GOLD MINING IN KLONDIKE. 239 



constantly increasing number of steady and thrifty men coming into 

 the country and replacing the more gambling element of the early 



camp. 



The ultimate prosperity of the country depends largely, I think, 

 upon the extent to which auriferous quartz may be discovered, and 

 other resources developed. 



But it is certain that Dawson has come with the intention of 

 staying, and that the country is very far from played out. Not only 

 is there a considerable quantity of ground yet to be worked in the 

 Klondike creeks, but it must be remembered that much of the vast 

 Yukon territory is auriferous, and that attention has only been 

 distracted from other localities by the extraordinary wealth of the 

 Klondike area. 



Now that the district possesses a large town, inhabited throughout 

 the year, now that communication is being facilitated, that freight 

 rates are being lowered, and that the population is increasing, it 

 ought to be possible to open up districts that could never have been 

 attempted under the more adverse conditions of two or three years ago. 



Coal is being mined at Cliff Creek, 55 miles below Dawson, and 

 at Five Fingers, about 200 miles above Dawson; placer copper exists 

 in large quantities on the White Kiver; copper ores have been found 

 near White Horse; the Atlin district promises well; horses, cattle, 

 and sheep will shortly be supported in the country itself, and vege- 

 tables and other produce will be raised. 



It only remains to be seen whether the cost of production can be 

 so far diminished that this far northwestern Territory will be able to 

 compete with other regions which are more favorably situated. 



That the inhabitants have the necessary enterprise and energy I 

 know from what I have seen of them. It is, in fact, most interesting 

 to note how in this isolated country native grit and intelligence have 

 brought the best men to the front. One naturally associates the 

 element of luck with placer mining, and no doubt many fortunes were 

 made and lost by sudden strokes of chance. But in no mining dis- 

 trict have previous experience and knowledge been of less avail. The 

 conditions were so strange, that the old and experienced miners some- 

 times made the worst mistakes, and the men who succeeded were those 

 who were sufficiently alert and intelligent to adapt themselves to the 

 new conditions. One finds among the leading miners — men who have 

 come from all places and from all classes of society — men who two or 

 three years ago were workmen, hotel clerks, store assistants, or 

 farmers. 



I cannot conclude without a word of tribute to the magnificent 

 work which has been done by the Canadian Northwest Mounted 

 Police, and the excellent way in which the inhabitants have settled 



