The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1897-12-02
Food Shortage Almost That
Last Month.
STEAMERS REACHED THERE LIGHT
One Said 20 Have Been Loaded with
whisky aud billiard Balls Instead of
Provisions Exodus to Escape starya.
tiou Then Commenced.

William Huskins, f. Eckert II Robert.
son, H. Raymond, Bert Mason. John
w. Braucr, ". IL. Chambers, Il. w.
Pond, Il. Ash, j. Gillespie, Thomas
Wilson, p. NJ. Graw, Jack Dalton.
William Leak, Arthur Ceiine, Joseph
Fairburn, j. Smith, L. Warren and
Jim Stephenson. They came cut over
the Dalton trail. They are reported to
have between them $4,000 in drafts
and $2UO.OOO in gold dust
All tell stories of food shortage in
Dawson that are almost famine. The
last person to leave Dawson was Jack
Dale on. When Dalton left the steam.
ers Alice and Bella had reached there
loaded light.
1t is said that the Bellas cargo con.
sisted of whisky and billiard balls.
She brought no provisions. The Cana.
dian government mounted police char
tered the Bella and gave all who
wished pass to the Yukon. The Bella
is reported to have left about Oct. l2
with 200 men.
There is liable to be trouble of the
most seriors kind this winter in Daw-
son. 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 Dawson was the food famine. Men
were gathering in groups and Curslng
with might and main the newcomers
that were constantly coming into the
klondlke loaded with scarcely any pro-
visions. The mounted police were
Offering free transportation to the grub
placers further down the Yukon to
Fort Yukon, but to the countless hun.
dreds who had labored hard all through
the summer accommodating a grub stake,
the prospect was unlnviung to say the
leat.
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 ratlons until
tho supply boats could reach the dig.
gings i'll the spring.
John w. Brauer, the UnitedIStates
mail carrier, who left Dawson on Sept.
%, said: There is only one salvation
for the miners who are now at Dawson
City, and that is for them to under.
take the awful winter trip from / aw.
son to Ort Yukon, a distance of 400
mi es. There is no food at ort Yukon,
there is none at Dawson, and Just as
sure as the stars shine, terrible suffer.
ing will be the fate of the Dawson
miner unless he leaves there before
spring. will make my statement that
when left dawson the men who were
there had Oh an average four months
supply. Some did not have month $
supply and some had four or five. The
restaurant closet the night | left. 1t
had been selling nothing but beefsteak
for which the hungry paid $3.50.
"When the people realized that the
boats would be unable to get up the
river they knew that starvation threat.
ened them and the great stampede be.
gan.
1.-THE first to leave went to Fort
Yukon. l guess there were about ten
in the party that LETT the first day. One
boat that came up from Fort Yukon
with several newspaper men aboard,
among them Correspondent Sam Wall
and Mr.. McGilvray. brought the
news that the Hamilton had 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 increased the excitement and
made the rush toward food centers all
the greater. On Sept. IA, Bert \ Nelson
of Seattle and myself left Circle CITY
and started TO pole MP the river to Daw.
son City, distance of 800 miles At
the lime we started from Circle CITY,
tho miners had about taken their de.
parture. 1t took US Il days and three
hours to make the journey, arriving at
Dawson Sept. 26. Captain Hanson,
with two Indians, who had left Fort
ukon, beat us into. Dawson by about
one hour and a half.
"Hanson gathered the Dawson City
miners together and made short
speech. in which he advised al who did
not have provisions to last the winter
to go to ci ilization or try and reach
points in the Yukon river country
where it was known food could be Sc.
cured. That night was the greatest
one in the history Of Dawson City. The
miners, as soon as they heard the news.
made haste to get out, and nightfall
saw the goldseekers and men who can
today sell out for many thousands of
dollars leaving by thousands for down
the river or up the river points. The
little steamer kiukuk, which was to
make the trip from Dawson to Pelley,
where the Jack Dalton trail starts, was
brought into play. She was besieged
by would.be passengers, who offered as
high as $3.50 that they might be aboard
while she made her journey of 10
miles to Pelley. The Kiukuk left Daw.
son on the afternoon of Sept. q with
II or 10 passen sers.
while Jack Dalton left Dawson o
Iouple of days later, the situation there
then was the same as it was when we
left, and ! can tell you in few words.
The only thing you could possibly buy
was sugar, baking powder, spices ana
some dried fruit. No -four, bacon or
anything of that kind could be pur.
chased from any of the stores simply
because they did not have them. So
long as { stores had any provisions
prices remained the same. l want to
say that the stores treated the men all
right under all circumstances, never
advancing the prices knowing a short.
age was coming and knew that they
had but to ask for high prices and re.
ceiye it. | can relate. however, an in.
stance where a private party sold 20 a
miner sack of tour for $40 and bacon
ut 81 per pound
Miss Allie Hughes, Norfolk. Va. was