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' I PLACER Mir I i IN TH A Full Description of the Wi ^ Out of t ^ So far all the mining that has been done in the Klondike country has beeu ?. "what is hujwu as placer miuing. This is the simplest and oldest form of I mining, and is usually adopted in newgold lieids. Iu its crudest form, placer mining is simply thcpicking up of a panful of dirt from the bed of a stream where gold is supposed to exist, the washing away of the dirt and pebbles and the gathering of the gold, which, because of its weight, sinks to f r the bottom of the pan. For example, let us follow a prospector on so.ne stream in our "Western gold fields, where the complication of eternally frozen ground does not enter into the question. After traveling perhaps mauy weary days he comes on a stream coming down some mountain gorge that looks "likely," as he to his practiced eye. He stops and examines the pebbles on the bottom, and fiuds a good many of them fc- are of quartz. k This, although not in itself an indication of gold, is a good sign, so the prospector scrapes away the earth aud tones at the bottom of the stream to the depth of a foot or so, and then J?S> *PL r. TWO TYPICAL KL0XDIKER9 IK PULL DRESS & takes out a panful of dirt. The pan, t>y the way, is nothing but a broad, hallow disu of strong sheet iron. Having done this, he puts in enough water to make the panful semi-liquid, and then gives it a rapid, twirling motion. This causes the gold, if there is any, to sink to the bottom of the pan. 1 Then the gravel and sand are carefully washed out until only the heavy residue remains in the pan. This residue is carefully examined to see how mauy "colors" there are in it. "Colors" is the term miners give to the particles t or nuggets, if there are any, of gold that can be seen at the bottom of the pan. But gold is not the only thing that sinks to the bottom of the pan. Almost always there is found with gold a fine black sand, which is magnetic iron ore, and from this the gold has to be eparated. Of course, if the gold is in nuggets of any size this is a simple process, but if it is in fine dust, as is generally the case, the mercury pro-1 cess is employed. . In this the residue in the pan is ; placed in a barrel.with some water and j SLUICING AT A RICH CL {frrom this mine $8000 was taken from a pi< sions. It is officially designate* ' mercury. The gold, when it touches the mercury, forms an amalgam. After * quautity of gold has been put in the barrel the mercury is taken out, squeezed through a buckskin bag, and what remains in the bag is heated, either in a retort or in some other way, until what mercnry is left is valorized, and the gold remains, nearly pure. This is placer mining in its most, Cimitive form, but it is slow work, and ; ag ago various methods were devised j nINO ' Z'< E KLONDIKE, g j ay the Precious Dust is Taken ((j?& he Earth. t to shorten it where it was to be carried on to any extent. The first step in advance in placer 1 mining is the use of the "rocker." ' The rocker looks like one of the old j cradles we find once in a while in the . attic of some old house up in the conn1 try. It is a box about three feet long 1 and two feet wide, placed on rockers ! just like a cradle. A part of,tho box ! is covered with a piece of heavy sheet iron, placed a few inches below the j top and punched full of holes about a I quarter of an inch in diameter. The i bottom of the rest of the box slants | towards the lower end and is covered with a piece of woolen blanket. Towards the end of the box slats are placed across, with mercury behind them, to catch what gold gets by above. The miner sets up his rocker near the stream anu piles his gravel on the the sheet iron, keeping it wet all the while and keeping the rocker in motion. The fine gold and sand sift through to the blanket, while nuggets of any size remain on the iron. The finer gold settles on the blanket and the dust is a. i? i?av.a j I'uugut iuo uiacuij u crux Lin iuo I slats. The blanket is frequently rinsed in a barrel of water with mercury at the bottom, and this mercury, together with that behiud the slats, is "roasted" as in the other method. But even this method is not used | when "sluicing" is possible, as it is when the stream has sufficient fall. In sluicing a number of long boxes are j made which fit into each other like a j stovepipe. Across these boxes slats ( are placed with mercury behind them, i j or sometimes the bottoms are bored full ' ( of holes and mercury placed under- j neath. A long line of these boxes is j j placed at a considerable slant and the , miner shovels his gravel in at the up-!, per end, lets the water run down the , sluice and the gold, if in nuggets, sinks ( and is held by the slats, or, if fine, is j caught by the mercury. Three times ' ( as much gold can be washed out in j j this way as by a rocker, because three I j times as much dirt can be washed. ( And after the boxes are all done with j they are burned and the ashes washed | j for the gold held by the wood. j i These are the various methods of | placer mining and thus they are prac- j tised in the Klondike region, hampered only by the natural conditions of the ( country. Let us now look for a mo- j ment at what these conditions compel the Klondike miner to do. . Let us suppose the gold-hunter has passed through the difficult journey and arrived at the gold fields. He first goes out and prospects until he finds a claim where the "colors" in his pan encourage him to locate. If he should happen to be early on a new field he would probably stake out a claim next to one that was