The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-27
WHERE MONEY IS CHEAP.
A THOUSAND DOLLARS a DAY Is
NOT EXTRANAGANCE.

The Present Situation at the Great
Gold City of Dawson-Preparation
for the winter.
Dawson City letter to the St. Louis Globe
Democrat.
The one place in all the world where
money has no value is on the Klondike.
Men think no more of spending from $500
to $1,000 a day than of eating three square
meals. The poorest kind of whisky and
beer finds ready sale over the bars at fif-
ty cents a drink and the saloons pay no
revenue to. the government. Night and day
scores OF gambling games are running in
fun blast. Behind every bar are cans tin
cups and beer glasses containing pounds
of the yellow metal fresh from the mines.
Men come in from the digglngs and take
their places at the gambling tables with
the ease and nonchalance of millionaire
gamblers. Tonight swift Water Bill"
young man from Spokane, Wash, who
owns one Of the richest claims on Ell Do
RADIO Greek, came to town and took seat
at the faro table. In an hour he had lost
$500 in gold nuggets. Arising from the
table, he lighted a cigar and invited the
house to drink at his expense. The treat
cost him SIP Hardly an evening passes
but that similar scenes are enacted, and
yet the old-timers aver that the town as
dull and that real good times viii not come
around before 1.-THE spripg clean-ups."
One year ago the I'D of this month the
first gold was taken out of the tributaries
| of the Klondike. have made careful
inquiries among the trading companies,
the wealthy and more intelligent class of
miners, the government officials and with
the ordinary rum of miners themselves,
ana, averaging ,thelE estimates, it is safe
| TO say that between four and ave tons of
gold have been taken out of the mines
| on El Dorado and Bonanza creeks. That
amount of gold represents $2,741 100 in
COM And yet not one-ffth of these rich
diggings have been properly worked and
many of the claims hardly prOspected. The
hardpan in FL Dorado creek is rough and
ridged and partly rifIied, and on this char
acter of foundation the gold has accu-
mulated In large quantities. In many
places the yellow metal is almost free of
foreign. substance. 1t is hard to realize
now plentiful the gold really is on some
of the claims. Miners DO not now bestow
a passing comment of surprise claims
yielding less than 5000 or $1,000 a day.
Bonanza is another rich creek, but the full
extent of its wealth cannot be definitely
uSlSA uilil6Q lOE several months OF until
the dumps the dirt that is taken out
during the winter and sluiced in the
sprlng-are worked. Other creeks are
showing up well, and the approaching
winter promises to make Dawson City
the liveliest mining camp the world has
ever witnessed.
Dawson City Is situated on the northeast
side of the Yukon, forty miles in a direct
line from the Alaska boundary and twice
that distance from where the river crosses
the line. The population is about $500 or
5000 people, including a dozen families
and about twenty-five ror thirty children.
The Klondike river comes dtetn on the
east side and cuts theatown site in twain
That portion of the town on the south
side of where the Kiondike joins the Yu-
kon is called ''Louse Town" and, in fact,
was the originaiosite used in years past
as an available camping point, and occa-
sionally rowing bands of Indians stopped
there. At present Mr.. Thomas O'Brien
has store, and two or three saloons com
prise the business portion of the place.
Some forty or fifty tents house 200 or 300
people, and the road to the mines leads
past this place. The ground is much
higher and dryer than on the north side,
but owing to the proximity of the noun
tain the site is not large enough for much
of a town. On the north side of Dawson
City proper the mountains open out and
curve around a marshy piece of land of
of the poor drainage, much sickness pre-
vailed, and several deaths from the effects
of typhoid fever occurred. There is hard
ly spot on the town site but where the
moss and earth can not be cleared away
to a depth of twelve or fifteen inches and
cake of frozen ground or ice can be
found. There can be no question as to
the locality being unhealthy and subject
to malarial ailments. In other than warm
months a strong wind usually blows up
the Yukon from the north, except when
| the weather is colder than 30 de-
grees below zero and then a dead
calm prevails and Dawson city is sit
| uated on a bend in the river so as to re-
| ceiVe the full benefit of the chilling blasts
! Back on the gulehes where the mines are
| located the weather is considerably more
moderate and there is very little wind
The Yukon In front of Dawson City is one
| third of a mile wide, and the addition of
the Klondike waters forms a large eddy
directly in front of the town, and into
which the drainage and sewerage of the
| city empties. Consequently the water is
| impregnated with foreign elements and
has occasioned much sickness to those US
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