The herald., 1897-08-08
DEATH AND WEALTH
GO HAND IN HAND
TRUTH ABOUT THE LAND OF
RICHES TOLD BY A RESIDENT
OF DAWSON CITY

respondence to The Herald.) A letter
has just been received here by G. A.
Schlichting of No. 80 Third avenue,
New York, from a friend of his, Henry
REIN. now at Dawson City in the Klon-
dyke, which pictures in realistic fashion
life as ii actually is in this principal city
of the new Ell Dorado. The letter con-
tains many new facts and gives details
of frontier life that take the reader back
to the days of 40.
1t gives new insight into the actual
methods of life in the metropolis of the
Klondyke, and indicates what ripe
harvest death is likely to reap before the
first breath of next spring is felt in these
diggings of the north. 1t is tale that
should cause the optimistic gold seek
ers to stop and think before embarking
on trip to the Klondyke this fall. 1t
shows that discretion is by far the bet
ter part Of grubbing for wealth as it is
of valor. This is the letter, for the first
time published:
DAWSON CITY, B. c., July Sd,
1S97-Dear Friend: When we were off on
that Fourth Of July trip a year ago,
neither you nor had any idea that an
other year would see me in place where
American holidays are forgotten in
search for such fortunes as we never
even thought about. Tomorrow is the
Fourth of July, and l suppose that is
why think Of the things that happen
ed year ago. Well, this is the queerest
place you ever saw. I have had the old
timers out here tell me stories about the
days of 40 in California that were not
in the same class with what I see hap
pen every day here.
II suppose back In the states in Gods
country, we call it up here, you are
hearing lot about the money that is
being made in these diggings and how
everybody Is going to be rich. There is
no doubt in my mind that there never
was anything like this before anywhere.
It isn't a question of finding the gold.
It is a question Of getting 1t out. If half
the stories we hear are true, there is
enough gold in the Klondyke to make
everybody rich that comes here.
THAT is one side of the story. But,
friend, there is another, too. Whoever
comes in here, the way things are now,
must make up his mind to suffer in vari-
Gus ways. If he happens to strike a
streak of good luck, then he is likely to
have enough to eat. If he does not, he
might as we'll be in hades with broken
back. There is no worse place on earth
for man without money than mining
camp. There are 800 claims staked out
within twenty miles of this place, 80
you can see how much chance there is
for the newcomer. Everything that Is
worth anything has been gobbled up
around here, so that the only thing left
to do Is to move north, and that means
to move farther into country that Is
1hhi sYags55 8 s55ne eyer ~ s Asifckn Everything goes
here. The saloons fAever close. Gam
bling goes On at all hours. In fact moth
ing in the way of dissipation is ever
checked at ALL There is no city gov
ernment in this place of tents and shan
ties, but we have a vigilance committee e
which takes the place of both the gov
ernment and the laws You see this Is
British country up here, and most of us
are Americans, so we do not know much
about what the law is that governs
this part of the counry. This being the
case, we run the place like we think we
ought to. 1 don't mind telling you I am
one of the vigilantes myself.
IT wish you could take trip around
town and see these things for yourself.
Why, it is nothing at all for thousand
dollars to change hands on the turn of
q card. I mean that much in gold dust,
for real money is scarce article out
here. Every man has sack of dust ana
he buys or CANDLES by the ounce or frac-
tion thereof. The dance halls are lively
enough, too, for there is lot of women
up here, such as they are, most of them
having come in from Seattle and San
Francisco. 1 reckon there are about $500
people here, all told, but they make n ose
enough for twice that many.
There is not as much killing going on
here as you would think for, because we
do not think much of bad men up here
We have planted about dozen of these
in the last two months, and it has had
the effect of keeping the tough sort
quiet. 1 write about night, but we don't
have any night here. You see the sun
sets about 10 p. M. and rises at a. M,
but it never gets dark. You can read a
newspaper out of doors a t midnight. So
you see it don tmake much difference
when you sleep. The result is that the
people here don't have any regular time
for sleeping or eating at all. They just
live like they want to.
You see all kinds of people here.
believe that every nation that we ever
heard of in New York has got omebody
out here who belongs to it. Everybody
is as good as everybody else, it don't
make any difference what color he is.
There is one old fellow that used to be a
slave and his wool is as gray as Sleeps
pelt. He came up here with freighting
outfit and did not have any idea of going
after gold, but when he did get here, old
as he was he got the fever He staked
out claim and you can believe it or not,
but that old devil has cleaned up $4,000
in good dust You ought to hear him talk
about what he is going to do with it.
His name, he says, is st. John Ather-
ton, and he comes from down in Geor-
ga. Just piece out of Atlanta he
says. He says that the daughter of the
man that owned him during the war is
living there yet on the old plantation,
very poor. The old man is going back,
so he says, and is going to buy that plan
tation and then he is going to have this
woman that is there do nothing but live
like a lady all the rest of her life. That
is one of the most curious things I've
heard since I've been UP here. and !
believe the old man means Just what he
says.
IF the papers printed half the queer
things l see up here 1t would be better
than any book. About three months GO
there was an old fellow came from back
nd he had with hin, ho,, 80 ,l>...