The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-26
LIFE IN DAWSON CITY
A CROWD OF MIXED HUMANITY
WHICH is LIKELY TO NEED FOOD.
Entertainment for Miners in Dance
Halls and Gambling Houses-High
Prices for Necessaries.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.

DAWSON CITY, Aug. %, via Seattle
Wash, Sept. 26.-This city of tents and gold
dust and canned meats is in the throes of
the liveliest kind of excitement. 1t seems
as if the population of all adjacent Alaska
had floclzed here so as to be near the center
of the golden harvest when the winter
SHOWS waste away. Then every boat that
has made the journey from st. Michaels
and everything that can float has been
pressed into service including craft or
two that didn't succeed in floating, and has
brought in a cosmopolitan, enthusiastic
and hungry crowd, each member of which
mas been imbued with the expectation of
| stepped to the landing and finding a bagful
| of nuggets waiting for him; when to this
vast aggregation of the most mixed hui
mainly is added the other contingent which
has been pouring in over the various
back-door and "side-door'' routes, some
idea may be formed of the Heterogeneous
community which is lockeu up here for bet
ter or worse until the summer sun may re-
lease them. How all those people are to be
fed is a problem which no one here has
yet solved or even dared to gaze squarely
| in the face Hundreds appear to have made
the hazardous trip into this forsaken coun-
try with an almost infantile trust in the
performance of a miracle that will turn ice
INV DlSct NheiIly were the VICTIMS OIL nar0
times at home and used up what remaining
resources they possessed in paying their
expenses. now they desperately waiting
with terror the advent of the relent-
less winter, when even their pres
ent limited foragin~ will be i'm
possible. 1t is impossible to obtain any adj
equate impression of the situation here
from hearsay, moreover the changes have
been so rapid and vast that all previous
statements must be reconstructed in ac-
cordance with the later developments 1t
must be confessed with reluctance that
there have been no exaggerations as to the
prospect OF death from starvation and the
rigors of the climate. So many of the gold
seekers are physically incapacitated from
enduring the hardships of the closed sea-
son that outdoor work will be impossible
for them, and yet they are without any
other means of support. They must now
put their reliance in charity rather than in
their own power to earn subsistence; and
sad to say, this does not seem to be chari-
tvs abiding place. 1t is every man for
himself here in battle that saps the vigor
and courage of even the hardest. Let there
be no mistake on this point--it is the one
clear. and tangible, and unquestioned fact
in the Klondike, and its immediate corol-
larry is this: that to attempt to enter this
region without at least a years supplies or
the equivalent in cash is to attempt the
most lingering form of suicide.
AN IOWA TENDERFOOT.
While on this gloomy strain it might be
well to emphasize one other kindred point,
and that is the difficulties that attend the
effort to obtain gold. Men of more than
ordinary intelligence will understand of
course. that the precious metal does not lie
about in heaps to be gathered by the first
comers shovel, but unfortunately this de-
gree of intelligence is the exception among
the summers arrivals. AS an illustration of
the extent of the credulity that prevails |
will mention an incident that occurred here
yesterday. Abner Merriam, of Iowa, is one
of the recent corners by the, overland route,
and how man of his picturesque innocence
ever got through is a marvel. Abner was
passing the tent which l call my home, and
his face wore an expression of settled mel
ancholy. 1 greeted him cheerfully and at
tempted a mild pleasantly at his expense,
when he astounded me with an outburst OF
violent invectiVes. Where is all the gold
they have been talking about?" he shouted
Here 1 sold my farm and spent nearly ali
the cash in getting into this country just
because I was fool enough to believe the
newspaper reports that there was plenty of
gold here, but have hunted high and low,
and there isn't a - spoonful of it any
where" 1t is unnecessary to reproduce the
more spectacular bits of Merriams oratori-
cal fight suffice it to say that it included
most of the words that are usually pub
lished in dashes. And it proved to be a fact
that he had spent his first two days in Daw-
son prowlng around the town and outskirts
IN fA,. all Of IL,
precious stuff He thought it would be lying
about loose, and now he is trying to get
back to civilization again, where he can
bury his disappointment and escape the
ridicule to which he has been subjected
! here.
Merriam's case is a fair type of many
others. They have come into the Klondike
| country, and, seeing nothing but snow and
ice, and occasional bits of vegetation, have
| jumped to the conclusion that there is no
| gold. But a comprehensive investigation
| demonstrates that there is gold here in
| abundance, ready to yield rich harvest
| to the men of industry and determination
and a fair share of luck. The old adage
that lit is first necessary to catch your
rabbit applies with nice accuracy to the
gold fields. 1t is first necessary to make
your strike, and then it requires patience
and continuous toll to make your pile
| The dreamers in the United States who
are ensconced in easy chairs before blazing
! CRATE fires and reading with envy of the
various fortunes that are being rolled UP
in the Klondike should take cognizance of
! the fact that only the successes are re-
ported. The failures are allowed to be hid
| den in obscurity There are practical min
ers here to-day, and scores of them. men
who have been in the territory for a
couple of years, who have not been able to
take a dollar from the earth above the cost
of living. They have not been lacking in
energy or perseverance, but only in luck
| They have not happened to strike the
right spot. Two men left here a week ago
for home in Wisconsin who used
| up between them several thousand dollars
in paying their expenses while they were
digging-digging in vain. All these pros
pectors followed the scent as soon as it
was manifested. When the cry of GOLD"
went up in any new region along the FL
| Dorado or the Bonanza, or any of the
other creeks that feed the Klondike, they
were in the first rush TO the scene, but thay
were not of the few who got the prizes
| When it is appreciated that the gold in this
country is like the gold anywhere else. dir
ficult to obtain and more difficult to locate
! then will people come here with a nroper