Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-08-18

pllllleS OF Inere are many
points of geographic and scientific in
%terest; in this remote and imperfectly
explored northwestern corner of the
British empire there are numerous
problems awaiting the discussion and
investigation of the g%eologist INC the
geographer of the years to come.
On his trip of investigation. Mr.. Ca
dell steamed up the coast from Vancou-
YER. and through the Lynn canal to
Skagway. which he terms the gateway
to the Yukon. and describes as "a
wretched little town with decayed
wooden houses and grass grown streets:
the scene of many robb-.-s, riots and
murders at the time of the gold rush,
which the police authorities had neither
the power nor energy to control. Skag-
way is not, and never a be. of much
use to the United States. except as an
obstruction to Canadian progress, but
might he of some advantage to the
vast Canadian hinterland, less tina 20
miles inland"
Skagway is surrounded on three sides
by a plateau of steep and rugged noun
tains. through Which two trails lead to
the north over the White Horse and the
Chflcoot passes, up whose wild and diff
f1cult ravines, thousands of fortune
hunters trekked and struggled with
their heavy packs, tools and tents in
the mad rush to the expected Ell Do
RADIO, over 500 miles away. Soon after
! gold was found in quantities, a noun
tain railroad was built up the White
pass, from Skagway to the summit, and
on to Lake Bennett. a distance of 40
miles, traversing a wild and ice wor.
plateau of gigantic proportions, strewn
with moraines. s%prinkled over with
lakes. and enclosed by snowy peaks, s.
600 to 5000 feet in height.
At h head Of Lake Bennett lies
the deserted town of Bennett, where, at
the time of theg gold rush. there were
Il Ind~nJ ov1N z 0nn r~0~I. g.. L~..--- Y-..A-
and tents, but the only building now
standing. besides the railroad station,
is a wooden Presbyterian church., Which
shows that at least a few righteous
men were among that sordid crowd. 1t
was here that the first prospectors and
miners got into boats and canoes. ard
~navigated their frail craft through
lakes and rapids for the remaining 531
miles of their venturesome journey to
Dawson City. The last stretch of the
railroad from Skagway runs along
Lake bennett to White Horse, a few
miles above Lake Leberge. where safe
navigation from the Lewes river to
Dawson begins.
Although the great ice fields of the
early ages swept the greater portion
gion of the Klondike, and, consequent-
ly. the gold producing deposits re-
NAMED intact until the early prospect
ors discovered them. The Yukon gold
field is confined mainly to the vicinity
of Dawson City, although small GUAM
titles of gold can be found in the sand
Of the Yukon for hundreds of miles up
the valley.
Dawson City is situated on the allu-
vial flat where the Yukon is Joined by
the Klondike river. two tributaries of
which are the famous Bonanza creek
n Hunker creek. Although traces of
gold We're discovered in the Yukon VAL
ley In about 1869. it was IL years later,
In 1881. before it was found in the Big
Salmon. and in the Lewes, Pelly and
Stewart rivers. Five years afterward
coarse gold was found on the Forty
mile. a tributary of the Yukon below
Dawson. and in 1894-1896, the discover
les Of Bob Henderson and George Cor
mack. In Hunker and Bonanza
creeks. drew miners into Klondike val
ley from all quarters. Prodigious guam
titles of gold were soon found in Bon
anza creek and many miners made for
tunes In a shOr time, but, u~nfortunate-
~, most Of h gold was spent foolishly
have taken 100000 out Of a claim Sex
300 feet. but. Sc the story goes, he spent
1t In a few years and died in poverty.
The quickest fortune or record was Sc
cured by two men, who cleaned I'D gold
to the value of $65, 900 in ~ hours. Stor-
les Of the proceedings at Kiondike dur
ing these golden days" are not edify-
Ing. but point to the moral that wealth
too easily and quickly won is apt to
work i'll.
The total output in 1898 was 100000
600. from which figure It jumped $6,-
100000 annually until 1900, when the
production reached $22, 275, 1000, the high
est point. From this point a steady
decline began until in 1909, when 1t was
$2.S3O.1S1 at which time hydraulicking
ana dredging began and the total OUT
put rose slowly until 1t was $5,O18, Al,
IN 1913. IT has been estimated that only
about $4,000. 900 worth Of gold remains
20 be produced. out Of the original
At the height Of the boom in the
winter Of 1899 the population Of Daw-
son is said to have reached $4,000;
recently, however. It has dwindled
down to less than 1000 people.
q various processes OF recovering
gold In this region fall under three
main Observation-Disclosures, by washing
surface gravels with shovel and pan.
er BY slutcing with flume and sluice
: small parties. by working drift
with mechanical scrapers and sluices,
or drift mining In shafts and sluicing.
IA capitalists. by dredging with pow
eTfuls mechanical plants, hydraulic
sluicing with monitors, or mining with
stamping ore Ii mills. The Arsts class
includes poor mems diggings., and
the Gecond requires more financial re-.
e0urceo and mechanical ability, but q
= member q b second class. While
the nrst two classes. require fairly rich
ground, only men with exceptional
ABILITY and ample capital can reach the
- third class and work b low Grade