The San Francisco call., 1897-07-23
WOMEN AMONG THOSE BOUND
FOR THE KLONDYKE.
No Abatement in the Excitement Caused by
the Wonderful Discoveries on the
Yukon--There May Be
Clash Over Customs.

boundary line, as they now claim 1t ex-
lists, there will most certainly be trouble.
According to this new claim the whole of
Chllkat In ct is in British Columbia.
The reason why the story is considered
as doubtful, and as put forward solely for
the purpose of endeavoring to divert trade
10 the British Coium bia side, is that on
the northern boundary of this State,
where Canadian customs officers are al
ready established, no attempt Las ever
been made to collect duty on the supplies
and mining tools brought across the line
by working miners. However this may
be, there is considera bic excitement here
over the story.
The Seattle police department is rap
idly becoming demorslized through the
Klondyke rush, and the fire department
threatens a like decentralization. The
force has in the past few years been cut
down to forty men, owing 10 hard times.
1t is under civil service rules, the require
ments OF which, especially the physical
ones, have bean high. As a result the
force, while small, has been remarkably
efficient. Now ten of the best men on the
force, including one of the captains and
one of the best detectives, have resigned
ahd joined tLs Klondyke rush. special
meeting of the City Council was called
last evening and the question of raising
the salaries in both the police and fire de-
partments was brought up. The matter
was referred TO special mmittee, but
the Council rather despairs of being able
to offer wages which will com pete in at
tractiveness with the Klondyke. Another
meeting was held tonight for the same
purpose, but no conclusion was reached.
The labor market is already feeling the
effects of the Klondyke excitement. To-
day the knot-sawyers and packers in four
of the largest shingIe- mills in Ballard,
suburb of Seattle, struck for higher wages.
They had been receiving 81 day and do
manded 81 so. They were offered 81 25,
but declined. The West Manufacturing
and Investment Company's mill, DON
aghue & Kellogg's mill and Stimson's
shingle-mill shut down, and the mill of
the Seattle Cedar Lumbe Company ran
dp till noon and then shut down. These
four mills are the largest shingle- mills in
the State and employ some 300 men.
There are four smaller mills at Ballard,
which have remained unaffected by the
strike. In these mills payment is by
Tiecework, and the men have as yet made
no complaint.
The full aftermath of the KIondyke sto-
ries has not yet been cleaned. From the
country districts letters are coming in,
received from friends in the Klondyke,
which are even stranger than those re-
ceived in this city. For mpIe, S. s.
Shea, manager of the Postal Telegraph
Company's Office at Whatcom, has re-
ceiTed letter from his brother, Warren
Shea, dated at Dawson City June 20, from
which the following is an extract:
Things are booming and the country is
immensely rich-much better than is re-
ported. Anything you hear bank on it.
saw coal oil cans full of gold at one claim,
and there are about 500 just like it. The
claims would average about 500 feet
square, with about to feet of paw
dirt l saw them clean one sluice-box
and the gold was visible in piles. A fell
low ran his shovei-handIe through it and
poked the gravel and sand out, and when
he got through he had pile the size of
my hati but this is hard country and it
Is no pudding for nybody, and generally
when man strikes it he gels out of the
country. The boat left two days ago, and
one store closed to make ready to ship the
cold. There was so much they shipped it
in barrels. Well, 1 don't expect to get
many barrels, but I do expect to get one
small one. The wages are SIS for miners
and $40 at ordinary work per day.
When 1t Is remem bered that in nearly
every one CT the towns around Puget
Sound such letters as this have been re-
ceived from well-known former citizens
who are now in the Klondyke, it can be
understood that the mining fever is now
raging intensely in every hamlet in The
country. Parties. are being organized
everywhere and are coming in 10 Seattle
to take the steamers scheduled for Dyea.
AS the writers OF letters from Klondyke
have, asa rule. been very explicit in their
state ments as to the requirements of the
trip, these parties are uniformly well
equipped. typical party is one which
is here from Kent, a town in this county.
II consists of Charles Guiberson. the post.
master. who has resigned; Albert Smith.
proprietor OF a sawmill and a man named
Stepich, hop farmer, who attained some
notoriety here a few years ago by killing
Tom BlanK, murderer and desperado.
who made general jail delivery by hold
ing up the jailer with wooden gun.
Stepich overlook Blank near Kent and
killed him after desperate fight, in which
he himself was badly wounded.
This party is equipped with 25O0 pounds