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"bi>aS2

V*;

KLONDIKE

A MANUAL FOR GOLDSEEKERS

CHARLES A. BRAMBLE, D.L.S.

E^ditorial Staff Engineering and Mining Journal, late
Crown Lands Surveyor, Dominion of Canada

NFAV YORK
R. F, FENNO & COMPANY

9 and ii EAST i6th STREET

THOMSON STATIONERY Co.. lUi.,

800>*S£l i-ERS,
NFWSDeAt.El»n »*^D PRIKiTER^,

R. F. FBNNO & COMPANY

mondike; A Manual for Goldseekers

CONTENTS.

PAQE

A WOI D TO THE _»,is;ADER 8

Introduction 5

The Country 11

The Klondike Trail 67

Life at the Diggings 130

The Gold 155

Mining Methods 195

Prospecting 223

The Climate 232

The Outfit , 251

The Mounted Police 282

Canadian Mining Laws 290

Customs, Regulations, etc 804

Diseases of the Country 306

Miscellaneous 311

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A WORD TO THE READER.

Just now all eyes are turned toward the gold-
en valley of the Yukon. No possible doubt ex-
ists that one of the richest, if not absolutely the
richest, placer deposits ever discovered has been
found within the past year in far-away Alaska.

At the present moment, therefore, such a book
as this is wanted, especially as a flood of cheap,
unreliable "Yukon*' literature has been put
upon the market. My experiencco in the North-
west Territories and Canada have enabled me to
select only what is valuable from amid the vast
quantities of matter already published. My
knowledge of mining and of the Northwest has
been fully as much exercised in eliminating false
statements as in accumulating paragraphs of
worth.

I claim little as original in this book, but I ex-
pect it nevertheless to be of very great value to
any prospective gold seeker who shall aim at ac-
quiring some of the virgin gold of the North.

Chas. a. Bramble,
D. L. S.

INTRODUCTION.

A CLEVER California writer has said no one
should venture to set out for the Alaska diggings
without a good pardner. The word must not be
confounded with partner. Partner has a smart,
business-like sound. It is precisely defined by
law, and though it may by courtesy involve some-
thing of special favor, its equities at last rest
upon the decisions of courts without regard to
sentiment. But a pardner glories in sentiment.
He expects to give his mate all that the law re-
quires and call that only a beginning. Men may
be chums in easy, prosperous times, but it is not
until they pass together through a succession of
dangers and hardships that they become pardners.
Congeniality and implicit confidence are at the
base of a pardnership; and for better or for worse
the two men stand as one under all vicissitudes,
doubling each other's joys and dividing sorrows
and failures. If one falls by the way the other
gives him more than the devotion of a brother.

Gold mining eventually is a business conducted
by large capital, but placer diggings afford an
opening to any one who can stake and work a

Introduction.

claim. The two pardners begin operations on
the ground-floor, share their discoveries, tent to-
gether, and cook fo^- each otlier. Their qualities
and traits are complementary. Pardners are
closer than mess-mates in the arm}' or navy.
The soldier or sailor is under the care of a boun-
tiful provider. His food, clothes and shelter are
furnished by the government, and his comings
and goings are regulated by orders. Pardners,
on the other hand, must skirmish together from
the start for subsistence and plans of operation.
They fight the battle of life for two under haz-
ardous conditions, far from families and friends,
satisfied for the time being with bare necessi-
ties. Under such a test pardners are forged as
steel is forged. It is not likely that the mining
camps in Alaska will permit any one to starve,
but they have a regulation for shipping those
lacking means or resources out of the country.
In a community of pardners a high sense of gen-
eral humanity will prevail, but there must be
prudence as to feeding drones during the long
season when the lines of supply are interrupted.
Alaska will furnish a great growth of friendship,
with the pardner as its top flower. No man can
utterly fall there who has a good pardner, and is
one.

The following condensed Alaskan "nuggets"
have been culled from various sources:

Introduction.

The first discovery of gold on the Klondike
was made in the middle of August, 1896, by
George Oormack.

The only way heretofore into and out of the
Klondike in winter has been by way of Juneau.

The best way to live is • > litate the Indians
in dress and habit. It is i; 8s to wear leather
or gum boots. Good mocca,..n8 are absolutely
necessary.

The colder it is the better the traveling.
When it is very cold there is no wind; and the
wind is hard to bear.

Indian guides are necessary to go ahead of the
dogs and prepare the camp for night. In the
summer the sun rises early and sets late and
there are only a few hours when it is not shining
directly on Alaska. In the winter the sun shines
for a short time only each day.

It is 2,500 miles from San Francisco to St. Mi-
chael's. It is 1,895 miles from St. Michaers to
Dawson City.

In summer the weather is warm and tent life
is comfortable. The winter lasts nine months.
There are two routes by which to reach Dawson
City. One touching St. MichaeFs Island and
the other via Juneau. By steamer it costs 1150
to go from San Francisco to Dawson City.

Dogs are worth their weight in gold. A good
long-haired dog sells for $150 or $200.

The Yukon River is closed by ice from Novem-
bt to the latter part of May. On the Klondike
the thermometer goes as low as 60 degrees below
zero.

There is a great variety of berries to be
found all through the country in summer. Game

Introduction.

ii i

1! i

is very scarce near the mines. Vegetables of the
hardier sort can be raised. Stock can be kept by
using care in providing abundantly with feed by
ensilage or curing natural-grass hay and by
housing them in the winter. In summer abun-
dance of fine grass can be found near the rivers.

In appearance the natives are like the North
American Indians, only more lithe and active,
with very small feet and hands. They live in
temporary camps both winter and summer, either
in the mountains or on the river banks, accord-
ing to the habits of the game they are hunting.

Gold was first discovered in the vicinity of
Sitka by Frank Mahoney, Edward Doyle and
William Dunlay, in 1879.

As regards the strictly American possessions
the following are worth remembering:

Purchased in 1867 from Russia, for $7,200,000;
purchase negotiated by William H. Seward.
Area in square miles, 531,409.

Population, census of 1890, 30,329, of whom
but 4,416 were whites, 8,400 Esquimaux, and
13,735 Indians. Estimated present population
40,000.

IT ncipal cities, Sitka, the capital, Juneau,
Wrangel, Circle City. Principal rivers, the
Yukon, more than 2,000 miles long; the Kuskok-
wim, the Colville and the Copper. Principal
mountains. Mount Logan, altitude, 19,500 feet;
Mount St. Elias, 18,100; Mount Wrangel, 17,500
feet.

Principal occupations of the people, hunting
and fishing.

Gold first discovered in 1879. Estimated prod-
uct of gold to date, $30,000,000. Product of
gold in 1896, $4,670,000,

Introduction.

Klondike in English is Fish River. Klondike
go d fie ds are in British territory, aid iCmol
net 18 disposed of in the United States. ^

Ihe scene of the present excitement is alone
the upper Yukon and its tributaries. ^

dike from Seattle by water, and thirty or fortv
days by the Chilkoot Pass route. ^ ^

KLON^DIKE.

THE COUNTRY.

Alaska's chief river, the Yukon, is one of
the grandest streams on the continent, and m
size is surpassed only by the Mississippi, if, in-
deed, it is not the larger — at least, in point of
volume. At the old Hudson Bay post, Fort
Yukon, now abandoned, the river attains its
northermost latitude, being just within the
Arctic circle.

At a point just above Fort Yukon the river has
been found to have a width of seven miles. Just
above Fort Yukon the channel of the river is
subject to frequent changes by reason of shifting
sand, but this offers the only considerable obstacle
to navigation from the mouth of the Yukon to
Fort Selkirk, a distance of 1,600 miles.

Such is the volume of water discharged by this
mighty stream that it is said that fresh water is
found in the ocean ten miles out from the chief
mouth of the river. The entire length of the
river is estimated at not less than 2,000 miles, and
the probability is that it is much greater.

Klondike.

Those who have traveled some of the navigable
portion of the river describe the Yukon Valley as
most beautiful in scenery, fully equaling, even
exceeding, anything offered by natural scenery in
the United States. The boundary of the upper
part of Alaska Territory between the United
States and Canada, from Mount St. Elias to the
Arctic Ocean, is very clearly defined in the treaty
as the 141st meridian. The only difficulty about
this part of the line is in locating that meridian.
There is some slight difference between the
American and Canadian surveys, but that differ-
ence can be easily settled.

It has been stated by Canadian newspapers to
involve a strip not more than sixty feet wide at
the point where the line crosses the Yukon.
Some question has arisen from the fact that in
the treaty the meridian was described as crossing
Mount St. Elias, whf r^^ ts it has since been found
to be a little east of M ut peak.

The treaty between Great Britain and Russia
made in 1825 provided that the line should start
from the southernmost point of Prince of Wales
Island and ascend to the north along Portland
Channel, as far as the 56th degree of north lati-
tude; thence should follow the summit of the
mountains parallel to the coast as far as the point
of intersection with the lilst degree of west
longitude. "Wherever the summit of the moun-

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A Manual for Gold Seekers. 13

tains parallel to the coast proves to be more than
ten marine leagues from the ocean, the boundary
line is to parallel the windings of the coast not
more than ten marine leagues therefrom.

But a very limited section of this vast area,
which was purchased by the United States from
Russia in 1867 for 17,300,000, is known to civi-
lized man. The far greater portion is as yet un
explored. The territory, according to the latest
figures, coriprises 580,107 square miles. The
mere figures convey but a faint conception of its
extent. The Territory of Alaska has an area
very nearly equal to the combined areas of Con-
necticut, Delaware, District cf Columbia, Flor-
ida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachussetts,
Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia,
and West Virginia; it nearly approximates one-
fifth of the area of all the rest of the United
States. Alaska's coast line on the mainland is
about 7,860 miles, or greater than the eastern
coast line of the United States. The coast line
of the mainland and islands is nearly four times
as great as all the other coast lines of the United
States combined.

Dr. Dawson, who made geological explorations
in the upper Yukon region, testified as follows:
"With regard to the gold on the Liard River,

Klondike.

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I .

which is a tributary of the Mackenzie, I may
state further that remunerative bars have been
worked east of the country down toward the
Mackenzie. The whole appearance of this coun-
try leads to the belief that important mineral
deposits will be found in it besides those placer
mines. There are large quantities of quartz
ledges along the rivers in many places on the
Liard River; half the river gravel is composed of
quartz, and the whole country is full of quartz
veins, some of which are likely to yield valuable
minerals."

Q. Is it a gold-bearing quartz?

A. Yes; because we find gold in the bars,
though not, so far as I have discovered, in the
loose quartz. In fact, the whole country at the
headwaters of the Liard, and running across to
the Yukon, forms part of the metalliferous belt
which runs from Mexico to Alaska and includes
a great area of that country which is as likely to
be rich in minerals as any portion of that metal-
liferous belt. We should remember that in Brit-
ish Columbia and on the headwaters of the
Yukon we have from 1,200 to 1,300 miles of that
metalliferous belt of the west coast. This is al-
most precisely the same length of that belt con-
tained in the United States, and I think there
is every reason to believe that eventually it will
be found susceptible of an equal development

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

from a mining point of view. From circum-
stances to wliich I need not now refer, it has so
far been more developed in the United States
than on this side of the line.

Q. What is the average width of that belt of
1,200 or 1,300 miles?

A. About 400 miles on the average. Fort
Selkirk, or the ruins of Fort Selkirk, at the
mouth of the Lewis River, which is one of the
main branches of the Yukon, is about 1,000 miles
due north of Victoria, without taking into ac-
count ten degrees of longitude which it is west,
but it gives an idea of the depth of the country
which is worth remarking. You find a country
here 1,000 miles north of Victoria in which there
is no doubt you can still grow barley and hardy
cereals, a distance as nearly as possible identical
with the whole width of the United States on the
Pacific coast from the 49th parallel to Mexico,
yet at Fort Selkirk we are still 750 or 800 miles
from the Arctic Ocean— nearly twice as far from
the Arctic Ocean as we are here in Ottawa from
the Atlantic.

Q. That would make a square area of 520,000
miles. Is that what the committee are to under-
stand?

A. That will express the area of the metaVif-
erous belt in a general way, and may be taken as
a minimum figure. This Yukon country was first

Klondike.

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prospected in 1880, by miners who came across
by this Chilkoot Pass. Since then a yearly in-
creasing number of miners has been going in.
This last summer there were about 250 men,
nearly 100 of whom are wintering at Forty-Mile
Creek, near the international boundary. The gold
which was taken out of that country last summer,
not counting the Ci ssiar country to the south,
but merely the Yukon district, was estimated by
the miners at $70,000, but that is a very rough
estimate indeeu, because there is no way of
checking it except by allowing so much per man
on the average. There is an almost unprece-
dented length of river bars from which gold is ob-
tained in that country. I have not tried to esti-
mate it, but here and there on nearly all those
rivers gold is found in paying quantities. The
gold-bearing river bars must be reckoned in the
aggregate by thousands of miles in length.

Q. All those rivers, meaning the Yukon and
its branches, and the Liard and its branches?

A. Yes.

Though the Coppermine River lies east of
the Mackenzie and far from the Yukon, it may
be interesting to give here the testimony of Dr.
Dawson in regard to copper in that river. He
said, speaking of the Coppermine River particu-
larly, that "there is every reason to believe there
is a repetition along that river and in its vicinity

A Manual for Gold Seekers

of tiiose rocks which contain copper on Lake
Superior, and which have proved so rich there."
But that region seems to be beyond the reach of
the prospector at present.

"I see a good many newspaper criticisms in
which the prophecy is ventured that not more
than one-tenth of tne parties going to Alaska
'will come back prosperous,' " said one returned
Yukoner. ''This is a mistake. There is no ques-
tion of their finding gold in any part of the
Yukon Valley, the only question being whether
they can find it in paying quantities. It is
there, everywhere. We traveled over 1,000 miles
of the interior and found gold wherever we dug
for it.

"I never in all my life saw a country where
there is so much and so many variations of light
as in Alaska. I don't think it ever rains in the
interior. The sun shone with dazzling brilliancy
during our entire trip, and no sooner had it set,
than the aurora boreaiis overspread the skies
with its fantastic and shifting colors. At nighl,
it was truly a country of fairyland, the shadows
and tones of these northern lights being simply
wonderful. I have seen them so bright that I
could read by their light.

"I believe that I stated to you that the inte-
rior is destitute of game. This is true, with but
one exception. The Yukon River is full of little

Klondike.

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black ducks during the summer. They live on
mussels and are continually diving for them.
They are far from being wild, and I have seen
them swim up close enough to touch our canoe
lots of times. They are not good eating, how-
ever, having a rank, fishy taste.

"There seems to be but three varieties of vege-
tation in the interior. Fir and yellow cedar
forests cover the land, and the rank, waist-high
moss. It resembles more nearly some variety of
cactus, and is so full of saws, prongs, etc., as to
be impenetrable. The cedars and firs are none
of them very large, but appear to be very old,
some, perhaps, having grown there for ages."

A correspondent of the Washington Evening
Star, says: "It is not necessary for everybody to
feed on dog meat on the Upper Yukon River and
in the vicinity of the Klondike gold field in win-
ter, as a member of the party which was up there
said several of the members did. He refused
the dish, but at the same time he acknowledged
that more than once after food had been thrown
to the dogs, literally speaking, he had snatched
it away from them before they could eat it.
Fish which small worms had appropriated to
themselves he did not hesitate to eat, he said,
and was glad to get it.

"That is one of the great troubles which will
be encountered by persons visiting the gold

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

fields. The further up the Yukon one travels
the scarcer becomes the food supply, until in the
Klondike region and ther^^abouts it ceases almost
entirely. There is practically no large game,
with the exception of one or two moose and rein-
deer, which have become separated from the rest
of the herd and wandered out there. So that
prospectors who intend visiting the field should
not rely in the least on the resources of the coun-
try to feed them. There may be a few rabbits,
ducks and geese in the spring, which disappear
very quickly. These are not sufficient to supply
even the wants of the few natives who wander
nomadically about the region. '*

Lower down the Yukon, at certain seasons of
the year, there is abundance of game, probably
from 400 to 500 miles from the Klondike River.
The moose is about the largest of the animals,
while the reindeer is fairly plentiful. As the
population has increased, the game has corres-
pondingly decreased, and in the winter the
Indians there have a hard time securing food,
as they are very improvident. During the
season when it is abundant they never think of
laying by a supply. There are beavers on the
streams, and various kinds of deer, bear, and
caribou. In the winter months these go south
or disappear almost entirely. The polar bear
is found several degrees further north, never ap-
pearing in that vicinity.

Klondike.

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In the mountain streams which f'^ed the Yu-
kon River, up toward its head, near the Kathul
Mountain, there are mountain trout of good size
and flavor. Many of these streams dry up in the
winter, as they are fed by glaciers, which, of
course, in cold weather are frozen entirely. The
salmon is found in the Yukon in immense num-
bers in summer. The whitefish M'hich is found
near the Klondike River, is said to be excellent
eating. It ranges in size about the same as our
black bass, and is one of the chief mainstays of
the Indians. In winter, if it is not too cold,
holes are cut in the ice, and the fish pulled out by
means of bone hooks. They are more plentiful
than any other kind, and the ice-cold water ap-
pears to be their natural habitat.

Early in the spring water lowl, such as ducks,
geese and swan, put in an appearance, but they
do not tarry long, and wend their w^y after a
stay of only a few days. They are very plenti-
ful when they do appear, and the natives kill
them by hundreds. The trouble is, however,
that things of the kind do not last as they do in
warmer climates.

Reindeer formerly were seen in very large
numbers on the Yukon, some two or three hun-
dred miles from where the Klondike flows into
it, and a gentleman who spent two or three win-
ters there several years ago has stated that he had

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A Manual for Gold Seekers.

seen a herd of at least 5,000 cross the river on
the ice in one day.

Klondyke would-be prospectors should bear in
mind the fact that in that region, where game is
scarce, the appetite is something wonderful. All
kinds of food are eaten with rPiish, particularly
anything that has fat or grease about it. The
sharp air increases hunger nearly a hundred fold,
and it is necessary to have plenty of provisions
in order to withstand temperatures sometimes
as low as 68 degrees below zero. Persons who
have passed the winter there state that it is
much better not to touch alcoholic liquors, as
the after effects from indulgence in them are
much worse than any benefit which may be de-
rived from temporary stimulation.

Tea is considered one of the best things which
can be taken, and it is drunk in large quantities,
strong, and as hot as possible. This seems to
keep the heat in and the cold out better than
anything else. All kinds of canned goods are
excellent, and dried '^uits or lime juic3 should
be included in every bill of fare, as scurvy is pre-
vented by making use of them. It is necessary
to use large quantities of salt meats, which often
produce the disease.

It it believed by travelers up the Yukon Kiver
that vegetables that grow rapidly could be raised
profitably in the summer months. Potatoes, it

■■■■I

Klondike.

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is thought, could be brought to fruition without
trouble, and turnips also. The latter have been
raised successfully by missionaries 400 or 500
miles or so from the source of the river. The
sun there has naturally very much power in
the three or four months of summer, and in
hothouses lettuce and other vegetables could be
raised easily.

When Humboldt expressed the opinion that
j^old came from the north he did not adduce
much evidence in support of his theory. We
have had a wonderful demonstration of the truth
of his suppositions in the Yukon Valley.

The more we reflect upon the extraordinary
gold deposits there, the more bewildered we be-
come. Every claim which has been operated on
the gold-bearing creeks has become a producer.
We have yet to hear of a single locator who
failed to find gold if he went down to bed rock.
There are a great many claims yet to hear from
upon which no work has been done yet, and as
there are winter diggings, we shall not hear from
these for a long time yet. Experience proves
that mines in a mineral country are discovered
in proportion to the number of prospectors out.
It is therefore quite reasonable for us to assume
that we shall hear some interesting news from
the interior, when ^he hundreds of miners who
have recently gone down the river have had time

A Manual for Gold ISeekers.

.V.W

to spread themselves over the country. The
district in which Bonanza and Eldorado Creeks
are situated forms but a small portion of an im-
mense mineral belt. The few hundred men who
were in the country at the time the discovery
was made took up claims one after the other on
the creeks which were known to carry gold, and
in many instances sold them for large sums with-
out putting in a pick or panning out a shovel full
of gravel. Of these, some remain to live a life
of hilarity at Dawson, and others, more prudent,
are coming out with their fortunes intact. Such
wa-^ the conditions of affairs before the popula-
tion of the district was augmented by the spring
arrivals. Now there will be vigorous and sys-
tematic prospecting done, and the country will
be closely examined for many miles around the
present diggings. Hitherto the best results have
been obtained in the fall, and we may look with
some certainty for a result from this summer's
prospecting.

Even in the most favorable of times the life of
a miner on the Yukon could not be an easy one.
A practical mining-engineer publishes, in one of
the Ottawa papers, a catechism which, he says,
every would-be gold-hunter should ask himself
before he starts:

"Have I a capital of at least $500? Am I
subject to any organic or chronic disease.

I i I

■HI

Klondike.

■Jli

''i: ill

i:l»S!!i

ill i'l . j

mil

■i

especially rheumatism? Am I physically sound
in every way and able to walk thirty miles a day
with a fifty-pound pack on my back? Am I
willing to put up with the rough fare, sleep
anywhere and anyhow; do my own cooking and
washing; mend my own clothes? Can I leave
home perfectly free, leaving no one dependent
on me in any manner for support? Can I do
entirely without spirituous liquors? Can I work
like a galley-slave for months if need be, on poor
fare, and sometimes not enough of that, and still
keep up a cheerful and brave spirit? Am I
pretty handy with tools and not subject to lazy
fits? Can I swim, and handle boats and canoes;
put up with extremes of heat and cold, and bear
incessant torture from countless swarms of mos-
quitoes, gnats and sand-flies?"

For men who are healthy and strong, who love
adventure and beautiful scenery, who have
money to keep themselves for two years — or more
if they don't make a strike — for such men to go
into this country is all right, and a good thing.

Owing to the gold discoveries at Klondike
much interest is lent to any fresh information
regarding that region. The oflBcial report made
to the census office in 1890 contains a mass of
information bearing indirectly on the general
section of the country in which the Klondike is
situated, and the appended extracts will bo
found worthy of attention.

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

The mighty stream known as the Yukon does
not appear by that name on the map until the
conflnence of the Pelly and Lewis Rivers is
reached, about longitude 137 degrees 3 minutes
west, in British Northwest Territory. Both of
the latter are large rivers. The Lewis River is
the best known, having been used for the past six
years as the highway from southeastern Alaska to
the gold diggings on the Yukon, near the east-
ern boundary of Alaska. Its length from Lake
Lindermann, one of its chief sources, to the
junction with the Pelly is about 375 miles, and it
lies entirely in British territory, with the excep-
tion of a few miles of the lakes at its head.

The Pelly River takes its rise about Dease
Lake, near the headwaters of the Stikine River,
with a length of some 500 miles before joining
the Lewis to form the Yukon River. The union
of these two streams forms a river varying from
three-quarters to a mile in width. For many
miles the northern bank is a solid wall of lava,
compelling the swift current to follow a westerly
course in search of an outlet to the nor^h. The
southern bank is Comparatively low, formed of
sandy, alluvial soil. A few miles above the
White River the stream takes a northerly course
through a rugged, mountainous country, receiv-
ing the addition of the waters of the "White River
on the south, so called from the milky color of

Klondike.

ii'ip'

its waters, and a few miles further on the
waters of the Stuart on the north. The
current is exceedingly swift here, especially at
a high stage of water, as I saAV it, being at
least six or seven miles an hour. From Stuart
River to Fort Reliance both banks are closed in
by high mountains, formed chiefly of basaltic rock
and slaty shale. Many of the bluffs are cut and
worn in the most picturesque shapes by glacial
action. At Fort Reliance, an abandoned trading
post, the general course of the stream changes
to northwest, continuing thus for a distance of
about 500 miles, or as far as the confluence with
the Porcupine River, which flows from the norih.
Some forty miles from Fort Reliance the
mouth of Forty-Mile Creek is passed, where is
located the miners' trading post. On that creek,
or river, we find the chief gold diggings known
at the present time. Some thirty-eight miles
from there the river crosses the eastern boundary
of Alaska. Here was located for the last two
seasons the camp of one party of the Alaska
boundary survey, it having been previously the
camp of the Canadian government party. For
100 miles after crossing the boundary the river
runs in one broad stream, confined on either side
by high banks and a mountainous country, known
as the ''upper ramparts." It then widens out,
and for a distance of 150 miles is a network of

,, .1

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

channels and small islands. At old Fort Yukon,
an abandoned Hudson Bay post, it attains its
highest northern latitude, being just within the
Arctic circle. From main bank to bank the dis-
tance has been found to be seven miles at a point
just above the site of Fort Yukon. This place is
probably the only serious obstacle to navigation
that is met with from its mouth to Fort Selkirk,
a distance of over 1,600 miles, the channel here
shifting from year to year, and being at certain
stages of water difficult to find. From Fort Yu-
kon to the mouth thu river has been frequently
traveled and described, rendering further de-
scription unnecessary. Without actually taking
measurements it is exceedingly difficult while
traveling on the river to determine the immense
volume and magnitude of the stream.

The population of the Yukon country is very
sparse. At certain times during the year a trav-
eler might pass down the Yukon from Forty-
Mile Creek to Nuklukayet and hardly see a score
of natives in a distance of 800 miles. The dif-
ferent villages or communities seem to be under
the guidance of chiefs and subchiefs, though
there does not appear to be much authority ex-
erted by them, and I could never ascertain that
this chieftainship was hereditary.

Their mode of transportation in summer time
is by rafts, boats, and birch-bark canoes, and is

Klondike,

ii ,' I

J! \
i : ;

entirely confined to the streams and water
courses; in tlio winter time sleds are used, drawn
by dogs, men or women. Their hmguage is
known to the missionaries as a dialect of Tukudh
(Takuth), but tiiey converse with the traders in
a jargon called "Slavey," a mixture of Canadian
French, ai.d hybrid words of English, something
in the nature of the * "Chinook" of Southeastern
Alaska.

In winter a species of mudfish called blackfish,
found in the lakes, is a great food source, being
caught in quantities in traps during the fall and
winter, allowed to freeze and then **aten raw.
Ijarge quantities of water fowl eggs are obtained
in season, also the birds themselves, it being the
summer home of many varieties of ducks, geese,
swans, and other aquatic fowl. In winter the
only means of traveling is in sleds drawn by
dogs.

Mining cannot be called a success on the
Yukon up to the present time. Since the first
excitement in 1886, there have been few instances
of individuals taking out of the country more
than $2,000 for two, and even three seasons of
privation and hardship. There are but a few iso-
lated cases of more than that amount being
taken out. The majority of the miners are
working on prospects with a heavy account at
the store against them. The hardships of travel-

il!t iii

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

ing to prospect, the short working season, and
the frozen ground are obstacles difficult to over-
come. The prices of supplies at the store are
high considering the small means at the disposal
of the miners, but they are not much more than
barely remunerative to the trader, owing to the
expense and risk of transportation.

The merchandise is carried on the river by
means of stern-wheel steamers, the two prin-
cipal ones belonging to the Alaska Commercial
Company; one of 200 tons and the other of 30
tons capacity, carrying freight and passengers.
On the larger boat there is a white man for
captain and another for engineer; but both
captain and engineer are unlicensed and with-
out papers; the rest of the crew are Indians.
There are three other small steamers, two be-
longing to the Russian and Catholic missionaries
respectively, and one to the trader at Fort Sel-
kirk. All supplies are received at St. Michael,
on Norton Sound, 80 miles north of the mouth
of the Yukon, the furs and gold obtained being
turned over to the Alaska Commercial Com-
pany's agent there, and shipped to San Fran-
cisco. Once a year, in June, missionaries and
traders assemble at St. Michael, and for a few
days that place is doing a rushing business. It
has ^become a regular fair for the natives, who
gather in numbers from various points on the

Klondike.

1 1

coast and river, getting a few days* work from
the company and having the satisfaction of see-
ing the new stock of merchandise.

The influx of miners in the country'has pro-
duced marked changes among the natives, and
not to their benefit morally. The illicit manu-
facture and use of liquor, both by the traders of
the company and miners, is certainly demoraliz-
ing the natives to a great extent. It is openly
carried on both on the upper and lower river.
At Andreafsky, on the lower river, it is a com-
mon sight to see intoxicated ^natives, more
especially in the winter, and the natives have
now learned the process of making liquor for
themselves, more particularly on the coast, and
on the lower Yukon.

On the coast the temperature varies from 70
degrees Fahrenheit in summer to 40 degrees and
45 degrees below zero in winter. The late sum-
mer and fall is usually stormy and wet, the snow-
fall in winter being from three to five feet on a
level. Navigation is closed to the outside for
seven months in the year by heavy ice on the sea.
The Yukon River is closed by ice from Novem-
ber to the end of May. In the interior the
climate is drier and warmer in summer, but
many degrees colder in winter, the thermometer
going as low as 60 degrees below zero. The
snowfall is excessive, but less wind prevails here
in winter than on the coast.

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

In speaking of the physical features of the
great Yukon Valley and of its native inhabitants
I prefer to begin with the coast region and
deltoid mouth of the river, following it up and
giving my impressions just as they struck me
during my gradual, frequently interrupted, ad-
vance from the low seaboard to the rocky gorges
of the upper river.

The observant traveler, standing upon the
deck of one of the small stern-wheel boats labor-
iously pushing its way against the powerful cur-
rent of turgid, rolling waters, will be struck with
the immense area of alluvial soil which has been
carried bodily for centuries and ages from the
far interior to the verge of Behring Sea. The
land here is being made and unmade under our
very eyes. The ice-laden freshets of each re-
turning spring never leave unchanged the con-
tour of the shores which but imperfectly confine
the rushing waters. A solid cake of ice, caught
in an eddy and set into swirling motion, grinds
against the loosely constructed bank, and under-
mines it until a mass of sand or clay falls down
upon it. The impetus given by the precipatated
earth drives the ice cake out of the eddy and
sends it adrift upon the current, to be carried on
and on, until stranded again upon the low
beaches of the delta, or some distant island of
the sea, when its cargo of soil will be deposited

lii

:!ii

Khndihe.

as a gift of the great Yukon. On the other
hand, hind-making is going on just as constantly.
The accidental lodgment of one of the gnarled
giants of the inland forests on its way seaward
may cause the formation of a muddy bar or
island within the space of a few years. Thickets
spring up from twigs of willow dej>osited by the
passing flood, or from seed carried by the wind,
and strengthen the new ground, binding to-
gether its component parts with their roots until
it can resist the ordinary pressure of rushing
flood and grinding ice. Even a sudden rise of a
few feet in the water, or an unusually heavy for-
mation of ice on the upper river may undo in a
few moments what nature has been years in
creating. The little island will then dissolve
like snow before the sun, and its component
parts be torn away, and carried suspended in the
raging flood until the neutralizing action of op-
posing tides causes them to settle and scatter
broadcast over the shallow bottom of Behring Sea,
contiguous to the great river's mouth.

Under more congenial skies this vast accumu-
lation of the richest soil would doubtless attract
a teeming population; and who knows whether
this mighty water power may not now be build-
ing for the future, when some slight deviation In
the axis of our whirling globe may unlock the
icy fetters that now bind the land., compelling

(

A Mcmual for Gold Seekers.

man to rely upon the products of the sea alone
for his subsistence, and tefiching him to look but
for scanty favors from Mother Earth. Should
that time come in some far distant period, there
will be here a field of agricultural wealth and
greatness surpassing in range and possibilities
that of the acient Nile. The very sea is aiding
in building up and enriching this possible gran-
ary of future geologic ages, by sending its finny
denizens by countless millions up into every vein
and artery of the vast, surging and throbbing
water system, impregnating both soil and water
with minute deposits of highly fertilizing quali-
ties.

The main features of the boundary line be-
tween Alaska and Canada are the irregular line
extending from the head of Portland Inlet in
latitude .56 degrees, around the waters of the
great archipelago Alexander, at a distance not
greater than ten marine leagues from the con-
tinental shore, to the 141st meridian west of
Greenwich, and the straight line running thence
to the Arctic Ocean on that meridian. Where
this irregular line meets the 141st meridian rises
the great Mount St. Elias, which is in latitude
60 degrees 17 minutes and 34.4 seconds, and lon-
gitude 140 degrees, 55 minutes and 19.6 seconds.
This peak is about twenty-seven statute miles
from the ocean shore.

Klondike.

From a point on the 141st meridian and prob-
ably in nearly the same latitude as Mount St.
Elias, the boundary line runs true north to
Demarcation Point on the Arctic . hores — a dis-
tance of 6G0 statute miles.

In this great distance the line crosses compar-
atively few large streams; at 100 miles it crosses
the head waters of the White Kiver, a tributary
of the Yukon, flowing to the north-northwest;
at 205 miles, an unnamed tributary of the White
Kiver. At the last distance on the boundary
line the Yukon River lies forty miles to the east-
ward at a well-known bend and gorge known as
the Upper Ramparts. The river continues on a
northerly course nearly parallel with the bound-
ary line for seventy-five miles to old Fort Reli-
ance, near the Klondike, and thence trends
seventy-five miles northwest by north, to where
the boundary line crosses it at 335 miles from
Mount St. Elias. The boundary line next crosses
a little-known river called the Big Black,
a tributary of the Lower Porcupine, at 445
miles; and the Porcupine River, one of the
great tributaries of the Yukon, at 510 miles; this
is the last river of much size that it encounters.
As it runs northward it meets the upper waters of
the Old Crow River, which heads in Turner's
Pass of the Davidson range; crosses this great
range at 595 miles, where the elevation was esti-

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

mated by Turner to be 7,000 feet; and at 660
miles reaches Demarcation Point on the Arctic
shore, about 150 miles west-northwest from the
delta of the Mackenzie Kiver in Canada.

This boundary line traverses an almost un-
known country; it passes over mountain ranges,
reaching 10,000 feet elevation; and the country
is utterly impassable for the first 100 miles north
of the St. Elias range. The longest stretches of
reconnaissance on the line were made by young
John H. Turner, of the Coast and Geodetic Sur-
vey, from Camp Colonna on the Porcupine, which
is sixty miles north of the Arctic circle. With
three aids and dog teams he crossed the hitherto
unknown Davidson range, at the pass named after
himself, at an elevation of 3,500 feet, encounter-
ing one blizzard when the temperature was 50 or
60 degrees below zero. His second trip was forty
miles south of his camp, toward his colleague,
John E. McGrath, at Camp Davidson on the
Yukon. He thus reconnoitered 200 miles of the
boundary line, through a country never before
traversed by a white man, and in his zeal con-
tracted a chronic disease, which carried him off
two years after his return home.

Where the Yukon crosses the boundary line its
course, which is northwest by north from Fort
Reliance, continues in a general direction to the
northwest for 235 miles to the deserted Fort

mmmfmamm

Klo7idike,

Yukon at the mouth of the PorcMpine. All that
part of the Yukon Kiver to the eastward of the
141st meridian, and all its principal tributaries
come from the southeastward; the principal
river under different names reaching within a
few miles of the head waters of the Stickeen.
The headwaters of the main tributary, the
Lewis River, reach nearly into Alaska Territory
at the White Pass, the Chilkoot Pass and the
Chilkat Pass, just north of Lynn Canal.

The geograpliical position of Fort Reliance, an
old station of the Hudson Bay Company, on the
right bank of the river, is latitude 64 degrees 13
minutes, longitude 138 degrees 50 minutes, or 50
statute miles east of thr boundary line of the 141st
degree. The stream named Klondike Creek
enters the Yukon about six or eight miles higher
up than Fort Reliance, and on the same side of
the river. So far as known it comes from the
east-northeast for about one hundred miles, and
is reported *navig«ble by canoes for forty or fifty
miles from its mouth.

Whatever doubt has been cast upon the posi-
tion of the whole Klondike district being in Brit-
ish Columbia must have arisen from a misunder-
standing of the dispute existing upon the proper
location of that part of the boundary line lying
eastward and southward of Mount St. Elias.
The north or meridian line of the boundary has

A Mcmual for Gold Seekers.

been accurately determined at three points — near
Mount St. Elias, at the crossing of the Yukon
River, and at the crossing of the Porcupine River.
The determination of the southern end was made
in 1892 by John E. McGrath and John H.
Turner, of the United States Coast Geodetic
Survey, in combination with a hydrographic
party, which carried chronometers for the diiler-
ence of longitude between Sitka and Yakutat.
At Sitka was Fremont Morse, of the Coast Sur-
vey. At the Yukon River Mr. McGrath and
party spent two years at Camp Davidson, twenty-
three miles below Forty-Mile Creek, observing
meridian transits of the moon, and occultations
of stars by the moon, for longitude. His observ-
atory being a little distance off the 141st
meridian, he measured to that meridian and
marked it. Mr. Ogilvie, on behalf of the Cana-
dian Government, also observed for the longi-
tude at another and independent point, and then
measured to the 141st meridian.

The latest information places the two inde-
pendent determinations of this meridianal
boundary line within the width of a few feet.
So there cannot be the remotest possibility of any
friction between the two governments upon this
question. We know the strong and high character
of Mr. McGrath, and Mr. Ogilvie has likewise
a reputation of the highest character. The only

Klondike.

local dispute that could possibly arise would be
in the Forty-Mile Creek district; because the
boundary lino crosses sharp, steep, mountain
ridges 3,500 and 3,000 feet high and an inferior
instrumental means might cause a slight doubt of
the direction in some case. However, no dispute
has arisen in the district, nor is it likely that any
will occur. There is no doubt that the line has
been satisfactorily laid down by Mr. Ogilvie or
some of his assistants.

In quitting the subject, the longitude station
of Mr. Turner may be referred to. After ob-
taining a series of satisfactory results he made a
topographical reconnaissance of the Porcupine to
its mouth, a distance of 140 miles as the crow
flies.

There is little doubt that the Klondike gravel
deposits, as far as they go, are the richest ever
discovered. In the early days of placer mining
in California as rich deposits were found in
pockets here and there, but never extensive
deposits which averaged as high. There have
come no competent opinions or accounts from
mining experts, and there are at hand no state-
ments of what any of the deposits have averaged
to the cubic yard or ton, but the stories of the
generally inexperienced miners, the results in
gold dust, and the prices of $50,000 or more
for which claims have been sold, establish the

A Mcmual for Gold Seekers.

general richness of the fields. The excep-
tional concentration of alluvial gold is undoubt-
edly due to the geographical, or rather topo-
graphical conditions under which nature washed
the gold into the big sluices, which the valleys
are in effect. Descriptive accounts by intelli-
gent mining engineers, mineralogists, and geol-
ogists, will be read with great interest whenever
they arrive.

The Klondike fields are comparatively limited
in extent. The Klondike is a small tributary of
the upper Yukon, and the richest deposits are
found in the beds of some of the short and small
creeks that empty into it. Whether any other
placers as rich exist in that region remains to be
seen. The placers which have been worked with
fair success for five or six years by an increasing
number of men are in the beds of water courses,
fifty to a hundred miles down the Yukon on the
Alaskan side of the boundary, and close to the
point where the boundary, the Yukon River and
the Arctic circle cross each other. These have
now all been abandoned for the far richer dig-
gings found fifty miles or so across the boundary,
as it is unofficially supposed to be located.

For the time the placer diggings engross atten-
tion, but more significant than the gold found in
the frozen gravel of the water courses is the evi-
dence they present of the existence of rich quartz

Klondike.

! 1

ledges, from which the gold has been eroded.
The veins from which nature has milled this gold
are hidden somewhere above, and will be found.
A great quartz-mining development in the inte-
rior of Alaslca, and in the most northerly region
of the Northwest Territory, may be confidently
predicted. No quartz ledges have yet been
found, and none have been looked for. There
are the most insuperable difficulties presented by
any gold region of the world to overcome before
the era of quartz-mining makes a faint begin-
ning.

The country is extremely difficult to prospect.
The summers are short, the ground is covered by
thick, stunted growths and tangled moss, and
is perpetually frozen a little under the sur-
face. The transportation of anything in the
way of mining machinery would now be
enormously expensive. But the quartz-mining
era will come. Already coal deposits of value
are announced. The Government of British
Columbia is moving to accede to the popular de-
mand for the opening of a trail to the new region
through British territory, and already the rail-
road, which would be pushed north with the aid
of provincial subsidies if sufficient resources were
discovered, is vaguely talked of. Rich veins of
gold, quartz-mills, and railroad locomotives inside
the Arctic circle reasonably meet the prolonged

A Mcmual/or Gold Seekers.

vision. A few months ago a member of the
United States Geological Survey, who made a
superficial reconnaissance of the Yukon country,
predicted the discovery of quartz veins through-
out a region 300 miles long.

The Yukon country presents strange and new
problems for mining engineering. Present oper-
ations are of the crudest, and the gold-pan stage
of development has not been passed. The rich
gravel lies a few ftet under the streams, which
are frozen up most of the year. The gravel has
to be mined out during the winter, when every-
thing is frozen solid, by sinking shafts and drift-
ing in below the frozen streams, by alternately
thawing the ground with fires and hoisting the
dirt to the dumps. When capitalists get hold of
some of the richer claims, and send in skilled
mining engineers, there will be a field for ingenu-
ity and reports of much scientific interest.

Professor J. Edward Spurr, of the United
States Geological Survey, has this to say about
the Yukon district:

**Our party crossed to the headwaters of the
Yukon by the Chilkoot Pass, and proceeded by
boat down the Yukon to Forty-Mile Creek. All
of the known placer deposits were examined, and
the origin of the gold in them was traced to
veins of quartz along the headwaters of the vari-
ous streams entering the Yukon.

i.i!

Klondike.

i '

^'Sufficient data was secured to establish the
presence of a gold belt 300 miles in length in
Alaska, which enters the Territory near the
mouth of Forty-Mile Creek and extends west-
ward across the Yukon Valley to the lower
ramparts. Its further extent is unknown. It is
the opinion of the geologist in charge of the ex-
pedition that it is entirely practicable to prose-
cute quartz mining throughout the year in this
region. He discovered along the river large
areas of rocks containing hard bituminous coal.
Running in a direction a little west of northwest
through the territory examined is a broad, con-
tinuous belt of highly altered rocks. To the east
this belt is known to be continuous for 100
miles or more in British territory. The rocks
constituting this belt are mostly crystalline
schists associated with marbles and sheared
quartzites, indicating sedimentary origin for a
large part of the series. These altered sedimen-
tary rocks have been shattered by volcanic action.

* 'Throughout these altered rocks there were
found veins of quartz often carrying pyrites and
gold. Many of the veins have been cut, sheared
and torn into fragments by the force that has
transformed sedimentary rocks into crystalline
schist, but there are others containing gold,
silver and copper that have not been badly
broken.

^^ill

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

"These more continuous ore-bearing zones have
not the character of ordinary quartz veins, al-
though they contain much silica. Instead of the
usual white quartz veins the ore occurs in
sheared and altered zones of rock, and gradually
runs out on both sides. So far as is known these
continuous zones of ore are of relatively low
grade. Concerning the veins of white quartz
first mentioned, it is certain that most of them
which contain gold carr^ it only in small quanti-
ties, and yet some few are known to be very rich
in places, and it is extremely probable that there
are many in which the whole of the ore is of
comparatively high grade.

"The general character of the rocks and of the
ore deposits is extremely like that of gold-bear-
ing formations along the southern coast of
Alaska, in which the Treadwell and other mines
are situated, and it is probable that the richness
of the Yukon rocks is approximately equal to
that of the coast belt. It may be added that the
resources of the '^'in.st belt have been only par-
tially explored.

