The San Francisco call., 1897-09-11

sickness of any kind.
L. V. Holder, % years Old, was found
in his bunk on the Cleveland and was one
OF the m ost enthu,iastic on board, on az
count of his escape from Dawson before
the winter. Holder is from New York
State and went to the mines with money
enough to see him through and with
which to pick up a bargain here and there.
He went in by way of the Chi!coot Pass
early last spring, but he had enough ex-
perienco to make his opinion of value.
First off" said the New Yorker, "you
tell all the young fellows that the kion-
dixie Is good place to steer clear OF just
at this time. | went In there with little
money, did little prospecting and moved
about great deal. | saw al | wanted OF
it, and predict much suffering up there
this winter. It's sickly. There's lack
of food and shelter such as the climate de-
mands.
Yes; l found plenty OF pay dirt, but
could not mine it. You see, the ground
is all mushy, and as fas. as a hole is dug
il fills up. / THINK one cannot mine there
to any advantage in summer, except in
very few places. Food is bound to be
scarce. Just think, last June they stopped
selling more than one sack OF -four 10 a
person, and they took good care to see
that no one man was allowed 10 purchase
more than one sack. An early and severe
winter is predicted by all the old-timers,
and the Indians, too, say the same. Ny
advice is to keep out OF tie X ond!ke at
this time. | don't care how well equipped
you may be to go in, money will not buy
flour and meat when there's none to be
b ad at any price. There will be so many
people in want of food this winter that ii
u man gets in with good supply he will
have to diviie it. He could not see men
starve near him, OF course, and especially
when the hungry ones are willing 20 pay
any price for food. The Klondike is not
such snap as some men seem to believe,
and those who have not been on the
ground cannot appreciate the real condi-
tions here. The principal dread is lack
OF food there during the winter, and all
who can do so Will try hard to get down
the river before the freeze"
Holder is Ell route to his home in New
YORK. He brou ht some gold out with
return to the Klondike.
has been in the Yukon for three years,
comes out with his wife and four ch ldren.
He sold out his interests there, and practl-
caliy fed for fear of starvation.
The people who are going in there this
winter" be said, "are crazy. There Will
be 10000 people in there this winter, and
very little to feed them. AT least 1900 men
will come out before winter sets in II they
can get away. When l left Dawson there
were at least 5000 people there, and they
were coming in at the rate of forty to fifty
a day. Very little pit has been made
to build houses. for logs cost IS each, and
if they DO not want to freeze to death the
coming winter they will have to take their
small boats and 60 down the river I'M
mediately TO Circle City or Forty Mile.
81 started down from Dawson on the
Weare, and when that steamer ran
aground on the bar near Circle City got
aboard the Healy with my family and
came out down to ST. Michael. The
Weare is undoubtedly done for until
summer, and her services are a severe loss
to the miners, as all the boats are needed
that can possibly be brought into requisi-
ton to get supplies up the river. and the
i
destination. Probably but a few of the
men who are rushing into the Yukon
country are fit for the work. should say
not more than one-third OF them can cope
with the difficulties and hardships OF the
lite. 1t is all that an ordinary man can
do to exist. 1t takes two weeks to sink
shaft to bedrock anywhere. III 1T turns
out we'll man must breathe smoke down
in the hole or stand at the wlndlass and
pull up 200 pound buckets of gravel, while
the mercury Is 20 below zero. Often a
man will come up hot and perspiring out
of the shaft and have to expose himself in
that condition TO the icy blasts OF tie
Arctic winter. Nothing but muscle and
endurance is good for anythin, in that
country.
Those thousands of men who are rush
ing in there without money or grub. or
only a limited amount, will be in bad
shape. A mine owner. no matter how
rich he may be IN gold, has no food, and
he will only employ men who have their
own supplies. There will be 1000 10 5000
idle men in Dawson this winter, and L
should say that there will De 500 sunk Tor
every one taken out. There will not be
nearly so muCn HluIuS gOiHE Oh oo - eAAAo
crowd had stayed out, for the crowd VIII
eat the food that the miners should have
The miners cannot work without ample
food, and consequently their will be
great shrinkage in able-bodi men by
reason of the scarcity in food Food could
not be bought when left Dawson City.
"Of course those who have supplies will
have 10 divide them with those who have
not. There VIII be no getting out OF the
country. aud they will not see men starve
while there is food in ca mp. Those who
have amply provided themselves with
food will be required 10 give up part,
which will so cripple them that they will
be unable to prosecute work with vi9or
and carry cut their plans. There are
good many horses in the country now,
but The prospects are that they will starve
this winter. Last winter they fed the
horses -four and barley. This winter the
men will need the flour the ms selves"
ATLAATIC LINEK ADRIFI.