Iditarod pioneer., 1917-03-03
THE HERALD OF EMPIRE
The following paper was read at the en- tertainment of Ophir lgloo, Pioneers of AIo.Lo an Eabriarv ID.

| tertainment of Ophlr lgloo fioneefS oI Alaska, on February 10:
 If we try to outline the earliest history l of man we Ind him dwelling in caves, llv- l Ing on the flesh of animals and the fruits of trees Ills weapons were hls cunning and strength. Not until he gave up the chase and turned his face to the soil was he able to develop those social instincts out of which grew the complexities Of ciVlllza- | ton.
 AS he turned his face to the soil he found he must have material whercWIth to fashion l his implements These he sought and found in varied guise in the earth under foot | gold for ornament. copper for weapons and iron for the llrSt plowshares of man. Those who gave up he chase and dclved in the ground became known AS miners. TheSe learned that the material Tor Whlch they sought was not to be found in the fertile valleys of their tribe, but In the far dIS- tant mountain ranges, where SWift-running streams had worn away the rocky wastes, leaving behind the heavier grains of metal they sought They jOurneyed ththcr, and in their Wanderngs not only found the metal they sought but discovered new and fertile valleys. which they reported and 70 which their tribes migrated while they in search of new and richer nndS, again jour Incyed afar into unknown lands-the plo- |neers of their tribes, "The Heralds of Elm lplre."
 The first settlements along the shores of the Mediterranean sent their prOSprclurS to the hlntcrands of Europe. Asia and Africa. "Thc gold of Ophlr." "the copper of sinai" and the "silvcr of Laurinlum' formed a part of the web which went 10 make up those earlier nations. Later came the PhcncanS, who sailed through the Pillars of Hercules tu the outer ocean. discovering those tin Islands which today are the hom" of the Cornish miner. After them came Greece and Rome, who. following on the trail of the Phcnicians, founded those ear Her countries of Europe. Here for tluc the mining industry was at standstlli. Europe was in the tolls of war, but even in this time of strife, Spain, while sending her explorers in search of newer route to the treasure houses or Indla, dlScoVcfrH America.
 The discovery Of America added to the mineral wealth of Europe by the conqueSts of Cortez and Pizarro, who robbed the In"aS of the treasures It had taken cen
 urIcS to store. It was not until later, when those men from SaX0ny and Cornwall came. applying the mining industry in a pCacefuI way to Chile Peru and Mexico that mining was nrSt begun by white men on the Amer ican continent. From this date, which is within the reaches of our present history, We can take up the trail of the prospertor and src how emigration and commrFro. following in his tracks. has thrown light on rhe still, dark places of the g'obH.
 With the discovery of America, England, France and spain sent their explorers in search of the riches which were reported Ehy Inc earlier dIsCOVercrS, but thcSc not finding the treasures they sought, returned home. Later the oppressed of Europe founded their first settlements along the Atlantic coast. These. although reaching
 inland as far as the MSSISSlppt, were be- holden t0 the mother countries for the sincWS of commerce. It was not until the world first heard the faint echo of the miners pick far 10 the westward that eX pansi0n and commerce became independent of Europe. Let uS review brCny these later discoveries and see how the flag has followed the pick into the wilderness Of
 Gold was first discovered in California at Colen, thrtyfve miles northeast of Sac ramentO, on the south fork of the American river. James Marshall had huilt SaWmI'l for Sutter. After the mill was finished he saw that the tail race or ditch leading the water from the wheel was not deep enough.
 He proceeded to deepen tt by opening the noodgatcs tO SCOUT the bottom. He allowed the water 10 run all night. In the morn
 ing. after turning off the water, and while noticing the effects, he found several vel low nuggets. These he examined and found they were heavy. He hammered some and found they were metal, WherPupOn he traV cleo 10 Sutter's Fort to tell Sutter he had found gold. Sutter compared the nuggets with cotn He tested some with nitric acid and also pronounced them gold. The news spread Others found gold in nearby streams The news reached the Atlantic land finally Europe. At once from all parts of the globe mi msratton set in. some tray eled across the plains, others over the isth- linus, while others came by way Of Cape Horn new era set in. The vast wilder ness of the West began 10 teem with life. Gold, which lends wings to all things, be gan to pour from the treasure vaults Of the Sierra Nevada The miners, sending IL abroad to their homes in various parts of the world, set in motion the world of in- dustry in their native lands, that they, too, Emtght share in the golden harvest. The IpOny express rider, g8lloping across the Iplsins, brought news of the tropical val lleys of the West The farmer and mer t1Nnp help build those great cities we see in the iSan Joaquin and Sacramento today. Later came the capitalists, who, following the trail of the pioneer have linked the East and West with bands Of steel.
 Volumes could be written regarding the land within the Golden Gate did time per init; but we must follow the trail Of the miner to the extreme end of the earth, where Hes the oldest known continent or the globe.
 Among those who joined in the rush for gold in California was an Australian nameq Hargrave. By what he saw and learned of the formation he had reason to believe that gold existed in his native land He returned home, and in 1851 was able to inform the colonial secretary that gold eX- isted at Lewis Pond and other places. AL | though hiS discovery was not the most i'm portant, yet 1t led the prospector to search 1 elsewhere In August Of the same year the rich fields near Ballarat were discovered Sailors left their ships in the harbor, men | IIOuIlPJtu IEODl dll Nudl lti9 OI Ili' SiSJN 'C hpw down the eucalyptus and start the wheels of modern progress in the land where the Hottentot had for centuries held 1 full sway.
 1 We all have read how the slave trader called along the coast of Africa for his load of slaves and how the Dutch trader sold l his wares in exchange for ivory. The set tiers on its southern shores who traveled inland as far as the Congo were slow in parting those curtains which shrouded the bark Continent It remained for the miner to draw aside those curtains and expose 10 the world the riches within its borders that lhad slumbered for ages
 Even the first discoveries seem to date back to the dark ages of the past. !et we | can trace the birth Of those free nations 10 the finding of diamonds among the jasper sands of the Congo. I will not go into the details of the work the pioneer has done In that far country. After the diamond dls- ] coveries came the gold mines or the Rand, which pouring a golden stream into the cofrers of the world. have helped .ot cause that commercial Jealousy among the rulers of Europe which today threatens to snake the foundations of civilization. A glance at the past and we see how the l farmer and merchant have followed the