The San Francisco call., 1897-07-19

etc., toward working the rest of the claim.
| From the mouth TO the head Mr.. Bowker
says the claims are equally good. 36
being fully as promising as L. Claim =,
next to Bowker's, is owned by Frank
| Phisceator and another, and has paid
them most handsomely, though as yet
but mere beginning has been made In
! development. Mr.. Phisceator brought
down with him $40, 900 worth of dust, over
and above SIC, 900 paid to his partner, who
remains TO work the claim.
| Clarence Berry is interested in claims
5, ana in Ell Dorado Creek. They have
! got down to bedrock, where the dirt runs
81 to 81 so pan. some pans running to $4
and S..
| So all up the creek. While the details
vary, the results are proportionate to the
amount of work done. and the dirt panned
over has been about the same on the aver
| age. In some places. however, exceed
| ingly rich hauls have been made. Claim
80 yielded $4,000 in dust and nuggets to
! four buckets of gravel. From one hole
AXIS feet on another claim fourteen pans
| of dirt from the bottom yielded $l565, one
| pan giving 1888 so. Claims IA end 10,
owned by party of four from Nanaimo,
| B. g., gave many pans worth $125 each.
Claim so yielded richly, one pan giving
over $500. Claim u cleaned up $4,000 as
result of the winter and spring work.
Mr.. Bowker SAYS that Klondyke River
| is from 150 to 200 miles long. according to
the Indian reports, but that white men
have not gone farther up than about forty
miles from the mouth as yet. The stream
is quite rapid. but good oarsman can run
canoe some thirty miles up.
From what the Indians say the best
fields lie higher up the river. They assert
that in Ell Dorado there is "some gold,
in Hunker more gold" but that another
creek further up is "too much gold. 1t is
safe to say that before the present season
is over, il such realization Of Sir Walter
Raleigh's dreams actually exists, that il
will be found by some OF the numerous
prospectors who are thronging to the
Klondyke from every quarter. Mr.. Bow
her has been in Alaska for the past ten
years. He was with Lieutenant Schwatka
on his trip to the Copper River, besides
going over large part OF the upper
Yukon country, and he says that he has
seen color" on every creek throughout
the country. Yet with all that he has
seen he deprecates any one going into
that country without full information and
a realization of what they Will certainly
and what more they may possibly have to
encounter and being adequately prepared
for the worst.
There'll be many move in the direc-
ton of the Yukon to-day, for the fever is
getting trif1e higher, if anything. All
day yesterday and last evening young
middle-aged and elderly men who are
screwing up their resolution called a. the
Com mmercial Hotel, the chief Alaska head
quarters, 10 talk with some of the crowd
of lucky ones who came down on the Ex-
celslor the other day. Most OF these have
been on the far Yukon for two or three
years, and they are soberiy enjoying their
good clothes and the sights of the City.
When the Orpheum was suggested to one
cid gentleman as good place on last
nights programme he found that it was a
variety show, and he declared at once that
he was going to see a Shakespeare
piece"
About this victorious little band there
may be caught the sweet charm OF P. NJ.
in June just after a rafting thunder
storm. They sit around the hotel lobby
in such restful way, wear their brand
new store clothes and gold watches with
such satisfied and genuine respecta bility
start for the barroom now and then with
such genial CONSCIOUSNESS OF their very
good right to do SO, and life seems so fair
and good and peaceful to them just now
that one gnesses it must be nice to "come
out" with $4,000 in gold dust and sit and
realize it over a gold bound briar pipe.
But then there are 1000 or 5000 of the other
fellows up there who feel good that way
only when the dreams come to their ca bins.
It's nice to hear them tell about the life
up there that goes with the goid-digging
and gold-seeking up on the Klondyke and
adjacent parts; and, by the way, use
long Oh when you pronounce it.
1t was a remarkable shifting OF popula-
ton that followed the K ondyke discov-
cries. Circle City was the metropolis of
the whole placer region and had popula-
tion OF several hundred, with hundreds in
other posts and diggings tributary to it.
The early spring rush to the Yukon prom
issd 10 boom and crowd Circle City
greatly.
Among the earliest to leave here was
man who owned log building at Circle
City, which he had leased for saloon,
dancehall and gam bling place at 5000
month. He figured on re-letting it for
about $500 when he got there this sum-
mer ana found a population Of at least
1900. When he got up the river Circle
City was nearly as deserted as a prehis-
toric ruin. Five or six people had to stay
there, but the boat had to toot a while to
get somebody to take the hawser at the
landing. The whole population was 200
miles up the river-at Dawson.
Dawson, which has just now concen-
trated the whole Yukon population into
town of about 5000, with hundreds more
pouring in, may become Klondyke. T. b,
o. Brien, a well-known trader there, went
back but a few weeks ago. He had visited
Ottawa and got the appointment as post
master and said before he left that the
postoffice name of the place would be so
changed. Miners who certify to Mr..
O Bren's worth and standing give as evi-
dence the fact that he has secured this
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