The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-08-03


:. ON BOARD OF THE STEAMSHIP
MEXICO, July 2S ~(yfa Seattle, WASH,
Aug. 2).-No PERSON in our party of nearly
800 prospectors and gold-seekers attracts
as much attention as .Jo&quin Miller, the
. P6et'of tre Siertas and pioneer of the
early mining discoveries in California,
Idaho and Montana. He is theobiect of
:. all eyes; easy to approach, a charming
conyersationalist,a and possesses: the typ
icaI characteristics in both .actions:and
features as observed in the better class OF
rough and ready miners of: the g1lden
days OF 40: He is going to the.very heart
of the great North American continent,
not a great way from where: the imag-
= mary Arctic circle cuts off the longitudesr
and in the guise of miner, strapped and
out of work; with little or no proyisi ons,
he VIII seek: labor in the mines and do as
other miners do. He is the Oldest mining
man*of our party, being over 55 years OF
ge, wears broad brlm hat, long, fow-
:lng .:iron-gray locks of hair and beard,
: which correctly represent the stage inter
!: pretation OF Rip Van Wfnkle returning
I: home,after twenty years OF sleep.
S.: Without am oment's hesitation when
asked hiEl 1or. an interview he readily con-
sented ana told OF the early mining days
: on the Pacific Coast and com pared them
: with. the. present rush to the GOLD fields of
Alaska. He said: =.
: !. :. !. although we have been together less
than a week I've not seen pistol, heard
:: an. oath, nor have I observed any rude
ness. on. the part:of any OF our passengers.
:. And what q: contrast it IS, too, compared
with the pioneer days OF Pacific Coast
mining i am not insinuating that the
old class of miners were rude or ungen-
tlemanly, but they were of the rough and
!. ready sort, ever ready to resent an unjust
imposition, and their honest hearts were
as tender as. chiid's. Their ompositions
: were of the most enduring quail
tiles and were not so liable to get dis
=. .couraged and turn hack when the actual
hardships really commenced.
- $50 far our trip has been like contin-
.uous Sunday. The reserve so common to
civilization has melted away and we have
come together, like the argonauts of old,
formed lifelong friendships, that will last
for many, many years to come. This was
not so easy in olden times, and while this
ship has on board. 300 miners, men from
all parts of the world, know OF and have
heard of no clannishness nor selfishness.
In the. olden days the Yankees kept to-
gether to some extent, at least, and the
Missourians were very clannish indeed, as
[ remember and huddled pretty much
together for great many years. But the
New Orleans people, gamblers and law
yers, were clannish to the very last. In
these and like things, judging from short
=: observation, there is noted improvement
over the California miners of early days.
/ These. :Klondyke fellows are more ap-
: proachable and of good breeding and easy
address,: =.~:..... ~.
III ;"IhaYe heard a great many men say
that this is owing to what is generally re-
T. garded as the rigid and strict enforcement
of: British law. AS an American citizen,
reared and educated upon the sun kissed
slope Of the Pacific Coast, l shall not sub
scribe to any such assertion, and l am free
to say.that believe it is due to the broad
principles and in Interpretation of what con-
stitutes. good. able American. citizens hip
rather than: what's termed respect or fear
OF the British law. AS for the miners and
the class. of: people in the ukon l know
nothing, but / am going there to find out.
..''About mYself-weH, that's another
story. / hope to go straight through to
the. bead waters of the \ ukon and then
down the stream and lakes as fast as pos
sible TO the mines. lam requested by the
papers, upon arriving at the mines, to
leave off the handle of my name and ap-
ply for work the same as any other old
California miner would do:
II am. expected to work at anything /
ca n get. to do for a few weeks, sharing all
the hards hips and privations that other
miners endure. Il shall report The facts
as.I find them, the character oi.work, how
: easy or hard to get, the supply .ot food
and all the available information about
the placer mines. ana taxing with me
. forty pounds of provisions which l e1-
! pect to carry on my back over the noun
tains. shall have twenty pounds of ba-
: con, twelve pounds of sea- biscuitand hall
pound of lea. NV equipment will oon-
sst of one pair of bankers, ubper
:. sheet, macintosh, some rope and sail
to rig on the raft which / expect to build.
My hardware consists of q, small AKA
small handful OF. nairs and a lackknl1tee. 1e
All of the cooking utensils, ETC.. VIII
have consist Of big sheet-iron cup. -ls' 5
my intention to make the trip entirely.
alone, but, of course, this may be quail
fed according toisubsequent conditions.
Rest assured that.I am not seeking hard
ships or dong this thing for fun.
u expect TO go. through to The head OF