Middletown transcript., 1897-07-31
IN PERILoUs ALASKA.

IN PERILOUS ALASKA.
Many psop,e who hava bsen in Alas
ka are not d ,zz'sd by tha reports from
there, aud .iha man who has lived
there and whose business interests have
brought him in touch with the mining
region recently opsusd, when asked by
a would-be prospector how to 60 to
the gold fields, gave the !arcjnic, if
not original answer: Don't !"
According to this mans Story, the
camp is owned by a syndicate, and has
been staked out - ) III N extent that
mostof the property which might yield
gold is in its possession, and the people
who work there will be working pri-
marily for this syndicate, and not for
themselves. "The great mistake that
is made by people contemplating trip
to Alaska" he said, ''is that they are
unacquainted with the distance ofthe
mining camp from that part of Alaska
which is the beaten track. Thousands
Of tourists have gone to Alaska in re-
cent years, but they are unacquainted
with the condition Of the country in
which these gold finds have been made,
because the points at which they landed
were hundred of miles removed from
the alleged gold fields. This will be
demonstrated to the men who took pas
sage last week. Those who go to-mor-
row cannot by any possible way reach
the Clondyke region before Septe mber
l. The steamer stops at the mouth of
the Yukon River, at St. Michael's Is
land, and there the responsibility of the
carrier stops. From that point the
man who is looking for gold has to
travel hundreds of miles up the river,
through fords, over carries and trails,
and all along the road he will find toll
gates, which have been erected by the
syndicate, where tolls must be paid and
where baggage is closely scrutinized to
see thatno provisions are being taken
into the country, bsctusa selling pro-
visions is the prerJg Itive of this syndi-
cate. No man could travel along these
trails without Il guide, and ths Indians
who act in that cIptclty charge en- )r-
NOUS fees for their services.
"But even after tie man has over
come the difficulties of the trip he will
find himself beset with obstacles greater
than were encountered by miners in
any Of the gold fields that have yet b5en
discovered. The winter season begins
about September 1, aud las s eight
months, the average temperature for
most of that tims being IS degrees be-
low zero. After that long season is
over there are tw) mouths of spring,
during which time the prospective
miner may make ready for work by
stalking out his claim or getting things
Ito rights, and then comes the work.
ing season, which is on ly two months.
Ddring the eight month s of positive
idleness he has bsen mainta ined by the
syndicate, to which hs paid S400 on en-
tering the camp for one years keep,
and the aver age man, with only little
money in his pocket to begin business
with when the summer season comes,
usually tries to make the sum larger
by gambling. 1t is safe to believe that
when the eight months of enforced
idleness are over and the TINA for ac-
tual work begins, not one in ten of
those who 60 to the gold fields with a
little fund will have enough money to
buy pick and shovel if they should |
not have one. Their only remedy then
is to walk back, or TO engage as work.
men for the large corporation. In |
South America, in Africa or 10 the |
various districts of the United States |
where gold has been discovered, men |
have had the opportunity, when they |
failed to find gold, of going to farming |
or making living In many ways. Bat
in the Alaskan country there is abso-
lutely nothing to do during two-thirds
of the year, and to return would be an
impossibility in the winter TINA, be.
cause the sno vs. wipe out and obliter-
ate every vestage of the trails that leads
along the Yukon River. l look upon
every man that goes into that country
as not only foolhardy, but one who runs
the risk of exchanging his liberty for
absolute slavery.
'The mines may yield S150.OO0, 600.
like tie Aulder Gulcb, in Montana,
but that money went to thousands of
peaple, while this would go to the syn.
dictate, or those Who bought land from
them. There are mistaken notions,
als', as 10 shaking out claims in tn t
country. A man has Alright to claim
one hundred fpetsQuare, and he may
sti Ike out u pieceof that size on any
creek. but he Is entitled to no more,
aid il he fihds no gold IN any of his
claims of that size,aLd wishes to work
further, he will BE- compelled to buy
from the syndicate, which has land
laid aside forthat purpose. y
One of the leading men of this coun-
try, man whose name is familiar all
over the land. in speaking of the gold
fever, said:
Men will 60 to hell for gold. no
matter whether it is discovered atthe
north or south pole T at the equator.