"Since the formation of the veins and other de-
posits of the rocks of the gold belt an enormous
length of time has elapsed. During that time the
forces of erosion have stripped off the overlying
rocks and exposed the metalliferous veins at the
surface for long periods, and the rocks of the

Klondilce.

gold belt, with the veins which they include,
have crumbled and been carried away by the
streams to bo deposited in widely diilerent places
as gravels, or sands, or mud. In Alaska the
streams have been carrying away the gold from
the metalliferous belt for a very long period, so
that particles of the precious metal are found in
D'jarly all parts of the Territory.

**It is only in the immediate vicinity of the
gold-bearing belt, however, that the particles of
gold are large and plentiful enough to repay
working under present conditions. Where a
stream heads in the gold belt the richest diggings
are likely to be near its extreme upper part.
This upper part of the current is so swift that
the lighter material and the finer gold are car-
ried away, leaving in many places a rich deposit
of coarse gold, overlaid by coarse gravel, the
pebbles being so large as to hinder rapid trans-
portation ' ' water.

**It is such conditions that the diggings

whi(^ . ow being worked are found, with

son inportant exceptions. The rich gulches

of the Forty-Mile district, and of the Birch Crr ek
district, as well as other fields of less importance,
all head in the gold-bearing formation. A short
distance below the heads of these gulches the
stream valley broadens, and the gravels contain
finer gold more widely distributed.

A Manual for Gold Seekers,

"Along certain parts -of the stream this fine
gold is concentrated by favorable currents and is
often profitably washed, this kind of deposit com-
ing under the head of bar diggings. Gold in
these more extensive gravels is often present in
sufficient quantity to encourage the hope of suc-
cessful extraction at some future time when
work can be done more cheaply and with suitable
machinery. The extent of these gravels which
are of possible value is very great."

The future agriculturist and stock-raiser in
the region of which Dawson is now the gilded
capital, must take into consideration the long
and severe winter season, and the frozen moss-
covered ground. The land, however, can be
made serviceable by turning the surface mosa
and opening the soil to the influence of the sun
and air in summer time. In this way some
small areas have .^een brought under cultivation.

The returned miners r port that many large
stretches of burnt country have undergone a
complete change of vegetation after two burn-
ings.

The cereals have hardly been experimented
with, though there is a tradition that the Hud-
son Bay Company at Fort Yukon had a small
quantity of barley coming to maturity.

Barley has been raised in small quantities at
FoH-y-Miie Creek, Potatoes J?'"^ done well at

Klondike.

-i-

all points on the river, but the seed has been
difficult to obtain.

Stock can be kept by using care in providing
abundant winter feed by ensilage, or curing
natural grass hay, and housing it in the winter.

In summer time an abundance of the finest
grass is to be found almost everywhere for hur-
dred of miles in the neighborhood of Dawson.

The ingrefs of gold-seekers along the Klondike
has visibly a.'ected the modes of living among
the natives, who are now forsaking their more
primitive habits for those of the miners. At
Forty-Mile Creek members of the Takudh tribe
have built themselves log cabins which they in-
habit the year round, and they fully appreciate
the advantages of stoves and clothing from "the
States."' The younger Indians are more fastidi-
0U3 in their dress than the average white man.
They are industrious and fairly enterprising,
many of them working successfully at mining
for wages paid by the whites, and some are min-
ing on their own account.

As far back as 1860 a deposit of gold was
found in the basin of the Yukon by a prospector
named George Holt. He also reported the find-
ing of coarse specimens along the Hootalinqua
Eiver. But it was the discovery of gold near
Sitka in 1873, followed by the finds in the vicin-
ity of Junea'^ n 1890, that drew att^ution to the

A JIanual for Gold Seekers.

possibilities of the newly acquired Territory of
Alaska as a gold-producing country. The great
abundance of gold was lirst made known by
Joseph Juneau, who prospected in the region
around the city bearing his name. In 1885 min-
ing prospectors began to scatter themselves
along the rivers Pelly and Hootalinqua, and in
the year following much mention was made of
the Stuart River as a field for the enterprising
gold-hunter. Rich strikes were made in 1893 by
prospectors along Miller Creek, a tributary of
Sixty-Mile Creek. The progress made in finding
gold along the Alaskan and British Columbian
Rivers, although giving high promise of ture
discoveries of gold, was not followed by any-
thing which created a widespread adventurous
spirit among people who were outside the min-
ing region.

To the daring spirit of Peter the Great belongs
the honor of the Russian expeditions which led
to the discovery of Alaska. The czar conceived
the ambitious project of founding an American
Russia, and thus extending his dominions over
three continents. The leadership of these ex-
plorations he intrusted to Vitus Behring, a Dan-
ish captain in the Russian service. On February
5, 1725, the expedition set out overland through
Siberia, and three days later the czar died, but hia
instructions were faithfully carried out by Catb-^
erine, his wife, and Elizabeth, his daughter.

Klondike.

Ifj.;

III'

This arduous work of exploring the Siberian
coast and waters continued for sixteen years be-
fore the Alaskan coast was sighted. The second
Kamschatkan expedition was six years in cross-
ing Siberia. It was. in the spring of 1714 that
Behring and his lieutenant Chirikof put out into
Behring Sea, whose waters his chief had discov-
ered on a previous expedition. They had two
small vessels. One was commanded by Behring,
the other by Chirikof. The little craft became
separated at sea, and were never reunited.
Chirikof bore away to the east, and during the
night of July 15, 1741, sighted land in latitude
55.21. It was afterward disclosed that this was
thirty-six hours in advance of Behring's discovery
of the mainland of America.

Chirikof sent a parly ashore in one of his
small boats, to explore the immediate country
and secure fresh water. Soon after leaving the
vessel they passed around a rocky point and dis-
appeared from sight. As they failed to return
at the appointed time, another boat's crew Wc i
sent ashore. Soon a great smoke was seen aris-
ing from the shore, and kWO large canoes, filled
with threatening natives came out from the land.
They refused to board the strange ship, and it
dawned upon Chirikof that all the men he had
sent ashore had been massacred. This reduced
his crew to small numbers, and Chirikof decided
to return to the Kamschf ^^an coast.

i^-

A Marmot for Gold Seekers.

►■

The return voyage was attended with frightful
hardships and suffering. Scurvy attacked the
men, many died, and the others were rendered
helpless by sickness. After weeks of this suffer-
ing, the vessel reached the Kamschatkan coast,
with only the pilot on deck. Chirikof was one
of the first stricken with scurvy, but recovered.

Behring's party suffered even greater hardships.
After sighting the coast and making a landing,
Behring gave orders to lift anchor and return to
Kamschatka. The ship becam'3 lost in the maze
of islands, and was wrecked upon a barren is-
land. There the survivors passed the winter,
many of them dying. Caves were dug in the
sandbank of a little stream, and a scanty and un-
certain food supply was obtained by killing sea
animals and resorting to the flesh of dead whales
cast upon the beach. Behring died on this island
December 8, 1741.

In the spring the handful of survivors con-
structed a boat from their wrecked vessel and
succeeded in working their way back to the
Siberian coast, where they were received with
great rejoicing, having long been given up for
dead.

Among the peoqle who have Just returned
from the new Klondike gold mines are men who
had been for more than ten years facing the
dangers and hardships of the frozen North in

Klondike.

the hope of making a rich find, and signally
failed. Now tliey come back with fortunes
stowed in their gripsacks and stories of untold
millions to be picked up in the country of which
so little is known. The new El Dorado lies just
across the Alaskan boundary, in British terri-
tory. It is of recent discovery; but already there
are at least 5,000 people on tlie ground, and
more are flocking in that direction. The dis-
covery of the Klondike region presents a story
that is uncommonly interesting. Around Forty-
Mile Camp, on the Yukon, is a tribe of Indians
known as the Slickers, and with them is a man
who, years ago, was known as George Cormack,
but who is now called **Slick George." In Sep-
tember last, at the head of a party of Indians,
he left his hut near Forty-Mile Camp, and
started in a southerly direction, saying that he
intended to find a new gold field before his re-
turn. He came back two weeks later and
startled the miners with the announcement that
forty miles away there was gold to be found in
plenty. The streams abounded with the yellow
metal, and all that was needed was for somebody
to pick it up. Many persons flocked to the
place, and in time the word reached Forty-Mile
Camp that untold riches could be found along
the bottom of Bonanza Creek and its tribu-
taries. Men who had failed at the former camp

\:\

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

immediately packed up their belongings and set
out for the new fields. It was a hard and trying
journey, but that was nothing with the promise
of millions at the end of the route.

The Yukon River, which crosses Alaska from
east to west and empties into the Pacific a little
south of Behring Strait, is said to be a mightier
stream than the Columbia. River steamers nav-
igate it hundreds of miles from its mouth. Pas-
sengers from Seattle are usually transferred from
ocean steamships to these vessels at St. Michael's
Island, near the mouth of the Yukon. The
source of the river is in British territory, 300 or
300 miles south of the point where the stream
crooks away westward into Alaska. In fact, it
may be said to drain very jiearly the same moun-
tain slopes as the Fraser, Columbia, Peace, and
Stickine. It was natural, therefore, to expect
that gold would be found along the main chan-
nel of the Y'^ukon or some of its tributaries.
Explorers were sent out from two bases. One
set went up the river from its mou^h, traversing
the whole of Alaska from west to east, and
another pushed up from the south, from the vi-
cinity of Juneau, through Chilkat Pass. An
American company established trading stations
near the source of the river five or six years ago.
Most of the prospecting has been done either be-
tween this locality and the point where the river

Klondike.

crossed into Alaska, or within the first 100 miles
over the line. Fine gold dust in small quanti-
ties was found at the mouth of the Porcupine
River, a stream that joins the Yukon about 100
miles west of the boundary, and also near the
mouth of Forty-Mile Creek, most of whose course
lies in Alaska, but which crosses into British ter-
ritory before emptying into the big river. Fort
Cudahy is situated here, and Circle City, where
there were other mining camps, is about fifty
miles further west. These places are about 1800
or 1900 miles from the sea, if one travels by
steamboat, and in the winter are completely cut
off from the outer world. The Klondike Kiver is
not to be found, or, at least, is not easily identified
on most maps; it is a small stream, like Forty-
Mile Creek, and discharges into the Yukon not
many miles from the eastern boundary of Alaska.
Still, Seattle papers advertise transportation to
the Klondike region to Fort Cudahy and Circle
City, by ocean steamers that transfer to river
boats at St. Michael's Island!

The district is intersected by the 65th
parallel of north latitude, and has an Arctic
climate. The gravel is frozen solid all the year
except for a few weeks, or at most two or three
months, and has to be thawed out in some way
before the gold can be separated. The streams
which supply the water for washing the dirt also

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

freeze up. Hence placer mining must be con-
ducted there under great disadvantages. The
new camp is peculiar for several reasons. The

nadian provincial police do not allow the men
to carry arms. If the miners get drunk and
fight they use their fists, and the land laws are so
good that no claim-jumping is possible. Daw-
son City now has 4,000 people, and it is ex-
pected that 2,000 more will swarm in before snow
flies and the trail from Juneau is closed for the
winter.

The strike was made in the Klondike region
in August and September, 1896, but the news
did not get even to Circle City until December
15, when there was a great stampede over the
300 miles intervening between there and the
newer fields. During the winter, when the
streams entering into the Klondike were frozen
solid, work in 100 claims was prosecuted, and
heaps of frozen gravel were piled up on the
banks of the streams awaiting to be thawed out
in the spring. The gold is found under from 13
feet to 20 feet of sand and gravel at the bed of the
creek. Through the ice the miners burned
holes with fire, and then blasted out the pay dirt
on the benches of bed rock. On August 12
George Cormack made the first great strike on
Bonanza Creek, and on August 19 seven claims
were filed in that region. Word got to Forty-

Klondihe.

Mile and Circle City, but the news was looked
upon as a rumor. On December 15, however,
authentic news was carried to Circle City by J.
M. Wilson, of the Alaska Commercial Company,
and Thomas O'Brien, a trader.

The towns of Circle City and Forty-Mile, on
the Yukon, were deserted a week after the news
reached there late in the spring, and the residents
adjourned en masse to the Klondike.

The country covered by Klondike camp is small
in ares, extending from the mouth of the river
only nine miles west. There is an immense
reach of country beyond which has not as yet
been prospected. At this rate Alaska's popula-
tion will be trebled in a year. Those who made
the 300 miles iirst struck it richest. Of all the
200 claims staked out on the Bonanza and Eldo-
rado Creeks not one has proved a blank. Not
less than 300 claims have been staked out. The
largest nugget yet found was picked up on Claim
No. 6, on the Bonanza, and was worth $260.
Some have brought out but a portion of their
clean-up, preferring to invest other portions in
mines they knew to ^e rich. Among the most
lucky are J. J. Clements, of Los Angelos, who has
cleaned up about $170,000; he brought out $50,-
000 and invested the res;; Professor T.C. Lippy,
of Seattle, who brought out about $50,000 and
claims to have $150^000 in sight, and thinks his

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

mine is worth $500,000 or more; William Stan-
ley, of Seattle, who cleaned up $100,000, and
Clarence Berry, the same. All this gold is the
clean-up of last winter's work.

The stories of the returned miners vary only
in the details of their good fortune. L. B.
Rhodes, an old miner, tells the following story:
**I am located on Claim No. 21, above the dis-
covery on Bonanza Creek. I was among the for-
tunate ones, as I cleared about $40,000; but
brought only $5,000 with me. I was the first
man to go to bed rock gravel, and to discover
that it was lined with gold dust and nuggets.
The rock was seamed and cut in V-shaped
streaks, caused, it is supposed, by glacial action.
In these seams I found a clay which was exceed-
ingly rich. In fact, there was a stratum of pay
gravel 4 feet thick upon the rock, which was lined
with gold, particularly in these channels or
streaks. The rock was about 16 feet from the
surface. That discovery made the camp. It
was made on October 23, 1896, and as soon as
the news spread everybody rushed to the dig-
gings from Circle City, forty miles away, and
every other camp in the district. There was a
lack of food. We had nothing but what was
sledded from Forty-Mile. Flour sold as high as
$45 a sack, and shovels at $18. I invested my
money in another claim^ a two-thirds divided in-

Klondike.

■ I

terested in Claim No. 23. If I had not bought
in I could have brought out at least $25,000, but
the investment there is the best security, and
pays interest from 15 to 25 per cent, a year.'*

The Alaska MinUig Record, published in
Juneau, contains letters stating that the stories
told are not exaggerated. "One hundred dol-
lars to the pan is very common. One can hardly
believe it, but it is true, nevertheless. A very
hard country to live in on account of the mos-
quitoes and poor grub, but healthy and a show
to make a ten-strike. There is nothing a man
could eat or wear that he cannot get a good price
for. First-class rubber boots are worth from an
ounce to $25 per pair. The price of flour has
been raised from $4 to $6 and was selling at $50
when we arrived, as it was being freighted from
Forty-Mile. One boat has already reached
here, and another is expected to-day. Big
money can be made by bringing small outfits over
the trail this fall. Wages have been $15 per day
all winter, though a reduction to $10 was at-
tempted; but the miners quit work." Another
letter says: ''It will pay to bring anything here
which can be carried in; the demand is good,
and prices such that there is money in anything
that can be brought in."

In speaking of American miners in the Yukon
and through Canadian territory, Governor Mack-

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

intosh, of the Northwest Territories, said
that those who have made discoveries and
complied with the laws are on the same
plane as British subjects, and entitled to the
same rights, privileges and protection. This,
according to Governor Mackintosh, is in line
with the policy of the Canadian Government
in its desire to encourage the best American
miners, who are considered the best miners in
the world, to go to the Northwest Territory and
assist in its development.

He then spoke of the unwritten laws of the
district and of the sense of honor that prevails
among the men who have gone into the district
as miners. Inspector Strickland had told him
that he had walked into a cabin in which more
than a quarter of a million dollars lay unpro-
tected. While its value was recognized on all
sides, no attempt was made at any time to steal
it. Food that is cached along the trails is un-
molested. If a hungry man passes along he
takes a nibble, but that is all. There are un-
written laws of the miners that have a founda-
tion of honor, and if any violation of the customs
of the district were perpetrated it would be a
sorry day for the person who tried to take ad-
vantage of the trust imposed upon all.

Governor Mackintosh said that in this much-
discuss^ district the gold area is not confined.

.1,1

' 'i

Klondike.

There are nearly 9,000 miles of waterways con-
necterl with and tributary to the McKenzio,
Porcupine, Laird, Peily, Lewis and Yukon
Rivers, not mentioning the. Stuart and Hoota-
linqua Kivers. Some of these are very large
creeks from twenty to fifty feet wide. All have
gold-bearing gravel.

For instance, Dominion Creek appears to prom-
ise quite as rich a yield as the Klondike. "To
be candid," said Mr. Mackintosh, "it would
seem as though this placer area will be inexhaust-
ible, and possible to work for years to come,
while the old Hudson Bay explorers state that
some of the quartz mines north and west of the
Yukon will yield from $200 to $300 per ton,
free-milling ore. Added to this the timber sup-
ply in various sizes follows all of the water
stretches. Coal has been found in the valley of
Forty-Mile Creek and at other points."

The governor states that his disposition is not
to encourage wild excitement or to foster an un-
desirable quality of emigration. He does not
think that any one should go who is not well
provided with everything demanded by the con-
ditions of the rigorous climate.

The area hastily examined during last season
is but a portion of the great interior of Alaska.
That gold occurs over a large extent of country
has been d^^^rmined, but the richness of the

•|-!f ' i :

i»

A Mcmual for Gold Seehers.

various veins and lodes remains to be ascer-
tained by actual mining operations. Gold is
known to occur in the great unexplored regions
Bouth of the Yukon, ber^uso of its presence in
the wash of the streams, ctnd it is quite probable
that the Yukon gold belt extends to the north
and west, but this can be determined only by
further exploration.

There is a comparatively unknown region
north of Cook's Inlet. M'ps show that the
Alaska Mountains are broken down north of
Cook's Inlet, and that the Sushitna River ex-
tends almost directly north 150 miles, when it
branches, one large tributary coming from the
west and another from the northeast. The latter
was followed up northward 200 miles to a large
lake.

"Talk about it being hot here to-day," sr^id
one bearded Yukoner to a Seattle man, "whj*.
this is cool weather compared to what we get
during the Alaskan summer along the valley of
the Yukon. The sun swings around there in a
circle for three months, just dipping below the
horizon part of the time for a night which is
from three minutes to three hours long. It is
one day for six weeks, when the sun never sets,
and the only night is one conjured up in the
imagination. Talk about it being hot. Why,
up in the Yukon Valley in the foothills, the

Klondike.

average temperature during the summer is 105
to 120 degrees. It never rains and the heat is
pitiless. The atmosphere is dry, however, and
one can stand the heat better than in India, say,
where the heat is mixed with humidity.'*

"There is a peculiar thing about the valley of
the Yukon and all southeastern Alaska, in fact,"
says Mr. Swineford, who from 1885 to 1890 was
governor of that part of the United States, and
is now government inspector of surveyors-general
and district land officers, and who owns large
mining properties in Alaska. "That is the per-
petual verdure during the summer months. No
matter how hot it is nor how dry — the rain may
not fall from the beginning of June until the
close of summer or the last of August — yet the
grass and shrubbery will be as green and luxuriant
as it is here now. Your verdure this summer,
on account of the excessive rainfall, is something
like that in the interior of Alaska, dark green
and sturdy, full of life, like a healthy, robust
man. In Alaska, however, the luxuriance and
virility of the verdure is due to the fact that the
ground never thaws below a depth of six to ten
feet. No matter how hot it is, the hotter the
better, the frozen ground continually gives up to
the roots of the grasses and growing grains a
life-giving moisture.

"The Yukon Valley is like the valley of ^he Eed

itii

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

Kiver of the North in Minnesota. Although the
mines are rivh and easily worked it costs a small
fortune to get them in condition to mine, and it
costs lots of money to live and to transport the
gold dust to a market. The average young man
who makes up his mind to strike for the Yukon
gold fields imagines that his journey is ended
when he reaches Juneau — that he has but to
step across the country and he is at the Yukon.
He will find, however, that he is greatly mis-
taken. On arriving at Juneau ho will have to
get an outfit that will cost him from ^500 to $600,
and then he will have to cross a wild mountain-
ous country, along Indian trails. He will have
to cross four large lakes and make three portages
before he reaches the Yukon River. Arrived
there, however, it is comparatively easy sailing
uutil he comes to a likely tributary, up which he
will have to work to a placer field.

"In summer the heat is something awful in the
valleys of those little tributaries, and the miner
is compelled to wear a closely-woven mosquito
netting over his face and gloves on his hands, to
keep from being blinded by the mosquitoes and
black flies, which swarm in countless numbers in
the valleys. So bad are they that the sleeves at
the wrists and the trousers at the ankles must be
tied tightly, or the little pests will crawi iTiside.
Their sting ^ms to be more venomo ' than

Ml
11

IRMi

Klondike.

iS ; ^ ;

that of the mosquito and black fly here. It is
impossible to keep domestic animals in the val-
leys — the flies will blind them in a day. All the
wild animals, the reindeer, elk, etc., remain on
the mountains during the summer.

*'\Vhat the country needs above all things is
communication with the outside world. If the
government at Washington would make some
arrangement whereby the Canadians could get a
port of entry on the disputed part of the coast,
it would be a great boon to Alaska, as well as to
this part of the Northwest Territory. Most of
the men who ''hit it" are Americans, whose gold
will go to San Francisco and the United States.
Because of the lack of adequate communication
with the civilized Avorld the miners are in con-
stant fear lest supplies should give out. Many
articles can be had but for a limited time after
the arrival of a steamer, and those who are not
fortunate enough to get a supply at that time
must do without for weeks and months, no
matter how much gold they may have to make
purchases with. The scarcity may be one of
provisions, window sashes, or gum boots, but al-
ways there is a scarcity there of some important
article. Generally there is never enough of any-
thing, and only the opening up of communica-
tion with the coast by some other route than the
mouth of the Yukon offers any pn^speot of ade-

) I

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

quate relief. If the Canadians had a port of
entry they would have commerce coming down
the river from the direction of Junean, and the
country would not be dependent upon the scanty
supplies coming 1,900 miles up the Yukon from
Behring Sea."

There are lots of creeks as yet unprospected
and lots of gold to be had, and it is all right if
you go fully prepared for the worst. The first
year must be practically lost, so the only show is
for a man to buy some claim or go to work.
The rate of wages will fall, and he will be again
badly off.

The country is well timbered about Klondike.
The summer is dry, hot and pleasant. Grain is
mostly a failure. Turnips and radishes will
flourish, and potatoes, though small, will grow
well. Cabbages will not head at all. Fodder is
abundant, and cattle could be easily kept if they
were taken into the country.

The growth of plants is rapid after the snow
disappears. In June the sun sets about 10:30
P.M. and rises about 3 a.m. Even at midnight,
however, it is almost as light as at noonday.

The mean temperature of Klondike for the
four seasons is as follows:

Spring, 14.22; summer, 59.67; autumn, 17.37;
winter— 30.80.

Think of it — a mean winter temperature of

I-

li; i
I! !

Klondike.

thirty degrees below zero! The winter fall of
snow is between five and ten feet.

The following table of distances on the over-
land trip will be found of interest:

MILES

Seattle to Juneau 899

Juneau to Dyea 100

Dyea to foot of canyon 7

Foot of canyon to Sheep Camp 6

Sheep Camp to summit .... 5

Summit to head of Lake Lindermann 9

Lake Lindermann (length) 6

Foot Lake Lindermann to head Lake Bennett 1

Lake Bennett (length) 26

Foot Lake Bennett to head Tagish Lake 2.7

Tagish Lake (length) 16*

Foot Tagish Lake to head Mud Lake 6

Mud Lake (length) 20

Foot Mud Lake to Grand Canyon 8^

Grand Canyon to White Horse Rapids 2

White Horse Rapids to Tahkeena River 16

Tahkeena River to head Lake Le Barge 14

Lake Le Barge (length) 81

Foot Lake Le Barge to Hootalinqua River 80

Hootalinqua River to Big Salmon River. 84

Big Salmon River to Little Salmon River 87

Little Salmon River to Five Fingers 60

Five Fingers to Fort Selkirk 58

Fort Selkirk to Stuart River 118

Stuart River to Sixty-Mile 21

Sixty-Mile to Dawson City 49

Dawson City to Forty-Mile 52

Forty-Mile to Fort Cudahy 40

Fort Cudahy to Circle City 240

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 65

The following tableg ives the places and dis-
tances when making the outride trip by way
of St. Michael's:

MILES

Seattle to St. Michael's 8,000

St. Michael's to Kutlik 100

Kutlik to Andreafsky 125

Andreafsky to Holy Cross 135

Holy Cross to Koserofsky 5

Koserofsky to Anvik 75

Anvik to Nulate 225

Nulate to Novikakat 145

Novikakat to Tanana ... 80

Tanana to Fort Yukon 450

Fort Yukon to Circle City. 80

Circle City to Forty-Mile 240

Forty-Mile to Dawson City 52

From Juneau the distances to various points
are as follows:

MILES

To Haines (Chilkat) 80

To head of canoe navigation 106

To Summit of Chilkoot Pass 115

To Lake Lindermann Landing 124

To head of Lake Bennett 129

To boundary line between British Columbia and

Northwest Territory 189

To foot of Lake Bennett 155

To foot of Caribou Crossing 158

To foot of Takou Lake 175

To Takish House. 179

To head of Mud Lake 180

Klondike.

MILES

To foot of Lake Marsh 200

To head of canyon 325

To head of White Horse Rapids 228

To Tahkeena River 240

To head of Lake Le Barge 256

To foot of Lake Le Barge 287

To Hootalinqua 320

To Cassiar Bar 347

To Little Sahnon River 390

To Five Fingers 451

To Pelly River 510

ToStnart River 630

To Forty-Mile Creek 750

From Juneau to Sitka the distance is 160
miles; Juneau to Wrangel, 148 miles; Juneau to
Seattle, 899 miles, and to San Francisco, 1,596
miles.

11'

\ i

■..,«.»».M(«.<»*i--n».*>» '

■0

The'Ascent of Chilkoot Pass,— Page 67.

? I

J ;

'i'\
• I

!! i

A Manual for Gold /Seekers,

THE KLONDIKE TRAIL.

There are at least six routes to the Klondike.

The first and easiest is by steamer from San
Francisco, or Seattle, to St. Michael's Island
near the mouth of the river.

The second is over the Chilkoot Pass.

The third crosses the White Pass.

The fourth leads from Telegraph Creek on the
Stickeen River to the headwaters of the Lewis
branch of the Yukon.

The fifth is an overland trail from Edmonton
to the headwaters of the Pelly.

The sixth is by water down the Athabasca and
Mackenzie Rivers to Fort Simpson, and from
thence over the mountains to the head of the
Porcupine, a tributary of the Yukon.

This route may be varied by making Winnipeg
instead of Edmonton the starting point, and so
reaching the Athabasca by way of Lake Winni-
peg-

All will be found described in the following

chapter.
The all-water route, by way of the mouth of

T-

Klondike.

till I

iir;

the Yukon, is a fifteen days' voyage from Seattle
to St. Michael. One goes straight out into the
Pacific toward Japan for 1,800 miles. Then one
turns through Unimak Pass to the Aleutian
Islands, and touches for a day at the port of
Dutch Harbor. Thence one sails away to the
North across Behring Sea and past the Seal
Islands, 800 miles beyond, to the port of St.
Michael. This is a transfer point, and the end
of the ocean voyage, At St. Michael, after a
wait of anywhere from a day to two weeks, grant-
ing that the river is open, one may go aboard a
flat-bottomed river steamer for another fifteen or
twenty days' voyage up the Yukon.

If the traveler should arrive at St. Michael
as early as August 25, he would be almost assured
of reaching the mines before cold weather closed
river navigation, but arriving later than that his
chances would be good for either wintering on
the desolate little island of St. Michael, or
traveling by foot and dog sled the 1,900 miles to
the mines after the river had frozen into a safe
highway. As to the probabilities of the ocean
route, a boat leaving Seattle or San Francisco by
August 10 should make safe connections at St.
Michael.

As early as August 1 the New York Sun
warned its readers that: "People who have the
gold fever do not realize that ships and steamers

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

starting for St. Michael, except in few cases,
cannot hope to get through to Klondike the same
year. It has already been reported tliat there is
very little water in the Yukon this year, and it is
doubtful whether the regular river steamers can
get through before the winter freeze-up. Parties
starting for the gold fields in steamers, on the
decks of which are sections of river boats, cannot
put their portable craft together in time, on
reaching St. Michael, to float boats and reach
Dawson City before the season closes. At no
season can gasoline launches be used to advan-
tage on the river, except for transporting goods
part of the way up stream."

The only practical vessel for river trade is a
small flat-bottom river steamer drawing from one
to two feet of water, which can pass over the
sand bars. When the present rush for St.
Michael is over a crowd of fortune-seekers will
head for the Juneau route, which is open nearly
all the year. A number of steamboats will be
put on the Yukon next summer; twenty are now
building. At present, however, there are but
three boats plying above St. Michael on the
Yukon. They are flat-bottomed, stern-wheel
boats, such as are used on the Missouri River. A
fourth one is building. The two companies own-
ing these boats having a monoply on the supplies
of the region.

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■ 1,

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Klondike,

The North American Transportation and
Trading Company run three steamers from San
Francisco to Seattle, thence to St. Michael, and
river boats from St. Michael up the Yukon
Biver to Circle City. A ticket on the steamers
Portland or Excelsior, from Seattle to Circle City
costs $150, and it takes the boats fifteen days to
make the trip. This will not suit your purpose
if you want to start earlier than May 1. The
last boat leaves San Francisco on August 30.

"We have about 5,000 tons of provisions on
the river," said Louis Sloss, president of the
company, ''and we will send in as much more as
possible. It is impossible, however, to know
whether there will be enough for the people, for
I understand that by the close of the open season
Dawson will have three or four times as many
people as it did a month or two ago. If there
are not enough provisions the Alaska company
may bo blamed, but it will not be our fault.
Our boats can carry only so much, and if that is
not enough it is not our fault. We advise every
one to travel overland from Juneau, taking pro-
visions with them. If this were done a probable
famine would be avoided.

"The Excelsior will sail from here to St.
Michael, where it connects with the river boats
to Dawson. These river boats are stern-
wheelers, like the Sacramento river boats, and

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 71

each of them tows a barge loaded with provisions.
The boat that connects with the Excelsior will
be the last to go up the river this season. It
will arrive at Dawson early in September. The
river usually freezes from the first to the fifteenth
of October. Our boat can return down stream
to St. Michael before the river closes, but it can
not go up again until next year.'*

The Excelsior allows 150 pounds of baggage to
each passenger and no more. The space is too
valuable to allow additional accommodations.

The distances from Seattle by the ocean route,
according to Mr. Sloss, are:

MILES

To St. Michael 2,850

" Circle City 4,350

" Forty-Mile 4,600

" Klondike 4,650

Five out of every six miners, however, that
start for the Yukon gold regions before June,
1898, will probably go in by way of Juneau and
either the Chilkoot or the White Passes. All
the first of the rush has been through the
former, and hundreds of tons of freight are
already piled there aw^aiting shipment. Foui
days after leaving Victoria, British Columbia,
you are at Juneau. You already begin to sniff
the placers from afar. Away off to the north are

■»«''

l> i

Klondike.

tho huge white bulwarks which you must cross
before you can reach tlie Ehlorado. Between
you and their summits are tlie leaguo-long levels
of snow, and cold Nature's white death rose.
You will find Juneau a strange little town, damp,
half-frozen and huddled close to the mouth of
an island bay. The queer little houses are dis-
maying. The strange-looking Chilkats walk
about peering from beneath their hooded furs.
Fish, not gold, is their ambition.

Occasionally one appears leading in leash half
a dozen wild-looking dogs. As the camel is the
ship of tho tropic desert, so are these dogs the
little steam engines of the Arctic.

The dominion authorities have sent customs
officers to the head of the Lynn Canal and to
Lake Tagish. There is a collector at Fort
Cudahy, only fifty miles from Dawson City, and
these arrangements, backed up by a strong force
of police, arc considered ample for the protection
of revenue just now.

The greatest question of all is one of corumu-
nication. It is reported that a pack trail exists
for twenty of the eighty miles which separates
the coast from the first post to be established at
GO degrees of north latitude in undisputed Brit-
ish territory. If so, -i ) irrow-guage railway can
be built where iher'3 is a pack trail. Tho cost
would not bo gieat, and if cars could be hauled

A Manual /or Gold Seel'ers.

7:1

twice u (lay over the nioiuitains facing the const,
ti troincjidoua obstacle would be overcome; be-
(;aiise in winter it is impossible to cross tlu!
mountains except at tbe risk of life, and to l)e
caugbt in a storm would be fatal. Tbe mounted
police force will be increased from 20 to 100.

Mounted police posts Avill be established at
distances of fifty miles apart up to Fort Selkirk.
These will be used to open up a winter road,
over which monthly mails will bo sent by dog
trains. If possible a telegraph line will be con-
structed over the mountains from the head of
the Lynn Canal to tlie first post. By the present
method of transportation over the pass, by horse
and Indian packing, it is estimated that it will
require six months to get the present accumula-
tion out of the way, to say nothing of that now
daily piling up at Dyea. The distance over to
the divide is thirty miles, and the ordinary outfit
of the miner is 1,H00 pounds, three days being
consumed in making a round trip. Two hun-
dred pounds is a load for a pack animal, while
the liidians carry from 75 to 150 pounds apiece.
There are now 200 Indians and JJOO horses en-
gaged in packing over this trail, assisted by
1,000 miners, and icnderfeet.

It is sugf^ested that army officers or good
road engineers miglit find an easy solution by
organizing the entire gang, and constructing a

Klondike.

first-class wagon road, a feat that could be ac-
complished in less than thirty days.

One correspondent writes: "There is plenty of
good prospecting ground for years to come, but
it is better to go about it in a systematic manner
than to rush ofE at half-cock. As to reaching
the diggings by the way of Dyea, I have to say
this: I will go in that way in the spring, and by
using a sled carry 1,000 pounds of supplies,
whereas the men who are now attempting that
route will have a hard time to get in with 250
pounds. You see in the spring all the gulches
from Dyea to Lake Lindermann are filled with
snow and ice. You can drag your sled over
them easily. At present you must pack your
goods or hire Indians.

* 'These Indians are sharp and will get white
men to bidding against each other. The man
who pays the highest will secure their services.
Already the Indians have run the price per
pound up to twenty-five cents and more. After
you reach Lake Lindermann you build a raft of
poles and push along to its end; then you have a
portage of a couple of miles before you reach
Lake Bennett. Here you want a boat; but if
you think you will get it easily you may bo
greatly mistaken. The timber is small; it is
hard work to get a tree that will produce 60 feet,
and you need about 350 feet."

.'/'

iu.dnni*^'^'^'^'^'"^'^^^-'"'^ '""

A Manual for Gold /Seekers.

In approaching Juneau the vessel is often sub-
jected to the tierce winds which sweep down the
valley of the Takou Kiver. If there is a strong
north or northwest wind it comes like a demon
roaring out from the Takou, lashing the water
into foam in its rage, and tossing volumes of
spray clear over the top of Grand Island. When
the steamer has come around to the head of the
island it takes the scow in tow, and in about
twenty hours from the time of leaving it enters
the mouth of the Dyea Kiver near Chilkoot, and
the salt water journey is ended.

Here on a sandpit about a mile below Healy &
Wilson's trading posts, the outfits are taken
from the scow and piled upon the beach. Each
man must look out for himself now; the guar-
dianship of your baggage by any carrying com-
pany is ended. Juneau is nearly a hundred
miles behind you. Immediately in the fore-
ground is the ranch and store owned by Iloaly
& Wilson, and beyond in their mantles of snow
rise the coast mountains, cold and severe, striking
a feeling of dread into many a heart; and beyond
this frozen barrier there stretches away hundreds
of miles the vast country of the Yukon, an ex-
panse so wide that it is limited only by the ox-
tent of man's endurance. But haste must be
made in the sorting of outfits and getting them
above tide water. Most miners camp near by in

m »

Klondike.

the edge of the woods, perhaps taking one or
two meals at the trading posts, which can be had
at the price of fifty cents each, others find both
board and lodging there until they are ready to
push on.

Now for the first time the miner begins to
realize that the proper outfit for a trip of this
kind is the result of experience, and the longer
he has been in this country, and the more thor-
oughly he knows it, just so much more care is
used in the selection and packing of his outfit.
A careful and thorough examination should be
made to see that nothing has been lost or for-
gotten. Here he bids farewell to hotels, restau-
raunts, steamboats and stores — in fact to civiliza-
tion, and is a "free man" to pursue his course
how and where he will; beyond all conventional-
ities of society, and practically beyond all law,
so far as it is the outgrowth of organized govern-
ments.

Going up the Dyea Eiver, five miles on the ice
will bring one to the mouth of the canyon.
Here in the woods a comfortable camp can be
easily arranged. The tent is pitched on top of
the snow, the poles and pins being pushed down
into it. While some are busily engaged in build-
ing a fire and making a bed, the best cook of the
party prepares the supper.

If you have no stove a camp fire must be built.

:i^iaiiiiiM«i«8«ii*^^

.,a»M<i*W**»»««^'

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

either on an exposed point of rock or in a hole
dug down in the snow; if you have a stove it can
be quickly arranged on a "grindstone" inside
the tent, the grindstone consisting of three
poles some six or eight feet long, and laid in the
snow on which the stove is placed.

The heat from the stove will soon melt a hole
underneath, but there will be enough firm snow
under the ends to hold it up. For the bed hem-
lock brush is cut, and laid on the snow to the
depth of a foot or more, and this is covered with
a large square of canvas on which the blankets
and robes are put. When furnished it forms a
natural spring bed, which will afford grateful
rest after hauling a load all day.

Dyea Canyon is about two miles long, and
perhaps fifty feet wide. A boat cannot go
through it, but in the early spring miners go
through on the ice, bridging with poles the dan-
gerous places or openings. After the ice breaks
ap it is necessary to go over the trail on the east
side of the canyon. The trail was built by Cap-
tain Healy at his own expense, but it is little used,
as most miners go through the canyon before the
ice breaks up.

The camping place beyond the canyon is a
strip of woods some two or three- miles long,
known as Pleasant Camp. Its name is some-
thing of a misnomer, for there is not even a log

Klondike,

■\

shanty there; some woods, however, do give a
kind of shelter, and, as everywhere else along
the road, there is plenty of snow.

From here the assent is gradual, and the next
and last camp in timber before crossing the sum-
mit is known as Sheep Camp. This is at the
edge of the timber, and no wood for a fire can be
gotten any higher up. This camp is not usually
broken until all of the outfit has been placed on
the summit. When the weather is favorable
everything except what is necessary for a camp
is pushed a mile and a half to Stone House, a
clump of big rocks, and then to what is called
the Second Bench.

Care must be exercised in soft weather, or
everything is liable to be swept from the bench
by a snowslide or an avalanche, and should this
happen the Indians will prove of great assistance
in recovering part of the things. With long
slender rods, tipped with steel, they feel down
in the snow and locate most of the large pack-
ages, which, without them and their feel-rods one
would never find.

At Sheep Camp the summit towers above you
about 3,500 feet, but the pass is some 500 feet
lower. No further progress can be made until a
clear day, and sometimes the weather continues
bad for two or three weeks, the mountain top
hidden in thick clouds, and icy winds hurling

..t^itjjrti.HiMit^vi';.'

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

the new-fallen snow in every direction, or driving
the sleet in tlie face of any one bold enough to
stir out of camp and peep up at that almost
precipitous wall of snow and ice. But sunshine
comes at last, and the wind grows still.

Now comes the tug of war to get the outfit to
the summit. For 600 feet every step must be cut
in the ice, and so steep is that that a person with
a pack on his back must constantly bend forward
to maintain his equilibrium. The first load
planted on the summit of the pass, a shovel is
stuck in the snow to mark the spot; then back
for another pack, and fortunate is he who gets
his whole outfit up in a single day.

Indians may be hired to do the packing, and
their rates vary slightly, but the regular price
has been five dollars a hundredweight from the
second bench to the summit, or fifteen cents a
pound from Healy & Wilson's to the lakes.
These prices have been shaded a little the past
season, and some outfits were packed over the
lake at thirteen cents a pound; now the rates are
twenty-five cents a pound. The reason for the
previous cut in price was that many miners in-
sisted on doing their own packing, and that their
work was much assisted by a tramway device,
which was operated last season with more or less
success by one Peterson, whose inventive genius
led him to believe that a simple arrangement of

Klondike.

ropes and pulleys would greatly help in getting
outfits up the steeper places.

A small log is buried in the snow, and to this
dead man a pulley is attached through which a
long rope is passed, to the lower end of which a
Yukon sleigh is attached, and the empty box on
the sled fastened to the upper end of the rope is
then filled with snow until its weight becomes
sufficient to take it down the incline, thus drag-
ging the other one up.

The snow was found too light, but with three
or four men as ballast in place of snow it worked
well, and saved a good deal of packing. When
the last load has reached the summit, and the
miner stands beside his outfit looking down to-
ward the ocean, only twenty miles away, he can
feel that his journey has fairly begun, and as he
turns he sees the descending slope melting into
the great valley of the Yukon.

The descent for the first half-mile is steep,
then a gradual slope to Lake Lindermann, some
ten miles away. But there is little time for rest-
ing and none for dreaming, as the edge of the
timber where the camp must be made is seven
miles from the summit. Taking the camping
outfit and sufficient provisions for four or five
days, the sleigh is loaded, the rest of the outfit
is packed up or buried in the snow, the shovels
being stuck up to mark the spot.

"•ilWiirlWia*T««i*t-V^-''*^""""'"^'''-^''*^

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

This precaution is necessary, for storms como
sntldenly, and rage with fury along these moun-
tain crests. The first lialf-mile or more is made
in quick time, then over six or seven feet of
snow the prospector drags his sleigh to where
there is wood for his camp fire. At times this is
no easy task, especially if the weather be stormy,
for the winds blow tlie new-fallen snow about so
as to completely cover the track made by the
man but little ahead. At other times, during
the fine weather, and with a hard crust on the
snow, it is only a pleasant run from the pass
down to the first camp in the Yukon Basin.

The rest of the outfit having been brought from
the summit, the next move is to Lake Linder-
mann, about three miles distant. The route
now lies seven miles across the lake to its outlet,
down the outlet three or four miles in a north-
easterly direction to Lake Bennett, down to the
foot of this lake, twenty-five miles, then by the
river four or five miles, until the Takou Lake is
reached. The lake is some twenty miles long,
and empties in a mud lake through an outlet
three miles long. Mud Lake is about ten miles
long, and at the foot of it open water is usually
found in April.

Open water will probably be passed before
reaching this point in the rivers connecting the
lakes, and firm ice at the sides afEor'^s good sled-

y.:,.:-:

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Klondike.

ding, but at the foot of Mnd Lake a raft or boat
must be built. Dry timber can be found along
the shores with which to build a raft, which will
take everything to the Lewis Eiver Canyon,
about forty miles to the northwest.

The course down the lakes has been much in
the form of a horseshoe, and now bears to the
west instead of the east.

Before reaching the canyon, a high cut bank
on the right hand side will give warning that it
is close at hand. Good river men have run the
canyon safely even with loaded rafts, but it is
much surer to make a landing on the right
side and portage the outfit around the canyon,
three-quarters of a mile, and run the raft through
empty. The sameness of the scenery on ap-
proaching the canyon is so marked that many
parties have gotten into the canyon before they
were aware of it.

