HOT SPRINGS POST
Vo! 1
y
Published Every Saturday at Hot Springs, Alaska,
BY GEO. M. ARBUCKLE
Bo. 10
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
One Year.$10.00
“ (if paid in advance). 8.00
Six Months. 5.00
Six Months (if paid in advance).... $4.50
One Month. 1.00
Single Copy.25
Advertising Rates on Application.
Application has been made for entry as Second-Class Mail Matter at the Hot
Springs Postoffice.
THOROUGH PROSPECTING
Never before in the history of Hot Springs has this
district received anything like the thorough prospecting
which it is being subjected to this winter. Not only are
there more men in the country, but the men are the right
kind, and are better equipped than ever before for good
thorough work.
Two years ago a prospecting boiler was a rarity on the
creeks where pay was not known to exist. The men who
discovered the pay and opened up the creeks did so by
doing all their thawing with wood fires, which necessitated
a good deal of time and labor. The prospectors who are
looking for the gold now, in three out of five cases, are
equipped with small boilers and are able to do three times
the work with less time and labor than was possible before.
With this army of busy men working on the surround
ing creeks it is no more than natural to expect reports of
new strikes and rich diggings before the winter is over. It
is safe to say that at least three more paying creeks will be
discovered before spring. From all directions reports of
good prospects are coming in, and while in very few cases
pay is claimed, the fact that gold is being found on creeks
hitherto considered barren is enough to stimulate the pros
pectors to further effort.
Eldorado, Cooney, Killarney, Boulder, Woodchopper,
Rock and Blowback creeks all have men working on them,
and in no case are the prospectors without encouragement.
While it is not to be expected that pay will be found
on all these creeks, there is no reason at present from the
indications and the prospects that are being found why
they should not all be producers, With one or two more
producing creek's, where a man can get a grubstake in the
summertime, this district will soon forge to the front, and
it will not be long until we can boast of a city second to
none in Alaska. _
SULLIVAN CREEK
A visitor to Sullivan creek is nearly always struck by
the variety of opinions that are expressed by the miners of
that stream as to how the gold arrived there, and as to the
extent of the pay. There are three different theories, each
of which has its adherents who are convinced that they
alone are right and all others wrong.
The theory first advanced, and which is held by most
of the old timers in this district, is that the pay that is now
known to exist on Sullivan comes from the creek having cut
across quartz stringers and depositing the pay for a short
distance below the original vein; others adhere to the the
ory that there was a glacial run across the country, while
the remainder claim that Sullivan is no different from
creeks in the Fairbanks country, and has a well-defined
paystreak which will be found as soon as the creek is thor
oughly prospected.
The latter theory is daily gaining more champions who
point out that any other theory is entirely wrong. They
point out the fact that pay is found on Quartz creek at the
head of Sullivan, on the Midnight and Dakota associations
farther down, and still further down on Discovery and at
the mouth of Tofty. In no way other than by means of a
paystreak could the pay be found in these different parts
is the claim of the paystreakers, and their contentions seem
to be bourne out by the existing facts.
It is very likely that when this creek is more thor
oughly prospected it will be found to contain a long wide
paystreak which will astonish all Alaska for its richness and
extent. _
Several times during the past week The Post’s atten
tion has been called to the fact that there are a number of
persons in the habit of committing nuisances on the streets
and other exposed places in this city. There are too many
women and children in the city to allow such practices to
continue, and if the guilty persons are so entirely lacking
in self-respect and decency to refrain from further offenses,
an example should be made of one of the offenders which
would render further comment on this matter unnecessary.
GOOD ADVERTISING.
The benefits to be derived by a new camp like Hot
Springs from a good live local newspaper are much greatei
in proportion, for the money expended, than can be ob
tained from any other institution. In no other way can
reliable news concerning the camp be sent to the outside
world and so thoroughly disseminated as through the col
umns of the local paper. Not only can the circulation of
the paper itself be depended upon, but news from a new
camp such as this is always welcomed by the other papers
of Alaska and the outside, with the result that a good item
Ci news in The Post is eventually read by everybody in
Alaska and is probably later copied in outside papers, thus
creating an interest in the camp otherwise unattainable.
