NEWS FROM THE INLET
BRIEF LOCAL AND GENRAL
NOTES
The Polly Mining Company—Good and
Poor Claims—Earthquakes and
Volcanoes
“The greatest trouble, saida well known
mining man who has just returned from
Cook inlet, “with the country up there
arises from the fact that there
are large stretches of territory owned
either by single individuals or by small
companies. The claims instead of being
properly devided up and thus allowing
many people to own them and consequent
ly giving work to many more miners,
are now divided off into twenty acres,
which approximately means a claim ex
tending 1500 feet along the meander line of
the creek and 300 feet on each side. Take
forinstance the Polly Mining company’s
five claims at the mouth of Mills creek.
They extend very nearly a mile and a
half along that stream and certainly em
brace the best ground that has so far been
discovered in that section of the country.
Yet at no time during the past season did
the Polly Mining company employ more
then ten men to work this wide, stretch
of rich gravel. And during most of
the season their entire force consisted
of six men. This would not be
the condition if the claims were of
the same size, say as those in the Yukon.
At the rate the Polly mining company is
now working it will take twenty years for
the miners to work half of the ground.
It is not only with the Polly Mining com
pany, but it is so with nearly all the origi
nal locators on the Inlet. They have im
mence stretches of good ground but em
ploy only one or two men to help them
work it.
1 here is no denying the tact that there
is good ground on the Inlet. The Polly
Minining company has a clean-up every
evening and I am personaly acquainted
with the fact that with only their small
force of men they are taking out from 800
to 1000 dollars a day. The company has
received and declined many offers from
miners who were anxious to pay them $20
a day for the privilege of scraping the bed
rock after the company employes get
through with it. The Polly Mining com
pany is dumping tailings upon ground that
will pay two ounces per day.”
The largest nugget found this season on
the Inlet was found on the Polly Mining
company’s ground. It was worth about
$40. Quite a number of smaller nuggets
that would go from $8 to $15 were found
on different claims.
There are not more than 100 men work
ing on good paying ground. The general
opinion is that if the claims were divided
up properly there would be plenty of work
for at least 1000 miners.
There is some good ground that might
be profitably worked by the hydraulic
process, The season, however, is short;
the lumber is a poor quality of American
spruce and it has to be whip-sawed which
makes it very expensive.
There is no one on main Six Mile creek
taking out anything like fair wages.
There will be 150 or 200 men winter at
Sunrise city this year. They are mostly
men who own good claims and who will
put in all their time until the snow and
ice stops them and then it will be too late
for them to come out this season.
I ne opinion is expressed by a number
of returning Inlet prospectors that the coun
try several hundred miles to the north-east
of the Inlet will prove to be a great gold
country. The captain of the Perry intends
putting on a little stern-wheel steamer next
year to run up the Souchitney and Kanik
rivers. This arrangement if carried out,
will make it much easier for prospectors
who may next year go into the country to
the noith-east. The little steamer will
probably run up the Souchitney about 200
miles and then up the Kanik about 125
miles. From there it will be easy travel
ing on up to the head waters. There are
gravel banks all along both of these streams
and the gravel carries pebles of iron-stone
which is a pretty sure indication of the
presence at gold. Quite a number of men
started up both of these streams this sea
son, but no one who has so far returned
succeeded in getting back into the interior
very far. Many people will undoubtedly
strike for that section of the country next
spring.
Dn several claims on Danyon creek min
ing by the “burning out,’ process will be
carried on during the coming winter.
Quite a number of men will spend the
coming winter season on the Inlet engaged
in whipsawing lumber to be ready for the
spring.
It is said that the Polly Mining company
will not take less than $500,000 for their
property on the Inlet.
Angus McDonald and James McClusky
are working for Sam Mills at the mouth
of Canyon creek. They will probably
return to Juneau upon the next boat.
Beady, the miner who is accused of
shooting the claim jumper near Sunrise a
few months ago, will probably be brought
to Juneau for trial during the November
term of court.
Patsy Moran and partner bought out a
claim on one of the tributaries of Six Mile.
They are reported as taking out pretty fair
money.
The Soucitney volcano is reported as be
ing very active just now. Immense vol
umes of smoke can be seen pouring out of
the crater for many miles around.
Earthquakes are usually severe and are
of very frequent occurrance upon the Inlet.
On the 6th of April one of the sever
est of the season’s series of seis
matic disturbances occurred. The shock
lasted about five minutes. It sent immense
boulders rolling down the mountain sides
and caused the trees to wave like bean
stalks in a gale of wind.
The heaviest earthquake shocks on the
Inlet usually occur about this season of the
year. The tremblers visit the Inlet coun
try so frequently that they fail to receive
even a passing notice unless, they are of
more than usual violence.
LOCAL NEWS
Mrs. Swift is quite ill at the Douglas
Hotel. Dr. Cassels is attending her.
Ed. Callaghan returned from Berners
bay last week and reports having discovered
a good thing.
Winter and Pond have been prospecting
in the Berner bay district during the past
week. They have succeeded in locating
what appears to be a good claim.
P. McMullen returned from the section
of the country between the lakes and the
Copper river in which part he spent the
season prospecting. His reports are not
very encouraging.
Matt McLaughlin has a very nice look
ing piece of quartz which he brought up
from the Sumdum Queen ledge in which
he is financially interested the specimen
contains considerable silver and gold, the
two metals being about equally divided as
in respect to value from three assays lately
from quartz from this mine Mr. McLaugh
lin says that the average would be found
between $28 and $62 to the ton.
The Broken Hill Proprietory mine in
New South Wales is a great property. In
the last half year the product was 4,150,
000 ounces of silver and 34,000,000 pounds
of lead. The ore averages 7 per cent led
and nineteen ounces silver per ton. The
total cost of mining and reduction was
$11.04 per ton and the net earnings were
$5.40. The half-year profits were $1,224,
570._
Seattle, Sept. 16.—The largest transfer
of mining property ever executed in this
city was made Saturday, when Col. Chas.
F. Fishback deeded to the British North
west Gold Mining company for an ex
pressed consideration of $5,000,000, exten
sive mining concessions in the Cari
boo district in British Columbia.
The properties embraced in the deed are
those of the Maud Hydraulio Mining com
pany, consisting of 880 acres; the property
of the Fishback Hydraulic Gold Mining
company, consisting of 570 acres, and the
property of the Quesnelie River Gold Min
ing syndicate, consisting of twenty miles
of the main Quesnelie river.