The Alaska sourdough., 1911-12-05

the ore body, like most quartz, is hard CT than the surrounding rocks, it will project as the mountainface wears down. Sometimes, however, the reverse of this is true and the ore body is softer than the walls of the country rock, in which case the vein is a de pression and not an outcrop. In any ease, however, our prospector finally locates what he thinks is his lode, or H1ead," as it is pronounced.
 The next thing is to trace out the lode and determine whether there is T workable ore body in sight. It is more difficult on the ground than it is on paper, for outcrops do rot always come with regular or easyily traceaole walls. Perhaps the prospector does not at first know which way his lode runs. Per haps he follows it out, losing it now and then, through forest growth, some times across regions covered by lesser vegetation. He must use his judgment
 
 little picking or shovelling, proving tns judgment that he is still over his lrde.
 Granted that our prospectnr knows that specimen does not make mine, and granted that lie has ultimately figured out that it will pay to locate on his discovery, there remains certain other things which the business like prospector must know and must do. It will serve no good purpose for him to through his own ignorance or careless ness. He cannot locate and hold a claim on a place where he may have found merely some good paying speci- mems of rich pieces of float He can only hold claim located actually on mineral in place '-that is to say, on the ore body proper. His vein may be only a few feet wide or less, but for working purposes the law will allow him three hundred feet on each side of it and fifteen hundred feet lengthwise of the lode. He is obliged to follow out that "mineral in place" through out that fifteen hundred feet, wher- ever it goes; but the ends of his claim must be parallel to each other. This work, perhaps, is done in virgin forest perhaps on a steep, bare hillside; but it must be done accurately. The bounds of the claim must be marked out in such unmistaken fashion that he can prove he was the first to find and locate his claim on "mineral in place. He must put up stake or monument carrying his location notice at the point of discovery, and he must set up at least four stakes or monuments-one at each corner of the claim. For legal reasons it is far better to have a mon ument also on the lode where 1t leaves each end of the claim.
 The prospector will not be allowed by the deputy surveyor or by the court any more ground than he has actually staked out; so usually he is careful to measure his claim rather large than short, as the law will then only cut him down to the fifteen hundred by six hundred feet If he be shrewd he may, perhaps, make the end of his claim be- gin at the point of discovery and To- cate claim in each direction on the lode from that point. It is his busi- ness to mark out such claim distinctly and unmistakably. If he uses a blazed tree for monument it should be cut deeply and inscribed unmistakably on such and such monument on such and such a claim. It is not enough to stick any sort of piece of wood down into any kind of heap of stone. A good prospector leaves the record of the work of a man in his monuments. piling them up carefully, So that the elements will not remove their arti- fcial look. He is apt to inclose his To- cation notice or to place it between stones where it cannot be removed. In