population.
"Cavillers who have insisted that
lode mining in Alaska is the dream of
visionary minds are thoroughly con
tradicted by these new finds near Val
dez in territory that has been passed
over by hundreds of prospeetors and
owners.
"Another powerful incentive to
prospecting next spring will be the
opening of the immensely rich copper
country of the Chitina- Kotsina basin
by the completion of the Copper River
and Northwestern railway. The line
is now in operation from Cordova to
Chitina, at which point it meets the
government wagon road to Fairbanks
The road builders have been favored
with remarkable weather this winter
and there is every indication that the
road will be in complete operation to
Kenneeott, its northern terminus, by
next March.
"Iast summer many important
strikes of both gold and copper were
made on the Copper river, and the
opening Of the railroad will bring IN
a new rush of prospectors. This ter.
ritorv has long been known as one of
the richest in Alaska but its develop
ment has been retarded through the
virtual 'impossibility of reaching 1T.
Only the hardest prospectors dared the
terrible trip over the mountains, and
when strikes were made it was impos'
Isible TO get the ore TO market or to get
, in supplies except by the payment OF
ruinous rates for hauling. Now that
the way has been made easy, this part
of Alaska may be looked for to come
forward with a leap.
"The Chitina basin has also great
agricultural possibilities but we are not
encouraging farmers to come there
vet. They will come fast enough when
: the mines are opened and permanent
n market for farm produce is devel-
l,ral -