The record-union., 1897-12-02
Anxiety as to the Fate of Twelve
Men on the Sloop Pigeon.
The Boat Was Driven Before a Gale Toward
Pyramid HarhOr.
No Tidings Have Since Been Re-
ceived of the Party and It Is
Feared ALI May Have Perished-
Predicted That the Rush for the
Klondike Next Season Will
Eclipse That in 1S49 to Cali
fornia.

foruia.
SEATTLE, Dec. IA. A. Smith,
writing under date of November I'd
from Skaguay, says:
For the last four days there has
been alarm and anxiety in Skaguay
over the possible fate Of twelve men,
who on Tuesday morning, ON the sloop
Pigeon, essayed to make the trip
around the point to Talya. The skip
per lost control of her and he was car
ried down the canal, The names OF
most of the party cannot be learned,
but it is known that Nicholas Furlong,
Tom Dickens, Rene Leprix, Joseph Pal
mer, c. H. Dennicon and a man named
Lombard We're among the number. The
latter is believed to be Milton Lombard
of New York, who was in Skaguay en-
route to Dawson City, which point he
had agreed upon a 81 900 wager to
reach without money.
1T was as impossible for the skip
per to return to the harbor here as it
was to reach Talya, but, after several
unsuccessful attempts to reach cover, a
landing was made about a mile below
ON this side. Here H. S. Manning of
Chicago and Morse S. Duffield of De-
troit disembarked and endeavored to
persuade them to do likewise, but they
refused, believing they would be able
to beat back. When last seen they
We're being driven before the gale to-
ward Pyramid Harbor, since which
time no tidings have been had of any
of the party"
Writing from Dawson City, NJ. B.
uation in Dawson City after it became
known that no boats could get up the
Yukon this year. He says:
Word came that there would be no
more boats this mall and it caused the
greatest excitement 1 ever saw, as
there are large numbers of people with
out provisions and there are none for
sale. Now there is a big stampede out
Of the country. Hundreds of people
are leaving, some going up the river,
some down. Provisions have gone up
to the most fabulous prices. Flour IS
worth 50 ners pound or 500 sack.
IT believe this will be the last year
the country VIII be any good. Next
year there will be such an awful crowd
here that man without a claim will
be worse off than in Seattle. There are
not over 250 good claims in the district,
so far as known. There are about 5000
men working here in the mines now.
Unless there are more rich strikes
found newcomers will simply be dsap-
pointed"
THE RUSH TO THE GOLD FIELDS.
w 4 -fs- ,
Smith at Victoria. in a report to the
State Department, discussed the subject
OF the Klondike gold fields The ad-
vices received at Victoria. he says in
dicate that the rush in 1S49 to Cali
fornia and the one to South Africa
win be eclipsed by the gold seekers
headed for the Yukon in the early
months of 1898. Agents from England
have been at Victoria making arrange
ments for 5000 or 1000 gold seekers.
Merchants there have secured great
supplies of outfit goods, and the trans
portation companies have made ar
rangements sufficient to make daily
lines between that port and st. Mi
chael, Dyea, Skaguay and Fort Wran-
gle.
The Canadian authorities have made
every possible arrangement for an all
Canadian route to the gold fields. and
are trying to make it to the interest of
miners to purchase their outfits in Ca
nada. This is to be done through tar
iff laws.
Hon. Clifford Sifton, the Canadian
Minister OF the Interior, made a trip
to the Northwest recently. and init
mated that the hundred pounds ex-
emption now allowed by the Canadian
Government to the miners would be
abrogated by January 1st. and that
probably everything now bought in
Canada would have to pay duty. He
declined TO give any assurance that
the tax on mining would be reduced.
or the alternate claim outrage" be al
leviated.
The Consul goes to some extent into
a description of the methods of ,oini,o,
in Alaska, gathered from persons who
have returned from there. One man
told him that he regarded Alaska as .
more profitable place for miners TO 90
than to Canada, owing to the excessive
royalty charged by the Dominion Cow
ernment, which, It seems, there is no
expectation OF having repealed. The
klondike stratum runs in the direction
Of Alaska, and those men who have
interest in mines there are doing as
well as those in Canada.
IMPENDING DISASTER AT DAu-
SON
SAN FRANCISCO Dec. 1.-The Alas
ka Commercial Company TODAY ra-
ceived expected letters from ]. E. Han
sen, Assistant Superintendent of the
Dawson district of the Yukon region
Bansen's report states that irnpendiny
disaster at Dawson is beyond ouestion
and that at least 1000 people win have
a desaerate time in escaping actual
starvation.
Hansen estimates that at the most
the supplies at Dawson will suffice to
sustain $500 persons until the opening
of the season in the spring. AS there
are now about 5000 people in Dawson
many without any provisions of their
own, Hansen says 1t is plain that some
must suffer.
NOT TN DANGER