Below the canyon are ihe White Horse Rapids
— a bad piece of water — but the raft can be lined
down the right-hand side until near the White
Horse, three miles below. This is a box canyon
about a hundred yards long and fifty in width,
a chute through which the water of the river,
which is nearly 600 feet wide just above, rushes
with maddening force. But few have ever
attempted to run it, and four of them have been
drowned.

Mi»W«»*<»*8a-l«.»«<»i»i«»«^'«'>

'.I

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

Of two men who made the attempt in May, '88,
nothing was found save a bundle of blankets.
Below the White Horse another raft is built, and
the journey continued seventy miles to Lake Le
Barge. This usually requires three days.

Aier entering the lake solid ice is found per-
haps a mile from the inlet. Camp is made on
the shore, and as the ice gets soft most of the
sledding is done in the early morning, it being
sufficiently light in May to start soon after mid-
night. This lake is about forty-five miles long,
and there is an island about midway. Little
snow will be found here late in April, but it will
be all glare ice.

After camping on the island, a day's journey
will make the foot of the lake, and the sledding
is completed. If one expects to stay in the
country the sled should not be thrown away,
however, as it will prove useful later on.

A comfortable camp should be made here, and
the building of a boat commenced. This will re-
quire from seven to ten days, and the method of
preparing lumber is novel to all who are unused
to frontier life. The trees selected should be
sound and straight, and twelve inches through
the butt. A saw pit about six feet high is built
near the tree, and the tree felled and cut into
logs about twenty-five feet long. When all is
ready, neighbors are invited to the rolling bee to

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Klondike.

help in placing the logs on the pit. To make
good lumber requires a sharp saw and experi-
ence, besides hard work.

To avoid trouble at this time, the man in the
pit should keep his mouth closed.

After the pit is leveled and the log peeled, a
square is made on the smaller end, and an exact
counterpart on the other; the log is then lined
both above and below and squared or slabbed,
then it is lined for the boards, an eighth of an
inch always being allowed for the saw cut.
After the boards are sawed, the boat is built,
calked and pitched, oars and poles made, and
the journey resumed. Going down the Lewis
River, the Hootalinqua, Big Salmon and Little
Salmon Rivers are passed on the right before
reaching the Fiv3 Fingers. Here four large
buttes stand like giant sentinels of stone to dis-
pute your further ingress into the country; the
water, in five passages, runs swiftly between; the
right-hand passage is the only one which is prac-
ticable, and though the water is swift, it is safe
if the boat be kept in the center.

A few moments of 3trong pulling and careful
management and the boat is rapidly approaching
the Reef Rapids, three miles below. Here again
the right-hand side insures safety, and having
gone through them the last dangerous water is
passed. Next comes the Pelly River, and the

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$ 1

A Mcmual for Gold Seekers.

junction of the Pelly and Lewis from the Yukon
proper. At this point the first trading post is
reached. This is known as Harper's, and is 510
miles distant from Juneau.

Continuing the journey, Stuart River is
passed on the right; then the White River on
the left, so named on account of its milky-
looking water; the next tributary on the same
side is Sixty-Mile Creek, so called on account of
its being sixty miles above Fort Reliance. A
hundred miles below, on the left side, is Forty-
Mile Creek, forty miles below is Fort Reliance.
Here the Yukon is over two miles in width, and
on the upper bank of Forty-Mile Creek is the
principal trading post of the interior. This is
the starting point for all the mines, and is 750
miles from Dyea.

An outfit weighs, as we have said, some 1,800
pounds; to move this in winter is almost impos-
sible. The snow is dry and frosty, and a sleigh
pulls very hard over it. The best a man could
hope to do would be to haul 200 pounds, and
with this he could make about fifteen miles a
day. Say he starts from a given point, takes
200 pounds of his freight for seven and a half
miles, and then comes back after his other
stuff, thus making his round trip for the day fif-
teen miles; and do not forget that the total dis-
tance from Dyea or Skaguay to Dawson City is
more than 500 miles.

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Klondike.

If a person should have the misfortune to be
frozen in, ho should go ashore at ">nce, build a
small cabin and prospect any small creeks in the
vicinity. This, of course, is on the supposition
that he is not alone, but is a member of a party
of several. A man should bear in mind that,
as to the river itself, it never freezes over smooth.
The ice forms in great rough masses which
render travel impossible. Navigation ceases by
October 15.

The following appeared in an Alaskan news-
paper: "The miner of Alaska looks to the Yukon
country for a reproduction of the scenes of the
Cassiar and Cariboo districts. That along that
river and its numerous tributaries there are mil-
lions of dollars hidden in the sands or lockecl
within the mountain's rock-bound walls, there
can be no doubt. For several years the more ad-
venturesome of our placer miners have been go-
ing to that Mecca of the North — Forty-Mile
Creek. Many of them have returned after one
or two seasons' sojourn, none the richer, save in
experience; others have struck it rich, and made
for themselves snug little fortunes, and a thou-
sand others are wintering there now, hoping that
next summer may bring them the good luck, for
which they have so long waited.

"Day after day, and season after season, the
miners toil cheerf viUy at the bars and old water-

A Manual f 07' Gold /Seekers.

courses of the creeks and rivers which form part
of the Yukon system, and every year sees their
numbers increased, and every fall a large quan-
tity of gold finds its way to the mints, and every
spring the Alaskan steamers bring several hun-
dreds to join the fortune hunters of the interior,
Forty -Mile being the objective point of all going
to the Yukon gold fields. Juneau is the outfit-
ting point, the head of regular steamboat navi-
gation during the winter and spring months.
Here all persons leave the steamers which have
brought them from Sound ports, or Victoria.
The town is well supplied with hotels and res-
taurants, where good board can be had for a dol-
lar a day, lodgings extra. Here outfits are pur-
chased for the journey in, and they niust be se-
lected and put up with care, for more than 700
miles stretch of weary length between Juneau
and Forty-Mile.

''The market here offers everything necessary of
good quality and at reasonable prices. The mer-
chants understand the trade, and will select and
put up an outfit, large or small. Unless a man
knows what he wants the best thing he can do is
to name the price he can afford to pay, and leave
the selection to the merchant. The cost depends
upon the purse of the buyer, and while a few
have started in with as small as $25 outfits, $100
would be a far safer figure, and very many greatly
exceed this.

tl'

Klondike.

tt,

'Among the principal things is a Yukon sleigh,
which is made here from a model which has
proved to be the best fitted for the work re-
quired; an ax, saw and nails for building a
boat; warm and serviceable clothing, including
gum boots, blankets and provisions for five
months at least.

*.*The valley of the Yukon may be reached
from tfuneau by four different routes, crossing
the coast range of mountains by as many passes
— the Dyea or Chilkoot Pass, the Chilkat,
Moore's or the White Pass, and Takou. As the
Chilkoot is the only pass used to any extent, it
is this route the miner will select. [Since this
was written White Pass has been much improved
— Ed.]. From Juneau to the summit of the
Chilkoot Pass is a distance of 115 miles. Small
steamers ply irregularly between here and Dyea,
the head of navigation, 100 miles northwest
of Juneau. During the early spring these boats
usually sail a day or two after the arrival of
the mail steamers from the Sound. The trip in
good weather is made in twelve hours if there is
no towing to be done, and the regular fare is
$10, each passenger furnishing his own blankets
and provisions.

**If the party is a la^ge one with considerable
baggage a scow is loaded with the miners' out-
fii'is; if the tides are high the boat sometimes goes

:']

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A 2lanual for Gold Seders.

over the bar at the head of Douglas Island, thus
saving nearly twenty miles of travel, besides
avoiding the rough waters of the Takou. If the
tides are not high the scow may be towed over
the bar by the little tug Julia, and the steam-
boat will take its course around the lower end of
Douglas."

Thomas Martin, of Jermyn, Lackawanna
County, Pennsylvania, writes of the trip in by way
of Dyea:

'I arrived here, Klondike, May 18, this morn-
ing about 10 o'clock, and have been busy all day
getting things from the boat, and putting out
cash and grub up in trees out of the way of the
dogs. I wrote my last from Pleasant Camp.
From there the hard work began. To Sheep
Camp — on^ camp from Pleasant Camp — it was
mostly uphill. It was hard work for a man to
pull a hundred pounds of flour or anything else
up some of the hills. It took us about five or six
days to get our outfit to the foot of the summio.
Then we had it packed over when a terrible
storm was raging. But there was no turning
back. So we loaded half of it on our sleds and
started for Lake Lindermann, about fifteen
miles. "We reached there all right, and the fol-
lowing morning started back for the summit
again for our otl^er load, which we had to bring
through a canyon about a mile long. Next
morning we started down Lake Lindermann with
set sail. "VVe could hardly see, but v.e had plenty
of wind in our favor. It made us hustle and we

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Klondike.

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soon got across to camp. The following day we
pulled our load to Lake Bennett, and next morn-
ing started at 3 o'clock to cross the lake. We
did not get very far before we struck a quarter
of a mile of soft ice. Here we had some hard
work, but we helped others and they helped us.
We traveled about twenty miles that day, and
next day reached the foot of Lake Bennett.
Here we had a terrible gale of wind. I had to
pull down the sail and row. We made two trips
across Caribou Crossing next day, and camped
on Taka Lake. We had fair traveling then till
we camped on Marsh Lake to build our boat.
At Caribou we had been joined by three other
men, and we decided to bui)d a boat together.
But then the tronble be^an. If Noah had as
much trouble in proportion to build his ark as
we had to build our boat, I should feel sorry for
him. But we got there, and when we started it
was with a boat twenty-three feet long, and five
feet wide in the middle. It was built to carry
six men and our outfit of 3,500 pounds. We
pulled it to the water's edge — about fifteen miles
— calked and pitched it, and started down the
river. Our steersman was a sailor from the
steamer Mexico. Everything went all right
until about 5 o'clock, when we saw a red flag and
a black one ahead. We kept going and ran
square on top of a rock in the middle of the cur-
rent. The boat would not move, and on each
side were about 100 feet of swift, deep, water.
We thought the boat might go to pieces and
drown us all, but she stood it well. After
awhile a man who heard us shout came up and
asked us if we wanted help. He brought seven

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A Manual for Gold Seekers.

other men and we unloaded our boat so that it
floated off all right.

"We were then within a short distance of the
canyon. We went through that and the Wiiite
Horse Rapids all right, and had good luck after.
The Lewis Iliver was jammed with ice so we liad
to camp.

"We reached Lake La Barge and next day
started down through the soft ice, following the
other boats. Men in each boat were cutting the
ice and keeping it back from smashing things.
The bow of one boat touched the stern of the
other, so that the ice could not get between.
When we reached solid ice we got the boats out
of the water on the sleds and started off. We
went about a mile and struck a current running
across our route. We had to get the boats across
this, then take them out of the water again on
the other side. When we were reaching the foot
of Lake La Barge the ice was getting pretty thin,
and at last the stern of our boat went through.
We had to unload pretty lively and pull her
ahead. We put a pole down, but found no bot-
tom.

"This was nothing compared with our experi-
ence on the river below Lake La Barge. I never
knew much about riding a boat, but in this case
it was row or swim for about forty miles. It was
the worst river I ever saw. It was full of rocks
and twice we scraped our boat. We ran the
Hootalina Sapids next. The river was low and
that made it worse. W^e had to stop day after
day for the ice to go down ahead of us. We
passed the Five Fingers Rapids in safety, and
also the Rink Rapids. After that we went all

Klondike.

If;

right and landed here at Klondike, which, if the
men are tolling the truth, is the richest creek
in the world.

"I have been away to the diggings two days
and now I am tired with tramping. It was rain-
ing when we startod for the diggings with a pack
apiece on a trail on which we could walk about a
mile an hour. We had to cross the Klondike in
a boat; fare, 81 each. A little further we
reached another river too high to ford. We
felled a tree and floated over on that. Then we
struck the Overland, which is in some parts
water to your knees, or even over head. We
made the acquaintance of some men on the trail,
and they advised us to go back. I said *No,'
having got so far we were going all the way.
By and by we reached a new cabin not yet
occupied. We stayed here and cooked sup-
per. Afte^ supper we kept on till 9 o'clock,
then stayed all night with three other men in
oi\Q of the cabins. Next morning we started to
find some of Dick Rosemorey's old friends who
had come in early. We kept finding them right
along. They had rich claims, but these were
winter diggings. We kept pushing on, and in the
afternoon reached Frank Belcher's claim on El
Dorado. It is very rich, one of the best. We
stayed there all night. Frank told us not to be
in any hurry, as we could get all the work we
wanted in a little while. Next morning the first
man we asked gave us work on summer diggings
as soon as we can get back to Dawson Pond and
get another pack, which takes two days. The
wages are all right.

*' There is a sawmill here and lots of places

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

for selling whisky — fifty cents a drink. One
man is bringing 200 barrels. He will have no
trouble to sell it. I have not seen any big game
myself, but there has been lots of moose meat
brought into camp. They said tha^ »uen were
starving in this country, but it is n^ "

Joaquin Miller has written to the San Fran-
Cisco Examiner that the hardships of the trip
have been much exaggerated. He said:

"Now, I am not going to take the responsibil-
ity of advising any one to come on this year.
But of two things I am certain, from what I
have found out since coming to the Sound.
First, there is no possible chance for a famine in
the mines; and second, the dangers and hard-
ships and cost of getting there have been greatly
exaggerated. This is no new thing in the gold
discoveries, and is only a bit of human nature.
You see, the discoverers and those who come in
early want to hold and keep all in sight till they
can get their friends in. 1 am not going to say
anything unkind of the dauntless men in the
Klondike. I only know the men who discovered
the Salmon Kiver mines in Idaho sent out run-
ners and posted notices to keep people from rush-
ing in. And we used the very same arguments
— starvation and intolerable hardships. But no-
body starv 1, and, while a few perished in the
snow, it must be remombered that men die from
indigestion as well as from hunger. In line with
this truth, I give the following from a respon-
sible friend's letter, written lately from Dawson:

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Klondike.

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** 'The hardships of the trip are much exag-
gerated and -misunderstood by the outside world.
Of course, on the trails from Dyea to Lake Lin-
dermann, a man's patience, nerve and strength
are taxed to the utmost. Just from the ship,
stores, offices aud homes of luxury, or at least
comfort, many find their strength almost un-
equal to the occasion; some have been seen sit-
ting on their burdens, weeping, swearing, or in
silent despair.

" 'There is no sickness to speak of, and few ac-
cidents on the trail. Everybody is well and glad
they are here. The mines are probably the rich-
est, and cover a larger field than any ever dis-
covered before. The gold is coarse, nuggets
going as high as $300. Dirt washed out goes as
high as $800 to the pan, one man offering to
wager he could pick and wash out $1,000 to the
pan. Of course, this i san exception. El Dorado
Creek so far has shown the richest. All through
Bonanza shows very high. Hundreds of miles
of unexplored country are ready for the pros-
pector. The country is governed by a gold com-
missioner, and captain of the mounted police.
They are courteous and ad.opt a liberal policy.
The Episcopal and Catholic churches are estab-
lishing missions here. New enterprises are
springing up every day. The saloons predomi-
nate. Among the many questions asked of those
going to the Klondike is the one of the dis-
tances. By way of St. Michael and up the
Yukon, it is 4,996 miles from San Francisco.
To Klondike by way of Juneau it is little more
than half the distance, or 2,G94 miles. From
Juneau to Klondike it is 678 miles.' ''

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A Manual for Gold Seekers. 96

Any one proposing leaving New York City for
the Klondike should study this table:

Pare to Seattle over the Northern Pacific |67.75

Tourist sleeper, fare |i9.00

Pullman sleeper $18.00

Meals in dining car $18.00

Tourist meals at stations $9.00

New York to Seattle, in miles 3,160

Number of days en route 7

Steamer fare, Seattle to Juneau, with cabin and

meals $75.00

Fare, with berth $67.50

Miles, Seattle to Juneau 1,000

Number of days, Seattle to Juneau 8

Cost of living in Juneau, per day $3.00

Steamboat, up Lynn Canal to Healey's Store,

miles 100

Number of days to Healey's Store ' 1

Cost of complete outfit, with provisions for one

year $600.00

Price of dog and sled outfit $500.00

Total distance in miles 5,000

Total days required for journey 90

Best time to start April 15

■x' iJi

While Dyea is spoken of as the point for
which most boats are heading, the majority of
the passengers will get off at Skagawa, a few
miles from Dyea up another inlet. The pass
from Skagawa, called White Pass, is now consid-
ered better than the Chilkoot, back of Dyea.
White Pass is lower, much work has been done

Klondike.

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on the trail and there is wood all along the
route, while on the Chilkoot Pass route wood
has to be carried, if packers desire a fire during
the night necessarily spent on the trail.

Mr. C. H. Wilkinson, Canadian representative
of the British Yukon Company, confirms the re-
port that the White Pass pack trail over the
mountains was opened for travel on July 16. It
is a little east of the Chilkoot Pass route. Not
only was White Pass opened for pack travel, he
said, but the company had completed arrange-
ments for placing a fleet of between ten and
twenty steamboats on the Yukon River as soon
as the river opens next spring. The boats have
already been contracted for, and will be in readi-
ness for the opening of navigation. These boats
will be flat-bottomed, with stern-wheels, very
much of the same style as the old Mississippi
and Ohio River craft. They will be built to
draw, when empty, only some eight inches of
water, and when loaded about twenty inches.
The lakes along the Yukon are quite deep, but
the river is in places very shallow, necessitating
the light draught lines on which the boats are
being built. Half of this fleet will ply between
the point where the trail over the White Pass
strikes the headwaters of the Yukon and Miles
Canyon, in the heart of the Klondike district.
This distance is G50 miles. The other half of the

A Manual f 01' Gold Seekers.

fleet will ply on the lower Yukon, between Miles
Canyon, and the mouth of the river. Com-
munication will thus be established by the two
principal routes by which the gold fields are
reached by way of the White Pass, and by way of
the lower Yukon.

Mr. Wilkinson says that it is now altogether
probable that the British Yukon Company will
begin the construction of a narrow-gauge railroad
over the White Pass as early next spring as oper-
ations can be begun. It was at first the inten-
tion of the company to build only a wagon road
next summer, to be followed by a railroad if a
subsidy could be obtained from the Dominion
Government. In view, however, of the great
rush to the gold fields the British Yukon Com-
pany had practically decided to build the rail-
road at once.

The Alaska SearcIiUglit published a letter
from William Moore, at Fourteen-Mile Creek,
Skagawa, Alaska, stating that the White Pass
pack trail to the summit of the pass was opened
for travel July 16. On reaching the summit the
traveler steps upon an almost level country, the
grade to the lakes being 20 feet to the mile. The
distance from Saltwater to the Tagish Lake is 30
miles,and from Saltwater to the head of Lake Ben-
nett, 45 miles. Both routes from the summit are
through rolling country, for the most part open,

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Klondike,

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with plenty of grass for feeding stock, water and
sufficient timber for all purposes. From Salt-
water to the summit stock and pack horses can
be driven through easily.

Mr. Escoline, of the British Yukon Company,
has telegraph from Victoria that he has just re-
turned from a trip through the White Pass into
the Yukon country, and that it only took him
two days to make the journey to Tagish Lake.
Mr. Escoline represents the pass as easy, and
says that horses go right through without any
difficulty, and find ample forage on the way.

It is not known whether one can buy lumber
for boat building at the head of Lake Ben-
nett or not, but it is assumed that the rush
has exhausted the supply, and the late comers
unprovided with boats would have to saw their
own lumber. The Skagawa, or White Pass, is
now being opened for horses, nearly all the peo-
ple are turning that way. Lake Lindermann,
Lake Bennett or Lake Tagish may be reached by
this route, at from twenty-four to thirty-one
miles. As many as 400 horses are either on the
way to Skagawa or will be started within a
week. This nr'^ber will relieve the accumula-
tion of freight at both passes. Packers who are
taking horses will be able to earn the entire cost
of their animals in ten days. One man who
shipped thirty horses had eight c ten tons of

A Manual for Gold Seekers,

freight contracted at fifteen cents a pound. It
is assumed, however, that the packers* harvest
will not be of long duration. With the coming
of snow, which will permit of using sleds most of
the distance across the pass, prices should go
down to two or three cents a pound. But this
condition of things can hardly come about until
the river shall be frozen and the season be too
late to reach the Yukon before spring.

John C. Calbreath, an old-time resident at
Telegraph Creek on the Stickeen River, British
Columbia, has been directed by the Canadian
authorities to secure a route that will be avail-
able for ordinary traffic from the head of Stickeen
Kiver to Teslin Lake. This body of water, it
may be mentioned, is the source of the Hoocalin-
qua River, a tributary of the Lewis, branch of
the Yukon. If the road is perfected as now
contemplated it will materially shorten the dis-
tance that must be traveled by prospectors in
order to reach the Yukon ountry, and, in addi-
tion to this, will enable them to avoid all moun-
tainous trails which are encountered in the jour-
ney by way of Juneau.

At present there is a trail from the mouth of
Telegraph Creek to the lake, but it is difficult
and not by any means in a straight line. It
goes westward up the Tahtan River, and then
across the divide into the valley of one of the

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100

Klondike.

lower branches of the Taku, and then over
another divide into the Teslin Basin.

Calbreath prospected the entire country last
season, and ascertained from the natives that a
little further westward of Telegraph Creek was a
higher bench of open, level, country extending
almost to the lake. The ascent from the south
is comparatively easy, and, in fact, the only
difficult portion of the proposed route is imme-
diately south of the lake, where there are two or
three miles of marshy ground.

Steamboat operation is possible on the Stickeen
Biver during at least five months of the year,
while vessels drawing from three to three and a
half feet may run up to within a few miles of the
headwaters of the stream. A Victoria paper
says of the proposed route:

"A. E. Mills, who was one of the party with J.
C. Calbreath building the trail from Telegraph
Creek to Teslin Lake, is back in Victoria.
This trail is the one to which the government
gave a grant of $2,000 to assist in building. The
party left Telegraph Creek on May 26 and got
the trail through to the lake on June 28. The
intention had been to cross the plateau to the
east and build the trail by that line, as more
direct, but there too much snow was encoun-
tered, and so the party took the old Hudson's
Bay Company's trail, which runs sixty miles.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. lOl

working along it, and then finished to the lake,
the distance being some 150 miles. The route
was found on the whole level, with clumps of
scrubby woods, or some swamp lands to encounter
in places, but is pronounced by Mr. Mills to be a
very good trail and a very feasible way into the
Yukon. At the lake a large scow had been built
by men in Calbreath's employ, and some supplies
were shipped on it to Klondike before the party
started on the return. It took the party nine
days to get back to Telegraph Creek, though
they could have made it in a day less if they had
wished. Sixteen miners went on to Klondike on
the scow.

"Mr. St. Cyr, the surveyor sent out by the
Dominion Government to examine the various
routes into the Yukon, was met two days' jour-
ney from the lake as the Calbreath party came
back. He had followed their trail in, so he will
be in a position to report upon it, and he will
come back by some other route. By this time
there is now a very good road into the Yukon if
steamers would connect at Teslin Lake. Bond-
ing goods at Wrangel, they can be taken by
steamer up the Stickeen to Glenora, where the
bond can be lifted. Then at Telegraph Creek,
ten miles further on, goods can be taken over the
150 miles of trail to Teslin Lake, and from there
it is all plain sailing by water to Klondike.

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102

Klondike.

This rorfe would only be some ten or twelve
days' tra^ el from Wrangel. All along the trail
the feed for cattle is excellent."

The yearly report of the British Columbia
Board of Trade, which has just been issued for
1897, has the following encouraging remarks in
regard to the mining possibilities of Casaiar, and
to the prospects of the Cassiar Cei oral Railroad
in connection therewith. Speaking first of the
possibilities of the district, the report says:

''Immediately north of Caribon is the district
of Cassiar, an immense country, very little pros-
pected. Several of the waterways have afforded
richer placer diggings.

"It is hardly within the scope of this report to
do more than mention the Yukon gold fields
which lie north of Cassiar in the Northwest Ter-
ritory of Canada. The latest excitement re-
sulted from discoveries on the Klondike River
and tributaries. Some of these are reported by
old miners to equal California in early days in
richness. It is believed that this mineral belt
extends to Cassiar, and that the whole of the
divide will be found to be rich in gold."

Then as to the railroad and its proposed connec-
tions the Board of Trade speaks as follows:

"It is a matter for congratulation to find Brit-
ish capitalists interesting themselves in transpor-
tation enterprise in this province, as it affords

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 103

some assurance that the accounts of the great
natural resources of British Columbia are gain-
ing credit in established centers of tinance. The
charter of the Caasiar Central llailway has been
acquired by such persons. Although the railway
in this case will be short, proh' bly not more than
seventy-five miles, an immense area will be tribu-
tary to it. Fort Wrangdl, which is open to deep-
sea vessels, will, in the meantime, be the western
starting point; from thence passengers and
freight will bo taken on the company's steamers
to Telegraph Creek, Stickeen River, where the
railway will begin. The first eastern terminus
will be at Dease Lake.

*'It is proposed that the company's steamers
run on this lake and on the Liard and Frances
Rivers, tributaries to the Mackenzie River, which
flows into the Arctic Ocean. A few portages
only will be necessary to control navigable waters
extending over at least 1,000 miles. It is ex-
pected that preliminary surveys will be made im-
mediately, and that the railway will be completed
before the close of 1899."

Moran Bros., proprietors of a shipbuilding
plant and machine-shop at Seattle, closed a con-
tract with a British Columbia syndicate lately
to build three boats for the Stickeen River.
These boats are for a new route to the Yukon
which the Canadians are exploiting. The

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104

Klondike.

Stickeen River heads in the Cassiar mining dis-
trict. From the head of navigation on the
Stickeen there is now a trail into Dease Lake, at
one time a famous mining camp, to which twenty
years ago there was a rush similar to that on at
present to Klondike.

From Dease Creek the Canadian Government
is building a trail to the Yukon. When com-
pleted this will be the Canadian route to the
mines, although the Stickeen's mouth is in
Alaska. One of these boats will be a stern-
wheeler 190 feet long, with a beam of 20 feet;
another will be a stern-wheeler 120 feet long,
and the third a barge of about 500 tons* capac-
ity. The Morans are to get out all the material
here and have it ready to put together, and build
the engines and boilers as well. Then the ma-
terial will be taken to the Stickeen, and the boats
built and launched there.

M. J. Heney, who returned to Seattle on the
City of Topeka, has stated that a new route to
the Klondike has been surveyed and partially con-
structed by the Canadian government. Pack
trains are already running over it. The route is
by the regular passenger steamers to Fort
Wrangel, from which place the Hudson Bay
steamer is taken to the head of navigation on
the Stickeen Biver. From this point the gov-
ernment has cut the trail to a point on the

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A Manual for GoM Seekers. 105

Y^^con River, below the rapids. The route is
BH'<i -0 be popular with manj.

Groat interest is felt in new routes to the
Yukon gold fields, which will reduce the time
and cost of the journey. A man who establishes
pack trains over any of the new routes will make
more money than most of the new Klondike
miners. The best trail from the coast to the
Y'ukon region is said to be by the Lake Teslin
trail. It starts at Fort Wrangel and presents
few difficulties. This route leads up Telegraph
Creek from Fort Wrangel, and is clear water
travel for about 100 miles up the creek. The
creek is abandoned there and the traveler strikes
straight across the smooth tableland for about 175
miles. Then Teslin Lake is reached, and it is
plain sailing down the Hootalinqua River, a tribu-
tary of the Lewis River, and down the Lewis it
is clear going to Dawson City.

The only dangerous part of this route is the
Five Fingers Rapids, and these are not bad if
one has a guide. Even now, it is said, the
trip to the gold fields can be made with less
danger and more quickly by this route than by
any other. It is open usually until the middle
of October, and sometimes as late as November.

The chief astronomer of the Dominion Bureau
of Surveys and International Boundary Com-
miission has said in an interview that in his opin-

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Klondike.

■A \

ion the route to the Klondike gold fields by way
of the Mackenzie Kiver, Fort McPherson, and
Peel Kiver, to Fort Yukon in Alaska, was ut-
terly impracticable, if not impossible in the fall.

Starting from Edmonton, the end of railway
communication, the commissioner said, the way
traversed would be upward of 3,000 miles over
land, river, and lake, to the Klondike. The
water route included many difficult portages.
The Hudson Bay Company's steamers ply the
Mackenzie at uncertain dates, from point to
point. No means of conveyance on other por-
tions of the journey are to be found, and travelers
would have to canoe and portage vast distances
under great difficulties, subject to long delays,
carrying their own means of locomotion and
necessaries of life.

Under favorable circumstances the time con-
sumed, exclusive of unavoidable delays in mak-
ing the journey, would be upward of two
months. The Mackenzie River will be open
until about the middle of October, but by the
time the Yukon could now be reached it would
be closed to navigation, and traveling overland
for 500 miles from Fort Yukon io the Klondike
would be almost impossible.

This belief is, however, not shared by the citi-
zens of Fort Saskatchewan, who havo met and
passed the following resolutions:

It ^1-

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 107

"That, in our opinion, and for the interest of
the whole Dominion, the Federal authorities
should immediately construct a wagon road and
telegraph line from this point to the Upper Yu-
kon, via Fort Assiniboine, the Lesser Slave Lake,
the Peace and Liard River Valleys, where an al-
most air line can be got, per Dr. Dawson's re-
port of 1888, and tap the mineral belt of the
West and North at a nominal cost, the total
distance from here to Klondike in a straight
line being only 1,100 miles, while the near-
est now used is about 3,400 miles. Our pro-
posed route has 250 miles of wagon road now
almost ready for use, another 250 miles is re-
ported to be through prairie and blufE, ^nd
it is supposed that between 600 and 700 miles
could be completed between now the first
of December next. We would respectfully
recommend that Mr. McConnell have charge of
the survey, as he has had experience on part of
route during the geological survey, and thus
save a lot of valuable time. The resolution is
respectfully submitted." Ax. F. Fraser Tims
is chairman of the committee.

There is a new route to the Klondike. Let
the voyager buy his canoe at Winnipeg, on the
Red River of the North, float it down stream
(north) to Lake Winnipeg, ti>?n cross Lake Winnir
peg to the mouth of Saskatchewan River, then

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108

Klondike.

follow that river up stream to the forks, where
the North Branch empties its waters into the
Saskatchewan. Follow from there the North
Branch up stream to White Whale Lake. Here
is the first transfer overland, ten miles westward
to Pembina River. Then float down stream on
the Pembina River to the Athabasca, thence
down stream to Lake Athabasca, crossing it and
taking the Slave River down stream. Crossing
the Great Slave Lake, take the Mackenzie River
northward (down stream) until the mouth of the
Liard or Mountain River is reached. Follow
the Liard or Mountain River up stream to Simp-
son Lake, where the second and last transfer by
land occurs, fifty miles northward to Francis
Lake, which is the headwaters of the Pelly River.
Float down this Pelly River to the Yukon,
thence down the Yukon, prospecting as you go,
until your El Dorado is reached.

This country, until Great Slave Lake is
reached, is filled with all sorts of game. It will
take no longer to go this route than it will to go
by vessel from Seattle to St. Michael, at the
mouth of the Yukon, and thence 1,800 miles up
the Yukon.

A Caribou mining man claims he has found a
road into the Klondike country, which starts
from that ancient and renowned placer ground.
This route starts from the uppe • end of Stuart

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 109

Lake, about 500 miles above Ashcroft, B. 0.
For sixteen miles above Ashcroft there is an ex-
cellent wagon road, which brings the traveler to
Upper Fraser River, which is navigable for 350
miles for light steamers.

Miners provided with pack horses need not
bother with rivers and lakes, as the distance to
the fort can be traveled with ease by pack train.
No feed need be canied for horses, as there is an
abundance of grass the entire distance.

From Fort Connelly the route would be to
Telegraph Creek, over prairie country. From
Telegraph Creek to Klondike travel is easy. The
entire route is sa"d to present many preferable
features to the water route via the coast and
through the lakes to the Yukon Eiver.

This route takes the traveler through what
will probably prove one of the greatest mineral
producing countries in the world. Many rich
creeks will undoubtedly be found, which will
make it unnecessary for prospectors to go further
north, and will make room for thousands who
will be crowded out of the Klondike region.
The new overland route places the Klondike
country within 1,300 miles of Seattle and within
1,000 miles of railroad communication.

One adventurous Norwegian, N. Anderson, of
Rossland, B. C, purposes piloting a party of his
countrymen into the Klondike country. He will

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Klondike.

go to Norway and thero organize the party, select-
ing only those who are strong, hardy and used to
skis or Norwegian snowshoes. His idea is to
strike off from the Fraser River and shape a
course for the headwaters of the Mackenzie River,
and follow that stream far enough north and
then make for the headwaters of the Yukon, and
follow that stream down. The upper portions of
the Yukon and its confluents there have never
been prospected by white men, and he feels cer-
tain that during the trip rich placers will be
found.

"All roads lead to Rome," and there are
many ways of reaching the auriferous region of
the Upper Yukon. One of them is thus de-
scribed by a writer in Tlie Hamilton Spectator :

''Canadians should awaken to the fact that
they have emphatically 'the inside track' to
their own gold fields — a route not half the dis-
tance, largely covered by railways and steam-
boats, with supply stations at convenient inter-
vals all the way. By this route the gold fields
can be reached in two months or six weeks, and
the cost of travel is ridiculously cheap — nearly
anybody can afford to go even now, and by spring
it should be fitted out for the accommodation of
any amount of traffic. For the details of the
information the Spectator is indebted to A. H.
Heming, of this city, the artist who accom-

A Manual for Gold Seekers. Ill

panied Mr. Whitney in his journey toward the
barren lands, and the data may be accepted as
correct, as they were secured from the Hudson
Bay officials.

*'The details of the inland Canadian route,
briefly, are as follows: By Canadian Pacific rail-
way to Calgary, and thence north by rail to Ed-
monton; from there by stage to Athabasca
Landing, forty miles; then there is a continuous
waterway for canoe travel to Fort McPherson, at
the mouth of the Mackenzie River, from which
point the Peel River lies southward to the gold
region. The exact figures are as follows:

''Edmonton to Athabasca Landing, 40; to Fort
McMurray, 240; Fort Chippewyan, 185; Smith
Landing, 102; Fort Smith, 16; Fort Resolution,
194; Fort Providence, 163; Fort Simpson, 161;
Fort Wrigley, 136; Fort Norman, 184; Fort
Good Hope, 174; Fort McPherson, 282. Total,
1,882.

•'There are only two portages on this route of
any size — that from Edmonton to Athabasca
Landing, over which there is a stage and wagon
line, and at Smith's Landing, sixteen miles, over
which the Hudson Bay Company has a tramway.
There are four or five other portages of a few
hundred yards, but with these exceptions there
is a fine 'down-grade* water route all the way.
It is the old Hudson Bay trunk line to the north

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Klondike.

that has been in use for nearly a century. Wher-
ever there is a lake or long stretch of deep-water
river navigation, the company has small freight
steamers which ply back and forward during the
summer between the portage points or shallows.
With comparatively little expenditure the com-
pany, or the government, can improve the facili-
ties along the line so that any amount of freight,
or any number of passengers, can be taken into
the gold region at less than the time and cost
that it takes Americans to reach it from Port St.
Michael, at the mouth of the Yukon, to the
Klondike, exclusive of the steamer trip of 2,500
miles from Seattle to Port St. Michael.

"Canadians can leave here on a Monday at
11:15 A.M. and reach Edmonton on Friday at 7
P.M. From that point a party of three men with
a canoe should reach Fort McPherson easily in
from fifty to sixty days, provided they are able-
bodied young fellows with experience in that
sort of travel. They will need to take canoes
from here, unless they propose to hire Indians
with large birch-bark canoes to carry them.
Birch-bark canoes can be secured of any size up
to the big ones manned by ten Indians that carry
three tons. But birch barks are not reliable un-
less Indians are taken along to doctor them and
keep them from getting water-logged. The
Hudson Bay Company will also contract to take

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 113

freight northward on the steamers until the close
of navigation. Travelers tc the gold mines
leaving now would probably reach Fort McPher-
son before navigation closed.

**Any Canadians who are anxious to get into
the Klondike ahead of the Americins can leave
between now and August 1, reach Fort McPher-
son, and if winter comes on they can exchange
their canoes for dog trains, and reach the Klon-
dike without half the difficulty that would be
experienced on the Alaska route. The great
advantage of the inland route is that it is an
organized line of communication. Travelers
need not carry any more food than will take
them from one Hudson Bay post to the next,
and there is abundance of fish and wild fowl en
route. They can also be in touch with such civ-
ilization as prevails up there, can always get as-
sistance at the posts, and will have some place
to stay should they fall sick or meet with an ac-
cident. If they are lucky enough to make their
pile in the Klondike, they can come back by the
dog sled route during the winter. (There is one
winter mail to Fort McPherson in winter). Dogs
for teams can be purchased at Learly any of the
line of Hudson Bay posts, that form a chain of
road-houses on the trip. Parties traveling alone
will not need to employ guides until they get
near Fort McPherson, and from there on to

'it

Klondike.

Klondike, as the rest of the route from Edmon-
ton is so well defined, having been traveled for
years, that no guides are required.

*'You don't need a couple of thousand dollars
to start for Klondike to-morrow by the Edmon-
ton route. All you need is a good constitution;
some experience in boating and camping, and
about $150. Suppose a party of three decide to
start. First, they will need to purchase a canoe,
about 135 or less; first-class ticket from Hamil-
ton to Edmonton, $70.40; second-class, ditto,
$40.90; cost of food at Edmonton for three men
for two months (should consist of pork, flour,
tea and baking powder), $35; freight on canoe
to Fort McPherson, $23. Total for three men
from Hamilton to Fort McPherson, provided
they travel second-class on the Canadian Pacific
Railway (they can travel in a Pullman coming
back), will be $218.70. These figures are fur-
nished by Mr. Heming, who has been over the
route 400 miles north of Edmonton, and got the
rest of his data from the Hudson Bay officials.

*'If three men chip in $150 each they would
have a margin of over $200 for purchasing their
tools, and for transport from Fort McPherson to
the Klondike. This is how it may be done
cheap, though Mr. Heming considers it ample
for any party starting this summer. Prices will
likely rise on the route when the rush begins.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 115

If the Hudson Bay people are alive to their in-
terests they will forward a large amount of sup-
plies for Fort McPherson immediately, and make
it the base of supplies for the Klondike during
the coming winter. Parties should consist of
three men each, as that is the crew of a canoe.
It will take 600 pounds of food to carry three
men over the route. Passengers on the Cana-
dian Pacific Bailway are entitled to carry 100
pounds of baggage. The paddling is all down
stream except when you turn south up Peel
River, and sails should be taken, as there is
often a favorable wind for days."

The trip from Fort McPherson to Klondike. by
this route is the uncertain quantity. The water-
shed between the Peel River and the headwaters
of the Stuart and Beaver Rivers — down one of
which the descent to the Yukon could be made
— is said to consist of comparatively low moun-
tains, easy to cross. Mr. Ogilvie, the official sur-
veyoi of the Canadian Government in the Yukon
country, states that a prospector crossed the
range from the headwaters of the Beaver to the
Peel, and found only low, gravelly hills in the
way. In cold weather this route would probably
be nearly as impractical as the other routes.

One expedition, composed of three men with
supplies for two years, has been prepared by
Messrs. U, H. Pope, M. P., A. L. White and

116

Klondike,

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others, and it will follow the route. This little
party will go by Edmonton, Athabasca Landing,
and the Mackenzie River.

The prospect of the opening of an all-Cana-
dian route to the Yukon has already brought
forward claims from more than one Western city
to I he privilege of being the terminus of such a
route. The Winnipeg Daily Nor^wester of July
30 contains an article of considerable length,
dealing with the part to be played by the Red
River in the establishment of a water route to
the gold fields. It calls for the pushing on of
the construction of locks at the St. Andrew's
Rapids. It says: "But for the obstructions at
St. Andrew's, there would be uninterrupted
steamboat navigation between Winnipeg and
the Saskatchewan via the Red River and Lake
Winnipeg. With the exception of the Grand
Rapids, round which there is a tramway portage
of some three miles, the Saskatchewan River is
navigable for steamboats from Lake Winnipeg
to Edmonton. At Edmonton a wagon road of
ninety miles connects the Saskatchewan with
the Athabasca, and this wagon road will soon be
superseded by a railway, for the Canadian Pacific
Railway Company has now announced its inten-
tion of extending its Calgary and Edmonton
branch to Athabasca Landing. There is thence
continuous navigation by steamer and fiatboat

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 117

along the Athabasca Lake and Slave River to
near Fort Smith, where there is an obstruction
of a few miles, round which, however, there is a
good wagon road. From Fort Smith there is
continuous steamboat navigation to the Arctic
Ocean, via the Great Slave Lake and the Mac-
kenzie River. There are a number of tributaries
to the Mackenzie River, whoso headwaters almost
interlock with the headwaters of streams flowing
westerly into the Yukon River. One of the most
important of these is the Liard River, whose
headwaters nearly meet the headwaters of the
Pelly River, the most important branch of the
Yukon in British territory. The Liard River is
susceptible of steam navigation from its con-
fluence with the Mackenzie to Fort Liard. Mr.
McConnell, D.L.S., has navigated it by canoe be-
tween Fort Liard and the confluence of the
Dease River, and it is doubtless similarly navi-
gable still further up. The Peel River, another
affluent of the Mackenzie, has its headwaters
very near the headwaters of the Macmillan
River, which flows into the Pelly or Yukon
River at Fort Selkirk. Tributaries to the Peel
River also interlock with the headwaters of the
Porcupine River, which joins the Yukon River
at Fort Yukon. The Peel River is capable of
steamboat navigation for over half Hs length,
and is doubtless susceptible of flatboat naviga-
tion almost its entire length.

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Klondike.

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Writing from Forf. Saskatchewan to the Cal-
gary Herald, under date of July 26, Mr. F.
Frasor Tims makes the assertion that **Calgary
should be the jumping-ofi place for the whole of
the Yukon country, either for the upper or
lower portion." He proceeds as follows:

*'For the Lower Yukon all that has to be
done is to start either from Athabasca Landing
or Peace River Landing (preferably the latter, as
there would only be one portage instead of
more on the other route), and drop down stream
all the way to the Mackenzie River, to Peel River
(one of its western branches), and cross the
divide about fifty miles, and then you find the
Porcupine River, which is one of the principal
rivers flowing into the Yukon, and used to be
the Hudson Bay Company's way of getting to
Fort Yukon prior to the United States taking
possession of that portion of Alaska. In addi-
tion to it there may be several other feasible
routes not so far north.

*'To reach the Upper Yukon country the
route should be via the ruins of Fort Assini-
bo'ae. Lesser Slave Lake and Peace River Land-
ing. There is an old cart trail from Edmonton
to Lesser Slave Lake, which has not been used
for years, but which could be put in shape for
wagons at a nominal cost, and from the lake to
Peace River Landing, a distance of about /»eventy

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 119

miles, there is row in operation a good wagon
road. From Peace River Landing to the Liard
River it is a country similar to that of Edmonton
district, namely, prairie and bush.

"A wagon road, in addition to the water route
of the Liard, can be got by following up the
valley of the Liard, or striking across country to
Lake Francis, and this brings you to the upper
part of the Yukon and close to where the big
finds have been made. The total distance from
Edmonton to the Upper Yukon would thus be
about 850 miles.

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Klondike.

LIFE AT THE DIGGINGS.

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Nothing so vividly portrays life in a new
region as letters from those that are struggling
for a living there, and in accordance Avith this
belief a collection of those most worthy of
credit is here gathered together. They show
what life really is in these new diggings on the
edge of the Arctic circle.

