Chapter L: B. Roads said: "I am located on claim 21, above the discovery on

Bonanza Creek. I did exceedingly well up there. I was among the fortunate ones, as I cleared about $40,000, but brought only $5,000 with me. I was the first man to get to bed rock gravel and to discover that it was lined with gold dust and nuggets. The rock was seamed and cut in V-shaped streaks, caused, it is supposed by glacial action. In those seams I found a clay that was exceedingly rich. In fact, there was a stratum of pay gravel four feet thick upon the rock, which was lined with gold, particularly in these channels or streaks. The rock was about sixteen feet from the surface. The discovery made the camp. It was made on October 23, 1896, and as soon as the news spread everybody rushed to the diggings from Circle City, Forty-Mile, and from every other camp in the district.

"Some of the saloons here take in $300 per day in dust and nuggets. Beer is fifty cents per drink. I have quit drinking. Logs are worth $30 per 1,000, and lumber $150 per 1,000. Most people live in tents, but cabins are being put up rapidly.

"We have the most orderly mining community in the world. There is no thief, no claim jumping, no cheating or swindling in the many gambling houses. The greenhorn gets an honest game and every man's hand is above-board. If any funny work is attempted we run the offender out."

FEARS OF STARVATION.

If twenty or thirty thousand go to the mining camp, as now seems probable, starvation will result, as it will be absolutely impossible to feed more than ten thousand people with the supplies that are now on the way. In another season boats can be built and arrangements made for laying down an unlimited supply of food, but now the Alaska Commercial Company has only three vessels, while the other two lines only run to Juneau. Yukon river steamers are sent up in small sections and put together on the river. They draw only three or four feet of water, but with even this light draught they often become stranded on the sand bars in the upper waters of the Yukon. By the Juneau waters it is impossible to carry in any large quantity of provisions, as every pound of supplies must be carried on Indian's backs over Chilkoot Pass and by frequent portages that separate the lakes and streams on this overland route. After Sept. 15 this Juneau route is impassible to all except Indians, because of fierce storms which only Indians and experienced travellers can face.

The Alaska Commercial Company is very fearful that starvation will occur in the new camp this winter. President Louis Sloss said to-day that his company would do the best it could to feed those who rushed into the Klondyke, but he said that probably it would be impossible to get in more than 3,200 tons of food before ice closed the Yukon River. The company has 500 tons on the way to St. Michael's, but the river usually freezes over about the middle of September. They have only three boats, as one of the best boats was wrecked last spring. The supply will not suffice for more than the number of people already at the mining camp; so, if 20,000 or 30,000 should rush in, carrying only a small supply of food, the stores will be compelled to limit sales to each purchaser, and those not able to find work will starve.

Joe Ladue, who owns the town site of Dawson City, emphasized Mr. Sloss's warning. He said no one had any idea of the amount of food required by hearty men doing hard manual work in extreme cold weather. He said the suffering was keen last winter because the men could not secure a variety of food, which their systems craved. The transportation companies sent large amounts of whiskey, which found no great sale. Then they rushed in stoves, picks, shovels and other hardware, but the last thing they seemed to think of delivering was food, which was needed more than anything else. Especially the men needed such things as evaporated potatoes, which relieve the solid diet of bacon and beans; but it will be hopeless to try to land any of these luxuries, or even dried fruits, which are indispensable.

A returned New Yorker said:

"'The only thing I fear is a famine the coming winter. The united efforts of the Alaska Commercial Company and the North American Transportation and Trading Company cannot transport over 4,500 tons of freight up the river this season, and not until next February can stuff be freighted over from Dyea, Juneau and other points down along the southern coast. There was great suffering last winter, and, though no one starved, food rates and rates for everything in the supply line were beyond belief. Flour was $120 a hundred weight at one time and beef from $1 to $2 a pound. Moose hams sold for about $30, or $2 per pound. Ordinary shovels for digging brought $17 and $18 apiece, and other stuff of that kind could not be obtained.

"'Wages, however, were proportional; $2 per hour was common wages, and even now in these long days a man can command $1.50 per hour up here, or from $15 to $20 per day. The river steamers cannot keep crews this summer, for all run away to the mines as soon as they get in that region. Indians are all the help that can be kept, and even they are doing something in the line of locating claims.

