The Flagstaff sun-democrat., 1897-09-09
KL0NDYKE AS IT IS.
A Newspaper Writers Impression
 of the Gold Region.
The Discovery of Gold Has Hardly Begun. Description of the Placers From Which SI, ,OOO,OOO Has
 Already Been Taken.

SAN FRANCISCO. Sept 5.--The Bulle- tin has received letter from Charles Haines dated Dawson City, July 25. Mir. Haines is we'll known newspaper writer and his letter is the first writ ten by trained newspaper man, to come out of the Klondyke gold re- gions.
 He says: 1.-The rich diggings have been comparatively idle during the summer, although the output from FL dorado and Bonanza creeks was enor- nous and there was plenty of gold in sight. There is every prospect of an immense output of gold from the dis trict next spring. The total output this season is, as near as can judge, about S7,000,O00. But very little ground has been worked and the dumps will, like some of the tailings of the old California placers, pan out thou sands of dollars when worked with im- proved machinery. The placers are the most puzzling aud deceiving have ever seen. Imagine a man working on good 'colors' and finding ground worth only a few dollars per day and then turning to a waste of mud and moss with no surface indications and unearthing a bonanza. This is the sit nation here and all over Alaska.
 "A man who comes here to mine does so at the expense of health and happiness, and it is with him a ques- tion of making forsune quickly or taking chances with death. About me are scores of men who can weigh their gold by the bucketful and who value their clalms at millions. Four hundred valuable diggings are stretched along the creeks and every digging is fabulous m'pe of gold, yet there are weary n eu who have gone and returned to Dawson after searching the great country hereabouts and never nugget do they show for their toll. In nineteen cases out of twenty the miner misses it and has to wait another year for new trial.
 Dawson is merely a collection of log hu,s, saloons and mass of tents about 600 in number. When the long nights come and the glass goes down to 65 degrees below zero there will be intense suffering and shuddor to think of inc results. Provisions are going to be very scarce and there is little reason to doubt that the entire town will have to go on short rations during the winter.
 1.-The gold that will go down the river for San Francisco and Seattle will amount to about two million dol lars. There IS lot of gold that Will remain in camp, for it is used as an equivalent of money and is legal ten der at $l7 an ounce. Of the 5000 or, 4,000 inhabitants only couple of hundred have made big strikes. There is plenty of work at from $l5 to $2O per day and many men have paid $2.5O a day or less for living and saved the balance.
 Reports of other strikes are con etantly received here and many are authentic, so far as the Stewart aud Pelly rivers are concerned, but noth- ing like so rich as Klondyke. In con clusion the Alaska and northwest ter ritory goldfelds will be developed slowly. Ten thousand may come here but they will be lost in the vast coun- try when they spread out to prospect. Not more than 800 of them will strike a mine. When they do strike pay gravel their fortunes will be made.
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