The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-08-30

purchase price of claim. He was wait.
ing for this money with the intention of
coming out with the others. Another
named Fetch died from heart disease on
the night following the day on which he
had settled up all his business preparatory
10 coming out with $4,000. The city OF
Dawson, they say, is on low ground,
stretching along the banks Of an eddy In
the river, and is quite unhealthy. Its
growth up stream is checked by the
miners claims along the Klondike, at the
mouth of which it sits, and its extension
down the stream does not help matters.
Fred w. Cobb, one of the returning
miners in discussing the situation to-day,
said: "For months we camped at the
mouth of Bonanza Creek. watching for
chance to get twenty-foot traction o. the
ground. There Tere hundreds who ranged
over the territory eager to get lay; that
is. TO work on shares, or TO pick up frac-
ton through any failure or lndisposltlon
of those who had them.
THAT find has been entirely exhausted
and those coming now will have to dis
cover and somewhere else. / believe 1t can
be found, for the country is evidently full
of it, Thele are number OF creeks fur
ther up the KIondike than those of the
Discovery, which have scarcely been pros.
pec,ed, and they ought to yield as hand
somely as the Ell Dorado. The search for
Too Much gold creek still goes on. We
don't believe it has been discovered; one
time it is reported to be famous yield
and again it is said to be of no value.
There are many who take no stock In the
story at all, because there is really no de-
pendence to be placed in the word of the
Indians whatever 1t is true that they
nave always said there was gold up the
nlond1ke, but very little attention was
paid to it. There is nothing for the new
conner but to go in and hunt for new fields
and to Jump lively when he hears of a
good strike being made in new district.
These are coming in all the time. There
were three or four new strikes reported
just before we came away.
II may also say that the provisions
that were taken in by steamer just before
we came out were bought up about as fast
as they could be landed, and to me 1t
looks as if there were going to be some
hungry people in there this winter. l be-
lieve the best service that a newspaper
could render just now TO the excited peo-
pie is to warn them to keep away this
winter unless they can take grub enough
in there to last until the river opens
again"
While all this alarm is being expressed
with regard to possible starvation, it is a
fact that the commercial companies have
taken great precaution that there shall be
no stint OF whisky. 1t will not go UP the
river, however. The miners at Dawson,
alarmed at the situation, held a meeting
Iust before the Healey came down, and
passed a resolution to the effect that in
case there was any shortage of provisions
they would foicibly take possession of the
whisky that had taken the place on boats
that should have been given to provi-
sions, and would pour it into the river.
Warning was sent down that provisions
and not whisky were wanted up the river.
As result the whisky had already been
placed on barge for the up trip.
Colonel Erwin Andes, Deputy Collector
here, has been seventeen years in Alaska
and he is OF the opinion that there will be
great distress up the river this winter.
He SAYS the steam boat companies will
never be al BILE to carry in enough supplies
L
The river is open but four months OF the
wear and it would be Impossible for them
to get up the 2000 miles of channel and
out again often enough in more time to
convey provisions for big population.
He says the country can never reach any
degree of development until railroad is
built. The boats cannot make more than
thres trips IN a season. The river, how
ever, is open some considerable time be-
fore the ice breaks up in the harbor here.
So boat is sent up the river just before
it closes and is allowed to winter there.
When the ice begins to run In the spring
she begins her first run up with spring
supplies. The boat has more than once
been caught in the ice on the third trip
and in such instances the distress has
been severe. Last year there was consid-
cradle thieving going on. but Mr.. OglVie