The San Francisco call., 1897-09-11
read with great interest:

SEATTLE, WASH, Sept. 10.-One of the
latest arrivals at st. Michael is a Syrian
from Washington, D. c., until recently
connected with large artware establish
ment there. He caught the gold fever,
threw up his good position and started for
the promised land-Klondike. He said
he had 500 letters TO write to aristocrats
In the capital advising them as 10 whether
they would better follow. An old miner
who heard the half laughing remark re-
piled: Just write on 500 postals simply
the following: ID ar, don't. Yours Ras-
heed Besheer.' Then the open messages
will d o missionary work on the way
But people will only accuse the miner
OF beng a hog, whereas the fact is that no
one better than one of the pioneers realizes
that there is gold enough in Alaska for all.
He cannot work more claims than he has
probab bly,. but would like to be sure that
neither you nor he will starve.
1t is not quest ton of gold, but OF grub.
The situation is already serious and is
daily growin- more so. The Older OF the
two companies in the field is doing abso-
lutely nothing toward aIleviating the con-
dition, and although the North American
Trading and Transportation Company is
making heroic efforts in building large
river boats and ba-ges IN quite an unpre-
cedented manner, it is now so late in the
season that If people don't quit going
there won't be enough grub in the coun-
try at any price to prevent actual starva-
tion.
The Portous B. Weare, the biggest car
rying boat on the Yukon, ran on sand
bar July 26, after having made but one
round trip, and was there high and dry
when we left. This is little short of
calamity, not TO be realized in the States
unless one had heard the miners calling
out as every boat rassed or any yawlload
was near, rs the W-are off yet?'
Then the Bella ran aground in that
silly old Yukon which is so ambitions to
be a great stream that it spreads itself
over so much ground in many places that
a toy steamer would almost stick. These
disasters occurring iusti in the middle OF so
short a season as the Yukon affords fairly
frightened the old-timers. One man who
has been ten years in the country and is
now on his way to Germany said to me:
II m glad I'm going to be out of it all
this winter. 1t will be worse than when
we were reduced TO bad bacon and -four.
We used to cook the bacon, then mix the
grease with -four. then thin with water
and fry it," and added in his queer speech,
at was a very small taste like omelettee."
What, no milk nor tea, nor -9'
mot taste of milk, and spruce needles
or rose leaves stewed for tea. Lots of
peopIe got down to beans; just nothing
but beans last spring in the Klondike
country, and fellows got to be Bostonese
to like that. I'm German"
Yes; if this thing does not stop at once
there will be actual starvation. Nuggets
cannot be fried, stewed nor baked as
10 make them palatable, not to say di-
eestible. A man told me he was eating his
breakfast on the trail, where he saw
man watching greedily, and said: Have
some grub?'' 'Betcher life. l have $4,000
in dust. but it amt good eating, and I'm
out of grub"
But if things continue men are not 60
ing to wait till they are asked. The min
ers with the outfit will be obliged TO
diyyv. The day before the Healy last
reached Dawson both stores had shut
down on selling any more outfits. 1t was
NO" to every body.
Miners anticipating an immediate short
ge had been rushing in to get their years
outfit. One of the men in the North
American Trading and TRANSPORTATION
Company's stores a, Dawson told me that
their daily sales hao never fallen below
$500 in the last month, and had averaged
Sl2O0 day. He said he believed, absurd
as il seemed, that they could sell million
dollars worth of goods If they had them
in short time. People there never ask
the price of anything. 1t is often simply
a question of how much they may be a.
lowed to buy at your own prices. One
can readily see that this is no place for
the army who are marching toward 1t,
anxious TO get there, and arriving IN
many cases, without dollar.
You can't think in Dawson without
paying Fresh meat is almost unheard OF
there for the Indians are beginning TO lust
al fter cold and work on the river boats so