The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-02
VERY RICH BUT HARD TO GET.
JOURNALISTS IDEAS ON KL0N-
DIXIE MINES AND MINERS.

only one ont of Twenty Strike Gold
rbough There Is UnbOundea
wealth in the HiIIs-Many Miners
return to Dawson City Empty
Hnnded-WaEes For WOrk-The
Fields. Mr.. Haines Thinks, VIII De
developed sIOwIy--A Pen Pictare
of the Country.
san Francisco Sept. 1.-THE Bulletin has
-.,aived a letter from Charles Haines,
dated Dawson City. July Is. Mr.. Haines is
q vel known newspaper writer and his
letter is the first written by trained
newspaper man to come out of the Klon-
dixie gold regions.
He says: The rich diggings have been
comparatively idle during the summer al
though the output from Eldorado and Bo-
ranza creeks was famous and far short
Of the gold in sight. There is every pros
meet of an immense output of gold from
this district next spring. The total out
nut this season is as near as 1 can judge,
about $1,000, eco, but very little ground has
been worked and the dumps will, like some
Of the tailings of old California PAGERS,
ed with improved machinery.
The placers are the most puzzling and
deceiving ! have ever seen. Imagine a
man working on good color and finding
the ground worth only few dollars, and
then turning to a waste of mud and moss
with no surface and unearthing a bo-
nanza That is the situation here and all
no vvI
TO mine does so at the expense of health
and happiness. and it is with him ques-
ton OF making a fortune quickly or
chances will with death. About me are
scores of men VINO can weigh their gold
by the bucketful. and who value their
claims at millions.
-Four hundred valuable diggings are
stretched along creeks. and every digging
is a fabulous mine of gold, yet there are
men who have gone and returned to Daw-
son after searching the great country
berea bouts and never a nugget do they
show for their toll.
"A number of sports are settled on the
creeks and rivers, and for one year the
miner labors The year closes, the wa
ter runs and the seasons output bearly
pays expenses. Not two miles away from
the unfortunate one works a man who has
taken from an uninviting bit of earth a
sack full of gold. The lucky one did not
strike the pocket because of his ability as
a miner; chance favored him and that
was all. In short, the miner guesses at it
and locates any and everywhere. In nine
teen cases out of twenty he misses ii and
has 10 wait another year for new trial
Dawson is merely a collection of log
huts, saloons and a mass of tents about
800 in number. When the long winter
comes and the glass goes down to IS de-
grees below zero there will be intense suf-
fering here and I shudder to think of the
result.
Provisions are going to be very scarce,
and there is little reason 10 doubt that
the entire town will have to get on short
rations during the winter, and that scurvy
viii be rampant. There is a lot of gold
that will remain in camp for it is used as
an equivalent of money and is legal ten
der at SH per ounce. OF the 5000 or 1900
inhabitants, only couple of hundred at
she most have made big strikes. There is
plenty of work at from s15 to
w per day. and many men have
paid $50 or less for living
So far as Stewart and Polly rivers
are concerned they may be rich, but moth
ing like so rich as the Klondike has been
reached
quite a number of people are preparing
TO leave here for Juneau, in case the
steamers cannot get through with provis-
ions and the outlook for a good grub
supply is not encoura ging. In conclusion,
the Alaska and Northwest Territory gold
helds will be developed slowly.
Ten thousand men may come here, but
they will be lost in the vast country when ]
they spread out to prospect. Not more
man 800 of them will strike mine When
'hey do strike pay gravel their fortunes
VIII be made. In years to come, when, at
the price of human life and energy. the
treasures of this great land are located,
the wealth of the north will be something
beyond comprehension