already paying in the hope that his would pay, too. A Klondike claim is supposed to be laid out 500 feet long parallel with the general direction of the oreek, and 666 feet crosswise, the idea being to give each location the width of the gravel from rim rock to rim reck. Most of the creeks up there have a slight fall with wide bottoms. Bedrock is anywhere from four to twenty feet below the surface and pay dirt is apt to extend clear down to bedrock. Of course, the great difficulty 1;hat the miner has to contend with is the fact that the ground is frozen solid about all the year, and even in summer AIM IN THE KLONDIKE. see of ground 24 by 14 feet In plan', diaieji- , d as "No. 2, Below," Bonanza.) , thaws only a few inches. This makes it necessary to thaw the ground artificially, and this is done by "burning." Fires are built on the surface and the groond thawed a little ways. This is then dug out; another fire is built in the hole, and this process is continued until bedr<>ck is reached. Then fires are built against the side of the shaft, and drifts and tunnels are thawed out. All the dirt thus taken out is piled mtside until the stream opens in the spring. Then the sluice boxes are set jp and the winter's diggings washed out. Thus a miner is enabled to keep busy about all the year. This method of burning out a shaft ' and tunnels is by no means new. for it bas been carried on for many years in the basins of the Amoor and Lena Rivers in Siberia, where the conditions are very similar to those in the Klon- I dike region. 1, to*W1N6 OUT TiiK PHWP? Placer mining in Alaska differs from placer mining in warmer climates only in that the dirt has to be thawed out, ind that water for washing can be ob;ained there only a month or two in sack year. [ And even when bedrock is reached it is in many cases tilled with cracks ind seams which are rich in gold and ! well worth the digging out. As to the [ ralne of explosives in this frozen soil : inthorities differ. The Mining and scientific Press said recently that they ?an be used effectively, while the Miungand Engineering Journal, in speakng of the Siberian mines, where the :onditionR are similar, says their effect s simply to mat the ground together j larder. For this sauie reason, says 1 ;he latter journal, the ground cannot j >e dug with a pick and shovel until hawed out. Lumber, by the way, in "lie Klon- j like country, fit for sluice boxes, costs rum $130 to $150 a thousand feet. So far most of the gold found in j ilacer mining in the Klondike region , i "Jilllfeik | wA\ \\ A SLUICE BOX. j ias been coarse, and many of the nng- 1 jets bare been found attached to ' inartz. This, according to experts, ' urticatus that the veins from which it >risinates are not far distant from the illuvial deposits. Placer gold is libsrated by the erosive agencies of ice, 1 ocks aud water from the rock matrix ' n which it is held. It is toucher than ! he rock which holds it and resists j ibrasiou better. Drawing an inference i rom other regions where placer gold 11 )&s been found in large quantities it [1 s reasonable to expect that in the iTukon country rich gold lodes will be onnd. And this brings us to the subject of piartz mining in Alaska, for the goldjearing region up there is by no means ontined to the Klondike country. Ac:ording to the recently published land-book on "Klondike," written by b. A. Coolidge, of Washington, there tre in southeastern Alaska gold mines vhich have been worked for the past welve years, and which in 1835 added >ver $2,000,000 to the gold surplus of . he world. Of this mining region Tuneau is the centre, and its discovery ' s shared by Richard Harris and Toseph Juneau. In 18S0 these two nen started out from Sitka?it was in he summer?and in August discov- 1 ired gold in a stream which they i lamed Gold Creek. Later they ex- 1 >lored this stream to its source in a I nountain valley, which they named I Silver Bow Basin. Then a town site 1 v&s established at the mouth of Gold I Ureek, which was at first named Har- < t * ' * . : fi- : risburg. Later it was changed to Rockwell and then to Juneau, which name it still holds. This last christening took place in 1881. The next year both placer and quartz mines were discovered on Douglas Island, about four miles from Juneau. These are now the famous Treadwell mines, having been bought by John Treadwell in 1884, and, says Mr. Cooliilge, "from these enough ore has been taken out to pay the purchase money of Alaska and more." The ore of these mines average only from $2.50 to $ 1 a ton, but owing to the enormous scale on which they are worked and the low cost of extracting the ore there is a large profit in working them. All around Juneau and, for that matter, all along the Alaskan coast, gold-AJUI 'fg|y-y MIXER TESTING GBAYEL. bearing quartz is found, and in many places is being profitably worked. There seems to be little donbt among mining experts that extensive quartz mines will be located in this Yukon jountry before long. This will mean the introduction into that country of ill sorts of improved mining mackin* 5i v, rock drills, stamp mills and so on. rust what method will be employed to jxtract the ore from the rock will depend on what kind of ore is found. It nay only have to be crushed, and leparated by mercury. It may be re'rectory ore and have to go through tome one of the various processes now n use for separating such ore. As soon as the miues are found neans of transporting the machinery rill be provided and the miues will be itarted. Mines in rock, of course,will lot be delayed by the weather condiious which make placer mining so dificult in that