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About Oregon City courier. (Oregon City, Or.) 1896-1898 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1897)
THE WAZIRIS. A Wild and Warlike Tribe on the Brit . iah Indian Frontier. , A few week ngo a Htronif body of Wuzlrls beut buck h column of British troops and native auxiliaries, on the Afghan frontier of India. The Wazlrla nre a tribe on the borders of that fron tier, aud ure one of the wildest and most war-like tribes on the froutler. Their character htm long been CHtub llslied for murder and robbery. They Alaska 1 I r I a ''-?rn P '' ' i 1 1 j f ' ' i HE United State 'j (lover it incut in 1.HH7 paid Uussis $ 7. 2 0 0.0 0 0 for , Alaska. The terri tory has paid back her purchase mon ey in gold four times, having pro duced during tin1 time it has been u part of the United States about $30, 000,000 of the pre cioitH yellow metal. To-dny the eyc of the world are turned towurd our frozen acquisition in the north, for within ilH borders ha been dis , covered an Eldorado. Tlie word Klon dyke, literally translated ineiiiiiiig Deer Itiver, Ih on every tongue and is known an the designation for a Kold-lieariiiK district greater in aiea and richer in character than any the world haH ever known, with the poMaible exception of California. Klondyae Ih the new open HCKtiine to Aladdin' cave; it supplants "Pike's Tea or bust" in the gold-scckcr's vernacular, "The days of 'l7" may become as cele brated n phrase as "the days of '40," for the same fever that seized upon the people ami dolled Hie V estern prairios with eia igrant trains bound for the Pacific coast is claiming victims by the thousands, all eager to brave the perils of the arctic cir cle and wrest a fortune from the frozen cone. iue resiled gold discoveries of the present da.i iu Alaska and the reported gold discoveries of '4!) iu California afford many parallels. To the average man the treasures of the coast Stale were seem ingly as iua cessible as are the riches of the Yukon and Us tributaries. One was more than 2,000 miles across a trackless desert and over snow-bound mountain passes, beret by savages, whose deadly attacks marked the trull with bleaching bones across the Western States: the other is nearly 7.000 miles by water, through n rigorous climate, or almost 4,000 miles by land and water, with mniin tain passes to scale as dangerous as those of the Swiss Alps. The Alaska and California gold fields re alike a bo in being phicer mines. Placer mining Is commonly called "poor man's mining," for the reason that it is done without machinery, while the Implements required In the work are few and of small post, A placer miner can get along very veil willi a pick, shovel and gold pan. If the dirt is not rich he can accomplish i'LACKK JUNKKS "1'ANING OUT" NUGGETS IN THE KLONDYKE D1STRUT. I'HOKI'KCTINO IN ALASKA. better icmiIIs by running it through a sluice box, liul where the yield is iu nug gets instead of line gold he prefers In "pan" ii. 'J'he great Kloud.vke strike was made last year, hut nothing was known of it in the United Slates until June 15 of the present year, when a vessel called the Excelsior arrived in Sail Francisco laden with miners from the Klondyke, who in turn were laden with gold. 'J'hey told almost incredible tales of the richness of the newly discovered district, where for tunes hail been accumulated iu a few months. Experienced miners and "ten lerfeet" seemed to have shared good for tune alike, and wllh some justice, too, for the credit of the discovery of the new fold fields Is due to the inexperienced men. Another vessel brought to Seattle a scc- of "tenderfeet," who, against the advice of the old-timers iu the district, wandered "over yonder in the Klondyke" and struck it rich. From Klondyke comes much of the gold and from Klondyke seems to come nil the excitement. A few "tender feet," going It blind, have stirred' up the nation. Out of the region of their dis covery has con e, it is estimated. $2,000, 000 worth of gold during the present sum mer. Nearly nil of that gold has found Its way Into the Milted States. It is hard to tell where the Alaska gold fields nre located except that in a general way the best of them