The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1897-12-01
FAMINE In DAWSON.
Starvation Stares Gold Seel era
s;s In the Face.
\ Party of 20 Men Arrive in Seattle and
Tell Story Of the Exodus of Thousands
from the Town Because of Short
age in the Food Supply.

er City of Seattle arrived here Sunday
from Skaguay. She had on board 20
men who left Dawson October IA,
coming out over the Dalton trail.
They brought $4,000 in drafts and
5000, 900 in dust and nuggets.
AL the members of the party tell
stories of food shortage in Dawson
that is almost a famine. The last
person to leave Dawson was Jack
Dalton. When Dalton left the steam
ers Alice and Bella had reached there
loaded light. 1t is said the Bellas
cargo consisted of whisky and billiard
balls. She brought no provisions. The
Canadian governments mounted police
chartered the Bella and gave all who
wished a free pass to the Yukon. The
Bella left about October 10 with 200
men.
According to 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 said that all the people talked
about at Dawson was the food famine.
Men were gathering in groups and
cursing the new comers that were con-
stantly coming into the Klondike with
scarcely any provisions. The mounted
police were offering free Transports
tion to the grub placers further down
the Yukon to Fort Yukon, but to the
countless hundreds who had labored
hard all through the summer accumu.
lating grub stake the prospect was
nninviting to say the least.
John w. Brauer, the United States
mail carrier, who left Dawson City
September 81, said: There is only one
salvation for the miners who are now
at Dawson City, and that is for them
to undertake the awful winter trip
from Dawson to Fort Yukon, dis
tance of 400 miles. There is no food at
Fort Yukon, there is none at Dawson
and terrible suffering will be the fate
of the Dawson miner unless he leaves
there before spring.
"When the people realized that the
boats would be unable to get up the
river, they knew that starvation
threatened them and the great STAN
pede began. The first to leave went
to Fort Yukon. / guess there were
about ten in the party that left the
first day. One boat came up from
Fort Yukon with several newspaper
men aboard, among them Correspond
ent Sam Wall and Mr. McGilvray.
They brought the news that the Ham
iIton had unloaded all 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 in
creased the excitement and made the
rush toward food centers all the
greater.
ION September IA Bert Nelson, OF
Seattle, and myself left Circle City
and started to pole up the river to
Dawson City, distance of 800 miles.
At the time we started from Circle
City the miners had about taken their
departure. 1t took us IL days and
three hours to make the journey, ar
irving at Dawson September 20. Capt
Hanson, with two Indians, who had
left Fort Yukon, beat us into Dawson
City by about one hour and half.
Hanson gathered the Dawson miners
together and made short speech, in
which he advised all who did not have
provisions to last the winter to go to
civilization or try and reach points on
the Yukon river where food could be
secured.
''That night was the greatest one in
the history of Dawson City. The min
.ers as soon as they heard the news
made preparations to get out and
nightfall saw the gold seekers and
men who can to-day sell out for many
thousands of dollars, leaving by thou
sands. The little steamer Kiukuk,
which was to make the trips from Daw-
son to Pelly, where the Jack Dalton
trail starts, was brought into play.
She was besi<k red by would-be passen-
gers who offered as high as $3.50 that
they might be aboard while she made
her journey of IT'S miles to Pelly. The
Kiukuk left Dawson on September 81
with IL or Is passengers.
while Jack Dalton left Dawson a
couple of days later, the situation
there then was the same as when
we left. The only thing you could
possibly buy was sugar. baking pow
der, spices and some dried fruit No
flour, bacon or anything of that kind
could be purchased from any of the
stores, simply because they did not
have them. So long as the stores had
any provisions prices remained the
same. The storekeepers treated the
men all right under all circumstances,
never advancing the prices, knowing
shortage was coming and that they
had but to ask for high price and
receive it. l can relate, however, an
instance where party sold to miner
n sack of flour for $75 and bacon at 81
per pound
Thomas Magee, the well-known capi-
talist of San Francisco, said: 'The
excitement over the failure of the
steamers to bring food up to Dawson
continued when the Dalton party left.
The police took charge for two days of
the stores Of the Northwest and Alaska
Commercial Co. as precaution only.
Dysentery and accompanying features
were general at Dawson last summer,
caused by the swamps on which the
business part of the town Is built and
poor drainage and sewerage. The
sickness will be worse next summer"
Bank Burglars FoIled.