Sultan River Prospectors Build a Half-Mile Flume

J. T. Colburn, who was down during court as one of the petit jurors, called at this office and gave information relative to the work going on at the Sultan River mines. The party, consisting of J. T. Colburn, M. Barrett, Robt. Barrett, and Peter Helling, who has recently joined the three original prospectors there, are now at work constructing a flume about one-half mile long to bring water to the mine. They estimate that it will cost $300 worth of work and take about six weeks more to complete this flume, so it will carry from 250 to 300 inches of water. The water supply is elevated about 100 feet above the level of the mine. So far, the work at the mine consisted in running a flume from the edge of the bluff on the Sultan River bank, about 125 feet above the level of the river, from its north bank towards the old river bed. The cut is now in about 30 feet, and without timber on top, and not yet level with the bottom. The present object in the cut is simply to get drainage from the old river bed to the present Sultan River. These prospectors have now worked there nearly six months and are ready to work as much longer to develop the claims they are holding. They have not tried to take out any gold, only testing the gravel to its distribution to an extent where the ground is found. Gold is very evenly distributed, but they cannot yet determine the thickness of the deposit of gold in the old river bed. This cannot be determined until after the flume is cut through, the old river channel is drained, and drainage is perfected so they can make a practical test by regular sluicing work.