country, Rock doesn't reeze and the deeper down the mines ?o the warmer it will get, so perhaps ilia kind of mining will be the pleasinter of the two. Boats Like Big Baskets. Curious boats which look like big baskets are used in Busrah, the Venice of Turkish Arabia. As a matter of Fact, they are practically ?askets, being made of wickerwork, plastered to keep out the water. They are known is gophers, and the European who boards them feels himself to be much tike the three men of Gotham who went to fea in a bowl. Until comparatively recent times a boat something similar in shape and made with the ?auie material, called coracles, were used by fishermen on many of the turbulent streams in Wales. Noother form of a boat could hope to survive the navigation of those streams, and WICKER BOATS OP TURKISH ARABIA. bumping against bowlders and dropping over small cataracts in them did them no material damage. In China certain literary degrees can be purchased of the Government, for ibout $75. Taking advantage of that fact, some unprincipled person has lately hoaxed the Celestials by selling them what purported to be diplomas ivhich would bring the holders under the jurisdiction of foreign conaular offices. 'A ^8 sfflfri' riririiHfelili - r?' * THE REALM OF FASHION. PROMINENT FEATURES IN CARMENTS FOR WOMEN. Jaunty Little Eton Jacket With Vest Front?Ladies' Hlouse, With Added Basque of All-Wool Plaid and Sleeves and Vest of Plain Matching; Material. For shopping, traveling, yachting, cycling and general utility wear nothing has as yet met with such universal favor as the jaunty littlo Eton jacket. AS V.TOS JACKET WITH VEST FBOHT. Its popularity, says May Manton, is fully established. The model here shown is developed in heavy black diagonal, tastefully decorated with. LADIES* BLOUSE BASQUE braid in two widths. Ths hat accompanying is of mottled felt, trimmed with wide taffeta ribbon, that encircles the crown and is stylishly bowed at the lift side. The vest front, which is of white serge, is included in the shonlder and underarm seams, and has single bustdarts, the closing being effected at the centre-front with buttons and buttonholes. The jacket fronts are also trimly adjusted by deep single busta mi .1 -i il- 1. aaris. j.ney ciose m mo uc? v>j> gradually sloping away to show the vest beneath. The wide baeks have a centre-back seam and are separated from the fronts by underarm gores. The neck finishes with a close standing band that is neatly rounded at tho front-. The sleeves are two-seamed, with the fulness at ihe arm's eye laid in box pleats. Ladles' Blouse Basque. The two distinct and prominent features of the season, writes May Manton, are undoubtedly the blouso with added basque and the use of plaid stuffs, a combination of which is shown in the large illustration. Tho model from which the drawing was made is of a late style of all-wool plaid, with sleeves and vest of plain material matching the darkest color, but it can 1 be made with the sleeves of the plaid, j if preferred. The trimming is fine mohair braid which also matches tho darkest tone found in the plaid. The waist has a fitted lining composed of the J usual number of pieces and fitted with the usual number of seams. Thej blouse compo^^^H^BB^^^H back andunder-arm gor is effected by means of these lssi^H^^^H shoulder seams. The basque portio^^B^H is cut iu a separate piece and seamed at the waist line; over the seam is worn ^ a belt of ribbon finished with a bow at '{* the left side. The fitted lining closes a at the centre-front by means of hooks and eye9. The vest is attached to left side and hooked over onto to the right. The blouse meets at neck and again at the waist line, but between these two points are sewed to the lining at the left and fastened invisibly at the right ? side. The fanciful collar is cut in ; " sections, lin.;d throughout with silk and having an interlining of crinoline. The sleeves are two-seamed, slightly flaring at the band, close fitting well above the elbow and terminating in * small puff at the shoulder. Narrow braid finishes all the free edges, and at the neck there is a collar of satin ^ ribbon with an upstanding frill of lace at the back. The skirt, which is fivegored, fits with perfect smoothness over the hips and is laid in deep underlying plaits to form the fan back. ? As shown the material is cut bias, but the lining of taffeta or percaline must be straight. It is faced to a depth of eigni incites, wnu maienui iiae mo lining, and has an inter-facing of haircloth for the Rame depth. The braid, , j which is all narrow, is arranged in ' groups. ? ' M Dainty Dress for a Child. 'i . "-i Figured bine and white challie and . white surah are here daintilj combined and decorated with narrow Ya- $ lenciennes lace and insertion. A. smooth short body lining shaped with shoulder and under-s.rm seams is the ' *jj foundation over which the fall portion ; ' of white surah is aiTanged in ronn4 yoke shape. The full straight skirt it v deeply hemmed and has a single band of insertion above. The top is gathered and joined to the lower edge of the fnll yoke, a band of insertion concealiug the joining. The neck finishes with a band and frill of lace. That with fan baci skirt. ^ two-seamed sleeves are of elboW' length and are decorated by deegf ruffles and bands of insertion* Pretty t frill epaulettes extend oyer the sleeves, > ; finishing with shoulder straps of illMP? ' f tion and lace. The pattern provides for a shallow square yoke, to be need when the gar* CHILD'S DKJSS or CnALUZ AND StTBAJt, Ijj ment is to be worn with a goimpe, a* shown in back \iew of illustration. t -<??]