We consider The Post a live paper, one that will work
for the good of the camp, do all in its power to further the
interests of all and is deserving of the earnest support of
every citizen in the community. . People who have seen the
late Fairbanks papers are aware that The Post has been
clipped from very freely, and in nearly * every case credit
has been given. • The result is that since The Post* started,
Hot Springs has been given more advertising than ever be
fore and all of it has been of a reliable nature.
It will ever be the aim of The Post to give the people
of this district and Alaska all the reliable news possible,
especially regarding the minings developments of the camp,
but in no case will we ever resort to an effort to induce a
stampede by the publication of reports which we know are
false or exaggerated.
BIG SLEDS
The big stages were put on the run
between here and Fairbanks Monday.
There is now considerable snow on the
upper end of the run, and it is consid
ered feasible to put on the larger sleds.
On the next trip of the stage the
limit of the mail will be increased to
1200 pounds per week instead of 800
pounds as heretofore. This increase in
weight comes none too soon as there is
already quite an accumulation of sec
ond-calss matter in the Fairbanks post
office which it has been impossible to
move on account of the small-weight
limit. On the stage last Saturday there
was no outside mail at all, as the Fair
banks-Valdez stage evidently failed to
make connections with the steamers at
the seaport town.
Since the big sleds have been placed
on the run there will probably be a
considerable increase in the travel to
this city from Fairbanks, as it will now
be possible to handle passengers where
the double-enders were not at all satis
factory. _
Good Prospects
on North Fork
Otto Keoehle was in the city Monday
from the North Fork of Pioneer creek
where he has been representing some
ground during the past few weeks. He
is very much pleased with the outlook
of their ground as far as he has gone,
having struck some very coarse colors
at the bottom of the shaft. Heretofore
all the prospecting on this creek has
been done on tbe left limit, which has
a well-defined bench and should appar
ently have a paystreak, as all the other
creeks running parallel to the North
Fork carry pay. The left limit has,
however, in the neighborhood of fifty
holes to bedrock, and none of them
produced pay. For this reason Mr.
Keoehle and partner went to the ex
treme right limit and sunk where they
thought they ought to find the rim. In
stead of striking the rim, however,
they sank 45 feet before striking bed
rock, and then it was pitching toward
the hill. From these indications of the
channel being under the hill and the
fact that coarse gold was found, they
are very much encouraged, and will
push the work as rapidly as possible.
Chute Sells
an Interesl
Another large transfer of mining
property in this district was made ir
Fairbanks lately whereby Edward J.
Stier obtains a one-quarter interest in
the properties of Jerome A. Chute on
Eureka creek.
Mr. Chute is expected on tonight’*
stage and will immediately go to his
ground, where he will start prepara
tions for a big summer’s worn..
Mr. Stier, the purchaser, is well
known to all the people who have evei
been ic Fairbanks as he was clerk o'
the district court there from the time
of its institution until Judge Reid was
appointed.
More Snow
Badly Needed
It begins to look as if this district
were to suffer from the want of snow
this winter much as it did from the
lack of rain last summer.
The roads in all directions are prac
tically bare and the trails to the creeks
in some places have absolutely no trace
of snow. Freighters are having a ver:
hard time as a resuit, and cannot hau
over half she loads they could under or
dinary circumstances.
Although enough snow has fallen tc
make fair sleighing if it had remained
it seems that immediately after ever:
snowstorm the - wind arises and blow:
the roads and trails absolutely bare
again. _
Job Printing at the Post office.
NEW FIRE
PROTECT!
The committee in charge of the fire
protection for tho city were busy this
week, and the pipe is now laid from the
pump in the sawmill to a point oppo
site Stanley’9 hotel, where a hydrant
has been erected.
For the present the pipe is laid on
top of the ground, with the exception
of a few places where it was necessary
to cut away small raises in the ground
in order to insure drainage, and where
it crossed the wagon roads. The pipe
is connected to the pump, and when the
hose has been secured all will be in
readiness for instant operation. The
pipe is only two inches in diameter, but
this will be plenty large for present
use, and will suffice to extinguish a
blaze of good proportions.
