The San Francisco call., 1897-08-21

believe 1t has all been taken out. We
were not satisfied with what found and
the second season we started up the RIVER
to find the place where all this gold came
from. We believes that. somewhere up
the river was a golden bar, so to speak
an original storehouse of gold. If we
could find that place we knew we would
never have TO prospect any more. Up the
river we went, taking up few pans here
and there and not infrequently striking
rich but small pockets il the sand. We
passed many little creeks, but did not go
up them very far. A few pats would be
taken from the surface, but we generally
found little more than a color or a few
cents to the pan anu on we went up the
main water course.
"We passed by the now famous Klondike
River. Think OF it! Walked over for
tune without looking at it. We went up
the river short distance and prospected
little, but found nothing encouraging.
Ny partners insisted that we were vast
ing time so we dropped back with the
current and went on up the Yukon, still
hopeful of striking the original bank of
gold, which should make us so rich that
mating the gold in figures. We were
thinking about pounds of gold. Now L
believe that where we missed pounds
tons of gold are likely to be taken out.
1t is up there. if it can be found.
81 calculate that enough people are 60
ing in there to find a good deal of it.
Well, we never found the original bar, or
source of the gold. The 'tenderfoot'
from the States has got the most of it.
The formation of the country did not look
just right to US. Our grub began TO run
low and we had to put back.
my partners deserted me-" be con-
tinued, ''but l was determined TO stick it
out alone as long as l could. / knew the
gold was up there somewhere and hated
to turn tail. So l continued to prospect
alone. l found pretty good place on a
bar and went to work. | was rocking
away cne day, when suddenly 1 heard
familiar sound. 1t was the click, click of
the poles of a boat coming up the river.
1 stopped and listened. Yes, there was
no mistake. saw three men in a boat
coming around bend below me. /
wanted more grub. | thought they were
tenderfeet to be coming up the river at
that time of the year. | knew that they
had not seen me, so l slipped across the
river where l had gone into camp, and
built fire. 1t was about supper time.
figured they would see the smoke and
come over, and they did. l had caught a
salmon that weighed about fifty pounds.
the Indians catch salmon in the upper
Yukon that weigh 100 pounds-en? Yes,
know I h at ia q Fl sh sfnrv hut IL IA a oood
one and true. By the way, the name
Klondike is an Indian word and it means
plenty of fish. Well, 1 had half loaf of
bread left. To keep it fresh / wrapped it
in cloth and buried it in hole l made in
the sand. I cooked plenty of fish that
night. Those fellows stopped, came over
and invited them to supper.
"Thet fish was fine. i gave them all
they could eat and then went down to the
bar and dug my bread out of the sand. l
sliced off very thin piece for each of US,
renlaced the loaf careiu ly and went back
TO the supper-tabIe. The supper ia BILE was
a chunk of wood. They thought the
bread was delicious. ! pride myself that
l can produce as good bread as any live
man can make in frying-pan. Ny -four
had nearly run out and l wanted more.
One of those fellows, after eating his
slice, said, I'D like to have another piece
of that bread, mister
"'Oh, no. said, bread is too scarce an
article in this country TO have more than
one slice day.
"There is where l overdid myself" said
Sperry. II scared EN-. You ought to