Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-04
DAME RUMOR GIVES HINTS
 OF DREDGE ON SLATE CREEK
 IN THE NOT DISTANT FUTURE

IN HE NOI DlSIANl FUlUkE
 Sh-h! Don't whisper it around and above all don't say you saw it in The | Pioneer, because as yet 1t is a deep secret one of those deep, dark kind that to even hint at were treason in certain quarters in this great Alaska placer mining center. But if people will whisper, The Pioneer eVentu- ally will come within earshot, and so the momentous secret will be out.
 We will divulge the news in the strictest confidence, according to the prescribed for nlula. and trust to our readers to retraln from revealing the source of their lnfCrma- ticn And remember, 1t may be held to be just as reprehensible and treasonab.e to re peat the story by word of mouth es 1t IS 10 put 1t in print.
 During the past few days, or since trails became passable, there has been considerable hurrying and scurrying between the creeks and this city Now this in itself Is not re markabI 1t happens whenever the travel
 ing is good. But it so happens that persons who seldom make the journey from the source of gold supply to this great dlstrlbut- ing center have been seen frequently in the city of late, and likewise persons whose bus- ness usually confines them to the city have been seen on the creeks And their g0lngs and ccmings have elicited persistent inquiry, which has been rewarded, as it frequently Is, with the answer. It may be taken for what 1t Is worth.
 As the story goes, there is to be yet an other dredge installed in the Iditarod district in the near future. The scene of its opera tions Is to be Slate creek, a tributary ot Otter, and the name of the operator Is Riley he of the energy and persistency Ot q dynamo and the courage and enterprise oi vcrteble Napoleon of llacer mining other wise known as George" There. the story is cut and we must bear the consequences.
 AmpEfed. the rumOr ates to certain options, or leases, that have been secured i recently and while the name of J. E. Riley does not yet appear in the transactions, F 1 seems to be pretty generally understood that he Is the principal in the matter.
 Mining operations have been in progress on Slate creek in a Gesultory fashion for years, but as the ground Is low grade, ID i great stir has been made there. Dame Ru- nor gives no details as to the amount of 1 ground secured under the options, but 1t E understood to be sufficient to warrant the i installation of dredge of the same capacity and pattern as those now operated by Mir /, Riley and his associates cn Otter creek ana i Black creek. The ground probably woull not pay to work by any other method than by dredging. and the news of the deal, Ii confirmed, will be hailed by the residents l of this district with satisfaction.
 To those who for years have been led to 1 believe that the Iditarod was on the dechne as a gcld-producing district it will be sur prise to hear that 1t is freely predicted by men in position to know that within few years the Iditarod will be producing hVe millions of dollars yearly, figures never reached even in the palmiest days of the camp. This does not mean that the bocm days will return, or that an era of "ea2y money is in sight, But it does mean that the business of extracting gold from the i low grade gravels of the creeks of this camp has been brought to such perfection ot | efficiency that ground that was considered i of little or no value few years ago will be wcrked and will pour its stores ot the pre- | sous metal into the channels of trade, g1V- i Ing an opportunity for labor and business i over period of time heretofore un- dreamed of.
 Reports from the Innoko and from the To,stci continue to be of the most favorable nature. The recent acquisition of ground on Boob creek by J. E. Riley is supple mented this week with stories of new hndS in that camp, and those who have become interested in that section are encouraged in the belief that extensive operations Will soon be under way there. Scores of persons from this district are planning to spend the winter in prospecting in the new district, and next spring should see determined the extent and value of the gold deposits.
 The ne,vs from the Innoko also is encour aging. It is more than likely that few more years will see several dredges operat- ing there, and already it is authortatVely stated that one or more dredges are to be installed on Yankee creek. In the adJoln- ing Candle creek district dredge, which al ready is on the ground, will be ln operation shortly.
 Willie all these different camps are not in the Iditarod district proper, they really constitute a portion of the tributary coun- try, Iditarod IS the center of business Tor the whole of this region, and the prosperity of the various sections Wll be rehecteo Ill renewed activity in business circles here.
 It is possible that when speaking ot an annual output for the district the authon- ties above quoted had in mind the ad!oln. ing tributary districts just as the people of Fairbanks include in their figures ot out put for that district the product of adIoln. ing and more or less dependent centers of mining activity.