Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-07-23
JOURNEY TO THE KLONDIKE NO
PLEASURE EXCURSION.
SUPPLIES LIKELY TO BE SHORT.
BUT ONE MORE STEAMER FROM ST.
MICHAEL's TO DAWSON.
Portland Sails From Seattle for 81.
offchaers, with 12S Passengers,
n Few of Them Women
More Stories of Fabu-
Ious Finds.

San Francisco, July 22.-The Alaska
| Commercial Company's steamer Bertha ar
| rived from Unalaska to-day with 500 tons
of concentrates from the Apollo mine at
Unga and bar of bullion from the same
source, but brought no gold from the hlon-
dixie region.
Captain Hays. of that vessel. speaking OF
the Klondike boom. however, said:
The fact that the new gold fields are
two thousand miles from St. Michaels ana
that the difficulties of transportation are
innumerable cannot be too fOrciby i'm
pressed upon intending prospectors. The
newspapers will be responsible for the loss
of many lives and a great deal Of suffering
and hardship if they do not strongly advise
the public that the river Yukon, now that
the mountain torrents have ceased running
is very low. and consequently much OF
the 5000 tons of supplies now awaiting
transportation cannot possibly be conveyed
to their destination for some time"
The Messrs. Sloss, of the Alaska Com
mercial Company, are equally frank. One
of the firm said:
what we most fear is that the excite
ment will cause many people to rush north
ward without properly considering how
they are to live through the winter after
they get there. We have now about 5000
tons of provisions on the Yukon, and we
are sending large additional quantities. but
we are not able 20 say whether the supply
will be equal to the demand, nor when the
supplies will reach their destination with
any certainty. The sternwheel steamer with
which the Excelsior is to connect will be
the last to make the Yukon river trip this
season. 1t will reach Dawson City with a
barge in tow about September, and must
Immediately return. as the river usually
freezes over early in October.
1T is for this reason principally that we
have declined to carry more than the usual
complement OF passengers on the Excelsior
this trip. We could easily have constructed
accommodations for another hundred, but
preferred to utilize the space for supplies
TO feed those already there and on the
way"
Seattle. Wash. July 22.-At 1857 o'clock
this afternoon the North American Trans
portation Company's steamer Portland
sailed from Seattle to st. Michaels. Alas
ka, from which point her passengers will
be transferred TO Yukon river steamers
and carried to the famous Klondike gold
fields. There were 12S passengers, few of
whom were women. 1t can be stated al
most positively that unless something I'M
expected happens, the Portland's passen-
gers will reach Dawson City, at the juno
tion of the Yukon and Klondike rivers,
without experiencing any hardships worth
mentioning.
L. NJ. Culbertson. who went to the Klon-
dixie last spring. has written home, say
ing:
I'VE heard stories about the mines that
will scarcely be believed. One claim wash
ed out over Sl5O,O0O in one day. and others
as high as $4,000 and 100000. Some have
had to clean up the boxes as high as three
times day, but this cleanup does not
represent one days work, but the wash for
the whole winter.
taken UP, and the creeks where the rich
finds have been made are taken clear up
to the top 12d Of the mGTntains Sin but we hope
us before long. The stories we heard n
Seattle do not half tell the story of their
richness. but they don't belong to u.s. and
the only thing We can do is to do the next
best and try to find come more. When we
arrived here, the miners were nearly out
wages are SIS per day at the diggings,
but they are trying to cut down TO SO and
TO cut. quit and came back to camp as
they claimed they could not afford TO work
for less than SIS, and pack their grub In
over the trail-one of the worst trails YOU
can imagine, as I can vouch for-and I
think / can give you a very good idea of
their condition by a description of a man
through rotten straw. The country is ali
covered with moss from two to four feet
ueep, ana ine ITOSI Is out ABOUT twelve
fourteen inches and you go down to the
bottom at every step.
The mines are fifteen miles from here
and they have to pay 2S cents a pound 10
have supplies packed in, but when IT
freezes up, ii is an easy matter to sled
supplies up the river and creeks, and If we
get located this summer will take in a
years supplies that way"
Fred Price. a Seattle man. who has re-
turned from the klondike with several
thousand dollars in gold dust, says that
there is great danger of suffering on the
part OF those who attempt to go Into that
country without an abundant supply of
provisions. He does not believe the trad
ing companies can begin to supply the de-
mand which will be made on them. Price
I kinks the men who take up horses to cross
the pass from Dyea will do well. They can
get their provisions I'm easy that way. and
sell the horses for dog meat afterward.
He also advises newcomers TO look for
claims on other creeks beside the tribu-
taries OF the Klondike, the latter being
pretty well staked out. Stewart river
creeks promise as well as the Klondike.
He says further that gambling deus and |
dance houses have been already opened in |
Dawson. Games of every description are |
running and some of the miners play very
heavy. They go into the mining town in |
sheer desperation at the loneliness and |
gloom of winter, and gamble recklessly TO |
break the monotony. Price says IL is hard |
TO get along in Dawson City on less than |
$50 day. and many of the men spend ten |
times that much. He claims that |