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I
DISCOVERY ON PEDRO CREEK
WHICH CAUSED STAMPEDE IN
1902 PASSES INTO HISTORY.
YIELDED NO BIG FORTUNES |
—
Last Operations This Year Were Con-j
ducted by Hanot Brothers, Whose j
Father Was Partner of Original
Locator.
Although the day may come when a j
further supply of gold will be dredged :
from the huge piles of tailings that
now cover it, the oldest placer mining j
claim in the Fairbanks district has
seen the last season that it will be
-worked by individual mining methods,:
according to the Fairbanks Citizen. :
When Hanot Brothers, its owners, j
linished up their scraping operations
this fall. Discovery Pedro creek, stak
ed hy Felic Pedro in 1902, had been
worked out.
Whether or not the ground will ever
be mined again is a matter of conjec
ture. In all probability it still con
tains 'gold, but whether an attempt
will ever be made to extract it is
-problematical.
Dredge May Work.
By some people it is thought that a
dredge can make money on any kind
of ground which has once paid for the
operations conducted on it by the more
crude methods of mining, but dredge
experts have been heard to make the
statement that it is difficult for a
dredge to extract enough gold to pay
for its operation from the residue of
^gravel, bedrock and tailings, after a
scraper such as the Hanots used has
once been operated. For this reason
there is a divergence of opinion as to
whether or not dredge operations in
the future will pay on Discovery,
Pedro.
Caused Stampede in 1902.
It was the news of the discovery of
gold on this claim in the summer of
1902 that caused the stampede to the
Fairbanks district from Dawson, from
\rukon river camps all the way down
and from Nome. Anxious for new
tields to explore, prospectors came to
the Fairbanks district from every
where, and as a result discoveries were
made on all the other creeks which
have been or are still producers.
Mining operations on Discovery
Pedro, however, did not start until
the summer of 1903. At that time the
discoverer of the ground and of the
camp, Felix Pedro, was in partnership
with the present day Hanot brothers’ j
father, from which partnership the
Hanots derive their ownership of the
ground.
Many Sets of Laymen.
Many sets of laymen have operated
on the old claim, some to make big
money and other to go broke. No1
great fortunes have been made out of [
it, but it has, when worked under ef- 1
ficient management, been a steady!
producer. The ground is what is con
sidered shallow at the present time, j
but in the early days it was considered
too deep for open cutting, consequent-,
ly all operations on it were conducted
by drifting. At various times since
then, however, opencut operations
have been conducted on it.
Open Cut Work Ends It.
And it is opencut work that was
done by the Hanot boys, but it was;
done with a scraper instead of the an
tiquated hand methods. The ground
being worked in this manner was first
drifted in 1904 and 1905, and, although j
the operators who worked it at that j
time made good money, Hanot broth
ers took out a large amount of gold
by going four feet deeper into bed
rock than did their predecessors. They
finished their work on the old claim
this fall. They will move to Discovery
Coldstream, in which they hold a
three-quarters interest, where they
will prepare to operate extensive next
year.
THIEF WAS SCARED AWAY AFT
ER HE HAD RAISED THE RIF
FLES ON FONTAS LEASE.
OBTAINED NO GOLD DUST
Other Reports Are Said to Have Been
Received at Fairbanks of Efforts
Made This Season of Theft in Tolo
vana Country.
That an attempt was made recently!
to rob the sluice boxes on the Fontas j
lease on Livengood creek, in the Tolo- |
vana country, is the information re- j
ceived at Fairbanks by J. J. Sherry,
one of the owners of the ground. Th3
letter received also states that the j
thief secured nothing, as far as could
be ascertained, having been frightened I
away after he had raised three of the j
riffles. There is every indication that;
the robbery was attempted by some j
one very familiar with the Fontas |
workings, but there is now clew to the
thief other than the pick with which j
he was working and which he left
behind.
Several Strings of Boxes.
There were several strings of sluice
boxes under the big dump on the Fon
tas ground. They led away from the
dump on the opposite side from the
boiler house, consequently the sailing
was easy for the thief. But after he
had raised three of the riffles and was
preparing to raise a fourth he was
frightened away by the flow of water
that was turned into the boxes, being
evidently coognizant of the fact that
the flow of water meant the men em
ployed on the ground would be on the
job in a few moments ready to sluice;
while they had water with which to
work. He therefore made a hurried
escape, leaving the pick, which is said
to be altogether unlike any other in
strument of its kind on the creek.