A former Seattle man writes:

"Klondike, Alaska, June 15, 1897.
"I get your letter all right, and will answer.
"We are here in safety and are glad we came, as I
think we are strictly *in it.' The mines are
very rich and new strikes are being made all the
time, but we may not get anything very big.
We made a fine trip and are doing fairly well.
Wages are $15 a day now and may keep at $1 to
$1.50 per hour all winter, but some think they
will come down to $1 per hour. I like the coun-
try very well, but there is lots of hard work.
Getting here our trip cost us two $336, or $168
each, and three months' work to get in and settled.
Have two claims each staked; Henry has earned
nearly $400 at $15 a day, while I am on a lay
representing a half interest in the claim. Don't

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 121

know if there is anything in it or not. lie \a
making our grubstake for the winter, while I am
fishing for a good strike of our own.

*'I am well and like this country, but it is a
queer place. Just think of having to go to bed in
broad daylight, for the daylight is twenty-four
hours long here now. We will have our night
next winter. It comes then in chunks and
nearly forgets to go away. We have four or live
months' grub, all but the flour, and that is $G a
sack, and that is low when a man can get $15 a
day. I have not earned a dollar yet. Henry will
soon have $450 earned for our grub next winter.
We are in Cahoots yet. I wrote home to-day. The
man that takes this out had $40,000 out of his
dump this spring, and only dug a little corner of
his claim last winter. Hundreds are like him, and
I hope to be some time in the next two years."

One of the most interesting descriptions of a
miner's life in the far North is contained in a
letter written by Mr. E. S. Dunkle, of Adelphi,
Ohio, and he says:

"As I have a chance to send a note out will
take '•-dvantage of the opportunity. I wintered
on tne Hootalinqua Eiver, the first white that ever
put in a winter there; the other boys did not get
their grub over the mountain. They came over
this spring. I had a great experience killing
lynxes and wolverines.

"The boys brought me the news of this great
gold strike here on the Klondike Kiver. The
like has never been known. Some claims clean
up $1,800 a day. Well, when I got the news I

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122

Klondike.

waited till the river broke up, and gave the ice
four days the start, then I loaded up my boat and
started. I caught the ice the first day. It took
me eight d^s to go eighty miles. Had it been
clear of ice I would have made it in one day, but
it was one jam after another. I slept one ^Jght
on a cake of ice.

"When I struck the Lewis Kiver I saw a tent
on the opposite side of the river and I steered
for it and found four white men. The first
thing I asked for wa^ tobacco, as I had not had a
smoke since the 20th of March. They told me
they were the last to stay over at Lake La Barge,
and that there were 100 boats ahead of me.
This was 2 o'clock in the afternoon. I talked an
hour with them, then got in my boat and
started. I had a hard sail and steered from the
stern with a sweep and held the sail rope so I
could let go at any time. My boat was 22 feet
long and 36-inoh beam. I had about 1,200
pounds aboard.

"Well, the wind favored n:e, and as the crowd
did not carry any sails on account of the ice, I
caught them the second day. I never saw such
a rush. They were following the ice too close,
and lots of boats were upset and everything lost,
but only two were drowned. There were five in
one boat that upset, and I picked one of them up
and took him the rest of the way with me so that
I might have some one to talk to. But I run
the Five Fingers and the Pink Rapids myself. I
made the 600-mile trip without accident. Old-
timers say I made a great trip alone.

"I came in with the push, but when we got
here we found everything staked. Forty miles

A Mcmual for Gold Seekers. 123

to Circle City, and everybody rushed in and took
everything up. But as sopii as the water goes
down there will be some rich strikes made on
other gulches. 1 started on May 3, and landed
here on the 21st, and have taken in 1330 in four-
teen days, but 1 can't keep it up all summer. I
expect to make $2,000. I have a chance for a
'lay' this winter to 'burn,' and if I get it I will
make $10,000 before spring. If there are any
new strikes I will get one of my own. I fooled
last summer away, but I am in it now and in-
tend to stay if I keep my health. '^ have not
been sick a day yet.

"Grub is very scarce here until the boats get
up the Yukon. Men are going round with from
$10,000 to $50,000 in their pockets and living on
bread and beans. I have plenty of meat, flour,
beans, sugar, rice, raisins, apples and peaches,
but I keep them all covered up.

"Bacon sold for $2 per pound and wages arc
$15 per day. There are about 1,000 men here.
I saw one man come in with 100 pounds of gold.
There has not been a single theft her3. They
would string him up too quick.

Another Argonaut has this to say:

"This is the land of gold. Unless all signs
mislead, as signs have already mis'ed, not Cali-
fornia in the days of '40, not Australia, nor the
prolific 'Rand' in South Africa should rank
with it.

"I venture to estimate the output of gold for
the season from the placers in the immediate
neighborhood of Dawson at $5,000,000. Some

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Klondike.

of the enthusiastic miners here say that the prod-
uct for the season •will be nearer $10,000,000
than $5,000,000, but I have noticed a local incli-
nation to brag and I want to be entirely within
the facts in any information I send out from this
camp of marvels.

"Before this message can reach the coast the
story of the richness of these gold-laden placers
will be the property of the world, for by tl;i.t
time the miners who left here with their bags cf
gold will have reached the American cities with
their burdens of dust and nuggets to convince
the skeptical.

"Dawson has grown like a mushroom since the
news of the richness of the mines in this neigh-
borhood reached the other diggings along the
Yukon and its tributaries. Tlie present popu-
lation of this town is about 4,000. Men are
streaming in as rapidly as t.jeir legs, or the river
steamers, or horses will transport them. We in
Dawson lipve a notion that by the close of the
short summer season there will be 10,000 people
in the town.

"And such a town! It has some of the char-
acteristics of mining camps that Bret Harte has
made into story, but it has qualities that Cali-
fornia camps never had and never could have.
The game of life is played fast, and the boisterous
side of mining camps is developing as the popu-
lation increases. Now Dawson would match
Tombstone when Tombstone was young. There
are gamblers and dance halls by the score,

"Up to this time we have had no men for
breakfast. The police surveillance by the Cana-
dian mounted force, and the sentiment of the

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A Manual for Gold Seekers. 125

camp sets against violence. But in the new
population are many tough-looking fellows, not
much disposed to Avork, and none of us would be
surprised to hoar the 'petulant pop of the pistol'
before Dawson is many days older.

"The principal source of fighting in frontier
mining camps, disputes over the possession of
claims, has been missing up to this time from
the Klondike region. The Canadian mining
laws seem fair, and they are regarded and are en-
forced as well as possible by the small official
force representing the Dominion Government.
A section in the law prohibits a miner from 'tak-
ing up' more than one claim in a neighborhood.
This provision of law leads to caution in the se-
lection of claims, and stops land-grabbers from
controlling all the claims in sight.

"I do not mean that all the residents of Daw-
son are willing to obey the law merely because it
is law, for I am certain that many of the men are
worrying their brains to devise schemes to get
hold of a number of claims, and would be glad
to evade the rules. Miners generally work in
groups, or companies, and each member of a
group has an interest in all the claims worked
for the joint account of himself and companions.

"But the caution I have mentioned shows it-
self in the big population of the town. There is
no good reason that so many should be here, ex-
cept this provision of law, restricting a man to
one 'location.' AVhen a miner has 'only one
rattle out of the box' he takes time before mak-
ing his throw. Therefore Dawson is a base of
operations for men who go out from this center
on prospecting trips.

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Klondike.

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'There are no openings here for newcomers to
locate chiims along any of the creeks where gold
placers are known to exist. All the claims on
the 'good ground' in this immediate vicinity
have been taken up. A stranger has to get out
and prospect in places where nothing definite is
known, yet, of course, places just as likely to
contain gold as any of the claims that have
yielded the big finds to the miners. Parties
leave here every day on prospecting tours.
When a discovery of gold is reported crowds
rush out in frenzy to the place.

"The thronging in of men is making an impor-
tant change in the prices paid for labor. Wnile
provisions are dear, the price of labor is going
down. I have known a laborer to get $20 a day
for his toil, but that price was not paid to every
man. The indication now is that many men
who must have food and clothing will crowd the
town, and that the rate of wages will fall to the
cost of subsistence. Flour is $6 a sack.

"The weather h intensely disagreeable. The
mercury has stood 87 degrees for two hours in
the shade, and this is morning. And there are
mosquitoes, millions and millions of mosquitoes —
voracious as wharf rats, fiercely stinging. They
contribute to the discomforts of living on the
Klondike.

"Many prospectors are seeking the quartz
ledges, the parents of the supply of gold found
in the placers along the banks of the streams. I
suppose there must be such ledges, but this coun-
try IS rough and exploration is perilous. Not
many men care to venture further than sixty
miles in the unexplored regions.

't.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 127

"Gold in one form or another has been found
along a belt nearly 300 miles long. By the close
of the season much more will be known of the
character of this belt, for the prospecting going
on is thorough, the circumstances and popula-
tion considered, and more definite information
should result.

"When I can send a trustworthy report for
the guidance of persons contemplating a trip to
the Yukon next spring, I shall hurry it down.
Just now not much that is definite can be said to
persons not on the ground, because of the ab-
sence of available openings for stakes in any
district known to be worth working."

The following was penned by a Baker City,
Oregon, man:

"Circle City, Alaska, Feb. 6.

"Dear Mac: Your letter of September 6,
1896, reached here to-day through the transpor-
tation medium of a dog team from Juneau.
There are about 600 whites wintering here, in-
cluding five women. The nativity of the popu-
lation is about evenly divided between the Amer-
ican, the Canadian and the Tacoma man. The
American and Canadian take life as it comes, but
the poor Tacomaite seems lost. He wanders
around in a dazed sort of way, evidently looking
up a terminal site for the Northern Pacific Bail-
road.

"We had quite a visit from old Boreas last
month. He made a stay of ten days with us,
and while he frowned we hunted cover. The
thermometers all froze up. The last one went

128

Klondike.

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to pieces registering 73 degrees below zero. A
bottle of pain killer I possessed, and the only one
in camp, Avas as solid as my views on the financial
question. The whisky that was called for in
saloons was served on a napkin and doled out in
solid four-cornered chunks. As a safeguard
against the invasions of the atmosphere from the
Pole we are blessed with good warm cabins and
plenty of provisions of the following kinds: We
nave the choicest slabs from the two sides of the
fat porkers that were converted into bacon for
army purposes during the later American rebel-
lion; we have strawberries in three varieties — the
navy, the pink and the brown. We have the
evaporated fruit, put up in several different
boxes; and you put a few pounds from any box
into a pail of water, boil for several hours, then
rip up your imagination and sit down to a dish
of boiled peaches, pears, prunes, apples or apri-
cots; we have also the steaks that Cudahy &
Armour deliver to the hungry public in two-
pound cans; we have also the tripe and the ox
tongue. We have the one X brand of flour, war-
ranted to be easily distinguished from the white
snow. We have the essence of the cow con-
densed. We have the peelings of the onion put
up in round cans and labeled 'Expressly for the
Yukon trade.'

'*We have the lard from the oil wells of Penn-
sylvania, and the butter from the stockyards of
Chicago. We have the ground coffee put up in
original packages without a brand or trademark
to identify the owners or manufacturers. The
texture of this coffee is very delicate, and when
you boil you have no grounds for complaint, or

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 129

to throw out. We have a tea — a new discovery
that has not yet reached the Eastern epicures;
you put a heaping handful in one quart of boil-
ing water and in live minutes you will have
brewed a pale green fluid, a small cupful of
which will satisfy for many days the hankerings
and cravings of the most confirmed tea drinker.

"We have the hotel and restaurant in bur-
lesque. Every man is his own chief cook and
chambermaid. For diversion we have the woes
of others. For acquiring knowledge we have
the stars to read, and for meditation we try to
solve God's reason for putting a gateway into
this useless country.

"However, we are happy in our isolation.
There is a sort of freedom in living here that is
agreeable. The conventionalists of life have no
claims upon me. I am beholden to no one and
no one to me. As free as the wind to come and
go, work or play, sing or howl. The pinnacle of
my hopes, aspirations and desires is realized in
that ecstatic moment when, filled to the chin
with bacon and beans, I recline at my ease on the
sunny side of a glacier and contemplate life
through the hazy, somnolent contentment of a full
stomach without a care to oppress me.

"Circle City is just now deserted, everybody
is up at Klondike, or preparing to go soon.
Klondike River is over 200 miles up the Yukon
from here, and gold was found on it a few
months ago. It is the richest district the world
has ever known, and will produce millions this
year. I returned here from the Klondike yes-
terday for grub and start back to-morrow.
Flour is worth $100 per sack of fifty pounds, and

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Klondike.

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everything else in proportion, and none to be
bought. Live dogs are worth from 12 to %b per
pound; they are the horses in this country.

''The gravel is frozen from eighteen to twenty
feet deep to bedrock, but we burn a shaft down
and then drift, using fire instead of powder. The
gravel runs in gold from S5 to $150 per pan, and
a young fellow on a claim above me panned out
$40,000 in two days. I was offered $25,000 cash
for my claim. I still hold the ground, and will
be either a millionaire or a pauper in the fall.
Men cannot be hired for wages. Every new-
comer in the camp is offered big wages, as high
as $50 a day, but seldom will any one work for
another. The only phantom that stands in our
way to the goal of the millionaire is Mr. Grub.
I have provisions enough to last me until next
June, and I am as well fixed as any man in the
country. If the boats do not get up the river
before July we will be in rather hard lines, but
as one cannot help his ills by wailing them, we
will look cheerful and feel certain that grub will
be plentiful next year."

Returned Yukonites deny the story told by
Frank Moss, of Great Falls, Montana, to the effect
that 2,000 graves at Foty-Mile Post tell of the
terrible sufferings of the gold seekers. F. 0.
Bowker says that so far from there being over
3,000 deaths on the Klondike during the past
three years, there was nobody there to die until
something less than a year ago, and since then
there have been but three deaths in that whole

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 131

district so far as known. In the graveyard at
Forty-Mile Post, which has served for all that
Boction for some years past, there are only be-
tween thirty and forty graves.

Mr. Ogilvie, the Dominion surveyor in chargt
of the district, in a report to the Dominion Gov-
ernment complains sorely of the need of some
kind of a court to settle the various claim dis-
putes that are continually arising between the
miners. He says that the force and virtue of
miners' meetings prevailed until the mounted
police made thoir apppearance, after which
sneaks had full swing.

The morality of the Klondike would seem to
be of much higher order than is usually found in
new mining camps, the presence of the mounted
police seeming to have a most salutary effect. Mr.
Ogilvie seems to regret it, for he says:

**The man who was stabbed here in November
has quite recovered, but may never have the
same use of his back as of old, having received a
bad cut there. His assailant is out on bail,
awaiting the entrance of a :'udge to try him. As
the police are here there will be no lynching; it
is almost a pity there will not."

Mr. Ogilvie takes up the subject of the liquor
traffic also, saying: "The impression of the best
men here, saloon men and all, is that the liquor
trade should bo regulatd, that no one but respon-

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Klondilce.

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siblo parties should bo allowed to bring liquor in
— men in business here of ostablislied reputation
and having an interest in the country and the
retail traffic — licensed as in the Eastern prov-
inces, giving licenses to men of fair character
only. Now any loafer who can gather enough
money to secure a few gallons and a few glasses,
and v/ants to have an idle time, sets up a saloon.
It is my opinion that it is imperative that the busi-
ness be brought under control at once, or it may
develop phases that will be at least annoying in
the future."

An eyewitness says of the scenes in Dawson
City:

"Dawson City, N. W. T., June 17, 1897.
**P. Brown.

"Dear Sir: You request me to inform you all
I could on the country, and I will tell you of it
as it really is. We arrived safe and sound. We
caught up with, and passed, nearly all who went
over the sur .head of us. We have been out

and seen +' .es. There are mines here that

have <•' ..c $150,000 last winter to 150 feet

of the .m.

"Thio jeems hard to believe; but when you see
coal oil cans with more gold in them tlian you
can lift, baking powder cans and pickle jars full
to the brim, you begin to believe the marvelous
stories.

"Work is not so plentiful now as it is during
the winter diggings. Wages are $10 a day at
Dawson City, and $15 out at the mines. Flour

A Manual for Gold Seehcrs. 133

is %Q a sack, sugar, 25 cents a pound; bacon, 70
cents; eggs, ^4 per dozen. Clothing is still
dearer in proportion. Good stoves and tents are
hard to got at any price. They say work will bo
more plentiful next winter.

* 'Three steamboats have been up here this
spring, so there are lots of provisions now.
Dawson City is growing fast, although it is all
tents yet. Lots sell from $100 to $8,000. If too
many scab hands come in it will cut wages, but
it is all right now.

"There is plenty of prospecting going on this
summer. Men are striking out in all directions.
You said if you could be sure of $10 a day you
would come up. A man is sure of nothing, out
if he is willing to take the hardships he is bound
to get more or less of it. A number of women
came over the trail this spring. All of them
that are willing to cook can sell all the bread
they can cook at fifty cents a loaf. Meals are
$1.50.

"That claim of J. O'Donnell's is on Forty-Mile
River at Poker Gulch. He sold his share last
summer to Philip Kenijey. Fred Hart and Bill
Hase were his partners, and it ir still owned by
them. R. Crawford got beat oit of his claim
that he bought of Kelly in Seattle.

"If you come up, bring light things, as there
is more profit in them. We hear that it is al-
most impossible to get the river boats to bring up
freight, as they have more of their own than
they can handle. Look this up, and if you are
sure you can get through with freight bring all
you can of first-class articles, and you will have
good use or ready sale for them at once.

"W. R. GOODB."

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Klondike.

"P.S. — I hear thatR. Crawford has the matter
decided in his favor at last, and got his share of
the claim he bought of Kelly, and Kelly leaves
for Seattle to-day on the boat. I think he is go-
ing to try to boom the country for the benefit of
the mine holders to get cheap labor. That is, as
I see things, and I think it is right. There is
lots of money here, and where there is lots of it
a man certainly can get a little. Please excuse
mistakes and dirt, as I am seated on the ground,
writing on my knee, and fighting mosquitoes."

A lady correspondent states:

^'Klondike, B. N. W., June 14, 1897.

"We arrived at our destination the 11th of
this month, our outfit in good shape and all well.
We were just three months to the day on the
trail. Everybody was dumfounded at the dis-
covery — the biggest that has ever been made.
Just think of it — $1,000 to the pan. Wages are
$15 a day, and men are refusing every day to go
to work for that. Money is plenty, and all the
trading is being done with gold dust. Harry
Ash is taking in $3,000 a day in his saloon.
Meals are $1.60 each. A big business is boing
done in smuggling whisky over the border.
The dogs are so bad here that they eat anything
from the tin cans to rubber boots, and it standa
a man in hand to look to his bacon.

"I had a pleasant trip and had few hardships
to encounter. We left so early that we had
snow all the way, but the people that came a
mo^ich earlier had a pretty tough time, for they
had to pack everything, or hire it done, and had

i I'

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 135

to endure more. The worst feature of the coun-
try is the beastly mosquitoes. As far as the trip
being dangerous, that depends a good deal on
the men. One wants to get a good boat made,
and with a map all is clear sailing in the right
season.

"There is another stampede on up a creek
near here. The excitement is at a fever's height
and men are exploring every little creek and hill
in the country. These are drift diggings and it
would not surprise me if there were better dig-
gings struck during the summer.

'*The Indians here cannot speak much English.
All they can say is 'sugar.' We could have got
a whole mine, or 'lecraboo,' for twenty pounds of
sugar. The moose and caribou are fine eating.

"The place is very orderly, considering the big
rush. There is a fort or military post about
twenty-five or thirty miles from here, with lots of
her majesty's soldiers, but we don't need them.
The theaters, dance halls, and gambling houses
are doing the biggest business here and scoop in
most of the money."

Joseph Ladue, the owner of the land upon
which Dawson City has been built, has visited
his native town, Plattsburg, New York, this sum-
mer, and in the course of an interview he said:

"We have nicer bars at Dawson than you have
here. One of the bars there cost $750 right in
San Francisco. The day I left Dawson my im-
pression of the town was that it would become a
great big place. When I came away there were
probably close on to 3,000 people there. I think

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perhaps of these seventy-five were women. A
good many of the women were wives of the men
who came, forty or fifty.

"The dance hall was owned by Harry Ash. It
is 40x80, a frame building covered with white
drilling. They have an orchestra. There may
be fifteen or twenty women the^-e. There is no
admission fee. You just go in and dance and
patronize the establishment. Everything is fifty
cents a drink. The women get a percentage of
the receipts for dancing with the miners. Fre-
quently when the miners feel flush, they give the
women nuggets.

"When I left Dawson there were ten saloons
and only three restaurants. They charge $1.50
for a meal, which consists of bacon, beans, bread,
coffee, a piece of cheese, and dried fruit. The
restaurants were well patronized. They sold
everything they could rake or scrape. Bacon was
$1 a pound, eggs as high as $5 a dozen in the
winter. Flour is $13 a hundred pounds; sugar,
20 cents for brown, and 25 cents for granulated.
Butter is $1.50 a roll.

"Tobacco sells for $1.50 a pound — chewing
and fancy brands for smoki ^ — plug cut is $2 a
pound; cigars wholesale sell there for $90 to
$150 per 1,000; a single cigar is 50 cents. It
would sell here for five cents.

"There are lots of children up there now. An

t-i

A Mamial for Gold Seekers. 137

immense lot of children came in this spring.
There is a school at Circle City, and one is being
built in Dawson this year. The teacher in Circle
City — which is near the Arctic circle and the
furthest city north — was an American from Neb-
raska. I don't know what her name was, or
what pay she got — probably $75 a month.

"There were no churches in Dawson up to
this time. There will be a Catholic church built
this summer. There will probably be also an
English church and a Presbyterian church too.
Bishop Eowe, of Boston, has the latter in
charge. Father Judge was there when 1 came
away.

"There is a theatrical company in that dis-
trict. It has been playing at Circle City. The
leading actor and manager of it is George Snow.
His wife is the leading lady. They are real
good. They have all sorts of plays — *Uucle
Tom's Cabin' one night, *01d Kentucky' the
next, 'Camille' the next, 'The Newsboy' the next.
It is a repertory company. They will have a
theater in Dawson this winter.

"We have Dr. Willis, a Canadian physician; Dr.
Chambers, from Yakima, Washington. I think
they charge according to the way a man is fixed.
I know one man got a finger taken oil and was
charged $200 for the job. These doctrrs have
complete medicine chests. There is no drug
store except what Dr. Willis has.

138

Klondike.

IK'! I'

"We have a graveyard started and two graves
in it. One is that of Bert Stickney, who died a
natural death on Lake Labarge, and the other is
that of 0. G. Felch, who died of heart disease in
the room over my office. We had service over
these men, conducted by a Church of England
man.

*'There was a lawyer's office started just before
I left by two Seattle lawyers. I do not remem-
ber hearing that any babies were born in Dawson
bv^fore I left.

''The diggings are up the Klondike to the
east of Dawson City. They begin within two
miles of the town site, and extend twenty miles
at least on both sides of the Klondike River.
The district is about twenty miles square — that
is, the gold-bearing district where the placer
miners are.

''The whole country for twenty miles between
the Yukon and the Klondike, up to the point
where Dawson is situated, is composed of creeks,
and all along these claims are staked out.

**The people who go there now will have to
look for new fields. Pretty nearly all of the
Klondike has been monopolized, and nearly all
the claims taken up. From there they will have
to go in an easterly direction to the Stuart
River. That is about 100 miles east, and is the
nearest district in which there is any promise of
gold development, and it is uncertain.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 139

"The Chilkoot Pass is not dangerous in the
summer time. It is a defile in the mountains
about thirty miles long, with just an Indian trail
leading up to the summit. In the winter the
danger lies in the storms which are liable to
overtake the traveler.

"Men can cr^ss that pass with as little danger
in the summer as they can cross any other moun-
tain pass. If you turn a horse loose on the trail
he will walk over himself. I never heard of any-
body starving to death on the Chilkoot route. I
have heard of their being lost. I never heard of
their dying of hardship. In the winter time the
United States station has mail every month.

"I do not think the company's boats can bring
supplies into Dawson for more than 3,000 men.
There are probably 5,000 there now, and more
going."

Heretofore mails have been somewhat infre-
quent and slightly irregular in the Yukon postal
district, but they will doubtless be managed in a
much more satisfactory way this winter. In
view of the great number of American citizens
who have gone or contemplate going to the Klon-
dike gold fields in Alaska, the post-office depart-
ment has made additional contracts for the
carrying of mails to and from that region.

Since July 1 contracts for mail over what is
known as the overland route from Juneau to

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140

Klondike.

iHI

Circle City have been made by the department.
The round trip over the Chilkoot Pass, and by
way of the chain of lakes and the Lewis River,
takes about a month, the distance being about
900 miles. The department has just been noti-
fied by the contractor's agent that a party will
start reg'^.larly twice each month. The cost
is about $000 for the round trip. The Chil-
koot Pass is crossed with the mail by means of
Indian carriers. On the previous trips the car-
riers, after finishing the pass, built their boats,
but they now have their own to pass the lakes
and the Lewis River.

In the winter transportation is carried on by
means of dogsleds, and it is hoped that under
the present contracts there will be no stoppage,
no matter how low the temperature may go.
The contractor has reported that he was sending
a boat in sections by way of St. Michael, up the
Yukon River, to be used on the waterway of the
route, and it is thought much time will be saved
by this next spring, as formerly it was necessary
for the carriers to stop and build boats or rafts
to pass the lakes.

Contracts have been made with two steamboat
companies for two trips from Seattle to St.
Michael. When the steamers reach St. Michael,
the mail will be transferred to the flat-bottomed
boats running up the Yukon as far as Circle

> ■

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 141

City. It is believed the boats now run further
up.

The contracts for the overland route call for
only first-class matter, whereas the steamers in
summer carry everything, up to five tons, each
trip.

Mr. J. A. French, of the District Engineering
Corps, and a member of the United States Coast
and Geodetic Survey Expedition which made
such a thorough tour of the Alasica gold fields,
during the years 1889-90 and '91 when locating
the 141st meridian, was asked if there was much
chance of the expeditions which are leaving the
country in August reaching the Yukon in time
to ascend the river before ice forms.

"There is very little chance that they can do
so,'' said Mr. French. "Of course there is a
possibility that the river may close late this year,
and thus give them an opportunity of getting
through, but this is a matter of conjecture only,
and the majority of persons who are leaving for
the far North at the present time will be obliged
to winter at St. Michael. Those going by way
of the Chilkoot Pass will be more successful
about getting through, as it is but a short dis-
tance comparatively from Seattle, and can be
traversed before the pass closes in the middle of
September. The ice forms early on the Yukon,
jind that cuts off communication with the Klon-
dike.

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142

Klondike.

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"Of course communication is possible by
sledges, but that is only of nominal use, and is
scarcely to be termed a means of transportation.
And then again the latter part of September and
the early portion of October are the dangerous
periods for travel in that region. There is very
little snow, and what snow there is usually falls
during this period. Then it bcomes so cold that
snowing becomes impossible, and until March
the miners and settlers in the Klondike will be
troubled with no other snowfall. Instead of
snow there is a daily fall of frost, which gradually
increases the depth of the light snow which
falls in the early fall, but scarcely in a quantity
to exceed six inches. The frost falls contin-
ually, and the air is always filled with it. The
frost gradually aguments the previous light
snowfall, and before the snows of the spring be-
gin have increased the depth of the snow to
about eighteen inches.

'*The cold reaches an extremity which is al-
most impossible for us to realize, but the condi-
tions of the atmosphere are such that the suffer-
ing is not great in proportion. The Indians of
the region have, to a greet extent, solved the
difficult question of keeping warm. They build
log cabins, which are closed as tightly as mud
and lichens can make them. They leave no
space for a door, as that would facilitate the en-

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A Manual for Gold Seekers. 143

trance of cold; instead they follow out a plan of
the Esquimaux and begin an entrance some dis-
tance from the hut. Down in the ground they
dig a passage until it feaches underneath the
center of the cabin, when the passage is directed
upward, and the Indian finishes his door in the
center of the house.

** There is a larger natural food supply than
the majority of people imagine. A miner who
enters the region in the spring could well supply
his needs for the following winter. The river
lands are filled with a species of cranberry, which
is as palatable as the berries of our own Massa-
chusetts. The berries are very small and tart,
but are vastly superior to the ordinary Christmas-
time berry, and can be kept during the entire
season. Then also the Yukon Valley is in the
line of the moose and caribou trails, over which
the animals travel on their way to the north or
south at diiferent periods of the year, and it is
possible for a hunter to supply himself with
meat which can be frozen and kept in perfect
condition until summer again.

"The great river is alive with salmon also,
some of which reach an enormous size. One
catch of five salmon which I saw while there
averaged fifty-four pounds to a fish. The largest
one was a beauty, and weighed exactly seventy-
four pounds. The Indians catch these fish,

144

Klondike.

string them on a pole and throw them on the
top of their huts to freeze. Then during the
winter when they wish one, they go out and
bring it into the warm cabin. The heat grad-
ually thaws it until it is to some degree soft.
Then they eat it with as much gusto, and appar-
ently as much pleasure, as we would cat ico
cream, and there is nothing frozen fish resembles
more than ice cream. They are of a delicate
pink color, which in the frozen state of the fish
is as exact a counterfeit as one could imagine."

John Muir, the California naturalist and dis-
coverer of the great Muir glacier, writes of the
''The Alaska Trip" in the Midsummer Holiday
(August) Century. Of Fort Wrangel, Mr. Muir
writes:

**0n the arrival of the steamer most of the
passengers make haste to go ashore to see r'he curi-
ous totem-poles in front of the massive timber
houses of the Indians, and to buy curiosities,
chiefly silver bracelets hammered from dollars
and half-dollars, and tastefully engraved by
Indian workmen; blankets better than those of
civilization, woven from the wool of wild goats
and sheep; carved spoons from the horns of these
animals; Shamen rattles, miniature totem-poles,
canoes, paddles, stone hatchets, pipes, baskets,
etc. The traders in these curious wares are
mostly women and children, who gather on the

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A Manual for Gold Seekers. 145

front platforms of the half-dozen stores, sitting
on their blankets seemingly careless whether
they sell anything or not, every other face black-
ened hideously, a naked circle about the eyes
and on the tip of the nose w^ere the smut has
been weathered off. The lai^er girls and the
young women are brilliantly arrayed in ribbons
and calico, and shining among the blackened
and blanketed old crones like scarlet tanagers in
a flock of blackbirds. Besides curiosities, most
of them have berries to sell, red, yellow, and
blue, fresh and dewy, and looking wondrous
clean as compared with the people. The Indians
are proud and intelligent nevertheless, and
maintain an air of self-respect which no amount
of raggedness and squalor can wholly subdue.

"Many canoes may be seen along the shore,
all fashioned alike, with long, beak-like sterns
and prows, the largest carrying twenty or thirty
persons. What the mustang is to the Mexican
vaquero,the canoe is to the Indian of the Alaskan
coast. They skim over the glassy, sheltered
waters far and near to fish and hunt and trade,
or merely to visit their neighbors. Yonder goes
a whole family, grandparents and all, the prow of
their canoe blithely decorated with handfuls of
the purple epilobium. They are going to gather
berries, as the baskets show. Nowhere else in
my travels north or south, have I seen so many

I'' *

146

Klondike.

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berries. The woods and meadows and open
spaces along the shore are full of them — huckle-
berries of many species, salmon berries, rasp-
berries, blackberries, currants and gooseberries,
with fragrant strawberries and serviceberries on
the drier grounds, and cranberries in the bogs,
sufficient for every worm, bird, and human being
in the Territory, and thousands of tons to spare.
The Indians at certain seasons, roving in merry
lands, gather large quantities, beat them into
paste, and then press tha paste into square
cakes and dry them for winter use, to be eaten
as a kind of bread with their oily salmon. Ber-
ries alone with the lavish bloom that belongs to
them are enough to show how fine and rich the
northern wilderness must be.'*

W. D. Yingst, of Salt Lake City, two years
ago camped on the spot where Dawson now
stands. He prospected the country for miles
about that point, and took back to Utah several
hundred dollars in nuggets, the largest of which
weighed about an ounce and a half. For the
benefit of those who are contemplating an ad-
venturous trip to Alaska, Yingst readily con-
sented to give the Tribune of his native city all
his experience in the Klondike.

"It was two years ago that I made the trip,"
said he. "I want to say before going into do-
tails that it is a dangerous undertaking, and

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 147

nobody ought to start out to make it with a
dream of sudden wealth made at one blow.
Nobody who is nc j in perfect health should
think of venturing into that region. If they do
they commit a crime against themselves and
those who may be dependent upon them, as well
as those who are to become their companions in
the struggle."

The warning was peculiarly emphasized by a
casual survey of Yingst's proportions. He is a
massively molded man, full of animal vigor and
great endurance. The scales will tell in his
favor 190 pounds of solid flesh and muscle. His
cool and decisive manner in conversation lend
the conviction of a phlegmatic temperament, not
easily disturbed by hardships or danger.

"liCt me explain why those of delicate consti-
tutions should not go to the Klondike," he con-
tinued, "and why they should not start at this
time of the year, especially. In the first place
you need $1,000 in capital, 800 to 900 pounds of
provisions, and everything necessary in the way
of personal effects. In tho next place you must
get into the Klondike before October 1, if you
have the determination to stick it out. After
that date an attempt to make it is extremely
hazardous, for the very apparent reason that in
the face of falling snow and frozen streams your
journey would become so necessarily slow that

W. I'l

148

Kloiidili'e.

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the rapid winter of the Arctic circle is almost
certain to lock the traveler in its embrace and
cut off escape to the coast. All of these difficul-
ties require the greatest sort of endurance.

''Nowasto the reason why it would be a crime
to foist yourself upon a limited population whose
stores of provisions are never wholly adequate.
Those whose supplies give out before the end of
the winter-locked season are dependent upon
their neighbors whose better discretion has pro-
vided for emergencies. Every person in the de-
plorable fix that I am describing cuts down the
total provisions of the camp so much per capita
and thereby increases the danger of starvation,
for men who are fighting with Nature to wrest
something from her in the face of adversity are
too generous to let a fellow creature suffer. Ill-
ness is a hardship to those who are in health, for
some one must attend to the wants of the sick
person, and in the end the convalescent and his
nurse have lost their time and broken their
spirits in the mad rush.

"It must be recollected that civil authority
does not really extend to these isolated points.
The law is that made and enforced by the
miners. It L my belief that the same methods
adopted when I spent a winter in that region
will be put into effect befoie the beginning of
this winter. All those who have not provided

if '.
I

A 2iLanual for Gold Seekers. 149

themselves with enough to go through the winter
will be compelled to leave the camp by starting
back to the coast. There will be no choice in
the matter, either. It is a question of life or
death with tlie population of Dawson, and no
chances are apt to be taken. If it comes to a
serious situation among those who remain the
provisions of the camp Avill probably be called
into a general storehouse, and every man and
woman be given their allowance in common.
There will be no use of kicking in that country;
every one must abide by the will of the majority.
"Travel overland in Alaska, while confined to
the level, can best be made in the fall of the
year, not later than October 1. The ground has
hardened then, giving admirable footing and
quick travel. At no time during the winter does
more than two feet of snow fall in the level
country. I am not speaking of the fall in the
mountains, which is unspeakable. Temperature
is not a serious thing if you are clothed accord-
ing to the fashion of the country. The summer
season is no time to travel overland. We had
some experience in that line while prospecting.
The whole surface is covered with a species of
moss )out eight inches thick, and beneath it
ground that was thawed for about eighteen
inches. Every foot of the march you sink to the
knee, impeding progress and consuming provi-

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Klondike.

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sions at the same time. These conditions of the
surface also make prospecting more favorable in
the winter season. We burned holes through
the frozen ground and began our sluicing.
Water has to be reached through the ice, but
there is an abundant flow. I might add that the
summer weather is intolerably hot.

"Clothing is an important thing to consider.
Three suits of underwear of the fleece-lined
variety are imperative. Ilip rubber boots, at
least two pairs ought to be taken, and besides a
heavy canvas coat lined with fleece. Ordinarily
coarse, heavy outside wear is sufficient. Fur-
lined mits and warm caps are also necessary.'*

Will Rowles, bookkeeper for the Chattanooga
Brewing Company, has just received an interest-
ing letter from Ben Thomas, a friend of his who
is in Alaska. Young Thomas went to Alaska some
months ago from Denver, Colorado, and is do-
ing well. He says: "We are all getting rich out
here. Flour is selling as high as $60 a barrel,
while coffee is sold almost by the grain. It is
very high. I am doing some prospecting, but
most of my time is devoted to carrying on my
business. This is the place for young men, and
I advise you to come out here if you can.

"Now this is the fact. There is gold in Alaska
for whoever wants it, plenty of it, but it is des-
perately hard to get. The man who comes here

A Mam>ual for Gold Seekers. 151

looking for it must make up his mind to endure
greater hardships than he has ever endured be-
fore. He has got to live on less and work
harder, to get along with less comfort, and to
put up with more things he doesn't like than he
has ever done before. He must be willing to
shut himself ofiE from the outside world and
much of the time from the society of his kind.
He must be prepared to brave all sorts of dangers
and to take his life in his hands, if need be. He
must be fearless, courageous, strong, healthy and
active, li he is all these and a hard worker,
he'll got his gold, and if he has good mining
sense he'll get a lot of it. It's here, plenty of
it, more than will be taken out for a good many
years. But it takes brains, muscle and grit to
get it.

"The Indians have no idea of its value. In
exchange for two hankerchiefs, a shirt and a pair
of old pants, Mr. Grewe and his partner bought
a caribou, which supi^lied them with fresh meat
for a long time. Many of these animals are
killed by the Indians, and that is where the
only obtainable fresh meat comes from in the
winter.

"A friend of mine has been down the Yukon
to St. Michael. On the trip either way he says
that at this time of the year there is no danger,
and at most, for people of tough as well as of

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152

Klondike.

si!

tender skin, discomfort and inconvenience, on
account of the myriads of mosquitoes, all of
■^hich are active twenty-four hours a day.

*'lt may seem strange that there should be
such vast swarms of these insects in such a
country, but it is easily explained. All over the
surface of tlie country there is moss fifteen
inches to two feet thick. In the winter the
larvae of these insects lie buried in the moss,
safely protected from the cold under a blanket
of snow. When the arctic summer sun melts
the snow, the insects burst upon the world. The
mosquitoes are not of the singing kind — they go
to Avork at once.

"In the summer, too, traveling is difficult.
On a sled over the snow, a man can pull 400 to
500 pounds, but in the summer one can hardly
st.igger along with 150 pounds, because the moss
is soggy mud and water, and at every step he
sinks to his knees. It is for this summer
weatlier that rubber hip boots are essential.

"There has been a good deal of inquiry as to
how the summit is crossed without very hard
work. Let the man who undertakes the trip
from Juneau at this time of the year be pre-
pared for a good deal of back-tripping. This is
very discouraging work. All the men who take
in their year's provisions must expect it. Back-
tripping means carrying the supplies in install-

A Ifaniial for Gold Seekers. 153

ments. A man may carry 150 to 200 pounds a
few miles; then ho must go back to another
supply, and so ho really will go over some parts
of the road five, six or seven times. Some men
can get Indians to carry their pack for them
over the summit; but v,'ith such numbers as are
going there will not be enough natives to do the
carrying. For those who cannot secure the serv-
ices of natives, or who cannot afford to pay
them, back-tripping is heart-trying. I have seen
great husky men sit down and cry like children
under this back-tripping. There are caches
along the road, and places where the install-
ments can be lodged on the trips from stage to
stage. Sheep Camp is one of these places.'*

The Alaska Indians are not very satisfactory
laborers. They dj all the piloting on the river,
and are used to carry wood at fuel stations.
When an attempt is made to hurry them they go
slower than before, and just laugh at the impa-
tience of the travelers. Many of the ■v> .men are
married to white men. It is very rare to find an
Indian who does any mining for himself. I only
know one, Minook, a Russian half-breed, who
has pretty good diggings on Minook Creek at
the lower ramparts. He hires Indians at about
$3 per day, and is able to make them work.
About twenty white miners have got in there
now. Conflicting reports are current as to the
Talue of the claims.

it-

154

Klondike.

f 1 I

|iil \

Tho miners at Forty-Mile and Dawaon City,
to prevent trouble between white men and In-
dians, have forbidden the sale of liquor to the
natives on pain of expulsion from the camp. A
sort of native liquor called hoochenoo is made
from black-strap molasses, fruit, sour dough and
brown sugar. It takes about a week to brew and
its powers of intoxication are potent. In absence
of other liquors miners sometimes indulge in this
stuff.

There is not as much barter with the Indians
as formerly. They have passed the bead and
gewgaw stage, and are disposed to accept only
money or useful articles. The trading com-
panies dispose of a great deal of *'Siwash to-
bacco" to them. This is long leaf tobacco in its
natural state. Around Forty-Mile and Dawson
the Indians buy the manufactured tobacco.
They have all become great dandies and dress
better than the white men. Many of them buy
watches. There are many Indians in the coun-
try, especially wherever there is a mining camp.

One of the younger miners writes:

*'We are getting ready to start out to-night;
think of putting 75 or 100 pounds on your back
and starting out for a weeK or two, wading in
marshes up to your knees or mud to the same
depth. Well, that is what a prospecter can ex-
pect in Alaska. The moss is a foot deep every-
where, wet, and the mosquitoes are just awful.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 156

What few horses are here are faring hard, as
feed is scarce, but they charge $1 a pound for
packing stulf to the mines from Dawson, which
IS six to twelve miles distant, so a man with a
few horses can make all the money he wants. A
good dog is worth $250.'*

The gold production is attended by com-
mensurate difficulty, delay, expense and priva-
tion in the mining itself. The short summer of
ninety days generates only sufficient heat to
melt the snow, the ground itself still remaining
frozen, it being necessary to pick it out like so
much rock, and then melt the icy particles over
a fire preparatory to washing.

It takes seventy days to get a load of freight
from the coast into the mines, and, once there,
flour sells at $30 per hundred, meal at 118 per
hundred, meat at II per pound, vhisky at $1.50
per drink, mining tools and supj)lies and cloth-
ing sell at almost their weight in gold, while
medicine and hospital and surgical accessories
are priced above rubies and diamonds.

Wages per day run from $12 to $16, with board
per day at from $4 to $8.

Travel and freighting to and fro between St.
Michael and the mines is through the medium of
the dog-teavns. They readily sell for $150 per
head, a crack team of six being worth $1,000.
The dogs, on fair Alaska mountains roads, will

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156

Klondi'ke.

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make from twenty to twenty-five miles a day
■with a load of freight, while private traveling
sledges have records of fifty miles and upward
per day. The vehicle used for both freight and
passenger traffic is a combination canoe and
sled.

**The Klondike district takes its place as the
richest placer diggings the world has ever seen.
Last week we published an account of the result
of the spring clean-up," says the Alaska Miner,
**and as we glibly wrote of thousands and tens
of thousands rescued from the sands of El Dorado
and Bonan;5a Creeks we ourselves looked upon
the account almost with incredulity.

**But there is no occasion to be alarmed at the
startling nature of the statement. We have
been very close to the most reliable sources of
information for many months past. As far back
as last March we gave a pan value analysis of
the richest creeks. It is interesting in the line
of recent events to look back and make compari-
sons.

*'We talked with several men at that time who
had spent most of the winter on the creeks, and
as this was previous to the big rush they had
many opportunities of noting the located claims
•which were being worked, and they also had the
advantage of being present when panning was
being done by the owners to ascertain the value

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 157

of the various claims. Wo exprossed the opinion
then that El Dorado v/ould prove to be the richer
creek, and our surmises have proved to bo cor-
rect.

