o' the forty-niners, had found color on
Gold Creek, near the coast, an' had made a pile. Juneau went on
prospectin', though he was rich, an', havin' a generous streak,
grub-staked any man what asked him. That way he got a big share in the
placers found on Silver Bow and doubled his pile. Some other
prospectors what he'd grub-staked reported havin' found gold on the
islands, but nothin' extraordinary. Harris, havin' a business head,
stuck around Gold Creek (the present town of Juneau was formerly
called Harrisburg) an' got rich a-plenty. Juneau an' Harris had more'n
enough to look after, an' never got over to the islands.

"French Pete, he's an old friend of Juneau an' he knows about this
island game. He reckons it'd be worth pannin'. There's sure-enough
gold up thar to pay for the workin', an' there might be a chance for a
big haul, seein' no one is prospectin' thar. He offers to show Father
where the placers are supposed to be, if he's willin' to come along.
Father likes to stick by his pardner an' agrees.

"From Cassiar we hoofed it back to Juneau--a long an' a hard
trail--an', after buyin' a small sailboat an' grub enough for three
months, we struck out for Douglas Island. French Pete handled that
boat like a cowboy does a buckin' bronc. We was green wi' scare in
that wild sea, full o' chunks o' ice clashin' all around, but the old
trapper never turns a hair. Presently we landed on a beach which
looked like it was a seal rookery, once, an' works our way to where a
good-sized creek comes plungin' down to the sea.

"Juneau had it right. The sands along the creek were full o' color,
but the dust was small an' it was slow pannin'. It was all we could do
to make fourteen dollars a day in dust, workin' fourteen hours a day,
maybe; poor pickin's for a spot costin' so much cash an' trouble to
get to.

"French Pete, though, had plenty o' savvy. From the lie o' the rock,
he reckoned this thin placer gold must ha' been washed out o' the
little mountain what sticks up in one corner o' the island. He let his
placer claim go for a while and prospected for ore. At last he found
what he thought looked like the best spot. The ore was poor in color,
but so soft an' rotten that it could be smashed into dust with a
hammer, an' the gold--what little there was of it--separated out easy.

"We all staked out half-a-dozen claims, doin' enough work on each to
hold title. Since French Pete had brought us to the island, an' shown
the rock