"'The man who goes in this winter over the Chilkat and Chilkoot Passes, or the man who goes in this summer by this steamboat route, should take in two years' grub. I understand that steamboat companies will not carry grub or merchandise for any man, and that they are making a flat passenger rate of $150 for any port from Seattle to Dawson. This means that they will get several thousand people in there this season, and if they do not get enough grub in, grub will be high. Not less than 1,000 newcomers came over this spring and how many will come by boat we can only conjecture.'"

COST OF LIVING IN DAWSON.

THE ONLY CHEAP THING IS ICE AND FRESH AIR.

Laborers, it is asserted, are paid as high as $15 a day, but the advice is given that no man can afford to go to the new camp without from $500 to $1,000 with which to support himself and insure the possibility of returning in case of adversity.

Living, of course, comes high. The region produces little or no fruit or vegetables. The meat of the caribou and the moose is sometimes scarce, and there are seasons when no salmon can be obtained.

Here is a list of prices that prevailed in Dawson City when the miners started away:

Flour, per 100 lbs $12.00 Moose ham, per lb 1.00 Caribou meat, per lb 65 Beans, per lb 10 Rice, per lb 25 Sugar, per lb 25 Bacon, per lb 40 Butter, per roll 1.50 Eggs, per doz 1.50 Better eggs, per doz 2.00 Salmon, each $1.00 to 1.50 Potatoes, per lb 25 Turnips, per lb 15 Tea, per lb 1.00 Coffee, per lb 50 Dried fruits, per lb 35 Canned fruits 50 Lemons, each 20 Oranges, each 50 Tobacco, per lb 1.50 Liquors, per drink 50 Shovels 2.50 Picks 5.00 Coal oil, per gal 1.00 Overalls 1.50 Underwear, per suit $5.00 to 7.50 Shoes 5.00 Rubber boots $10 to 15.00

Based on supply and demand the above quoted prices may vary several hundred per cent. on some articles at any time.

THE CLIMATE AND THE MOSQUITOES.

SHORT SUMMER--HEAT AND COLD CONTRASTS.

There is a short, hot Summer of less than four months, with practically no Spring or Autumn. The ice begins to break up in the rivers about May 25, and navigation commences on the Yukon about the first week in June. It begins to get very cool by the latter part of September, and is almost Winter weather by the 1st of October. The winter is very cold and dry, with not more than three feet of snow. There is only about three inches of rainfall during the winter and not more than a foot or ten inches the whole year around.

It is a country in which it is very hard to find food, as there is practically no game. Before the whites went into the region there were not more than 300 natives. They had hard work to support themselves on account of the scarcity of game.

The thermometer sometimes goes down to 68 degrees below zero in January and February. The cold, however, is not so intense as may be imagined, and 68 degrees there could not be compared with the same here. The dress is mostly of furs in the Winter, that used by the natives, and unless there is a sharp wind blowing one may keep fairly comfortable.

After this there is scarcely a let up before the middle of the following March. Just before reaching Lake Linderman the famous Chilcoot Pass is encountered, and woe to the traveller who is caught in one of the snow storms, which spring up with the suddenness of an April shower and rage for days. They are frozen simoons. Nature has provided at the pass a protection against these terrific outbreaks in the shape of an immense overhanging rock. At the top of the pass it was the custom in former years for the Indians to corral the wild sheep and goats, which were to be found in large numbers in all the surrounding mountains. The species now is practically extinct.

This route, by the way of Juneau, is a fine trip of 1,000 miles or so. For an individual it is more costly, but for a party it is cheaper.

At the head of Lake Linderman is a saw mill, where prospectors are permitted to prepare the lumber for the boats necessary to complete the journey to the camp.

This work generally consumes five or six days, but if the prospector is in a hurry he can purchase a boat, the average price being $80. Then he floats on and on for hundreds of miles and finally reaches the gold and the miners and the Arctic circle.

CAPITAL REQUIRED BY MINERS.

SOME THINGS INDISPENSABLE IN AN OUTFIT.

Mr. William Van Stooten, the mining engineer and metallurgist, gives his views in the New York Herald as to the necessary outfit required by miners contemplating a trip to the Klondyke diggings. He says:

"I should place the minimum amount at $600. It would not be safe to start out with less. But you had better make it a thousand if possible, for with the present rush it is likely that prices will be trebled or even quadrupled. Even the Indians will charge more for their assistance. Still, if a man is stranded on the way he will probably find it easy to make a living almost anywhere in the gold bearing portion of the Yukon basin. He can earn $10 or $15 a day digging the ground for men with good claims. And with the rise in prices these wages may also go up. Bear in mind, however, that the price of living must increase in proportion."

