"The current from the boundary down to the confluence with the Porcupine is said to be strong and much the same as that above; from the Porcupine down, for a distance of five or six hundred miles it is called medium and the remainder easy.
"From Stewart River to the mouth of the Yukon is about 1,650 miles, and the only difficult place in all this distance is the part near the confluence with the Porcupine, which has evidently been a lake in past ages but is now filled with islands; it is said that the current here is swift, and the channels generally narrow, rendering navigation difficult."
CHAPTER III.
ADVICE TO BEGINNERS.
Men who are thinking of going to the Klondyke regions and taking a trip of this character for the first time, will do well to carefully read the chapter on "Outfit for Miners." It is a great mistake to take anything except what is necessary; the trip is a long arduous one, and a man should not add one pound of baggage to his outfit that can be dispensed with. I have known men who have loaded themselves up with rifles, revolvers and shot-guns. This is entirely unnecessary. Revolvers will get you into trouble, and there is no use of taking them with you, as large game of any character is rarely found on the trip. I have prospected through this region for some years and have only seen one moose. You will not see any large game whatever on your trip from Juneau to Dawson City, therefore do not take any firearms along.
You will find a list of the implements for the miner in the chapter on
"Outfit for Miners."
The miners here 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 12 by 14 with walls six feet high and gables eight feet in height. The roof is heavily earthed and the cabin is generally kept very warm. Two, or sometimes three or four men will live in a house of this size. The ventilation is usually bad, the windows being very small. Those miners who do not work their claims during the winter confine themselves to these small huts most of the time. Very often they become indolent and careless, only eating those things which are most easily cooked or prepared. During the busy time in summer when they are shovelling in, they work hard and for long hours, sparing little time for eating and much less for cooking.
This manner of living is quite common amongst 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 climate such as this, where it is impossible to get fresh vegetables and fruits, it is most important that the best substitutes for these should be provided. Nature helps to supply these wants by growing cranberries and other wild fruits in abundance, but men in summer are usually too busy to avail themselves of these.
The diseases met with in this country 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 other acute diseases, from exposure to wet and cold; debility and chronic diseases, due to excesses.
Men coming to Klondyke 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 rheumatism and rheumatic tendency, and that their joints, especially knee joints, are strong and have never been weakened by injury, synovitis or other disease. It is also very important to consider their temperaments. Men should be of cheerful, hopeful dispositions and willing workers. 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 become dissatisfied, pessimistic and melancholy.
CHAPTER IV.
OUTFIT FOR MINERS.
In giving any advice for outfits for miners, I should first state that it is a great mistake to purchase anything whatever before arriving at Juneau, Alaska. This has been a supply point for that region for upwards of ten years, and store-keepers and supply companies carry in stock exactly what is necessary for the miners. You will find that their prices are reasonable, considering the difference in cost of transportation at any point you might decide to purchase from in the United States; in fact it is the saving of money to buy in Juneau.
In the matter of clothing, of course, it must be left to the individual taste and means of the purchaser, but the miners usually adopt the native costume of the region. The boots are generally made by the coast Indians and are of different varieties. The water boot is made of seal and walrus. It is important to take a pair of rubber boots along. Additional boots can be purchased at Dawson City. The native boots cost from two to five dollars a pair. Trousers are generally made from Siberian fawn skins and the skin of the marmot or the ground squirrel. The outer garments are generally made of the marmot skin. The people at Dawson City who are not engaged in mining, such as store-keepers, clerks, etc., generally wear these garments. Good warm flannels are important. Everything in the way of underwear is made of flannel, such as shirts. The cost of flannel shirts at Dawson City is $5. Rubber boots at Dawson City are $10 to $12.00 a pair. Blankets and robes are used for bedding, and should be purchased at Juneau. Wolf skins make the best robes. Good ones cost $100 apiece, but cheaper ones can be obtained from the bear, mink, and red fox and Arctic Hare. Warm socks are made from the skin of the Arctic Hare.
If you have any delay at Juneau, you will, probably, be asked to take trips to the Giant Glaciers, but my advice is to stay in Juneau until the steamer is ready to start for Dyea. You will need all the rest you can get before starting up the Pass.
In the matter of provisions, the following is a list which is considered sufficient to last a man on his trip from Juneau to Dawson City:—
20 pounds of flour,
12 pounds of bacon,
12 " " beans,
4 " " butter,
5 " " vegetables,
4 cans of condensed milk,
5 pounds of sugar,
1 pound of tea,
3 pounds of coffee,
1 1-2 pound of salt,
5 pounds of corn meal,
A small portion of pepper and mustard.
The following utensils should be taken:—
1 frying pan, 1 water kettle, 1 Yukon stove, 1 bean pot, 2 plates, 1 tin drinking cup, 1 tea pot, 1 knife and fork, 1 large and 1 small cooking pan.
The following tools should he brought as part of the outfit:—These will be found absolutely necessary to build a boat at Lake Lindeman:—
1 jack plane, 1 whip saw, 1 cross-cut saw, 1 axe, 1 hatchet, 1 hunting-knife. 6 pounds of assorted nails, 1 pound of oakum, 5 pounds of pitch, 150 feet of rope, 1 Juneau sled.
It is also necessary to have one good duck tent and a rubber blanket.
A good piece of mosquito netting will not be heavy and will also be very great comfort on the trip.
Do not forget to put in a good supply of matches, and take a small supply of fishing tackle, hooks, etc.
It is very important that you have a pair of snow glasses to guard against snow blindness.
It will be interesting to know the prices at Dawson City for supplies:
When I left in June, 1896.
Flour was sold in 50 pound bags at $6.00 a bag.
Fresh beef was supplied at 50 cents a pound.
Bacon was 40 cents.
Coffee was 50 cents per pound.
Brown sugar was 20 cents per pound and granulated sugar was 25 cents a pound.
Condensed milk was 50 cents per can.
Pick axes were $6.00 each.
Miners' shovels were $2.00 each.
Lumber right at Dawson City was $130.00 per thousand feet undressed, and $150.00 per thousand feet dressed.
It is well perhaps to advise the traveller to supply himself with a small medicine box which can be purchased in Juneau, but it is not necessary if he enjoys good rugged health.
On arriving at Dawson City, luxuries will be found to be very high; what is to be considered a very cheap cigar in the United States, two for 5 cents, sells in Dawson City at 50 cents each.
Liquors command very high prices. Whisky sells in the saloons for 50 cents a glass, and fluctuates from $15.00 to $25.00 per gallon, according to the supplies received from the at present overtaxed transportation companies. There was about 12,000 gallons of whisky imported into the territory from Canada the past year. Smoking tobacco was selling at $1.50 a pound and good plug cut and fancy tobacco was selling at $2.00 a pound.
The demand for medicine is very light, but the local traders carry a small stock of patent and proprietary medicines.
CHAPTER V.
MINERS' LUCK.
The reports already received of the finds of gold seem beyond belief but the greater part of them are actual facts, and the following came under my personal observation:—
Alexander McDonald, on Claim No. 30, Eldorado, on the Klondyke, started drifting on his claim with four men. The men agreed to work the claim on shares, the agreement being that they should work on shares by each receiving half of what they could get out. The five together took out $95,000.00 in twenty-eight days. The ground dug up was found to measure but 40 square feet. This was an exceptional find. The men are of course working the claim and had 460 square feet on the claim still to work out when I left for the East.
People in the East or elsewhere can hardly realize what a small space a mining claim is in this vast and comparatively unexplored territory.
William Leggatt on Claim No. 13, Eldorado, together with William Gates and a miner named Shoots, purchased their claim from a miner named Stewart, and his partner, for the sum of $45,000.00. They did not have money to make the payment in cash but made a first payment of $2,000.00 with the agreement to pay the balance of the purchase price, $43,000.00, prior to July 1st, 1897. They sunk a shaft and commenced taking out $1,000.00 per day.
They worked the pay dirt until about May 15, 1897, when they found that they had taken out $62,000.00, and the space of the claim worked was only twenty-four square feet.
A young man who went to the Klondyke recently writes that he is taking out $1,800.00 a day from his claim.
It is stated on good authority that one claim yielded $90,000 in 45 feet up and down the stream. Clarence Berry bought out his two partners, paying one $35,000 and the other $60,000, and has taken up $140,000 from the winter dump alone. Peter Wiborg has purchased more ground. He purchased his partner's interest in a claim, paying $42,000. A man by the name of Wall has all he thinks he wants, and is coming out. He sold his interests for $50,000. Nearly all the gold is found in the creek bed on the bed rock, but there are a few good bench diggings.
Perhaps the most interesting reading in the Mining Record is the letters written by men in the Klondyke to friends in Juneau. Here is one from "Casey" Moran:
DAWSON, March 20, 1897.
"FRIEND GEORGE: Don't pay any attention to what any one says, but come in at your earliest opportunity. My God! it is appalling to hear the truth, but nevertheless the world has never produced its equal before. Well, come. That's all. Your friend,
"CASEY."
Burt Shuler, writing from Klondyke under date of June 5, says:
"We have been here but a short time and we all have money. Provisions are much higher than they were two years ago and clothing is clean out of sight. One of the A.C. Co.'s boats was lost in the spring, and there will be a shortage of provisions again this fall. There is nothing that a man could eat or wear that he cannot get a good price for. First-class rubber boots are worth from an ounce of gold to $25 a pair. The price of flour has been raised from $4 to $6, as it was being freighted from Forty Mile. Big money can be made by bringing a small outfit over the trail this fall. Wages have been $15 per day all winter, though a reduction to $10 was attempted, but the miners quit work…. Here is a creek that is eighteen miles long, and, as far as is known, without a miss. There are not enough men in the country to-day to work the claims. Several other creeks show equal promise, but very little work has been done on the latter. I have seen gold dust until it seems almost as cheap as sawdust. If you are coming in, come prepared to stay two years at least; bring plenty of clothing and good rubber boots."
Thus far little attempt to mine quartz has been made in the interior of Alaska and the Northwest, although many quartz croppings have been seen. It would cost too much to take in the machinery and to build a plant until transportation facilities are better. In time, however, quartz mining operations will commence, for the placer mines were washed down from the mother veins somewhere. If the washings have made the richest placers in the world, what must the mother veins be? One dares hardly to imagine.
This is a brief description of the gold region in the Northwest.
For further and more detailed information on Routes and Distances, Transportations, Mining Laws, How to Stake a Claim, Where to Register Your Claim, Modes of Placer Mining and Quartz Mining, Return of Gold from the Diggings, Mortality, Cost of Living, etc., I refer the reader to my book on this subject entitled "Klondyke Facts," a work of about 224 pages. It is published in paper covers at 50 cents a copy with maps and illustrations, and is sent postpaid by the publishers on receipt of 50 cents.
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