Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-07-22
KLONDYKE FORTUNES OF WHICH
THE PUBLIC HAS NOT HEARD.
MILLIONS AWAITING SHIPMENT.
BERTHs ON ALASKA BOUND STEAM
ERS ARE ALL ENGAGED.
Many Who Would Rush TO the Gold
Fields Must Wait Until Spring
More steamers TO BE Run
Next Year-A Railroad
Possible.


| Umatila, which arrived to-day from Puget
| Sound ports, brought down almost 5000
| worth of Alaskan gold, of which $l33. 200 was
| in gold dust from Seattle. consigned tC
| Wells Fargo & Co. There were sew
| eral other shipments of gold I'm sacks
| some of which was shipped direct from
Juneau: and advices from that place are
to the effect that at least S7J0.0OO worth OF
| dust was awaiting shipment at various
| Alaskan stations.
| Among the sensational advices received
| was one from St. Michael's to the effect
| that over $4,000, 900 in gold dust, which hao
not been included with the fortunes brought
| here by miners. will be shipped through
| Wells, Fargo & Co., other lucky miners
having reached the island since the de-
! parture of the Excelsior and Portland who
| have secured greater fortunes individually
than those whose stories have already been
| told.
| Although the capacity of the steamer
| Portland, which sails tomorrow for St
| Mchaels and the Excelsior. which sails
| on the 2Sth. is limited to about 10 passen-
| gers, over 900 applications have been made
| for berths. Most of the disappointed ones
| are making arrangements TO travel hence
| to Tacoma by rail. and secure passage on
the Mexico and Topeka, which sail thence
next week, but many must inevitably wait
| is sore.
Portland Sails To-day.
Seattle. Wash, July 21.-To-morrow at
noon the steamship Portland. of the North
American Trading and Transportation
Company. leaves Seattle for ST. Michaers
| with her passenger accommodations taxed
| to the limit and with full cargo of pro-
| visions On the Portland will be the sec
ond party of fortune hunters TO leave for
the Klondyke since the news OF the big
finds was brought in by the Portland last
Sunday.
On board will be S. p. Weston, of the
Post-Intelligencer, who will take with him
a dozen carrier pigeons to send news from
the Klondyke to the Post-Intelligencer and
the Associated Press.
At st. MicheaTs the Portlands passen-
gers and freight will be transferred TO
river steamers for the $500 mile trip to
Dawson City.
Next Fridy the Pacific Coast Steamship
Company's steamer Queen will leave Seat
tie for Juneau and Dyea. She will have a
fun list of people who will go into the
Klondyke overland. On Sunday the Mexico
will sail for the same point, with accom-
modations all engaged. Tomorrow the
steamer Islander goes from Victoria to
Dyea and Skagaway bay, and the COM
"
have all she can carry. To-day a deal
was about closed for the purchase of the
steamers Eliza Anderson and w. ]. Mer-
win. Sound boats, which will be put on the
route.
A special meeting of the city council was
held to-day 10 take action concerning the
necessity of raising the pay of policemen.
So many officers have resigned to go North
that the department is badly crippled.
Gold by the Gallon.
Seattle. Wash, July 2l.-B. r. Shaw. for
merly a well known insurance man OF Seat
tie has written a letter to business man
of this city in which he states frankly he
does not expect 10 be believed.
This is great mining strike said
Shaw. probably the greatest on the Amer
lean continent, or in the world. know
you will not believe me If 1 tell you all
about it. Gold has not been found in great
paying quantities except on two creeks,
about 200 claims. Some OF the pay streaks
are nearly all gold. One thousand dollars
to the pan is not an uncommon thing, and
as high as 100 ounces have been taken out
OF single pan. 1t is not unusual to see
men coming in with all the gold dust they
can carry.
You would not believe me when I tell
you that went into one cabin and counted
five five-gallon oil cans full OF gold dust.
but II is a fact 1t is the result of the work
OF two men during the winter. and the
dump is not much more than half worked
out.
There has been about 500 900 in dust
taken out so far in the district. At a low
estimate. believe. there will be $50. 900
taken out during the next year"
Trustworthy Confederation.
New York. July 21.-One of the most sig
nificant utterances in corroboration of the
stories of the immense gold fields in the
Northwest territory is found in a letter
received in this city to-day from Captain
Francis Tuttle. commander of the revenue
cutter Bear, who was, at the time of
writing, st. MichaeIs, on the Yukon
river. The letter was mailed July I. Cap
tain Tuttle says: THE days of '49 i'm Cali
fornia are mere sideshow compared with
the excitement in the Yukon country.
As l write. 81. Michaels is full OF min
ers awaiting an opportunity to get down
TO Puget Sound and to California. Nearly
every man of them has $4,000 worth of
aust, and there is not man here with
less than $1,000. The latter are referred
to as poor fellows "
Captain Tuttle adds that he cannot af-
ford to lay long in St Michael's or his
whole crew will become daft, and he con-
tnues: Il almost feel as if l would like
TO go up the river myself, and / certainly
would do so were 1 twenty years younger"
Washington July 2l-The rush of miners
supplies and goods 10 the Alaska gold
fields is expected at the treasury depart
n'ent TO give increased employment to
American vessels on the Pacific coast
Trade between the United States and Alas
ka is restricted by law to American YES
sells. and the department has no authority
70 make any exceptions or grant any priv
lleges TO foreign vessels. This was tested
in May, 1895. when famine was reported
IN the Yukon district and application to
permit a foreign steamer to carry relief
supplies from Seattle or San Francisco
was denied by the department on the
ground that the law is prohibitOry.
Port Townsend. Wash. July Flowing
to the present rush to the klondyke gold
ids and the still greater rush which is
Boat Company has decided to put a steam
er on the Yukon river TO carry passengers
and freight from St Michaels to Circle
City and the Klondyke valley. The steam
boat men here estimate that. beginning
about the first of next April. a large
steamer can leave the sound for Alaska
daily with all the passenger and freight
accommodations crowded.
A Railroad 10 the KIOndyke.
Wilmington. Del, July 21.-The Yukon
Mining, Trading and Transportation Com
psny. which was formed here last year
and which is Just completing final arrange
ments for operations in the Yukon district,
will shortly put into effect a plan which
will solve the veXatious problem of short
aga of supplies in the Yukon territory.
In 1895. p /. Packard. of Portland Ore,
who is interested in the company. went to
the Yukon district to locate route from
the coast to Teslin lake, the head of the
navigable waters of the Yukon, upon which
railway could be built. With the aid of
Indians, he located the pass leading direct
from Taku inlet on the Alaska coast to
Teslin lake. This pass he learned was
then known only TO five white men. In
October of last year he returned and made
I, Hot