"What would you consider the proper outfit for a miner in starting out?"

"Well, the matter of clothing must be left to individual taste, needs and means. But the miners usually adopt the native costume. The boots, usually made by the Coast Indians, are of several varieties. The water boot is of seal and walrus skin, while the dry weather or winter boot is of all varieties of styles and material. The more expensive have fur trimmed legs, elaborately designed. They cost from $2 to $5 a pair. Trousers are often made of Siberian fawn skin and the skin of the marmot, or ground squirrel. The parka, or upper garment, is usually of marmot skins, trimmed with wolverine around the hood and lower edge, the long hair from the sides of the wolverine being used for the hood. This hair is sometimes five or six inches in length, and is useful in protecting the face of the wearer. Good, warm flannels can be worn under the parka, and the whole outfit will weigh less than the ordinary clothes worn in a country where the weather gets down to zero. The parka is almost cold proof. But it is expensive, ranging in price from $25 to $100. Blankets and fur robes are used for bedding. Lynx skins make the best robes. Good ones cost $100. But cheaper robes can be made of the skins of bear, mink, red fox and the Arctic hare. The skins of the latter animal make warm socks to be worn with the skin boots.

Dress is only one item. Every miner must take his own food with him. Here is a list of provisions made out by an expert as sufficient to last a man for one month:--

Twenty pounds of flour, with baking powder; twelve pounds of bacon, six pounds of beans, five pounds of desiccated vegetables, four pounds of butter, five pounds of sugar, four cans of milk, one pound of tea, three pounds of coffee, two pounds of salt, five pounds of corn meal, pepper, mustard.

The following utensils would not be too many:--

One frying pan, one water kettle, one Yukon stove, one bean pot, two plates, one drinking cup, one teapot, one knife and fork, one large and one small cooking pan.

The following tools are necessary for boat building:

One jack plane, one whipsaw, one hand saw, one rip saw, one draw knife, one axe, one hatchet, one pocket knife, six pounds assorted nails, three pounds oakum, three pounds of pitch, fifty feet of five-eighths rope.

Other necessaries would be a tent, a rubber blanket, mosquito netting and matches. It is also desirable to take along a small, well filled medicine chest, a rifle, a trout line and a pair of snow glasses to provide against snow blindness.

The entire outfit can be obtained in Juneau, where one can be sure of getting just what is needed, without any extra weight, which is a matter of great importance, as many hard portages are to be encountered on the trip. Hitherto prices in Juneau have been reasonable. Of course one cannot say what may be the result of the present rush in the way of raising prices."

A WOMAN'S OUTFIT.

A woman who has "been there," says that in the matter of dress a woman going to the mines should take two pairs of extra heavy all-wool blankets, one small pillow, one fur robe, one warm shawl, one fur coat, easy fitting; three warm woollen dresses, with comfortable bodices and skirts knee length flannel-lined preferable; three pairs of knickers or bloomers to match the dresses, three suits of heavy all-wool underwear, three warm flannel night dresses, four pairs of knitted woollen stockings, one pair of rubber boots, three gingham aprons that reach from neck to knees, small roll of flannel for insoles, wrapping the feet and bandages; a sewing kit, such toilet articles as are absolutely necessary, including some skin unguent to protect the face from the icy cold, two light blouses or shirt waists for Summer wear, one oilskin blanket to wrap her effects in, to be secured at Juneau or St. Michaels; one fur cape, two pairs of fur gloves, two pairs of surseal moccasins, two pairs of muclucs--wet weather moccasins.

She wears what she pleases en route to Juneau or St. Michaels, and when she makes her start for the diggings she lays aside every civilized travelling garb, including shoes and stays, until she comes out. Instead of carrying the fur robe, fur coat and rubber boots along, she can get them on entering Alaska, but the experienced ones say take them along.

The natives make a fur coat, with hood attached, called a "parka," but it is clumsy for a white woman to wear who has been accustomed to fitted garments. Leggings and shoes are not so safe nor desirable as the moccasins. A trunk is not the thing to transport baggage in. It is much better in a pack, with the oilskin cover well tied on. The things to add that are useful, but not absolutely necessary, are chocolate, coffee and the smaller light luxuries.

VALUABLE EXPERT ADVICE.

A MINING ENGINEER'S WARNINGS AND SUGGESTIONS.

