in the small streams which cut through the mountains on either side.
These practically wash out the gold. The mud and mineral matter is
carried into the main river, while the gold is left on the rough bottoms
of these side streams. In most cases the gold lies at the bottom of
thick gravel deposits. The gold is covered by frozen gravel in the
Winter. During the Summer, until the snow is all melted, the surface is
covered by muddy torrents. When the snow is all melted and the springs
begin to freeze the streams dry up. At the approach of Winter, in order
to get at the gold the miners find it necessary to dig into the gravel
formation.
"Formerly they stripped the gravel off until they came to the gold. Now
they sink a shaft to the bottom of the gravel and tunnel along
underneath in the gold bearing layer. The way in which this is done is
interesting, as it has to be carried on in cold weather, when everything
is frozen.
"The miners build fires over the area where they wish to work and keep
these lighted over that territory for the space of twenty-four hours.
Then, at the expiration of this period, the gravel will be melted and
softened to a depth of perhaps six inches. This is then taken off and
other fires built until the gold-bearing layer is reached. When the
shaft is down that far other fires are built at the bottom, against the
sides of the layer, and tunnels made in this manner.
"Blasting would do no good, on account of the hard nature of the
material, and would blow out just as out of a gun. The matter taken out
containing the gold is piled up until Spring, when the torrents come
down, and is panned and cradled by these. It is certainly very hard
labor.
"I see many reasons why the gold fields should be particularly rich. The
streams which cut through the mountains have probably done so for
centuries, wearing them down several hundred feet and washing out the
gold into the beds and gravel.
"It is a country in which it is very hard to find food, as there is
practically no game. Before the whites went into the region there were
not more than 300 natives. They have hard work to support themselves,
on account of the scarcity of game."
An interesting letter telling of the recent trip of the steamer
Excelsior has been written by Captain J. F. Higgins, of the steamer, to
a friend. He says:
"The word Klondyke means Deer River, and the stream is called the
Reindeer River on the charts. It empties into the Yukon fifty miles
above the Big River. The geographical position of the juncture is 76
degrees 10 minutes north latitude, 138 degrees 50 minutes west
longitude. Bonanza Creek dumps into the Klondyke about two miles above
the Yukon. Eldorado is a tributary of the Bonanza. There are numerous
other creeks and tributaries, the main river being three hundred miles
long.
"The gold so far has been taken from Bonanza and Eldorado, both well
named, for the richness of the placers is truly marvellous. Eldorado,
thirty miles long, is staked the whole length and as far as worked has
paid.
"One of our passengers who is taking home $100,000 with him has worked
one hundred feet of his ground and refused $200,000 for the remainder,
and confidently expects to clean up $400,000 and more. He has in a
bottle $212 from one pan of dirt. His pay dirt while being washed
averaged $250 an hour to each man shovelling in. Two others of our
miners who worked their own claim cleaned up $6,000 from one day's
washing.
"There is about fifteen feet of dirt above bed rock, the pay streak
averaging from four to six feet, which is tunnelled out while the ground
is frozen. Of course, the ground taken out is thawed by building fires,
and when the thaw comes and water rushes in they set their sluices and
wash the dirt. Two of our fellows thought a small bird in the hand worth
a large one in the bush, and sold their claims for $45,000, getting
$4,500 down, the remainder to be paid in monthly instalments of $10,000
each. The purchasers had no more than $5,000 paid. They were twenty days
thawing and getting out dirt. Then there was no water to sluice with,
but one fellow made a rocker, and in ten days took out the $10,000 for
the first instalment. So, tunnelling and rocking, they took out $40,000
before there was water to sluice with.
"Of course, these things read like the story of Aladdin, but fiction is
not at all in it with facts at Klondyke. The ground located and
prospected can be worked out in a few years, but there is an immense
territory untouched, and the laboring man who can get there with one
year's provisions will have a better chance to make a stake than in any
other part of the world."
SOME LARGE NUGGETS.
THERE ARE MORE WHERE THEY CAME FROM.
