The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-01-24
.cHAprER Y.

.lGbOIdlb aAu LEA4aAeASEo go ~
close by the river, Chief Isaac and his
Indians we're camped beside the
frames on which they were drying sal
mon. Several old.ttmes we're also in
camp there. Having finished their
summer work on Ten Mile Creek, they
had come down the Yukon, bound for
Circle City. But at Sixty Mile they
had learned Of the strike, and stopped
off to look over the ground. They had
Just returned to their boat when Day
light landed his -four, and their report
was pessimistic. But an hour later,
at his own camp, Joe Ladue strobe IN
from Bonanza Greek. He led Daylight
away from the camp and men and
told him things in confidence.
"she's sure there" he said in con-
clusion.i Il didn't sluice 1t, or cradle
it. II PANIED it, all in that sack, yes
terday, on the rlm.rock, l tell you you
can shake 1t out OF the grass.roots.
And what's on the bedrock down In
the bottom Of the creek they amt no
way of tellln'. But she's big, | tell
you. big. Keep It quiet, and locate all
you can. It's in spots. but wouldn't
be none surprised Il some Of them
claims yielded as high as fifty thou.
sand. The only trouble is that It's
spotted"
A month passed by, and Bonanza
Creek remained quiet. A sprlnkling
OF men had staked; but most OF them
after stalking, had gone on down to
Forty Mile and Circle City. The few
that possessed sufficient faith to re-
main were busy building log cabins
against the coming Of winter. Car
mack and his Indian relatives were oc,
eup!ed in building a sluice box and
getting a head of water. The work
was slow, for they had to saw their
lumber by hand from the standing for
est. But farther down Bonanza were
four men who had drifted in from up
river, Dan McGllvary, Dave Mckay,
Dave Edwards, and Harry Waugh.
They were quiet party, neither ask
ing nor giving condolences, and. they
herded by themselves. But Daylight,
who had PANIED the spotted rim ot
Carmack's claim and shaken coarse
FOLD from the grass-roots, and who
had panned the rim at hundred 9th.
er places up and down the length OF
tho creek and found nothing, was Gu
rlous to know what lay on bedrock.
He had noted the four quiet men sink
Ing a shaft close by the stream, and
he had heard their whlp-saw going as
they made lumber for the sluice boxes
Efe did not wait for an invitation but
he was present the first day they
slriced. And at the end Of five hours
shoveling for one man, he saw them
take ont thirteen ounces and half OF
gold 1t was coarse gold, running from
pinheads to twelve-dollar nugget,
and it had come from off bedrock
The first fall snow was flying that day
and the Arctic winter was closing
down; but Daylight had no eyes for
the bleak.gray sadness Of the dying
short-lived summer. He saw his Wis
ion coming true, and on the, big fiat
was upreared anew his golden city Of
the SHOWS. Gold had been found on
bedrock, That was the big thing,
Carmack's strike was assured Day
light staked claim in his own name
adjoining three he had purchased with
plug tobacco. This gave him a block
two Thousand feet long and extending
in width from rim.rock to. rim-rock.
Returning that night TO his camp at
the mouth Of Klondike, he found in It
Kama, the Indian chief he had left at
Dyea. Kama was travelling by ca
noe. bringing in the last mail OF the
year. In his possession was some two
hundred dollars in gold.dust, which
Daylight Immediately borrowed. In
return, he arranged to stake a claim
for him, which he was to record when
he passed through Forty Mile. When
Kama departed next morning, he car
rled a number Of letters for Daylight,
addressed to all the old-timers down
river, in which they were urged to
come up Immediately and stake. Also
Kama carried letters Of similar import,
given him by the other men on Bo'
nanza.
ut will sure be the gosh.dangdest
stampede that ever was, Daylight
chuckled, as he tried to vision the ex.
cited populations Of Forty Mile and
Circle City tumbling into poling.boats
and racing the hundreds Of miles up
the Yukon; for he knew that his word
would be unquestioningly accepted,
One day in December Daylight filled
a pan from bedrock on his own claim
and carried It into his cabin. Here a
are burned and enabled him to keep
water unfrozen in canvas tank. He
squatted over the tank and began "a
wash. Earth and gravel seemed to fill
the pan. As he impaired to 1t a cir
cnlar movement, the lighter, coarser
particles washed out over the edge
At times he combed the surface with
his fingers, raking out handfuls Of
gravel. The contents Of the pan di
minished. At is drew near to the
hnttnr,, fnr. Tho nnrnnsa Of haatinH and