The New York Herald is authority for the statement that few persons in the mining world are more intimately acquainted with all its features than Mr. William Van Stooten, mining engineer and metallurgist. Besides being President of the South American Developing Company, which works the gold mines of Ecuador, he has relations with all the great gold mines of the world. To Mr. Van Stooten it appears that the gold discoveries in the Klondyke regions are the most important that have ever been made.

"Of course," he says, "there is a tendency to exaggeration in these matters which must always be discounted. It is well to bear in mind that the author of Munchausen was what was known in his day as a mining adventurer. Herr Rapp was a German who went over to England to develop the copper mines there. The nature of his business may have stimulated his imagination to the marvellous flights of that bit of fiction. But after making all possible allowances for exaggeration there is an obvious residuum of truth in the reports that come from the Yukon basin. And that residuum indicates something more extraordinary than anything recalled by a backward glance at the facts of 'forty-nine.'

"No such specifically large amounts of gold were taken out by individuals during any similar period of California gold hunting. Two months of work in the water has realized more than any six months heretofore known in the history of gold mining. We know that Ladue, the Alaska trader, has actually taken in fabulous wealth in the natural course of his business.

"We had long been aware that there was gold in the Yukon basin, but the total output for the last ten years before the Klondyke developments amounted to not more than a million dollars' worth at the utmost. Now, within two months, five millions have been taken out of the Klondyke regions. It took the first eight months of work in California to pan out that amount under infinitely more favorable conditions of climate and weather. That is a straw worth noting.

"There are just two ways at present, each of which has its advantages and its disadvantages. You may go by way of the Pacific Ocean and the Yukon River. From Seattle to St. Michael's takes two weeks. In the right season it takes two weeks more to sail up the Yukon from St. Michael's to Circle City. As the waters along the way are very shallow only flat-bottom side-wheelers can accomplish the voyage. Above Circle City the waters become too shallow even for this sort of craft. It is three hundred miles from Circle City to the scene of the latest discoveries. These hundred miles can only be covered by walking. Dog sleds draw all the necessary munitions. Reindeer, as well as dogs, have been tried successfully, and probably the deer will eventually supersede the canines.

"The other route, by way of Juneau, involves a tramp of seven hundred miles to the Klondyke. But in the warm season it is possible to traverse a large part of the distance in canoes through the congeries of lakes, all connected by more or less navigable streams."

"When would you advise prospective gold diggers to start by either St. Michael's or Juneau?"

"Under all circumstances they should wait until the approach of next spring. It is too late in the season to think of going now. It is true that the distance from Juneau to the Klondyke can be made in sleds and snowshoes. But if the voyagers arrive on the spot after the middle of September they will find it entirely impossible to do any prospecting. The creeks are frozen and covered with snow. No clew to the presence of gold can be found. Now, even if the diggers arrive in June it may take them weeks or months to locate a desirable claim. But, once located, they can continue their work even in the depth of winter. Great fires are built around the claim, which are kept continually burning. Thus the ground is thawed out for digging during the winter months and is made ready for the reappearance of the sun and the inflowing of the waters. Then the dirt can be treated in pans or long toms. Owing to these peculiar difficulties it is likely that the place will continue one for poor man's mining and will be not be monopolized by capital."

"You advise people to wait until Spring. But don't you think the cream of the claims will be skimmed next year?"

"Not at all. One hundred thousand people might disperse themselves in the Yukon gold-bearing grounds and hardly know of the presence of neighbors. There may be other diggings over this vast area quite as good as the Klondyke diggings. As in all the gold mining regions, diggings everywhere vary considerably in value. It is not improbable even that the late comers will take up the abandoned washings of the earlier men and do well with them. This frequently happened in California. As settlements grow up and the facilities for comfortable living and effective work increase, it is possible that gold may be found in places where it was never dreamed of. There is no doubt that eventually a number of valuable ledges will be found, but the bulk of the gold will come from placers. This is nature's process for concentrating gold from the quartz ledges. You know, however, what is the natural course of development in newly discovered gold fields?"

"Well, here it is. First come the men with pans to gather in the riches that lie on the surface. It is possible for an active man to wash out a cubic yard, or 100 pounds of pay dirt in a day.

"Next follow associations of miners using 'Long Toms' and cradles.

"The third stage takes the form of hydraulic mining, by means of water brought from long distances.

"Fourth, and last, comes quartz mining under ground.

