The Alaska prospector. [volume], June 19, 1902, Image 1

About The Alaska prospector. [volume] (Valdez, Alaska) 1902-1908

Image provided by: Alaska State Library Historical Collections

                
I
FISH BROS.
In Order In Reduce Our Sodi of Goods Defare (ml li
OUD ItV STORE.
Wc Will sell for the next TEN DAYS ONLY the BEST VALUE fora DOLLAR
Ever offered in Valdez. ONE DOLLAR will buy during this Sale
18 lbs. white D. G. sugar.
20 lbs. Pink Beans
4 cans MONOPOLE Apricots
9 cans Pioneer Cream,
8 cans Tomatoes
8 pkg. Shreaded Wheat.
ONE DOLLAR AND a HALE will buy
A SACK OF HOLLY FLOUR.
WE NOW HAVE PLENTY OF COAL AND IT IS THE CELEBRATED S
ROS^LAN HOLSE COAL. It is put up in good strong sacks and IS ALL LUMPS
We know this coal will suit you $15 per ton delivered
Merit will tell
The truth of this saying has been proven
by the wonderful success of
CRARY’S COMPOUND COUGH SYRUP
In all cases of Cough’s Colds, etc. It is our als*
solutely genuine preparation that
Has merit.
Buy a liottle of it now. Try it.and if not absolute
ly satisfactory to you, tin* money will Ik* refunded.
THE VALDEZ PHARMACY
H.T. WHITLEy, GEO. J. LOVE
Merchants Cafe
AMD
Bakery.
MEALS AT ALL HOUHS. OPEM ALL MIGHT
We have the Cream
OF THE MARKET ON HAND.
It is a pleasurable pass time and
^ time well invested to look through
' our stock.
I
THE BARGAINS TOO, are attrac
i tive as well as easy on your
Purse Strings.
Do any of three lines appear
darker than the others with one
eye closed? If so you have an
error of refraction requiring
liuiiitHiiaie auention.
W. C STULL,
Jeweler, ExjH-rt \\ atchmaker Optician, aiul Diamond Setter.
VALDEZ
Letter Prom Slate Creek.
Slate Creek June 4. 1002.
l'<* the Pmsjiectnr:
There is considerable activity
displayed, at these diggins, at the
present writing; the season prom
ises to allow work to commence
earlier than at any time in the
past and the owners of the claims
are quick to take advantage of it,
and everything is being put into
shape for immediate work.
Hob Cole was the first, (and only
at present) to begin sluicing, he is
at work on their Slate Creek claim
doing “dead work”, putting it into
shape for ground sluicing. Cole
I also has a small crew of men at
work on their Miller (iulch claim,
shoveling snow, of which there is a
considerable quantity, “from fifteen
to thirty feet”, Coles says.
Jack Miller will begin sluicing
next Sunday.
Charlie Kramer caught the worst
of the snow slide that oecured last
winter, hut has had a crew of men
at work for a couple of weeks, and
in a few days will commence active
operations.
u energy ami perseverance is a
criterion of success, then t lie Chisna
Mining A Dcvelopent Co. will Ik
successful; Haselet & Meals, the
managers, arc Imihling a long ditch
that will carry a large supply of
water, from a long distance up the
Chisna, carrying it along the hanks
of the Chisna and into the the high
bluff of the Canyon, where defend
ing to their works below, will give
them a strong force to work their
hydraulic plant. They have also
put in a neat and substantial
bridge across the Canyon.
The “Jack Pot” will begin sluo
ing this week.
Fred Date will work the Miller
Gulch claim, and Louie Kosenthal
and partner will work the Slate
Creek claim.
Haslett, Dempsey have circulated
a petition to the Post Master Gen
eral and chained the signature of
nearly if not all the miners to have
a mail service of twice a month
instead of once as at present.
E. W. M.
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FIRST REPORTS ARE FUUY
CONFIRMED.
He ’95ers Hissed II
They Followed The Wrong Trail
Through a Mistake.
The new discoveries on the Nizi
na river continues to K> topic of
conversation among the few people
left in Valdez. No new rc|iorts'
have been received from there as the :
travel is all towards the new dig
gins and not this way. The re
port- tirst brought in however have
In-en fully confirmed and 75 claims
have bc< n recorded. Fine indiea
tionswere found on a large number
of claims. Rex tiulch was the richest
discovered, pans goingfroni 20cents
to $2.00 while in one place $5.00
was taken from three pans. No
reports have been received from
the Rrcmner district, which is in
same vicinity, for a month, and the
f 't that no one has left that county
is a sure indication that good dig
gins have been found there.
These new discoveries on the
Chittyna river go to prove that the
assertion of the Indians made
years ago that there was gold on
th^_hy^dwaters of the Copper river
natives, and heads at Heolio pass,
runs down through the Chittyna
valley and on to the ocean. All
of the river lying above the mouth of
Chittyna as shown on the maps of
the country as the Cnppr river
was not so known by the natives
in the early days but was ealled
the Etna and Howcd into the Chit
tyna. When Captain Allen en
deavored to get to the headwaters
of the Copjwr river, instead of keep
ing up the Chittyna. the real Cop
per river, he went up the Etna
river, and called it the Copper
river and it has been known as such
since. Whether he ilid this inten
tionally or not is not known, but
he probably thought he was going
up the Copjier. His report got
wide circulation and was accepted
as authority, even by the natives
who informed early arriva's at the
present site of Copper Center that
the river found there was the Cop
