The San Francisco call., 1898-08-08

of smoke blinding her eyes, l could not not beIn remarking that I thought there was much pleasure of the same Klno III S.oio for her. - river steamer is being constructed a number of men were unloading a cargo oL ilei I' . chandise. Many of the sacks were dad III q damaged condition, but -la11Ii,7e, woman was sitting in the rain mendlns and patching as fast as they WSAe oL,,a Ira loaded I approached her Wltn soii1e ,,I trenidation as I saw that her mana, ul- accustomed to such labor, was bleefnng sg in several places from punctures rom li the sack needle; but she snlled eho cneeiidI co'9id rot offer me a se4t. When I inquired 1t she did not find coming to Alaska a it1 tie bit harder than she had 2ntieiPatsse iP tse least. I knew it would be very unpleas- ant, and I am prepared for almost any any emergency that may arise | nays +o not net 0iit my short dresses, and with these long skirts, where there is so muea d grass, you find me lo4kng aFbssiett attire I
 shall be quite at ease, and expect to De able to get about easily and go any Place S, hear.tened bv the discomforts l have met thus far The big nuggets saw tahen 1 aboard the Humboldt the oIher edad dad would have braced me up hao neeNo0 '-t A pretty and we'll bred woman who was traveling under the prot1esctlon ,I o1 ass,;1ad A ,,oa noat +bat ebe had lived in far worse places than the Klondike, and gave me some ne details of housekeeping dn xbibitnd Gdptn Sib5 66o in nnggets as her share Of two-yeNt soiourn I also am of the opinion that there are worse places, ,o, talked
 Of the lucky men with whom @ taiheu. nof one had ever been in the mines over three years, and many not nearly d so 5otis. fe All were going out TOT rsfrrn Gnae either R in the faiI or early in the spring. They state that many of the best mines VIII not pe worked this winter on o+ad adcquht bv tbe @ Gov ernment; that Dawson will De o9ll lot business men in consequence, anu ,iI LiiaC ~ ,oey who % in to work for wages will III ,nonxr cases meet with disappointment. For the prospector the field IS a vast one; and if he have the energy ana phySiC,dI 1,1it mon him there is no doubt but what inc chances for accumulatlng coInpe- fence far outnumber those, elsewhere.
 ho1df County told me that his business things had gone so badly with him that at he could not make enough to feed ms horses and keep his family. He therefore sold out and went to Dawson seventeen months ago. In less than month aIIer sl, bis arrival he struck the claim he now owns. and for which he has been offered $50 GOO. which offer he. did not entertain for a moment, as the development ne mas mas made shows it to have far greater value, va tit:
 Over at Fort Get There the hotel of the North American Company is doing rush ing business, but the manager IS not without his troubles. Some of the rooms have been fitted as dormitories, with dou- ble-decked beds and hold from nine to twelve persons Each occupant pays Sl ner night Some of these hives are re- served exclusively for ladies. These are numerous in St Michael just now, and about rising and retiring time the rooms are a scene of activity. AS there Is but one wash basin it is not strange that the manager is frequently called upon to re-
 The postoffice is a source of much dis satisfaction to the thousands of people who are In and about St. Michael A steamer belonging to the company that has the contract from the Government to carry mail for the summer arrived the other day with eleven tons on board. There are but two clerks to handle this enormous mass. and to stand Tn line Iour or five hours and then have the window shut in your face. as the bell announces the lunch hour is a daily occurrence. No mail is delivered except to the owner In person and outside companies here who have from forty to one hundred men In their employ, all anxious to hear from their homes, find 1t very serious loss to them to permit each man to spend from half to a whole day off to obtain his mail. Every steamer coming in brings from ten to fifteen sacks of mail. and the. condi- tions were bad enough before this ava lanche of regular mail arrived. When the war closes 1t is to be hoped that Uncle Sam will turn some of his attention to this portion of his possessions.
 ELMA McNAUGHT.