"This is the sequence that has always occurred. But it may take years before the final stage is reached in the Yukon, owing to the difficulties already pointed out."

THE NEW YORK JOURNAL EXPEDITION TO KLONDYKE.

The New York Journal, in keeping with its usual liberality and enterprise, has sent out a large expedition at its own expense. The Journal says:

"To investigate the riches of the Yukon gold fields and to tell the tale of Nature and human nature in the new ophir of the far North for the Journal, a company of five distinguished writers have been sent to the gold fields. Edward H. Hamilton, chief of the Journal bureau, is admirably equipped for his task. His writings have given him a high repute and his letters will discover to the world the life at Klondyke, as well as tell the sordid tale of the gains of the diggers. Charles Gregory Yale is one of the prominent mining experts of the West. For several years he has been statistician of the Mint at San Francisco and assistant in the California State Mining Bureau. He is a facile writer, having had a long experience as editor of the "Mining and Scientific Press," of San Francisco. Edward J. Livernash is a lawyer and journalist, a careful investigator and an able descriptive writer. Joaquin Miller, the gray poet of the Sierras, will sing for the Journal a new song of the St. Elias Alps. Mrs. Norman Brough, known to readers by her pen name, "Helen Dare," will have the opportunity to write of a woman's experience digging gold in the placers and housekeeping in a sunless land, with the thermometer at 60 below zero."

SAILORS GET GOLD CRAZE.

DESERT THEIR SHIPS IN ALASKAN PORTS TO DIG FOR FORTUNES.

The gold fever has struck the hardy mariner at last, and desertions are numerous from ships up north.

Shippers expect soon to hear of craft being tied up in Alaskan ports just as they were in San Francisco harbor in '49, when crews deserted wholesale to dig gold in the rich placers.

When the steamship Pueblo arrived, Capt. Debney reported that the mates of the Al-ki and the Topeka had both left their ships in Juneau. Other steamer captains before they left recently said they would be lucky if they managed to keep enough men to work ship after they reached the northern ports.

Capt. Debney says that when the Portland reached St. Michael's on her last trip up one of the firemen, who had made friends with some of the miners aboard, handed in his resignation and asked for a ticket up the Yukon.

It was refused him on the ground that he was a deserter. He twice offered money without avail. The miners held the ship for twelve hours.

At the expiration of that time the company put up a notice that the Portland would start on her return trip at a certain hour. The miners held a meeting and appointed a committee of twelve to wait on the company's agent. The committee filed into the agent's office, where each man drew a revolver and laid it on the agent's table. They demanded that a ticket be given the fireman at once, and the agent complied. The fireman went with the party up the Yukon.

Capt. Debney reports that the Queen, which sailed from Puget Sound several days ago, passed the American port officials all right, but when the vessel reached Victoria the customs officials decided that she was overloaded and took fifteen of the miners ashore. They are now stopping at the Victoria Hotel at the expense of the Pacific Steamship Company, and will be sent north on a later vessel.

Capt. Debney has received a letter from his son, who is agent for the Alaska Commercial Company at Dawson. He reports that there are now at Dawson thirty-five saloons, one theatre, eight dance houses, three general stores, five bakeries, five restaurants, two barber shops, one candy maker and three laundries.

ONLY THREE DEATHS IN A YEAR.

THE HEALTHIEST REGION IN THE WORLD IS THE KLONDYKE.

F. G. Bowker, of Dawson, says there was nobody there to die until less than a year ago, and that since then there have been but three deaths in that whole district as far as is known.

Of the three deaths one occurred just before the steamer Excelsior left Dawson. A man who had just sold his claim for $12,000 passed away in his bunk with his head resting on the sack of coin which represented the success of his search for wealth.

In the graveyard at Forty Mile, which has served for all that section for some years past, there are only thirty or forty graves. Few die within reach of settlements without medical aid and spiritual advice.

There are missions of several Protestant denominations, as well as Russian and Roman Catholic missions, at frequent intervals throughout the country. Funerals are not as ostentatious as in the civilized world, but everything that is necessary is reverentially done by rough but kindly miners.

The tale about confiscation of dead men's effects by friends and neighbors is branded as a malicious lie.

It is one of the unwritten laws of the Yukon that these shall be turned over to the Government and disposed of according to statute laws.

CANADIAN MINING LAWS.

REGULATIONS IMPOSED BY THE DOMINION UPON PLACER MINING.