per river. When asked the siwash
name they would answer the Etna.
But the prospector was in fact 7<>
miles aU»ve the mouth of the river
he was looking for.
Had Captain Allen clasified his
report, if he understood the situa
tion of affairs, and let the people
know of the change of names, then
the rush that was made to the reai
CopjHT river would have gone up
the Chittyna instead of the Etna
or what is now known as the Cop
per, and the discoveries but recent
ly made, would probably have
been made in ’its or ’Pit. It was
generally known then that the
Map of Chittitu
Creek
and triburie*
filed by
M T Roland
June 9. 19U2.
MAI »r 1HK.VA/INA KIVKK A\r» THIHI TAHIKS \VHKKEt\K\V <flMKt WAS MADE !
was irue anil unit the prospectors
in 98 anil 99 were misled through
peculiar circumstances.
[ n 1898 hundreds of men came in
to this country and expected to find
coarse gold on top the ground,
having heard that it was there,
hilt did not know how to look for
if There were many prosj»ectors
along the same creeks where the
latest discoveries were made. Not
many of them were looking for gold
there or they could have found it.
I he most of the crowd were trving
to get to Skolai pass and find away
over it to the head of the Copjier
river. That was the goal of tin
most of those who arrived here in
’98. They had heard or imagined
that there was large de)»osits of
gold on the head waters of the
Copperriver.
The river was called the Chitty
na when the first white men came
to Alaska. “Cliitty,” in the native
language means copper, and “na”
river. Hence Cliittyna means Cojs
l>er river and it is so known to the
older natives were frequently seen
with nuggets and that they placed
hut little value on them. When
asked where they came from, they
answered "at the head of the river.”
meaning the Chittvna.
Trail Work to be Resumed
Captain Wilson who arrived here
on the Bertha, will soon begin
work on the government trail. An
unexpended balance of <22,000
will lie placed at kis disjiosal for
that purpose. He will endeavor to
make the trail good between here
and the Copper river and will em
ploy only eevilianJaUir.
'V hile <22,000 is but a small
amount for the work to lie dom.
we leave wo doubt the Captain wil
make go«*d use of it in Uie righ.
place.
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Reoertifie 'in-.vinent Script
for sale by C. X. Crary.
coma b in.
M. J. HENEY HAS RECEIVED
THE CONTRACT.
Work Is to De^in Soon.
Capt. De Lamar of New York
Reorganising Company
That construction on at least Hit)
miles of the Valdez-Knglc railway
through the Copper river country
in Alaska will Ih- licgun mnm is
practically assured. The fact that
the work will la- done hy M. J.
Heney is also a certainty. The
contractor, who has achieved
national reputation as a railroad
builder in Alaska, is now on his
way to New York for the pur|Mise
of completing plana and negotia
tions to In-gin the construction of
the line. The head of the Valdez
Kagle company is ('apt. J. It. I»e
Lamar, of New York, who is also
acquiring large mining interests
along the route which the railwav
will follow. Ablmtt. Helm and
several other men whose names
have In-en mentioned in conncctiou
with the proposed railway in the
past have promoted the scheme.
1 lu*y have given options of various
kinds to De Lamar. He intends
to undertake the building of the
railway himself. Four mining ex
l>ert« in his employ will go North
to examine the Big Bonanza and
other groups of copper mines on
June 25. Securing these claims
and prosecuting mining operations
on a large scale, fortp hut one phase
of the company's plans. Tlw
options secured on groups of claims
that are expected to yield gold and
copper in abundance tire prelimin
ary step* in the carrying out of a
gigantic enterprise. The enterprise
includes the building of the railway
through Central Alaska to Eagle,
on the upper Yukon, regarded as
the richest copper country in ex
istence. together with the operatiwc
•f gold and copper mines on the
coast. Interested in the project is
the Loudon Loan. Mortgage A
Trust Company, wnich is capitaT
ized at f 15.000.1 NMl. Frank Brad
shaw. of Lo~ Angeles, is another
nne of the promoters.
Jii- iicnev who num the W lute
I’uss A Yukon railway, returned t*
Seattle a few weeks ago after a trip
around the world. Since coining
home it has I well announced tliat
he will huild the Klondike Mines
railway from Dawson to the head
»f Stewart river. It has lieeu
known tliat he is intimately con
nected with other railway schemes
ii Alaska, among which is the
Valdez-Eagle line. The news that
tie would huild the line, however,
uis only recently Iwen made pul*
ie. The season «f 1902 is advau
•ing rapidly, and from this time
work will lw carried on with dis
patch. It is iioiwd to have muny
niles built before the winter sets
n.
To complete tlie line to the Big
bonanza group is the primary
ihject of the company, hut the
■oad’s extension through to Eagle
miking an all-American rail route
o the Klondike., is the ultimate
•Ian. Eagle City is but a short
iistauue from Dawson, through in
American territory, so a railway
hrough central Alaska by that
oute would make a saving of at
east one day in reaching the coast
roiu the Klondike region. The
ength of the proposed line is not
nuch more then 4(H) miles. ±i
O'oiKiuuctl uu Fourth