HAS FAITH IN
CAMP’S FUTURE
james w. McDonald has pros
pected IN DISTRICT FOR
MORE THAN THREE YEARS.
NEEDS MONEY FOR ROAD WORK.
Pioneer Alaskan Believes That Camp
. in Near Future Will Be Best Placer i
Producer in Northern Territory—Is j
Now Visiting in Juneau.
That the Chisana is the coming
gold placer mining district of the j
north is the conviction of James W. i
McDonald, who has been in that coun- j
try for more than three years, and is
now visiting in Juneau. Mr. McDonald
owns claims No. 2 and No. 3 on Gold
Kun in that district, and has pros- j
pected in the region probably more :
than any other one person, says the :
Juneau Dispatch. j.!
Mr. McDonald came to Juneau to '
consult with members of the Alaska I
ing road* for the Chisana section. j
Indications Are Good.
“I do not base my contention that 1
the Chisana is the coming placer gold
district of Alaska on the wealth of
Bonanza, Eldorado, Big Eldorado and
Gold. Run, the creeks of known value,
thought they are all good,” said Mr.
McDonald, “I base it more particular
ly on the indications of gold in the
country on the other side of the saw
tooth mountains that divide the coun
try. These mountains are the source
oi' the gold in the Bonanza and other
creeks.”
Mr. McDonald spent three months
of the present year prospecting the
country on the other side of the range
from his Gold Run properties, and he
bases his statement on the results of
what he saw.
This is Mr. McDonald’s second trip
out from the interior since he went in
there moi*e than twenty years ago.
Mined in California.
Before coming to Alaska he was en
gaged in mining in Inyo and Tulare
counties in California. He came north
at the request of Charles Lamb, one
of the early Klondike mine owners.
He engaged in mining and prospecting
in the Klondike and on the American
side of the line.
When going to the Klondike Mr.
McDonald stopped at Juneau and pur
chased his outfit there, going from
Juneau to Dyea on the old steamer
Seolin. He stopped at the old Circle
City hotel when in Juneau at the time
of the Klondike rush and when he re
turned to Juneau the other day he
went back to that old hostelry.
The Alaska board of road commis
sioners granted Mr. McDonald his re
quest for a road appropriation for the
Chisana district.
LIGHTER THAN STEEL, YET
STRONGER THAN STEEL
Magnolium is the name given by i
British and American experts to a ’
metal that is an alloy of magnesium, |
aluminum, and other elements, ft is a j
war discovery. When one of the zep-!
pel ins brought to earth in England j
was examined it was remarked that it
had a framework remarkably flimsy
for a machine that had carried over
four tons in men and material. Upon
further examination it was ascertained
that the framework was made of a
metal of unusual strength and light
ness. It was four times lighter and i
yet four times stronger than the best;
steel. The analysis was sent to the;
United States and the metal is now j
being made for the manufacture of!
American aeroplanes. A few days ago
we held a piece of it—about the size
of a pill-box, bffng a section from a
rod of the metal—and it was so light
as to induce the illusion that it must
be hollow. The magnesium that it
contained was derived from California
magnesite. — Mining and Scientific
Press.
During 1916 the price of platinum
in Russia reached the record figure of
83,000 rubles per pound, which is
equal to about $70 per ounce avoir
dupois.
A MINING A
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■■1..t..»4»»4»
FORM
CREDITORS FILE SUITS IN DIS
TRICT COURT AGAINST EAGLE
RIVER CORPORATION,
B. L. THANE AMONG PLAINTIFFS
Property Is Said to be Controlled by
Georgia Capitalists and Has Been
Closed Down Since Last Summer—
Money Due for Wages and Goods.
Suits to recover an aggregate of
£16,510.66, together with interest
ind attorneys’ fees, have been filed
it Juneau by the Juneau creditors
igainst the Eagle River Mining com
)any, according to the Juneau Dis
>atch. The money alleged due is for
joods furnished and for wages due.
rhe court is asked to give a judgment
n favor of the plaintiffs and to or
ler the property of the Eagle River
Mining company sold to satisfy the
•reditors.
ine largest suit was niea wun e.