are along the Yukon, J Here are a tew lode mines near Ju neau and along the southeast coast of the territory (the most accessible part of It I, but the one is of low grade and mining is made profitable only by the most careful managenicut. In all flu immense country over which the placer mining extends it is estimated that up to last year there were 2,000 min ers. I he districts in which most of them worked Mere in a broad belt of gold pro- lueing toc.k, through winch quartz veins iirryiug gold occur frequently. Through hp gold-bearing rocks the streams have ut deep gullies and canyons, and in their beds the gold which was contained iu the rock is concentrated. The mining of this country oiisists, therefore, in washing out the gravel of these beds. To Reach the Gold Fields. The best way to reach the Klondyke district? One goes from Seattle by ocean steamer nest and a little north, and pass es through Dutch Harbor, at the ex treme ( ml of the Southwest Alaskan pe ninsula. Prom there the steamer turns north mid continues on to St. Michael's Island, a little above the mouth of the Yukon, iu Bchring Sea. At that point 1 passengers are transferred to the river steamers to begin the long journey up the Yukon, which winds northward and east ward, and finally brings the traveler to Dawson City, now the principal town in the district, although sixty-five miles from the Klnndyc fields. The cost of the trip from Chicago this way, as prospecting miners usually travel, Is $l!rl.r0. It is divided as follows: From Chicago to Seattle (second class), $'il.r0; front Seattle to Dawson City, $100. In time the trip costs thirty days four from Chicago to Seattle, sixteen from Seattle to St. Michael's Island, and ten tip the Yukon to Dawson City by the fast FACTS ABOUT ALASKA. 1) riM'HAHKO la l.sirf from Ru J sis for JT.'.'OO.OOO; purchase negoti ated by William H. Neward. Area Is sijusre mile. .VII. 4011. Population (cftiBUH of lHtsn. .10.320. of whom hut 4.4KI were whites; 8,400 KsquliiiHux mid i:i,7:m Indians. Kstiiuated present population, 40,- , 1'rlnrlpnl cllles, Silks (the capital). ! Juneau, Wraugel, Circle City. i l'rlliclfiiil rlvePM. the Vulri than 2,000 miles long), the Kuskuk- wim. uie loivllle snil the Copper. Prlnclpiil mountains, Mount l.ngnn. altitude tfi.ftoo feet: Mount St. Rllna. IK.KS); .Mount Wrangid. 17.WHI feet. Governor of the territory, James D. Brsily: residence t Sitka. Prhii'lnalnriMliiclsheiililoHiroiii fn- fish anil lumber. Principal occupation of the people, hunting and Ashing. tiolil tlrst discovered In 1S7I). KsMiniiled product of gold to (late. f.'m.iHxi.noo. Product of gold i tsnrt. 4,B70.o(0. Klondyke in Knglinh Is I leer Itlvr. The river Is so designated on the maps. Klondyke gold tli'lds partly In Ainpr- tlcnn nnd partly In llrltlsli territory, and the product Is disposed of in tlie L mien Kiares. Scene of tlie present excitement I along the I'pper Yukon and Its trlbu ta rlex. instance from Chicago to the Klon dyke gold fields, vis the Yukon. Is about U..MI0 miles; via Cullkoot Pass, about 4.0011 nrlles. Time to make the trip by either route, thirty days. Cost of the trip, shout $:)iKi. Travel possible only Iu June, July nnd August. Climate In winter severe III the ex treme, winter begluiiing In Sctcin ber. During June and July continuous daylight: during Iieceinlier and Janu ary continuous night. tSTOXE HOUSE AT THE FOOT OK (H1I.KOOT PASS. oud party of successful proset-tur and a Ion and a half of gold. These men had endured peril and undergone great hard ships iu accumulating the fortunes they brought, and they told a story that hud a dark as well a a bright side. To follow their example means a risk of wealth, health mid even life, but for those who re willing to take the chance the pros pect they hold out is alluring. The Klondyke PUtrlct. The richest of the mine in the Alaska region ecm to he in the Klondyke, a few miles over the British bonier. They were discovered, a ha been ald, by a part lnnt. The distance in general figure i U.LNV) miles from Chicago to Seattle. L'.MiO miles to St. Michael' Island and l.Msl miles tip the Yukon to Dawson, a total of about 6.0U) mile. Another way, the "mountain route," is shorter in miles, but equally