Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-11-29
M, and was soon on our way UP the
river.
while Jack Dalton left Dawson
couple Of days later,
THE SITUATION THERE

THE SITUATION THERE
then was the same is it was when
we left, and l can tell you in few
words. the only thing you could pos
sibly buy was sugar, baking powder,
spices and some dried FRUIT No flour,
bacon, or anything Of that kind
could be purchased from any of the
stores, simply because they did not
have them. So long as the stores had
any provisions, prices remained the
same. / want to say that the stores
treated the men all right under all
circumstances, never advancing the
prices, knowing shortage was COM
ing and knew that they had but to ask
for high prices and receive it. can
relate, however, an instance where
private party sold to miner sack of
-four for SIS and bacon at 81 per
pound"
H. A. Ferguson said:
1.-The situation at Dawson was reliev-
ed by the exodus to Fort Yukon. L
doubt if there will be any actual star
walton there, but there will be short
age. The old timers have provisions
enought to carry them through. The
stores are
PRACTICALLY CLEANED OUT.
All they would sell was five pounds OF
sugar to the man. Flour could not be
bought at ALL One or two sacks were
quickly picked up at 5000 per rack.
Wages are still SIS per day, but they
are sure to go down to So by next sum
mer, and So there is no more than S1.50
a day outside"
Thomas Magee, ST., the well-known
San Francisco capitalist, in an inter-
view with correspondent of the Asso-
ciated Press said:
''The excitement over the failure OF
the steamers to bring food up to Daw-
son continued when the Dalton party
left. The police took charge, for two
days, of the stores and warehouses OF
the Northwestern e Alaska CONNER
cial Company as a precautlon only.
No plans have yet been formulated to
AVERT THE STARVATION
Of those who are short of provisions.
Those well supplied have not much
sympathy with those who are short be-
cause of the fact that the majority Of
these latter went in with little food, al
though abundantly warned at Lake
Bennett in advance"
"Tt had not been discovered up to
October 10th who shot the two men in
Dawson who were caught stealing food.
One was found dead, the other fatally
wounded, and died at the Catholic hos
pital. 1t is believed that a secret or
ganization exists for the purpose of
shooting down thieves. The organiza-
ton of hunting parties for the winter
to hunt moose was talked of and will
be carried out. Dysentery and accom-
panying features were general at Daw-
son last summer, caused by the swamps
on which the business part of the town
is built, and poor drainage and sewer
age. The sickness will be worse next
summer. The river water was bad, but
there is one spring of water out at the
Catholic hospital. Nothing was talked
but
THE GRUB QUESTION.
The solution will probably he a public
committee to gather up voluntary or
enforced contributions. The food thus
gathered is to be publicly dispensed and
paid for by work or cash, by those to
whom 1T is given. The Yukon river
practically closed twice about Septem-
Der 80 and again about October %. but
the ice ran out again and left the river
free, so that the parties who had taken
chances of being left out in the wilder
ness, most Of them short of provisions,
probably got to Dawson, or near it.
This opening of the river twice was a
phenomenon never known to occur be-
fore. There was no new mining ex-
element. With a persistence hereto
fore unexplained, many parties from
Dawson. as well as newcomers, went up
the Stewart river. Nothing whatever
in the way of good claims have as yet
been discovered there The belief, how
ever. is that rich discoveries will be
made there.
Jack Dalton and Mr.. Maloney, a
lawyer CT Juneau. have purchased of
Hugh Ferguson and Alexander Nc
Donald, Skookum claims Nos l and 2
for $4,000. 1t is reported that
A LARGE ADVANCE
has been offered to tbs buyers. Skoo-
KUN claims are looking up because
some Of them have yielded in initial
work as large returns as any found
elsewhere Thos. Mcgee, Jr. has pur-
chased interests on some Of the best
creeks, Eldorado. Bonanza and Skoo-
KUN. He will return to develop those
claims very early in the spring. Bus
mess in connection with them was
what brought him out. An agent of
the Rothschilds, who invested sixty
thousand dollars last fall, has made
arrangements to return in the spring
Because of the failure of the September
steamers to take passengers down the
Yukon early enough to give reasonable
assurance that ocean connections
would be made at st. Michaels, hun
dreds who were intensely anxious to
get out of the country for the winter
will later have to get out over the ice
and lakes with days and sleighs this
winter. Many Of them will suffer
greatly. because competent guides and
dogs are both scarce. The people
there are being largely prevented from
developing the
ENORMOUSLY RICH COUNTRY
by nearly utter isolation and scarcity
of food.
THE work to be done is sufficiently
hard and trying at best, and its great
difficulties should not be increased. A
railroad is the real want. If steamboats,
were run from Lake Bennett to Daw-
son they could not travel continu-
ously. A railroad would be for all of
the year. The Dalton goes over a very
easy country Of remarkably light
grades A. Callberger, of San Francis
co. is in the field surveying a route
We passed him fourteen miles from