The Wrangell sentinel., 1927-09-15
WILLARD PARTY RETURN FROM
 TESLIN LAKE
Report a Profitable Trip and Expect to Return
 Next Year

During the first week in June l party of four gold seekers under Ihe leadership ef Fred Willard arrived here from the States enroute to Pes lin Lake in the extreme southern part of Yukon Territory. The party was composed of Fred Willard. Mar tin Charleston. Chris Carlson. aad Henry Best
 On July 2l the Sentinel pub2seed an account of their interesting trIp from Telegraph Creek to Teslfn Lake via the old trail that was usel by many of those who went into the kiondike during the great gold eush of .99. The old trail oyer which they travelled had not beeH ased since 1900.
 On Saturday night the party ar= rived in Nrangell on the Hazel E No. from Telegraph Creek They report having made the trID uut slom Tesiiu Lake to Telegraph 9reek in nine and oue-half days. They
 ne9untered much less difficulty on the way out than when fhcs vent Il. On Their Way in theY lad 10 stop frequently 10 cut windfalis. and in several places there Was as much work to be done as if they were blazing a new trail On the return grip they profited by the Wurk they did when abay went in la making the trin from Telegraph Creek To Teslin Lake and return they used two saddle horses and four pack horses.
 They report themselves entirely satisfied with the results of their long trip into this wild anu practi- eally uneXpIored region
 They report having found several good gold prospects on Wolfe Rive1 and also an attractive silver proper ty near the lower end of Tesliu Lake on Boutwell, creek. In addition Co these they report having feund sev- eral good prospects OH a tributary to the Jennings river. twelve and one-half miles from the head of Tes- lin Lake.
 AL Nisutlin Bay, which torms an arm of the northeast end of the Tos lin lake. the party found an Indian village with a population consist ing of 95 Taku Indians and ten white people, seven of whom are trappers A Northwestern mounte policeman lives there with his wife and child and there is also mis- 5ionary of the Church of Englau6 who in addition to his religioss work conducts q summer school The gold seekers found the Indians 9f this isolated settlement very pro sressive. Practically all of them lave bank accounts with the Cana dian Bank of Commerce at White horse. They are expert boat build CTS and many of the boats which they turn out have graceful curves and elegant proportions which is @ould be hard for any boat buildee 10 improve upon, no natter what modern appliances he might have at his command. This Indian villaes has only one industry at the pres ent time-trapping but all indiea= tions are that the country is highly mntralized
 Mir Willard said: We were not out for a pleasure iaunt, neverthe- less We had an enjoyable trip. with the exception of mosquitoes which seemed to have a special liking for each memebr of our party
 .'The country through which We passed is surely hunters paradise In fact, the game is so tame that t almost takes the joy out of hunting in that region.
 "The greater part of the country over which we travelled is unin- habited and practically uuexplored
 From what We learned on ouI friv F,s b, = strike to be on the divide between Dease river and Jennings rlYer m the Yukon just north of the B C boundary line There is no question in our minds that there are eaor- nous deposits of free n .f!ug gold ore in this region.
 The silver discovery on Bothwell creek also looks especially good There are indications which would seem to justify the belief that lhis is the mother lode. and thar eventu- ally the Bothwell creek property will surpass the Mayo workings in importance.
 It is the intention of our party to return next seasoh for the pur- pose Of developing some of the dis coveries we made the past season. And we hope to so arrange our af- fairs that it will also be possible for us to do still further prespecriGg
 Fred Willard who headed the party first came north in 1898, over the Ashcroft trail. He spent the summer prospecting in the Cassiar and returned to lhe States in the winter. When news was received of the Kiondike discovery Willard was engaged to guide party of no men and 93O head Of horses from sIolane to Te5lin Lake, where the journey could be continued by Wa ter down the Hootalinqua to the Yukon.
 It was while on this trip that Willard found indications of gold i'll the Teslin lake region which caused him to organize party and return to that section on prospecting ovoaditiou % vaara fptAP