The largest nugget yet found was picked out by Burt Hudson on claim Six
of the Bonanza, and is worth a little over $250. The next largest was
found by J. Clements, and was worth $231. The last four pans Clements
took out ran $2,000, or an average of $500 each, and one of them went
$775. Bigger pockets have been struck in the Cariboo region and in
California, but nowhere on earth have men picked up so much gold in so
short a time. A young man named Beecher, came down afoot and by dog
sledge, starting out early in March. He brought $12,000 to $15,000 with
him. He was purser on the Weare last summer, and went in after the close
of navigation in October or September. About Dec. 15 he got a chance to
work a shift on shares, and in sixty days made his stake, which is about
$40,000. He has purchased a claim or two. You will find more gold in
circulation in Dawson than you ever saw in all your life. Saloons take
in $3,000 to $4,000 each per night. Men who have been in all parts of
the world where gold is mined say they never saw such quantities taken
in so short a time.
The diggings around Circle City and in the older places are rich enough
to satisfy any ordinary demand, but they have all, or nearly all, been
temporarily left for the new fields. There are probably 250 men working
in the mines outside Circle City, but there would have been 1,500 had
not the new strike been made. Should the new field play out, which is a
thing impossible, the older diggings would be returned to and with
profit. However, the new finds are not going to play out. There is
enough in sight to confirm the belief that these new diggings cannot be
exhausted in ten years. Of course, comparatively little gold is being
taken out now, for the streams are too high, but there is much that was
drifted and piled up last winter that is not yet washed.
MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS IN SIGHT.
WILLIAM STANLEY'S GRAPHIC STORY.
The New York Journal prints this story of William Stanley: Stanley is
one of the fortunate ones who returned from the Klondyke on the
Portland. In addition to his present fortune he is interested with his
son and two New Yorkers in claims which, he says, will yield $2,000,000.
Stanley is a married man; he has a wife and several children. During his
absence in the far North the family struggled to eke out an existence,
for everything that Stanley had went to pay his expenses to the gold
fields. Stanley is well on in years. He was not accustomed to hardships;
for years he conducted a little book store in an out-of-the-way business
corner.
To-day people who used to help him by giving 10 to 15 cents cannot
realize that he is wealthy. Here is his story:
"I went to the Yukon as a last resort. I was getting old and I had no
money and I knew that I would never get any unless I took it out of the
ground. It was a year ago last March that I left Seattle. I am free to
confess that my family was at that time in destitute circumstances. I
made for the Yukon. I had never before been there. I knew nothing of
mining and nothing of the hardships of the country, and, in fact, was as
great a "greeny" as ever set foot in the great gold country of the
Northwest. My son, Samuel Stanley, went with me. He was as ignorant as
his father.
"While we were on the steamship Alki, which took us to Dyea, we met two
young men, Charles and George Worden. They were residents of Sackett's
Harbor, N. Y., and had come West in search of gold. Their mother lives
back in the old home, so they informed me. We became very intimate with
the Wordens. They knew little, if anything, about the country, and one
day in conservation one of us suggested that we form a company and do
our work on the syndicate plan, each man to share and share alike. We
wandered through the Yukon districts for several months and were getting
discouraged, because there seemed to be nothing for us. We met other men
who were getting rich, but we grew poorer as the days came and went.
Once we had about concluded to go back.
"It was in the latter part of last September that we befriended a man
who gave us a tip as to the riches of the Klondyke. We were willing to
believe anything, and made for the Klondyke at once. At that time we
were en route for Forty Mile Creek. We were then at Sixty Mile.
"The first thing we did when we reached the Klondyke was to spend a
little time at the mouth of the stream. We were there just twenty-four
hours when the little steamer Ellis arrived with 150 excited miners
aboard. They had just heard the good news, and on their arrival they
made a rush for the richest spots on Bonanza and Eldorado creeks.
"We went to Eldorado Creek and made locations on what were called Claims
Twenty-five, Twenty-six, Fifty-three and Fifty-four. I think it was in
October that we made our locations. We worked Claims Twenty-five and
Twenty-six, and were very soon satisfied that we had a fine thing, and
went to work to make preparations for a long winter of experiences and
hardships. We got all we wanted before spring. Every man put in his time
sinking prospect holes in the gulch.
"I tell the simple truth when I say that within three months we took
from the two claims the sum of $112,000. A remarkable thing about our
findings is that in taking this enormous sum we drift up and down
stream, nor did we cross-cut the pay streaks.
"Of course, we may be wrong, but this is the way we are figuring, and we
are so certain that what we say is true that we would not sell out for a
million. In our judgment, based on close figuring, there are in the two
claims we worked, and Claims No. 53 and No. 54, $1,000 to the lineal
foot. I say that in four claims, we have at the very least $2,000,000,
which can be taken out without any great work.