long in the time it require and great deal more difficult. By this Mute the traveler sail more directly north to Juneau, which i SJ mile from Seattle, and then goe by lake and river and over the mountain 1.000 mile to the new mining territory. The cost of the trip this way cannot be definittl) stated beyond Juneau, because after that point it depends somewhat on tlie Ihi -pun made with the ( hilkont In ilia ns, wlio pack supplies through the pass, and the length of time the overland part of the jor.iney requires; but the Indians who act us guides and pack supplies do not work without big pay. ' Dawson CltT. I laws, n city, tlie center of the new mining region, although sixty-five mile distant front the Klondyke, Is said to he a typical mining town minus the guns. The British (iovernment enforces its laws Iu Dawson, and those law prohibit the use of tirenrma, so few men carry guns. The law of the camp are enforced by mounted police, whose captain is a civil officer. Though there are said to he 3,000 people In Dawson, few houses have been built, for the principal reason that lumber is f 100 per 1,000 feet. The general fear Is, of course, that there will be great suf fering there this winter, and it will be in creased, it is expected, by the rush of unprepated prospectors who sailed for the new fields immediately on learning what luck had befallen those wbo have but receutly returned. To give an accurate idea of the cost of living in Dawson City, the price list of a general store there is herewith given: Klour. per UK) lbs $12 no Moose ham, per lb i no Caribou meat, per Ih 8ft Ileum, per lb pl Klce. per lb 2ft Sugar, per lb 2ft Haeon, per lb 40 Hotter, per roll 1 k) Eggs, per doeu 1 ffc) Better eggs, per dozen 2 00 Salmon, eacu Potatoes, per lb. . Turnips, per lb. . . Tea. per lb Coffee, per lb Hrlcd fruits, per i auneii mm .euions. each Oranges, each Tobacco, per It) I.hpiors. per drink... Shovels Picks Coal oil. per gallou. .. Overalls t iiderwear, per suit... Shoes , Rubber boot ..$1 to lb. .S to 1 SO 2ft IS 1 00 !K aft Ml 20 no 1 w ftO 2 50 6 IN) 1 (Ml 1 ftO T M) ft on f 10 to 15 00 Alaska and Its Reannrce. Iu the purchase of Alaska, the Uuited States acquired a territory more than half a million square miles In extent, a part of it within the arctic circle and in the region of everlasting ice and now, where, during part of the summer, there i contiunoo day and during the'iwinter continuous, dreary night. The Alaskan roast line I greater than our Atlantic sea board, but the entire population of whites, Ktklmo and fierce Indiana who are called the Apache of the North, I not much more than that of a ward division in Chicago. Iu acquiring the Alaskan territory, though the United States moved its ceu ter. figured iu geographical mines, not in area or population, as far west as San Francisco. The country now extends from about the 05th degree of longitude up at the far east corner of Maine to the l-'2d degree tip at the far northwest tip of the A'uskan mainland. This is taking no account of the little island of Attu, l.(MM) miles out in the Pacific, beyond the Hawaiian group, which, since the pur chase of Alaska, ha really been our west ern land limit. The United States, there fore, may almost say with England that the snn never sets on its possessions. The Great Yukon Hirer. The principal river in Alaska, the Yu kon, up which prospectors have to work their weary way to reach the gold fields, was called by Schwatka, the Alaskan Nile. It tises a little more than 200 miles above Sitka, in the southern part of Alaska, nnd then strikes northward, fol lowing a broad circle to the west before It empties into Behring Sea through an extensive delta. Six hundred miles in from the coast it is' more than a mile wide and the volume of its water is so great us to freshen the ocean ten miles out from bind. Jlie principal cities of Alaska are Ju neau and Sitka. They are both thriving towns, and probably they will thrive from now on, for a time at least, as they have never thriven before. Alaska is ruled by a territorial governor, who now is J. !. Brady, recently appointed by President McKinlev to succeed James A. Sheukley. The (loveruor's residence is in Sitka. Among the