As the Klondyke diggings, as thus far developed and staked, are upon Canadian territory it is important to bear in mind the regulations imposed by the Dominion Government on placer mining. They are as follows:

"Bar diggings" shall mean any part of a river over which the water extends when the water is in its flooded state and which is not covered at low water. "Mines on benches" shall be known as bench diggings, and shall for the purpose of defining the size of such claims be excepted from dry diggings. "Dry diggings" shall mean any mine over which a river never extends. "Miner" shall mean a male or female over the age of eighteen, but not under that age. "Claims" shall mean the personal right of property in a placer mine or diggings during the time for which the grant of such mine or diggings is made. "Legal post" shall mean a stake standing not less than four feet above the ground and squared on four sides for at least one foot from the top. "Close season" shall mean the period of the year during which placer mining is generally suspended. The period to be fixed by the gold commissioner in whose district the claim is situated. "Locality" shall mean the territory along a river (tributary of the Yukon) and its affluents. "Mineral" shall include all minerals whatsoever other than coal.

1. Bar diggings. A strip of land 100 feet wide at highwater mark and thence extending along the river to its lowest water level.

2. The sides of a claim for bar diggings shall be two parallel lines run as nearly as possible at right angles to the stream, and shall be marked by four legal posts, one at each end of the claim at or about high water mark; also one at each end of the claim at or about the edge of the water. One of the posts shall be legibly marked with the name of the miner and the date upon which the claim is staked.

3. Dry diggings shall be 100 feet square and shall have placed at each of its four corners a legal post, upon one of which shall be legibly marked the name of the miner and the date upon which the claim was staked.

4. Creek and river claims shall be 500 feet long, measured in the direction of the mineral course of the stream, and shall extend in width from base to base of the hill or bench on each side, but when the hills or benches are less than 100 feet apart the claim may be 100 feet in depth. The sides of a claim shall be two parallel lines run as nearly as possible at right angles to the stream. The sides shall be marked with legal posts at or about the edge of the water and at the rear boundary of the claim. One of the legal posts at the stream shall be legibly marked with the name of the miner and the date upon which the claim was staked.

5. Bench claims shall be 100 feet square.

6. In defining the size of claims they shall be measured horizontally, irrespective of inequalities on the surface of the ground.

7. If any person or persons shall discover a new mine and such discovery shall be established to the satisfaction of the gold commissioner, a claim for the bar diggings 750 feet in length may be granted. A new stratum of auriferous earth or gravel situated in a locality where the claims are abandoned shall for this purpose be deemed a new mine, although the same locality shall have previously been worked at a different level.

8. The forms of application for a grant for placer mining and the grant of the same shall be according to those made, provided or supplied by the gold commissioner.

9. A claim shall be recorded with the gold commissioner in whose district it is situated within three days after the location thereof if it is located within ten miles of the commissioner's office. One day extra shall be allowed for making such record for every additional ten miles and fraction thereof.

10. In the event of the absence of the gold commissioner from his office for entry a claim may be granted by any person whom he may appoint to perform his duties in his absence.

11. Entry shall not be granted for a claim which has not been staked by the applicant in person in the manner specified in these resolutions. An affidavit that the claim was staked out by the applicant shall be embodied in the application.

12. An entry free of $15 shall be charged the first year and an annual fee of $100 for each of the following years:

13. After recording a claim the removal of any post by the holder thereof or any person acting in his behalf for the purpose of changing the boundaries of his claim shall act as a forfeiture of the claim.

14. The entry of every holder for a grant for placer mining must be renewed and his receipt relinquished and replaced every year, the entry fee being paid each year.

15. No miner shall receive a grant for more than one mining claim in the same locality, but the same miner may hold any number of claims by purchase and any number of miners may unite to work their claims in common on such terms as they may arrange, provided such agreement be registered with the gold commissioner and a fee of $5 paid for each registration.

16. Any miner or miners may sell, mortgage or dispose of his or their claims provided such disposal be registered with and a fee of $5 paid to the gold commissioner, who shall thereupon give the assignee a certificate of his title.

17. Every miner shall during the continuance of his grant have the exclusive right of entry upon his own claim for the miner-like working thereof and the construction of a residence thereon, and shall be entitled exclusively to all the proceeds realized therefrom, but he shall have no surface rights therein, and the gold commissioner may grant to the holders of adjacent claims such rights of entry thereon as may be absolutely necessary for the working of their claims upon such terms as may to him seem reasonable. He may also grant permits to miners to cut timber thereon for their own use upon payment of the dues prescribed by the regulations in that behalf.