"I want to say that I believe there is gold in every creek in Alaska.
Certainly on the Klondyke the claims are not spotted. One seems to be as
good as another. It's gold, gold, gold all over. It's yards wide and
yards deep. I say so, because I have been there and have the gold to
show for it. All you have to do is to run a hole down, and there you
find plenty of gold dust. I would say that our pans on the Eldorado
claims will average $3, some go as high as $150, and, believe me, when I
say that, in five pans, I have taken out as high as $750 and sometimes
more. I did not pick the pans, but simply put them against my breast and
scooped the dirt off the bed rock.
"Of course, the majority of those on the Klondyke have done much
figuring as to the amount of gold the Klondyke will yield. Many times we
fellows figured on the prospects of the Eldorado. I would not hesitate
much about guaranteeing $21,000,000, and should not be surprised a bit
if $25,000,000, or even $30,000,000, was taken out.
"Some people will tell you that the Klondyke is a marvel, and there will
never be a discovery in Alaska which will compare with it. I don't
believe it. I think that there will be a number of new creeks discovered
that will make wonderful yields. Why, Bear Gulch is just like Eldorado.
Bear Gulch has a double bed rock. Many do not know it, but it's a fact,
and miners who are acquainted with it will tell you the same thing.
"The bed rocks are three feet apart. In the lower bed the gold is as
black as a black cat, and in the upper bed, the gold is as bright as any
you ever saw. We own No. 10 claim, below Discovery, on Bear Gulch, and
also Nos. 20 and 21 on Last Chance Gulch, above Discovery. We prospected
for three miles on Last Chance Gulch, and could not tell the best place
to locate the Discovery claim. The man making a discovery of the creek
is entitled by law to stake a claim and take an adjoining one, or, in
other words, two claims; so you see he wants to get in a good location
on the creek or gulch. Hunker Gulch is highly looked to. I think it will
prove another great district, and some good strikes have also been made
on Dominion Creek. Indian Creek is also becoming famous.
"What are we doing with all the money we take out?
"Well, we paid $45,000 spot cash for a half interest in Claim 32,
Eldorado. We also loaned $5,000 each to four parties on Eldorado Creek,
taking mortgages on their claims, so you see we are well secured.
"No, I do not want any better security for my money than Eldorado
claims, thank you. I only wish I had a mortgage on the whole creek.
"We had a great deal of trouble in securing labor in prospecting our
properties. Old miners would not work for any price. We could
occasionally rope in a greenhorn and get him to work for a few days at
$15 a day. Six or eight miners worked on shares for us about six weeks,
and we settled. It developed that they had earned in that length of time
$5,300 each. That was pretty good pay, wasn't it? We paid one old miner
$12 for three hours' work and offered to continue him at that rate, but
he would not have it, and he went out to hunt a claim of his own. My
son, Samuel, and Charles Worden are in charge of our interests in
Alaska. George Worden and I came out, and we will go back in March and
relieve them. Then they will come out for a spell. George goes from here
to his home in New York State to make his mother comfortable.
"I am an American by birth, but of Irish parents. I formerly lived in
Western Kansas, but my claim there was not quite as good as the one I
staked out on the Eldorado Creek."
HOW TO GET THERE.
CHOICE OF TWO ROUTES.
There are two routes either of which can be taken to the Klondyke. The
best but the most expensive is by steamer from Seattle to St. Michael's,
and then by river boat up the Yukon 1,700 miles to Dawson City. By this
route it takes thirty-five to forty days, and the fare is $180. The
steamers permit only 150 pounds of baggage for each passenger. Two
steamers that will leave before the river is closed by ice cannot carry
more than 150 passengers each. The other route is by land by way of
Juneau. The passenger goes from Seattle to Juneau. There at this season
all packs must be carried on the back or on mules. When snow falls
sledges can be used and the trip can be made much more easily. The
distance is 650 miles. This trip is thus described:
"Leaving Juneau you go to Dyea by way of Lime Canal, and from there to
Lake Lindermann, thirty miles on foot, or portage, as we call it. The
lake gives you a ride of five or six miles, and then follows another
long journey overland to the headwaters of Lake Bennett, which is
twenty-eight miles long. On foot you go again for several miles, and
then the caribou crossing of the river furnishes transportation for four
miles to Tagish Lake, where another twenty-one-mile boat ride may be
had.
