Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-14

the statement has been published that
have the claim / have received kilograms
and letters from all parts of the United
States, asking to be allowed to invest
money with me in it. Nearly every letter
of the hundreds of this kind which 1 have
received Is accompanied by a money oner.
The sums run from few dollars to as high
as $4,000, and up to date they aggregate
about s250,OO0. l. of course, do not want
partners in this case. and am answering
all who send stamps for reply, that can
not accept their offers.
1 asked, Are the letters from business
men?'
Yes. many of Them" replied Mr.. Ar
kell. Some are from professional men. I
got letters today from two dentists. who
want to join the expedition, which we ex-
pect to send in the spring, under the leader
ship of my brother. Mr.. Bartlett Arkell.
This expedition will be to get matter for
Frank Leslie, as well to work in the
gold fields. Among the applicants for
places in the expedition are over two hun
dred women, who wish to go to the klon-
dyke. l am getting letters in my mail
every day from women as to the matter.
They write from all parts of the country.
and most of them seem to be nice women
Some say that they think they can wash
gold as well as the woman who has been
published as having a claim in the klon-
dixie fields. They also say that their pres
ence will have good moral effect on the
men.
A Big Whisky Scheme.
"The different schemes proposed in these
letters are curious" Mr.. Arkell went on
Some of them show how great thu gold
craze Is which is sweeping over the coun-
try, and how unscrupulously it will be
taken advantage of by spectators. One
big liquor dealer, for instance, came to me
the ether day and proposed to send out
with our expedition five thousand barrels
OF whisky, with which we were to establish
fifty saloons all along the line over the
route across the mountains from juneau to
the Klondike. He said that the whisky
would cost only one dollar gallon and
we could sell 1t for Eve dollars a quart and
that the miners as they returned from the
gold fields. would trade nuggets and dust
for drinks. He said they would get drunk,
and in their cups would give away the Sc
crets of the best gold finds. so that the fifty
saloons would be great information bu-
reau for our syndicate, by means of which
we could monopolize the fields so discov-
cred. The worst of it was continued Mr..
Arkel, the man was thoroughly in earn
est. He could not see why / would not go
In with him, and went away, telling me
door.
Another man." Mr. Arkell went on "of-
fered me 100000 cash for an interest in the
Glave claim, intending to make it the ba-
SIS or a big capitalization and sell the
stock. He would have advertised the pur-
chase of the claim at this price, and have
asked for subscribers. OF course, I could
not accept any such proposition; but, had l
done so, have no doubt but that he would
have had thousands of subscribers, and a
half million or SO within a short time l
tell you the people are crazy for anything
that bears the name of Klondike gold"
How about yourself, Mr.. Arkell? Will
you go to Alaskan
mo. The Bowery and 9Th avenue are
good enough for me. I am satisfied with
New York. My brother. Bartlett Arkell.
will go back with Mr.. Ladue. the man who
owns Dawson City, when he returns in
W no tbnr i,,$ A.,
party"
Millions of Gold Coming.
DO you not think the stories Of the
amount Of gold in the Klondike exagger-
ated?"
NO. I do not. 1 am now prepared for
anything, for 1 believe that Glave knew
what he was talking of when he came
back, and he was wild over the amount of
gold there. l have just received letter
from the editor of one of the Seattle
papers, stating that he has received ad-
which is expected on August %, will bring
SlI,OOO,OO worth of gold in her. If this
should turn out to be true there will be
such gold craze here as has never been
known anywhere in the world. The pres
ent excitement is based on reports of an
output of $3,0OO,OOO. What will it be If the
figures for the year are $2O,OOO,OOO instead
of $3OOO,OOO?
DO you look for much suffering among
the miners this Winter?'
Judging from the experience of my
party there will be thousands who will die
of starvation and cold. In our party of ten
Indians and ten white men, one white man
and three Indians died, or four out of
twenty. If the same proportion of the go
600 die, there will be 10000 white men
buried under the Alaskan SHOWS before
spring. My men had plenty of money; they
had the whole country to forage over and
n yyffh fhnrr, for
They were picked men, too, and had plenty
of servants, dogs and provisions. The men
VINO are going now are trusting largely to
the resources of the country; the ships can
not carry enough goods for them, and al
ready a vast quantity of the provisions
which should go there is stalled on the
way. No, look for terrible tale of star
walton. riot and disease to come back with
the first supplies of gold in the spring.
How about the business outlook, Mr..
Arkell?"
1T is improving. There Is a decided
change and times are everywhere getting
better. We can see 1t In our business, and
nearly every one is feeling 1t.
Talk With Henry Clews.
met Mr.. Henry Clews. the veteran brok-
er, on Wall street. and asked him what he
thought of the Klondike gold fields and
their effect upon the times. He replied
They will make times better. We will
have a big lot of new gold from Alaska,
and the output from the other regions of
the world will steadily increase. More
than one thousand millions of gold will be
ADDED to the gold supply of the world with
in the next four years. We will have two
hundred and fifty millions of a product
this year. and this we should have had
without Alaska Now Alaska promises to
come in wit1 somewhere between ten and
fifty millions year, and there is no telling
when the golden flood will stop. 1t has
already prac tically driven the silver ques-
ton out of the market, and it may bring
the two metals to a parity"
rs it affecting the business of the coun-
try
Il don't know that the Klondike gold
Is making the prosperity which already
seems to be upon us, but do know that
good times are coming. 1 see it.; feel it,
l know it. Why, have four thousand cor
respondents covering all parts of this coun-
try. / get hundreds of letters daily, and
there is a hopeful cast in all of them
Many of my informants are farmers. The
farmers are now making money. l got a
letter today from a Kansas farmer, who
told me he had now paid off all of his mort
cages and had $4,000 to invest. In
his letter he said: I am now a capitalist
and not populist. My feelings are now
altogether with the capitalists. I believe
mat they have been abused and wronged
ior pohticai purposes, and now that We
rave good times again have left the popu-
list camps forever, and l want to saw that
there are many others like me in Kansas.