davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

Chips are cut from the corners with
chisels. or borings taken from the top
and bottom in different parts Of the
brick. These are melted and refined
known. Their weight is then compared
with that of the brick. The result
shows the fineness of the metal in tho
brick and its value.
+
During my stay here I have seen
much of Jafet Lindeburg, who. with
John Brynteson and Erik Lindbloom.
made the discovery that resulted in the
great gold fields of Nome. Neither OF
the three men had had much experience
in gold mining. Brynteson had come
from the iron mines of Michigan to
Alaska to search for coal. Lindbloom
had cmigrated from Sweden to San
Francisco, y here he had worked as q
tailor. He came to Alaska upon hear
ing of the gold discoveries at Kotzebue
sound. Lindeberg had come from Nor
way to aid Uncle Sans expedition
which took reindeer from that country
to the starving miners at Dawson. He
heard of the Klondike and he took the
reindeer contract to get to the gold
mines. When he landed with the deer
he heard that gold had been discovered
on the Seward peninsula. and then came
north to st. Michael He was prospect
ing near there. along the Fish river.
when he fell in with Brynteson and
Lindbloom. and the three decided to go
westward and test the country about
the Snake river. at the mouth of which
Nome is situated. They had tested a
half dozen creeks that flow into the
river, finding more or less gold, when
they made their discovery on Anvil
creek That was the Goth of Septem-
Der. 1898. The weather was already
cold, but by using hot water they were
able to wash the gravel, and they took
out $500 worth of gold within few
days. They then took up claims about
their discovery. and it was these claims
and others that formed the foundation
for the Pioneer Gold Mining Company.
which will probably mine more than
million dollars this year. From the
claim No. 9 Anvil. they took out $4,000.
and from a claim nearby came more
than 100000. By and by other de-
posts were discovered and the region
was so developed that it has already
produced something like $70.o00.ooo
worth Of gold.
FRANK G CARPENTER
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

NY estimate of the character
M of George Washington would
N\ be incomplete without an ac-
q q count of his religious beliefA
but these beliefs are set down
in the histories Of the father of his
country with so great divergence that
it is impossible to settle truly just what
turn his religious mind actually took.
II one were asked offhand to tell the
religion of George Washington. the
answer would probably be that it was
Episcopal A deep delving into Wash
instoniana brings to light many facts
to make it appear that, despite his
Church. it is a mooted question whether
church. 1t is a mooted question whether
the great hero was even Christian!
There are his own writings. his
recorded conversations and condolences
and the authentic statements of his
illustrious contemporaries to bear out
which ever side of the question a
biographer should happen to favor
With equal effectiveness. one may prove
the distinguished,G George to be either
q protesting Episcopalian or broad
minded deist, who did not subscribe to
the Christian faith.
In any event. the subject provides an
immense amount of interesting data,
and since it is said that the religious
belief is oft an index to the character
of the man, even a cursory glance VIII
doubtless reveal, il not new Wash
tngton, at least little exploited side OF
an old favorite.
The religious life of Washington be-
gan with his baptism at the age OF
two months by Rev. Laurence Butts.
clergyman of Washington parish. the
removal of the family from that parish
prevented any further religious lnnu-
ence from this clergyman. and II Is
probable that it first came from Rev:
Charles Green of Truro (afterward
known as Pohick) parish. Little more
Is known of Washington's youthful re-
Agious inclinations
After his marriage and settling at
Mount Vernon his church affiliations
seem to have been strongest. He was
elected vestryman in the two parishes
of Truro and Fairfax, and became SO
interested in the work that he helped
actively to draw the plans for the 70
hfck Church. This church, which is
located only seventeen miles from
washington, was erected in 1873, and
is used today for services. Washington
subscribed to it's building, intending to
Law the foundation of family pew,
but a vote of the vestry decided that
there should be no private pews This
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