*'How did we arrive at this result? We care-
fully kept a record of the panning results on
both creeks, and the average at that time was as
follows: On El Dorado Creek No. 3, $3; No. 4,
$4.60; No. 5, 18.50; No* 6 as high as 1153; No.
7, about the average of No. G; No. 8 as high as
$00; from No. 8 to No. 16, from $3.50 to $10 on
an average, although $216 was washed out of one
pan on the latter claim. From No. 16 to No. 37
all the claims were regarded as good, but not
enough panning had been done to justify us in
forming any opinion of the average value. Upon
No. 37 a nugget worth $360 of irregular shape
was found. From No. 37 to rim rock there had
not been sufficient prospecting done, but the
opinion then was that all the claims Avere good.

**Even as far back as last March the best de-
veloped claim in the country was that of Clarence
Berry, No. 6 on El Dorado, in which he then
owned a half-interest. He also owned one-third
interest in Nos. 4 and 5. He employed twelve
men all the winter taking out pay dirt and de-
positing it upon the dump.

**To give an idea of the richness of the claim
we cannot do better than say that Berry paid his

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168

Klondike.

men $1.25 an hour until some one offered more,
and that every night he melted ice in his cabin
and panned out sufticiout gold from the frozen
dirt to pay the wages of his men. Berry knew
where there was very rich ground on his claim,
and he very often panned out from $10 to $50 to
th9 pan, and on one occasion he panned $125.
When requiring money i^t was only necessary for
the owner of the claim to taice out some of his
rich ground and wash it.

"Every man who came here from the Yukon
last winter after telling his story of the new dig-
ings invariably had something to say of claim
No. 6, so that it has probably been advertised
better than any other mine on the Klondike.
It is, therefore, with much satisfaction that we
publish the result of the clean-up. We have had
all kinds of estimates given us of the amount
which Berry's dump would produce, and the
highest we heard was $100,000, so that in an-
nouncing the result as $140,000 it goes to show
what a rich country has been discovered, and
furthermore it is substantial and satisfactory
proof of the care with which the news from the
diggings has been prepared for publication.

"We gave figures in the winter which showed
that the lower portion of Bonanza Creek aver-
aged all the way from $10 to $50 to the pan, up
to No. 56 below Discovery. From Discovery to

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 169

No. 13 above the vivlue was from $5 to 140.
Then from there to No. 53 the average is from
$10 to 50 cents. From this point up the creek
there had not been enough prospecting done to
base any average upon. We hope soon to be in
a position to give the results from various claims
on Bonanza which may be depended upon, and
we can then compare them with the panning
average of the early summer as given above.

"We know that Rhodes has taken out probably
$150,000 from his claim, but then it was well
developed, and we are expecting big results from
there, but we want to get the information from
a number of claims so as to get a right idea of
the general value of the creek, and prove the
assertion so often made of its continued richness
from end to end. One thing has been learned in
the Klondike, and that is that production is pro-
portionate to development. We have found that
the yield of gold follows the work done on a
claim. When Rhodes made such a good showing
at the start it encouraged others to open up their
claims, and quite a number changed hands on
Bonanza Creek and the owners left there for the
coast to obtain sufficient supplies to last them
for a long period. Then came the big returns
from No. 6 on El Dorado, and the great excite-
ment was transferred to that creek, and there
were fewer absentee owners, and in consequence

■«

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:' 'tell

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160

Klondike.

more work was done, the evidences of which we
have had ample demonstration of in the big
sacks of gold which have been washed out.

*'The largest results attract the most attention,
therefore most of the stories which have reached
the coast cluster about the few big producers,
and of the sales made only those involving large
sums are spoken of. There are a great many
smaller sums than the ones spoken of which have
been taken from El Dorado. But properties
which in any other country on the face of the
earth would attract universal attention are al-
most lost sight of in the Klondike, because they
have only yielded $10,000. $15,000 and $20,000.
Next fall these same claims will be so far de-
veloped as to hold their own with the rest of the
creek. Berry had a good start, and after reach-
ing bed rock could command sufficient funds to
hire men and pay them wages equal to the pro-
duction of an ordinary placer mine. We have
no particular reason to assume that other claims
will prove less productive than his when they
have had the same amount of labor expended
upon them.

''Several men from Seattle went in with the first
party this spring, and they are interested on
Bonanza Creek and intend to prosecute work
with all the men they can r>^ fitably employ.

"If a comparatively fe v men in the limited time

A Manual for Gold Seekers. ICl

at their disposal are able to produce a million
dollars from dirt raised to the surface during the
winter months with practically no preparation at
all, what will be the result when all the claims
are being vigorously developed with plenty of
labor to draw from? This h a very important
question, and is one fraught with considerable
interest to the great number of men now on their
way to the mines. If we think a moment that
there has not been a barren claim yet on either
of the creeks the possibilities of the future are
tremendous. Let us make this a little clearer.
The panning in the winter gave promise of ex-
ceedingly rich results. These rich results have
been attained in every instance where the claim
has been worked. We have therefore the right
to assume that similar results will reward the
efforts of the owners of other claims on the same
creeks which have been so productive this season.
The only evidence one had of the probable value
of a claim was the amount of gold obtained in a
single pan. Suppose we follow this idea out for
a moment.

**No. 6 on El Dorado Creek panned out as high
as $153 to the pan last winter before work was
done on it. This is the claim which produced
$140,000 from the winter dump. Now the No.
7, next to it, yielded precisely the same results
to the pan. Why wili not No. 7, when it is

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162

Klondike.

opened up as much as No. 6 has been, give the
same results? Then again the next claim. No.
8, panned out as high as $60 to the pan. The
same argument applies to the third. The aver-
age of the panning from No. 8 to No. 16 is from
$2.50 to $10 to the pan. This would make any
of these claims from No. 7 to No. 16 produce as
much gold as No. *» did, with the same amount
of labor expended on them. What would this
mean? As a simple question of mathematics it
would mean several million dollars alone for
these few claims. This takes no account of
claims No. 17 to No. 37, all of which are re-
ported to be rich; but little work has been done
upon them so far.

"When all the claims are in working order and
producing gold in proportion to their develop-
ment we shall see a state of things at the Klon-
dike unprecedented in the world's history. The
man who took $90,000 from 45 feet of his ground
last v/inter, and has 450 feet yet left, and so far
as he knows of the same average value, can, by
putting enough men to work, clean up hal.** a
million next season. If this be true then there
are others who have panned out from $5 to $40
in prospecting who have every reason to think
that their claims will yield in like manner.

"We noticed as men went through here this
spring that there were large numbers who expect

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 163

to hire out, and thus obtain a stake so that they
may in turn spend some time in prospecting with
an equal chance of discovering something good
for themselves. Their places will be taken by
other arrivals and the work of securing the gold
will go on, and much country will be examined
by men who will be encouraged and stimulated
by the success of others. A man who can afford
to hire men and pay them $12 a day will get the
advantage of a quick return. These diggings
are essentially winter ones. Upon a claim of
five hundred feet a large number of prospect
holes can be sunk at the same time, and the pay
dirt deposited on the dump, and next spring the
owner of the claim will be in a position to realize
enormous amounts of money from his property.

**The Klondike diggings may be regarded as
permanent to the extent of several million dol-
lars, and we have no hesitation in recommending
men with some means to go in and try their for-
tunes in the gold-lined creeks of the far North,
where endurance, perseverance, grit and a good
outfit will be their best friends."

Undoubtedly the most vivid account of the
actual staking out of the Bonanza diggings has
come from the pen of Mr. Wilbur F. Cornell, an
old newspaper man. He wrote: **S^on after
getting to this place it was rumored about the
stores and saloons that a new gold field had been

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164

Klondike.

If i

discovered on a tributary of Klondike River,
about fifty-one miles up the Yukon from this
place, and in two or three days every boat was
gone from Fort Cudahy and the town of Forty-
Mile, and only enough people were left to watch
the business houses, and police barracks, and a
few who could not get boats. I have seen so
many of these 'stampedes' that they do not ex-
cite me, but as I had nothing better to do at the
time, I got an assistant, as one person cannot
take a boat up the rapid Yukon, piled tent,
stove, and a month's provisions into my boat, and
Eben and I started to see what and how much
had been found. Nothing definite could be
learned here, but it is human as well as animal
nature to run with the herd, and the herd had
gone pellmell to Klondike. Before I could pass
Forty-Mile three more feverish individuals had
persuaded me that their future in this world and
perhaps in the next, depended upon their going
with me; so they grasped the towline, and we
are on the way.

*'Going up-stream with a boat on the Yukon is
laborious, the curren t being too swft to permit
of rowing or paddling, so we pole when possible
and tow or trick when we can't pole. My three
passengers, two of the mounted police force and
a steamboat engineer who has quit the steamer
Weare for the stampede, are none of them ex-

! i"

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-<4. Manual for Gold Seekers. 165

perts in handling a boat by the peculiar method
necessary on the Yukon, but as I have had sev-
eral summers' experience we got along most of
the time in cold drizzling rain, making camp
where we can when night comes, but always on
some gravelly bank, as the moss on level ground
is as wet as the river itself. Before we reach
the Klondike boats are passing down loaded with
men who have been to the diggings. How gayly
they shoot by us, with a five-mile current rush-
ing them along, and how my friends at the tow-
line, with shins blistered from sliding and stum-
bling over the rocks on the banks do envy them!

" 'Hurry along boys; it's a big thing!' 'Take
it easy; there'll be claims there for you next
summer!' 'Five dollars to the pan on Dis-
covery claim!' 'That you Cornell? Get a
claim next me if you can; it's all right!' 'Yes,
I've located; will sell for $100!' 'Hello, Wil-
bur; don't let anything stop you; take enough
grub over the mountain to last a few days and
look around a little; it is going to beat Florence!'

"Thus they shout as they fly by, but the last
remark was by a man who was with me at Flor-
ence, Idaho, in '63, and has been in all the good
mining camps of the Pacific coast, and I would
take his judgment on a mine as I would take
twenty-dollar pieces; so I tell my companions
tlM»* it is no wild-goose chase r" ve on, and we

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166

Khndike.

pull and pole with renewed energy, reaching the
native village at the mouth of Klondike Kiver
the third evening. AVe are too tired and foot-
sore to attempt the mountain that night, so we
put up the tent and listen to the varying and ex-
ceedingly contradicting opinions of those who
are camped in the vicinity and have been over
the trail. Most of them are going back, and
have come here for more provisions, which they
left in the natives houses' and caches; some have
to go to Forty-Mile Fork, and there is the usual
proportion of those who promise themselves they
will never see Bonanza Creek again and don't
want a claim there. Then we see who is in the
boats arriving every hour or oftener from Stu-
art River, from Sixty-Mile River, from Indian
Creek, and from all over the Yukon Valley, and
I wonder how they can have heard of the dis-
covery, but find in most cases that natives have
been sent for them by friends here.

**Then comes a Comanche yell from the brow of
the first rise of the mountain over which the
trail comes from Bonanza, and more yells until
a stranger here would think we were about to be
attacked by a whole nation of savages, and we
look up through the bushes and see the rocks
leaping down the steep declivity, and men are
rolling and sliding along with them, and the
yells increase, and rocks and men. come faster,

-'«»i:*i»Wi«)i*i««ii.(<AH''"«w>i*»«J

A Manual for Gold Seekers, 167

until they reach the bottom 50 yards away. AVe
shout too, and somebody propounds a question
which the Comanches hear: 'Ten dollars to the
pan, right in the bank of the creek on No. 11.'
'Above or below?' 'Oh, below, of course; no-
body has panned any above.'

"You must be told that when a discovery is
made on a creek that claim is called 'Discovery
claim,' the adjoining claim above is 'No. 1
above,' and the first down stream is 'No. 1 be-
low,' and the claims are numbered successively
both ways so far as locations are made. The
'Comanches' are buttonholed to a fire, and the
coffee pot is placed where it will boil quickly,
frying pans are soon doing their duty, and the
Comanches are talked to and at till they are
pumped dry of information, and coffee is ready,
and I know by the ferocity with which they at-
tack the solid food and pour down the coal-black
coffee that the trip to Bonanza Creek is not a
picnic — though they say it's fairly good.

"Soon I see a few men slipping away from the
small crowd and in a few m.inutes we hear the
stones on the side of the mountain sliding again,
and a man with a pack on his back is clambering
upward, clinging to the small trees and bushes,
all the time going but very slowly; and another
person soon follows, and others follow in turn.
It is getting dark, and I know we are too tire(?

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168

Klondike.

V I

to go far, and would have to stop somewhere in
the mountain, without water, and though we
•would like to go, I am satisfied we would regret it
the next day as we need rest badly and some of us
are not as strong as tnose young Comanches who
have come back. So we get into the tent and
blankets and sleep until a boat's bottom grinds
on the gravelly beach, and more men crawl up
the bank, cook supper, and either start over the
trail or go to sleep. And we try to sleep again
and I am just about unconscious of trouble when
I hear something moving in the tent, and I know
■what it is, for I have learned a few things along
the banks of the Yukon from experience, and I
can't be mistaken in the peculiarly gentle sound
of a pan being licked. I seize the handle of a
hatchet placed there for the purpose and I hurl
that hatchet at the dog, and miss him, of course
— who ever did hit an Indian dog with anything
but a bullet? — and I postpone sewing up the hole
in the tent the hatchet made, and sleep again
until more boats thump the gravel on the shore,
or more Comanche yells come from the hills;
and so it is all night long.

''Daylight, and we have had breakfast and have
fixed up small packs, and are making the stones
rattle and are trying to pull up the small trees
on the side hill. 1 have been doing this sort of
thing all summer, and D«ither lungs nor muscle

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A Manual for Gold Seekers. 169

are much exercised by the climb, but I soon find
that all are not like me. Half a mile or less and
the trail is not so steep. It is through thick
woods, spruce and balm (cottonwood, the name
here) and another of the poplar family, quaking
aspen, and the ground is covered with moss — ■
the green mosses of the lowlands with more or
less reindeer moss and an occasional patch of
Iceland moss, lycopodiums, and so many other
kinds of mosses and plants that I won't try to
remember them; besides there are the huckle-
berry and cranberry bushes.

*'Then we came to a swamp, and the trail is
more than ankle deep with water, but one can-
not walk through these places out of the trail, so
we plod through, and finally come to dry, solid
ground for a mile or more, and some of us are
getting very thirsty (the swamp water is not fit
to drink), and we go up and up, hoping to get
to a spring we have been told we would find
before reaching the summit. A few cranberries
keep me from getting thirsty, but the rest are
differently constituted, I suppose. Occasionally
a grouse flutters from the berry patches and
alights in the low trees. He does not seem to
understand this stampede business, and is dis-
posed to remonstrate against being thus dis-
turbed while picking the berries which nobody
else wants.

FITi

170

Klondike.

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**We do live to get to the small spring of water
and we take a rest. Some men are coming down
the trail; others come up the trail. One of the
down-trail men takes an up-trail man to one side
and whispers advice. All I can hear is the
word 'pup.' In Yukon vernacular 'pup' means
gulch. Every creek has its 'pup,' and if one
of those 'pups' is thought worthy of being
given a name afterward, it bocomea sufficiently
advanced to have pups also. So I conclude that
somebody has found gold in one of these pups,
but I am in woeful ignorance as to which par-
ticular pup is being alluded to.

"The sergeant 'Canadian mounted police,'
though they haven't a horse within a thousand
miles of here, gives his blankets to the other
M.P., and we trot along. The engineer and the
other M. P. begin a race for the summit. About
every quarter of a mile we meet men, and they
tell of rich prospects being found in different
places along the creek; some of them think it is
only in spots and on the rim rock; others are sure
the creek is good from source to mouth; and now
and th<^n one will tell us it is all fraud, and the
men who claim to have got big pans never got
them. These pessimistic prospectors always look
weary and fagged out, and I know they have had
no breakfast, and perhaps no supper last night,
and probably didn't sleep much. Strange what

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 171

an effect the want of a little food will have upon
one's opinion upon any subject!

'*At length we reached the summit. The en-
gineer and the M.P. are not in sight. We lie
down and breathe a little. The trees have be-
come fewer as we have climbed upward, and we
can see a pa -t of the world around us. Oh, what
a picture in the northeast, and what a beautiful
foreground the Klondike Valley makes! We
look up the valley and can see the windings of
the silvery thread of water for fifty miles, and
where it comes out of a gateway in the mountains
fuly 1,000 feet in depth."

An old Montana miner, Mr. Frank Aldrich,
now at the diggings, has written:

"On June 10 we landed at Klondike. Here
the wildest of gold excitements is just starting.
The riches of California and Australia are not in
it. I saw $100,000 laying on a wagon sheet in
one miner's cabin, besides every pot and pan
in the house not in use for cooking purposes was
full of gold. On Bonanza Creek, Red McConnell
and Jim Tweed, old Bentonites, are worth $100,-
000 each, and I could name fifty old-time friends
that are strictly Mn the swim.' 1 purchased a
mule for $400 and was offered $600 in one hour
after. I have just located a claim on Dominion
Creek, and am now busy packing supplies back
to prospect it seventy miles from here. Bacon

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is selling at seventy-five cents a pound and is
hard to get; and everything in proportion is cor-
respondingly as high.

"Saloons run wide open here. Drinks fifty
cents; whisky by gallon, $20 to 130. I saw one
poker game yesterday with $50,000 on the table.
Bonanza kings with long buckskin sacks were
crowding to get up to the bar to treat; got so
much money they didn't know Avhat to do with
it. In all, it is the richest mining camp ever
known in the history of the world; and next year
it will be better. Thej. steamer P. B. Weare went
out of here the day before yesterday so heavily
laden with gold dust in her office that extra
props were put from the deck to the cabin, di-
rectly under the office. You and your friends
will bmile when you read this, but it is the truth,
nevertheless, and you can come and see for your-
self."

One of the largest nuggets so far received from
the Yukon is one four inches long, weighing
fourteen ounces, and valued at *250. It was
sent to the North American Transportation
Company and has been presented to the Field
Columbian Museum.

Inspector Strickland, of the Northwest Mounted
Police, who has spent the past two years on the
Yukon, states:

"There has been no exaggeration. I have

nt.-

Nugget Weighing Fourteen Ounces and Valued at $250. —

Page 172.

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A Manual for Gold Seekers. 173

seen nothing in newspapers in regard to the rich-
ness of the field that is not true. Great strikes
have been matle, but the amount of gold is un-
limited. There are hundreds of creeks rich in
gold-bearing placers never yet entered by pros-
pectors. Of course all the claims in the creeks
now opened are taken up, but those are only be-
ginnings, I believe, of much greater finds. Some
men I know, who ,struck paying streaks, took
out as much as $200,000. Others averaged be-
tween $100,000 and $200,000, while others again
only range from $5,000 to $20,000."

"No imagination can conceive of the wealth
in the Klondike and neighboring districts," said
one lucky miner as he pulled a buckskin bag
from one of his pockets and proceeded to edify
his listeners with a magnificent display from one
of his thirteen placer claims. ''This is a sample
of the kind of stuff we get when at the close of
the day's work we wash out a bucket of dirt in
order to pay the men their wages. The usual
method is to pay for the day's operation out of
a single bucketful of dirt. The dirt is washed out
in the cabin and the wages, which are $15 a day,
are weighed on the scales. Gold nuggets and
gold dust is all the money we know anything
about in the diggings. Every man carries a pair
of scales, and $10 in dust is the day's salary of a
common laborer. A miner who may be detailed

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174

KlondiJce.

to cut wood receives he same wages as though
he were in the bottom of the pit. I have been
in Alaska ofiE and on for fifteen vears. ±*art of
the time I was engaged in mining, and part of
the time as a merchant. I know a good deal
about the country, its climate and its peculiari-
ties, and the chances which are offered to ener-
getic men. My advice is for outsiders to stay
away until next spring, and then will be the
time to make a rush for a fortune. The excite-
ment next summer will be much greater than it
is to day, and the difficulty in procuring miners
will be more felt than at the present time. I
would not be surprised if they will be paying
$25 a day for good miners, for everybody will be
wild over prospecting. The day before I left
the camp there were one hundred claims staked
out on the banks of the river. Somebody went
out on the bank and panned a pan of loose gravel
at the surface. He found that it carried $2.50
in gold, and the camp went wild."

In locating claims there was no attempt made
to select the ground on the Klondike. The first
man took No. 1 and the next man No. 2, and so
on until the creek from where it enters the
Klondike to its source in the mountains was
taken up. Then the attention of the newcomers
was directed to El Dorado Creek, which empties
into Bonanza Greek a few miles from where the
latter joins the Klondike Biver.

'T?

A Momual for Gold Seekers. 175

Here new surprises were met with. The first
mau who located a claim panned out $5, and
stayed right where he was, and now he counts his
fortune by tens of thousands. With him were
others, and one after the other the claims were
staked out until not one remained from one end of
the creek to the other. At its upper end there are
two forks, and all the ground from rim rock to
rim rock on both these forks was likewise located.
We hear of some old-timer from California who
accompanied a party of miners who were locat-
ing claims as they passed up the creek, who was
constantly looking for favorable indications of
gold before deciding to exercise his right to
acquire a claim. He saw nothing to attract him
until the whole creek was pre-empted, and as
he returned he found that ground which he had
discarded as being useless had changed hands
for thousands of dollars, and not a pick had been
used — ground which since then has produced
$100,000.

El Dorado has proved to be richer than
Bonanza — that is, more gold has been taken from
it. This may be accounted for from the fact
that a large number of men who located on El
Dorado went to work at once last fall, put down
prospect holes, and after rearching bed rock
drifted through the frozen ground and raised
the pay Hirt to the surface. This dump, as it is

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176

Klondike.

called, was washed out this spring, and the re-
sults are something marvelous.

A man who had a rich claim would sink a hole
and take sample pans from it as he went down,
and by so doing he could form a very correct
estimate of what he was doing. When he com-
menced to drift on bedrock this process was re-
peated, so that he always followed up the richest
ground.

Clarence Berry's claim on El Dorado has been
often spoken about. He placed a value of 1100,-
000 on his dump. What are the actual figures?
To show the man's faith in his own property he
proceeded to buy out his partners before the
dump was washed out. To one of them he paid
$60,000, and to another $35,000. Then, when
the river melted, he washed the gold from the
dump and realized $140,000. The result of this
transaction was that he cleared $50,000 for a few
months' work in the winter, and yet owns one of
the most valuable mines in the district. When
washing out the dump it is said that the gold
was recovered at the rate of one ounce to the
shovel. In other words, each man took out
seventeen dollars a minute as he worked. It
took barely a week to clean up all the gold from
the winter's accumulation of pay dirt.

Archie McDonald worked forty-five feet of his
claim up and down the creek, with the result

mmm/mmfi^gaStetsmiK/Hmiii^^

A .Manual for Gold Seekers. 177

that his sacks now contain $90,000 in gold dust.
His claim is five hundred feet long; its value is
$1,000,000, if the ground is all of the same aver-
age value.

The news of the great strike on the Klon-
dike reached Circle City early in September.
Cobb, one of the returned miners, nurried ap
the Yukon, traveling day and night, carrying
only the barest necessities in the way of supplies.
He reached the mouth of Bonanza Creek, five
miles above Dawson City, only to find that the
best locations had been filed on. His last sup-
plies were almost gone, and there was little or no
provisions in the country. In his emergency,
Cobb met Frank Phiscator, the Indian farmer,
who came back on the Portland with $96,000.
Phiscator had just reached the new diggings,
and was looking for a partner. The two struck
up a friendship. Phiscator agreed to prospect
up the Klondike from the mouth of the Bonanza,
while Cobb followed the latter stream to its con-
fines with the El Dorado, nine miles up. Each
agreed to share with the other. A week after
they separated Cobb had located a claim on El
Dorado, and was thereby entitled by right of dis-
covery to twice the amount of ground usually
alloted. He hurried down to the mouth of the
creek and found Piscator returning from a fruit-
less search of gold. He told Phiscator of hi^
find, and the two iuqix hurried to Cobb's claim.

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178

Klondike.

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Phiscator located alongside of Cobb. The
two raen began work at once, the pans running
as high as $10 on the surface. They had struck
it rich. Laying down his shovel after the second
day's prospecting Cobb said : "Frank, this creek
is studded with gold from here to headwaters.
We will call it El Dorado," and so it haSj,been
known from that time on.

Asked as to the richness of the Klondike coun-
try, Mr. Ladue, the king of Dawson City, said:
"I have not seen any late reports, but it is pretty
hard to exaggerate it. Individuals may have ex-
aggerated as to the amounts they have taken
out, but as to the wealth of the country the
reports are generally correct. I believe the
largest amount taken out by one person was
$81,000 brought out by Frank Phiscator, of
Washington. About $2,000,000 have come out,
and at that ratio it is fair to assume that $15,-
000,000 will be produced by the same mines dur-
ing the winter.

*'The extent of the craze and quest for
riches," continued Mr. Ladue, "may be judged
from the fact that gold was discovered in Septem-
ber last, and that already 800 claims are staked
within a radius of twenty miles of Dawson City.
There is no jumping of claims. Three months*
work each year is required to hold a claim.
Failing in this the land reverts to the i^overn-

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 179

ment. The laws of Canada are stringent in such
matters, and severe penalties are imposed for
jumping or other interference with the rights of
claimants. Each claim is 500 feet along the creek
and extending to the foothills on either side."

Asked if he was correctly quoted as advising
people not to go in until spring Mr. Ladue said:
"Yes, it is too late to go in now. The gold fields
are located 1,700 miles up the Yukon River. If
many people go iix it will be impossible to get
provisions there in sufficient quantities. Next
spring will be a better time to go than now.
Nothing will be lost by the delay.

"The truth of the riches of this country has
not been half told and no one can exaggerate
the probable wealth to be found in this far-off
country."

Ladue is forty-three years old. He left Mon-
tana in 1882, going to the Black Hills. Eight
years ago he went to Alaska, where he prospected
for a time; after which he engaged in business.
Last September he removed his store to the
present site of Dawson City.

In truth the riches of the Klondike seem al-
most fabulous. One miner says: "A panful of
sand can be washed out in from three to twelve
minutes, and $2,000 was panned out from six
pans of sand."

Another man has realized twelve ounces to the

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180

Klondike.

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pan— sometimes; but sometimes will do, if you
count that up at $17 to the ounce.

When we fiist heard reports to the effect that
$25 to the pan was often found it was thought
wonderful; but from later accounts 125 to the
pan isn't in it now. Almost every man up there
wants a piece of this ground for himsell^ turn-
ing up his nose at the idea of working for wages,
when the said wages are not a cent less than
$1.50 per hour. One man has several men work-
ing for him at this rate, eight or ten hours daily;
when the day is done he takes a panful of dirt,
washes it out, and pays his men.

Dominion Surveyor Ogilvie says that rich fields
in the Forty-Mile district, such as Miller, Gla-
cier, and Chicken Creeks have been practically
abandoned for the Klondike. Men cannot be
got to work for love or money, and the standard
of wages is $1.50 an hour, and he repeats that
some of the claims are so rich [that every night a
few pans of dirt is sufficient to pay all the hired
help.

William Stanley, of Seattle, was a pauper eight-
een months ago; now he is worth, perhaps, $2,-
000,000. This is his story. "I went to Yukon
as a last resort. I was getting old and had no
money, and I knew that 1 would never get any
wealth unless I took it out of the ground. It
was a year ago last March that I left Seattle. I

%4i:

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 181

; .'^r ''

made for the Yukon. I had never been there
before. I knew nothing of mining and nothing
of the hardships of the country, and in fact was
as great a 'greeny' as over set foot in the gold
country of the Northwest. My " ^>amuel went
with me. He was as ignorant as .^ father.

* 'While we were on the steamship -Alki, which
took us to Dyea, we mot two young men, Charles
and George Worden. They were residents of
Sackett's Harbor, New York, and had come west
in search of gold. We became very intimate.
They knew little if anything of the country, and
one day in conversation one of us suggested that
we form a company and do our work on the syn-
dicate plan, each man to share and share alike.
We wandered through the Yukon district 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 be-
friended a man who gave us a tip as to the riches
of the Klondike. We were willing to believe
anything and made for the Klondike at once.
At tha time we were ew route for Forty-Mile
Creek. We were then at Sixty-Mile.

"The first thing we did when we reached the
Klondike was to spend a little time at the mouth

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182

Klondike.

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of the stream. We were there just twenty-four
hours when the 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 El
Dorado Creeks. /

"We went to El Dorado Creek and made loca-
tions on what were called Claims 25, 26, 53,
and 54. I think it was in October that we made
our locations. We worked Claims 25 and 26.
and were very soon satisfied that we had a fine
thing and went to work to make preparations for
a long winter of experience 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
did not drift up and down stream, nor did we
cross-cut the pay streaks. Of CvV^se 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
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.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 183

**I believe there is gold in almost every creek
in Alaska. Certainly on the Klondike 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 claims on the El Dorado claims will
average $3, some go as high as $160, and believe
me when I tell you that in five pans I have
taken out as high as $750. I did not pick the
pans, but simply put them against my breast and
scooped the dirt off the bedrock.

''Of course the majority of those on the Klon-
dike have done much figuring as to the amount
of gold the Klondike will yield. Many times we
fellows figured on the prospects of the El
Dorado. I would not hesitate much about
guaranteeing 131,000,000, and should not be sur-
prised a bit if $25,000,000, or even $30,000,000,
was taken out. Some people will tell you that
the Klondike is a marvel and that there will
never be a discovery in Alaska which will com-
pare with it. I think that there will be a num-
ber of new creeks discovered that will make won-
derful yields. Why, Bear Gulch is just like El
Dorado. Bear Gulch has a double bedrock.
The bedrocks are three feet apart. In the lower

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184

Klondike.

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bed the gold is as dark 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 31 on Last
Chance Gulch above Discovery. We prof/peoted
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, El Dorado. We also
advanced $5,000 each to four parties on El
Dorado Creek, taking a mortgage on their claim,
so you see we are well secured. No, I do not
want any better security for my money than El
Dorado 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 occa-
sionally rope in a greerrfiorn and get him to work

'■i:

A Manual /or Gold Seekers. 186

for a few days at $15 a day. Six or eight miners
worked on shares for us about six weeks, and
when 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 112 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."

The latest estimate of the probable output of
gold in the Klondike comes from B. R. Shaw, a
well-known insurance man, who left Seattle for
the Klondike on March 15, reaching Dawson
City two and a half months later. In a letter
he says that a conservative estimate of the prod-
uct of the camp during the next two years is
$50,000,000. Shaw is not an enthusiast, and be-
sides he has had twenty years of experience in
operating placer mines in California. This is
how Shaw described Dawson on June 18:
**There is no night here now. It is light as mid-
day for twenty-four hours, and not so warm but
that it's comfortable working out of doors. This
gold strike is without doubt the greatest on the
American continert, or in the world. Some of
the pay streaks are nearly all gold. One thou-
sand dollars to the pan is not uncommon, and as
high as 100 ounces to the pan have been taken

It Hi

Klondike.

out. As to the extent of the district it has
not been prospected sufficiently to ascertain
this fact. The people who came in here on the
rush settled down on a half-dozen streayis, all
within an area of not more than 150 square miles,
and the biggest paying streams were staked from
mouth to source. They began taking out the
pure gold at once, and little prospecting has
since been done outside this locality. No one
need fear all the good claims will be taken.
There are thousands of miles square that have
yet to be prospected.

""The Klondike joins the Yukon from the east a
few miles above the site of Fort Reliance, about
fifty miles above Dawson City. The discovery
of gold in the branches of this stream was due to
the reports of Indians. A white man named J.
A. Carmack, who worked in 1887, was the first to
hear the rumor and locate a claim in the lowest
branch, which was named by the miners Bonanza
Creek. Carmack reached his claim in August.
He had to cut some logs in order to get a few
pounds of provisions to enable him to begin work
on his claim. He returned with a few weeks*
provision for himself, wife and brother-in-law, in
the latt X part of August, and immediately set
about working his claim. The gravel he had to
carry in a box on his back from 30 to 100 feet.
Notwithstanding this, three men working very

11:

A Mcmual for Gold Seekers. 187

irregularly washed out 114,200 in eight days,
and Carmack asserts that if he had had proper
facilities he could have washed out the gold in
two days. The branch of the Bonanza Creek
called El Dorado has developed magnificently.
Another tributary, Tilly Creek, has been worked
with profit. There are 170 claims staked out in
the main creek and the branches are thought to
be good for as any more. The location aggre-
gates 350 claims, which will require over a thou-
sand men to work properly.

A few miles further up. Bear Creek enters the
Klondike. It has been prospected and claims
located. About twelve miles above the mouth of
Bear Creek, Gold Bottom Creek joins Klondike.
In a branch called Hunker Creek very rich ground
has been found. On Gold Bottom Creek and its
branches there will probably be two or three
hundred claims. The Indians hav<^ reached an-
other creek much further up, which they call
**Too Much Gold" Creek in which the gold is
said to be so plentiful that the miners say, ^'That
you have to mix gravel with it to sluice it." Up
to date nothing has been h ird from this creek.

''From all this we may think," reports Sur-
veyor Ogilvie, "that we have here a district
which will give 5,000 claims of 400 feet in length
each. Now, 1,000 such claims will require at least
3,000 men to work them properly, and as wages

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188

Klondike.

are from $8 to $10 per day, we have every reason
to assume that this particular territory will in a
year or two contain 10,000 souls at least, for the
news has gone out to the world, and an unprece-
dented influx is anticipated next spring. And this
is not all, for a large creek called Indian Creek
joins the Yukon about midway between Klon-
dike and Stuart River. All along this creek good
pay dirt may be found. All that has stood in
the way of working it heretofore has been the
scarcity of provisions owing to the difficulty of
getting them up there. Indian Creek is quite a
stream, and it is probable that it will yield five
or six hundred claims.

"Further south lie the heads of several
branches of Stuart River, on which some pros-
pecting has been done this summer and good
indications found, but the want of provisions
prevented development. Gold has been found
in several of the streams joining Pelly River, and
also along the Hootaliqua. In the line of these
finds further south are the Cassiar gold fields
in British Columbia, so the presumption is that
we have in our territory along the easterly
branches of the Yukon a gold-bearing belt of
indefinite width, and upward of 300 miles long,
exclusive of the British Columbia part of it.

"Quartz of a good quality is reported in the
hills around Bonanza Creek, but of this I shall

i;.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 189

be able to speak more fully after my proposed
survey. It is pretty certain from information I
have obtained from prospectors that all, or nearly
all, of the northerly branch of White River is on
our side of the line, and copper is found on it.
I have seen a specimen of silver ore said to have
been picked up in a creek flowing into Bennett
Lake, about fourteen miles from its mouth."

Mr. John G. Whitlock sent a communication
to the Examiner, that is vouched for by Mr.
Tremain, of the Prospective Mining & Machinery
Company of San Francisco, and Mr. Tremain is
good authority for any statements he may choose
to make. Full confidence may therefore be put
in this report. He said:

"You will no doubt be surprised to know that
I am up here. I came a year ago this spring. I
have a claim on El Dorado Creek, which runs into
the Klondike River. I had a partner who came
here with me and died last winter We had a
mild winter, and it is not so cold as some say or
think. I came down to Dawson to send this off,
as the boat leaves in a few days. Now to busi-
ness. I told you when I saw you last that I
would turn up all right in time, and so I have.
The gold mines here are wonderful — the biggest
in the world. You would not believe half if I
told you, but as there will be some gold going to
Portland you will see for yourself. Now, I want

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Klondike.

to .' 5k you, can you come to this place at once?
There was a claim next to mine that sold for
$60,000 a few days ago. I will not send any gold
out this time. I washed out in six days about
16,000, and I want to stay here another year or
two. Provisions are going to be very scarce.
If you will pack up and leave Portland at once,
and bring up grub enough i"* last three of us
one year, we will give you a half-interest in the
biggest thing you ever struck. As you know, I
am an old miner and know what I say. My new
partner and I have each got 110,000 piled away in
a sack. I am sure that in one year from now
we three — you, my partner and I — can take out
1500,000 and not try at all. My cabin is half a
mile from the diggings, and many a time I pick
up little nuggets that will weigh from an ounce to
two ounces. I was on Cook Inlet a long time.
We have been here only four months and have
over $30,000 to show. How is that? Now,
don*t listen to any one. You come up here. It
will take only 1500 worth uf provisions. Come by
the way of Juneau; never mind the expense, it
will beat living in Portland, anyway.

*'One man will take out $200,000 this trip for
four months' work by himself. What we want
is food and plenty of it. If you will come and
take this offer we will let you in as we say. We
have got the biggest thing of any of them. I

A Manual for Gold Seekers 191

have made the offer to two others, po come as
quick as you can. I know you have the money
and can come if you want to, still I cannot afford
to wait. Business is business, you know. I
shall expect you on the September boat at Daw-
son, if you come that w*iy, but if you come the
other way we will wait a reasonable time. As
for gold, we have more gold than bread. I may
get a million out oi: my claim if my ground fig-
ures out all right. I got $331 out of one pan-
ful of dirt not over ten pounds weight. There
were over thirty-nine nuggets in all."

The total of the wealth acquired by the men
directly heard from is as follows:

Gold brought to San Francisco $649,850

Claims held by men landing in Seattle 2,490,000

Gold brought to other coast points 670,000

Definite reports from Alaska 641,500

Total $4,351,350

These figures only relate to the diggings of
a few score men, and there are nearly 5,000
miners in the Klondike region. It has been esti-
mated that the total amount of dust and nuggets
obtained, without reference to the value of any
of the holdings, was upward of $5,000,000.

When the steamer Portland arrived at Seattle
from the far North, gold in boxes, gold in
blankets^ fine gold and coarse gold, gold nuggets

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Klondike.

and gold dust, the yellow treasure of the Klon-
dike diggings, were carried ashore. A ton and a
half of gold was a part of the load the steamer
had brought from St. Michael, Alaska, and
with the 3,000 pounds of gold were the several
owners, sixty-eight miners, some with $45,000
some with 110,000 some with 150,000, a few with
1100,000 and over, but all with gold. When the
steamer came to port the miners put their bags
on their shoulders and walked down the gang-
plank in the presence of a vast throng of Seattle
people assembled to see the great pile of treasure
from the rich fields of the far North. A miner
with only $5,000 in his bag easily carried his for-
tune. Twenty thousand dollars in two bags is a
good load for any stalwart man, no matter if he
has worked where the mercury falls to 60 de-
grees below zero. Two men used all their
strength in carrying a strapped blanket in which
was about $50,000. The few with the big for-
tunes $100,000, and over, had to hire help to get
their precious possessions to a safe place of stor-
age in Seattle.

The sacks were of various kinds and sizes, and
were principally made of buckskin and rawhide.
When each package had been weighed and the
clerks and assistants had cut them open, the
spectators crowded around craning their necks to
behold the gold which meant so much to the
owners.

A Manual yor Gold Seehera. 193

After the gold dust roaches civilization it goes
to the smelter. The room where the casting is
done is always hot. The floor is covered with
iron. Along one side are canopies of iron that
look like the tops of bakers* ovens. Those can-
opies may be closed in front, and they rest on
platforms of iron in which are countersunk the
places for the reception of the crucibles. The
fuel is gas and air under pressure. It attacks
the vessel of clay in which the plumbago cruci-
bles repose with a roar that can be heard a block
away. A faint glow at first colors the clay pot,
over which has been placed a cover, also of clay;
then it becomes red and then white, while green-
ish and blue flames play all around it. It is
necessary to turn off the blast before the crucible
can be looked into, so fierce is the heat. Down
in the bottom of the white mass there ia a line
that indicates where the gold ends. When it
has become a homogeneous compound, by an in-
stinct born of experience the operator lifts the
cover; then the blast is withdrawn. A pair of
tongs lifts another cover from the crucible itself,
and the mold is lifted into a pan standing on the
iron platform. The tongs are brought into req-
uisition, and the crucible is turned above the
mold. A thick lip of red metal protrudes itself,
and from under it, in a thin, white stream, runs
the gold into the iron mold. A thick cloud of

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Klondihe.

vapor arises from the contact of the melted gold
and the grease with which the mold has bccu
smeared. By this time the clamps are loosened,
the brick has set and is lifted — a black and un-
attractive rectangle — into a basin of water. It
is soon cooled, and is scrubbed with a brush and
soap. Then it looks not unlike so much brass.
It is cleaned thoroughly, the dirt that may have
been mixed with it is removed and the bar is
weighed. That is all that there is to it. When
the dust and nuggets are brought in they are
simply turned into the crucible. The bars are
all stamped in a dozen places on both sides, and
the paying for it completes the deal.

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A Manual for Gold /Seekers. 195

MINING METHODS.

The following is a non-technical account of
placer mining by a Chicago writer:

"To give a homely but reasonably liruthful
illustration of placer mining, take a bushel of
coarse sand mixed with gravel, a bus'liel of earth
such as you see taken from a city excavation, a
considerable proportion of clay, a little cement,
a double handful of shot varying in sizrt from
the smallest biidshot to the largest buckshot,
and imagine all this stuff to be mixed thoroughly
together about the consistency of the soil on the
shore of Lake Michigan, where the surf beats it
into some sort of compactness. How would you
go at it to extract the shot in the least possible
time and at the last expenditure of labor? If
you had heard of place mining you woula wash
the earth away and save the shot.

"All you need is a pan and plenty of water.
Any sort of flat vessel, from a soup plate to a dish
pan, will answer the purpose. The miner's pan
is shaped like a cake ^lan with a flat bottom.
When a prospector starts out he takes one made

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KlondiTce.

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of tin or sheet iron. Gather with your hands,
or a pick;, or a shovel, a quart of this mixture
just described and put it in the pan. Fill the
pan nearly full of water. The earth will be sof-
tened into mud. Add more water. Then tilt
your pan over a very little and the soft mud will
run out over the top of the pan. Continue the
operation and in ten or fifteen minutes the earth
has run ofE and all that you have left in the pan
is the shot, which, being heavier th'in the earth,
has sunk to the bottom, together with any
gravel you may have thrown in originally. The
work of separating the shot from the gravel
after the earth has been washed away is very
easy.

"Substitute particles of gold for your leaden
globules, and the wildest kind of a mountain
country for that to which you are accustomed,
and you know just what the men in the Klondike
region have been doing all winter and which has
electrified the world. In the manner above de-
scribed they have been washing the precious
metal from earth found on a very rough, broken
region larger than the city limits of Chicago.
The miners had no other appliances but the
pan and the water of the creeks flowing through
the Klondike district until the spring time, when
they set up sluices. What makes the authentic
reports from Alaska so startling is the extraor-

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 197

dinary yiel 1 of gold to the pan. In the creek
beds they have picked up chunks of solid gold,
single nuggets worth $1,000 or more. Of
course, these are exceptional even in the new
El Dorado.

*'In the language of miners, the earth from
which gold is extracted is called dirt. Any earth
which yields ten cents of gold to the pan is
known as pay dirt; fifteen cents to the pan is
good, and twenty cents is rich. A miner work-
ing in dirt that runs six to ten cents to the pan
earns from $3.50 to $3.50 a day, as he is able to
wash about forty panfuls a day, the number de-
pending on the character of the dirt. Some
panfuls yield $100 in precious metal. The gold
that remains in the pan after the dirt has been
washed away is called dust. Some of it is fine
as the finest sand, some the size of a pinhead,
and some as largo as a pea or the end of your
little finger. Lumps are called nuggets.

"The gold itself is the measure of the day's,
or the month's, or the season's profit. An
ounce of it is worth, if pure, $20. You can buy
as much of anything you want for an ounce of
dust as you can do for a $20 gold piece. All stores
in mining districts are provided with gold scales,
and the miner's gold is accepted as so much coin
of the realm. The quantity of gold it takes to
make a dollar is surprising to one not accus-

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198

Klondike.

