The San Francisco call., 1897-11-29

FROM THE
KLOND[KE
Twenty-Five Men Came
From the Land of
Gold.
THEIR FORTUNES ARE
NOT LARGE.
All Tell Stories of Shortage of
Food at Dawson
City.
THOMAS MAGEE is VERY
SANGUINE.
Believes That the Northwest Coun-
try VIII Guido California and
Australia In Wealth.
All Tell Stories of Shortage of
Food at Dawson
City.
THOMAS MAGEE is VERY
SANGUINE.
Believes That the Northwest Coun-
try VIII Guido California and
Australia In Wealth.
Special Dispatch to THE CALL

Special Dispatch to THE CALL
SEATTLE, Nov. 2S-Twenty- men
arrived here to-day on the CITY of
Seattle direct from Dawson City. They
were divided into two parties. the last one
of which left Dawson October 49, The
party consisted of Thomas MCGEE ST.,
Thomas Magee Jr. of San Francisco.
"Swift- Water" Bill Gates, Joe Boyle, Will
liam Hiskins, f. Eckert, H. Robertson,
II. Raymond, Bert Nelson, John W.
Brauer, w. II. Chambers, E. w. Pond, E.
Ash, J. Gillis, Thomas Wilson, 2. Nc
Graw, Jack Dalton, William Lsake, Ar
thur Celine, Joseph Fairburn, j. Smith, 7.
Warren, i'm Stephenson. They came out
over the Dalton trail. They are reported
to have between them $50 900 in drafts
and $500. 900 IN gold dust.
All tell stories of food shortage in
Dawson that is almost famine. The last
person to leave Dawson was Jack Dalton.
When Dalton left the steamers Alice and
Bella had reached there loaded lightly. 1t
is said that the Bella's cargo consisted of
whisky and billiard balls. She brought
no provisions. The Canadian Mounted
who wished free passage to Fort Y ukon.
The Bella is reported to have lett about
October II With 2C0 men.
According 10 the statements made by
mem bers of the Dalton party, there is
liable to be trouble of the most serious
kind this winter in Dawson. Leake tod
one OF the men in party ahead of him
whom he met at Dyea that all the people
talked about at Dawson was the Hood
famine. Men were gathered in groups and
curslng with might and main the new
corners that were constantly coming into
the Klondike. loaded with scarcely any
provisions. The mounted police were
Offering free transportation to the grub
piles further down the Yukon, but 10
countless hundreds who had labcred hard
all summer accumulating q grub stake,
the prospect was unlnviting TO say the
least. These men figured that it would
take all their savings i'll gold to pay their
living expenses at Fort Yukon during the
winter, and that IN the spring they would
not have even enough to pay passage
money back to Dawson, to say nothing of
purchasing enough food to subsist on until
they could get started again. To these
police was no better than the prospect at
Dawson OF being compelled to winter on
half rations until the supply boats could
reach the diggings in the spring.
Thomas MaPee Sr., the well-known capi-
talist of San Francisco, in an interview
with a correspondent. said: "The excite
ment over the failure of the steamers to
bring food up to Dawson continued when
the Dalton party left. The police took
charge for two days of the stores and
warehouses of the Northwestern and
Alaska Commercial companies as a pre-
caution only. Flour was selling at 81 a
pound, and no sale of less than fifty
pounds was made. No plans had yet been
formulated to avert the starvation OF those
who are short of provisions. Those well
supplied have not much sympathy with
those who are short, because of the fact
that the majority of these latter went in
with little food. although abundantly
warned at Lake Bennett in advance.
ut had not been discovered up to
October Is who slot the two men in
Dawson who were caught stealing food.
One was found dead; the other, fatally
wounded, died at the Catholic hospital.
1t is believed that a secret organization
exists for the purpose of shooting down
thieves. The organization of hunting
parties for the winter, to hunt moose, was
talked of and will be carried out.
"Dysentery and accompanying fever
were general at Dawson last summer
They were caused by mias ma from the
swamp on which the business town is
bGilt and other absence of drainage and
sewerage. These conditions will be greatly
intensified next summer and an epidemic
is predicted. The river water is bad, but
there is one fine spring of water out at the
Catholic hospital. Nothing was talked
about but the grub question. The sola-
iion will probably be public committee
to gather up voluntary or enforced con-
II. buttons. the food thus gathered to be
publicly dispensed and pad for by work
or cash by those to whom it is given. The
Yukon River practically closed twice,
about September 80 and again about Ocio-
Der %. but the Ice ran out again and left
the river free, so that all the belated par
ties who mad taken such risks of being .eft
out in the wild erness, most of them short
OF provisions, too probably all got to Daw-
son or near to il. This reopening of the
river twice was a phenomenon never
known 10 occur before. There was no new
mining excitement. With a persistence
heretofore unexplained many parties from
Dawson, as we'll as newcomers. went up
the Stewart River. Nothing whatever ex-
cept good claims have as yet been discov-
cred there.
The belief, however, is that rich dis
coveries will be made there yet. Jack
Dalton and Mr.. Maloney, lawyer OF Ju-
neau, have purchased of Hugh Ferguson
and Alexander Mcdonald, Skookum
claims l and for $50. 500. 1t is reported
that large advance has been offered TO
the buyers. Skookum claims are looking
up because some OF them have yielded
Tor initial work as large returns as any
found elsewhere. Thomas Magee Jr. has