The San Francisco call., 1897-07-20

| to the dogs here, and some people wouion
even give it 10 dogs. It's more suitaose
Tor hogs: yes, that's a fact DID L haves
the scurvy2 Yes; l am suffering from III
yet. Ii them fellers up there yet had fruit
they'd eat the tin cans, too. Pm not going
to tell you all that we ate, but most OF the
time we were supposed to have side meat
and beans, when we did not. But a man
can stand anything when he sees and
feels the gold coming out of the ground by
the handsiul and going into his OWN
pockets.
II will say right here that the people OF
the Pacific Coast will be astonished at the
amount OF gold that will come out of the
klondyke region in the next year. The
boys are taking it out as fast as they can
work; besides, there is lot of it that has
been stored up in the camp and Juneau
Tor months. No; l can't give figures. I,
am not much shakes on figures. Well, I'll
say millions, which means more than two
and reckon you could add several more
millions to that and not be outside the
limit.
i am afraid that all this newspaper
LAX VIII send rush of people in there
totally unprepared to be of any good TO
themselves or to the boys that's already
on the ground. wish you would be sure
20 say this. l am afraid it will set back
the work. You see the boys haven't got
enough grub for themselves. What can
lot OF tenderfeet do in that country
without any grub, where it's the worst
kind OF hardship and hard work for old
miners that's acciimated to get slong2
The result would be that eyerybody's
work would be impeded or stop in the
Stru ggle for food - to get it into the
country. Ii these tenderfeet 60 in that
way, charmed by the stories of gold. some
of them will starye to death as certain as
snow tails in Alaska. The miners are
kind. hearted people, but they must look
out for No. ], especially when they have
not enough food for themselves A man
ought to have at least $500 TO start with.
He ought to have years supplies OF pro-
visions and some money besides. The
Alaska Commercial Com pany is boss of
the country up there. 1t controls the
trans portation and the price of grub.
You've got to take what the company
brings you to eat and pay the price they
ask for it.
"You may think it curious that if gold
is SO plentiful why grub is so scarce ard
dear. The reason is that it is long
tough job to get supplies in there, and
the expense is so great. The boys are
busy mining; they've got. to take what
grub comes their way, and they are not
going to give up all their gold for sack
OF -four either. The fellers who have pro-
visions to sell are going to demand as
much gold as they can get, and there you
are. That is the actual condition of
things there to-day. Grub is mighty
scarce and mighty high-priced. Time
will regulate things so that there will be
plenty 10 eat some day up there. But
there will be lot of suffering if men
crowd in there without being we'll heeled
with grub. There is enough gold up there
for all corners, but provisions are more
precious than gold. These nuggets that
l showed you are not the largest that have
been taken out in the Klondyke. I've
seen them as large as a hens egg, and
many's the day l would have given an
egg of solid gold just for something fl. 10
eat, to say nothing of beefsteak and coffee
"Tke location of the Klondyke dis
trict," continued Mr.. Macarthur, "has
been wrongly reported in a good many
newspapers. 1t is not IN Alaska. 1t is in
the British Northwest Territory a good
long way, l know, and everybody else who
has been to Dawson City knows this tn b
a fact, for the boundary line u in that res
gion is we'll defined. Fort Selkirk is the
farthest point IN the Yukon, aid the
Klondvke district is about 400 miles below
the fort. No, l 90 not know whether
there is gold up in the country around the
fort or not. l have heard there is, and !
believe there is. The long and short OF it
is there is gold all over that country. Nd
young, healthy fellow, with sufficient
grub-stake. can miss it by going theret
He'll make more than if he stayed at
home-that is, if he has got sand enough