The herald., 1897-11-29
Did Not Welcome the Last
Steamer
BILLIARD BALLS AND WHISKY
NOT DESIRED BY STARVING
MINERS
Late Arrivals From Klondike Bring
Some Money and Many Tales Of
Impending Starvation
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
SEATTLE, Wash, Nov. 2S.-Twenty-
five men arrived here today on the City
Of Seattle direct from Dawson City.
They were divided into two parties, the
last one of which left Dawson October
10th. The party consisted Of Thomas
Masee, sr., and Thomas Magee, jr., Of
San Francisco; Swift Water Bill
Gates, Joe Boyle. William Haskins, F.
Eckert, H. Robertson, II. Raymond,
Bert Nelson, John w. Brauer, w. Fl.
Chambers, E. w. Pond. z. Ash, J. Gillis.
Thomas Wilson, p. McGraw, Jack Dali
ton, William Peck, Arthur Celine, Jo-
seph Fairburn, ]. Smith, T. Warren.
Jim Stephenson and two others, names
unknown. They came out over the Dali
ton trail. The are reported to have be-
tween them $4,000 in drafts and gold
dust.
! All tell stories of food shortage In
Dawson that is almost famine. The
last person to leave Dawson was Jack
Dalton. When Dalton left the steamer
Alice and Bella had reached there. load
ed light. 1t Is said that the Bella's cargo
consisted Of whisky and billiard balls.
She brought no provisions.
The Canadian mounted police char
tered the Bella and gave all who wished
free passage to Fort Yukon. The Bella
is reported to have left about October
18th with 200 men.
According to the statements made by
members of the Dalton party, there as
liable to be trouble of the most serious
kind this winter in Dawson. Billy Leak
told one of the men in the party ahead
of him, whom he met at Dyea, that all
the people talked about at Dawson was
the food famine. Men were gathered in
groups cursing with might and main
the newcomers who were constantly
coming into the Klondike with scarcely
any provisions. The mounted police
were offering free transportation to the
grub piles further down the Yukon, but
to hundreds who had labored hard all
summer accommodating a grub stake the
prospect was uninviting, to say the least
These men figured that it would take all
their savings in gold to pay their living
expenses at Fort Yukon during the win
ter and that in the spring they would
not have even enough left to pay their
passage back to Dawson, to say nothing
Of purchasing enough food to eubsist
until they could get started. again. To
these poor fellows the offer Of the mount
ed police was no better than the pros
pect at Dawson, Of being compelled to
winter on half rations until the supply
boats could reach the diggings in the
spring.
John W. Brauer the United States
mail carrier who left Dawson Septem-
Der 27th said: There is only one SAL
walton for the miners who are now at
Dawson and that is for them to UNDER
take the awful winter trip from Dawson
to Fort Yukon, a distance Of 400 miles,
There is food at Fort Yukon; there is
none at Dawson, and just as sure as the
stars shine terrible suffering will be the
fate Of the Dawson miner unless he
leaves there before spring. will make
my statement conservative and say that
when I left Dawson the men who were
there had, on an average four months
food supply. Some did not have a
months supply; some had four or
five. The last restaurant closed
the night I left. 1t had been SELL
ing nothing but beefsteak, for which the
hungry paid $3.50.
when the people realized that the
boats would be unable to get up the
river they knew that starvation threat
ened them and the great stampede be-
gan. The first to leave went to Fort Yu-
kon. I guess there were about ten in the
party that left the first day. One boat
that came UP from Fort Yukon with sew
eral newspaper men aboard, among
them being correspondent Sam Wall and
Mr.. McGilvray. They brought the news
that the Hamilton had uno1aded all Of
her cargo and tried to get over the bar
light and failed in the attempt, though
she drew but two feet of water. This
news increased the excitement and made
the rush toward food centers all the
greater. On September IA Bert Nelson
of Seattle and myself left Circle City and
started to pole UP the river to Dawson
City, q distance 800 miles. At the
TIME we started from Circle City the
miners had about all taken their de-
parture. 1t took us eleven days ard
three hours to make the journey, arriv-
Ing at Dawson September 26th. Capt.
Hanson, with two Indians, who had left
Fort Yukon, beat us into Dawson by
about an hour and a half. Hanson
gathered the Dawson miners together
and made a short speech, in which ho
advised all who did not have provisions
to last them all winter either to get out
of the country to civilization or try and
reach points in the Yukon country
where it was known that food could be
. found. That night was the great one In
. the history of Dawson. The miners. az
soon as they had heard the news made
hasty preparations to get out. and night
fall saw these gold seekers and men who'
| can today sell out for many thousands
leaving by the hundreds for down the