things Alaska has done for this country aside from stirring up the present gold excitement one of the most forward jvns to involve it iu disputes with Kngland on the boundary question and the seal fisheries business. Both of these disputes threatened war, but white-winged peace settled over the situation iu each case and brought the suggestion of that newly invented Knglish-Amerieun institu tionarbitration. However, the boundary question is not settled yet. sometimes even a little bit hot, but not for long. In that time, too, there la al most continual day, for that end of the earth (if It may be o called) is the one that is pointed directly at the sun. But as the summer brings warmth and daylight It also brings mosquitoes. And such mosquitoes! Creatures that buzz and bite In such a way a to make the dreaded Jersey variety seem by compari son like the silvery, angelic, sweetly, hum ming fancies of a peaceful dream. The travelers who return from the Yukon re gion tell stories of how bruve and strong men, courageous enough to undertake the perils a journey to that country involves, actually bieak down and sob In utter des peration and despair under the torments of these terrible pests. The ice aud the "magnificent distances" of the country are not the only drawbacks to its explora tion or to journeying to the gold fields; the mosquitoes must ever be remembered. Of course, in the southern part of Alas ka, where Juneau aud Sitka are situated, the winters are not so rigorous. There the weather is comparatively mild, and in summer is said to be delightful. But Juneau and Sitka are infinitesimal a com pared with the whole country, ml hey are not an Index -to what is furnished far ther up and farther inland. Industrie of Alaska. When travelers were asked as late a two or three years ago. what were the princip-U pursuits in Alaska they replied, of course, that fishing and hunting fur nished occi'pation for the greater part of the population. What else was to be ex tiected from a population made up In the main of Eskimo and Indians? In the Sitka district there are magnificent for ests aud lumbering is an industry, but in the ban en, icy north the occupation of the Indian was to shoot and trap the bear, the fox, the otter and the other ani mals whose fur- would bring a price in the markets of the world, to catch the seals a 'id spear the whale and catch the other fish or game that could be turned into money.' Salmon canning is the great Industry of the Kadlak district, and ha been for years. Of late, however, the other industries of Alaska have sunk almost out of sight be cause of the new gold flurry. Mining, of course, is the industry of the white man. Virgin gold might hare lain in plain sight rtTTTEl! KHAN, A TYPICAL WAZIRI. linve Iu former years received more than one exemplary lesson for the iui- provemont of their milliners. In 1800 Sir Neville Chamberlain was sent to punish them, and passed almost right throiiKb Wu.lrlstiiu. It was in 1870 that I hey again became troublesome, aud this led to General Kennedy being sent unioiig them with a retributive force. Sir William Lockliart had to be scut to Wazlristan only three years ngo with an expedition, aud at the end he made arrangements that were ex pected to preserve law and order in the locality. From these previous experi ences It seems likely that these natives will probably receive a severe punish ment for their most recent outbreak. TWIN ASH TREES. They Joined Together Fifteen Feet Above the Ground. A remarkable twin tree growth I shown iu the accompanying cut repro duced from the Scientific American. The original photograph was takeu by Prof. William Werthner, of the Day ton high school. The tree stands near Waynes vllle, O. It Is a very symmet rical coalescence of two blue ash trees, five feet apart at the ground and at fif teen feet above joining to form a per fect trunk that extends to a height of some seventy feet. Each tree Is from INDIAN 11IVKR. in the rocks to a limitless extent and in all probability the Indians and the Es kimos would uever have touched it. Food aud furs are the standard of value with them. old fills no Eskimo stomachs and keeps no Eskimo body warm. Working Placer Mlnea. The Klondyke