The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-16
WINTER ON THE YUKON.
MINERS LIFE AZ CIRCLE CITY.
Eli 4 Gage, Son of the Secretary Of
the Treasury, Tells How Primitive


Diggings.
From the Chicago Record.
What it was that made the United
States pay over to Russia some 100000
for Alaska some years ago might be a
hard question to answer now, for at the
time Of the purchase hardly anything but
contiguity to the United States, it would
have seemed, could have such a country
valuable TO US. Recently, however. the at
tention of the people mas been drawn more
and more to "our Arctic province" and
each year has seen an Increasing number
of prospectors take their way into this
country, until now the papers are full of
glowing accounts Of the richness of the
Yukon country and there is every indi-
cation that this year there will be almost
a stampede of miners for what promises
to be a new Ell Dorado Last August the
writer left Seattle for St. Mlchaers Is
land, the place of embarkment for the
Yukon river boats. The trip along the
Pacific through the Unemak pass and into
Boring sea was made upon a boat char
| tered by one of the trading companies
and heavily laden with food, clothing and
tools, all of which was bound for the
mines
At ST Michaers, the first stop we made
| our freight was transferred to the river
boats, and we made the start for the
| Yukon mines. St MichaeFs Island is
| about sixty miles from the mouth of the
| Yukon, in Norton sound. and one of the
most forsaken places in the world. The
| trip out into the sound for the river boats
| which are of the stern-wheel, Mississippi
| kinds attended with much danger from
| squalls, and it was with much relief that
| We went smoothly over the bar at the
mouth of the river.
Steaming up the river which has much
the consistency of the Missouri and is
about as crooked, we stopped occasionally
| for wood, which the natives had cut. split
| and piled. and for which they were paid
| IN Hour, tobacco and calico We passed
/ any number of Indian villages and mis-
sions, and finally reached Fort Yukon, the
| first place of Importance. This is post
| owned by trading company, and is sup
| posed to be exactly on the arctic circle
| From here to Circle City is eighty miles
| When We got there it was already cold
and, though only Oct l, we had several
| snowstorms and there was an inch of
snow on the ground.
| As we drew near we could see that the
whole town was coming to the landing
| place to welcome us for a steamboat ar
| rival at a town in the Yukon generally
| wakes up every man. woman, child and
| dog, and brings all to the river. At Cir
| Gle City the boat was unloaded into the
| companys store, and tried the next day
| to push on 250 miles further to the other
| post, but the running ice gave warning
| that the river would soon close, so we
| turned back and went into winter quar-
ters in slough at Circle City.
| Circle City has a population roughly es-
! Mt ! uybi includes 10 mir
ers at Birch Creek, about fifty miles from
| the town. These men come from all parts
| of the country. and they comprise the
/ same cosmopolitan crowd that usually
makes up a mining town. % 1t being win
ter, the town was pretty well filed with
miners, many of whom had come in to
get their winters supplies of food at the
stores. At such time the stores take on
great activity, every one wishing to get
! fitted out and to get fitted quickly. Be
| tween those with money and those who
were beseging the managers hourly for
| an outfit on credit until the following fail
| the cash buyers were the more patient.
Much has been written about the exorbi-
tant prices asked for food, but when one
| is told that the writer has seen many out
/ fits put up to last for year, and that
| there were many more outfits of such kind
| that cost from $3.50 TO $500 than there were
| at higher figure 1t will be seen readily
that living is not much over 81 to 81 80 per
day. Prices are high as they appear to
| us at home but when one can get 81 an
| hour at the mines it doesn't take long to
insure enough food to live on.
| With the usual exaggerated ideas of a
| "tenderfoot." | expected to see men going
around with two big guns and a knife
strapped on their belts, and was prepared
to dance when invited a the point of a
gun. Nothing of the kind happened, how
ever, aud acquaintance with my neighbors
| demonstrated that such ''doings" were not
| tolerated. bad man. or a "gun fight
| err has no chance here. When such a
| one arrives and shows his procivities he
is warned to quit. and second such evil
| dence generally finds him very shortly
If he is lucky-in an open boat in the rv-
! er. IL he is unlucky--that is. there are
| no boats-he will be likely TO take pas
sage on log bound down stream, with
emphatic instructions to move on and
! keep away from here"
As winter settles down and the snow
| becomes deep enough for good shedding.
| many miners start out for the "diggings. -
| where the more thrifty put in the winter
drifting and burning when the con-
ditions of the ground permit Many. how
ever, remain in town, prepferring the con-
| genial air and the eompanionship of the
saloon and dance house to the isolation of
| the mines.
The saloons and the two stores are the
/
| ing for friend and he is not In his cabin
! he is pretty sure to find him in a saloon.
if he cares to track him to his lair. Here
| all the members OF the colony congregate
and play cards. tell yarns and occasionally
| get drunk. In the evening the dance
houses open and the faro box is produced.
| and a man has his choice of dancing or
"buclSing the tiger" to vary the monotony.
7 In this way the miner In town gets his re-
| taxation.
Among these miners one must make his
| life as pleasant as possible They come
| from everywhere, and the college man
Is no better there than the son of a day
laborer. All are there to better their
| financial condition by the hardest manual
labor. and here, if anywhere, true equal
! lily seems to exist Almost all are well
| behaved. Occasionally a fight Is started.
but as the weapons are fists little damage
| is done.
Law Is enforced by what are known as
miners meetings." on the American
side there is no authority except that OF
the miners themselves, and through these
meetings Justice is dealt out. A man hav-
| ing dispute with another involving
4 a.