The Portland daily press., 1897-07-23
AT KLoNDikE.
Letters Reviewed in Auburn from Miner
in the New Eel Dorado.

1t now looks as though Auburn and
Lewiston people were to become as gold
crazy as the citizens of the Pacific slope.
The present mania bids fair to eclipse the
excitement of 40 and many of the citi'
zens are contemplating journey to Alas
ka. The excitement reached climax
when it was reported that 70 miners had
returned to Seattle with over 100000 of
the precious metal, says the Lewiston
Sun.
A Sun man who had heard of the in
tentions of few local men to visit the
Eldorado of Alaska called upon Mrs.
Charles Dinsmore of Western avenue,
Auburn, and had very pleasant inter
view with her. She said she had son in
the Klondike region who. had mined there
with the best results for the past 20 years.
He started from Iowa, where they were
then living, in 1878 and with party OF
friends prospected in the Black Hills. He
worked there for two years and being of
a rowing disposition he left for Alaska.
Here he has mined throughout the re-
gion of the Yukon and its tributaries.
When he first went there no machinery
was used for crushing quartz and with a
party of fellow miners he returned to
Seattle and purchased a "crusher' which
they found to be a paying investment.
He writes home that there is no particu-
lar danger from the cold as they live
largely ON fats and are clothed with the
heaviest of furs.
He says that it is an exceedingly rough
country and that dogs are generally used
as a means of conveyance as donkeys are
not to be readily procured in that frozen
country. He has been out on hunting
expedition with his canine friends for 80
days, stopping wherever, night overlook
him and his only trouble from the cold
was one day when he froze an ear while
baking bread. This seems exceedingly
strange but undoubtedly at that time he
did not take the customary precaution.
| With team of eight dogs they often
travel as far as 80 miles day, and when
he wrote his last letter he was obliged to
travel 900 miles to get to post office.
/ The mail in years past has only left his
nearest government Office once year.
Thus it will be seen that Mrs. Dinsmore
only hears from her son once in great
while and it is not strange that at certain
times she fears that her boy may have
been overcome by the cold in that far off
country. He has written home that
| d1UuOugIl du Oll lllIler uc IltS lOuIu UQ6
quartz of Alaska to be the richest he has
| ever seen.
The ummer season begins in May and
ends in September and the rest of the
year is SO cold that no mining whatever
can, be carried on. During the winter the
miners congregate and pass the long
months in hunting and preparing for the
next season. One winter Mr.. Dinsmore
camped with II men and each one helped
the other to pass away the long hours.
The shortest day in the year is about one
hour and quarter and one would natur-
ally think that it would be hard telling
| when it was time to retire. Mrs. Dins-
more said that her son had spent one win
ter within the Arctic circle, and II he re-
| turns to Auburn this fall, as is expected,
| he Will doubtless have some interesting
experiences to relate. He has always
made it we'll and his letters home, which
| necessarily come s'few and far between, :"
| always contain a good sized check. AL
though he has met with good success he
has spent large amount buying claims
and working them, but if he was fortu-
nate enough to have been in the Klondike
region he is today undoubtedly very
rich man.
| Auburn and Lewiston people are taking
| the gold craze and the big strikes of ten
derfeet" fill them with desire to do q
little shoveling, when shovelfull pans
out 81.
A we'll known Auburn business mar
was around Wednesday morning trying
to get up party and they promise that
January will see them abandoning the
lovely village of the plain" for the land
of riches.
Lewiston will also be in 1t and a well
known wine dealer of Lincoln street says
that he surely will be citizen of the
| Klondike camps.