The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-09
STARVATION BEFORE ASPRING.
THE LATEST NEWS CONFIRMS THE
EARLIER FAMINE STORIES
FROM ALASKA.
SHIPMENTS OF DUST EXPECTED.
Bulk of the Metal Mined Has Not Yet
Been Brought to the
States.

Ing to information brought by the
steamer National City, from st. Mi
chaePs, an immense amount of KIon-
dlke gold is on it's way from the mouth
OF the Yukon to San Francisco and the
sound. The National City reached here
aIter voyage of eleven days from st.
Mlchaels, bringing three passengers,
VINO just made the trip down the Yukon
besides letters from the KIondike re-
glon. One letter received by G. Muir
ray, OF this city, from DR.. J. W. Nc
kcnnan says: I'VE leave tomorrow
for the Yukon. Two steamers arrived
last night from Dawson, loaded with
wealth. The mines are the richest on
earth. Men can get 500 per day, but
they must have provisions, as they are
scarce. Capt. Anderson of the Ma
tlonal City, says he knows that a large
amount of gold came down the river
from Dawson, but he could not give
figures
The news by the steamer National
Clty, from st. MlchaePS, corroborateS
all that has been said of the pros
poets of short rations in the gold dig
glngs of the upper river during the
winter. The steamer, which connect
ed With the river steamer J. J. HealV
at the mouth of the river, brought
three passengers. One of these is ].
A. Ralston, of PA McCallister street,
San Francisco. He says there is gold
and lots of it in the Klondike. but it
is generally still in the ground 1t Is
believed that the claims now located
could turn out fifty tons this winter
II the scarcity of food did not prevent
full operations. He gives rough
guess that the Klondike is good for
$3.50, 1000, 900 before it peters out.
Six thousand men in the mines about
Dawson City is the estimate of Rails
ton, who came down on the National
City with F. e. Leonard of NanaimO
and R. P. Lamb, of Portland, Or. The
supply of the necessaries Of life to feed
these men, he says, is totally INSULT
c1ent. In fact, he estimates that the
stores will be exhausted before the
winter is half over, when the famine
Will be on in earnest, and especially as
the number of men in the country will
be greatly augmented by the later ar
rivals over the passes There is whis-
ky, beer. and all kinds of liquor in
profusion, he says, but their places
could have been better filled on the
steamers with flour.
When the National City left st.
Michaels, the steamer Cleveland was
taking in ballast, and expected to sail
for sound ports on Aug 30. Many of
the passengers who had tickets for the
Cleveland took passage on the Excel
sior. On the way down the river from
Dawson City, which place the steamer
Healy left Aug. IA, the steamer Weare
was found hard and fast on a bar.
She was passed on the 10th, being
about 1,200 miles from the mouth of
the river. The boat had been on the
haY, Il
laid alongside, took off her passengers
and some of the freight, and then pro-
ceeded on the way, leaving the unfor-
tunate boat hard and fast aground
with small chances of getting off be-
fore the river closes. E. Leonard says
that the Weare had on board $50 pas
sengers, and about 81, 500, 900 in treas
ure. This was transferred to the
Healy and taken to st. Michaels. A
considerable amount of this will arrive
in San Francisco on the Excelsior.
When asked why he returned, Leon
ard said:
81 found 1 had to get out or starve.
There are about 1000 men in Dawson,
and not more than a third of them
have work If you have got stock of
grub you cannot get work at any price.
l had provisions for three months and
no one wanted me. 1 had not enough
to work my own claim until spring, so
1 sold my stock at a good figure and
will wait until spring"
Jim Dunsmuir, the Eldorado king,
has had 100000 worth of provisions or
dered for some months, but has not
been able to obtain more than a fifth
of it, even with the cash put up in adj
vance. All those coming out did not
bring all their clean-ups with them.
Leonard recites numerous instances of
men who had cleaned up from $4,000
to 100000, but had taken away barely
a third of that The men say that
they made nothing, except as wages
at SIS a day for month or So