Because the two men wouldn't reveal where they had found the gold, McCloud and two other prospectors decided to follow them. In August Cherosky and Pitka boarded the steamer bound for Fortymile to ask Jack McQuesten for a grubstake, with the other prospectors close behind them.
McQuesten agreed to the grubstake, in exchange for information about their find. Unfortunately, Cherosky also got very drunk in Fortymile and talked about the strike, though not where it was. When the steamer returned downriver, Cherosky and Pitka were followed by a growing crowd of miners. In the spring, after wintering along the river, these miners staked claims and started stampedes to other creeks in the area, while Cherosky and Pitka lost Pitka's Bar.