ton. The Klondike mining with ma
chinery. as carried on now, Is IN gold
values that will average only from 80 to
go cents a ton. and from such values tens
of millions of dollars worth Of gold have
been extracted The Yukon Gold Com
pany has the richer properties. but Joseph
w. Boyle's expenses of mining are by far
the less. and he makes profit out of gold
The Treadwell quartz mines spend 81 IS
to get the gold out of the ore. The
Alaska Gastineau spends 90 cents a ton ;
but JOSEPH w. Boyle, whose proposition
is placer one. thaws the gravel and gets
out the gold for about cents a ton.
We are now getting more than &c.
SOC. 000 4 year from the gold placers Of
$3.50, 000, 900 of that kind of gold out of
the territory. The biologists have esti-
mated that there is something like $780,
100000 worth of placer gold in the Seward
peninsula and there may be other great
deposits of similar nature in the unex-
plored parts of Alaska. AS to the lode
mines. where the gold lies in veins in the
rock, We have so far taken out seventy
five or eighty million dollars worth of
being operated. Their output increased
more than 100000 last year and the
reports of our geological survey indicate
that there will be great increase in the
gold lode output Of the future All of
this is dependent upon machinery. and it
belongs to the low-grade mining era of
the present.
Many people think that the only min
ing done in Alaska is during the sum-
mer This is mistake. The mines of
southeastern Alaska work all the year
round. and those about Juneau and on
Douglas Island are kept busy day and
night throughout the year. Many of
the placer mines of Fairbanks get out
the earth during the winter, and last
year 100000 worth of gold was won
during that season. They are even
mining gold on the Koyukuk, not far
from the arctic CIRCLE. in the heart of
large part of the output
of that region comes from mines far un-
der the surface. In the Innoko district.
which is producing about 5000. 900 worth
which are operated in winter: and in
the Klondike the mining. season has
been SO extended that the dredges work
seven or eight months of the year
l have been much interested In, the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18
orge Washington as a Christian and a Churchman

while I reiterate the professions OF
my dependence upon heaven as tho
of all public and private bless.
ings. 1 will observe that the general
esty. industry and economy seems In
the ordinary course of human AFFAIRS
necessary for advancing and confirms
ing the happiness OF our country. Whilo
all men within our territories are pro-
tected in worshiping the Deity accord
ing to the dictates of their own con-
sciences, it is nationally to be expected
of them in return that they Will be
emulous In evincing the sanctity OF their
professions by the innocence of their
lives and the beneficence of their
actions, for no man prohigate In morals
can be a credit to his religious society"
To the Baptists he wrote that 1T AZ
fords edifying prospects indeed to see
Christians of different denominations
dwell together in more charity and
conduct themselves in respect to each
other with a more Christlike spirit
than they have ever done in any for
mer age or in any other nation"
Over his signature are words which
have helped to make this country free
from religious wars and creed crazes
anu WHICH ldsc Dceu a AhSaAS "a "a
pressing the spirit of American tolera-
ton: The government of the United
States is not in any sense founded on
the Christian religion"
Religion with Washington was an In
dividual matter. He believed that fe
was no mans place to dictate a relig-
fous belief to another. He has written
that while men perform their social
duties faithfully they do all that So
ciety and the state can with propriey
demand or expect and remain respon-
sible to only their Maker for their re-
ligion or modes of faith which they
may prefer to possess"
Such an acknowledgment of depend
ence on God as Washington repeatedly
expressed can give the generations OF
this country no cause for worry. His
last words-"Father of mercies. take
me to Thyself-came from a reverent
heart. No man without a love and fell
lowship with God could have written at
the close of life this paragraph:
Il feel now as l conceive a wearfed
traveller must do. who, after treadinG
many a painful step with heavy bur-
den on his shoulders. is eased of the
latter. having reached the haven to
which all of the former were directed,
and from his housetop is looking back
and tracing with eager eye the mean
ders by which he escaped the quick
sands and mires which lay in his ways
and into which none but The all-power-
full Guide and dispenser of human
events could have prevented his fall
ing"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

