The Alaska citizen., 1914-06-01

That another party is being organ ized on the Outside to look for the long sought Lost Rocker mine. sup posed 10 be somewhere on the tri- butaries of the upper Porcupine or Firth river is report going the rounds. says the Ruby Record-Citi- zen
 This Is the most famous story of a lost mine in the interior of Alaska. IL is quite true all the stories told do not agree in detail. but all agree on the main points which endow it doubly with that magnetic attrac- ton which all lost rocker stories have for the ambitious adventurous and too often fanciful wanderer. Truth is stranger than fiction" The following data is taken from the record gathered by the historical de partment of Igloo No. ,, Pioneers of Alaska:
 About the year 1896 a miner who gave his name as Wagner and hail ed from Alaska. deposited s60,00O in coarse gold at the San Francisco mint From the coast Wagner went to Chicago and died the following winter with Bright's disease. When he realized that he would never again be able to return to his fabul- ously rich mine in Alaska he divulg- ed his secret to few friends. giving them a map as best he could. He did not know the longitude and lati- tude of the mine or the name of any river other than the Porcupine. Us- ing this as base he told them about where to leave the river, and from thence the instructions were rection and thence given time in another. and so on for days and days Most reports agree that the directions as given would land one somewhere on tributaries of Firth river. which empties into the Arc tic ocean on the American side little way from Herschel island.
 Steps were taken at once to investigate the correctness of this "death-bed' statement It is said the record at the mint (some say it was Selby's) showed that man by the name of Wagner had deposited q large amount of gold dust. It is largely on the strength of this seem ing cooperation that so much time and money has been spent to find this mine-where one man. with the crudest outfit, could take out this fortune, and where nuggets could be seen in the clear waters of the stream In 1898 party known as the Big Eleven was sent in from the States to gather in little of this gold,
 Kenneth Mcleod now a resident of Ruby, who came into the country over the Edmonton Mackenzie route,
  on the Porcupine river. He was persuaded to join with three of the party and. leaving the remainder on the Porcupine to await their return, and taking "Siwash Bill" a run away sailor from Herchel island, as guide. they started across country, travelling by compass per instruc- tions Besides their provisions they packed with them two pair of heavy tongs made on the plan of post hole digger with sockets to insert long wooden handles. The grappling end was not unlike two frying pans closing together. These were to be used to pick up the big nuggets which could be seen, according to the statement, in abundance at the bottom of this clear, swift stream. They were packed over the divide, down the Firth river and to within seven miles of Herschel island. The party returned to the Porcupine that fall Mir Archie Campbell of 1dita- rod, who was member of the Big Eleven" party, was Outside a few years later and after obtaining more definite information, he and MT. Mcleod made another trip in 1906 on the same errand Mcleod now ex- presses himself as thoroughly con- vinced that it's all myth, although