_i n_i it_i __1_i
IM.V.U UUAVU liau
When the men started to work they
quickly discovered that the sluice i
boxes had been tampered with. An in
vestigation was made which disclosed
the fact that, while the riffles had been j
raised, the dirt in the boxes under
them had not been loosened from the
bottom of the boxes. The robbery was
attempted at midnight.
This is not the first report of at
tempted sluice box robberies in the
Tolovana which has reached Fair
banks.
Herman Stone of the mining firm
of Lynch, Verde and Stone, has sold
out to his partners, Phil Lynch and
Tom Verde and quit the Tolovana
country. He is now in Fairbanks.
CAESAR’S TERMS.
One of the happiest speeches which
has come to our notice on the subject
of possible peace terms with Germa
ny, was made by Franklin K. Lane,
secretary of the interior, a short
time ago. Mr. Lane wras addressing
a convention of business men at the
time, and the brevity and simple di
rectness of his remarks recommend
them almost as much as their pat
ness. The secretary said:
“It is now 1900 years since Caesar
defeated the Germans in France.
When they came seeking terms, he
said to them: ‘Go back whence you
came, repair the damage you have
done and give hostages to keep peace
for the future.’
“It was the ancient and barbaric
custom to take princes and high men
as hostages, and this custom Germa
ny followed when she entered Bel
gium. But the world does not ask
such hostages today. It is the prob
lem of the world statesmanship to
discover what kind of hostage Ger
many can give when she has been
convinced that her dream of world
over-mastery cannot come true.”—
Exchange.
TRAVEL OVER
ATLIN COUNTRY
PETER JOHNSON AND THOMAS
McDonald make trip for
TREADWELL COMPANY.
TOUR LASTS THREE MONTHS.
Considerable Likely Ground Is Re
ported But Development Is Report
ed As Impossible Because of the
Excessive Cost of Transportation.
Peter Johnson, fcr years under
ground foreman for the Treadwell
company, and Thomas McDonald,
foreman of the central crushing plant
at Treadwell, for a number of years
prior to the flood of last April, have
returned from a three months’ trip
io the Atlin country, says the Juneau
Empire. McDonald and Johnson left
with Superintendent Wayland early
last July on a tour of inspection in
the interests of the Treadwell compa
ny, Mr. Wayland returning to Tread
well late in September, leaving his
partners at Telegraph creek. From
there McDonald and Johnson returned
by way of Atlin with pack horses,
which were picked up on the start of
the trip and had to be returned.
They did considerable prospecting
and made examinations of property,
covering fully one thousand miles of
rough country during their trip. They
stated that there were some splendid
looking properties in the region which
they had examined, but like many oth
er places in the north, the cost of get
ting material to the mines is practi
cally prohibitive. This is particularly
true of conditions surrounding the
Atlin country, the transportation com
panies at that place charging $80 per
ton for freight.
Mining men and settlers throughout
that part of the country have been
complaining for years, but there
seems to be no remedy for the hold
up. It is either pay it or stay out of
the country.
But for the good-natured smiles
which always radiate the faces of
both McDonald and Johnson, their
many friends would not have recog
nized them here on their arrival. A
beautiful crop of blond and brunette
“spinach” of more than three months’
growth adorned the faces of the min
ing men, which was not removed un
til after they had their “pictures
took.”
MINING NEWS
from McCarthy
Frank Kernan, who is operating
the Youn gand Chittitu river arrived
in town with a good clean-up for his
summer’s work.
Important strikes were made on the
Upper Chittitu of silver and lead the
present season.
Prospectors coming in from the
Hanagita report good clean-ups as a
result of the season’s work. The
ground is reported to be quite rich and
not far to bedrock.
Owing to heavy and copious rains
the Shushanna country took out more
gold this season than for years past.
Hunters Return With Pelts.