ing at its value. Some Of the gold is
not as pure as others. Some may be
worth not more than SIS an ounce.
while other dust will realize $40 or
the dust and turn it into bullion. charg-
ing a commission therefor. The ordi-
nary rate Is now 2k per cent. After
the gold has been turned into bricks
the banks pay it's value as per the as
say. less their commission.
1t Is interesting to visit the melting
establishments of these Alaska banks.
I spent some time today in that of the
Merchants and Miners Bank here at
Nome. The gold smelling was done in
a little room adjoining the bank. and
the furnace looked much like n kitchen
stove Around the walls We're shelves
containing melting pots of one kind
or another. and under them were bins
of soda and other materials such as are
mixed in with the gold in the melting.
When the lid of the stove was lifted
I observed that it was lined with fire
clay and I was shown that it had
blowpipe connected with 1t and that
its heat was even as great as the fur
mace through which Shadrach. Meshac
and Abednego. the three Israelites,
walked and came out as free from
harm as though clad in asbestos.
The assayer was a young man from
Sidney, Ohio He came out here as
a graduate of the Ohio State Univer-
sity, and since then has melted some
thing like thirty-three million dollars
worth of gold dust and nodded 1t into
bullion. He Is now melting about two
million dollars per annum. He had
big Job on hand at the time of my visit,
and with his permission I watched the
process He first took two clay pots,
each holding about half a gallon. and
poured into them some soda and other
chemicals He then took two pokes.
each holding quart of gold dust and
nuggets. and poured them into the pots
He handled the gold dust as though 1t
was so much cornmeal. and indeed 1t
looked not unlike cornmeal fresh
ground. He next took the pots up
with pincers and laid them on the
blazing bed of the furnace. He then
covered the whole and sent in draft
which raised the temperature to some
thing like $500 degrees Fahrenheit, IT., It
takes only 1900 degrees to melt gold.
and the heat soon transformed the dust
and fiux to q liquid mass which boiled
and bubbled. when he opened the fur
mace the contents of the pots were OF
a golden red color. and the pots them
selves were. red hot He lifted them
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

never received communion in the
churches of which I am the parochial
minister"
This statement is further enforced
by the reproof which Rev. James
rector of Christ's Church,
in Philadelphia, administered to Wash
ington for turning his back on the
Lords supper"
1t seems that George Washington at
tended this church with his wife regu-
larly. On communion Sundays he
would arise and depart, leaving her to
partake of the sacrament alone. One
Sunday DR.. Abercrombie remarked to
his congregation. as Washington was
leaving his pew, that the President was
setting a very bad example by always
leaving the church before the admins
tration of sacrament. Washington.
tradition has it, disregarded the re-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

fact which would prove George Wash
ington to be believer in the Christian
religion"
What he believed is. indeed. a source
Of dispute. We have the word of JEFF
ferson that Washington frequently
opened his heart to Gouverneur Morris
on the subject of religion and that Nor
ris said, Gen. Washington believes no
more in this system than l do" BY
this system" he meant Christianity
Probably his true position Is described
by Madison. who is quoted as saying
that che did not suppose that Wash
ington had ever attended to the ar
guments of Christianity and for the diff
ferent systems of religion, or in the
fact that he had formed definite op!n-
ions on the subject. He took these
things as he found them existing and
was constant in his observances of
worship according to the received forms
of the Episcopal Church. in which he
was brought up"
From Washington's own pen. though,
came the words that reveal him as a
follower of a religion of honest thought
anu COHSCleutlOuo cuucdNoi. S'ioAA
always strive" he writes. ito prove a
faithful and impartial patron of genu-
inc, vital religion" If his public
worship was not ostentatious, his pri-
vate worship must have been very in
tense. At Valley Forge it Is said that
he retired for secret devotion, and went
alone most frequently to seek guidance
and strength from the God of his army.
One paragraph from his book of max
inns Is indicative Of the high esteem
IN which he held religious thought
Religion is as necessary to reason as
reason is to religion: one cannot exist
without the other. reasoning being
to account for the great phenomena
of nature had he not Supreme Being
to refer to. Well it has been said. II
there had been no God mankind would
have been obliged to imagine one"
Perhaps his most important religious
quality was his broad spirit of toll
Grafton. Being no bigot myself. he
wrote, Gin any mode of worship, I am
disposed to indulge the professors OF
Christianity in the church with that
road to heaven which to them seems
the most direct, plainest. easiest and
less liable to exception" These words
were written in 1887.
The letters which he wrote in answer
to the congratulations which he re-
ceived from the heads of different de-
nominations on his election to the
presidency express his tolerant atti-
tude.
To the General Assembly of the Pres
byterian Church he wrote in May. 1883
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