18. Every miner shall be entitled to the use of so much of the water naturally flowing through or past his claim and not already lawfully appropriated, as shall in the opinion of the gold commissioner be necessary for the working thereof, and shall be entitled to drain his own claim free of charge.

19. A claim shall be deemed to be abandoned and open to occupation and entry by any person when the same shall have remained unworked on working days by the grantee thereof or by some person in his behalf for the space of seventy-two hours unless sickness or other reasonable cause may be shown to the satisfaction of the gold commissioner, or unless the grantee is absent on leave given by the commissioner, and the gold commissioner, upon obtaining evidence satisfactory to himself that this provision is not being complied with, may cancel the entry given for a claim.

20. If the land upon which a claim has been located is not the property of the Crown it will be necessary for the person who applies for entry to furnish proof that he has acquired from the owner of the land the surface right before entry can be granted.

21. If the occupier of the lands has not received a patent thereof the purchase money of the surface rights must be paid to the Crown and a patent of the surface rights will issue to the party who acquired the mining rights. The money so collected will either be refunded to the occupier of the land when he is entitled to a patent there or will be credited to him on account of payment of land.

22. When the party obtaining the mining rights cannot make an arrangement with the owner thereof for the acquisition of the surface rights it shall be lawful for him to give notice to the owner or his agents or the occupier to appoint an arbitrator to act with another arbitrator named by him in order to award the amount of compensation to which the owner or occupier shall be entitled.

SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING.

Some of the miners who have recently returned from the mines say that those who wait until the Spring before going to Alaska will make a mistake, as there is room on the Yukon and around Dawson City for 5,000 miners. During the Winter months they can occupy themselves taking out the frozen earth, and thus have it ready for washing in the Summer.

* * * * *

The most trustworthy estimates agree that over $5,000,000, in nuggets and gold dust has been the value of the output of the Alaska mines during the year.

* * * * *

It is estimated by many that in the mines already being worked on the Klondyke alone there is over $50,000,000 worth of gold in sight, and that this will all be mined in a year.

* * * * *

A new field, rich in gold, and that has not yet been worked, has been discovered near the mouth of the Tananar River, which is a tributary of the Yukon, and is the second largest river in Alaska.

* * * * *

There is hardly any darkness in Alaska in the Summer season. One can see to read at 10 o'clock at night and at 2 in the morning.

* * * * *

Both the Chilkoot and White Passes are practically on the boundary between the United States and Canadian territories. They are in the same latitude and are only twenty or thirty miles apart. After reaching the head of navigation, the Juneau parties bound for the Yukon turn west through the mountains by Chilkoot Pass. If they used the White Pass they would turn east and circumvent the mountain on the east side. The White Pass has not been utilized by mining parties, the Chilkoot being the usual route, and the Chilkat Pass, further north, being used to a much less extent.

* * * * *

There is no abatement of the Klondyke fever in Seattle, and it appears to be extending all over the Northwest. Hundreds are being liberally grubstaked and experienced miners are in active demand. From $500 to $600 is given them and they share half their finds.

* * * * *

The first mining company to file articles of incorporation is the Alaska and Yukon Exploration and Trading Company, Limited. The capital stock is $200,000, fully subscribed.

* * * * *

Every claim within miles of the Klondyke is taken up, and nearly 5,000 people are at the new diggings. Those who got in late have gone further to the northeast of the Klondyke, looking for new locations, and the matter of hunting gold in Alaska has resolved itself into a proposition of finding a mother lode and new pockets.

* * * * *

There is an enormous demand for miners' outfits in Seattle and in San Francisco, and the outfitters' employees are working night and day.

* * * * *

It is believed that it will take all the steamers and idle sailing vessels on the Pacific coast, from San Francisco to Seattle, to carry the gold-seekers now preparing to start for the new Eldorado of the Northwest, and thousands will be forced reluctantly to wait until next spring, owing to lack of transportation facilities.

* * * * *

The steamship people are amazed at the number of "tenderfeet" who have been struck by the craze. There has never been anything equal to it, they say, and the end is not yet. The cashier of the Alaska Company says that if they had sufficient boats on hand there would be, in his opinion, at least 20,000 people go up the Yukon this fall. There are not enough provisions now in Dawson to feed those already there, and only a limited supply can be transported there before the winter blockade begins.