With the pelts of eighteen mountain
sheep, eight moose, eight caribou, six
wolves, one lynx, one bear and other
game, W. T. Young, bridge builder of
Nashville, Tenn.; John Browder of
Fulton, Ky.; Arthur J. Dyer, of Ten
nessee, and Lee Mighell, of Aurora,
111., recently returned to McCarthy
from a thirty-eight day hunting trip
north and south of the White river in
Alaska and the Yukon territory. The
party outfitted at McCarthy. Mr.
Young stated that excellent weather
was encountered and that the entire
party throughout enjoyed the trip. At
one time he saw fully 100 sheep
through his glasses on the face of the
cliffs. Every members of the party is
enthusiastic over the great big game
hunting and scenic wonders of the ter
ritory.
It is reported that the Alaska
Mines corporation of Nome cleaned
up a huge poke of dust as a result
)f its dredging operations.
HIGH PRICES AND -HOUR LAW
BLAMED FOR INACTIVITY OF
SOME PROPERTIES.
TEN HYDRAULIC PLANTS.
j
Rabbits Are Scarce but Mice Are
Plentiful and Will Supply Food for
Lynx—Wolves Are Numerous on
Account of Large Herds of Caribou.
Many mining outfits in the Circle
city district were forced to shut down
early in the summer, owing to the
(shortage of water.
Before the end of September most
of the mining plants were closed down
on account of lack of water. Un
doubtedly this summer was drier than
in many years at the head of Dead
wood, Mastodon and Eagle creeks
where most of the hydraulic plants de
pend on getting the supply of water
with which to operate. No strikes of
importance have been made during
the summer and very little prospect
ing is being done at presort.
A great many residents of Circle
have gone outside for the winter.
Charles Rogers has gone to offer his
services to the aviation corps.
Ordered to Report.
Mr. Rogers placed his application
with the war department early last
spring and was recently ordered to re
port to the nearest recruiting station.
So far, Mr. Rogers has been the
: first volunteer from the Circle dis
trict.
High prices, the eight-hour law and
the poor season this year has worked
a hardship on most of the miners who
intend to operate next year, but in
spite of all handicaps there will be
two hydraulic plants installed for the
P. Anderson are opening up on Dead
wood creek, also Frank Hines. This
makes ten hvdrauiic plants, as fol
lows:
A. A. Sather, Switch creek; Jewett
and Anderson, Deadwood; Steck,
Deadwood; Hines, Deadwood; Clar
ence Barry, Eagle creek; Michael de
Michili, upper Mastodon; Kelly, Mil
ler creek; Moss, Independence creek;
J. P. Anderson, two plants on Mas
todon creek.
The trails of the Circle district are
in poor shape, although some im
provements were made during the
summer in the way of repairs. The
Alaska Road commission allotted $4,
500 to Circle-Miller house road, which
was not any ways near enough to fix
the road so as to haul any great
amount of tonnage. The territorial
commission allotted $1,000 to repair
road from Central Roadhouse to the
Deadwood .postoffice, a distance of
nine miles. F. M. Leach was in charge
of the work, and he did good work
and made every dollar count.
Community’s Health Is Good.
The health of the folks at Circle
: City is good, with the exception of the
Indians, who have been suffering from
skin eruptions. One death was re
ported recently, the nine-months-old
baby of Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Jones.
The gardens of the Circle district
fell short of the usual yield, with the
exception of the Circle hot springs,
where weather conditions do not mat
ter, as the gardens there are heated
from hot water running through con
duits. from the hot springs, at inter
vals of about twenty feet, through the
gardens. However, tne oat crop seems
better this year than in other years.
The caribou run this year wras un
■ usually large. Luckily the Indians
are well supplied with meat, as there
; were practically no salmon, and with
1 out meat and salmon the Indians
would, very likely, have a hard time
this winter. Fur signs are scarce.
Rabbits have entirely disappeared and
trappers predict a scarcity of lynx as
a result of the scarcity of i*abbits.
However, mice are plentiful, and this
will, to some extent, make up for the
shortage of rabbits, as lynx food.
Wolves are very numerous; they1
are, possibly, following the large
herds of caribou.
TRADER SAYS
WILLIAM THOMSON DECLARES
WAR HAS GREATLY AFFECT
ED MINERAL INDUSTRY.
i
LOTS OF GOODS ON HAND
Fishing on Anadir River Has Been
Successful This Season, Large!
