Word has reached here of a heavy loss sustained by the Yukon District Gold Mining company of Conrad Tuesday of this week, A four horse team belonging to the company was on the way over the lake to Carcross with 70 sacks of concentrates from the company's concentrator when the ice gave way aod everything went to the bottom of the lake except the driver.
Only meagre reports of the disaster have been received at this place ard the point on the lake where the mishap occurred is not known although it is supposed to have been on Little Windy Arm where the water was open only four weeks ago.
During the early part of the winter concentrates were hauled from the mill to Carcroes for shipment over the government trail which is not well adapted to heavy freighting. Manager Vance was very anxious for the lake to freeze up as five tons could be moved over the ice more easly than ove and a half tons over the goveroment road.
The sacks used by the company contain an averoge of 150 pounds of concentrates each, making a loss of five and a quarter tons. As the concentrates are
worth from $500 to $600 per ton the loss to the company outside the horses, harnesses and sled, will be in the neighborhood of $3000. It is possible, however, that, if the water is not too deep where the outfit went down, the ore and sled may be recovered.
LATER - Since the above was written we have been informed from Conrad of the details of the accident. The horses and sled broke through the ice and sank in water estimated to be 1000 feet deep just off the mouth of Pooley canyon, the driver, Jimmy Shaw, barely escaping with his life after standing for some time on a cake of ice only six feet square. The horses first broke through, dragging the sleigh after them. The ice was fully seven inches thick and was supposed to be perfectly safe. The loss to the company is estimated at about $1800.
