The San Francisco call., 1897-11-29
HUNGRY MEN
>BOLDLY TAKE
PROVISIONS
The Steamers Bella and
Weare Raided at
=: Circle City.
MINERS CARRY OFF
THE FOOD.
Q ..
:.;...
No Opposition Made by the
Crews in Charge of the
49, Boats.
,-.-... =
CARGO OF WHISKY REACH
:., ES DAWSON.
x
q. Desperate KIondlkers Threaten to
=. Dump the Liquor Into the Wat
ers of the Yukon.
No Opposition Made by the
=, Crews in Charge of the
49,. Boats.
CARGO OF WHISKY REACH
e:.:, ES DAWSON.
Desperate KlondIkers Threaten to
. Dump the Liquor Into the Wat
= ers of the Yukon.
Special Dispatch to THE CALL

JUNEAU, ALASKA, Nov. "a (by Steam
ship City of Seattle to Seattle, Nov. 28-)-
Robbery OF steamboats,, making desperate
efforts to get to Dawson with provisions,
OF all their cargoes has taken place on the
Yukon River. Three different parties,
com prising altogether the largest mum Der
of persons that have come out OF Dawson
since the starvation exodus began. arrived
here in a bunch this morning from Chill
kat on Pyramid Harbor, Lynn Canal.
They came out over the Dalton trail from
Five-fnger Rapids on the Lewis River.
All will go down TO the States on the boat
tonight except those who live here. They
ate their Thanksgiving dinner here to-
day, grateful for their successful escape
from hard winter and starvation rations
in the Yukon, instead of waiting till to-
morrow. The noted trail blazer, Jack
Dalton, was at the head of one party made
up, in addition to himself, of Jack Love of
Juneau, Jim Stevenson OF Juneau,
George Hopkins OF juneau, William
Leake OF Juneau, Warren L
Weppler of Juneau, Arthur SaIeen'
OF Seattle Jim Pairburn of Seattle, Theo-
dore Smith OF uneau. James Ferguson of
Tacoma, Wash, Thomas MCGEE and
Thomas MCGEE Jr. of San Francisco The
Dalton party was the last of the three to
leave Dawson. They turned their backs
on the town October Il, and bring out
the latest news.
( Another party was headed by that dis
in-1ished citizen and miner of whom so
Y ucl has been written. "Swiftwater Bill"
az as Wiliiam c. Gates and Joseph W.
Boyle of Woodstock, Ont, the pugilist
who went into Dawson last summer with
Frank Slavin. Others of this party were
Fred Eckert of Seattle, John Brewer, the
mail carrier, Henry Raymond of Seattle,
Bert Nelson OF Seattle, Henry Robertson
OF Tacoma and Milton Huckings of Seat
tIe Raymond had his feet so badly
frozen on the trail that he may kpse them,
and he suffered much on the trail. The,
third party was led by Duncan Gillis Of,
Victoria B. c., E. NJ. Pound of Spokane,
W Chambers OF Spokane, P J.
McGraw of Winnipeg, Man, E. Ash of
Portland, Or, and T. Wilson of Nanaimo
B. c. The ellis party left Dawson Sep
tember IS last and were about ffty-five
days on the trail and river They had
fhe toughest experience OF all They lost
their boat and the largest proportion of
Lewis River from the Pelly, and had TO 20
back to the Pelly for another boat. Had
they not been overtaken on the trail by
the other parties, 1t is doubtful that they
would have escaped death, as the trail in
long and the snow deep.
Authentic news of the most sensational
nature is brought out by the "Swiftwater
Bill" and Dalton parties. the former hav-
ing left Dawson City October Is, only two
days behind the other.
Steam boats carrying provisions from
Rampant City to the rescue of starving
Dawson have been held up on the Yukon
~ famishing miners and robbed of their
J cargoes of supplies.
Desperate efforts were made by the
Commercial Com pany to get some grub up
the river to the Klondikers from the
point where the new steamer Charles H.
Hamilton and other steamers. heavily
laden with provisions, stuck on the Yukon
Flats.
The two light-draught boats, the Bella
ana P. B. Weare, were lnaded..with about
forty tons of provisions each ana started
ND the river during temporary thaw,
which raised the volume of water in the
river several inches.
At Circle City there were over a hun
dred hungry Klondkers who hao stopped
there on their fight to Fort Yukon and
the mouth of the river. They had eaten
all the supplies at Circle City. and not
having had full meal for several days
were physically and morally in condition
to do something desperate.
When the Bella and Wear incautiously
bod ID
each boat and took provisions The cap
tains OF these two boats have run long
enough on Yukon waters to know better
than 10 oppose the concerted action of
beyv of miners, especially when they are
well armed, as the Circle City crowd was.
No display was made with firearms. 1t
was not necessary to make it. Simply the
SIGHT ot numerous well-flled cartridge
belts and revolvers was enough to close
the mouths of the captain, the crew and
few passenger. The provisions were de-
hberately carried ashore without corfu- !
sion and the STEAMBOATS, allowed to con-
tinue their course to Dawson with less
Taan two tons of supplies each.
l This story is toId by Boyle, Dalton. |
Il a;es and others except those of the party |
<aich left before 1t happened. Tue boats
had been lying at Dawson about four days |
when the last parties left there. About |
the same time, Boyle says, little steamer
arrived at Dawson with a cargo OF WHISKY.
There was "hot time; in Dawson that
night. The anger of the camp was al
fever heat. The captain was roundly
cursed Tor bringing whisky instead OF
grub. The evaporation narrowly escaped
eliminating in smashing in the barrels
and letting the liquor lose itself IN the
Yukon.
No large quantity of gold was brought
out by either OF the parties. Their com.