Part 3

This stream of humanity that has suddenly turned northward and is being constantly swollen as it proceeds on its way is made up of all classes of men and from every condition in life. The experienced and rugged miner is accompanied by the "tenderfoot." The soft-handed clerk falls in line with the tanned and strong-muscled out-of-door laborer. Even the professional man has abandoned his comfortable office for the miner's hut. The first steamer to leave numbered among her passengers the venerable poet of the Sierras, Joaquin Miller. Another steamer, sailing from Seattle on July 22, carried north ex-Governor McGraw, who for many years was president of the First National Bank, of Seattle; Governor of Washington for four years ending January last, and later a candidate for United States Senator to succeed W. S. Squire. Among his companions du voyage were General M. E. Carr, formerly Brigadier General of the State militia, and whose law practice is the largest in the State of Washington, and Captain A. J. Balliet, at one time Yale's greatest oarsman and football player, who also leaves a handsome law practice to seek gold on the Yukon.

WHERE THE GOLD IS FOUND.

HOW IT IS REACHED AND MINED.

Dr. William H. Dall, one of the curators of the National Museum, is familiar with the region of country in which the Klondyke gold fields are located, through having been on several geological expeditions to the region in Alaska adjoining the gold district, and says that in his opinion the reports from there probably are not exaggerated.

"When I was there," he says, "I did not find gold, but knew of it being taken out in profitable quantities for fifteen years or more. It was first discovered there in 1866. In 1880, when I was up in that country, the first party of prospectors who have made mining profitable, started out. The gold is found on the various tributaries of the Yukon, and I have been within a comparatively short distance of the Klondyke fields. I made one trip to Circle City, just over the boundary of Canada.

"The gold bearing belt of Northwestern America contains all the gold fields and extends into that part of British Columbia known as the Northwestern Territory and Alaska. The Yukon really runs along in that belt for 500 or 600 miles. The bed of the main river is in the lowlands of the valley.

"The yellow metal is not found in paying quantity in the main river, but 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.