The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-26

include good regulations in their outfits
when they left the States can be seen in
the throng that ills the place and rough
miners and more polished teaderfeet vie
with each other for the generous smiles of
the fair sex. Over in one corner a piano
that must have seen better days, a wheezy
horn of awe-inspiring antiquity and an in
strument that it would be gross flattery to
call a fiddle yield up plaintive discords to
the efforts of their grzzled manipulators.
But the dancers do not mind the absence of
real music-all they demand is noise and
certain regular rhythm and plenty of
drinks, and all these the management sup
plies in abundance, the last commodity be-
ing at the uniform rate of fifty cents per
and take your choice. An old woman, who
looked as if she had been dried out during
one of the hot spells and had never recup-
Grated, is the leading dispenser of liquids.
and she is Familiarity called by the old-tim-
ers mother Abe" Why Abe, nobody has
been able to explain. Perhaps there was
an Abe once to whom she was attached
by ties matrimonial but at present
she is an unattached barmaid and the only
widow ION the dixie" ION the dixie" is the
reigning slang here and seems to be a
transplanted and transmitted form of that
ClAOlCC <Al1lSIlSttllSlliy OIl the PINE II Will
be necessary in polite society to draw q
veil over the dance-hall scene here, but
one incident few nights ago is of such
frequent repetition that it conveys an in
structive suggestion of life in Dawson. A
miner in proper mining garb was dancing
with the belle of the ball, who responds
to the pleasing appellation of Cert" He
was making sorry mess of his light fam
site effort pr0dnrincr
fantastic than light, when the lady in the
case suddenly left him to bestow her blan-
dishments on a youthful new arrival who
bore evidences of recent contact with ciVili-
cation. The miner seemed dazed for an in
slant, but promptly pulled himself together,
literally when the pair came whirling
toward him in a regulation waltz step with
out any Klondi1e frills. He just braced him
self, grabbed the young man by the collar
and other traditional place, and threw him
cleanly through a window, murmuring as
he did so: 9TH teach you tenderfeet to
leave my girl alone.' Then he calmly seized
the giggling maid, without cracking a smile
himself, and resumed his contortions. 1t
is only the newcomers, however, who are
subjected to such humiliating flights
through space The others are better ac-
quainted with the unwritten laws that pre-
vail and make no breaks" which they are
not prepared to stand by and fight for.
THE GAMBLING HOUSES.
The gambling house is the natural asso-
ciate of the dance hall in Dawson, and
stands close by it's SIDE But, as far as
that is concerned, the gambling house in
some manifestation seems to be close by the
side of almost everything else in the city
The place most frequented and that has
the honor of running the star dust game
mot star DUST but gold dust"--is known
as Joe's place, and is taking in gold about
as fast as the gamblers can dig it. This
whole proposition up here is a form of
gamble, and naturally the men who have
taken the chances are possessed of that
subtle thing, the gambling instinct, to an
intense degree. Gambling, therefore, is as
natural in Dawson as eating, and to some
of the devotees even ranks above that gas.
tronomic custom. There seems to be no
evidence of anything crooked in the game
but that may be more the result of neces-
slty that any innate integrity on the part
OF the gambler A man who should run
crooked game here of any character and
get detected would have to take to the
woods, and there are no woods to take to.
His finish would be so quick and certain,
cs4lO Ills ldCl 10 30 CLEARLY recognized. that
| everything is run ION the square," but
there is not the same temptation in other
ways to run crooked games here; the
money and dust flow freely, there are no
divides with civic authorities to eat up the
| profits, and everything taken in is velvet ,"
| AS a rule the games are not heavy from an
American point of view. If man wins
or loses $1,000 he is regarded as marvel of
i'll or good luck, as the case may be.
| But life in Dawson even in winter is not
merely one long revel, and there is plenty
of the serious in everyday routine to &C.
cupy the attention of the householder or
tentholder. The ordinary matron in the
states can consider herself lucky not be-
| ing obliged to do her shopping at Dawson
prices. Here the head of the family pays
| $40 for one hundred pounds of flour, Is
cents for pound of brown sugar, 81 for a
| pound of bacon and the same for a pound
| of butter; If he yearns for the luxury OF an
| egg he can get one for IS cents, and other
essentials are in proportion. Cigars, like
| all drinks, cost 80 cents each, while a shave
commands the same comfortable price. The
| barber shop is wooden hut, and every
body VINO has tried it says the barber is a
wooden man, but then he enjoys only a
| short season and cannot be expected to be
an expert. When the cold weather arrives
boards are at a premium, and the barber
| changes his occupation to that of faro
| dealer. There has never been much
variety in occupations in Dawson until this
summer, but it must be remembered that
the city is only little over a year old. 1t
was born in August, 1896. when the report
] reached Circle City of the Klondike gold
! finds; then Circle City moved in bulk to
the new location and called itself Dawson.
| Literally there was only a man, boy
and a dog left behind. Since that time
Dawson has grown until now it contains a
| population of about seven thousand per-
sons, but this to a certain extent is a
floating populations hundreds are leaving
every week for the gold fields, which are
distant twenty-five miles at least, while
| other hundreds are arriving along every
avenue to more than make good the loss.
| Many of these newcomers have not been
| actuated by the fever for gold except as
| they hope TO get is in payment for services
rendered, more or less professional.
/ Copyright by c. S. May Syndicate)
They VIII Sing Hymns.
| The Indenpndant