The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-11-29
It IS ALMOST A FAMINE
There Will Be Great Suffering at
Dawson City.
THE MINERS ARE LEAVING
The Last Restaurant Closed -Whiskey
Brought Up the River Instead OF
Provisions-Great Suffering on
the Dalton Trail.

: Seattle. Wash. Nov. 2s.-Twenty-five
men arrived here to-day ON the city OF
Seattle direct from Dawson City. They
were divided into two parties, the last
one of which left Dawson oct. Is. The
party consisted uf Thomas Magee. sr.,
Thomas Magee. jr., of San Francisco,
Swift Water Bill' Gates, Joe Boyle.
William Huskins. +. Eckert. ii. Robert
son. n. Raymond Bert Nelson, John W.
Grauer W. ii. Chambers. Il, w. Pond,
T.. Ash. J. Gillis. Thos. Wilson, l.. Nc
Graw. Jack Dalton. William Leak. Ar
thur Celine. Joseph Fairburn, j. Smith.
T. Warren, Jim Stephenson. They
came cut over the Dalton trail. They
are reported To have between these s6o.-
900 i'm drafts and 100000 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
.rs Alice and Bella had reached there
loaded light. IL Is said that the B,llas
cargo consisted OF whiskey and billiard
balls. She brought no provisions. The
Canadian mounted police chartered the
Bella and gave an who wished free
passage Ia Fort Yukon. The Bella Is
reported To have left about Oct. II with
100 men.
According Ia statements made by
members of the Dalton party, there Is
liable to be trouble of the most serious
kind this winter in Dawson. Billy Leak
told that one Of the men In party
ahead of him. whom he met at Dyea,
that all the people talked about at Daw-
son was the food famine.
Men were gathered In groups and
cursing with might and main the new
cumcrs that Were constantly coming
into the klondyke. loaded with scarcely
any provisions. The mounted police
were Offering free transportation To the
grub piles further down the Yukon. but
to countless hundreds who had labored
hard all through the summer accumu-
lating a grubstake the prospect was un-
inviting. To- say the least. These men
figured that IL would take them all their
savings in gold Ia pay their living cx-
penses at Fort Yukon during the win
ter. and thai in the spring they would
not have even enough gold To pay pass
age money back To DAWSON, TO say
nothing of purchasing enough food to
subslst until they could get started
again.
To these poor fellows the offer of the
mounted police was no better tfan the
prospect at Dawson ~ being compelled
To winter on half rations until the sup
ply boats could reach the diggings In
the spring.
Aa Awful Winter Trip.
John W. Brauer, the United States
null carrier. who lrft Dawson Sept. %.
said: There is only one salvation for
the miners who are now at Dawson city
and that w. for enough of them To un-
dertake the awful winter trip from
Dawson to Fort Yukon. a distance Of
400 miles. There Is food NJ Fort Yukon.
there is none at Dawson. and just as
sure as stars shine terrible suffering
viii be- the fate of the Dawson miners
unless he leaves there before spring.
will make my statement conservative.
and say that when ! left Dawson the
men who were there had on an average
four months food supply. Some did
not have a months supplies. some had
four or five The last restaurant closed
the night ! left, II had been selling
nothing hut beefsteak, for which the
hungry paid $50
when the people realized that no
more boats would be up the river they
knew that starvation threatened them.
and the great stampede. began. The
first to leave went To- Fort Yukon.
that left the first day. one boat came
up from Fort Yukon with several news
paper men aboard. among them being
Correspondents sam Wall and Mr..
McGilyra. They brought the news that
the Hamilton had uuloadod all of her
cargo and tried 10 get oVri tse Gar light
and failed In her efforts. though she
drew hut two foot nf water This news
increased the excitement and made the
rush toward food r'ntcfs all the
greater. On sept u Bert Nelson of Sc
attic and myself left circle city and
Fta. Tod 10 nOlp up the river to Dawson
CITY. a distance Of 900 miles. At the
time We started from circle City tho
miners had about all taken their de-
parture. II took us u days and three
hours ~ make the journey. arriving at
DaWs son sept. 20. Captain Hanson.
with two Indian who had left Fort
Yukon. beat us into Dawson by about
au hour and half. Hanson gathered
thr Dawson city miners together and
made a short speech. In which he adj
visod all who did not have provisions
to last them all winter to either get out
~ the country 10 civilization or try aud
reach points in the Yukon country
where II was known that food could be
found.
Leaving by tho Hundreds.
THAT night was the greatest one In
the history Of Dawson CITY. The min
erH as soon az they heard the news.
made haEty preparations Ia get uut, aud
nightfall raw these guldseekcrs and
mcu. who can to-day s'll out f1r many
thousands, leaving by the hundred for
down the river aud up the river. Tho
little steamer kiukuk, which was 10
make the trips from Lawson to Pclly.
where Jack Daiiuu'Z tnll starts. was
brought into play She was bcsicEcd by
would -he passtUgnrs. who offered as
high az $50 that they might be
aboard while She made her Journey Of
la miles tu Frlly The kiukuk lett
Dawson uu 90" afternoon ut Sept. :,
win T. or rs pssseuEers.
The u,yt dyy we made Up a party.
fnrlgIlnE D ibrrt Raymond uf seattle.
B.gt Slspu 90 seattle. Harry Robert
son - San Francisco and myself We
started ~ he river IN a small river
boat. the same one We had used in go-
HE from circle City Ia Dawson, We
l,ft Dawson about y. M. and were
srup uu our way up the river
while jack Dalton l.ft baW son /
cuurl. ~ days lBicr, thr situation th,rr
thru was the same a. NJ was when Wr
left ANA ! ru7 icil yuu about thar 80
yry r#A uurl- The uuly idlnl sou
cund Wvslh'y nuN was sugar baking
puvi,t -rIrr aud sumr dried fruu ~
Nlur UHD.u pT anything uf that kind
r.U.I b,. fIi!rs HHs.l ffufu amy al t1s