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tonied to handling tho metal. So much dust as
you can hold on tho largest blade of your pocket-
knife is worth $5 to $7.50. When you consider
that this small quantity is the yield of thirty or
forty pans you can imagine how little bulk there
is to the gold saved in one pan. A coined gold
dollar is much smaller than a silver dime.
Now, if a miner can save in one panful of dirt
the tenth part of a gold dollar he is making fair
wages. Some of the gold is in such fine particles
that it floats and does not sink to the bottom
like a shot. A considerable portion of such
floating gold runs over the top of the pan and is
lost. It is estimated that in the first placer min-
ing in California about one-fourth of tho gold
was thus lost. To this day Chinamen are en-
gaged in panning the refuse dirt of early miners,
and they make from $1.35 to $3 a day i^* the
operation. In Klondike, where so much of tho
gold is coarse, the miners lose very little of the
precious metal by reason of its floating away.
Placer mining is the simplest of all processes
for getting gold out of the ground, and can be
carried on only when there is nn ample supply
of water. All reports from Klondike agree that
the best diggings are in the beds of creeks, and
that the further down they get tho richer the
dirt, until bedrock is reached."
A Canadian govarnment report says that tho

A Manual for Gold Seeko's. 199

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process of ''placer" mining in Alaska is "bout as
follows: "After clearing all the coarse gravel and
stone off a patch of ground, the miner lifts a
little of the finer gravel or sand in his pan, which
is a broad, shallow dish, made of strong sheet
iron; he then puts in water enough to fill the
pan, and gives a few rapid whirls and shakes;
this tends to bring the gold to the bottom on ac-
count of its greater specific gravity. The dish is
then shaken and held in such a way that the gravel
and sand are gradually washed out; care being
taken as the process nears completion to avoid
letting out the finer and heavier parts that have
settled to the bottom. Finally all that is left in
the pan is whatever gold may have been in the
dish and some black sand, which almost invariably
accompanies it.

"This black sand is nothing but pulverized
magnetic iron ore. Should the gold thus found
be fine, the contents of the pan are thrown into
a barrel containing water, together with a pound
or two of mercury. As soon as the gold comes in
contact with the mercury it combines vrith it
and forms an amalgam. The process is con-
tinued until enough amalgam has been formed
to pay for "roasting" or "firing." It is then
squeezed through a buckskin bag, all the mer-
cury that comes through the bag being put back
into the barrel to serve again, and what remains

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200

Klondihe.

in the bag is placed in a retort, if the miner has
one, or, if not, on a shovel, and heated until
nearly all the mercury is vaporized. The gold
then remains in a lump, with some mercury still
held in combination with it.

"Thid IS culled the 'pan' or 'hand' method,
and is never, on account of its slowness and
laboriousness, continued for any length of tim*
when it is possible to procure a 'rocker,' or to
make and work sluices.

"A 'rocker' is simply a box about three feet
long and two wide, made in two parts, the top
being shallow, with a heavy sheet iron bottom,
which is punched full of quarter-inch holes.
The other part of the box is fitted wilh an in-
clined shelf about midway in its depth, which is
six or eight inches lower at its lower end than at
its upper. Over this is placed a piece of heavy
Avoolen blanket. The whole is then mounted
on two rockers, much resembling those of an
ordinary cradle, and when in use they are placed
on two blocks of wood so that the whole may be
readily rocked. After the miner has selected
his claim, he looks for the most convenient place
to set up his 'rocker,' which must be near a
good supply of water. Then he proceeds to
clear away all the stones and coarse gravel,
gathering the finer gravel and sand in a heap
near the 'rocker.' The shallow box is filled

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 201

with this, and with one hand the miner rocks it,
while with the other he ladles in the water. The
finer matter with the gold falls through the
holes on the blanket, which checks its progress,
and holds the fine particles of gold, while the
sand and other matter pass over it to the bottom
of the box, which is sloped so that what comes
through is washed downward and finally out of
the box. Across the bottom of the box are fixed
thin slats, behind which some mercury is placed
to catch any particles of gold which may escape
the blanket. If the gold is nuggety, the large
nuggets are found in the upper box, their weight
detaining them until all the lighter, stuff has
passed through, and the smallest ones are held
by a deeper slat at the outward end of the bot-
tom of the box. The piece of blanket is, at in-
tervals, taken out and rinsed into a barrel; if the
gold is fine, mercury is placed at the bottom of
the barrel, as already mentioned.

^'Sluicing is always employed when possible. It
requires a good supply of water, with sufficient
head or fall. The process is as follows: Planks
are procured and formed into a box of suitable
width and depth. Slats are fixed across the bot-
tom of the box at intervids, or shallow holes are
bored in the bottom, in such order that no
particle could run along the bottom in a straight
line and escape without running over a hole.

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Klondike.

Several of these boxes are then set up with a
considerable slope, and are fitted into one
another at the ends like a stovepipe. A stream
of water is now directed into the upper end of
the highest box. The gravel having been col-
lected, as in the case of the rocker, it is shoveled
into the upper box, and is washed downward by
the strong current of water. The gold is de-
tained by its weight, and is held by the slats or
in the holes mentioned. If it is fine, mercury is
placed behind the slats or in these holes to catch
it. In this way about three times as much dirt
can be washed as by the rocker, and conse-
quently three times as much gold is secured in a
given time. After the boxes are done with they
are burned, and the ashes washed for the gold
held in the wood.

**A great many of the miners spend their time
in the summer prospecting, and in the winter
resort to a method lately adopted and which is
called 'burning.' They make fires on the sur-
face, thus thawing the ground until the bedrock
is reached ; then drift and tunnel. The pay dirt is
brought to the surface and heaped in a pile until
spring, when water can be obtained. The sluice
boxes are then set up and the dirt is washed out,
thus enabling the miner to work advantageously
and profitably the year around. This method
has been found very satisfactory in places where

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 203

1 )l

)

the pay streak is at any great depth from the sur-
face. In this way the complaint, which has been
so commonly advanced by the miners and others,
that in the Yukon several months in the year
are lost in idleness is overcome. Winter usually
sets in very soon after the middle of Sep-
tember and continues until the beginning of
June, and is very cold. The mercury frequently
falls to 60 degrees below zero, but in the interior
there is so little humidity in the air that the cold
is more easily endured than on the coast. In the
absence of thermometers, miners, it is said, leave
their mercury out all night. When they tind it
frozen in the morning they concluded that it is
too cold to work and stay at home. The temper-
ature runs to great extremes in summer as well
as in the winter. It is quite a common thing for
the thermometer to register 100 degrees in the
shade."

On the westerly side of the Yukon prospecting
has been done on a creek a short distance above
Ft. SelkirkjWith a fair amount of success, and on a
large creek some thirty or forty miles below that
point fair prospects have been found. But, as
before remarked, the difficulty of getting sup-
plies there prevents any extensive or extended
prospecting.

The report continues: **Whenit was fairly es-
tablished that Bonanza Creek, a tributary of the

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204

Klondike.

Klondike, was rich in gold, which took a few
days, for Klondike had been prospected several
times with no encouraging result, there was a
great rush from all over the country adjacent to
Forty-Mile. The town was almost deserted.
Men who had been in a chronic state of drunk-
enness for weeks wore pitched into boats as bal-
last and taken up to stake themselves a claim,
and claims were staked by men for their friends
who were not in the country at the time. All
this gave rise to such conflict and confusion,
there being no one present to take charge of
matters, the agent being unable to go up and at-
tend to the thing, and myself not yet knowing
what to do, that the miners had a meeting and
appointed one of themselves to measure off and
stake the claims and record the owners' names
in connection therewith, for which he got a fee
of $2, it being of course understood that each
claimholder would have to record his clafm with
the Dominion agent and pay his fee of $15.

"As to the extent of mining districts they
should, I think, be made large, and Section 21
amended to enable a man who has located a
claim which does not pay a reasonable return on
outlay the first season after his claim has been
prospected, to make a second location in the
same locality or district, provided he can find
one in it. The agent would have to determine

A Mcmual for Gold Seekers. 205

whether or not he had expended the proper
amount of labor on his claim to get reasonable
returns; this, I know, opens the door for a lot of
trouble, and maybe fraud, but, on the other
hand, a great many worthy men suffer from the
want of some such regulation, and a very few
would be in a position to take advantage of such
a provision until after their second season, and
then there would hardly be anything left for
them to take. Enterprising, industrious men,
who would work almost continuously, might get
some benefit, probably would, but no others, so
such a regulation could not do very much harm,
and might help some deserving people. As it
is now, men stake claims on nearly every new
find, some having several claims in the Klondike
locality. They know, I believe, that they will
not be able to hold them, but as the localities are
not yet clearly defined, they can hold on to them
for awhile, and finally, by collusion with others,
acquire an interest in them.'*

The same surveyor reports that a quartz lode
showing free gold in paying quantities and test-
ing more than $100 to the ton has been discov-
ered nineteen miles from the Yukon. His in-
formation was that the lode is from three to
eight feet in thickness. "I am confident," he
concludes, "from the nature of the gold found
in the creeks, that many more quartz lodes, and

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206

•

Klondike.

rich,

too, will be found. The

yellow metal is

not

found in paying quantities in

the main river.

but

in the small streams wliich cut through the
mountains on either side. In most cases the
gold lies at the bottom of thick gravel and clay
deposits. The gold is covered by frozen ground
in the winter. During the summer, until the
snow is melted, the surface is covered by muddy
torrents. After the snow is all melted and the
springs begin to freeze, the streams dry up. In
the Klondike district there are 134 rich claims
being worked; two men on each claim. Many
claims beyond this number are staked off, but
the yield of gold is poor in comparison."

In the spring the sluicing begins. Several of
these boxes are then set up with a considerable
slope, and are fitted into one another at the ends,
like a stovepipe. A stream of water is now di-
rected into the upper end of the highest box.
The gravel having been collected, as in the case
of the rocker, it is shoveled into the upper box,
and is washed downward by the strong current
of water.

It is safe to assume that not ten per cent, of
the people who have recently started for the
Klondike country, or who contemplate going,
have any knowledge of either placer or quartz
mining. Few of them know the meaning of
"pan," "rocker" or "torn," but all have an

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 207

abiding fa' h in their ability to learn how to
operate those things. To the old-time gold-
miner the pan is an indispensable companion.
It is twelve inches in diameter at the bottom,
and from fifteen to sixteen inches on the top, the
sides inclining outward at an angle of about
thirty degrees, and being turned over a wire
around the edge to make it strong. It is gen-
erally used in prospecting and cleaning gold-
bearing sand, and in collecting amalgam from
the sluices. There is a certain amount of skill
required in its use, which can only be gained by
actual practice. The pan is filled with dirt and
submerged in a tub or pool of water, and the
gravel worked with the hand until all the hard
material is disintegrated. Of course stones are
cleaned and thrown out and then what remains
in the pan is carefully washed. By a circular
motion and the use of the water all the lighter
dirt is worked to the top and over the edge until
only the fine gold remains.

A box forty inches long and sixteen wide on
the bottom with the twelve-inch sides sloped like
a cradle, constitutes the rocker. The upper end
is a hopper twenty inches square and four inches
deep, with perforated iron bottom vith half-
inch holes. Under the perforated plate is a
light frame placed at an incline upon which a
canvas apron is stretched, forming a riffle. The

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208

Klondike.

gravel is thrown into the hopper and water is
poured in with a dipper held in one hand while
the other is employed in "rocking'* the cradle.
The water washes the sand to the bottom of the
hopper and the gold is caught in the apron or
picked up in the bottom of the rocker, while the
sand and lig^ ter material a e discharged at the
lower end. In the "torn" the miner finds a
rough trough twelve feet long, fifteen by twenty
inches wide at the top, thirty inches wide at the
lower end, and eight inches deep for its entire
length. If the "torn" be set on timbers or
stones, it is given an incline of one inch to the
foot. A sheet-iron plate perforated with holes
— say half an inch in dianeter — forms the bot-
tom of the lower end of the trough, which is
beveled on the lower side in order to keep the
plate on a level. The sand when fed in from
the sluices on striking the perforated plate is im-
mediately sorted, the fine dirt with the water
passing through it, while the coarser dirt and
rock is shoveled off. Under the perforated
plate is a flat box into which the finer gravel
passes. By the continual discharge of water
through the plate and with the occasional aid of
a shovel, the sand is kept loose, allowing the gold
to settle.

The mining methods of the Klondike are very
strange and are adapted to peculiar conditions.

Gold Miners at Work.— Page 209,

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A Manual for Gold Seekers.

209

There pay gravel happens to lie several feet
below the mucky beds of the creeks and must be
mined out. At nearly all the other Yukon
placers ranged along the river for 300 miles, the
gold is in surface gravel. In these diggings little
or nothing can be done except from about June
15 to September 1, when the water runs.

On the Klondike the running water prevents
mining out the gravel under the creek beds, and
so it is all taken out during the months when
everything is frozen solid, and when the icy
chains break in the short summer the gravel that
has been mined is quickly sluiced and the gold
cleaned up. Prospecting consists of sinking a
shaft to bedrock by the creek, by alternately
thawing the ground with fires and digging it
out. When the bottom is reached the prospector
knows more than he did before. If a pan of
bottom gravel washed out with water from
melted ice shows up rich the claim is worked by
tunneling in.

In doing this dry wood is placed against the
face of the drift, and other pieces are thickly set
slantwise over them. As the fire burns gravel
falls down from above and gradually covers the
slanting shield of wood. The fire smolders
away and becomes a charcoal-burning. It is in
this confined stage during the night that its heat
is most effective against the face of the drift.

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210

Klondike.

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V^rlii

Next day the miner finds the faoe of his drift
thawed out for a distance of from ten to eight-
een inches, according to conditions. He shovels
out the dirt, and if only a part is pay dirt he
puts only that on his dump. Thus at the rate
of a few inches a day the drifting out of the pre-
cious gravel goes on during the long winter.

The descriptions by the returned miners show
that, as usual, while much of the gravel just
above bedrock is wonderfully rich, the bedrock
itself is the richest depository. The bedrock
appears to be everywhere cracked and broken
up by frost and glacial action. It is thus full of
crevices and interstices filled with a clayey
gravel, and it is these crevices which yield most
richly. "Crevicing" is familiar to all placer
miners, but there is here something unusual — a
phenomenal multiplication of crevices in bed-
rock, and they are described as often extending
downward several feet. No specimens of the
rock have been ^rought down, and there is no
reliable identification of it as yet. This bedrock
is so greatly broken up in the way described that
no blasting is necessary. It is easily removed
with picks, and is simply thrown on the dumps
to be sluiced as the gravel is.

The gold so concentrated in the crevices sticks
to the clinging gravel and clay, and is in the
residue which is shoveled out too, of course.

if?!-

A Manual for Gold Seclcers. 211

Not one has given the slightest description of
the fields as a mining engineer would like to
hear it. Inquiry as to whether any '^raining
expert" had been heard of in the Yukon elicited
the reply:

"Yes, there is a fellow up there who pretends
to know a lot, I believe. That's 'Swift-Water
Bill.' I don't know his other name."

A Mr. Grewe is one of the lucky Argonauts.
When he went to Alaska he proceeded to Forty-
Mile Creek, about 700 miles overland from tl o
coast, and in the midst of what have been re-
cently termed the Klondike gold fields. The
location can be seen by reference to the accom-
panying map in this book. It was on one of the
branches of the above-named creek where he and
his partner staked ofE their claims. The miners
always work in couples, as to do the work prop-
erly requires two men, especially when they toil
through the winter; and that is necessary if
health permits and one determines to make big
money.

"The first thing done," said Mr. Grewe in
describing the operations of himself and com-
panion, "was to sink a shaft alongside the creek
twenty to forty feet deep, this work being done
in the winter. First of all a fire was built where
the shaft was dug, in order to melt the ice, which
is usually three or four feet thick, and get at

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212

Klondike.

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V
i

the soil. Then picks are used until a sufficient
depth is obtained. From this shaft are run
tunnels in the bed of the creek, the water of
which, of course, is f ozen solid. Before this is
done, however, a windlass is rigged with two
buckets, and all dirt, sand or gravel hauled up
and piled near by. In these tunnels are built
fires, which are left to burn over night and then
in the morning commences the work of removing
the slush and sand, which is hauled to the top
of the shaft and added to the pile of frozen dirt
and gold already there. Such work as this is
continued all winter."

As the tunnels are run with the course of the
stream it should be understood that the dirt or
sand sent to the top of the shaft is the sediment
deposited at the bottom of the river. While,
says Mr. Grewe, the man in the tunnel has the
more comfortable half of the job, still he suffers
much from the smoke, the only outlet for which
is the shaft. The man at the windlass has a
terrible time of it, because, as the thermometer
ranges from 40 to 60 degrees below zero and
sometimes lower, he is frequently compelled to
quit work.

In summer, and that season is only from threo
to four months long, active outdoor work begins.
The ice melts and the streams are swollen.
Then the miners build sluices, or troughs.

Vl^'J'

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 213

usually twelve in number, which are placed end
to end and a stream turned into them. The
first few are of smooth bottom, and the last three
are crossed with cleats. The sand is thrown
into the head of the sluice, and by the time it
reaches the last sluices the gold is there deposited.
The quantity of gold caught in this manner
varies greatly, and much of it is naturally lost.
Sometimes in a bucket of dirt there may be
three or four ounces of gold. The largest nug-
get Mr. Grewe found was worth $7.

Captain J. F. Higgins, who has commanded
one of the river boats, says:

"The word Klondike means Fish River, and
the stream is called the Fish River on the charts.
It empties into the Yukon fifty miles above the
Big River. The geographical position of the
junction is 76 degrees, 10 minutes north lati-
tude, 138 degrees, 50 minutes west longitude.
Bonanza Creek dumps into the Klondike about
two miles above the Yukon. El Dorado is a trib-
utary of the Bonanza. There are numerous
other creeks and tributaries, the main river being
3,000 miles long.

"The gold so far has been taken from Bonanza
and El Dorado, both well named, for the richness
of the placers is truly marvelous. El Dorado,
thirty miles long, is staked the whole length and
as far as worked has paid.

•ill

214

Klondilce.

ill

'iM-i

"One of our passengers who is taking home
$100,000 with him has worked 100 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 $213 from one pan of
dirt. His pay dirt while being washed averaged
$250 an hour to each man shoveling in. Two
others of our miners who worked their own claim
cleaned up IG,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 tunneled out while the ground is
frozen. Of course the dirt taken out is thawed
by building fires; and when the summer 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
installments of $10,000 each. The purchasers
had no more than $5,000 paid. They were
twenty days thawing and getting out the 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 installment. So tunnel-
ing 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 facta

^ (

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 216

at Klondike. The ground located and pros-
pected can be worked out in a ftw 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/'

According to Dr. W. 11. Dall, one of the
curators of the National Museum at Washington:

*'The yellow metal is not found in paying
quantities 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.

"Blasting would do no good on account of the
hard nature of the material which would blow out
just as out of a gun. The shafts vary indepth from
six feet up to eighteen or twenty. The gravel
takenout is dumped into a pile and left till spring,
when sluice boxes are made and the dirt washed
out. When the creeks thaw in the spring the
miners work day and night at their sluicing in
order to get as much of their dump washed out as
possible before the creeks get low. In the crevices
running across the creek are found a great deal

216

Klondike.

of gold, and from these come the big pans of
which so much has been said. These crevices
are split in the bedrock, and act as basins to
catch the gold washed out by the creek.

**Up to this time all the work has been placer
mining, and few, if any, investigations have
been made as to the quartz deposits. The re-
turned miners say that there is not the slightest
doubt of the existence of rich quartz ledges, and
it is expected that they will now be looked into,
and plans made to work them by the gold hunt-
ers whom the announcement of the late discov-
eries has started for the fields."

The claims on the Bonanza are numbered from
the point of discovery both up and down the
creek. These claims are 500 feet long and ex-
tend from "mountain to mountain.'* When a
miner stakes a claim it costs him $15 to record
it, and $100 each succeeding year. He is
obliged to work the claim for three months in
each year. If it is left idle it can be jumped.
The location of claims is not restricted to Amer-
icans, but is open to all nationalities.

Mr. Ogilvie announces the location of a quartz
lode showing free gold in paying quantities
along one of the creeks. The quartz has tested
over 1100 a ton. The lode appears to run from
three to eight feet in thickness, and is about
nineteen miles from the Yukon Kiver. Good

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 217

quartz has been found also at the head of a
branch of the Alaska River near the head of the
Chilkat Inlet inside the summit of the coast
range in Canadian Territory; also along Davis
Creek in American Territory. The hills around
Bonanza Creek also contain paying quartz.
Copper in abundance is found on the southerly
branch of the White Biver, and silver ore has
been picked up in a creek flowing into Bennett
Lake. Mr. Ogilvie says that the placer pros-
pects continice to be more and more encouraging
and extraordinary.

"It is beyond a doubt," he says, "that three
pans of different claims on El Dorado turned out
$204, 1212, and $21G, but it must be borne in
mind that there were only three such pans,
though there are many running from 110 to $50.
Since my last, the prospects on Bonanza Creek
and tributaries are increasing in richness and
extent, until now it is certain millions will be
taken out of the district in the next few years.
On some of the cl "^rs prospected the pay dirt is
of great extent and very rich. One man told me
yesterday that he washed out a single pan of dirt
on one of the claims on Bonanza Creek and
found $14.25 in it. Of course, that may be an
exceptionally rich pan, but $5 to $7 per pan is
the average on that claim, it is reported, with
five feet pay dirt and the width yet undeter-

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218

Klondike,

mined, but known to be thirty feet; even at that
figure the result at nine to ten pans to the cubic
foot, and 500 feet long, is $4,000,000 at 15 per
pan. One-fourth of this would be enormous.
Enough prospecting has been done to show that
there are at least fifteen miles of this extraor-
dinary richness, and the indications are that wo
will have three or four times that extent, if not
equal to the above, at least very rich."

Short extracts from longer statements follow:

"I do not know in the whole Klondike region
a single claim that has not paid handsomely, and
there are still hundreds of claims that have not
been worked."

"In testing a claim the prospector sinks a hole,
say fifteen feet, and then tries a pan of dirt. If
the pay streak h^s been reached he sets to work
in earnest to gather in more of the precious
metal."

"I hav^ ^ men to hoist in a day as many

as 250 -d of soil, each weighing 250 pounds.

This V .s not disturbed until spring, when it
is washed out; and when a man buys a claim ho
buys the dump also, but he takes his own
chances on the latter."

"Under the new ruling each claim is 500 feet
along the bottom of the creek, the width being
governed by the distance between the mountains.
This will average 600 feet, though there are
some claims 1,000 feet wide."

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A Ma/nual/or Gold Seekers. 219

In ordinary panning there is little chance of
mistaking gold, both by its yellow color and by
its separating itself from all other matter by its
specific gravity. If a prospector wants to show
the ''colors" he generally winnows down the
matter on the pan till there is scarcely a tea-
spoonful, or much less; then by moving the pan
to and fro sideways he will show the yellow gold
a^op?aring at one end of the teaspoonful of other
matter like a gilt edging, so to speak, commonly
showing very distinct by its gold-yellow color —
which may be a rich gold-yellow or a paler tint.
The "other matter" may be composed, especially
if there are stamp mills up stream, of com-
minuted iron pyrites. The gold, however, wi^l
be distinct from this by its richer color, and ale
will readily separate itself from it by its
gravity, forming a sort of gilt edging around
the *'other matter.'* Pyrite will appear of a
duller, more tin-like, or brass-like, or even
greenish color than the bright gold. Tlie other
common residual matter is so-called **black
sand," usually composed of magnetic iron. This
ccxtainly will not amalgamate under any cir-
cumstances. Grains of platinum, sometimes —
but rarely — occurring with placer gold, will,
however, amalgamate. You can separate the
black sand by picking it off with a magnet.
Bronze or yellowish oxidized mica, from its light

220

Klondike.

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specific gravity, quickly separates from the gold
and is winnowed off, commonly at an early stage
in the winnowing process, or must finally pass
away in faithful winnowing of the residuum.
Bronze mica does not carry any appreciable
amount of gold.

Gold does sometimes occ ir in leafy, chaff-like
forms in a placer, when it will float on the sur-
face of the water, and you may find it diflScnlt
to keep it from washing away with the other
stuff. If you let the pan dry and let the flakes
adhere to the bottom, directly you put water in
the flakes will 'float again. Of course they will
amalgamate. Gold is generally pretty distinct
yellow gold in a placer, though often tarnished
in veins.

A "lay" means a privilege to work another
man's claim, and to "burn" a "lay" means to
thaw out a hole by building a big fire on the
ground.

Upon the banks or in the beds of streams in
gold territory, there will be found, as every wherp
on streams, an admixture of sand, gravel and
soil. These have been mi^ed together by action
of the water pouring do,.n the streams and hill-
bides for ages. Just how gold has been formed is
not known, but in this admixture of sand, gravel
and soil it is found in particles so small as to be
about invisible^ and from that on up to the size

A Manual for Gold SerHra. 221

of birdshot, garden peas, hazelnuts, and now
and then nuggets the size of pigeon eggs. But
for the most part they are the size of shot. If a
pan of dirt will yield ten cents' worth of gold, it
is called "pay dirt" and will yield fair wages to
work. If it yields fifteen cents, it is promising,
and if twenty cents it is called **rich." As the
average miner can gather and work forty panfuls
a day, if the dirt is rich, it will be seen that he
can make 18 a day. But the Klondike places of
the poorest yield are reported as turning out not
less than thirty cents' worth of "dust" to the
pan, and in some places as high as $1 to the pan-
ful have been found.

An ounce of this gold "dust" at the mines or
elsewhere is worth from $15 to $19, according to
its purity, in coined gold, and passes for
"money" in the diggings or vicinity, and is
often the only money they have in the early
stages of the mining. As every store, or mer-
chant, in a mining town has gold scales, and
accepts "dust" as so much coined money or
paper currency, but little inconvenience results
in business.

Owing to its remarkable affinity for gold, mer-
cury is extremely useful to the miner; unfor-
tunately its weight has hitherto prevented its
being generally employed on the Yukon. It
m»v be distributed in the sluicc>«, or better still,

ft- iJm

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222

Klondike.

used in connection with copper plates that are
then said to be "amalgamated." The copper
plates that it is desired to coat with quicksilver
are first covered with clear water two or three
inches deep. The water is then acidulated with
sulphuric acid until it tastes like strong vinegar.
After a short immersion, and when perfectly
bright, the plates are taken out, and before be-
coming quite dry are rubbed with quicksilver, the
rubbing being done with a piece of chamois skin.
The plates are then washed in cold water and
fitted to the bottoms of the sluices. Any "free"
gold brought to them by the current is imme-
diately attracted and remains fast to the surface
of the plate. When the plates are heavily in-
crusted with gold they are removed, strongly
heated over live coals and the precious metal
scraped off.

Baa

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 223

PROSPECTING.

%i.

The prospector is the pioneer in the work of
mineral development. He is the pathfinder to
hidden wealth. His part is wholly initiative; his
role is at an end almost invariably with the estab-
lishment of a fixed value on his "find." Yet
without the prospector we should be as free of
mines as the country would be of approved
methods of manufacture without the inventor.
An individual idea is essentially an originality,
and it is but natural that when a man chooses an
avocation he has ideas peculiarly his own con-
cerning its conduct. The adaptation of peculiar
individual ideas in the conduct of mining opera-
tions, from the quest for a paying ledge to the
development of amine to a point of profitable ex-
traction, has been the cause in nine instances out
of ten of every mining venture recorded as
failure. Mining is admittedly a business, but
only when conducted along legitimate lines.
Mining requires ability and experience, push
and perseverance, essential factors to success in
any enterprise. Its adoption by a novice, lik^

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224

Klondike.

IsM I

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anything else, must needs be attended sometimes
with disaster, but if pursued with tact and en-
ergy, governed by the exercise of common sense
and a willingness to heed the advice and counsels
of more experienced men, mining oiBfers to-day
as safe a channel to competency as does banking
or the various lines of trade.

Prospecting, from a mining standpoint, might
best be termed a search for rocks containing
mineral of recognized value. Prerequisites of
the prospector, would he have success crown his
efforts, are brains, brawn, and perseverance. He
is fortunate, indeed, if he has armed himself,
prior to embarkment to the pursuit, with a
knowledge of practical assaying, and of geology
sufficient to give him an insight into the various
formations and the indications usually illustrated
thereby, and of mineralogy, that he may with a
fair degree of accuracy know the different ores,
and reasonably approximate their commercial
worth. By a fair idea of practical assaying is
meant the ability, minus a furnace and the usual
field assay outfit, to arrive at a reasonably close
idea of the value of an ore with the aid of a
home-made affair or a blacksmith's forge, and
such chemicals as every experienced prospector of
our times now deems as requisite a part of his
outfit as his pick, shovel, and pan. His insight
into geologic conditions he must gain by that

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 225

best of preceptors — observation; of mineralogy
by as careful a comparison of the different rocks
encountered. If possessed of the knowledge
outlined, the shrewd prospector will take careful
note of the topographical conditions governing
the area about to be prospected, and as far as
possible gain some idea concerning its geological
features. The rocks termed "float" will next
engage his careful attention. Float, singularly,
is a detached piece of quartz, or ore, from a
ledge, lode, or deposit of like material. A piece
of float picked up for examination is found
smooth and well worn. This fact is evidence
that its mother lode lies at a distance from where
it is found. If its contour, on the contrary, be
rough, and its edges pointed, the chances are
good that the ledge from which it was detached
is close at hand. This last described float found
by the prospector, he should next carefully scru-
tinize all rocks in the vicinity, looking to the
right and to the left as he proceeds, and turning
over all loose rocks in his search for an outcrop,
or the exposed portion of the vein or lode, whence
came the waif float. We will suppose the out-
crop discovered. The prospector should next
ascertain its strike or trend, i.e., the direction
in which it runs, either north, east, south, west,
etc. This may be determined by excavating a
series of cross-cuts on the surface of the vein at

III

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226

Klondike.

distances apart as equal as possible. These open
cross-cuts will also demonstrate the thickness or
width of the lode, its uniformity and general
surface condition. This work completed, care
should be exercised in ascertaining the value of
the surface ore contained in the deposit. If
assay results are satisfactory, the work of actual
development may be proceeded with.

So far as demonstrated some sixty or seventy
elements form the earth's crust. Omnipresent
among these elements is oxygen. The coloring
element is as predominantly iron. Aqueous,
igneous, atmospheric, and organic agencies are
constantly changing the character of this crust.
Atmospheric agencies — winds, frost, etc. — in
chemical combination with oxygen and carbonic
acid cause a disintegration and crumbling of the
different minerals. The aqueous agency, or
action of water, causes a wearing away or erosion
of these minerals; the same agency often forci-
bly removing them to long distances. The
igneous agency, or action of fire, is constantly
renewing the mineral deposits of the earth's
crust through the medium of eruptive action, or
warm springs. Organic matter found on the crust
may be traced to deposits of vegetable matter.
Rocks are either hard or soft, stratified, or un-
stratified. X stratified rock is either arenaceous
(sand), argillaceous (clay), or calcareous (lime).

A Manual for Oold Seekers. 227

A stratified rock in its natural position should be
horizontal; but it may have been thrown up to
any angle by reason of volcanic action. The un-
stratified rocks being lower than their stratified
brethren, through the action of volcanic influ-
ences, often cause the stratified rocks to enfold
or entwine with themselves, causing the great
irregularity of stratification.

The angle formed by the plane of the strata
with the plane of the horizon is the *'dip" of the
rock. The strike or trend of a mineral forma-
tion is always at right angles to the dip. Non-
conformity in stratification is caused by the
violent upheavals and dislocations of such strata,
as noted in several mineral districts. "What is
termed a "joint" is best described as a crossing
of the stratificalion by a regular fissure; hence
the term "a true fissure vein."

Cleavage is a term used in connection with the
division of rocks into small sheets, or planes.

Eruptive rocks form a distinct class. To it
belong granite, porphyritic granite, syenitic,
albitic and graphic granite. Granite is com-
posed of quartz, feldspar and mica. The por-
phyritic granite is distinguished by its excess of
feldspar; the syenitic because it contains horn-
blend instead of mica; the albitic is easily dis-
tinguished by its white color; and in the graphic
granite quartz predominates.

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228

Klondike.

Trap rocks, so called, are compositions of
greenstone, basalt, trachyte and serpentine.
The greenstone is generally found to be com-
posed of feldspar and hornhlend of a greenish
color. The basalt is a black or darkish brown
colored rock, its component parts being augite
and feldspar. The serpentine is a silicate of
magnesia, usually of a greenish hue. The
trachyte is a variety of lava of a dark-green color.

To the class termed volcanic rooks belong
obsidian, a melted lava, appearing like smoky
glass; pumice, a feldspathic cinder, very light in
weight; and scoria, the slaggy exudation of
volcanoes.

Among stratified rocks are gneiss, a stratified
granite; syenitic gneiss, containing hornhlend,
instead of mica; mica schist; hypogene lime-
stone, blue in color; chlorate schist, a magnesian
mineral, soft and flexible; hornhlend schist, col-
ored by oxide of iron to a greenish-black color;
clay slate, an argillaceous rock; and the various
members of the quartz family. The three prin-
cipal members of the quartz family with which the
prospector will deal are the vitreous, calcidonic
and jasper. Among the vitreous varieties are
amethyst, a purple colored rock, colored by
oxide of manganese; the topaz, color yellow;
smoky quartz, known as cairngorm quartz; milky
quartz and the yellowr, green, and red quartzes.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 229

Oxide of iron is the coloring element in all these
rocks. Calcidonic quartzes are known as the
sardonyx, carnelian, agate, onyx, cat's-eye and
flint hornstono. The jaspers are the opal,
touchstone, bloodstone and wood jasper.

Quartzite is a quartz sand metamorphosed by
pressure into a hard mass through the agency of
silica. It occurs in the large masses, inter-strati-
fied with limestones, slates, and schists.

There are five members of the spar family, and
all are distinguished by their coloration. Feld-
spar is either of a white or pinkish hue, and
pearl spar of a pearly luster. Fluorspar is gen-
erally in masses, though often found in cubes.
Heavy spar, or baryta, is known by its brown or
dark brown color. Calcspar, or calcite, is a
crystalline carbonite of lime, white, red or yel-
low in color, these colors being the result of the
mixture of iron, manganese, and other coloring
impurities.

The inexperienced prospector often mistakes
mica for gold. Mica may be detected in several
ways. Though it may look like gold in certain
positions, if that position be changed there will
be a change in the color, while gold itself looks
the same in every position. Gold will beat out
thin and soft under the hammer like lead, while
mica breaks up in fine particles of a white floury-
looking substance. In panning a sample the
gold will remain and the mica float away.

pi-

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230

Klondike.

Gold will dissolve in a solution of aqua regia,
made of three parts hydrochloric acid and one
part nitric acid. If you add some sulphate of
iron you will get a very decided precipitate of
metallic gold. It is best to add a lit^'e water
after the gold is dissolved, then a little hydro-
chloric acid, and then the sulphate of iron. The
gold is then placed in a crucible or ladle and
heated, and a yellow bead of pure gold obtained.

Another simple test for gold is to add to the
dissolved gold some crystals of chloride of tin,
when you will get a purple color, known to
chemists as the purple of Cassius.

Fissure veins, in which permanent gold mines
may be expected, are usually ascribed to volcanic
action. They are sometimes called leads, and
sometimes lodes. These veins may contain
quartz, fluorspar, heavy spar o. baryta, calcite
and dolomite, associated with the precious
metals. It has been ascertained that it is among
the silicious rocks, such as granite, that mineral-
ized quartz s most frequently found. When a
vein is broken or dislocated it is said by miners
to be ''faulted." The gangue is the worthless
matter of the lead.

Quartz containing gold is generally of a rusty
color, though some very valuable gold leads are
pure white and show evidence to the naked eye
of the treasure they contain. Sometimes this

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 281

rusty gold is very difficult to save, escaping all
attempts at amalgamating it with quicksilver,
owing probably to a thin film of iron oxide coat-
ing it and preventing contact with the mercury.
The tenderfoot prospectv is often deceived by
substances resembling gold. Iron pyrites bear a
strong likeness to the precious metal, especially
when in the form of small cubes or dice em-
bedded in a quartz gangue. Copper pyrites and
yellow mica also simulate to the inexperienced
the metal of which they are in 3aroh.

i^v

232

Klondike.

THE CLIMATE.

Much misconception as to the climate of the
gold fields has arise^i from the fact that for a
long time the only records available were those
of the United States Government officers sta-
tioned at Sitka, St. Michael's Island, the Seal
Islands, or at Point Barrow within the Arctic cir-
cle. Meteorological records from these points
give about as accurate a conception of the climate
at Dawson City as would a report of the weather
from Philadelphia of the climatic conditions of
Helena, Montana.

The contingent of Northwest Mounted Police
whicn left for the Yukon in 1895 was supplied
with accurate thermometers by the Toronto
Meteorological Service. The observations were
commenced at Fort Constantine in November,
1895, by Staff Sergeant Hayne, who has furnished
returns up to the close of May, 1897.

In the autumn of 1895 the temperature first
touched zero on November 10, and the last zero
recorded in the spring was on April 39. Between
December 19 and February 6, it never rose above

^m^

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 233

zero. The lowest actual reading, minus five de-
grees, occurred on January 37, and on twenty-
four days during the winter the temperature was
below minus 50. On March 12 it first rose above
the freezing point, but no continuous mild
weather occurred until May 4, after which date
the temperature during the balance of the month
frequently rose above 60 degrees. The Yukon
Eiver froze up on October 28, and broke up on
May 17. Forty-Mile River broke up on May 11.

In June the temperature reached 70 degrees
on twelve days, and on only one day, the 30th,
did it reach 80 degrees. The last frost was re-
corded on the 7th; the average temperature of
the month was 53 degrees, which is three de-
grees lower than the normal June temperature
on Lake Athabasca, and nearly the same as the
May normal in Winnipeg.

The average temperature for July was 57 de-
grees; the highest, 82 degrees, was reached on the
1st, and the lowest, 35.5 degrees, on the 27th.
Rain fell on eleven days and the amount was
1.71 inches.

In August the highest temperature was 76
degrees, and no frost occurred until the 31st,
when the thermometer fell to 29 degrees. Rain
fell on 11 days.

The average for September was only 43 de-
grees, which is three degrees lower than the usual
October *veragt ij Toronto; rain fell on 12 v ^ys.

234

Klondihe.

v'-' '

liH

It may be said that the winter set in on Sep-
tember 27, and on September 30 the tempera-
ture fell to 6 degrees above zero. Zero was first
touched on October 5, and the average tempera-
ture of that month was 37 degrees, or about the
same as the December average in Toronto.

November was very cold, the average of the
month being 7 degrees; the lowest reading regis-
tered was minus 39 degrees. The Yukon froze
up on the 5th.

December average was minus 13; the tempera-
ture fell to 35 degrees on eight occasions, and
minus 40 degrees was the lowest registered.

January was not as cold as in the previous
year, the average temperature being but minus
15 degrees, as against minus 38 degrees in the
previous year; forty degrees below zero or lower
was recorded on five days, the lowest reading
being minus 48 degrees.

February was also mild compared with the
previous year, the mean temperature being plus
3 degrees, and the lowest temperature registered
minus 31 degrees.

The average temperature in March was 1 de-
gree, or 8 degrees lower than the previous March,
and on two consecutive days, the 16th and 17th,
the two lowest temperature of the winter were
registered, namely minus 54, and minus 53
degrees.

A Manual /or Gold Seekers. 235

In April the days were mostly mild and the
nights cold. The lowest reading was minus 5
degrees, which was the last zero temperature of
the winter.

The month of May, 1897, was very similar to
the preceding May; the average temperature
was 40 degrees; 00 degrees was first recorded on
the 26th, and 75 degrees on the 31st; the lowest
of the month was 11 degrees, on the 9th. Forty-
Mile Creek broke up on the 13th, and the Yukon
on the 15th.

Owing to the unusual interest excited by the
discovery of gold in the Klondike region, Willis
L. Moore, Chief of the Weather Bureau, at
Washington, D.C., has prepared, at the direction
of Secretary of Agriculture Wilson, a special
bulletin describing at length and in a most in-
teresting way the weather conditions of Alaska
at all seasons of the year. With regard to "tem-
perate Alaska,'* by which is meant the fiinge of
islands between the mainland and the sea, and
the strip of mainland running along the coast to
the western extremity of the Territory, and about
twenty miles back from the sea, the report says
the temperature rarely falls to zero. Winter
does not set in until December 1, and snow dis-
appears, except on the mountains, by May 1.
The average temperature of July, the warmest
month of summer, rarely reaches 55 degrees,

I i

236

Klondike.

and the highest does not exceed 75 degrees.
The mean winter temperature of Sitka is 32.5
degrees, or a little less than at Washington, D.C.
The report then continues:

"The rainfall of temperate Alaska is notorious
the world over, not only as regards the quantity
that falls, but also as to the manner of its fall-
ing, viz., in long and incessant rains and drizzles.
Clouds and fog naturally abound, there being on
an average but fifty-six clear days in the year.
Alaska is a land of striking contrasts, in climate
as well as in topography. When the sun shines
the atmosphere is remarkably clear, the scenic
effects are magnificent, and nature seems to be
in holiday attire, but the scene may change very
quickly. The sky becomes overcast, the winds
increase in force, rain begins to fall, the ever-
greens sigh ominously, and utter desolation and
loneliness prevail.

"North of the Aleutian Islands the coast climate
becomes more rigorous in winter, but in summer
the difference is much less marked. Thus at St.
Michael, a short distance north of the mouth of
the Yukon, the mean summer temperature is 50
degrees, but four degrees cooler than Sitka.
The mean summer temperature of Point Barrow,
the most northerly point in the United States, is
36.6 degrees, but four-tenths of a degree less
than the temperature of the air flowing? across

A MoMual for Gold Seekers. 237

the summit of Pike's Peak, Colorado. The
rainfall of the coast region north of the Yukon
delta is small, diminishing, to less than ten
inches within the A'-'^tic circle.

"The climate of the interior, including in that
designation practically all of the country except
a narrow fringe of coastal margin and the terri-
tory before referred to as temperate Alaska, is
one of extreme rigor in winter, with a brief but
relatively hot summer, especially when the sky is
free from clouds. In the Klondike region in
midwinter the sun rises from 9:30 to 10 a.m.,
and sets from 2 to 3 p.m., the total length of
daylight being about four hours. Eemembering
that the sun rises but a few degrees above the
horizon, and that it is wholly obscured on a great
many days, the character of the winter months
may easily be imagined."

The statement of Professor Moore includes a
series of six months' observations by the United
States Coast and Geodetic Survey on the Yukon
not far from the region of the present gold dis-
coveries. These observations, which, of course,
are absolutely reliable, show that the mean tem-
perature from October, 1889, to April 1890, both
inclusive, were as follows:

^'October, 33 degrees above zero; November, 8
degrees above; December, 11 degrees below zero;
January, 17 degrees below; February, 15 degrees

I'!' ! '

^i!!

' H'l

238

Klondike.

below; March, 6 degrees above zero; April, 20
degrees above. The daily mean temperature
fell and remained- below tho freezing point (33
degrees) from November 4, 1889, to April 21,
1890, thns giving 108 days as the length of the
closed season, 1889-90, assuming that outdoor
operations are controlled by temperature only.

"The lowest temperatures registered during the
winter were: 32 degrees below in November; 47
degrees below in December; 59 degrees below in
January; 55 degrees below in February; 45 de-
grees below in March; 26 degrees below in April."

