The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1897-07-23

Kinds and sizes. and were principal,
made of buckskin and rawhide. Whel
each package had been weighed. an(
the clerks and assistants had cut then
open, the spectators crowded around
cranlng their necks to behold tht
sights which meant so much to the
owners.
At the Alaska Commercial Com
pany's Office similar scene was en-
acted. The employees of the company
and uf the steamship Excelsior carried
something like $3.50, 600 from the
wharf to the office. Lippy, who was
accompanied by his wife to the dig
gines, brought back $65, 900 in dust.
When seen at the Palace Hotel he cor
roborated all that had been said of the
fabulous riches in the new mining
district, but was inclined to be guarded
in his remarks. because, as he said,
he has no desire to be the means of
causing people to 60 to the new district
who were not financially and physi-
cally able to do so. Mrs. Lippy accom-
panied her husband to the Forty Mile
Camp something over IA year ago. She
was with him during his hardships
and trials and is now enjoying with
him their hard earned wealth.
81 do not know that l can add, -
Lippv said last night, anything to
what has already been said of the new
discovery on the Yukon river. The
place is rich, wonderfully SO, l might
say 1t would be impossible for me to
even calculate it's richness | am
loath, however, to talk of all this
wealth, for the reason that it might
induce people who are not fitted fuan
cially or otherwise to 90 to that dis
trict. 1t is not by any means an easy
undertaking. 1t is filed with difficult
ties and trials, such as one can hardly
dream Of but if a person is inclined to
tafe the risk | DO not believe that he
can lose by it.
The new mining camp was discov-
cred in September last, and there are
now about 5000 people on the ground.
The place is about forty miles from
Forty Mile Camp. and has been called
Dawson City. With my wife I went
tt ere shortly after the news reached
Forty Mile Camp. | was among tie
first to arrive, aud to that fact | al =
tribute III measure the success | bad.
for do not by any means say that
three arc not other claims just as good
as mine and still others which have
not been located.
How much did I take out? On,
that is something which do not care
TO say. People have told all kinds of
stories about my wealth, putting it
from $l0J, 900 to $500, ,000 but that Is d
mistake l brought down with ME,
well, say $50, 900, though as have not
ha the dust weighed yet | cannot be
certain as to that. 1t is my intention
to return to the mines next spring. My
FMfe will accompany me. | have any
number Of offers to sell my claim.
though no one has named the price
that I would dream Of taking. 1t is
worth millions, and l intend to hold
on to it.
Dawson City is not unlike other
mining centers, though L must say that
it IS practically free from lawlessness.
The chief evils are drinking and gam
bling, and these seem to be nece ssary
adjuncts TO succ essful mining camp.
In the way of prices, l shorld say one
will pay on an average about three
times the market value of any article.
OF course some things are much high
er, but in the main the prices of sta
pie articles are about three times what
they are here. The people are all
honest. and mans life aud property
are perfectly safe. | recall only one
case OF steali ng, and that was last fall,
when provisions ran short, and man
stole some flour. 'Our principal min
ing is done in the winter, though it is
not until the snow melts and the
streams begin to run that we know
just what we have accomplished We
build fires on the ground, thus thaw-
ing it, and then throw the earth into
great piles. When the spring comes
we wash the earth, and that is how we
obtain tho gold. l know that there
was large amount of gold dust
brought down on the steamer Excel
sior, but l hardly think it was as
large as rumor has it. The amount,
l should imagine, will approximate
half million dollars. -
Mrs. Llppy, who accompanied her
husband up the Yukon, was the first
woman to go to the Forty Mile Camp
from juneau over the trail through the
mountains, a distance of about 1000
miles. She is slender, refined little
woman. but vigorous and energetic.
"How did l like my trip to the
gold mines?'' she said last night to
Chronicle reporter. "Oh, it was per.
fectly splendid. Of course we had
some difficulty in reaching the camp.
but then l was strong and really en-
joyed it all. | expect to return there
next spring with my husband. The
men at Dawson City are of the rough,
hardy order, but they We're uniformly
kind to me. There was really no
suffering in the camp at any time dur
ing the year, though once or twice we
ran short Of provisions. The camp re-
minds me of happy family with
everybody willing to help everybody
else. When the men get out of one ar.
ticle of food and some of another, they
are willing to trade, and thus they
even up things so that there is really
little or no suffering
Up to twelve months ago Lippy was
secretary of the Young Mems Chris
tian Association at Seattle. but he gave
up his position to go to the gold fields
of Alaska.
Among the other passengers on the
Excelsior were f. G. H. Bowker and
wife, who are at the Occidental Hotel
The couple were married at Dawson
Citv last fall Mrs ROykar heinz, for