The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-11-29
ARE F1EEING
FROM YUKON
Men Leaving Dawson City to Escape
Threatened Starvation.
AN AWFUL CALAMITY IMPENDING.
One of Those Who Has Returned to civili-
cation Declares There is Not Food
Enough to Save Those Left
Behind-Flour Sold at
$500 a Sack.

of Seattle direct from Dawson City.
They We're divided into two parties, the
last one of which left Dawson oct. IS.
They came out over the Dawson trail,
and are reported to have between them
$50, 900 in drafts and $500, 900 in gold
dust.
All tell stories of a food shortage in
Dawson that is almost a famine. The
last person to leave Dawson was Jack
Dalton. When Dalton left the steam
ers Alice and Bella had reached there,
landed light. 1t is said hat the Bella's
cargo consisted Of whisky and billiard
balls. She brought no provisions. The
Canadian government mounted police
chartered the Bella, and gave all who
Wished a free passage to the Yukon.
The Bella is reported to have left about
Oct. u with 200 men.
According to the statements made
by members Of the Dalton party there
is liable to be trouble of the most seri-
Gus kim this winter in Dawson. Billy
Leak told one of the men in the party
ahead of him whom he met at Dyea
that all the people talk about at Daw-
son is the food famine. Men were
gathering in groups and cursing with
might and main the new corners h a
were constantly arriving in the Klon-
dixie loaded with scarcely any pro-
visions, The mounted police were offer
ing transportation to the grub p~lacers
further down the Yukon, to Fort
Yukon, but to the countless hundreds
who had labored hard all through the
summer, accommodating a grub take,
the prospect was uninviting, to say the
least.
The men figured that it would take all
their earnings in gold to pay their
living expenses at Fort Yukon during
the winter, and that in the spring they
would not even have enough left to
pay passage money back to Dawson,
to say nothing of purchasing enough
food TO subsist until they could get
started again. To these poor fellows
the offer of the mounted police was no
better than the prospect at Dawson of
being compelled to live on half rations
unit the supply of boats could reach
the diggings in the spring.
John w. Brauer- the United States
mail carrier, who left Dawson Sept. 27,
said:
"There is only one salvation for the
miners who are now at Dawson City,
and that is for them to undertake the
awful winter trip from Dawson to Fort
Yukon, a distance of 400 miles. There
is no food at Fort Yukon, there is none
at Dawson, and just as sure as the
stars shine terrible suffering win be
the fate Of the Dawson miner unless
he leaves there before spring. When 1
left Dawso the men who were there
had on an average four months food
supply. Some did not have a months
supply, and some had four or five. The
restaurant closed the night 1 left. 1t
had been selling nothing but beefsteak,
for which the hungry paid 81.
when the people realized that the
boats would be unable to get up the
river they knew that starvation threat
med them, and the great stampede
began. The first to leave went to Fort
Yukon. I guess there were about ten
in the party that left the first day.
One boat that came up from Fort
Yukon with several newspaper men
aboard, among them Correspondent
Sam Wall and a Mr.. McGilvrav,
brought the news that the Hamilton
a unloaded all of her cargo and
tried to get over the bar light and
failed in her efforts, though she drew
but two feet of water. This news in
creased the excitement and made the
rush toward food centers all the greater.
o Sept. IA Bert Nelson, of Seattle,
n myself left Circle City and started
to pole up the river to Dawson City, a
distance Of 300 miles. At the same time
We started from Circle City the miners
had about taken their departure. 1t
took us IL days and three hours to make
the journey, arriving at Dawson Sept.
20. Captain Hanson, with two Indians
who had left Fort Yukon, beat us into
nuyvunn hu ahppf ON hour aud d, h,TR
Hanson gathered the Dawson City min
ers together and made a short speech
in which he advised all who did not
have provisions to last the winter to
go to civilization.
fThat night was tho greatest n In
the history of Dawson City. The min
ers, as soon as they heard the news,
made hasty preparations to get out,
and nightfall saw the gold seekers sell
out for nan thousands Of dollars,
leaving by thousands for down the
river or up the river points. The little
steamer Kiukuk was besleged by
would-be passengers, who offered as
high as $3.50 that they might be aboard
while she made her journey Of 175
miles to Pelly. The Kiukuk left Daw-
son on the afternoon Of Sept. q with
- or 15 passengers.
1--WE left Dawson the next day. When
we left the only thing you could pos
sibly buy vas sugar, baking powder,
spices and some dried fruit. No -four,
bacon or anything of that kind could
be purchased from any of the stores,
simply because they did not have them.
So long as the stores had any provis-
ions prices remained the same. The
stores treated the men all right under
all circumstances, never made advances
In prices, knowing a shortage was
coming, and knew that they had but
to ask for high prices and receive it.
l a relate, however, an instance
where a private party sold to a miner
a sack Of flour for S75 and bacon at 81
a pound"
II. A. Ferguson said:
The situation at Dawson was relieved
by the exodus to Fort Yukon. 1 doubt
If there will be actual starvation there,
but there win be a shortage. The old
timers nave provisions enough to carry
them through. The stores are practi-
Gally cleaned out All they would sell