The report concludes as follows: *'In the in-
terior of Alaska the winter sets in as early as
September, when snowstorms may be expected
in the mountains and passes. Traveling during
one of these storms is impossible, and the traveler
who is overtaken by one of them is indeed for-
tunate if he escapes with his life. Snowstorms
of great severity may occur in any month from
September to May, inclusive. The changes of
temperature from winter to summer are rapid,
owing to the great increase in the length of the
day. In May the sun rises about 3 a.m. and
Bets about 9 p.m. In June it rises about 1:30 in
the morning and sets at 10:30, giving about
twenty hours of daylight, and diffuse twilight the
remainder of the time. The mean summer tem-
perature of the interior doubtless ranges between

<\ 'I

A Manual f 07' Gold Seelaei's. 2)>'.>

60 degrees and 70 degrees, according to eleva-
tion, being highest in the middle and lower
Yukon valleys.''

Joseph Desroches went to the Yukon country
last July and made the trip overland to the
Klondike in less than three weeks from Juneau.
He has made money, though the amount he
keeps to himself. "When the wind blows through
the Chilkoot Pass.*' he said, "no human being can
stand against it. The velocity is such that a
man cannot breathe. That is really the most
dangerous portion of the trip. I don't consider
the White Horse Kapids a dangerous feature, for
a man does not need to go through them. I spent
two winters in the Yukon district, and came
down the river this summer. Navigation on all
the rivers in Alaska closes the 15th of Septem-
ber, and opens the 1st of June. During that
time the fall of snow is beyond all conception of
the people of this locality, and the winds are
simply awful. Everything is froztr. solid, and
what little level ground there is, is one solid
mass of ice; the earth is frozen to a depth of
fourteen feet, and no movement can be made ex-
cept on snow shoes or snow sleds.

''During the summer time the climate is de-
lightful and the days are very long. In July a
person can read at night very plainly. The
light in winter is from 9 until 3, and the cold

Vifw

' lii

I ill

I'liti

■

(

■

240

Klondike.

continuously worse than the bitterest days we
have here; in fact, the temperature here in win-
ter gives one the very poorest idea of Alaskan
cold. It is practically impossible to do any
prospecting, although in many cases men have
built fires upon the frozen ground, after digging
off many feet of snow, and so melted about five
inches. This would be dug up and thrown on
the snow, and the same process kopt up. When
the warm weather would come this dirt would be
run through the sluices."

Angus Galbraith, though he has made his
stake there, says he would advise no one to go
up into the country. He is a man of 70 years of
age, and has been in Alaska three years, and when
asked if the work was hard said he had been able
to stand it, but that it was no place for an old
man.

"The winters," he said, in the course of the
interview, "are very cold, the mercury going
down as low as 75 degrees below zero. The
coldest weather last winter was in January and
February. Miners have to use the greatest care
not to work themselves into a perspiration, as
the moisture would freeze and result in frostbite.

"In summer it gets quite warm and some
vegetables are raised, though, as the miners are
so busy hunting for gold, little time is given to
putting in gardens. When my party left it was

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 241

93 degrees in the shade. Mosquitoes are so
numerous that gloves have to bo worn while
working."

Here is an extract from Assistant Surgeon A.
E. Willis' of Northwest Mounted Police report
for 1895:

**It may be of interest to mention something
concerning the climate, mode of living of the
people generally, and diseases met with. The
climate is wet. The rainfall last summer was
heavy. Although there is almost a continuous
sun in summer time, evaporation is very slow
owing to the thick moss which will not conduct
the heat, in consequence the ground is always
swampy. It is only after several years of drain-
ing that the ground will become suflBciently dry
to allow the frost to go out, and then only a few
feet. During the winter months the cold is in-
tense, with usually considerable wind. A heavy
mist rising from open places in the river settles
down in the valley in calm extreme weather.
This dampness causes the cold to be felt very
acutely and is conducive to rheumatic pains, colds
etc. Miners are a very mixed class of people. They
represent many nationalities and come from all
climates. Their lives are certainly not enviable.
The regulation 'miner's cabin' is twelve feet by
fourteen feet with walls six feet and gables ciglit
feet in height. The roof is heavily earthed and

242

Klondike.

ill!

l!: i ■

' I?

Nil

If li

,li

1
ft* i

1 ¥•

■

tho cabin is generally warm. Two and some-
times there or four men will occupy a house of
this size. The ventilation is usually bad. Those
miners who do not work their claims during the
winter confine themselves in these small huts
most of the time. Very often they become in-
dolent and careless, only eating those things
which are most easily cooked or prepared. Dur-
ing the busy time in summer when they are
'shoveling in/ they work harder and for long
hours, sparing little time for eating and much
less for cooking."

The following passages have been culled from
a budget of interviews:

"Dawson City is not a paradise by any means,
but there are much worse places. In winter the
cold is intense, but as there is plenty of timber
around we do not suffer to any great extent.
Our summer lasts about six weeks, but during
that time it is very warm. The day we left it
was 93 in the shade. The mosquito is our worst
enemy."

"On the upper Yukon the climate is dry,
with little rain, but at Forty-Mile there is al-
most as much rain as in North Dakota and Mon-
tana. Up in the mountains this rain turns to
snow, which Intereferes with the diggings some-
times even in midsummer. Singular to say, the
country is infested with millions upon millions

■19

A Manual /or Gold Seekers. 243

of mosquitoes in the summer, and a man's life is
in danger if his face and body are not properly
protected. It is said that not one-third of the
men that go to the region in the summer remain
over winter, as the mosquitoes run them out.

"In summer there is almost two months of
continuous daylight.

"These Klondike Creek facts are mighty in-
teresting and alluring. No doubt they will at-
tract many more men to the diggings there next
spring. But men who are planning to go in
there want to consider the hardships before they
start. It is no country for a tenderfoot or a
quitter. One man, who started on January 3
from Forty-Mile Post to go to the Klondike
Creek diggings, arrived there on Feburary
27. He had to sled his outfit the whole way,
and in several places had to divide his load and
double. The thermometer ranged from 42 to 77
degrees below zero, and he was kept ten days in
camp at one place by the cold. Gold got by
such work is hard earned.

"But there is another side to the picture.
The bitter must be mixed with the sweet. Win-
ter lasts nine months in Klondike, and its
average temperature is 68 degrees below zero,
but its snow is light and frosty. Summer reigns
during the remaining three months and in them
the weather is warm and sultry, and the mps-

tti"

'li

11 *

' i '

■ 1

;, :

■

244

Klondike.

quitocs frisk and frolic about in millions. They
are in the water one drinks, and, like the gad-fly
in 'Prometheus Bound,' give man rest neither day
nor niglit. Then again it must ba remembered
that, although it is easy to get to Klondike at
this time of the year, it is impossible to get away
from there later on in the season. After the
middle of September both the Juneau and St.
Michael routes are closed; and all who are in
Klondike must stay there until the following
summer.

"The early summer is the time to reach Alaska,
say about the last of May or the beginning of
June, when the placer mining is open and the
broken ice in the rivers has rendered valuable as-
sistance in loosening the gravel that contains the
metal.

"The rigors of the climate in the gold regions
have been exaggerated. I have been in Mon-
tana, and I can say truthfully that the Klondike
winter is not more severe. The honesty of the
prospectors is surprising. Locks and keys are
unknown in the region, and the latchstring is
always on the outside. On the whole, the pros-
pector is as safe as if he were in Pennsylvania.

"The country is healthy, the climate warm
during the summer and the days long and quite
dry; during the winter the days are short and
very cold.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 245

"The weather in Alaska is pleasant in the sum-
mer/' said Inspector Gonstantine of the Northwest
Mounted Police, in the course of an interview,
"but in the winter one suffers from the cold very
much. It rains every day up there, and if it
should happen to miss a day it always makes up
for the loss the next day. I never heard it
thunder while I was there. All the miners who
do not work in a placer mine have to stop work
during the winter on account of both darkness
and the weather. Alaska is dark for quite
awhile during the winter, and of course a person
cannot work in a mine that is not under the
ground. A mine under the gound is dark all
the time and therefore requires an artificial light,
and for that reason it makes no difference
whether it is night or day, wet, dry, hot or cold.
It would be bad policy for an unhealthy person
to go to that country, as he would have to go
with wet feet all the time and sleep in wet clothes
at night."

"How about the food?"

"Oh, the food that one has to endure is not
of the best. It consists mainly of slap-jacks, fat
meat, and beans all the year round. Now and
then a person gets in a district where there is
plenty of game, such as bear, fish, ptarmigan and
deer. Any one expecting to go there for a good
time will be badly disappointed. Of course, I
believe there is gold there and plenty of it."

I <

; ; 'I

246

Klondike.

r H

il^M'i

II '

! fl

Mr. Rouilliard, a returned French-Canadian,
does not think there is any nceessity for suffer-
ing from cold in Alaska. He says Alaska is a
good, healthy, climate, and there will be more
trouble from getting sufficient supplies of food
than danger of freezing. He says it is not
true that the work will have to be suspended
from September to May on account of the cold
weather. During that time surface mining will
have to be suspended, but underground work
can be carried on as well as at any time.

To a reporter. Inspector Strickland spoke at
length of the country that is causing such a
sensation. Regarding the best route to reach
the country, he said that he would advise a poor
man to go by Dyea and the Chilkoot Pass. He
would not advise any one to start later than
August 1, as no one v/ould have time to pack
the amount of provisions that he would need
over the summit. Before he could do it the
river would be frozen up. Last year it froze by
the first of October, but it does not generally
freeze until the middle of October. It io Lard
to get into the country, and any one who goes
there must bo prepared to go through some
rough experiences. There is plenty of gold, but
it is not lying around waiting for any one to pick
it up. It is gotten on^; oy hard work.

Mrs. Gage, late of Dawson City, says:

""iH

A Manual for Gold Seekere. 247

"I am almost sure I shall return to the Yukon
Valley to spend the winter. The last boat sails
from Seattle, August 28. The only thing to
keep me is that I can't take my baby on account
of the cold. As for myself, I am not afraid, for
it is such a dry cold that one hardly feels it.
Women are always saie in the Yukon. Although
beer and wine are sold the men are rarely dis-
orderly." Mrs. Gage is young and not of large
stature. She says her health was never better
than when in Alaska.

**It is wrong for any one to attempt a trip to
the gold country in winter. The trip is a bad
enough one in other seasons, but it is practically
impossible during the winter. I only know of
three or four persons who have attempted the
Journey in winter and were successful.

"In summer it takes about thirty days to reach
the Klondike. From the coast to the summit of
Chilkoot Pass is very severe traveling, and even
after that is passed, diflBcult and dangerous work
is still in store for the traveler. The best time
to go is in the spring, starting about March 1;
but trEAclersmust be careful to take in sufficient
provisions to last a year."

The Yukon last year was frozen hard and fast
on ^September ?3. The Alaska Commercial
Company never contrac .8 to carry any one through
who loaves Seattle aftor July 30. The first ice

^inr*

i 1

248

Klondike.

!; If

i ifi

^^ ^ !i! i

that forms goes out, filling the river with float-
ing cakes that are dangerous to craft stemming
the current. Later the river freezes over solid
to its mouth. The condition of a party, ice-
bound, hundreds of miles from home, and unable
to traverse the rough country to reach its desti-
nation, would not be pleasant, but the extreme
cold of the Nor:'i is not unbearable. Experi-
enced men travel thousands of miles in the dead
of winter by dog train and on snowshoes, and
keep their health. Zero weather on the coast is
harder to endure than 40 degrees below inland,
provided the air be calm.

There is, of course, a great diflEerence between
the climate on the seaboard and that 2,000 miles
up the river, but as many will winter on the
shores of Behring Sea this year, so as to be ready
to start up with the opening of navigation, the
following taken from the official records of the
United States Government Weather Reports are
of interest. The extracts are from the report
of the government weather observer who was
stationed at St. Michael's Island for vears.
This island is on the coast of Alaska, just north
of the mouth of the Yukon River, and the
weather there is warmer than it is in the inte-
rior, where the gold fields are, because it is
heated by the sea currents.

The report states that the average tempera-

■W^

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 249

ture for four consecutive years was six degrees
below zero. There are two well-marked seasons —
the winter of seven months, from October to
May, and the short summer. In winter occurs
by far the best weather, because of the long
periods of beautiful clear days, which are wel-
comed in spite of the intense cold. The sum-
mer is disagreeable on account of the large num-
ber of cold, misty rains and low-hanging cloud
banks that shut down over the earth like a
leaden cap.

In winter darkness comes between three and
four o'clock in the afternoon. Northerly winds
prevail. There are many fierce gales in winter,
filling the air with blinding clouds of snow, and at
a temperature that is frequently 34 degrees below
zero. The lowest average temperature in winter is
20 to 24 degrees below zero. The highest average
temperature for summer is 35 to 54 degrees above
zero. Before the fierce gales of winter even the
hardy fur traders shrink in dread, and frostbites
are the common results of facing the icy blasts.
Numbers of natives perish in these storms. On
July 28, 1878, a foot of snow fell on all the hills
and mountains along the Alaskan coast, down to
within 250 feet of the sea beach. There was an-
other snowfall June 17 and 18, 1880.

This government report tells of the discourag-
ing attempts of the weather observers to raise

'JaO

Klondike.

IM' ''

" ■

!!!

■M\

garden vegetables. They were stunted by the
cold, and only the most hardy kinds would grow
at all.

William B. Moore, now a resident of Spokane,
Washington, says:

*'I would not advise any one to attempt the
trip later than the 15th of August. It is a hard
country to prospect. The Indians make no
trails. During the winter they trap for fur, and
in the summer they live on the river, and fish
and kill fowl. There are large areas of tundra
lands which are very tiresome to traverse. Gold,
however, is found right in these tundra marshes.

"The chief hardship is the long, tedious, dark
winter. In midwinter the sun does not rise
above the horizon, and you have only an hour
and a half to two hours of twilight. In summer
the mosquitoes, gnats and flies come in clouds.
The sunshine is almost perpetual, and the sum-
mer growth is tropical. In the canyons the tem-
perature frequently rises to more than 100 in the
shade, and remains there for days. The growth
of all kinds of vegetation at this season is pro-
digious. The thimbleberry stalk is much larger
than in this country, and the leaves are the size
of a palm-leaf fan. The vine cranberry is very
abundant, and the fruit is similar to the culti-
vated cranberry. The forests are very similar to
the woods of the Northern States, and firewood
is generally to be had in abundance."

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 251

THE OUTFIT.

Opinions as to the correct thing in outfits
vary, and several such are given, that the pros-
pective Yukoner may choose for himself. A
Juneau correspondent writes: Everybody who
plans to go to the Yukon next spring should
either bring a complete outfit with him or the
cash to buy it here. He has got to take supplies
for the trip with him over the pass, whichever
trail he takes, and he might as well pack the
year's outfit along. He Avill save money by
doing it.

This is a pretty comfortable and complete out-
fit and might be cut down a little in some of the
lighter supplies, but not much. A prospector
will find use for all of it if he has it, TJie cost
of drygoods and clothing is from 75 to 125 per
cent, more at Forty-Mile than here in Juneau,
where it is not much more than down below.

A prospector's supply for one year in the
Yukon country should consist of about the
things named in this table, which gives Juneau
prices compared with the prices at Forty-Mile:

II, «: i

252

Klondike,

911;! ;l

li!

M n I

iiil

Articles.

Flour

Sugar, D. G

Bacon, side

Bacon, breakfast

Beans

Dried apples

Dried peaches

Dried apricots

Dried prunes

Raisins

8plit peas ....

CoflEee, ground

Coffee, green

Tea, common

Baking powder

Condensed milk, \ case. .

Corned beef, 1 case

Cornmeal

Rolled oats

Oatmeal

Rice

Evaporated potatoes

Evaporated onions

Black pepper, ground. . . .

Salt

Mustard, ground

Allspice, ground

Cinnamon, ground

Sage

Butter, roll

Camp stove

Gum boots, C. P

Gum boots, canvas

Sleigh

?i %'

Totals.

iliiiv

450

1,132

5i
10
13

3i
10
10
10
10
10

8
25
30
35
50

7i
25
50
50

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25
50
35
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.20
.85
.50
.10
.20
.30
.30
.30
.25
.15
.40
.50
.75
1.00

.15
.15
.15
.15
.40

1.00

1.00
.10

1.00
.50
.75
.50

1.00

$9.00
4.12
7.50
3.20
2.62
2.50

6.00

8.37

2.75

.35

.50

2.65

2.50

1.00

.37

.40

.25

.50

.35

6.00

5.50

6.50

8.00

1107.70

$36.00
15.00
26.25
12.50

7
5

7
7
7

5.00

3.75

4.00

2.50

7.50

12.00

10.00

6.00

1.50

5.25

4.00

5.00

2.00

1.50

1.00

.50

.75

.50

15.00

12.00

10.00

16.00

$280.50

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 253

Miners who go in with outfits from here usually
employ Indians to pack their supplies over the
pass. This costs from $13 to $14 a hundred over
the Dyea route, and the distance is about twenty-
seven miles. After that the miners must drag
their own stuff. The best time to go in is before
the snow melts, which it does about the middle
of April usually. After the summit is passed,
if the trip is made before the snow goes off, it
often happens that great distances can be made
by rigging sails on the sleds. It takes a little
more than thirty days to get from Juneau to
Forty-Mile, but a man wants to know how to
handle a boat before he tries to go down the
rivers alone after the ice goes out. The current
is swift and there are lots of rocks and dangerous
passages.

The following are necessary articles of a
woman's outfit: One medicine case filled on the
advice of a good physician; two pairs of extra
heavy all-wool blankets; one small pillow; one
fur robe; one warm shawl; one fur coat, easy
fitting; three warm woolen dresses, with com-
fortable bodices and skirts knee length — flannel-
lined preferable; three pairs of knickers or
bloomers to match the dresses; three suits of
heavy all-wool underwear; three warm flannel
night-dresses; four pairs of knitted woolen stock-
ings; one pair of rubber boots; three gingham

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254

Klondike.

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aprons that reach from neck to knees; small roll
of flannel for insoles, wrapping the feet and
bandages; a sewing kit; such toilet articles as
are absolutely necessary, including some skin
unguent to protecc the face from the icy cold;
two light blouses or shirt waists for summer
wear; one oilskin blanket to wrap her eflEects in;
one fur cap; two pairs of fur gloves; two pairs of
fur seal moccasins; two pairs of mukluks — wet
weather moccasins.

She wears what she pleases en route to Juneau
or St. Michael, and when she makes her start
for the diggings she lays aside her civilized
traveling garb, including shoes and stays, until
she comes out. Instead of carrying the fur
robe, fur coat and rubber boots along, she can
get them on entering Alaska, but the experi-
enced ones say take them along. The natives
make a fur coat with hood attached called a
"parki," but it is clumsy for a white woman to
wear who has been accustomed to fitted gar-
ments. Leggings and shoes are not so safe nor
desirable as the moccasins. A trunk is not the
thing to transport baggage in. It is much bet-
ter in a pack, with the oilskin cover well tied on.

The things to add that are useful but not ab-
solutely necessary are choice tea, coffee, cocoa,
and the smaller, lighter luxuries of civilization
that purse permits and appetite craves. It costs

A Mcmual for Gold Seekers. 255

just as much for portage on reading matter as
for the necessities of life, and consequently after
making out a list of what you'd like to have, it
is wise to cut it down to what you can't possibly
struggle along without.

It's astonishing how little people can com-
fortably get along with when they try.

Prom almost every town within a radius of
200 miles, horses and large dogs are being hur-
ried to Tacoma and Seattle for shipment to
Alaska. Cayuses that could not be sold for $G
and $8 each are now worth $20 to $30. Good
draft horses are too valuable to ship, and would
not be as good for packing outfits up the Chilkoot
and White Passes from Dyea and Skagaway as tiio
nimble and wiry ponies. Packers now get 25
cents a pound for carrying outfits from Dyca
fourteen miles to Sheep Camp. The last two
miles to the summit is so steep that horses can
only get over light and the goods are carried the
balance of the way by Indians, who are now
charging fabulous prices from Sheep Camp to
Lake Lindermann.

The freight on horses to Dyea is $22.50 each,
and their owners must also pay $11 a ton on
enough feed to last while they remain. On the
approach of cold weather many horses will be
taken over to Lake Bennett, killed and frozen
and sold for dog meat. In March another big

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Klondike.

army of horses will go north to pack for the
10,000 prospectors who are expected to march
over the passes in March, April and May.

The current price of good dogs runs from $25
to $125. Old Yukoners will not take Puget
Sound dogs, claiming that they are so thin-haired
that the arctic winter will kill them. Some
hardy dogs from Montana and Dakota are being
taken in, but even they take a back seat to the
Yukon canines, which are said to be a cross be-
tween the Esquimo dog and the timber wolf.
It costs $5 to take a dog to Dyea.

The greatest demand for any particular thing
is for boats. People, to save time in getting
down the river, should take their boats with
them. A half-dozen carpenters and planing mill
establishments have caught the idea, and are
working on the Pacific Coast night and <lay
turning out knockdown boats. One that will
carry a ton costs $18, and weighs about 200
pounds. It is taken apart with no pieces more
than six or seven feet long, and packed for ship-
ping. The demand is so good for these boats
that the builders are several days behind with
their orders. The principal objection to them
is that the Indians and packers dislike to con-
tract to carry them over the mountains on ac-
count of their awkward shape. One builder has
now worked out a model for a galvanized iron

A Manual for Gold ISeehers. 257

boat that can bo carried in sections fitting to-
gether like a "nest" of custard dishes, and can
bo put together with small bolts. As a sugges-
tion to those going from the East, a canvas fold-
ing boat that will carry two tons and is con-
structed on good lines would bo very available
for the 7nkon. A keel, mast, and some addi-
tional bracing could be added after reaching the
interior.

According to one returned miner the following
would make a good outfit: Bacon, 300 pounds;
flour, 800 pounds; assorted dried fruits, 150
pounds; cornmeal, 200 pounds; rice, 50 pounds;
coffee, parched, 75 pounds; tea, 40 pounds;
sugar, 75 pounds; beans, 150 pounds; condensed
milk, 1 case; assortment of evaporated vegetables
and meats; 3 suits of corduroy; 3 pairs rubber
boots; 3 pairs heavy shoes; 3 dozen heavy woolen
socks; 1-3 dozen woolen mitts; 3 pairs woolen
gloves; 3 suits of heavy underwear; 3 hats; 3 suits
of mackinaw; 4 heavy woolen shirts; 1 heavy
coat; 3 pairs of heavy woolen blankets.

This outfit will cost about $175. Transportation
via steamer, to Klondike costs $150, or via Juneau
and Dyea $40. If by the latter route, the car-
riage from salt water to Lake Lindermann must
be added; also, boat at Lake Lindermann, $50;
miscellaneous %2q. Conservatively, this is a fair
estimate of the requirements of a man who ex-

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Klondike.

pects to remain in the Yukon for 18 months.
There ure several incidental expenses which
might be incurred, or the amount of supplies
might be curtailed to a slight extent.

One of the most modest calculations of an old
hand who would ''travel light," reads thus:

"I would pack but very little if I had no
money to pay my way. Here is what I would
take, and it will be found amply sufiBcient:
Twenty pounds of British ship's biscuit, which
may be secured at any first class grocery; 6
pounds of sugar in good strong cotton bags of
three ponnds each, for they can be better packed
in a bundle; 2 pounds of cofEee and 2 pounds
of tea; a dozen tin boxes of wax matches; a
bar of soap; a tin pail to boil tea or coffee in,
and to use the lid for drinking out of; one tin of
salt and pepper; 1 ax; 2 pairs of heavy bine
woolen blankets; two pairs of heavy miners'
boots; 2 suits of heavy underwear; a suit of
strong oilskin, such as sailors wear; strong heavy
socks and gloves; a pair of smoked glasses; a
good heavy revolver; 2 towels; a tent 10 by 8 ft.;
1 pick and shovel, and if possible, a heavy
india-rubber sleeping bag. There's the whole
of my kit.

"The rope you would use in binding the out-
fit would serve also for carrying it over your
shoulders, and on arrival at destination be used

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 259

in erecting your tent. The idea of carrying, or
rather packing flour, bacon, cornmeal, rice, oat-
meal, and other such luxuries, as well as numer-
ous culinary utensils, building tools and super-
fluous clothing, is all nonsense.

"The journey to tlie frozen North is not nearly
so hard as some people imagine, but for all that
I would not advise an unpractical man to go
there until next spring. A seasoned miner can go
there at any time, but the green hand will find
it a holy terror before he has tramped the first
fifty miles."

There is a strong probability that there will
be a short allowance of provisions in the Yukon
the coming winter, even if there is no actual
suffering from the want of food, and every one
going in will do well to take sufficient supplies
to last until next summer, says the Juneau,
Alaska, Searchlight. Fully 2,500 people have
gone in this year over the Chilkoot Pass, and 200
or 300 will go up the river on steamers. To say
there are 5,000 people now in the Yukon Valley is
a conservative estimate, and if all these decide to
winter there it is doubtful if the trading com-
panies can get in provisions enough to last
through the winter. If it is clearly seen that
there will be a shortage the mraers will have to
take matters in hand and make all those not
having a winter outfit go down the river. There

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Klondike.

is no higher law than necessity, and it is better
that some should leave the country, however un-
willingly they may go, than that all should suffer
from hunger. The companies will do their best
to supply the increased demand made upon them,
and if the river should not freeze up until late
they may be able to get up an abundance of sup-
plies for every one, but those going in have to
take chances unless they take a good outfit with
them. Some have the gold fever so badly that
they are willing to run any risks; to take the
most desperate chances. They start with barely
enough supplies to reach Klondike, and no money
to buy more, even if there is plenty to be had on
their arrival. They expect to go to work at once
for wages, but possibly before they can earn
enough to buy a winter's outfit everything will
be sold to those who have cash. Some whose
means are very limited are trying to make every
dollar buy as much of life-sustaining food as pos-
sible, and the ingenuity in this direction is some-
thing fearful to those who like to indulge their
stomachs a little. Here is a list of supplies
which one John Doyle, better known as "Biddy,"
has figured out will last him eight months:

"Four hundred pounds of pilot bread, 18; 50
pounds of salt pork, $4; 2 gallons of molasses,
$1; 2 gallons of vinegar, 50 cents; 100 pounds of
split peas, $5; 20 pounds of salt, 20 cents; 1 pair

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 201

of gum boots, $6.50; 1 pair of shoes, 14.50;
total 129.70. His old clothes are good enough,
he thinks, and he has blankets. Tent and stove
he says he can get along without; he can broil
his pork over a camp fire, and one small kettle to
cook his peas will be all the cooking utensils he
will need." To prevent scurvy boiled moss will
be sufficient, besides proving nourishing. That
this kind of diet would sustain life is certain,
but how many would be willing to put up with
it? We would advise none to try it.

Life in the Yukon, even when viewed at its
best, presents hardships enough, the winter's
fearful cold, the summer's pest of mosquitoes,
the long, weary tramps, the hard work — these
are enough, even with the best provisions, warm
blankets, comfortable houses, good fires and
something to give light during the long winter
nights. It is impossible to emphasize too
strongly the necessity of every one's taking an
abundance of the best food to last him until an-
other s»mmer, and a good camp outfit. If you
can't get these things it is safer to wait until
you can save up enough to buy them.

The following itemized bill sold rejcntly by a
Chicago house furnishes the best idea of the
make-up of a comparatively cheap outfit, although
every article composing it is of first-class quality:

"Three suits of heavy woolen underwear at

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Klondike.

$4.50, $13.50; 4 pairs heavy stocking ■< at 40 cents,
$1.60; 2 pairs German stockings, at $1.15,
$3.30; 1 pair hunting stockings, $1.35; 1 heavy
sweater, $4.50; 1 lighter sweater, $3.35; 1 leather,
fur-lined coat, short, $7; 1 pair jeans trousers,
lined with flannel, $3; 1 mackinaw coat, $3; 1
pair mackinaw trousers, $3.50; 1 suit buckskin
underwear, $13; 1 pair hip rubber boats, $5.35;
1 pair heavy miner's bo)ts, $5; 1 pair heavy over-
shoes, $3.10; 4blankecs at $3.40, $9.60; 1 pair
leather-lined mitts, $1.30, 1 pair woolen mitts,
$1; 1 sleeping bag, $13.50; 1 sleeping cap, 75
cents; 4 canvas carrying bags, $3; tools, includ-
ing two miner's pans, picks, shovels, axes, saw,
file, knife, $7.33; total, $99.73."

This is one of the cheapest of the outfits, and
does not include firearms and numerous other
things found in most of the bills. One of the
common purchases is a horsehide suit, costing
$17. Many also buy a long coonskin coat, cost-
ing $33. Another important item not included
is that of provisions, some men taking $40 to
$50 worth, composed for the greater part of two-
ounce bottles of beef extract, canned soups, etc.,
and tea and coffee. With this usually goes a
small cooking outfit, costing $5.50. The princi-
pal purpose in taking these things is for emer-
gencies when other provisions are not available.

The supplies taken in by one experienced
miner were as follows:

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 263

"Seventy-five pounds granulated sugar, $4.13;
1 dozen packages beef extract, $4.75; 10 pounds
evaporated onions, $5; 50 pounds evaporated
potatoes, $9.50; 50 pounds evaporated peaches,
$1.75; 10 pounds evaporated currants, 70 cents;
25 pounds salt, 25 cents; 25 pounds rolled oats,
63 cents; 50 pounds cornmeal, $1; 200 pounds
breakfast bacon, $22; 50 pounds rice, $2.50; 1
pound cayenne pepper, 35 cents; 1 pound black
pepper, 25 cents; 1 case condensed milk, $7; 10
sacks flour, $10; 1 bottle vinegar, 50 cents; 15
pounds dried beef, $2.70; 1 case baking powder,
$5; 1 pound mustard, 25 cents; 1 box candles,
$1.50; 1 can matches, 75 cents; 20 bars soap, 75
cents; crackers, $5.50; castile soap, 25 cents; 1
dozen small cheeses, $1; 25 pounds spaghetti,
$2.75; 15 pounds coffee, $3.75; 3 pounds tea,
$1.20; 100 pounds beans, $2; 25 pounds pitted
plums, $1.75; total cost of provisions at Seattle,
$102.83."

This man believed that these supplies will last
him for twelve months.

Some gleanings that, though liko the words of
a dictionary, rather disjointed, nevertheless con-
tain valuable hints, are appended:

'*The Siwash dogs, which we used in drawing
loads of provisions, resemble very much a Scotch
collie, and are very lean, lank and wolfish-look-
ing. They are, neverthless, very strong, and
gifted with wonderful endurance.

264

Klondike.

'A Seattle firm is preparing for the shipment
of a large amount of flour into the country. The
flour has to be prepared to make the long and
hard trip. The flour goes in quarter barrels of
fifty-pound sacks, two of which are sewed
together in burlaps for protection. Most of the
flour will go into the mining country by way of
Juneau and the Ohilkoot Pass, but this particular
shipment will go by the steamer Excelsior to St.
Michael.

"Both of us were afraid of the ice, though I
had been raised among it in Siberia. We did
not suffer from the cold a great deal, however.
Furs may be good when you are traveling, but
when you are prospecting the great soft blanket
is the thing you want. Everything necessary for
equipment can be got at Juneau or Dawson City.
I am fully convinced that $500 will fit a man out
in all he wants. He can spend $250 in Juneau
and take the balance for ammunition and provi-
sions.

"We arrived in this beautiful city (Dawson)
consisting of tents and shacks, the first day of
June about three o'clock. We found everybody
out of grub, sold some bacon for $1 a pound,
butter $2 per pound; could have sold all the pro-
visions we had at the same rates, but only let a
little go. However, the boat came in to-day with
a large amount of supplies, so food will be some-
what cheaper. •

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 265

"The gaunt and hungry miners come to visit
you. They offer you a dollar for a needle and
thread. They offer you $35 for a pair of rubber
boots. They are rich — these grizzled and whis-
kered fellows — but they are ragged and hungry.

"You are not yet through buying. You must
have fur gloves. They will cost you %3. You
must have mukluks or mud moccasins, for
which you pay $4. These are made of fur seal,
with the fur inside. They come to the knee or
all the way up to the thigh, as you may choose.
Get snow shoes of the Ingalik pattern for 110 a
pair, and at last you are ready. If you are not
an experienced dog driver woe be unto you. All
you can do is to trust in Providence and follow
the leader. This you prepare to do.

"A Middletown, New York, firm that has been
engaged in manufacturing gold dust bags of
sheepskin for Californian customers, is working
with a double force on account of telegraphic
orders received since the Klondike discovery.

"Fancy prices were paid for dogs by those who
were able to purchase, and as high as $175 and
even $200 were paid for good dogs. Almost any
kind of a dog was worth $50 and $75 each.

"If he should go on without a miner's kit and
proper supplies the scarcity of food and the ex-
orbitant prices would take the rest, and he would
find himself working for $15 a day in Klondike
and paying $4 for board.

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Klondike.

"A bag company is also at work on an order
for 1,600 canvas bags, to be had especially for the
carrying of clothing and provisions. They are
also securing a large number of tents. The
woolen mills at Salem, Oregon City and Albany,
Oregon, have all increased their forces to meet
the demand for heavy woolen goods.

"The raw turnips and even potatoes were
eagerly sought, and as a crate of onions came
from the Portland there was almost a riot, so
strong was the desire for them. Several of the
lucky miners went aboard the Portland and
there gave the steward 830 for a dinner of seven
plates. I ate at the same table, though not as
their guest, as my dinner was paid for. The
men ate like famished wolves, and as the various
courses were brought on, laughed like pleased
children. Most of the sixty passengers aboard
the Weare, which started from winter quarters
after the ice melted in the Yukon, had been liv-
ing on beans, bacon and bread, or hard tack, for
from six months to a year; some longer. The
little agency store at St. Michael was besieged
for bottled cider, canned pineapples, apricots,
cherries, or anything tart, and at a dollar a bot-
tle cider went like gumdrops at a Sunday-school
picnic."

The matter of clothing must be left to individ-
ual taste, needs and means. But the miners

Yukon Miners in Winter Garb. — Page 267.

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A Manual far Gold Seekers. 267

generally adopt the native costume. The boots,
usually made by the coast Indians, are of several
varieties. The water-boot is of seal and walrus
skin, while the dry weather or winter boot is of
all varieties of stylo and material. T^ > )ro ex-
pensive have fur-trimmed legs, elabui.i ^ly de-
signed. They cost from %% to 15 a pair. Trous-
ers are often made of Siberian fawn skin, and
the skin of the marmot or ground squirrel. Tlie
parka, or upper garment, is usually of marmot
skins, trimmed with wolverine around the hood
and lower edge, the long hair from the sides of
the wolverine being used for the hood. This
hair is sometimes five or six inches in length and
is useful in protecting the face of the wearer.
Good, warm flannels can be worn under tlie
parka, and the whole outfit will weigh less tlian
the ordinary clothes worn in a country wlierc the
weather gets down to zero. The parka is almost
cold proof. But it is expensive, ranging in price
from $25 to $100. Blankets and fur robes are
used for bedding. Lynx skins make the best
robes. Good ones cost $100. But clioaper robes
can be made of the skins of bear, mink, red fox,
and the arctic hare. The skins of the latter
animal mak warm socks to be worn with the
skin boots.

Prices in Dawson City are fairly representative
of the amounts charged for provisions and articles

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268

Klondike.

of wear, on the Yukon, and the following list
will give interesting information on this subject.
These were the ruling prices when the miners
left Dawson City to return with their immense
wealth, and entrance their neighbors with the
recital of the story of their success:

**Flour, per 100 pounds, 112; moose ham, per
pound, $1; caribou meat, per pound, 65 cents;
beans, per pound, 10 cents; rice, per pound, 25
cents; sugar, per pound, 25 cents; bacon,
per pound, 40 cents; butter, per roll, ^1.50,
eggs, per dozen, $1.50 to $2; salmon, each,
$1, to $1.50; potatoes, per pound, 25 cents;
turnips, per pound, 15 cents; tea, per pound, $1;
coffee, per pound, 50 cents; dried fruits, per
pound, 35 cents; canned fruits, 50 cents; canned
meats, 75 cents; Lemons, each, 20 cents; Oranges,
each, 50 cents; tobacco, per pound, $1.50
liquors, per drink, 50 cents; shovels, $2.50
picks, $5; coal oil, per gallon, $1; overalls, $1.50
underwear, per suit, $5 to $7.50; shoes, $5; rub-
ber boots, $10 to $15."

Although most of the Klondikers are returning
home with plenty of gold, they all advise and
urge people who contemplate goinf to the
Yukon not to think of taking in less than one
ton of grub, and plenty of clothes. While it is a
poor man's country, yet the hardships and priva-
tions to be encountered by inexperienced persons

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A Mcmual for Gold Seekers. 269

unused to frontier life are certain to result in
mucii suffering during the winter. They should
go prepared with at least a year's supplies.

One old miner recommends: "Get plenty of
staples and get the best clothes obtainable. '*
This authority drew attention to the fact that
the miner should follow the Shakespearian
instruction and put money in his purse.
Many small a^'ticles will be needed at Dawson
City, and if the p-ospector goes by way of Juneau,
there are guides to pay and a sled and dogs to
hire. Some of the clothes taken will last longer
than a year, but the quantity fit for service at
the end of that time will be very limited.

Yet another informant urges: "One should
buy these things in Juneau, and he should start
out with something like the following:

"Four hundred pounds of flour, 100 pounds of
beans, 100 pounds of bacon, 100 pounds of sugar,
10 pounds of tea, 30 pounds of coffee, 150
pounds of mixed fruit, salt, pepper, and cooking
utensils. The whole outfit can be purchased,
well, within 190. The cost of conveying this
stock of provisions to the headwaters of Lake
Lindermann will average about $15 per hundred,
(Now much higher — Ed.), but even that makes it
considerably cheaper than the same goods could be
purchased in the mining camp. I understand
that the Commercial Company has decided to

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270

Klondike.

carry freight for the travelers next season. If
this is true, the cost to the prospector will be
materially lessened."

The tents recently provided by the United
States Quartermaster's Department for the use
of the troops ordered to Alaska are well adapted
for comfort even in such a cold country as
Alaska. The body of the tent is made of 12-
ounce army standard duck, and is in the shape
of a conical wall tent, 16 feet 5 inches in diame-
ter, with the wall 3 feet high. The special fea-
ture of the new tent is the stove and pipe, the
two together being so constructed as to form the
center pole of the tent. The new arrangement
will, it is claimed, keep the temperature at a
comfortable point.

Everybody who has been to the Klondike by way
of the Juneau route and down the Yukon has
something to say of the difficulties encountered
in building suitable boats from the small timber
available. The trees grow very closely together
and do not attain good size. Sometimes it is
necessary to go ten or fifteen miles inland before
suitable trees are found, and then the logs must
be laboriously whipsawed and the lumber carried
to the lakeside. Many have concluded that the
best solution of the boat-building problem is to
have their boats made elsewhere. One builder
has five orders from persons going to the Klon-

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 271

dikft for boats in which to go down the river.
One boat iu his shop is twenty feet over all, five
feet beam, and two feet deep, with double ends
and a flat bottom. She is built of seasoned
spruce, and the knees are natural crooks. The
boat is put together with screws, so that it can
be taken apart for transportation and readily put
together when the lake and river are reached.
Such a boat costs from 640 to $60, about one-third
what inferior boats would cost on the Yukon,
and has a capacity of two tons.

Another boi\t is described as: "Our boat Avas
built like a John boat, 24 feet long and 5^ feet
wide."

A Montana man wrote back to a relative: "In
addition to a strong constitution there are many
other things to be taken into consideration be-
fore venturing upon the trip. One should have
a practical knowledge of placer mining, where to
look for gold, and once found, how to save it.
Theorists may be all right in some countries, but
in the Yukon, where the warm season does not
average over twelve weeks in the year, experience
will be found to be a very expensive teacher. A
bookkeeper or a farmer might go to this modern
El Dorado and find an extraordinarily valuable
claim, but the old-time prospector, who. knows
colors when he sees them, would stand ninety-nine
chances to the former's one of making a rich
strike.

I ill

272

Klondihc.

"Another essential is a sufficient amount of
hard cash in your pocket to carry you over a
season in the event of your not being able to
locate a good claim the first summer. No one
should start for the Yukon country with less
than 1200 in cash after he has purchased his out-
fit. Should you be so fortunate as to find a good
claim the first season it is likely that you would
not be able to realize from it immediately.
Nearly all of the summer claims require drainage
before they can bo worked, and that is both
tedious and expensive. On the winter claims
the pay gravel is taken out by drifting and then
allowed to lie on the bank until the following
summer before the gold can be washed out. The
necessity of having sufficient funds to carry you
over a season is therefore very apparent. The
trading companies operating the stores on the
Yukon will not extend credit, as all their goods
find a ready sale at spot cash. If you have not
the money to buy a winter's outfit in the event
of a profitless season, you will have to subsist on
a straight diet of flour, providing you are lucky
enough to have the flour. Don't go to the
Yukon broke or with only a few dollars, or you
may have ab" ^lant reasons to regret it.

''After having decided to tempt fortune in
the Yukon country, the first consideration is your
outfit, where to get it and what it should consist

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A Manual for Gold Seekers. 273

of. Nothing must be taken that is siiperfluous
or it will probably be thrown away before the
summit of the mountains is crossed. The outfit
should consist only of your bedding, provisions,
and tools for mining and boat building. Those
who have the money to invest frequently take in
a two years' supply of provisions and say it is
profitable for them to do so. No one should
leave Juneau without at least a six months' sup-
ply, and the more you can take the better you
will be off when you arrive at your destination.
An outfit of fresh provisions will always find a
ready sale at high prices at the mines, and there
is never any danger of taking in too much.
AVhat constitutes an ideal outfit depends much
upon one's individual taste, and the length of
his purse. For those content with the necessi-
ties of life the folloAving may serve as an example
of the provisions one man will consume in one
month: Flour, 25 pounds; dessicated vegeta-
bles, 3 pounds; dried fruit, 5 pounds; oatmeal,
5 pounds; coffee, 3 pounds; bacon, 12 pounds;
beans, 6 pounds; sugar, 5 pounds; tea, 1 pound;
4 cans condensed milk; salt and pepper, matches
and mustard.

"The outfit sufficient to last one man six
months can be procured in Juneau for about $36,
with a liberal discount on large orders. By a
simple process of multiplication the amount nee-

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274

Klondike.

essary to outfit a party of four to eight persons
can easily be found. Of tools one should take a
42-inch steel pick, gold pan, rooker irons, steel
pike, full spring steel shovel, hand saw, rip saw,
whip saw, ax, hatchet, hammer, copper nails
for boat building, two pounds of pitch, two
pounds of oakum, tent, pocket knife, shotgun,
and rifle, and 100 feet of half-inch rope. In case
the boat is purchased, the oakum, pitch and
copper nails may be omitted from the list.

"In clothing one should provide himself with
two or three suits of heavy underwear, woolen
socks, woolen shirts, one pair of hip rubber boots
with leather soles, one pair of heavy prospector's
shoes, a suit of mackinaw clothing, an oilskin
coat, a sou'wester hat, three pair of the best
woolen blankets, and one rubber blanket. Snow
glasses are indispensable, as without them the in-
tense glare of the sun will quickly produce snow
blindness. The entire outfit, including the
articles of wearing apparel named, will cost ap-
proximately $100 and will weigh about 700
pounds. The trip should never be attempted
alone, but should be made in parties of four or
eight persons each. By so doing all can use the
same camp outfit, tent and boat, and will not
only lessen the individual cost of the portion of
the outfit, but packing and boat building will be
greatly expedited where there are a number of
hands to do the work."

