THE DOUGLAS MINER
Volume I )
N.UM3ER f
DOUGLAS, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1896.
f $3.00 per year, in advance
( 10 cents per single copy
"WITH THORP’S CATTLE
Why tho Cattle Were Not Driven Over
the Dalton Trail
Some time ago when Mr. Willis Thorp
was about to leave Juneau with a herd of
forty-four cattle which he intended taking
to Circle City he stated to the representa
tive of a Juneau journal that he would
go by way of Chilkoot and the Dalton
trail and so on into the Yukon. It now
appears form a story that is told by a
certain Chilkoot Indian that Mr. Thorp
was induced to materially alter his pre
arranged1 plans before he had proceeded a
great ways upon his journey into the
interior.
1 lie 1 liorp party, composed of ten able
bodied, determined men, was landed along
witli their cattle from the steamer Willapa
at a place upon the beach within
hailing distance of Haines Mission The
party was delayed upon the beach for
about two weeks in making preparations
for the hard journey before them. When
finally they again started they directed
their course towards the Klakwan village,
i Eventually the village was reached and
the party, without meeting with any mis
. hap proceeded on over the Dalton trail.
The first night after leaving Klakwan,
while the party of cattle drivers was en
camped upon the trail, Willis Thorp is
reported as having called his men to
gec'i-r and delivered to them a short
address in which he told them that they
must expect to encounter trouble from
the owner of the trail upon which they
were camped but that they must stand
up for their rights and be ready to give
; the enemy a warm reception should the
, latter be so indiscreet as to come within
shooting distance. After advising his
men to look well to their arms; to have
them cleaned and loaded ready for instant
action, Thorp brought his address to a
a close.
No pitched battle occurred during the
night, neither is there a tale of cruel,
savage warefare to relate wherein the
enemy shielded by a cloak of darkness,
stealthily approached to within easy range
and secreeting themselves behind trees
and rocks, poured a merciless fire upon
. their unprotected victims.
. But early upon the following morning
a single horseman could be seen coming
rapidly along the trail. The newcomer
rode into the camp and up along side of
Willis Thorp who meanwhile stood
motionlessly gaizing at the visitor.
There was no mistaking the identity of
the horseman. It was Jack Dalton and
his only weapon was a revolver which he
carried in a belt strapped around his
waist.
“Thorp, I want you and your crowd to
get off of this trail, and I want you to keep
off of it, and 1 want you to be d-quick
about moving.” These are said to be the
words which Dalton addressed to Thorp,
and the latter is said to have replied: “All
right, Mr. Dalton, we will get off of your
trail at once.”
It is furthermore stated that Dalton
kept within sight of the Thorp
party during the remainder of their
trip through that part ol the country
to see to it that the cattle-drivers should
cut a trail for themselves.
MINING notes
LOCAL
C. E. Tibbits sold an undivided one-sixth
interest in his Mountain Top claim at Sum
Dum to W. B. Williams of Chicago. The
purchase price was $500.
Jim Lodge has located a claim about
two miles back of the Comet mine at
Berner bay. The Nowell company has
been looking at the property.
Bill Conohue and Archie Smith have
located a ledge that has every outward
appearance of being a good one. The
ledge is in the Berner bay district and is
about 300 yards back from tide water.
The Bald Eagle Mining company’s re
port for month of July is as follows:
Within the last month the concentrators
at this mine have been so overloaded with
work that it has become necessary to re
duce the drop of the stamps from 105 to 60
to the minute. A fourth machine has been
ordered and as soon as it is in position the
drop of the stamps will again be run up to
105.
Jack Ellis formerly an employe of the
Treadwell company returned from Cook
inlet by the schooner Loyal. Jack is one
of the very few fortunate prospectors who
have so far returned from the Inlet coun
try. Hl has considerable faith that Six
Mile creek upon which his claim is lo
cated and will return early next season
to it.
The Alaska-Mexican Cold Mining com
pany reports the clean-up for the month of
July as follows: Period siuce last return,
31 days; bullion shipment, $15,981; ore
milled. 6,670 tons; sulphurets treated, 126
tons; bullion from sulphurets, $5,760;
working expenses for period, $11,344. The
average yield was $2.40 per ton of ore
milled, and the average cost $1.70 per ton.
The profit realized in the bullion shipment
for the month was $4,637.
TOREIGN
A good many prospectors are leaving
for the Death valley side of the Panamont
range, where very rich rock has been
found. It was in this region that the sur
vivors of the ill-fated Goler party of 1846
reported such fabulously rich rock. Their
statements are now being verified by re
cent finds.
At the Helena and Frisco mine, Coeur
d’Alene, Idaho, where they are mining and
milling 400 tons of ore daily, and have
paid out $425,000 in dividends, they are
about to make an exhaustive and scientific
test of the comparative heating value of
wood and coal. The result will determine
which will be used in the mine hereafter,
and will probably settle the point for a
number of other mining companies in that
region.
The Elk city mining district, which is
expected to become one of the great camps
of Idaho, comprises an area of about 100
square miles, and is situated about 125
miles from Lewiston. There are extensive
beds of auriferous gravel and large ledges
of auriferous pyrite ore, mixed with iron.
The altitude of the camp is 3,800 feet, and
while snow falls to considerable depth
some of the mines are worked all winter.
The Slocan Star mine near Sandon, B.
C., which paid a dividend of $50,000 on
August of last year and $100,000 on May
last, has declared this month a dividend of
$100,000. This places the Slocan Star in
the front rank of dividend payers of the
Northwest, with the probable exception of
the Standard or the Coeur d’Alene, a
private mine which is generally credited
with having paid a. total of $500,000.