The San Francisco call., 1897-11-27
STRUNG UP
LA N[NFA'S
CAPTAIN
Alaskan Gold Seekers
Almost Guilty of
Murder.
TOOK PITY ON THEIR
VICTIM.
Cut Him Gown After He Had
Been otrangled Until
Unconscious.
ANGRY BECAUSE THEY HAD
BEEN DEFRAUDED.
Found Upon Landing That Their
Provisions We're insufficient
for the Winter.
Cut Him Gown After He Ha ID
Been otrangled Until
Unconscious,
ANGRY BECAUSE THEY HAD
BEEN DEFRAUDED,
Found Upon Landing That Their
Provisions We're insufficient
for the Winter.
Special Dispatch TO THE CALL.

ASTORIA, Or. Nov. 26 The steamel
George W Elder, from Skaguay, and the
steamer Blanchard, from Copper River
arrived in port to-day.
The Blanchard brings tale of woe
Boih Captain Warner and Purser Ozout
state that 1t is suicide for any one to go to
Copper River to mine. The country is
rough In the extreme. Copper River is
not navigabe and th ere is nothing there
to mine, according to the Indians who
live in the vicinity. There IS no landing
place at Prince William Sound, whith er
the Blanchard took fifty three. pros pectors
from Los Angeles. The men were landed,
however, at one of the canneries of the
Alaska Packers Association, three miles
below. There is no hope of reaching Cop
per River over Lake Ayak, which Is frozen
The Blanchard brings the news of an
aItem pted lynching, the intended victim
being Captain Benton of the schooner La
Ninfa. 1t seems that Benton contracted
with forty men in San Francisco TO take
them up the Copper River ten miles and
provide one years provisions for $780,
Finding the Copper River 10 be unnaviga-
bic, he landed his men near Orca with
their provisions. Upon examination the
provisions were found 10 be of the poores t
quality and INSULT lent In quantity. The
stuff was not fit TO eat, and the men are
there now in a precarious condition. The
Blanchard is taking with her to San Fran
cisco samples of these provisions to be
submitted to the inspector.
The enraged men strung Benton up with
ctrar r1ylt lin ha foin Tod
and did not recover consciousness until
eight hours aftervard. They took pity on
him and cut him down, but they were de-
termined to have redress.
The ELDERS passenger list included some
fifteen white people and several Chinese
J. Fl. Law Of Virginia is on his way
home to spend the winter. He is at the
head of seven men, who are now at the
summit of White Pass awaiting the freez-
ing of the lakes sufficiently 10 ad their
slrdging down the Yukon. Law will re-
turn in March and overtake his party OF
Join it in Dawson. He says the reports
sent out about Skaguay were largely false.
On August 20 he arrived there and found
but one house in the town. Now there
are 500. The only trouble with Skaguay
trail Is that there was too great rush
over it at the beginning. They are now
building a wagon road up through the
canyon to the sum NIT along the side of he
mountain. The road and u tramway will
be ready for use in the spring. Dyea is p
tetter summit route at present tn an
SIX. quay, but Skaguay is the coming town
and is already doing lively bnsiuess.'
Law was prevented from getting
through this fall because a man named
Johnson, who contracted TO deliver his
goods and horses from Victoria by the
steamer Bristol, failed to keep his con-
tract, and part of his supplies are still un-
delivered. Law has brought suit in Vic.
toria for $1,000
There is no snow nor ice vet at Dyea or
Skaguay, but there is plenty of snow on
the mountains and ice is forming in the
rivers. The weather Is better than in Ore
gon. Gold is reported as being found in
placer mines near Lake Bennett
The Elder brought 200 tons of coal from
Nanaimo for Astor and 200 tons for Port
land. She had very smooth trip down,
and has orders to return early in Deem
her. party of Astorians returned from
kllisnoo. Alaska, ard report having put
up $4,000 barrels OF herring his season.