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 275

**The demand for dogs last winter could not be
supplied. Dogs are a necessary feature of arctic
travel, and when a man decided that he wanted
to go from Circle City to Klondike last winter,
the first thing he considered was whether or not
he could get a dog to help pull his outfit through
th • snow. It was nothing unusual to see a man
and a dog harnessed together to a loaded sled,
both pulling with all their might. It seemed
strange at first to see dogs, thin-bodied, long-
haired, woolfish-looking animals, used in the
place of horses. But they pull well, eat little,
and sleep out on the cold snow all night, no mat-
ter if it is 50 or 60 degrees below zero. No horse
could stand such treatment as these poor dogs
receive. There are regular ''freighters," though ;
they use dog teams and sleds instead of horses
and wagons, hitching from six to twelve tough
dogs to a sled; they pull a heavy load and get
over the ground at a lively pace. One hundred
pounds to the dog is the rule.

"The price of dogs last winter doubled, a few
of the best bringing as high as $150. It was al-
most impossible to buy one for less than $100,
no matter how poor he was. Some Indians
thought it better to rent out their dogs at $1 or
more per day. If some man has the Klondike
fever and has no money to buy or rent a dog,
a friend who cannot go often furnishes the dog and

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276

Klondll'c.

sends him up, the dog-owner thus securing a
half-in (irest in the prospect or chiim."

While the miners and prospectors >vho have
been to Alaska invariably advise intending gold
hunters to take an outfit weighing from 1,500
pounds to a ton and a half, it is a fact that very
few of those who have already departed have
taken anywhere near the amount p-lvised. What
the result of this failure to follow the advice of
those who have had experience in the Yukon
will be cannot be known until next spring, when
the icy fetters of the frozen arctic region release
the prisoners of the winter and give their stories
to the Avorld. Many of those who are starting
now are doing so with an entire capital of not
over $300, wheroas the returning miners advise
a man not to think of going with less than 1500
to $750, or even $1,000. However, conditions
of transportation and supply are changing almost
daily, and the Yukoners are relying on improved
facilities which the old ones knew nothing of.

Many people ask what a Yukon stove is. To
save weight the stoves for that country have
been made of sheet-iron. They are very simple,
being just a box, with oven at the back and a
telescope pipe. Some have a drum above the
stove ior baking. The iron barrels or tanks in
which coal oil is taken into the country are made
into stoves for the stores and saloons.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 2*^7

It IS a very important matter to have the f^up-
plies properly paoked to guard against damage
by water and rough handling. The packs are
made up to weigh about seventy-five pounds.
First they are put in canvas bags, and then are
wrapped securely in oilcloth. Should they be
exposed to rain, dropped in wet snow or even
immersed for a short time in the river, practi-
cally no damage will result. Any of those about
to leave for Klondike who have packed carelessly
would do well to have tlieir outfits repacked at
Juneau.

Robert Krook, a returned Swedish Klondike
miner, says that Esquimo dogs will draw 200
pounds each on a sled, so that six dogs will draw
a year's supplies for one man. He, however,
puts in the proviso that the sleds should not
have iron runners, because the snow sticks to
the iron and increases the friction so much that
the dogs cannot haul more than 100 pounds
apiece. With brass runners this drawback is
obviated. Last winter Esquimo dogs cost from
$75 to $200 apiece, and he does not think the
price will increase materially, because when the
demand is known the supply from other parts of
Alaska will be plentiful at Dyea, and other points
along the Yukon. Sometimes the feet of the
dogs get sore, and then the Indians fit moccasins
on them; as soon, however, as the tenderness is

*' m. I 11

278

Klondike.

gone from their feet the dogs will bite and tear
the moccasins olL Draught dogs need no lines
to guide them and are very intelligent, learning
readily to obey a command to turn in any direc-
tion or to stop. They have to be watched closely,
as they will attack and devour stores left in their
way,, especially bacon, which must be hung up
out of their reach. At night when camp is
pitched, the moment a blanket is thrown upon
the ground they will run into it and curl up,
neither cuffs nor kicks sufficing to budge them.
They lie as close up to the men who own them as
possible and the minor cannot wrap himself up
so close that they won't get under his blanket
with him. They are human, too, in their disin-
clination to get out in the morning.

Where sleds cannot be used the dogs will
carry fifty pounds apiece in saddlebags slung
across their backs pannier fashion. Nature has
fitted these dogs for their work, and other breeds
are not as serviceable. The latter cannot stand
the intense cold so well, and though at first they
will draw the sleds cheerfully, their feet fail
under the strain, and begin to bleed so freely
that the dogs are useless. The pads under the
feet of the Esquimo dogs are of tougher skin.

Mules and burros are being used between Dyea
and Lake Lindermann to pack supplies over the
summit of Chilkoot Pass. There are a few
horses in the Yukon country.

A Manual for Gold Seehei's. 279

A gentleman who has had a long experience
with dog teams in the Northwest wrote to the
London, Ontario, Times : ,

"Well, here we are down on the ice, and the
dogs impatient to start. The sled consists of a
narrow box four feet long, the front half being
covered or boxed in, mounted on a floor eight
feet long resting on runners. In this box the
passenger sits, wrapped in rabbit skins so that
he can hardly move, his head and shoulders only
projecting. In front and behind and on top of
the box is placed all the luggage, covered with
canvas and securely lashed, to withstand all the
jolting and possible upsets, and snow shoes
within easy reach.

An important item is the dog whip, terrible to
the dog if used by a skillful band, and terrible to
the user if he be a novice; for he is sure to half
strangle himself, or to hurt his own face with
the business end of the lash. The whip I used
had a handle nine inches long and a lash of thirty
feet, and it weighed four pounds. The lash was
of folded and plaited seal hide, and for five feet
from the handle measured five inches round,
then for fourteen feet it gradually tapered off,
ending in a single thong half an inch thick and
eleven feet long. Wonderful the dexterity with
which a driver can pick out a dog and almost a
spot on that dog with this lash. The lash must

280

Klondike.

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be trailing at full length behind, when a jerk
and turn of the wrist cause it to fly forward, the
thick part iirst, the tapering end continuing the
motion till it is at full length in front, and the
lash then making the fur fly from the victim.
But often it is made to crack over the heads of
the dogs as t>. warning.

"The eleven dogs were harnessed to the frt-nt
of the sled, each by a separate thong of seal
hide, all of different lengths, fastened to a light
canvas harness. The nearest dog was about
fifteen feet from the sled, and the leader, with
bells on her, about fifty feet, the thongs thus in-
creasing in length by about three feet. When
the going is good the dogs spread out like the
fingers of a hand, but Avhen the snow is deep
they fall into each other's tracks in almost single
file. As they continually cross and recross each
other, the thongs get gradually plaited almost
up to the rearmost dog, when a halt is called,
the dogs are made to lie down, and the driver
carefully disentangles them, taking care that no
dog gets away meanwhile. They are guided by
the voice, using "husky," that is, Esquimo
words: "Owk," go to the right; "Arrah" to the
left, and "holt," straight on. But often one
of the men must run ahead on snowshoes for the
dogs to follow him."

The dress adopted by the whalers gives a good

.rr

^.a:^'

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 281

idea of what is required on the arctic shores of
Alapiv t. Over a suit of flannel underwear, the
bailor uons a suit of caribou tanned by the Esqui-
mos, with the fur inside. Then follow sealskin
trousers, and a sealskin or reindeer overcoat,
having a hood. Woolen mittens with sealskin
mittens over them protect the hands, while two
pairs of heavy woolen hose and native skin boots
coming well up on the thigh keep the feet
warm. It is best to line the boots with moss, as
that is a good non-conductor. With such cloth-
ing a temperature of 60 degrees below zero is en-
durable. In still weather a man may expose
himself in safety, but in very cold weather shelter
must be sought, or all the clothes the traveler
could put on would not prevent his freezing to
death. Even the Indians occasionally perish
when caught far from camp by a sudden storm.

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282

Klondike,

THE MOUNTED POLICE.

"That even in the most remote spots in the
world over which flies the flag of a civilized
nation there should exist the perfect administra-
tion of justice and enforced regard for personal
rights, is one of the triumphs that the nineteenth
century can boast of as its own," says a writer of
the San Francisco Chronicle, "and no govern-
ment in the history of the world can lay claim to
having carried this marvel of executive foresight
to such a degree of perfection as that of Great
Britain. The trite saying that 'if you tread on
an Englishman's toes in the Cannibal Islands
there will be a warship round the corner next
morning,' is something more than a jest, and it
is equally true that, no matter how far removed
from the seat of government a human being may
be, if Great Britain owns the soil on which he
lives and toils, he may rest assured that, to
whatever country he owes his allegiance, his
rights will be rigidly protected and his crimes
swifty punished."

A Manual for Gold Seel'ers. 283

Here and there among the mass of matter tliat
has been written concerning the wonderful Klon-
dike mines, brief allusions have been made <.d
the fact that a little body of mounted police hr.rj
been patrolling the district ever since the excite-
ment began, keeping perfect order, and preserv-
ing among the constantly swelling populations
of the various camps as peaceable conditions as
can be found in the heart of any civilized con'-
munity.

And in all the speculation concerning the
future of the locality, its probable immense
growth, and the fear of starvation, sickness and
death, no f^r has ever been expressed that any-
thing in the nature of lawlessness or crime may
get the upper hand, and run rampant, or that
property rights anu safety of the person will be
in the least danger.

Vigilantes are to be unknown in this northern
and snowbound El Dorado.

Though the excellent British mining laws, or
rather laws founded by the Ca)^^dian8 on British
precedent, are in the main responsible for this
feeling of security, the men who undertake their
enforcement are, after all, entitled to a great
share of the credit, for good laws illy enforced
are worse than useless. The Northwest Mounted
Police of Canada, a body whose v,onderful dis-
cipline and bravery have given the Dominion

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284

Klondike.

food for most of her later literature, are the
officers in whose hands has been placed the carry-
ing out of these laws, and at this time, there-
fore, something concerning the organization and
its internal workings should be of interest.

The Northwest Mounted Police, whose scarlet
tunic is the symbol of law and order in the
Northwest, were organized when Alexander
Mackenzie was premier, and were one of Sir
John Macdonald's inspirations, and after his re-
turn to power in 1878 they always remained
under his owii eye. The nucleus of the force
was got together at Manitoba in 1873. They
originally numbered 300, but by their coolness
and pluck at critical periods they accomplished
much in reducing the Indians and lawless
whisky traders to a state of order. The police
built posts and protected tlie white settlers, and
the surveyors, who had already begun parceling
out the country, and exploring the route of the
Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1877 nearly the
whole of the little force was concentrated on the
southwestern frontier, to watch and check the
6,000 Sioux who sought refuge in Canada after
having massacred General Custer and his men
on the Little Big Ilorn. It was the mounted
police that forced these Sioux warriors to sur-
render themselves to the United States authori-
ties in 1880-1881, When tLe desperate half-

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 285

Ithori-
half.

breeds, under the leadership of the cruel Louis
Kiel, rose against the authorities in 1885, the
mounted police took a prominent part in their
suppression, and the force was then increased to
1,000 men. Recently, however, the corps has
not numbered more than 600 troopers, as times
were quiet in the Northwest Territories, and
there was little need of a strong body of men to
keep order. It is likely that three or four hun-
dred men will be promptly enlisted for service
in the Yukon country.

The Northwest Police, like the Royal Irish
Constabulary, on which it was modeled, is in the
eye of the law a purely civil body. Its officers are
magistrates; the men are constables. But so far
as circumstances will allow, its organization in-
ternal economy, and drill are those of a cavalry
regiment; and the officers have army rank when
on active service.

The affairs of the force are managed by a de-
partment at Ottawa, under the supervision of a
cabinet minister.

The executive command is held by a commis-
sioner, ranking as lieutenant-colonel. The as-
sistant commissioner ranks with a major, and
after three years' service as a lieutenant-colonel.
Ten superintendents, holding captains' rank,
command the divisions, with about thirty-five
inspectors as subalterns, who correspond to lieu-
tenants.

286

Klondike.

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IH'I

The medical staff consists of a surgeon, five
assistant surgeons, and two veterinary surgeons.

The rank and file are equal to those of any
crack corps in the wide world. A recruit must
be between 23 years and 45 years old; of good
character; able to read and write English or
French; active; well built, and of sound consti-
tution. The physique is very fine, the average
of the whole thousand being 5 feet 9| inches
in height, and 38^ inches around the chest.
Many scions of English county families are in
the corps, several of them having titles. A son
of Lady Hitt is now a trooper at Calgary, North-
west Territory. He is 6 feet 4 inches tall and as
powerful as any three average men. Lots of
young Englishmen who have failed in the far West
through frozen wheat, or some such usual draw-
back to prairie farming, have drifted into the
police, as also many well-brought-up Canadians.
Men of every calling are to be found in the
ranks.

The officers' pay is not large, ranging from
$2,400 a year down to 11,000 with quarters,
rations, fuel and service free.

Of all the hard, tough work to be done in the
Klondike region the Canadian Mounted Police
will have the hardest and the toughest. But
they are used to that, and no one who has seen
them will doubt that better men for such peril-
ous service do not exist. .><

3ril-

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 287

The boundary line which these rough riders of
the plains have to patrol is 2,000 miles long, and
with the present mining excitement in full swing
their work will be quadrupled. It is forbidden
to give ''firewater'' to the Indians, though saloons
are licensed in all the mining camps.

For the past three years there have been but
twenty policemen on the Yukon, but the force
in that region has been raised to 200, and the
whole put under the command of Major Walsh,
one of the firmest and most experienced officers
of the force. The advance guard have already
started, taking with them two rapid-fire Maxim
guns, each capable of firing 1,200 shots a minute.

Fifty constables will enforce the customs regu-
lations at Lake Lindermann, and succor belated
travelers overtaken by early winter storms. A
hundred will be posted at Dawson City, and the
remainder be used as flying patrols, penetrating
to the most remote diggings, and putting terror
into the breast of the evildoer.

**Major Walsh, who has been selected as the
administrative officer of the Canadian Yukon by
the Canadian Government, is widely known to
American miners on the Canadian border line
and to United States army officers on the fron-
tier," says the New York Tribune. "His iron-
gray hair is brushed back from his forehead, and
he wears a mustache and a dab of hair on his

288

Klondike .

f T<

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chin that emphasizes his square jaw. The major
is 5 feet 10 inches tall, and weighs about 190
pounds. He is as straight as an arrow, square-
shouldered and athletic, and he is admired by
the men and adored by the women in the regions
where he is best known. His career in Manitoba
and ^he Northwest is replete with stirring inci-
dents. He is as brave as a lion, a strict discip-
linarian, tactful and just. Major Walsh pos-
sesses a fair share of the world's goods, and he is
generous and warm hearted, true and loyal to
his friends.

"It was Major Walsh who organized the North-
west mounted police, one of the most efficient
bodies of men under the flag of Great Britain.
Fort Walsh was named after him, and his fame
as a suppressor of lawlessness and his just dealings
with the Indians made his name a watchword
among the early settlers in Manitoba and British
Columbia. If his advice had been taken, there
would have been no Eiel rebellion in Manitoba.
When General Miles chased Sitting Bull and his
Sioux warriors out of the Little Big Horn region
across the border line into British territory
Major Walsh rounded them up and received the
surrender of Sitting Bull. At this time he mac^e
the acquaintance of General Miles, and they be-
came fast friends. General Miles is a great ad-
mirer of Major Walsh, and considers him one of

! II 1

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 289

tlic best organizers as well as one of the most in-
telligent., far-seeing, astute commaudcrs he has
ever met.

"Major Walsh is eminently fitted for the post,
and every American miner from the Canadian
boundary line to Mexico feels confident that ho
will receive all that is justly due to him through
the offices of Major Walsh. The new adminis-
trator will have three hundred selected men,
properly armed and equipped, and several Maxim
guns as a force under his command.

*'With Major Walsh at the head of the Yukon
police, the Klondike region on the Canadian side
of the line will be a region to which the bad men
who shoot will do well to give a wide berth.
Major AValsh and his men are familiar with deso-
late, waste regions from Hudson Bay to the
Rockies, and from the boundary lino of the
United States to the region of eternal ice and
snow of the Arctic. The men are inured to
hardship, and their commander knows just what
they require for their duties in the Klondike
region. It is probable that the expedition will
essay the crossing of the Chilkoot Pass and at-
tempt to reach the mining regions by November.
It is safe to say that the expedition under Major
Walsh's command will be the best equipped that
has yet started for the new laud of gold.'*

290

Klondike.

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CANADIAN MINING LAWS.

TiiE Yukon district is in the Nortiiwest Terri-
tories, and is therefore subject to Dominion land
and mineral laws. The Province of British Col-
umbia extends but to the GOth parallel of north
hvtitude, and her laws consequently do not
apply to the Klondike region.

Since the news of the recent rich finds have
reached the outside world the Dominion cabinet
has met and passed new regulations, making im-
portant modifications of the rules passed last
spring. The new regulations should be atten-
tively studied by the miner.

The following are the precise terms of the
amended regulations governing gold mining in
the Yukon that appeared in the Official Gazette
of August 14:

''That the regulations governing the disposal
of placer mining claims along the Yukon River
and its tributaries in the Northwest Territories,
established by order in Council, be amended by
providing that entry can only be granted for al-
ternate claims, known as creek claims, bench

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 291

claims, bar diggings and dry diggings, and that
the other alternate claims be reserved for the
(Jrown to be disposed of by public auction. or in
such manner as may be decided by the Minister
of the Interior.

*'That the penalty for trespassing upon a
claim reserved for the Crown be the immediate
cancellation by the Gold Commissioner of any
entry or entries which the person trespassing
may have obtained, whether by original entry or
purchase, for a mining claim, and the refusal by
the Gold Commissioner of the acceptance of any
application which the person trespassing may
at any time make for claims; and that in addi-
tion to such penalty the Mounted Police upon
a requisition from the Gold Commissioner to
that effect, may take the necessary steps to eject
the trespasser.

"That upon all gold mined on the claims re-
ferred to in the regulation for the government
of placer mining along the Yukon River and its
tributaries, a royalty of 10 per cent, shall be
levied and collected by officers, to be appointed
for the purpose, provided that the amount mined
and taken from a single claim does not exceed
$500 per week, and in case the amount mined
and taken from any single claim exceeds $500
per week there shall be levied and collected a
royalty of 10 per cent, upon the amount so taken

202

Klondilce.

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out up to $500, mid upon the excess or amount
taken from any single claim over loOO per week
there hhall he levied and collected a royalty of
20 per cent.; such royalty to form part of the
consolidated revenue, and to be accounted for
by the officers who collect the same in due course.

"That the times and manner in which such
royalty shall be collected, and the persons who
shall collect the same, shall be provided for by
regulations to be made by the Gold Commis-
sioner, and that the Gold Commissioner be and is
hereby given authority to make such regulations
and rules accordingly.

"That default in payment of such royalty, if
continued for ten days after notice has been
posted upon the claim in respect of which it is
demanded, or in the vicinity of such claim by
the Gold Commissioner or his agent, shall be
followed by the cancellation of the claim.

"That any attempt to defraud the Crown by
withholding any part of the revenue thus pro-
vided for by making false etatements of the
amount taken out may be punished by cancella-
tion of the claim in respect of which fraud or
false statements have been committed or made;
and that in respect of facts as to such fraud or
false statement or non-payment of royalty, the
decision of the Gold Commissioner shall be
final."

A Manual foi' Gold Scehcrs.

293

Anotluir order-in-C'ounoil roads as follows:

*'Wliorous, cluiiso 7 of the rcguliitions govern-
ing the disposal of placer mijics on the Ynkon
River and its tributaries in the Northwest Terri-
tories, established by order-in-Council of the 2l8t
of May, 181)7, provides that if any person shall
discover a new mine, and such discovery shall be
established to the satisfaction of the Gold Com-
missioner, a claim for 'bar diggings' 750 feet in
length may be granted; and, whereas, the inten-
tion was to grant a claim of 750 feet in length to
the discoverer of any new mine upon a creek or
river, and not to grant a claim of that length for
'bar diggings,' His Excellency, by and with the
advice of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada,
is pleased to order that clause 7 of the said regu-
lations governing the disposal of placer mines on
the Yukon River and its tributaries, shall be and
the same is hereby amended, so that the above
grant to a discoverer may apply to creek and
river claims instead of to 'bar diggings.' "

The remainder of the mining regulations were
not amended; they are as follows:

" 'Bar diggings' shall mean any part of a river
over which the water extends when the water is
in its flooded state, and which is not covered at
low water. Mines on benches shall be known
as *bench diggings,' and shall, for the purpose
of defining the size of such claims, be excepted

294

Klondike,

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il ;|!|,'

from dry diggings. *Dry diggings/ shall mean
any mine over which a river never extends.
*Minor' shall mean a male or female over the
age of 18 years, but not under that age.
'Claim' shall mean the personal right of
property in a placer mine or diggings during the
time for which the grant of such mine or dig-
gings is made. 'Legal post' shall mean a stake
standing not less than four feet above the
ground, and s:quared on four sides at least one
foot from the top. Both sides so squared shall
measure at least four inches across the face. It
shall also mean any stump or tree cut off,
squared or faced to the above height and size.
'Close season' shall mean the period of the year
during which placer mining is generally sus-
pended, the period to be fixed by the gold com-
missioner in whose district the claim is situated.
'Locality' shall mean the territory along a river
(tributary of the Yukon River and its affluents).
'Mineral' shall include all minerals whatsoever
other than coal. 'Placer mining' shall mean
the working of all forms of deposits excepting
veins of quartz or other rock in place.

" 'Bag digging' is a strip of land 100 feet wide
at high-water mark, and thence extending into
the river to its lowest water level.

"The sides of a claim for bag digging shall be
two parallel lines run as nearly as possible at

A Mcmual for Gold Seekers, 295

right angles to ino stream, and shall be marked
by four legal posts, one at each end of the claim,
at or about high-water mark; also one at each
end of the claim at or about the edge of the
water. One of the posts at high-water mark
shall be legally marked with the name of the
miner and the date upon which the claim was
staked. Dry diggings shall be 100 feet square,
and shall have placed at each of its four corners
a legal post, upon one of which shall be legally
marked the name of the miner and the date
upon which the claim was staked.

"Creek and river claims shall be 500 feet long
measured in the direction of the general course
of the utream, and shall extend in width from
base to base of the hill or bench on each side,
but when the hills or benches are less than 100
feet apart the claim may be 100 feet in depth.
The sides of a claim shall be two parallel lines
run as nearly as possible at right angles to the
stream. The sides shall be marked with legal
posts at or about the edge of the water and at the
rear boundaries of the claim. One of the legal
posts at the stream shall be legibly marked with
the name of the miner and the date upon which
the claim was staked.

"Bench claims shall be 100 feet square. In
defining the size of the claims they shall be
measured horizontally irrespective of inequali-
ties on the surface of the ground.

n hi

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296

Khndike.

"If any person or persons shall discover a new
mine and such discovery shall be established to
the satisfaction of the Gold Commissioner a claim
for creek and river diggings, 750 feet in length,
may be granted. A new stratum of auriferous
earth or gra^ el situated in a locality where the
claims are abandoned shall for this purpose be
deemed a new mine, although the same locality
shall have been previously worked at a different
level.

"The forms of application for a grant for placer
mining and the grant of the same shall be that
contained in the form found at the foot of these
regulations. A claim shall be recorded with the
Gold Commissioner in whose district it is situated
within three days after the location thereof if it
is located within ten miles of the Commissioner's
office. One extra day shall be allowed for mak-
ing such record for every additional ten miles or
fraction thereof. In the event of the absence of
the Gold Commissioner from his office, entry for
a claim may be granted by any person whom he
may appoint to perform his duties in his absence.

"Entry shall not be granted for a claim which
has not been staked by the applicant in person
in the manner specified in these regulations.
An affidavit that the claim was staked out by
the applicant shall be embodied in form "II"' of
the schedule hereto. An entry fee of $15 shall

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 297

be charged for the first year, and an annual fee
of $100 for each of the following years. This
provision shall apply to locations for which en-
tries have already been granted.

*'After the recording of a claim the removal of
any post by the holder thereof or by any person
acting in his behalf for the purpose of changing
the boundaries of his claim shall act as a forfei-
ture of the claim. The entry of every holder of
a grant for placer mining must be renewed and
his receipt relinquished and replaced every year,
the entry fee being paid each time. No miner
shall receive a grant of more than one mining
claim in the same locality, but the same miner
may hold any number of claims by purchase, and
any number of miners may unite to work their
claims in common upon such terms as they may
arrange, provided such agreement be registered
with the Gold Commissioner and a fee of $5 be
paid 'or each registration.

"Any miner or miners may sell mortgage or dis-
pose of his or their claims, provided such dis-
posal be registered with, and a fee of $2 be paid
to the Gold Commissioner, who shall thereupon
give the assignee a certificate in form "J" in the
schedule hereto.

"Every miner shall, during the continuance of
his grant, have the exclusive right of entry upon
his own claim, for the minerlike working thereof,

1; ■■

29S

Itlondike.

Ijf i (i

and the construction of a residence thereon, and
shall be entitled exclusively to all the proceeds
realized therefrom; but he shall have no surface
rights therein; and the Gold Commissi'^ner may
grant to the holders of adjacent claims such
right of entry thereon as may be absolutely nec-
essary for the working of their claim, upon such
terms as may to him seem reasonable. He may
also grant permits to miners to cut timber
thereon for their own use, upon payment of the
due prescribed by the regulation in that behalf.
Every miner shall be entitled to the use of so
much of the water naturally flowing through or
past his claim, and not already lawfully appro-
priated, as shall, in the opinion of the Gold Com-
missioner, be necessary to the due working
thereof; and shall be entitled to drain his own
claim free of charge.

"A claim shall be deemed to be abandoned and
open to occupation and entry by any person
when the same shall have remained unworked on
working days by the grantee thereof or by some
person in his behalf for the space of seventy-two
hours, unless sickness or other reasonable cause
shown to the satisfaction of the Gold Commis-
sioner, or unless the grantee is absent on leave
given by the Commissioner, and the gold com-
missioner upon obtaining evidence satisfactory
to himself that this provision is not being com-
plied with may cancel the entry given for a claim.

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 299

**If the land upon which a claim has been
located is not the property of the Crown it will
be necessary for the person who applied for entry
to furnish proof that he has acquired from the
owner of the land the surface rights before entry
can be granted. If the occupier of the lands
has not received a patent therefor, the purchase
money of the surface rights must be paid to the
Crown, and a patent of the surface rights will
issue to the party who acquired the mining
rights. The money so collected will either be
refunded to the occupier of the land, when he
is entitled to a patent therefor, or will be cred-
ited to him on account of payment for land.

"When the party obtaining the mining rights
to lands cannot make an arrangement with the
owner or his agent or the occupant thereof for
the acquisition of the surface rights, it shall be
lawful for him to give notice to the owner or his
agent or the occupier to appoint an arbitrator to
act with another arbitrator named by him, in
order to award the amount of compensation to
which the owner or occupant shall be entitled.
The notice mentioned in this section shall be
according to a form to be obtained upon applica-
tion from the Gold Commissioner for the district
in which the lands in question lie, and shall,
when practicable, be personally served upon
such owner or his agent when known^ or occu-

^ m

300

Klondike.

s ,

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iiii:

pant; and after reasonable eiforts have been
made to effect personal service without success,
then such notice shall be served by leaving it at
or sending it by registered letter to the last place
of abode of the owner, agent or occupant.

**The award of any two arbitrators made in
writing shall be final and shall be filed with the
Gold Commissioner for the district in which the
lands lie.

''Every claim on the face of any hill and front-
ing on any natural stream or ravine shall have a
frontage of 100 feet drawn parallel to the main
direction thereof, and shall be laid out as nearly
as possible in the manner heretofore provided.

**A new stream of a.iriferous earth or gravel,
situated in a locality where the claims are aban-
doned, shall, for this purpose, be deemed a new
mine, although the same locality shall have been
previously worked at a different level; and dry
diggings discovered in the vicinity of bar dig-
gings shall be deemed a new mine and vice versd.
Tunnels and shafts shall be considered as belong-
ing to the claim for the use of which they are
constructed, and as abandoned or foreited by the
abandonment or forfeiture of the claim itself.

"No person shall be entitled tot he grant of any
water of any stream for the purpose of selling
the water to present or future claim-holders on
any part of such stream. The Minister of the

A Mdnualfor Gold Seekers. 30i

Interior may, however, grant such privileges as
he may deem just, when such ditch is intended
to work bench or hill claims fronting on any
such stream, provided that the rights of miners
then using the water so applied for be protected.

"The agent in each district shall, under instruc-
tions from the Minister of the Interior, declare
the close season in his district.

"Each holder of a mining location or of a grant
for placei" mining shall be entitled to be absent
from his mining location or diggings and to sus-
pend work thereon during the close season. Any
miner or miners shall be entitled to leave of
absence for one year from his or their diggings
upon proving to the satisfaction of the superin-
tendent of mines that he or they have expended
on such diggings in cash, labor or machinery an
amount of not less than $200 on each of such
diggings without any return of gold or other
minerals in reasonable quantities for Buoh ex-
penditure.

**In the event of any breach of any of the above
regulations by any person holding a grant for
placer mining from the Crown, the Minister of
the Interior, or from any duly authorized oflBcer
of Dominion lands, such right or grant shall be
absolutely forfeited and the person so offending
shall be incapable thereafter of acquiring any
such right or grant unless for special cause it is
otherwise decided by the Minister of the Interior.

11 :|^

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302 Klondike.

FORM OF PLACER APPLICATION.

The following is the form of application for a
grant for placer mining and the affidavit of the
applicant:

I (or we)

hereby apply, under

the Dominion mining regulations, for a grant of
a claim for placer mining as defined in said regu-
lations, in (here describe locality) , and

I (or we) solemnly swear:

1. That I (or we) have discovered therein a
deposit of (here name the metal or mineral).

2. That I (or we) am (or are) to the best of
my (or our) knowledge and belief the first dis-
coverer (or discoverers) of said deposit; or,

3. That the said claim was previously granted
to (here name the last grantee), but has re-
mained unworked by the said grantee for not
less than .

4. That I (or we) am (or are) unaware that
the land is otner than vacant Dominion land.

6. That I (or we) did, on the day of

mark out on the ground in accordance in every
particular with the provisions of sub-clause (e)
of clause eighteen of the said mining regulations,
the claim for which I (or we) make this applica-
tion, and that in so doin^ I (or we) did not en-
croach on anv other claim or mining location
previously lai^ out by any other person.

6. That the said claim contains, as nearly as I
(or we) could measure or estimate, an area of

square feet, and that the description (and

sketch if any) of this date hereto attached^

ition for a
ivit of the

)ly, under
» grant of
Jaid regu-
, and

therein a
mineral),
le best of

first dis-

or,

granted

has re-

' for not

are that
land.

rof

in every
ause (e)
Illations,
applica-
not en-
location

irly as I
area of
on (and
itached.

A Mamialfor Gold Seekers. 303

t?rhe^^oi'"nt-^'' r^ ^^^\ ^^ «^^) ^«^^^ "^ detail
to the best oi my (or our) knowledge aud ability
Its position, form and dimensions. ^'

crnL V'^i } ^""^ ^^^ "^^"^^ *his application in

n nr h^''""^^i^ be prosecuted by myself (or
us) or by myself and associates, or by mv for
our) assigns. Sworn before me -1- at _^tLk
day of 18—. ^^^^

Form I-Grant for placer mining. ^^'^"'*"''^-

304

Klondike.

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CUSTOMS REGULATIONS.

It is understood that the Dominion Govern-
ment will not collect duties on personal outfits,
but merely on articles imported for commercial
purposes, and on machinery, etc. The power
exists, however, to levy duty as per following
schedule:

Shovels and spades, picks, etc., 25 percent.;
horses, 20 per cent.; axes, hatchets and adzes,
25 per cent.; baking powder, 6 cents per pound;
bed comforters, 32| per cent.; blankets, 5
cents per pound and 25 per cent.; boats' and
ships' sails, 25 per cent. ; rubber boots, 25 per
cent. ; boots and shoes, 25 per cent. ; breadstuffs,
viz., grain, flour, and meal of all kinds, 20 per
cent.; butter, 4 cents per pound; candles, 28 per
cent.; cartridges and ammunition, 30 per cent.;
cheese, 3 cents per pound; cigars and cigarettes,
$2 per pound and 26 per cent. ; clothing — socks,
10 cents per dozen pairs and 35 per cent. ; knitted
goods of every description, 35 per cent.; ready-
made, partially of wool, 30 per cent. ; waterproof
clothing, 35 per cent. ; coflEee, condensed, 30 per

A 3fanual for Gold Seekers. 305

cent.; roasted, 2 cents per pound and 10 per
cent.; substitutes, 2 cents per pound; extracts, 3
cents per pound; condensed milk, 3 cents per
pound; cotton knitted goods, 35 percent.; crow-
bars, 35 per cent.; cutlery, 35 per cent.; dogs, 20
per cent. ; drugs, 20 per cent. ; duck, from 20 to 30
per cent.; earthenware, 30 per cent.; edge tools,
35 per cent.; firearms, 20 per cent.; fishhooks and
lines, 25 per cent.; flour, wheat, 75 cents per
barrel; rye, 50 cents per barrel; fruits, dried, 25
percent.; fruits, prunes, raisins, currants, 1 cent
per pound; fruits, jellies, jams, preserves, 3 cents
per pound; fur caps, muffs, capes, coats, 25 per
cent.; furniture, 25 per cent.; galvanized iron
or tinware 30 per cent.; guns, 20 per cent.;
hardware;, 23^ per cent. ; harness and saddlery,
30 per cent. ; jerseys, knitted, 35 per cent. ; lard,
2 cents per pound; linen clothing, 32^; maps
and charts, 20 per cent. ; meats, canned, 25 per
cent.; in barrel, 2 cents per pound; oatmeal, 20
per cent. ; oiled cloth, 30 per cent. ; pipes, 35 per
cent. ; pork, in barrel, 2 cents a pound, ; potatoes,
15 cents a bushel; potted meats, 25 per cent.;
powder, mining and blasting, 2 cents a pound;
rice, 1\ cents a pound; sacks or bags, 20 per
cent.; sawmills, portable, 30 per cent.; sugar,
■^^ cents a pound; surgical instruments, 15
per cent.; tobacco, 42 cents per pound and
12^ per cent.

•r

ill

306

Klondike,

DISEASES OF THE COUNTRY.

I!!

ti' * '

Before it became easy to get proper food,
scurvy was very prevalent, on the Yukon, and
at every cabin could be seen a cotton wood
pole partly stripped of its bark. The green
outer bark was scraped off and the inner bark
was steeped to make a tea which was drunk as a
cure for the disease. It is very bitter and un-
palatable. Scurvy is not now so common as
formerly.

Scurvy, which results from an exclusive dietary
of cereals and preserved meat, is really a condi-
tion of acid-intoxication, in the opinion of Dr.
E. A. Wright, an English pathologist. Fresh
vegetables and lime-juice are used as remedies,
but both of them act slowly, and alkaline salts
— such as ca.'bonate of soda, carbonate of potash
and a variety of others — are shown to be much
better.

There is no doubt that a diet consisting largely
of fat and fresh meat will keep off the scurvy.
J^ either Napsen nor Peary have suffered from

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 307

it, by followmg this course, whereas well-found
government exp'^ditions have suffered terribly
therefrom, through the food being largely of
canned meats and cereals. Salt beef and pork
are especially dangerous. Mr. Bruce, formerly
of the firm of Bruce, Bowne & Co., is going to
Klondike, and his experience in fitting out whal-
ers for the Arctic will stand him in good stead
for his intended trip. One articl'i that his party
will take along will be lime-juice. The majority
of the prospectors have overlooked this impor-
tant article and other anti-scorbutics. According
to Mr. Bruce there is every need of lime-juice
and vegetables in the northern latitudes as
preventatives against scurvy.

Whatever you do, don't neglect to take along
a bottle of lime-juice as a safeguard against
a disease which without some such precaution is
very apt to manifest its presence after a few
months of exposure, and rough or limited diet,
without an adequate supply of fresh vegetables
and fruit. And there w"' ^e mighty little of
either on the Klondike this winter.

According to the accepted medical authority,
scurvy is the result of an insufficient supply of
potash salts, owing to an inadequate diet of
fresh vegetables. But the mere administration
of these salts will not prevent or cure the dis-
ease, which is a dreadful one, if not checked.

•' I'

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III

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308

Klondike.

The symptoms como on gradually, being recog-
nized by a failure of strength and exhaustion at
slight exertion. The countenance becomes
sallow or dusky, eyes sunken, and constant pains
are felt in all the muscles. After some weeks
utter prostration ensues; the appearance is most
haggard; great trouble is experienced with the
mouth, sore gums and teeth falling out; the
breath is extremely offensive; finally swellings
and dark spots on the body, with bleeding from
the mucous membrane; then painful, extensive
and destructive ulcers break out on the limbs,
finally diarrhoea, pulmonary or kidney trouble may
give fatal result. But even in desperate cases a re-
turn to fresh vegetable diet will cure, as will
also, usually, lime-juice. Lime-juice has driven
scurvy from the ocean, where it once counted its
dead in every far-going ship's annals. It is now
a slang term to describe an old salt. Sailors at
sea are gr'**n a small daily allowance of lime-juice
and they 3w it with a little water at meals.

Pd a is the scourge of the country, and

if a er is unfortunate enough to be taken

dowi« .^ith this disease he might as well chnnt
his death song, for his bones will bleach in the
country of everlasting snows. Consequently it
behooves every person contemplating the trip to
prepare for the climatic rigors of the country.

A careless method of living is quite common

A Manual for Gold Seekers. 309

among beginners, and soon leads to debility
and sometimes to scurvy. Old miners have
learned from experience to value health more
than gold, and they therefore spare no expense
in procuring the best and most varied outfit of
food that can be obtained.

In a cold, trying climate, where it is im-
possible to get fresh vegetables and fruits, it is
most important that the best substitutes for
these should be provided. Nature helps to sup-
ply these wants by e;rowing cranberries and other
wild fruits in abundance, but men in summer
are usually too busy to avail themselves of these.

The diseases met with on the Youkon are
dyspepsia, anaemia, scurvy caused by improperly
cooked food, sameness of diet, overwork, want of
fresh vegetables, overheated and badly ventilated
houses; rheumatism, pneumonia, bronchitis,
enteritis, cystitis and oth.3r acute diseases, from
exposure to wet and cold; debilit;; and chronic
disease, due to excesses. Venereal diseases are
not uncommon. One case of typhoid fever
occurred in Forty-Mile last fall, probably due to
drinking water polluted with decayed vegetable
matter.

**In selecting men to relieve in this country,"
says Surgeon Willis, Northwest Mounted Police,
*'I beg to submit a few remarks, some of which
will be of assistance to the medical examiners in
making their recommendations.

■'tJi

:| 111

•<■ ( '

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310

Klondike.

*'Men should be sober, strong, and healthy.
They should be practical men, able to adapt
themselves quickly to their surroundings.
Special care should be taken to see that their
lungs are sound, that they are free from rheuma-
tism and rheumatic tendency, and that their
joints, especially knee joints, are strong and hav3
never been weakened by injury, synovitis or
other disease. It is also very important to con-
sider their ten.peraments. Men should be of
cheerful, hopeful dispositions and willing work-
ers. Those of sullen, morose natures, although
they may be good workers, are very apt, as soon
as the novelty of the country wears off, to be-
come dissatisfied, pessimistic and melancholy.''

i-h' I

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i 111

A Momual for Gold Seekers, 311

MISCELLANEOUS.

The timber of the country is small compared
with that found in British Columbia, but some
of the white spruce trees are two feet in diameter.
The trees composing Yukon forests are white
and black spruce, larch, birch, cottonwood and
black pine.

A very stout canvas canoe might be useful;
only the cover need be taken.

There is loose ice in the Yukon by September
20, generally, and the river freezes over about the
middle of October. Some seasons it remains
open until November. The lakes on the Lewis
branch are often frozen until June 10.

The fish found in the lakes and streams are
the salmon, lake trout, grayling, pike and
sucker.

A small party camped on any of the larger
lakes would run little risk of starvation if pro-
vided with a couple of good gill nets, and able
to devote the time to use them in the late
autumn.

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312

Klondike.

One of the essentials of the overland trip is a
Yukon sleigh built of hard wood, shod with
rough steel runners. The sleigh is 7 feet 3
inches long, but only 16 inches wide, so built as
to be able to track the snowshoes. The cost is
about 17.

Compressed and dessicated foods will undoubt-
edly be of enormous service to prospectors in the
Yukon district. For instance, 3 pounds of com-
pressed tea; 15 pounds of dessicated soup; 25
pounds of evaporated potatoes; 10 pounds of
dried apples; 4 bottles of best lime-juice, would
undoubtedly be sufficient of such articles for one
man, during a long Yukon winter, provided he
had a certain amount of the usual coarse foods
to supply the required bulk.

It should not be forgotten that the Arctic ex-
plorer Nansen gained 22 pounds in weight and
kept in magnificent physical condition all through
a long Arctic winter on a diet of fat bear's meat,
without vegetables or other luxuries.

The Esquimo kayayk is 12 feet long, 4S
inches wide, and 15 inches deep. The frame
weighs 16 pounds, fch canvac or skin cover 14
pounds. If the canvas be used it will require 6
pounds of paint to make it water-tight, or better
still a mixture of paraffin and tallow may replace
the paint. ,

and trip is a
, shod with
is 7 feet 3
, so built as
The cost is

ill undoubt-
ctors in the
nds of com-
5d soup; 25
pounds of
aice, would
3les for one
provided he
oarse foods

A Manual for Gold Seekers.

Gold is valued as follows:

1 oz. Troy pure gold is worth *

Idwt. Troy ....!

1 grain Troy

1 oz. Avoirdupois '..'..',

1 lb. Avoirdupois

1 ton (2.000 lbs.) ..'.***.'.*.*.'.'..'.**.**.*'. 602,

313

20.67

1.08

0.04J

18.84

801.37

787.20

Arctic ex-
(veight and
ill through
ar's meat,

; long, ^8
["he frame
1 cover 14
require 6
or better
ay replace

THE EITD.

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f^fuo, doth, $1.2$

THE MASSARENES

By OUIDA

AUTBOB, OF
• UNDBR TWO FI,AGS," " WANDA," BTC.

"The finish of the story is as artistic as is
of 'Vanity Fair' "— jV. Ys Journal.

•' Ouidain her old age has written her best book."
— Evening Sun.

" It is the strongest she has written with thepos-
sible exception of •Under Two Flags. ' ' ' — N. Y. Press

" Ouida beats them all; her latest story is mor.^
wicked than those of the modem sensationalist,
and better told. — Chicago Journal.

" In some respects the ablest of all her books . " —
N. Y. Herald.

•'There is not a dull page in the novel. " — Boston
Gazette.
" Ouida's stories are never dull, and this one is

3uite as lively as any of the others." — Army and
7avy Register.

" She has not lost any of her cynioism nor any of
her skill to weave a seductive plot." — Boston Globe.

"There is a distinct moral purpose running all
through the book, a purpose which it will be im-
possible for the most careless reader to overlook. "
— 7%e Beacon, Boston.

"A clever story of English high life as it is re-
presented to-day." — The Bookseller.

" A decided story- interest and some clever char-
acter drawing." — The Outlook.

" Katherine Massarene is drawn with a skill that
makes her one of the best female characters that
' Ouida* h-'s given us. " — Public Opinion.

Nbw v^ork: R. F. FENNO & COMPANY

NES

,"vtc

■icaa is that
best book."
i'iththepos-

ory is taox^
isationalist,

books."—

''—Boston

this one is
Army and

nor any of
ton Globe.
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