L. Thane as the plaintiff and is for
1110,350, alleged due for professional
-erviees performed as general super
intendent and consulting engineer of
the property. C. C. Whipple, as mine
superintendent, claims to have $1,
978.85 still due for services rendered
while acting in that capacity.
Combined in One Suit.
The balance of the money asked for
is combined in one suit, the Juneau
creditors combining their claims. C.
S. Brown claims $816 for performing
assessment work; Alaska Gastineau
Mining company claims $3,069 for
material furnished; C. W. Young
company for material and supplies
claims $565.55; the Alaska Supply
company claims $139.15; Frye Bruhn
company claims $141.46; Charles
Goldstein claims $32.75; the H. J.
Raymond company, claims $208.25;
and the Gastineau Transportation
company claims $109.65. H. J. Faulk
ner appears for all of the plaintiffs.
The Eagle River Mining,company
is controlled by Georgia capital and
has been operating the mines at Eagle
river for a number of years past.
Last summer the work was closed
down and the property has been idle
since that time, although plans have
been prepared for the erection of a
larger mill and extensive develop
ment of the property to a point where
it might be worked on a much larger
scale than in the past.
APPROACHING THE
DOLLAR MARK
Silver is nearing the dollar mark.
The latest quotation—96% cents per
ounce—is the highest since 1893, when
the Indian mints were closed to free
coinage, but it is by no means the
highest since the civil war, as has been
asserted by careless commentators.
During the war the price was fairly
steady at about $1.34 and it was not
until 1885 that it fell below the dol
lar, rising subsequently as high as
$1.21 in 1890, when the Sherman act
authorized the purchase of 4,500,000
ounces per month so long as the price
did not exceed $1.2929 per ounce. The
repeal of that act and the closing of
the Indian mints started a debacle
that culminated on July 29, 1915, when
the price reached 46.87 cents. During
the 20 years preceding 1916 the price
averaged 58 cents and in 1916 it was
65.78. Between the low figure of two
years ago and the present quotation
there is an advance of 50 cents or
slightly more than 100 per cent. Even
the recent high quotation does not re
flect the whole advance, for a premium
of as much as 4% per cent has been
paid, at Toronto, on purchase of the
metal. Here, in San Francisco, a pre
mium of 4 cents per ounce has been
paid on ^purchases for export to China.
This condition of the market is due
to causes that are recognized.—Mining
and Scientific Press.
CREEKS STAKED
ABOUT 21 MILES
FROM SELKIRK
BOB ENSLEY TAKES CLAIMS ON
PUZIE AND BESS AND DOES
SOME PROSPECTING.
GRUBSTAKED BY T. VAUGHAN.
Locations Are Made While Discoverer
Is Returning to Dawson From J
Stampede to Kitchener—Develop- j
ment Next Spring.
Tom Vaughan, of Dawson, who ar- !
rived in Whitehorse the other day, ac- •
cording to the Whitehorse Star,
brought word of the staking of two
new creeks on the trail between Sel
kirk and Kitchener creek.
Vaughan grubstaked Bob Ensley
of Dawson to go on the recent Kitch- ;
ener creek stampede and Ensley on j
his way out on his return to Dawson |
staked discovery claim on a creek j
twenty-one miles from Selkirk which !
he named Puzie, and four miles fur- j
ther on another, which he named (
Bess.
Prospected on Both Creeks.
Ensley did a little prospecting on
1
both ot the creeks, but got no results
worth mentioning. Nevertheless he
was so favorably impressed with the!
indications for placer gold that he
persuaded Vaughan to stop over at
Selkirk on his way up the river and
go out to the claims that had been
located.
Vaughan liked the looks of things,
too, and on his return north in the
spring he and Ensley will make ar- ■
rangements to get down to bedrock
and find out what they have got.
Vaughan Is Old Timer.
