The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-07-28
Gold Fields of Alaska,

garding the wonderful gOld discovery III |
Alaska the following Is condensed.
A dispatch sent out from San francisco |
says; The arrival OF the steamer Portland |
at Seattle, with sixty-eight passengers from |
the Klondike river with 100000 in gold |
dust has added to the city's excitement over
the northern gold fields. Little else is dis
cussed here, and thousands of men are wild
to start for the fields at once. What is now
being talked OF are means OF transportation
and food, and there comes the great danger
Of rush OF tenderfeet to Klondike. In all
previous gold rushes disappointed men or
those who could not make wages were able
to get out of the country readily, but In
Klondike a man who goes in in the summer
or fall must count on remaining through
the winter.
II twenty or thirty thousand, go in, as now
seems probable, starvation will result, as 1t
will be absolutely impossible to feed more
than ten thousand people with the supplies
that are now on the way. In another sea-
| son boats can be built and arrangements
made for laying down an unlimited supply
OF food, but now the Alaska Commercial
| Company has only three vessels, while the
other two lines run only to Juneau YUKON
| river steamers are built down here and
| sent up in small sections and put together
on the river. They draw only three or four
| feet OF water, but with even this light
| draught they often become stranded on the
sand bars in the upper waters OF the YUKON
| By the Juneau route 1t is Impossible 10
|
every pound of supplies must be carried on
| Indians backs over Chilkoot pass and by
| frequent portages that separate the lakes
| and streams on this overland route. After
September 10 this Juneau route is impassa-
BILE to all except Indians because OF fierce
storms which only Indians and experienced
| travellers can face.
The Alaska Commercial Company is very
fearful that starvation will occur in the new
| camp this winter. President Louis Sloss
| 20 do that hia wOnlN do the
best it could to feed those who rushed into
the Klondilxe but he said that probably 1t
would be impossible to get in more than
1900 tons of food before ice closed the Yu-
kon River. The company has 800 tons on
the way to St. Michael's, but the river usu-
ally freezes over about the middle OF Sep
TENDER. They have only three boats, as
one of the best boats was wrecked last
spring This supply will not sufhce Tor
more than the number of people already at
the mining camp; so, ii 10000 or 3O,OOO
should rush in carrying only small supply
of food, the stores will be compelled to limit
sales to each purchaser, and those not able
to find work will starve.
Joe LaDue, who owns the town site OF
Dawson City, emphasized Mr.. Sloss' warn
ing He said no one had any idea OF the
amount of food required by hearty men
doing hard manual work in extreme cold
weather. He said the suffering was keen
last winter because the men could not
secure a variety of food which their sys-
TENS craved. The transportation COM
panies sent large amounts OF whiskey,
which found no great sale. Then they
rushed in stoves picks, shovels, and other
hardware, but the last thing they seemed
to think OF delivering was food, which was
needed more than anything else. Espe-
cially, the men need such things as evapo-
rated potatoes, which relieve the solid diet
of bacon and beans; but it will be hopeless
to try to land any Of these luxuries, or even
dried fruits which are indispensable.
All experts estimate that the minimum
supply of provisions which man should
take to Klondike in one thousand pounds,
though several say they wouldn't venture
in without at least one ton, as the season
over the Juneau route closes up by Sep
TENDER 10, The rush promises to be unpre-
cedented, and large number OF prospect
ore, after being landed at Juneau will
transported. Like all other great mining
rushes, this promises to be full OF disap-
pointments. The Alaska Commercial Com
pany's steamer which leaves here on July
2S, can carry only 100 passengers. This is
the last steamer which makes the through
trip. The next boat that leaves on Sep.
TENDER 5, will go as far as st. Michaeps
Eleven hundred people have already made
inquiries about passage to st. Michaels, sc
it will be seen how many here will be
forced to go by way OF Juneau or stay al
home.
A new route to the Klondike will be
opened next spring. 1t is overland from
Juneau to Fort Selkirk, on the Yukon, anC
is entirely by land. Captain Goodall OF the
: Pacific Coast Steamship Company inspected
it this summer and reported it practicable
. 1t is about 700 miles long, and it crosses the
divide over Chilkat Pass, which is lowe
and more easily crossed than Chilkoot Pass
No lakes or rivers are on the route, but tn,
trail runs over high level prairie. Ole
Pioneer Dalton, after whom the trails il
named, is now driving band OF sheep OF
the trail to Dawson City, where he expects
: to arrive in August with fresh meat for tn,
miners. The Dalton trail is we'll adapted
for driving stock, but for men the tramp il
The Boston Herald says; The account
given Of the route to be followed in reach
ing the Klondike gold field in the far North
west remind one OF the hard experience
f. endured by good many people from thu
eastern states who went out to California il
search OF gold In 1849. Those who mad
: the trip all the way by water, from New
York or Boston to San Francisco, suffered
in no way except from the possible over
crowding Of the vessel or the inevitable in
& convenience attendant upon making lonl
d sea voyage. But those who went overland
, either across the sthmus at Nicaragua
Panama or Guatemala, or across the plain
from the Missouri river westward, encoun
tered numerous perils which in many in
stances led to fatal results.
b. The direct route laid down for reaching
the klondike gold heldS Is TO start iron
. Juneau in Alaska, across the mountains t,
) Fort Selkirk in the Dominion Of Canada
Z Fort Selkirk is at the head OF the Yukol
5 river, where that stream collects humble
of its upper branches, although some tw'
) hundred miles or more higher up than tn
gold fields. But this trip overland, al
! though said to be less than seven hundre,
s miles in length, is one which involves
great many hardships, and must be on
which person would not be justified il
5 taking unless he was both physically an,
: mentally prepared to stand severe strains
) The so-called longer route by the Yukol
E river is also not a trip that one woul,
5 think Of taking for pleasure purposes. ST
s Michael, where the sea transportation ends
I and to which steamers make their voyages
is not on the Yukon river, as it has been OF
roneously reported to be, but on Morton
) sound, and is chosen as port because O
its excellent harbor-rather rare natura
conditions in that part Of the world-an,
: because the river Yukon makes such ben,
in it's course as to be only two or three days
journey distant inland from st. Michael
The trip is thus shorter than it would be 1
the mouth of the river was entered and 1t
circuitous route followed, while it may ais
be added that navigation at the mouth O