The San Francisco call., 1897-07-23

More Klondykers came to the CONNER
cial Hotel yesterday m orning with pockets
ful of gold nuggets and mooseskin sacks
of gold dust.
Six of the strikers, who arrived at Seat
tie on the Portland last Saturday, got in
by rail. They are not Clarence Berrys
quite, but they did very well, and some
how or other they nearly all escaped the
in nterviewers al Seattle.
One of them is all over with romance.
He struggled for nine years in the Yukon
country, made strike in the KIondyke,
brought down $24. 600 in gold, said he
figures out that there is over million
dollars in one OF his three claims, poured
out heaps of gold on center-t table and
said that his smart, little fve-year.old
halt breed boy was going to grow up at
San Jose and probably never see his
NJ other again, and was going to be the
best that money could m axe out OF him.
This was n. E. Picotte. He was de-
termined adventurer and a Drospector up
there nine years ago, became saloon
keeper at Forty-mile three years ago,
after four years of failure at gold nting,
and now he is millionaire, possibly.
Last year he was secretary of the Grand
Lodge of the Yukon Pioneers.
Then there is n. Mercier, who brought
down S23 600 and left fine claims to which
he will return. The Others brought out
lust few thousand and didn't do any
thing sensational. They are just plain,
uncultured fellows, who cashed in and
Quit when they were little ahead of the
game.
One of them is French Joe, who has
$1,000 after twelve years OF struggle and
toll and famine, and he is going to one of
the California mineral springs to win
back some health.
Like the rest of the Yukon miners, they
are all after eggs an "greens." When
the miners got off the boat at Seattle they
fairly rushed for the eggs, green fruit and
vegetables, things they had not eaten for
so long.
what did you make for first when you
got off the boatY" was asked of one.
GA drink and then eggs eggs and
green's" he said, with smiling prom pit
ness.
Mr.. Picotte is intelligent. good-looking
and 81 He has kindly way, especially
to Frank. whose bright little eyes and
darkish features suggest the pictures OF
aboriginal life along the far Yukon.
We'll, come up to my ROOM" he said
and pretty soon small valise was
brought forth.
Lutte Frank never saw brick houses
and oranges and the wonderful cars and
things of the great. strange world he has
reached, and his determined insistence
that another wonderful orange be fxei
for him delayed further operations.
Then a mooseskin sack, cylindrical, a
foot long and two incnes in diameter
ca1ne out. Moosehide is nicer than buck
skin. and it must be nice to wear it, it is
so soft and warm-thick and of a dark
yellowish brown. Mr.. Picotte united one
end and dumped out the contents.
They were just sample nuggets he was
carving around to show. They were not
very big, fat one being worth about s37
and the pile was worth about $3.50. They
were lust samples of the chunks of solid
| gold that are strewn thickiy along the
| buried bedrock in the richest parts of the
| new dlggings.
| Another sack yielded a pile OF $1,000
worth of the coarse gold-dust of the bed
| rock stratum. the grains ranging in size
| between mustard seed and wheat grains.
! When they get down to bedrock in some
| of the claims they scrape up the stuff next
| to the rock. and especially in the crevices,
and it s these scrapings at provide those
wonderful pans of several hundred dol
lars each, and not the stratum of gravel
above.
| Picotte's Yucon experience before the
Klondyke discovery was like that of most
all of the hundreds of others who pros
| pected there.
"I went in there in 1885," he said, "and
my headquarters have been at Forty Mile
ever since. The first year l worked on the
bars and banks of Forty Mile, and then /
went TO Franklin Gulch, the first gulch
discovered along Forty mile Greek and
worked it two years.
| II scratched up few dollars of course,
| but l never made anything. l bought
some claims on Davis Greek, but didn't
make anything. and then l went to Mil
ler Creek, where didn't do very much.
The creeks both run into Forty-mile
| Creek.
"a few found good claims-good fol
those days and worth may be $4,000 or $4,000
a year. When l left Miller Creek three
years ago l said / was through with min
lng and opened a saloon at Forty Mile.
didn't go to Klondyke until February
last. l took in Jim Hall as a partner and
located claim II on El Dorado Creek and