Packs of Pickled Salmon Having
Been Put Up by Two Companies.
William Thomson the Siberian
trader is again in Nome, according to j
the Nome Industrial Worker. The
Trader which he owns dropped anchor I
in the roadstead the other evening j
Thomson says that all that are left j
in Siberia are traders. Miners and!
others have left for other parts, prin
cipally for the war. There is no min
ing at Anadir and none is likely to
take place before the war is over.
Plenty of Goods.
Thomson reports that not in years
has Siberia been so well supplied with
everything that it needs. The traders
have large stocks of flour, sugar, gro
ceries, ammunition and clothes. These
goods come from America, Japan and
other sections by different boats. Quite
a lot of Nome goods found their way j
over to Siberia.
An official is expected from Russia
to take chage of mining and prospect
ing in Siberia and to lay down regula- j
tions authorized by the provisional
government. After he comes the con
ditions under which men may work
will be better known.
The only industry of large extent
was the fishing on Anadir. Never in
the history of this great river had so
much salmon been caught. Erickson
and Co. put up over 2,300 tierces of
pickled salmon, while they had packed
even a large quantity, for the Japan
ese trade, of dry salt fish. The other
company there had packed not quite
so much but still an enormous amount
considering the former recoi’ds.
Andy Garbine, an old-timer of the
Kiana section who arrived in Nome
recently, says that the only reason
for believing that a new strike has
been made near the headwaters of
the Kobuk, lies in the failure of a
number of Kianaites to return after
making the rather lengthy journey
to the Walker lake country where the
strike is supposed to be.
Jimmie Cross, Frank Malfetti and
Jack Sackett are reported to have
gone up the Kobuk in the spring.
The men are said to have undertaken
the trip because of a report that an
Eskimo had found some gold on one
of the streams i*unning into the lake. j
Garbine says, according to the
Nome Industrial Worker, that he is
not aware of the correctness of the
Eskimo story. Garbine is located on
Center creek, a tributary of Squirrel
river and is the owner of a consider
able area of dredging ground which
is attracting some attention from
Nome parties, who are said to be fig
uring on drilling the property with
a view of installing a dredge next
summer.
Garbine reports that the Clery
creek section is still the scene of
numerous mining activtiies, with
practically all operators doing well.
Among the numerous old-timers men
tioned as working on Clery are Paul
Xavier, Jack Devine and Bordon on
No. 5 above; Herman Bornhaidt and
partner on 4 below; George Stanley
and Manuel Lavendero on the Star
association; John Grevy on a bench
off No. 1 below; L. Thompson on No.
5 and 6 above; Leo Guffey on Caribou
gulch, a tributary of Clery; Teddy
Westlake and Hugo Eckhardt on No.
1 above and Shortly Woods at the
head of Bear creek.
B. C.
JEWELE R
NICHOLS
Watch re
pairing a
specialty.
Optical de
*♦♦++■♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ »
♦ We have property in ail parts of*
♦ the city, for sale or lease. £
♦ Houses for Rent or Safe. ♦
partment
7 under spe
X cial man
t
* agement.
♦ ANCHORAGE REALTY CO. f
Phone 40R. ♦
Northern Transfer Co.
C. P. PEDERSEN, Mgr.
4th and D St. Phone 47-Y
GENERAL TRANSFERRING
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t H. W. NAGLEY ♦
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I4- Susitna +
Branch Stores at ♦
McDougall Talkeetnat
Dealer in Raw Furs, Snowshoes,*
Camp Outfits, Boat Supplies. t
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DAHL’S
RESTAURANT
for
GOOD EATS
II. S. RESTAURANT
4th Ave. Bet. C and I).
Chop Suey and Noodles
ANCHORAGE
Sheet Metal
WOEKS
CAMERON’S
CAFE
THE PLACE WITH A
REPUTATION.
4th Ave and C.
“(USiyeveiye'L'i
m
Alaska Pool
Room
CIGARS, TOBACCO AND fl
SOFT DRINKS.
j Frisco Cafe j
!-11!
X Where Matt and Andy Give the X
+ ♦
> Best Meals in Town. *
CORNER tth AND H. ♦
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COMPANY.
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Anchorage - - Alaska X