THE DOUGLAS MINER
N^iBE^Jr ! DOUGLAS, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 4, 1896. \ yenr,in advance
iNj.AbfcN ii. ) ’ ‘t? v (10 cents per single copy
The Mine Nearest the North Pole
J. B. Green of San Francisco operates the
gold and silver mine that lies nearest to the
north pole. It is situated on Omilak moun
tain, a hundred miles inland, and north
ward from Norton sound, away up in the
Alaskan wilderness.
More particularly, it is not a gold or sil
ver mine bat a lead mine, very rich in lead,
bat carrying a large percentage of the prec
ious metals. The inaccessibility of the
mine has hindered its operation to a very
great extent, but nevertheless Mr. Green
has worked it regularly for nearly fifteen
years. He calls it his bank. When in
need of ready money he sails for Alaska,
loads his vessel with the ore, returns to
San Francisco and is in the swim again.
To reach the mine a course is taken to
Norton sound and Golovin bay, then, if
the vessel be a steamer, up Fish river as far
as it is navigable, and thence with pack
mules to Omilak mountain and the deposit
of almost solid lead.
The story of the discovery and locating
of the mine and subsequent operation of it
is an interesting one of adventure and
strange discoveries, entailing the loss of a
schooner and its crew.
Along about 1880 a sailing vessel in need
of something or other dropped anchor in
Golovin bay, on the north side of Norton
sound. A saiior going ashore discovered
the natives making lead bullets by melt
ing ore. He inquired where they got the
stuff, and they told him up among the
hills. He got permission from his captain
to go with them, and after several days re
turned with a sack full of heavy ore which
he had dug with no difficulty off the face
of Omilak mountain. In San Francisco
the sailor met J. C. Green, who became
immediately interested in his story. He
interested others, and very soon an expe
dition was arranged, led by the sailor.
“We expected, of course,to find our mine,
if we found it at all, in the midst of ice
bergs and climatic terrors that would make
the working of it next to impossible,” said
Mr. Green. “As we proceeded north to
the Aleutian islands, the indications all
fitted to our expectations. There were
icebergs and icefields in our path such as
caused us to expect a blockade at any
hour. But the sailor knew better. He
told us to wait until we got above the
archipelago. To our surprise the further
north we went after getting through the
islands the clearer the water became, until
having reached Norton sound the contrast
was as great almost as if we had sailed
south to Hawaii. We found green hills
and spreading meadows, a rank and luxur
iant vegitation, clear sky and balmy air.
Not only that, but we discovered subse
quently' that these conditions continued
throughout the long six months of sum
mer. In this far northern region, as you
know, the sun shines almost continuously
for six months. The warm Japan current
sets in toward Norton sound, a range of
high mountains serve as a shield against
the winds of the east, while it confines the
warmer winds of the west. Upon these
conditions is built this paradise in the very
shadow, one might say, of the north pole.
“ The hottest weather I ever saw,” con
tinued Mr. Green, “was here in the vallev
of the Fish river, the thermometer standing
above ioo. This region is capable of sup
porting a large population. The soil is
fertile and nature is prodigal in her prod
ucts. Game of all sorts abounds and the
rivers are alive with fish, Birds of every
description, from wild geese to the little
humming-bird, come here to nest. A
hunter may come in after a day’s shooting
laden with ducks, geese, pheasants and
grouse, while swallows, reedbirds and
sandhill cranes may be seen everywhere.
Immense salmon and halibut may be caught
in the streams with hook and line. Grass
in the meadws growes as high as one’s
head and huckle berries grow so thick that
they may be scooped up by the handful).
So you see no man need starve in that
region. 1 have visited the mine almost
every year since 1883, and those friends
who have had never failed to be astonished
at what they saw there.
“It is a country full of wonders, and
therefore full of interest. It is 1 think, the
newest country on the face of the earth.
What will some day be its coal measurers
are now of the quality of wood. Its many
volcanoes are another proof of its recent
birth. And I might cite another—the
honesty and simplicity of the natives—the
Eskimos. To a man accustomed to the
duplicity of civilization, and of savagery
as we see it in the north American Indian,
this characteristic is most remarkable.
The Eskimo may, as a rule, be trusted
implicitly with any treasure. 1 have
known them to work for a day without
tasting food, although carrying food that
did not belong to them. However, faith
ful ami honest as they are, they are slow
and indeffent in their methods, with no
ambition, and do not make the best mater
ial for our purpose in operating our mine.
“I am contemplating a plan for import
ing a lot of Icelanders, as I understand the
climate there is growing more and more se
vere, and they would think the region of
Omiiak, even in winter was a garden spot.
With them there is no reason why the far
northern mine could not be worked in win
ter as well as summer. There is very little
snow there, and as for cold it is not to be
compared to Montana or Dakota. I have
never known a man who has spent any
time there who was not eager to return; in
fact, I am pestered continually by applica
tions from my men who have been up
there and who fear that 1 may go back or
send an expedition without them. There
is that fascination that all new countries
h ive.
Dark and dismal in winter? Not at
all. To be sure there is very little sun
shine, but the light skit of snow that covers
the ground and the wonderful and beautiful
northern lights that illuminate the heavens
make it quite cheerful. In summer the sun
scarcely sets, and one has to keep a very
close watch on the time not to allow one
day to merge into the next without being
aware that it has done so. The sun seems
to simply dip behind the hill, and, without
being missed, rises again at the other end
of the range on the horizon.
“No; we have not operated the mine for
two or three years. The times have scarce
ly warranted it. It is an expensive process
to pack the ore out as we have to do it,
and a railroad has become a necessity. A
railroad is entirely feasible between the
mine and the ship. It would not be the
first railroad within the arctic circle.
There is one in very successful operation
between the gulf of Bothnia and Loffoden.
“Indeed,” concluded Mr. Green, “I ex.
pect to live to see the completion of the
railroad to Asia by way of Alaska and the
Bering straits.”—Call.
The Alaska Bar Association met last
Monday evening at the law office of John
son & Heid in Juneau for the purpose of
electing officers for the ensuing year. C.
S. Johnson was elected president, J. F.
Maloney, first vice yresident, R. C. Rogers
second vice president, Kenneth M. Jackson,
of Wrangle, third vice president, F. D.
Kslsay, secretary, A. J. Daly, treasurer.