Vaughan is an old-timer in the Yu
kon country. In 1899 he went into
Dawson with Yukon Councillor
j Charles II. Johnston and Frank Wal
ters, who Had been associated togeth-!
er for years in California in railroad
building and were afterward engaged
in the same work in the construction
of the White Pass and Yukon rail
i road between Whitehorse and Skag
i way. Vaughan went to work as walk
ing foreman and stayed with the job
I until the completion of the railroad to
| Bennett. In the fall of 1900 he went
to Daw’son and has been there ever
! since.
nvi mein lycvciupiueiii
Co., at Copper mountain, on the Kus
kulana river, has completed 8000 feet
of development work, opening up a
large low-grade property. E. F. Gray
is general manager. He expects to in
stall a 5000-ton flotation plant, work
to commence in 1918. There are 165
claims in this property and a major- j
ity of the patents have been issued. j
; The Climax mine owned by London
| & Cape Co. is being developed by two
adits. This property consists of 14
i claims and was the second property
to be patented in the Copper river dis
! trict. The ore outcrop is forty feet
| wide and runs from three to eight j
| wide and runs from 3 to 8 per cent j
copper. Th porperty joins the east:
! end of the War Eagle.
Sulphur from the volcanic deposit
j near Bales Landing, Stepovak bay, 50
! miles east of Sand Point, will be mined
i by the Standard Metals Co., of Los
j Angeles, and a crew of men will sack
| the sulphur preliminary to its haulage
by two auto-trucks to a loading point.
The Gypsum mine on Chichagoff
island is again in trouble. Excessive
quantities of water, which for a time
were under control, are now floating
into the mine and the management is
confronted with a difficult problem.
Dollar silver is no longer a dream.
Shades of 1893! The whirligig of time
brings strange revenges. We shake
hands with old friends in Colorado and
Nevada.
George Anderson Disposes of His In
terst in Cache Creek Gold Company
to Five Practical Miners Who Have
Operated in District.
George Anderson, the well known
nining man, has sold his inter
est in the Cache Creek Gold Mines
company, in the Cache creek district,
to Nicholas Balabanoff, V. M. Evanoff,
S. Stomholoff, P. H. Durchoff and T.
Gogoff, practical miners who have op
erated in the Willow creek district all
season.
The purchasers of Mr. Anderson's
interest together with C. M. Gage now
control the property, and Mr. Gage
lias been chosen president of the
company.
A mill, with a capacity of fifty tons
iaily, will be erected next summer, j
and the ground will be developed on ;
an extensive scale.
Freighting of supplies in to the pro- i
perty will begin in February.
The deal Mr. Anderson made involv
ing the Cache Creek Gold Mines com
pany does not affect in any way his j
ownership in the Little Gem Mining j
company in the Willow Creek district. !
ALASKA HAS THEM ALL.
What oil has done for Wyoming I
luring the last year, platinum may!
lo for Alaska in the near future. The I
>est experts in the country declare ■
;hat there is every indication that j
here are commercial quantities of it j
n this part of the territory.
Prof. Herschel Parker is strongly of j
;he belief that platinum will be found j
n the Yentna district and is backing
ais belief up each season with explo- j
ration of that and adjoining districts.
That Trof. Parker has called the at- '
tention of many people in the cast to
the fact that there is platinum in
Alaska in paying quantities, is evi
dent from the numerous articles ap
pearing in the eastern journals on
this subject. The following from the
Boston Transcript is one of them. It
says.
Platinum from Alaska may help to
shorten the world war. Since the fail
ure of the Ural mountain mines, due
to the Russian collapse, the supply of
platinum has decreased and its price
has increased alarmingly. There is
never quite enough platinum on hand
in the world, and its price is always
high. It was $45 an ounce, more than
twice the value of gold. Now it is $105
an ounce, with little offered and the
price going up. The civilian might
well ask how so expensive a metal
counts in war. It does count, as al
most anything of value counts in war.
