The evening times., 1897-12-18

| Victoria, B. C., Dec. 1I.-Tidiugs
| brought in by the steamer Corona show
terrible condition of affairs at Dawson
| City. On the steamer We're w. Kastner and
| George McLachlin, who left Da City
on November 3.
Starvation was already there. The
| Population WIS panic-stricEen when kast-
| ner and McLachlin undertook the hazaT.-
Gus tdp-s0O miles. What the condition is
today can only be surmised.
| Absolutely no food was on sale weeks BE-
| fore the V left. and the whole to wn VASTLY
| ing on half and quarter rations. Men who
| hal food stored away in their shanties guard
| ed it nure carefully than they did their gold.
The eating. houses were all closed before
| November / but there was an abundanceof
liquor to lie found everywhere.
The peril of the situation is shown by the
| news that the two men bring that Just be-
fore they left 500 miners accepted the Of
| fer the Alaska Commercial Company an.
the Caoadian government to supply them
| with food at Fort Yukon.
The 500 started in patches of thirty,
forty, and fifty for Fort Yukon, which
| is about 500 miles to the northward, and
| lust that much nearer the North Pole
| than Dawson cuy.
THIS Journey is IA frightful one, and OF
| the 500 who started n large percentage
| will never reaci the fort, as few OF them
had enough food To last them through the
| Journey. Kastnet says it Is Impossible
| for them to make, at tie most, more than
| twenty miles d day, and ii they make an
average Of fifteen, il Will be marvel
| When Kastner left the temperature was
| between 60 aLd - degrees below zero,
| the Geld ben. ndescribahly intense. Inc
| 500 men are those who feared certain
death from starvation in Dawson City, ana
| WHO took tn, desperate chance OF getting
| TO Fort Yukon.
Ksstner and Mcia chin are Helena,
| Mont, men. They left in the company
| of p. X Holland, George Ruth and william
King.
From Dawson City the party Of five
| follow ed the broken trail along the bank
| of the Yakon RIVER 1t was impossible
| to na viEate the latter On account of the
| ice ia ms.
| They started with 4Oe POUNDS or pro-
visions and bedding on sleds, but the
burden OF dragging the heavy load WIS
| too much FOR them. First they discarded
the bedding. piece by piece, and when
| thar was all gone they hegan to let the
extra clothing go.
| Their stock OF food was small to begin
with, ard they Were soou down to quarter
rations. TREY were almost starving when
they reached [ axe Pelly, and We're BADLY
| frost bitt ell well
| At night they had To sleep out In the
omen on tunctcs vi pine ABOUND fire..
| ,tNrtr hl
been gone several ia vs., and to avoid
being f.uzcn to death, one OF the five
| stood guard and walked the Others up
| every half hour so that they oonld mcNe
about anG Keep Tire blood in circulation
At Big Salmon they passed Major
| Walsh, Of the Canadian relief expedition.
| who was ia bad way. He was waiting
there FOR Ills dog-trans To arrive from
| Skar1!a with fresh supplies of provisions
Kas,ner said that the dog-trains VIII
| never roach Ma ior Walsh. and that ncit her
| he nor Ills patty viii ever get to Dawson
| City.
The ,..iiure of the iog-trains TO reaca
| him VIII cause the Government orfio ials
| To suffer from the want OF food
Mr. Freeman lost his life ON Tha lks
| giving He had gone ashore ON a float
and was returning Ia the hnat when he
| was caught by d block Of ice and wia
| carried under. The other occupa nts oil
| the boat "a vel themselves. but Freeman
| was ma bl, to reach shore.
Tbirt y.fiye miles below Rink Rap pids
| Eastne. So vs. he met Il party Of five men
| endea ayoring to travel down the river
| toward Dawson. They attempted to cross
| or the ice. Two succeeded in reaching
| the opposite shore when the ice CAT ed in
| and the open waters separated them from
| their three comradcs and the pro. isiOns.
| There was Ho possible wav of reaching
| the unfortunate men, and though kast-
| ner does not know their fate, they prob
| ably persisted in the ice. This happened
on November Ia.
| In addition 10 the SEQ men who left
| for Fort Yukon. there We're about LOCO
| miners In Dawson City who talked OF
| making tte Journey as soon as the ice
| of the Yukon River became passable.
| There wa not enough food in Daw
| for one out Of ten Of the population.
Most uf The n,en who decided to risk
the trip tc Fort Yukon were newcomers.
| who rushed into the gold district Just
| before The oren season ended. Not one
| out of thirt- of these men brought in
| sufficient food to last through the winter.
On October Is the river steamers Bella
ani wcarc left Dav son City for Fort
| Yukon, with the expect ation Of taking on
| several hundred tons Of the provisions
| whici. had been stored there. The steaI;i
| ers managed 10 e't tn Fort Yukon, but
| they cannot return to Dawson City until
| the spring. on account OF the Ice.
| A !arg. proportion OF the populai ion of
| Dawson had COUNTED on she supplies 10 le
brought by these steamers. They were
1 McLachlii left.
| In raw sor there are alreaI. men in
| the hospital. their sickness brought on
| by living OF short rat ioIs. kastner
| thinks there are raoush provisions in Daw-
| son for the present. population, If they
| were oI,ly equally divided, but, unfortu-
| natcly. samc have plenty, while Others
| have ncnc. There are II few men who
| have three ct four months provisions
| buried. jos Brandt, Of Juneau. " Ill come
| out or the first ice, ana has offered to
| bring q jin.!ied number of mcn nj 81 600
each.
Starvation Is certainly for many at Dav..
son. and many will perish along tie trails,
says Kastncr. The Steamers Bella
and weare has! Very small car
goes, TIE BeI;, barely anything, anG the
Weare caly twcnt y-fiye tnns, ana that
mostly whisky and sugar. The supply Of
flour was nearly exhausted II was sold
by the companies at 81 9 sack, Willie
mienrs wEo have any 60 dispose of get
from 81 40 to $50 sack.
The candes,too. are about exhausted. and
81, .