The morning news., 1897-08-16
LIFE AT DAWSON CITY.
Vigilance Committee Keeps the bad
Men" in ERectuaI Check.
FROM the washington Star.

From the Washington Star.
A letter lately received at Tacoma,
Wash, from New York state man now
in Dawson gives an interesting picture of
life in that metropolis. It says:
Perhaps you would like TO know what
sort of a town this is. You have heard
about wide-open towns. This is one Of
them.
Everything goes here; the saloons never
close, and gambling goes on at all hours;
in fact nothing in the way of dissipation
is ever checked at all.
"There is no city government in this
place of tents and shanties but we have
a vigilance committee, which takes the
place of both the government and the laws.
You see this is British country up here,
and most of Us are Americans, so we DO
not know much about what the law is
This being the case, we run the place
as we think we ought to. am one of the
vigilance committee.
1T is nothing for a thousand dollars to
change hands on the turn of card-I
mean in gold dust for real money is a
scarce article out here. Every man has a
sack OF dust, and ne buys or CANDLES by
the ounce
"The dance halls are lively enough, too,
for there are a lot of women up here, such
as they are.
Il reckon there are about 4,5OO people
here, all told, but they can make enough
noise for twee that many.
There is not as much killing going on
here as you would think, because we do
not think much of bad men up here. We
have planted about dozen of them in the
last two months, and IL has had the ell
feet of keeping the tough sort quiet.
Il write about night, but we don't have
any night here. The sun sets about 10 p.
m. and rises about a. m, but it never
gets dark You can read a newspaper out
of doors at midnight so you see it doesn'
make much difference when you sleep.
1.-The result is that the people here don't
have any regular time for sleeping or
eating They just live they want to.
"You see all kinds of people here. l
believe that every nation we ever heard
of in New York is represented. Every
body is as good as everybody else.
There is one old fellow that used TO
be slave and his wool is as gray as a
Sleeps pelt.
He came up here with a freighting
output, and did not have any idea of get
ting 10 the gold fields. but when he did get
there. old as he was, he got the fever
"He staked out claim and has cleaned
up $4,000 i'm gold dust
"You ought to hear him talk about what
he is going to do with II. His name, he
from down in Georgia, just piece out
of Atlanta.
"I1e says that the daughter of the man
that owned him during the war is living
there yet on the old plantation. and very
poor. The old man is going back, he says.
and is going to buy that plantation, and
then he is going to have this woman that
is there do nothing but live like lady the
rest Of her life.
'If the papers printed half the queer
things l have heard here IL would be bet
ter than a book.
About three months ago an old man
came from back east and had with him "A
boy Is years old. He was one of the incest
boys ] ever saw. lie and his father stalk
ed out claim just east Of claim right on
the river that the BOYS call B.ue Richness.
Il think the old man said he came from
Massachusetts. He was quiet, peace
able old man, minded his own business and
paid no attention to anybody
After he commenced work on his claim
a few days it got around that he washed
out 81 dirt. That means that every pan OF
dirt he washed out had SO worth Of gold
in il.
There is lot Of mean fellows up here
who, when they think a man that has a
good thing can be run Off, try 70 run him
off
80 one night two or three OF these fell
lows went TO the old mans tent with guns
and told him and the boy that II they
didn't get off the claim Within twenty four
hours hey would be shot.
The old man wouldn't say anything 10
them, so one OF them owned afterwards
but just lay there, and the boy kept auiet
The old man, whose name was Harry
williams, talked Il over with the boy, and
they agreed they would stick II out
80 they took turns lying awake and
watching for the claim jumpers. Three or
four nights afterward the Jumpers me-
Tho boy was asleep and the old man on
watch.
Before the old man knew what had hap
poned they had shot him In the shoulder
The boy jumped up with q gun On each
had. dropped two Of the claim Jumpers
and wounded another. The fourth man
ran away without firing e shot
''Then the boy fixed the Old man up a
little and came down into thC town and
told what had happened. The boys goi
together right away and went out 10 the
old mans camp and brought him back to |
town.
"Thoy found that he wasn't 20 very bad. |
~ hurt. When they told the boy that his !
father was an right The kId dropped TO the |
floor like be- WAS shot
"Thev picked him up and laid him ln a
bunk and then they found out that be- |
wasn't q boy az an, but q girl, ana ns |
pretty "a Firl na you'd want 10 look az.
AS I get The story the old man was In |
body told him about ihla place ills wife
war dead and boz bad only one chlll-ihB [
g.r
"iIe wanted 40 come our hero and No. /
dIl uoi knoa what ~ 20 With her, Dut aho I