Hose to fit this pipe can no doubt be
obtained in Fairbanks, as there is much
of it used on private reels in business
houses of that city.
The overflow of warm water from the
springs that comes from the boiler
room of the powerhouse has been
turned into the suction pipe on the
pump, which has been raised out of the
water, and this constant supply of run
ning warm water insures the ice iw the
slough where the water is taken always
being open and prevents the pipe from
becoming clogged.
Fred Howard, proprietor of the now
famous Howard house at Kemperville,
was in the city Monday seeing old
friends and transacting some business.
HOW THEY SALT A CLAIM
“I wish you would explain to me all about this salting of
claims that I hear so much about,” said a meek-eyed tenderfoot
to a grizzly old miner who was panning about six ounces of pul
verized quartz. “I don’t see what they want to salt a claim
for, and I don’t understand how they do it.”
‘‘Well, you see, a hot season like this they have to salt the
claim lots of time to keep it. A fresh claim is good enough for
a fresh tenderfoot, but the old timers won’t look at anything
but a pickled claim.
“You know what quartz is, probably?”
“No.”
“Well, every claim has quartz. Some more and some less.
You find out how many quartz there are, and then put in so
many pounds of salt to the quart. Wildcat claims require more
salt, because the wildcat spoils quicker than anything else.
“Sometimes you catch a sucker, too, and you have to put
him in brine or you lose him. That’s one reason wThy they salt
a claim.
“Then again, you often grubstake a man-”
“But what is a grubstake?”
“Well, a grubstake is a stake that the boys hang their grub
on so they can carry it. Lots of mining men have been
knocked cold by a blow from a grubstake.
“What I wanted to say, though, was this: you will, prob
ably, at first, strike free-milling poverty, with indications of
something else. Then you will, no doubt, sink till you strike
bedrock, or a true fissure gopher hole, with traces of disap
pointment.
“That’s the time to put in your salt. You can shoot it into
the shaft with a double-barreled shotgun, or wet it and apply
it with a whitewash brush. If people turn up their noses at
your claim then, and say it is a snide, and that they think there
is something rotten in Denmark, you can tell them that they
are clear off, and that you have salted your claim, and that you
know it is all right.”
The last seen of the tenderfoot he was buying a double
barreled shotgun and ten pounds of rock salt.
There’s no doubt but a mining camp is the place to send a
young man who wants to acquire knowledge and fill his system
full of information that will be useful to him as long as he lives.
—Bill Nye.
Senator Foraker has commenced his campaign for re-election
to the United States senate from Ohio. There will be much oppo
sition and a bitter contest is anticipated in view of the unpleasant
charges which were made against Foraker during the recent cam
paign, when he was deserted by many political friends, and de
nounced by Taft and Roosevelt. Foraker says, however, that he
has lost none of his strength by the actions of the Republican
leaders, but that, if anything, he is stronger today than ever as
the people realize he was unjustly accused, and that the Repub
lican party dropped him merely as a grandstand play to the public
and not because they believed him guilty.
Ex-Queen “Lil,” of Hawaii, is at present in Washington where
she is endeavoring to secure an indemnity for land confiscated by
the provisional government prior to the annexation of her island
hingdom by the Unitee States.
r
l
i
[
5
I
WE PRINT
VISITING CARDS
HAND BILLS
PRICE LISTS
COUNTER SLIPS
BLOTTERS
CONTRACTS .
BILL HEADS
STATEMENTS
MAMMOTH POSTERS A SPECIALTY WITH US.
LETTER HEADS
ENVELOPES
BUSINESS CARDS
DODGERS
And in fact Anything and Everything in
the Printed Line
Our Work is Artistic and Up-to-Date
and we use the best quality of Paper in
the market. We solicit a trial order.
| THE MINERS’ NEWSPAPER §
*
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
TRY THE POST
FOR
Printing of
Every Kind