The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1897-08-13
FROM THE GOLD FIELDS.
ROY H0FFMA STARTS TO.
WARDS KL0NDYKE.
HE STOPS AT SEATTLE
And Comes Back and Talks 10 the
interviewer About the Mad Rush
TO the Klondyke Region
Miners Get Seasick-
Oklahoma is Good
Enough
HE STOPS AT SEATTLE

From the Denver Post
The Almighty might have made a
better country than Oklahoma, but |
AN very sure he never did, was the
somewhat startling statement Of Mr..
Roy Hoffman, assistant United States
attorney for Oklahoma, to a Post re-
porter this morning, "and what's
more IL He ever made any more as
good He didn't put 1t closer than the
Sacramento valley on the one side or
the Mississippi on the other"
Mr., Hoffman was Just returning
from a summer sojourn in Colorado
and the Pacific coast states. lie is in
terested somewhat in mining proper
ties in this state, which he has been
giving some attention. lie was on the
coast at the time the FIRST Klondyko
ne ws came down and watched the ex-
citement there blaze fercer than the
heat Of summer.
"As an example OF the intense fever
hich consumes those people, man
and his wife brought $50 900 in dust
and nuggets out Of that country and
registered at the Palace hotel in San
Francisco. A reporter from the Ex-
amiuer wrote them up and his news
paper procured about quart OF mug
gets for exhibition in the ofiice win
dow The office fronts on Market
street, the widest and busiest thor
oughfare in the city. During the two
days was there, there was a constant
crowd ofsweating, excited, gold era zed
men and women surging around that
window. They filed the street, block
AIDED traffic, climbed upon each others
shoulders, just TO catch a glimpse Of
that few hundred dollars, filled with
the danger and the mystery OF its ice
bound home. just around the corner
was the United States mint, with mil
lions Of Unc}e Sans yellow boys
heaped up, but no one cared TO go
there and look at that. / talked with
man by the name Of Seabroke, just
from the mines. He bore the evidence
Of his hardships and exile, but was
taking on cisili2ation rapidly at $40
per day hotel. He was spending his
money royalty and enjoying the holi-
day Of his life. lie was about 80 years
OF age, without education and unmAr-
ried. He said he bad gone into that
| country two years ago and had spent
more than a year finding location.
said there were others all around hlm
doing as we'll He took out $50, 600 in
about six months, found a partner TO
work his claim AMI came down TO
spend H. He said he frequently took
from $50 u SIS aud Sl00 out cf sim
gle pan. Fortune TO him, as to most,
had cen fi3kle jade, courted, woed
and won under d fiiculties. But nc re-
gardei tn future as secure, and said
with a supreme ,onhdence that now
he had taken the old girl for part
ner, she would prove constant and
true. Aud SO his substance was
wAt ted with a prodigahty, born in the
belief that in that frozen placer claim
lay untold wealth, to be had for his
asking
II seemed like every one who posi-
bly, could make arrangements was
leaving for Dyea. That was as far as
the transportation companies would
ticket them. The fare there was $50,
meals and berth included. But after
Dyea there is vet eight hundred miles
to the gold fields, twenty-seven OF
which are the dangerous Chilkoot pass,
where the Indians have raised the
price OF freight TO 5000 per thousand
pounds. Every old tub available was
being pressed into service by the
transportation companies, and then
the traffic could not near be handled
Those who could secure tickets were
regarded as lucky as though they had
drawn lottery prize. In the "State
Of California, upon which | took pas
sage from Frisco to the Sound, there
we're about 400 prospective Klondy lSe
miners, and the agent told me there
were fully 1000 applications foI
tickets rejected. The first day out VIZ
struck gale and almost all the bold,
fierce Klondykers got sea-siek anC