"This is followed by a weary stretch of mountainous country, and then
Marsh or Mud Lake is reached. You get another boat ride of twenty-four
miles, and then go down the creek for twenty-seven miles to Miles Canon
and to White Horse Rapids.
"This is one of the most dangerous places on the entire route, and
should be avoided by all strangers. The stream is full of sunken rocks
and runs with the speed of a mile race. Passing White Horse Rapids the
journey is down the river for thirty miles to Lake Labarge, where
thirty-one miles of navigable water is found. Another short portage and
Lous River is reached, where you have a 200-mile journey, which brings
you to Fort Selkirk.
"At this point Polly and Lous rivers come together, forming the Yukon.
From that point on is practically smooth sailing, though the stranger
must be exceedingly careful."
For some time past a number of local and English companies have been
studying the lay of the land between Chilkat and Circle City with a view
to establishing a quicker, and more practicable way of transportation to
the gold fields along the Yukon. Goodall, Perkins & Co., of New York
have made a thorough investigation of the matter, and Capt. Chas. M.
Goodall of that firm says:
"The rich find in the Klondyke district will probably result in some
better means of transportation, though the roughness of the country and
the limited open season will not justify anybody in building a railroad
for any distance. Recently we sent several hundred sheep and cattle to
Juneau, and from there to the head of navigation by the steamer Alki.
Mr. Dalton, who discovered the trail across the country from the Chilkat
River to Fort Selkirk, is taking live stock to the mines. His route lies
from the head of navigation through Chilkoot Pass and along the trail,
which is over prairie several hundred miles, to the Yukon River, near
Fort Selkirk. At this time of year the prairie is clear and bunch grass
grows on it in abundance.
"I believe this will ultimately be the popular route. People could go
over it in wagons, as the prairie is level. Stations could be
established, as was done on our plains in '49. It would be easy to go
down the Yukon in boats from where Dalton's trail strikes it to Dawson
City and other mining camps.
"The plan to build a traction road over Chilkoot Pass from Dyea, the
head of navigation after leaving Juneau, to Lake Linderman, is not a
good business proposition. It has been talked of, and the rest of the
plan is to have steamers to ply from Lake Linderman through the other
lakes to the Yukon. But to do this two portages would have to be made on
account of the falls in the river, and these would be enormously
expensive.
"A British company has had in contemplation for some time the
construction of a railroad from the head of navigation on Taku Inlet,
near Juneau, to Teslin, or Aklene Lake, and thence down some small
rivers to the Yukon and the mines. Even by this route there would be
need of portages. The natural way to take in freight, unless the hurry
be great, is by St. Michael and up the Yukon. To establish even a wagon
road over Dalton's Trail on the prairie, a railroad over the divide from
Dyea to Lake Linderman, or a railroad as planned by the English company,
concessions would have to be secured from the British Government."
FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO THE MINES.
OCEAN ROUTE.
Miles.
To St. Michael's 2,850
To Circle City 4,350
To Forty Mile 4,600
To Klondyke 4,650
OVERLAND ROUTE.
Miles.
To Juneau (by steamer) 1,680
Juneau to Chilkat 80
Juneau to Dyea 100
Juneau to head of navigation 106
Juneau to summit of Chilcoot Pass 114
Juneau to head of Lake Linderman 123
Juneau to foot of Lake Linderman 127
Juneau to head of Lake Bennet 128
Juneau to foot of Takish Lake 173
Juneau to head of Lake Marsh 178
Juneau to head of canyon 223
Juneau to head of White Horse Rapids 225
Juneau to Tahkeena River 240
Juneau to head of Lake Lebarge 256
Juneau to foot of Lake Lebarge 284
Juneau to Hotalinqua River 318
Juneau to Big Salmon River 349
Juneau to Little Salmon River 385
Juneau to Five Fingers Rapids 444
Juneau to Rink Rapids 450
Juneau to White River 599
Juneau to Stewart River 609
Juneau to Sixty-Mile Post 629
Juneau to Lawson City 678
Juneau to Forty-Mile Post 728
Juneau to Circle City 898
Forty-Mile to diggings at Miller Creek 70
Circle City to diggings at Birch Creek 50
Klondyke to diggings 5
PERILS OF THE TRIP.
