Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1897-07-23

try has as good, orderly, law-abiding citi-
zens as | ever saw. AT present there is no
prospecting going on at all, men in the
country being employed at S12 or SIS a
day or are working on their own claims.
There is big country open to prospec-
tors" -
Dawson City has now a population of
nearly 5000. 1t is situated on the banks
of the Yukon near the mouth of the Klon-
dixie river, and seems destined to become
the mining centre of the Northwest Terri
tory. The people now live in shantes
each bnlt of a few strips of weatherboard-
ing and canvas. Ladue has a saw-mil in
operation day and night, but he cannot
supply the demand for its products. Lum-
Der sells at the mill for $50 per thousand,
but when delivered at mines the price
jumps to $3.50.
San Francisco has not been stirred by
any mining discovery since the opening up
of the great bonanzas on the Comstock
Lode in Nevada nearly 80 years ago, as it
has been by the stories of twoscore sun
tanned and rd-featured miners who have
Just returned from the new Klondike camp
on the Yukon river in far Alaska
These stories would have excited deris-
ion were it not that all these men were
able to furnish ocular proof of their tales
with pounds of yellow gold. Not one of
the party went into this camp last fall with
anything more than his outfit and few
hundred dollars. Not one came out with
less than 5000, dozen cleaned up from
$4,000 to $50, 900, while half a dozen
averaged from 10000 to $4,000 Scores
of them left claims that they valued at
$4,000 to S1,00O,00 which are now be
ing worked by their partners or by hired
laborers. They are not boosters or boom
ers. In fact, they are careful to warn any
one about venturing into the Yukon coun-
try unless he is young, vigorous, and brave,
able to bear hardships, and has from $500
to $1,000 for outfit and current expenses
after reaching the new gold fields. Per
haps it is these very conservative views
which have made their talk take such
powerful hold on the popular imagination.
OF course, this first keen enthusiasm
may fade and next spring may see few 60
to the far North, but no one who has OBJ
served the popular feeling in San Francisco
will be surprised to see 5000 men 90 from
this city, and perhaps 1900 or more will
start next month, Every one here knows
the history of the far northern bonanzas
and is prepared to discount the extra en-
luuSldsll VI ltlullltQ DllLtIS, lOI all Tt-
member the hard fortunes of the thousands
of Californians who rushed to Cariboo and
Fraser river placers nearly 40 years ago,
only to find that there were 80 men for
every claim and that the paying district
was so small it could not support 5000
men.
Klondike may be repetition of Cariboo,
but from what is said by hard-headed old
miners, there is god-bearing country
enough around Dawson City to support a
great population, and the only danger lies
in the scarcity of provisions during the
long winters, when fresh supplies cannot
be brought in. Should transportation COM
panies do no better than they have done
for the last two years, and should 10000
or $4,000 men crowd into Klondike, there
will be actual starvation with abundant
crime.
"When we had taken out the last of the
Sl12, 900 l threw down my pick, and turn
ing my eyes heavenward, said 'Goodby,
old friend, will never pick you up again,
and ] spoke the truth. l love gold and
l have it, Many times in my life the wolf
has been close to the door. Now / have
riches and will never work again, but in
March / will go back and manage our
properties"
These were the words which William
Stanley used Monday in an interview at
Seattle, Wash
Stanley is one of the fortunate ones
who returned from the Klondike on the
Portland. In addition to his present for
tune he is interested with his son and two
New Workers in claims which, he says, will
| yield $1,000, 900. He formerly had little
| book store in Seattle, and could barely sup
| port his wife and seven children. He and
| his oldest son went TO the Yukon year
ago last March. They wandered about
several months, but last September a man
whom they had befriended gave them a tip
as to the Klondike riches and they started
there.
81 tell the simple truth when l say that
within three months we took from the two
claims the sum of $4,000. A remarka-
BILE thing about our findings is that in TAX
| ing this enormous sum we did not drift up
and down stream, nor did we cross-cut the
pay streaks.
''Of course, we may be wrong, but this
is the way we are figuring, and we are so
certain that what we say is true that we
would not sell out for 81, 100000. In our
Judgment, based on close figuring, there