The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-12-29

the dance houses. Having taken off
their furs they circulate awhile
through the rough crowd, the fiddler
taking his cue from the cracked piano.
man with little to recommend
him even here other than a very pene-
trating voice cries a waltz, and that
nobody is barred from dancing" and
the business of the night is on. There
is no note of expression of pleasure,
no hlarity. Wearing their fur
parkeys - shirt-like affairs without
buttons or pockets-and their muklUks
of fur boots, they walk through the
figures in a sad sort of way, and seem
only glad when it is through with and
they can hurry with their partners to
the bar.
The gayety of the women all but
their partners of the moment know to
be a business matter. The gaming
tables are serious affairs here, as they
are everywhere. Toward morning
these places grow noisy, Of course, but
there is seldom an outbreak. In the
strange gathering may be always
found a uniform or two of the mount
ed police, the only bit of picturesque
dressing to be seen heTe-a plain, neat
fitting dark suit of navy blue, short
jacket, broad yellow stripes down the
legs of the trousers and a peakless cap
that folds over at the top and buttons
down on the right side, the fold being
faced with the same yellow as the
stripe of the trousers. The overcoat
is Of the same material with long
cape Big buckskin mitts complete the
outfit, and the man who carries him
self in it, as all of them do, looks
very natty and intensely respectable.
The uniform of the officers has more
buttons and gold cord about it, espe-
cially that of Captain Constantine.
Constantine is quite the man for the
place-a big-framed, strong-visaged
man, with the eye and manner of
martinez, but by no means without
loins. He has been in the Government
service twenty-five years; was Chief
of Mounted Police in Manitoba and
now has command of the entire Yukon
district
For a time he was the Government
here, being Gold Commissioner and
customs officer, besides commanding
the police until those separately ap-
pointed officials arrived. He was sta
toned at Forty Mile until the first Of
October, when the barracks being near
ly completed, he came here. He has
put a stricter code of rules in force here
with his own men as well as with the
gamblers, has taken charge of the dis
tributiOn of mail and in many other
ways made his presence felt for good.
The next officer in command, Ser
geant Major Davis, is also a tried man
in the service and figured prominently
and creditably in the Riel rebellion.
Services of the Church of England
are held every Sunday at the barracks.
Services are also held in the Catholic
Church, situated at the extreme north
ern end of the town. they have built
there, besides a substantial church,
hospital in which there are at present
twenty three patients, suffering chiefly
from typhoid malaria. Father w. H.
Judge is in charge, and has enlisted
several male nurses, as the Sisters of
the Holy Cross, who set out for this
place, were like so many others, una
Bile to get here. The third church is
without any particular denomination
and is held in a hall near the center
of town.
The residence part of the town is
northward in the direction of the hos
pital, cabins being built without much
regard to street lines. On the hill
side and beyond the townsite claims
the cabin builder simply stakes off
lot and puts up his house and the rep
resentatives of the Government come
along and tax him a few dollars for
it and for the timber that is in it.
The sale of three claims on Bonanza
which took place on the 26th of Octo-
Der acted almost like new discovery
in quickening the interest in mining.
The claims were number q, % and 20
above Discovery. They were pur-
chased by J. B. Healy, of the North
American Trading and Transportation
COMPANY, one of the two big cOmpa-
MES operating here. According to Mr.
Healy, the price paid was S325,O00 and
he bought for the company of which he
is the local head
He says the purchase is not a specu-
lation. as it is the intention of the COM
pany to work the claims. Others who
claim to know something of the deal
say Captain Healy was acting for Mr..
Bratnober, who spent some time here
in the spring negotiating for these and
other claims as the representative of
the Rothschilds and English capital
lists. BratnOber, being known to repre-
sent such large capital, was unable to
secure the property he desired at fig
ures he would pay, and he went away,
leaving it is believed, his business in
the hands Of others to be carried
through At any rate, this is the
largest completed transaction that has
taken place here for some months.
Since then Captain Healy has consum-
mated the purchase of claim 81, for
which he paid sos O0O He offered a
like figure and even more for No. 80, as
he was DESTROYS of securing the group
of five claims, but Skiff Mitchell who
owns it. would not sell. He put a price
on the claim of $780, 600, and this Healy
would not pay; at least, he has not ac-
ceded to terms at this writing.
The first three claims purchased, 81,
IS and 20, were owned by Alexander
Mcdonald, James Doughty, Frank
Densmore, John Curry and Henry ana