iuiues are placers the most easily worked mines of any, .and requiring the least expenditure. The methods of washing out placer gold are known as "sluicing" and "panning." The former is employed where the yield is of ordinary value, while all nld-timers pre fer the latter in rich ground. In sluicing the dirt is shoveled into the sluice box, through which water I rapid ly running. The box is of varying length, i TREES OKOWK FAST. fifteen to eighteen Inches iu diameter, and each trunk, as well as the upper bole, Is perfectly normal, nor does the fork show any signs of a flattening, ridge or one-sided coalescence. Hence, the union must have taken place when the trees were saplings. Is this a 'natural graft," or did some Indian possibly use the saplings as part of his wigwam support, and tie them so tightly as to induce a coalescence? The size of the trees (considering the slow rate of growth of the blue ash) seems to make them antedate the white settlers in Ohio. MAP SHOWING THE ALASKA GOLD FIELDS. The census enumeration of lSIK), gave the population of the terri tory as H0..'i21, of whom 4,410 were whites, S2 blacks. l.'s'iS half-breed Indians and Eskimos, l.'l,7:i."i natives not Eskimos (In dians), L'.ll'o Chinese and 8.400 Eskimos. The number of whites has probably been more than doubled since then, however, as the Alaskan gold fever set in in mild form three or four years ago. One would hardly think of going to Alaska for the social advuntages of the place. Neither could it be said that a reasona bly constructed individual would go there for the climate. In winter the thermome ter falls so low in places that no one will recognise it; that It goe down to 70 de grees end lower. During all this kind of winter n;i in the Yukon region little can be done but sit about a fire in a vain en deavor to keep warm, for darkness exist most of the time, and the life seems like that of a man uncomfortably seated at the bottom of a well. During the summer season the day are and has holes bored in the bottom. These boles are tilled with quicksilver; the dirt, gravel and small bowlders are washed over the quicksilver, but the gold adheres to it. When a miner "cleans up," gome times every night, sometimes once a week, the v.-ater is turned pU aud the sluice box holes are cleaned out. In panning, the dirt is put Into a gold pan about the size of a small dishpan. This pan is made of copper. The miner squats beside a stream, dips water into the pan, oscillates it with a motion that can only be acquired by experience, and gradually sloughs out the water, dirt, gravel, etc., retaining the gold in the pan. Gold being the heaviest substance, it i of course the easiest to retain in the pan. A pick, a shovel, a gold pan, water, and, of course, some gold are the only essen tials of placer mining. Machinery is only necessary In placer mining where large area of ground that yield only moder ately are worked, and then only for hy drauiic power in waihicg down the dirt. State Papers Mutilated. In the files of the House no signat ures of Webster, Clay or Lincoln re malu. While there should be hundreds of letters from these distinguished men In evidence, all have disappeared, and there Is no trace of their where abouts. President Lincoln In the course of his official career In Washing ton sent hundreds of original docu ments bearing bis signature to both House and Senate, but on all these original papers filed In the House the signatures have been cut off. There are other Important documents In the House files which have been similarly mutilated. 8o Particular. 'They seem quite particularln Paris," said an attache of the state depart ment, "about having the French lan guage used by any representative of the U nited States." "Y'es," replied Miss Cayenne: "I un derstand they go so far as to insist on putting French labels on American wines." Washington Star. Getting at the Root of Ihln-ra. Lea (sadly) I don't know what to do with that boy of mine. He's been two years at the medical college, and still he keeps at the foot of his class. Perrlns (promptly) Make a chiropo dist of him. Tid-Bits. Possibly It is the mean people who start the bad "stories," but the goo4 Deople keep them going. 1