out with the pincers, and poured the
liquid from each into a steel mold the
shape of a brick. AS the gold struck
the cold metal 1t cooled. and a little
later the impurities in 1t rose to the
top in the form of Stag, which crum-
bled off. leaving a brick Of pure gold.
This brick was worth thousands OF
dollars. The assayer dumped 1t into
wooden tub. like a washtub. filled
with water. This cooled the brick and
few moments later the assayer took
1t out and scrubbed it of with a nail
brush such as you can buy any day in
the ten-cent store. He then wiped it
with a f1fteen-cent towel. and showed
1t to me as bright and shining as a
new wedding ring.
After melting, the gold brick is
weighed and the difference between the
weight of the dust and the weight OF
the brick represents the impurities.
The average loss in the case of clean.
bright dust is about 2 per cent The
next process is assaying the brick.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

war alliance with France and Italy.
which are strongly protectionist, and
with Russia, which is headed that way
Nor could she effectively punish Ger
many.
The attitude of the colonies in this
after-the-war economic pact is one of
the problems that is bound to crop out
at the conference of the colonial pre-
miers. 1t also is one of the things that
is certain to bother British statesmen.
There may be political ingenuity equal
to the task of giving the allies a
preference in the British market and
at the same time giving the colonies
q bigger preference and satisfying both
parties, but it is a gigantic one.
There may be a common ground for
England and her allies and the British
colonies to boycott the manufactured
products of the central powers, but in
doing this inevitably they will en-
counter a boycott of their own prod
ucts. except the raw materials Of in
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

methods Of handling the gold after it
Is gotten out of the earth. The ordi-
nary placer miner puts his gold dust
and nuggets in what is known as a
poke" This is a bag made of buck
skin about as big around as your arm
and foot or 50 long. The miner may
have several pokes, or he may store
his dust in tin cans or other receptacles
until he is ready to take 1t to the bank.
The ordinary miners cabin has no lock
on the door and cans of gold dust are
often left comparatively unguarded.
Indeed. life and property here are safer
than in most of the cities Of the United
States. and the miner takes risks that
he would not dare to take in New York
or Chicago. The most of the gold dust
is sold to the banks. which assay it
and reduce it to bullion. They melt it
into gold bricks. in which shape it is
taken by steamers to Seattle. Every
bank has its assaying and melting es-
tablishment. Sometimes the gold is paid
for over the counter, the banker guess
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

proof and left the church, according to
his usual custom, apparently unaf-
fected.
He Is afterward reported to have
said that he never considered the fact
that he was setting a bad example, and,
to offset this, in the future he would
never attend church on communion
Sunday.
Jefferson speaks of the great worry
of clergymen over Washington's re-
fusal to declare himself a Christian.
On one occasion a number of leading
clergymen called on the President,
bent on securing a confession of faith
from him, but. says Jefferson. the fox
was too cunning for them"
Washington's diary-"Where and How
My Time Is Spent"-shows that he at
tended church sixteen times in 1860 and
fourteen times in 1853, and these years
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18
The Coming Colonial Conference i'm London AS Step
Toward Economic imperialism of the BRITISH Empire