* * * * *

An outfitting firm in Seattle received a cablegram from London, England, asking if 5,000 men could be outfitted there.

The Alaskan and British American gold field fever has struck Texas. Reports from many places indicate preparations for a rush to the Northwest. Inquiries are being made at every railroad office concerning routes and rates of transportation.

* * * * *

A pinch of gold dust pays for a drink in Dawson City. As the barkeeper takes the pinch out of the miner's bag barkeepers with broad thumbs receive the highest wages.

* * * * *

Perhaps the most interesting reading in the Milling Record is the letters written by men in the Klondyke to friends in Juneau. Here is one from "Casey" Moran:

DAWSON, March 20, 1897.

"Friend George: Don't pay any attention to what any one says, but
come in at your earliest opportunity. My God! It is appalling to
hear the truth, but nevertheless the world has never produced its
equal before. Well, come. That's all. Your friend.

"CASEY."

* * * * *

If you don't start for the Pacific coast for the mines before the 1st of September, do not start until the 15th of next April.

* * * * *

May, June and July are the months in which work with pan and cradle can be done. During the rest of the year king frost reigns.

* * * * *

The Klondyke mean temperature is: Spring, 14 degrees above zero; Summer. 59 above zero: Autumn, 17 above zero; Winter, 30 below zero. There are, of course, extremes above and below these figures.

* * * * *

To hold a claim three months' work annually must be done on it. In default of this the land reverts to the Government.

* * * * *

The laws of Canada are severe on claim jumpers and on those who interfere with the rights of legitimate claimants.

EXPLANATORY AND IMPORTANT.

The Mining News Publishing Company was formed for the purpose of furnishing reliable information regarding the Alaska gold fields to all who may be interested.

This book, "All About the Klondyke," is the first of a series to be issued as fast as news is received and mines are developed.

Reliable correspondents, now in the mines, will keep us informed regarding all matters of interest, and everything of importance that is published anywhere regarding mining or the Alaska gold field will be verified and published for the benefit of our patrons.

Bogus companies and fraudulent syndicates will be investigated and, when necessary, exposed and warning given to the public regarding them.

There are already in the field more than one "syndicate" or "company"' formed by impecunious and irresponsible persons whose object is to sell shares in mines, or stock in enterprises, that promise to carry men to the mines and to furnish them with outfits and claims on payment of certain specified sums.

The standing and character of all companies and syndicates should be carefully investigated before any one intrusts money to them.

The exodus to the mines must cease in August owing to the impossibility of reaching the gold fields during the Alaskan cold season, and after August no one will sail for Alaskan ports until about the 15th of April next.

There is, therefore, plenty of time for intending prospectors and miners to inform themselves thoroughly regarding everything necessary to know about the mines, routes of travel, outfit, etc., and for investors, who are not going to the mines, to satisfy themselves regarding the reliability of the mining companies that are and will be advertising their alluring and seductive money-making schemes.

There are some companies, now formed and forming, that agree to furnish outfit, transportation and food to those who will contract to mine on shares when they reach the mines. There are others that offer opportunity to individuals and to clubs of men--ten or more--who will subscribe from $600 to $1,000, to benefit in one-half of the profits, and who agree to have a substitute sent to represent the individual or club subscribers. These are legitimate and reliable and much profit may come to those who invest with them.

The Mining News Publishing Company has no financial or other interest or connection with any mining Company or Syndicate and is, therefore, in a position to give unbiased and reliable advice regarding any of them. Its purpose--besides the publishing of news to protect, warn and advise the public.

We will furnish any one with the prospectus of companies that are safe and solvent, and that we know to be worthy and financially strong. Ten cents in stamps should be sent when inquiring for such a prospectus, either of a Mining Company selling shares, or of a grub-stake or outfitting syndicate.

Correspondents who desire confidential advice regarding any company or syndicate will receive the best information at our command. A fee of $1 will be charged for answering such letters.

Improvements in means of transportation, routes and trails to the mines will go on from time to time. Changes in cost of provisions and mining supplies, and in modes of mining will take place. Regarding all this we shall be promptly informed and will, at all times, be in possession of the latest information.

Questions regarding routes, cost of outfit, transportation, or regarding any other matter connected with mining or the mines, will be answered by letter, written by experienced miners in our employ here, for a fee of $1 enclosed with each query.

Address "The Mining News Publishing Company, 60 Liberty Street, New York."

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