The San Francisco call., 1897-10-02
NEWS BROUGHT. DOWN BY THE
NORTH FORK.
Returning Prospeotors Tell Of an Early Win
ter IN the North and Threatened
Starvation Boats Blocked on
the Yukon.

4 ardson 81 learned ( hat the two com panies
had. b ad q conference on the 10Th Of The
| m onth,: il nd estimated: that there were
/ bon 800 people then in the Klohdike
district. Am number of these had their
I supnties for the winter, HAVING brought
tlhem in over the trait, but the larger
I mum Der were either entirely with out out
/. fits orr only partially prepared for the
! wiglter: f.. :.. =.:.. I: Il:
. The; n. a. .T.."and. Z. Com pany had 400
! paif orders untitled and NO provisions
t With which to- fill them, having closed up
their store entirely. The ALASKA Com
nlereial Company had about 500 paid
orders, +one-third of which had been filled
and there: was on hand enough to I'LL
about tifty more orders. Z his sonstitE fed
| the itle supply at that date, exec pfing
about $500 sacks: OF flour at Circle City,
! VI hich ON. The LIST af. september fhey*=had
!: not been able TO get i'm the river AT; that
+ time they were expecting Il at the Bella,
ii.t he Alice; the Weafe..~ the. Heafy and the
!. Ham iIton would be able to ping up one
load, put the water was SO low on the
Yukon Hats. on the 1st OF :Septe m Der that
the s.. II niitton was NOT able to get
q p having :to:s. discharge her cargo
at II TT = akon, and the other boats
which left ST. Michael after the ist of Sep
tember wo ula ii ave. 10 do the same, unless
the. rains In the upper country. would
rafse@the river, a thing that usually hap.
pens during::* the. latter part OF August or
early part OF Septem ber. ....:. .: :: :. Z. ri
t. Mayor Wood IS party arrived at ST.
Michael. After spending several days in
disehars in2ithei Hrmbol DIT rargo the entire
crew, togel her with the passengers, began
work . constructing their barge and
launched the same the morning OF the
I6!h. They: =e ypecfed to get away about
/ he 18th or:== 2eth, but as everything 3rdi-
Gated an early winter they. would prob
. bly," NOT get as: :faE as. Minook his. season.
| The party in general was in good heaith
I heir barge, Sc attte No l, was mic na med
'.Muc ckluek" by the Indians. ~: - -.
The Berlng Sea, Captain Frank Worth,
arrived at St. Michael on the 6: h day- OF
| August with material for a sternwiieeI
boat, to be placed on the waters of the
Upper YuKon with tie mail and running
into Dawson. City and the White Horse
Rapids on the upper river. Captain
Worth was joined on the 1Tth of August
by Captain Jones, in command OF the
Fisher Brothers, with a cargo of goods
from seventeen Seattle merchants. The
steamer was. finished and launched on the
8 h OF September and christened the
May West, and started up the river on
the morning of the 15 b OF Septerl lber.
Captain Frank Worm is master. T e
Fisher Brothers will return TO Seattle and
THE Beting Sea will go to Siberia for a
cargo of Siberian dogs, TO be used in car
.rving the United States mails between
Juneau and Circle City. Mr.. Hamilton
says: -. =. '5 n.
L 1.-The m jority of the men whom /
found at Dyea and Skaguay on my tri D in
had good outfits, but the trail was SO
crowded and the facilities for putting the
outfits over to the headwaters of the
/ river expeditiously were so limited that
only those without euthts or with small
outfits or few very fortunate ones; who
secured the help Of Indians, would be able
to get over the summit IN time to get
/ down to Dawson before closing in of
W nter. From the condition of things on
the trail and at Dawson and on the latter
| river winter of suffering never before
| + experienced in The Yukon country is in
eyitab BILE.
The Hamilton is at ST. Michael, loaded
/ and ready to go to Andrewski. The other
boats, when last heard from, were be-
i ween the mouth OF. the river and Fort
! Yukon. Father Barnum, the other white
| residents and the Indians at st. Michael,
| predict an early winter. Snow fell at ST.
I Michael on the 10th OF September but it
was all gone in a day or two. One sign
| that has i'm pre-, sed the old inhabitants is
the fact that the ducks and geese have
lett for the south much earlier than
| nsuaf." w. A. STEEL.