manganese for which they must draw
on the Caucasus as well as on India,
while India and Canada get a free mar
ket for their wheat
This is an Illustration Of the thou
sand and one intricate situations that
must be solved before the economic
pact of the entente allies can be made
effective. The British colonies. in view
Of the enlarged political participation
which they are expected to have in the
affairs of the empire. may look for
ward to having something to say about
the determination of England's eco
nomic policies. Heretofore that sug-
gestion never has been heard and Eng
land herself in determining her eco
nomic policy with sole regard to the
forty-four million Inhabitants of the
United Kingdom. has been wise enough
not to interfere with the autonomy of
the great self-governing colonies.
With possessions such as India, which
do not have autonomy. she has not
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

going life. A great many testimonials
from his relatives and friends would
indicate that the man who holds first
place in the hearts of his countrymen
was as ardent at church going as he
was at soldering.
HE had all the genuine mildness Of
a Christian, with all its force. and was
neither ostentatious nor ashamed of his
Christian profession" said Jared Smith,
a biographer
George Washington Parke Custis,
grandson of Martha Washington, refer
ring to the religious life of the family,
said: "On Sundays, unless the weather
was uncommonly severe, the President
and Mrs. Washington attended divine
service, and afterward the President
would read to Mrs. Washington In her
chamber a sermon or some portion OF
the sacred writings"
Bancroft. the historian. says: He
with constancy attended public wor-
ship, and during the war he not in
frequently rode ten or twelve miles
from camp to attend services"
Chief Justice Marshall has written
that Washington was a sincere be-
lever in the Christian faith. The Rev.
Devereux Jarratt of Dinwiddie county,
Va, asserts that he was a professor of
Christianity. ]. NJ. Sewall says: He
was firm believer in the Christian
religion: and at his first entrance on
his civil administration he made 1t
known and adhered to his purpose. No
secular business could be transacted
with him on the day set apart by Chris
tians for the worship of the Deity"
Notwithstanding all of these en-
phatic statements, weight of evil
dence exists to prove that Washington
was not a Christian and that his re-
ligious mind was of the same convic-
ton as Jeffersons, Voltaire's and Spi-
noZa's-that in other words. he was a
deist, pure and simple.
One may read his written works from
one end to the other without finding
any intimation that he believed in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He never said a
word in public to show that he be-
lieved in the Christian religion. One
cannot even show him a conscien-
tious and consistent follower of any
one creed. In spite of his attendance
and interest in churches of the Epis-
copal faith, in one of the letters of
Bishop William White. the founder of
this religion in the colonies. which was
there is the direct evidence that George
Washington was not a protesting
Christian.
In answer to an inquiry whether
Washington was a communicate of the
Protestant Episcopal Church and
whether he went to communion, or If
ever at all, Bishop White replied: I'm
answer to your inquiry, truth requires
me to say that George Washington
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

are typical of his activity in this line
throughout life When President, it is
written, that sense of duty made him
attend church. but at Mount Vernon,
where the public eye was not upon
him. he was Indifferent to churchgoing.
History has 1t that no minister was
ever invited to pray with him or for
him and that at his table no visiting
clergyman was asked to say grace. He
was as new after his death as it was
at the time of it's purchase. He Is also
recorded as being signally Indifferent
to the Sabbath; its puritanism was Of
fensive to him and he hunted and
transacted business on that day the
same as on any other. A famous friend
of his is reported to have said: II do
not believe that any degree of recol-
lection could bring to my mind any
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18

so angered Washington that he with
drew from the church. though it is
often said that he was one Of It's YES
trymen for twenty years.
We have the testimony of Rev. Lee
Massey, rector of this church, that
Washington was an exemplary church.
goer. He says: Il never knew so con-
slant an attendant on church as Wash
ington, and his behavior in the house of
God was ever so deeply reverential that
1t produced the happiest eject on my
congregation"
After his withdrawal from the church
at Pohick, Washington bought pew
in Christ Church at Alexandria. This