Evening journal., 1897-11-29
ARCONAUTS RETURN
They Bring Back but a Small
Amount Of Klondike Gold.
STORIES OF HARDSHIP AND WANT,
They Report Scarcity of Food at Daw.
son City and the Prospect OF Famine
Before spring-SIany Return
ing to Civilization.

The party consisted of Thomas Magee,
ST., Thomas Magee. Jr., of San Fran
cisco; Swift Water Bill Gales, Joe
Boyle. William Huskins, F. Eckert, f.
Robertson, II. Raymond, Bert Mason,
John w. Brauer, w. II. Chambers. L.
w. Pond. Z. A. J. Gillespie Thomas
Wilson. p. McGraw, Jack Dalton, Will
liam Leak, Arthur Celina, Joseph Fair
burn. J. Smith, T. Warren and Jim Ste
phenson.
They came out over the Dalton trail.
They are reported to have between
them 100000 in drafts and 100000 in
nuggets.
All tell stories Of a food shortage in
Dawson that is almost a famine. The
last person to leave Dawson was Jack
Dalton. When Dalton left. the steamer
I;ella had reached there loaded light.
1t is said that the Bella's cargo con-
sisted Of whisky and billiard balls. She
brought no provisions. The Canadian
government mounted police chartered
the Bella and gave all who wished a
free passage to the Yukon. The Bella
is reported to have left about oct. r.
with 200 men.
According to the statements made by
members Of the Dalton party there is
liable to be trouble Of the most seri-
ous 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 talk about at Daw-
son Is the food famine. Men were gath
ering in groups and cursing with might
and main the newcomers that were
constantly arriving in the Klondike
loaded with scarcely any provisions.
The mounted police were Offering free
transportation to the grub placers
farther down the Yukon to Fort Yu-
kOn. but to the countless hundreds who
had labored hard all through the sum-
mer accumulating a grubstalSe the
prospect was uninviting to say the
least.
The men figured that it would take
all their earnings in gold to pay their
living expenses at Fort Yukon during
the winter and that in the spring they
would not even have enough left to pay
passage money back to Dawson. to say
nothing Of purchasing enough food to
subsist until they could get started
again. To these poor fellows the offer
of the mounted police was no better
than the prospect at Dawson of being
compelled to live on half rations until
the supply boats could reach the dig
gings In the spring.
John w. Brauer, the United States
mail carrier, who left Dawson Sept. p,
said: There is only one salvation for
the miners who are now at Dawson
City. and that is for them 10 undertake
the awful winter trip from Dawson to
Fort Yukon, a distance of 400 miles.
/ will make my statement 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 and some had four or five. The
restaurant closed the night I left It
had been selling 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-
iron 1 guess there were about ten in
the party that left the first day. One
boat that came up from Fort Yukon
had several newspaper men aboard.
among them Correspondent Sam Wall
and a Mr.. McGilvray. They brought
the news that the Hamilton had un-
loaded all of her cargo and tried to
get over the bar light and failed in her
efforts, though she drew about two feet
OF water This news increased the ex-
element and made the rush toward
food centers all the greater. On Sept
IA Bert Nelson of Seattle and myself
left Circle City and started to pole up
the river TO Dawson City, a distance Of
300 miles. At the same time we start
ed from Circle City the miners had
about taken their departure. It took
Rs eleven days and three hours to make
the journey, arriving at Dawson Sept.
e5 Captain Hanson, with two Indians,
who had left Fort Yukon, beat us into
Dawson by about IL hours. Hanson
gathered the Dawson City miners to-
Eether and made a short speech, in
which he advised all who did not have
provisions to last the winter to go to
civilization or try and reach points in
the Yukon river country where It was
known food could be secured ~ That
night was the greatest one in the histo-
~ Of Dawson City. The miners, as
soon as they heard the news, made
hasty preparation to get out. and night
fall saw the gold seekers and men who
cen today sell out for many thousands
of dollars leaving by thousands for
down the river or up the river points.
The little steamer Kiukuk which was
10 make inc trips from Dawson 10 fel-
~. where the Jack Dalton trail starts,
was brought into play. She was be-
sieged by would be passengers. who Of
lered as high as $3.50 that they might
Oe aboard while she made her journey
o. liz miles to Pelly. The Kiukuk left
Dawson on the afternoon Of Sept. 81.
Nth Il or Is passengers.
"The next day we made up a party
including Herbert Raymond of Seattle,
Bert Nelson of Seattle, Harry Robert
son of san Francisco and myself We
started up the river in a small river
boat, the same one we had used IN
going from Circle City 10 Dawson. We
Gft Dawson about p. m. and were
soon on our way up the river.
"While Jack Daltcn left Dawson a
souple of days later, che situation there
then was the same as IL was when we
eft. and / -an tell you in a few words.
The only things you could possibly buy
were sugar. baking powder, spices and
some dried fruit. No flour, bacon or
anything of that kind could be pur-
chased from any of the stores. simply
because they did not have them. So
=. 4 rf~fT.