The evening times., 1897-12-27
SLEEPING TO SAVE FOOD
Klondike Gold Miners Living on
One Meal a Day.
MERCURY II BELOW ZERO
Dawsont- Population Also Redu-ed
70 Terrible straits Provisions
We're Expected, but the Cargo
That Came Consisted OF WHISKY.
Big Uprising Of ,Inborers.

Dyea, Alaska De-. Z fvia Seattle, Wash.
Dec. 27 y john Lindsa y of Olympia. WASH.
after terrible trip alone. nying from the
starvation of the Kiondike, has arrived
here frou Dawson. He hrings more iiii-
portan, and Interesting information than
any other man who has come from Dawson
within ths last thirty days.
II left Dawson November g." he SAID.
land attn told 4 iaade the best time out
OF anybody. Well, l had to. II IL had
been otherwise, would Lave starved 10
death on the river. Our party numbered
four-Frahk Blaine, of Olympia; Thoinas
Storey, OF Vancouver, WASH; Rotsert
Glynn, ofseattle, ami myself. The others
have not reached the coast yet.
"The Yukon River was late in freeziag
over-later than for ten years, was told
but when we got to Fort selkirk il dis!
freeze. To that point we had travelled Oh
the side iee- At Fort Selkfrk we We're 50
situated, on account OF the ice and for
other rcaSons, that We were conpeu.d To
abandon most Of our siiin supply OF 10 d,
and all our tlankets, and travel over the
rough ice. The thermometer averaged Il
degrees below zero, SO you see what Iii-n
can do when he must.
I'VE We're assisted considerably by the
Canadian police. Except At Lake Lebarge,
where there is pIent y, the police are short
Of food, but they lad begun to distribute
it down tc the Lewis river ports before
we got out OF the country.
when left Dawson the exodus down
the river to Fort Yukon had stopped. This
was On account or fear which had arisen
that there was not the abundance of pro
visions below that had been reported. The
river was high for three weeks, and
everybody at Dawson was betting as ~
whether 4 boat would come up or not.
saw as much AZ 81 O,OO0 waegereh that a
steamer would arrive with grub The
only thing that appeared was small
boat, nd it, instead OF wing provisions,
was loaded with whisky.
This vessel arrived October II. Tine
nun-arrival OF the expected steamboats,,
the Zella and weare, put the people in
Dawson hetween the devil and the deep
sea. We saw that it wlsa a case of leave
or starve. 1 wonder that We did not
freeze to death in IL degrees below zero.
which temperature often prevailed at
Dawson. At night we built fires just
large enough to curl ourselves around AMI
tried to sleep. We took ourturns on watch
to feed the fires and slept face to back
to keep from freezing TO death Blaines
feet are frozen, and Storey's ears require
nursing 10 save them.
mo new strikes have been made ol the
Yukon that 1 htaId OF. There are bush'Is
of gold to ounces of food. Little work IS
being done on tine claims on Bonanza DrEl-
dorado creek, or anywhere else, pyins 10
the lack OF food.
''When left those creeks the miners
were living on one meal dav and sleepilg
as much ast they could in order TO save food.
This was also the condition Of things in
Dawson when We left. IL some reiisf does
not get through before spring many Ill
go to sleep weak from lack OF food and
awaken in that other country with lit tsstTcets
of gold.
THE situation was made worse on the
Klondikc Y big uprising OF labors1;. 1t
was gathering strength and extending to
all the dicgings in the region when left.
The men want 81. 80 AN hour, but the own
ers of the claims will not pay more thln 81.
II the difficulty is not adjusted soon the
output OF gold for next season will lie
small"