It is needed for contact points in the
ignition of the engines of airplanes, of
rutomobiles and in telephone and tel
egraph instruments. • Moreover it is
sulphuric acid and thus helps in the
making of munitions. Platinum, like
gold and some other metals, is found
in the metallic state in the gravel of
glacial deposits, where placer mining
brings it to light. In the early days !
af placer mining in the region just
cast of Bering strait tin was thus dis- j
covered in small quantities and was i
reported to be platinum. It has been
reported since, but if found at all it
lias been in exceedingly small quanti
ties. Last year ten to twelve ounces
actually found stimulated inquiry
and now several government experts ;
are on the ground investigating and i
planning for extensive operations.
Among many things which the allies
must have is platinum. Our produc
tion of it in quantity might help
shorten the war and assure victory.
\Vhen we pause to consider the |
fact that one ounce of platinum w d I
buy 1,000 gallons of Wyoming oil, itj
is idle to talk aboyt stampeding to j
Casper “to get rich quick,” if the j
chance of finding platinum in Alaska
is equal to that of striking oil in Wy
oming.”
And more, Dr. Holmes, head of the
aureau of mines, when here a few
pears ago, declared that the Nelchina
country hhd the strongest kind of in
iications that immense lakes of oil lie
aeneath the surface, and that time
would prove that the Nelchina. and
iffiififiifiiflfifiifiifiifiifiSfiifiififiirafiiKifi!
GEO. W. PALMER
KNIK, ALASKA
A General Merchandise Store
for all the People
Carrying Complete Line of
Staple and Fancy Groceries
Lumber and Shingles
Boots and Shoes
Kerosene and Gasoline
Paints and Oils
Pumps and Tarpaulins
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AT PRICES THAT HAVE NO EQUAL ON THE INLET gj
Felix Brown & Co.
WE ARE JUDGED BY OUR CLOTHES.
Reflect the Prosperity of Anchorage by wearing a
Stein Bloch Suit. C ME FELIX, for a good front.
NEW STOCK ARRIVED ON ALAMEDA
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RAY C. LARSON
Has the Most Complete Stock of
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SASH, DOORS
AND GLASS
In Alaska.
SEE HIM BEFORE YOU BUY.
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| Telephone 88-R. Fifth and K. |
HiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiyiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiHiH
If you want a thoroughly
reliable test of your ore
send samples to
Assays on
Gold and Silver $1.50
Copper . 1.50
Lead .. 1.00
FALKENBERG & LAUCKS
ASS. AYERS
95 Yesler Way .... Seattle, Wash.
upper Matanuska districts would “oil
the world.” Why not organize a com
pany and run a hole down 2,000 feet?
They are going 5,000 feet in Wyo
ming.
HOW OIL CAME TO BE.
(From the Denver Post)
Millions of years ago Wyoming was
covered by the sea. In this ocean
were fish of all sizes and descriptions.
There were crawling sea animals,
swimming animals, and those that nei
thex1' swam nor crawled. On this sea’s
floor there grew immense sea-water
trees, bushes and other strange veg
etable life.
Thse sea animals and vegetables of
strange forms and shapes contained
fat. As they died the fat from them
littered the ocean’s floor for a while
—then sank into the deep marine
sands. Through the passing centuries
this process constantly occurred and
recurred.
Finally, a tremendous change took
place. A giant hand pushed up the
bottom ground of the sea—and made
of it mountains and ralleys. The ocean i
sought its level; it receded from Wy
owing. Only the mountains and val
leys which had been the ocean’s floor „
remained.
Underneath these valleys and moun
tains the collected animal and vegeta
ble fats of millions of years were
"held fast. THEY HAD TURNED IN *
TO OIL—PETROLEUM! They were/*
bottled up tight, waiting for centur
ies to elapse before they would be
taken from their rock, shale and sand
entombments, by skillful men.
In everyday language, this is the
story of how oil came into being.
—And Alaska has thousands of *
acres of this upheaved lakes of oil
land.
The Big Horn Mine, on Big Horn
mountain, owned by L. C. Dillman, is^
being developed by an adit driven on
the ore. T. W. Lynch is in charge of
the property.
BLESS HER HEART! *
A girl named Dollar has just been
married in New York. Here's hoping'
her husband will never want to
change her.