ENCOUNTERS WITH THE ICE AND SNOW IN THE PASSES TO THE UPPER YUKON.
A letter, written to the San Francisco Examiner by Edgar A. Mizner,
gives a graphic picture of life in the Klondyke region and the hardships
and perils that the miner may expect to meet and undergo. He is at
present the agent of the Alaska Commercial Company there. He set out
from Seattle for the Yukon in March last. He had had mining experience
before, having been frozen in one Winter on the Pend d'Oreille. Mizner
Mountain, over against the Kootenai country, is named for him, his
prospecting pick being the first to find pay ore there.
From a camp on the ice of Lake Bennett he wrote on May 6:
"It is nearly two months since I left you, and if I have not forgotten
you altogether it's not the fault of the trip, for surely it's the
devil's own. The man who wants the Yukon gold should know what he is
going to tackle before he starts. If there is an easy part of the trip I
haven't struck it yet.
"Eight of us made the trip from Juneau to Dyea, 100 miles, on the
little steam launch Alert. The steamer Mexico reached Dyea the same
morning with 423 men. As she drew so much water she had to stay about
three miles off shore and land her passengers and freight as best she
might in more or less inaccessible places on the rocky shores.
"Then up came the twenty-two-foot tide and many poor fellows saw their
entire outfits swept into the sea. The tide runs there like the Fundy
race. At Dyea there were but two houses, a store and, of course, a
saloon. So when we landed on the beach and got out on the snow and ice
we had to "rustle" for ourselves. We have kept on "rustling" for
ourselves from that on.
"We camped the first night at Dyea. It is a most enjoyable thing, this
making camp in the snow. First you must shovel down from three to six
feet to find a solid crust. Then you must go out in the snow up to your
neck to find branches with which to make a bed, and then comes the hunt
for a dead tree for firewood. Dinner is cooked on a small sheetiron
stove.
"Always keep an eye on the 'grub,' especially the bacon, for the dogs
are like so many ravenous wolves, and it is not considered just the
proper thing to be left without anything to eat in this frostbitten
land. At night it is necessary to tie up the sacks of bacon in the trees
or build trestles for them. But to the trip.
"The second day we went up Dyea canon. It is only three miles long, but
seems fully thirty. This is true of all distances in this country. About
one hundred pounds is about all a man wants to pull in this canon, as
the way is steep and the ice slippery. So camps must be made short
distances apart, as you have to go over the trail several times in
bringing up your outfit. Remember, an ordinary outfit weighs from 500 to
800 pounds, and some of them much more.
"But the summit of Chilcoot Pass--that's the place that puts the yellow
fear into many a man's heart. Some took one look at it, sold their
outfits for what they would bring and turned back. This pass is over the
ridge which skirts the coast. It is only about 1,200 feet from base to
top, but it is almost straight up and down--a sheer steep of snow and
ice. There is a blizzard blowing there most of the time, and when it is
at its height, no man may cross. For days at a time the summit is
impassable. An enterprising man named Burns has rigged a windlass and
cable there, and with this he hoists up some freight at a cent a pound.
The rest is carried over on the backs of Indians. We were detained ten
days waiting our turn to have our outfits carried over and for favoring
weather.
"After going about three miles up a dark canon a whirling snow storm
struck us. But having risen at such an unconscionable hour we would not
turn back. Our pride was near the end of us. I hope I may never
experience such another day. The air was so filled with snow that at
times it was impossible to see ten feet. It was all we could do to keep
our feet against the wind which howled down the mountain. My beard
became a mass of ice.
"The trail was soon obliterated and we were lost. But we stumbled on and
by a rare chance we came upon the handle of a shovel which marked our
cache. There was nothing to do but fight our way back to camp. The storm
did not abate in the slightest. In fact, it raged for four long days. It
was nearly dark when with knocking knees we got back to camp, more dead
than alive.
"The next day ten men made up a party to go on the same trip back for
their outfits. The day after that they were found huddled in a hole dug
in a drift eating raw bacon. After another day of rest we put masts on
our sleds, rigged sails and came across Lake Linderman and over
Linderman Portage. We are now camped on the head of Lake Bennet."
Another letter written by Mr. Mizner from Forty Mile City, as late as
June 12th, is quite as interesting. He says: