PROSPECTING DAYS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 237, 6 October 1928, Page 1 (Supplement)

PROSPECTING DAYS.

THE KLONDIKE: GOLD RUSH.' XIFE : IN DAWSON CiTY. ; ■ PROSPECTING - THE, ' ;;■ ''(By ■W.'S.C. . '■ On 1 our way' down'the river, through it: canyons aiid. lakes' to' Dawson 1 . City, we - drifted over, the- lakes, >io. ■: -wind ; behind us all- , the •way, and-we hung ' up ■ our. .boatcat Miles Canyon, to Save a look at it before shooting it...1t. ! looked, a I pretty 'swift get wrecked in. We let go the; painter' and started with ■ a long sweep fore and aft, ->and were flying down the canyon at lightning speed. When we were about half way :tlirough we bumped" the side of the canyon; and it made our boat leak badly; but. we got through- safely." ; - ■ -■'••: -. r '; ■-. : .'■ t . ;

We tied up before, snooting the White Horse Eapids, to have a look at them. The only danger in shooting the White Horse was a boulder just before entering the .rapids, and half dozen, plugs of gelignite would blow, the whole business out of existence and make the rapids as. safe as a. mill'pond..'While we were looking at,the rapids a boat -struck, the boulder arid/capsize'd. There were'four in the boat; '. three of. them :being drowned. A. woman that ; was -aboard of -it put her arm out' of" the /water and •' was lassoed • by a .cowboy on the bank, -.and she- was .pulled safely'ashore. We got through without any, mishap. I decided to cache my outfit at the mouth of Indian River, and ; strike out from there ■ after having „ a look ; over ,Aldrada, Bonanza and Skookums gulches. When \ye got down to the liidian we.hauled in, and my mates helped me to cache my outfit, and I floated down to Dawson with them. We hauled in at. Laustown. We found a big crowd already there,' and looking very much-disappointed, and a number of them wanting to dispose of. their outfits to get down the river in the boat. We crossed 'tlie' Klondike iri a boat to Dawson City; tliere .was no evidence there of a flourishing goldfield that w.e had been given to'• understand through our papers. There were only a few log cabins in the city, and a stockade for the Canadian Police,'and a bit of a pier for steamers coming up the river to tie up to. ■ ■.. ~ • . : . ■ L . . . .Faked Claims .'at Auction. ' Altter. having a. look over the city, .we called into the record ofßce and took out bur miners' rights;: we took the numbers of each miner's: right and put them down on the back- of all our rights, so thit if; any one of ?'s stjruck a good show we coiild stake : claims for the We found ;both men.and. women auctioning'claims in places we struck, butybWdidn't wantto'-have-mucli sense

to' see. the' "sales.,were fake.' ; In. ,pne of 'the".Klondike issues .they published the correct amount of'gold mined, froiii, the' Klondike,' arid' challenge s .the J authorities to deny its truth and slating the pro's peclors for fooling people into such' a .hole as Dawson City.' ,We all ha'd/ia.rim up, Eldorado and. Bonanza.' to; see .wnere' trie 'supposed tons' of' gold were'got. ' There Svas a- bit of work'done in' Skpokums' Gulch,.but not a.great, lot done'.in the'two, creelis.- .There 'was .a 1 party washing down--jiieir. box, just as we arrived.' ; They washed . down j; and panned off, an'df had about ia'the dish;"•■' it was ,the 'finishing.'up ' b^his 1 dump, and_ the.'chances are that it was all ,he got'.. oaf of. it. -The claim.' was offered for, sale,

'■:: I'Lade'i my mates ; good-bye, and crossed Ehe, divjde .over Into the. Indian River. I had a.look round for a.spruce tree.big enoughto maKe.a dugout. I struck one 2ft ,in .diameter.; It was the . biggest I could find;, in fact, it is,;tlie biggest I sa w: in the Yukon.. I'got to work and made a dugout ,out of, it 24ft 'long. I sharpened;the nose of the log .and flattened; one side of it, and what with axe, adzefand ;fire v l soon had, it ready'to float. I.put -two 501b bags pi, flour in it and a sapk of beans, and a side of bacon.and a lot. qf .other ; stores, and my!'tools. I donned my gumboots and. started'.to line the ,canoe up the Indiaμ River arid prospect it, on my way up. I managed to work my way upstream ■ I's. inilea 'the first day. ,;I found the gumboots, a fail-urer-:wlien they got full of water it was hard to move your legs. I found I had to be ini tlie river most of the. time, guiding, the dugout clear of-.the boulders. I struck .two good: catches for gold, had there any : in the river. I cleaned two; crevices that', were lying against stream and panned them oftVfor two fine' colours .of, gold.; I worked. 16 hours a day at lining .the dugout up. the riyer and tryinp; .the most likely places all the way, up, sleeping in,-.the. middle of the day- and vdrking at.nights-it, being, all. daylight. The ; night,, was ' the coolest .to get --along with..my work., 'I managed,to get up to .'the. ' mouth "' of Dominion Creek, but I: could not get the dugout any further,.so I, made a cache of my goods. Nowall the' way' : from the mouth - of'lndian .River to: the junction, of .uominlqii Cteek' where .we read in. the : papers ; that tons of g"old : were being ' produced, the. river .never had a pick , , put in it', and .1 feel .assuVed it never-will. • I 'weuld be surprised to get. an; ou,nce. of • gold to; an acre ,out of it. I had a run up Dominion Creek and..Sulphur_Creek, and I found them staked but no men there. There were two or three/Jioles ■ down on each creek, but nothing, doing. I came back along tlie hills to see if I could find any sign of a reef, outcrop—there were none to be found. I got-back to my cache and made up a pack of rice, beans and bacon, tea and' sugar enough , 'to last! me a month,'and made my way .up Australia Gulch. ; I, left my gun behind, 'thinking it too heavy to carry. . ■ ' ' \ \ ' ' : . Stakea,from End to .End.- . ■ There' is no other place that the mosquito stings' so badly as ■ on the Indian River,-, and the- sandfly's bite is like a redhot needle stuck, in your flesh. They are;so smalL'that, you ;caa hardlj see

them, : bu(>!you have.no trouble in feeling them when , they-are'up ' your, legs. 1 started; up the' gulch, intending "to get as far' away ■ from DaSvson: City as I ■ could Wllile my • grub, lasted; "I found, tlie gulch staked; fronr-end.tp: end; and'-no'men on 'it'or-work dorieoriif'to.show that.any returns;had teen- taken from it. '• I.kept on'going, and struck ahother : gulch, in thei ' Porcupine ' Riven .'watershed; and found it to be staked- also.'. After this ■I kept'tb the high country in 'Search of reefs. - After going for. three; days and not striking anything; I.made:.my way down-to a creek running into the Porcupine This creek had no'stakes in :it or signs .'of, anyone eyer being there.. , I prospected for a mile down, arid could get no trace'of gold. '.I cpuld see that, this .creek forked- lower down, so I" struck across' to-strike its left branch. •• I : had-to go', through -some spruce and .cottonwood scrub.Y When 1 got to;the cdge.of ithe scrub I-saw a liuge inoose eating the green moss that grows- at.the■ bottom of the- pool. His back was to me, and I was to leewarc of him. I stood and watched him' foi ten minutes. He would lift his *heac and look and listen, and go on ;eatin; again.' I would nave had a rap at bin if I had my gun.. I let out a loud yellit struck, him like a bullet;: die staggerec end'bounded off'at a terrific pace. '. made my way up. the creek and travellei up it some distance before I had a chanci of trying it. 'The'rinirock came'in ffon the right-hand side! 'I struck some ere vices .-in . it, and cleaned them .am panned, out three specks of gold tha would weigh about a grain. 1 followet up the creek.for about two miles to thi rinirbek .on the sides came closer t< the creek. 1 got better prospects here but not enough to pay for bruiiing il out. I touched bottom in one place, ant cotild get about five grains-to the. pan I found stone showing gold in this creek, and had a hunt round to see if 3 could-find the reef: that shed it, bul failed. I did not stake but any .claims on the, creek. ■'■ I got up >on the higli country and kept,'on-going;in hopes oi striking reefing country..- ■■ - _' ' '• I struck down' to a : creek twenty miles "east of the last creek I tried, it was runnih"lnto the Porcupine Kiver and hac about eight or "ten sluice heads of watei in.it where I struck it. I started t< prospect up the creek and obtained : "■pod show .of gold at any place I testec ft. I struck a bend'in the creek; when the rimrock'lounged out into the strean a little-below-water. I spotted-a nuggei of gold in a crevice about two feet belov water and put my arm down and pickei t out'of the crevice; , it weighed , oni ounce pennyweights. I'lcnvere( the water on the'Tock - by- bringing u| a tail race and > found seven ounces q gold on the lounge; the washdirt dippe< all ; round the lounge. : I blind stabbec down- till.l was up■ to my middle ii water,'but I could not touch the mail bottom.- I had nearly finished my bean: and; bacon and I had only rice left. ' I would take m,e a week to. get back'ti my'cache,, so, I decided to.stake Oμ! m; discovery claim and stake one each fo the other boys: I did this, and'left m; tools on the bank of the creek andstruci out for a week's t^amp,• on. rice till, struck 'my cache on the Indian Hive