The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-10-14
THE PASSING THR0NG.

amount OF food al Dawson City" said
Martin Maloney. the Juneau lawyer and
partner Of Jack Dalton, al the Butler yes
+ rerday afternoon. The article states thai
s. P. Randolph OF this city. writes from
{ Dawson City under date Of September L
/ Randolph says there viii be no starvation;
! thar he has just made a trip through the
/ warehouses and that he saw food stacked
! Up high as the ceiling. Randolph is 2 new
| man at Dawson. knows very little about
the condition OF affairs as they actually eX-
ist and FOR that reason he wrote that there
would be 20 starvation. II Mr.. Randolph
. had struck Dawson without any supplies
+ and had tried 20 buy some Of that food
! stacked up 10 the ceiling he would not
. have written that letter The food is there
and no one ever said Il was not. But the
+ Alaska Commercial Company and the
. North American Transportation * Trad
+ ing Company do not OWE II. They would
/ have no more right TO sell one penny's
worth Of It than I would have were at
/ Dawson. That food belongs 70 miners.
| who have been working their claims on the
i various creeks near Dawson. They came
I - Dawson in the summer and ordered
! their winters supply OF food. They
/ bought just what they actually needed,
/ paid for IL and have stored It in the ware
i houses Of the companies. II the latter
We're to attempt 10 sell II there would
/ be a very serious row 81 Dawson. But
/ the companies viii not try 1t. They know
4 that II does not belong 70 them. Just as
soon as there Is sufficient snow on the
/ ground these miners who own X VIII go
/ TO Dawson and pack IL on sleds TO their
/ winter homes. AS I say, il VIII be SUI
feient 10 keep them going during the win
| ter, and that is all IL VIII do. II viii not
/ be sufficient to supply hundreds of others
| who are there without any food; men who
Were not so fortunate as TO contract for
/ supplies early In the summer.
! when you speak of a shortage OF food
at Dawson some people lose sight or your
| meaning. When I tell you that Dawson
| viii have starvation this winter at her
doors, do not mean that there is no food
| at Dawson at the present time. There is
| food al Dawson. But taking into con-
| sidera ton the number OF mouths that
| must be fed, there is not sufficient TO sup
| ply the city during the long winter months
| that Will soon be on in the Arctic country.
| Conservative men at Dawson would
| have no particular object in saying that
the food supply is inadequate If II Were
| not. They have their claims, and the
| more people arrive the cheaper labor VIII
| become. and the less it will cost these
| claim owners to take out their gold. But
| these miners told me over and over again
that there was not enough food a. Daw.
| son TO feed its population during the win
/ ter, and that unless the river steamers
arrived there would be actual starvation.
| a position 10 get at the true situation Of
| affairs. A great many Of the men at Daw-
| son were formerly of Juneau, and know
| them as well as / know my own family.
| They talked to me about the food ques-
ton and agreed with every body else that
| the river steamers would have TO arrive
to relieve suffering.
THE sole reason deem Il advisable to
| correct Randoiph's statement is the fact
| tfat some men encouraged by II might at
| tempt TO get into the Klondike country
this winter. IL would be about the same
| as committing suicide In the states.
| when l left Dawson men who were
| already short of food were running around
| trying TO get sufficient, as they said, to
| supply their temporary wants. AS a mat
| ter of fact. they knew the real situation
and were trying to get a little supply On
herd so that If the repIesenta tive of star
| walton laid its hand on Dawson this win
| ter they viii not be among those who will
| be called to their long home. The COM
panies are not selling any food because
they have none to SELL and the restau-
rants, at the time / left, were about to
| close because their supplies were giving
out. and they could not get any more.
mo, Mr.. Randolph. to the contrary
Notwithstanding, Dawson is not well sup
piled with food
Mr.. Maloney is satisfied that the party
of Dawson people which was booked to
leave Dawson in charge of his guides
September Is. are now on their way out.
The guides are white rren and thoroughly
familiar with the country. II told Them
said Mr.. Msloney. Ito leave Five Fingers
not later than September q. as / did not
wish TO have any mishap come to the
party. Then, too, If they left later they
would be in great danger OF losing a few
horses. When / came out with the Gal
vim party We encountered snow In the di-
vide, and one day towards the close of
the time the party leaving September IS
gets out things VIII have a wild appear
ance in the dreary Alaska mountains"
Among the miners and prospectors who
have collected in Seattle to spend the win
ter and interest capitalists in their dis
coveries IS Zebedee NJ. Keller who sailed
for the Pacific coast from Machlas, Me.
on the clipper ship Cleopatra In the year
1855. landing in San Francisco the same
year. finally making his way TO Puget
sound and Seattle In an Interview with
a Post-lntelligencer reporter. Mr. Keller
said:
Il have not been in Seattle for twenty
years, although It was my home for five
years when II was a mere village OF 300
or 400 and I could call every person in II
BY name. There is a wonderful transfer
nation. Indeed. from a small village to A
busy. busting, commercial city. and you
can probably imagine but can scarcely
comprehend the feelings Of one placed in
my peculiar position I can only liken IL
10 that Of Rip Van Wrinkle when ne came
down from the mountains to the village
Of his nativity after his sleep OF twenty
years. II is 8 strange awakening
Apparently lost in the recollections OF
the misty past he stroked his long white
beard for few moments and then con-
tinued:
Among the many strange faces here I !
occasionally note a few familiar ones
changed. II is true. by time, but never
theless familiar. / can almost count them |
on my fingers. and. let me see-there's
Dexter Horton. Amos Brown. Dave KEEL |
iogg and his brother Gard. now chief OF |
the fire department. Then ] had some |
relatives here: ore was a niece. Isabella |
Keller who married James Murphy. Of
Port Townsend; the others are cousins
named Worse and Munsou. I am informed
since came 70 the city that the Post
IutelIfgencer last winter published a letter
q inquiry regarding me. IN which Il was
stated that I was heir 70 an estate in
Maine and that my whereabouts was IN
known. Perhaps this statement viii dis
cover ne % my friends and will furnish
a palmer lead FOR them to follow
u vas IN the Fraser river stampede. and !
have followed a number OF them. finally |
bringing NJ IN the Cascades. where have
been prospecting for several years with
fair results. Ny operations more recently
have been confined 20 OksnoEsn county. in
the Methow district along the Twisp. My
self and partners brought over string OF
twelve or fourteen good prospects. but we