The Cordova daily times., 1919-01-18
RUSH FOLLOWS
DISCOVERIES
OF MINERALS


of the great empire west of the Mis-
sissippi river and the territory OF
Alaska was the trapper. He was
followed by the miner and prospector
and the latter by the settler, with his
family, his scanty stock of merchan
disc and his optimism. In the primi-
tive days the above hardy pioneers
spaned the continent and pressed on
into the great white wastes of the
northland, undaunted by hardships
aud unafraid of the unknown dang.
ers; ever in pursuit of the precious
metals. and when found pushing on
and on after an ignis fatus, the
search ending only with the death of
argonaut
Alaska was no exception. And SO
with the west in general. In the
fall of 1S49-50 tho world at large
was electrified with the discovery of
gold in the mill tail of Suffers mill
in the Sacramento valley. The char
aCter developed, the hardships en-
dured, the many crimes committed in
the feyerish search for treasure are
still matters of history. The old
time characters who played leading
roles in the gerat world-drama are
long since dead. Following with an
interval of fifteen years. We learn OF
the richnes of Confederate and AID
er gulches in the territory of Mon
tana, where later forts were eStab-
lished for the protection of the argo-
nauts at Fort Shaw, Fort Ellis.
Fort Logan and Fort Maginnis and
also Fort Missoula Another lapse
of score of years and we hear of
geld being found in the kootenai in
tho Occur d Alenc mountains, which
precipated another lid scramble
About this time vast fortunes were
m;de and lost in tie northwest terri
tor, the adventures coming in by
way OF the Fraser river and swarm
ing over the mountains and plains
by the thousands Cassiar Dease
creek, and last but not least the fam
Gus Klondkc, where George Carmack
ur earthed Il fortune by the stroke of
a pick
In these operations hundreds of
thousands of dollars have been spent
ia taking gold from the earth, and
while fortune smiled on few.
thousands were disappointed after
spending millions in prospecting, ex-
ploring and Developing prospects
into mines.
While at first it wonld seem that
thcsc millions have been squandcred
in a vain endCavor to better the finan-
Cial condition OF the emigrant such
was not the case as the pioneers
who hunted yAinly for gold we're the
hom"huildcTs of an empire greater
than the &;ao OF Texas and num-
her OF other states thrown in
Towns sprung UP over the tri-
tory many of which were abandoned
and others with more advantageous
location, surviving and becoming
smell cities in the making. with
churches. schools and libraries. clubs
loCgcs and other fororunncrs Of a bet
ter CIVILIZATION. In the wake of the
sto,apedcr always followed the thrifty
homcbuildeT, who by his judgment
foresight and energy rcapcd golden
harvest from the efforts of the more
"NGtable and volatile prospeCtor and
miner. TIL" gold seekers blazcd the
way for greater things Their labor
vas never in vain. They were the
Van of the more prudent settler. who
tCday has SCARED the face of the
earth with his clearings, his cabins,
and his villages. This is the manner
OF all national development
Following closely in the footsteps
OF the homebuilder came the capital
isl ready to seize on points of com
Dorcial value. and struggling hard
in hand with the law to penetrate
the home of the dborigne with the
steamship and locomotive,
In the rush to the Golden West we
find steamboats, and bateaus plying
the broad Missouri as far as Fort
Benton on the upper Missouri supply
ing the gold seeker with shorter
and more advantageous route to the
gold fields Following in their trend
came the great financier, Jay Cooke,
who projected, with the land given
him in land grants, the great trunk
line known as the Northern Pacific