The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-11-01
Doc NOrren Returns From the
Frozen North.
HIS WAS A FRUITLESS TRIP
PUT IN A YEAR SEARCHING
FOR GOLD.
Good Ground All Around His Claim,
But He Failed to Strike It
Frightful Sanitary Conditions
Prevailing at Dawson--What the
Utah Men There Are Doing.

w. o. C-Doc'') Norrell has returned
to the city after fruitless stay of one
year in the frozen Klondike. The coun-
try has no charms for Mr.. Norrell, who,
with ex-Coal Mine Inspector Thomas
Lloyd, left Salt Lake on Sept. 8, 1897.
They sailed from Portland on the 9Th.
and of the 250 passengers on the Elder
but seven succeeded in getting over
the Skagway trail before the next
spring.
But said Mr.. Norrel yesterday.
those who were left Jared nearly as
well as we who got over at that time.
We arrived at Dawson on Nov | and
found everybody locating claims.
There were then about 5000 people
there, and things looked encouraging.
Lloyd and located a claim, but weren't
at all lucky We didn't set on pay
ing creek. and could have done better
working for wages. The claim above
Us and the one below us both paid well,
but the country is very spotted, and
we weren't on one of the spots.
about the 1st of December we
leased part of a claim and struck some
pay dirt, but it wouldn't hold out We
got IS and 50 per pan for time, but
/ it grew worthless by the end of the
winter ] was taken sick early in the
spring of the prevailing disease ma
larial fever, and decided to come home.
1 was discouraged, saw that affairs
were growing worse in Dawson, and
here I am"
Mr.. NorrelI states that the frightful
sanitary conditions in Dawson is the
cause of hundreds of deaths and thou
sands of cases of fever. The one street
/ is covered two feet deep with saWdust,
| placed there by the miners as a sort
of preventative. The authorities will
not take any steps to improve the
conditions. Every day for three weeks
there were from 10 to 20 people buried
from the hospitals, and great many
more from private places. The hospit-
! ais are the only worthy institutions in
! Klondike.
! Speaking of the people now in Klon-
/ dixie and their prospects, Mr.. Norrell
/ said There were about $4,000 people
who came down the river before / left
! Dawson. Some OF them, hearing of the
/ reaction of the boom, did not even
/ stop, but foated on down to take
chance ct prospecting on the Ameri-
can side. Dawson is overrun with
| people now. They cannot find employ
ment, although wages have been low
cred from S1.50 an hour and SIS per day
/ to So and 50 per day. Last winter SIS
per day didn't amount to much be-
cause of a mans expenses. a good
meal was worth $3.50, but now can be
! had for half that. A team, wagon and
! harness used to sell for 81 200 easily
/ As for food, a. man could get anything
/ he asked for il. The average selling
price was 81 per pound for provisions
such as flour. bacon, coffee. tea, salt,
ETC., though these articles have sold
much higher. Now things are different
The streets are lined with tents, where
men are offering their outfits for most
anything they can get. They want to
leave the country. Everything is To-
Gated, and after this winter there will
not be more than 5000 people there
! There is enough food in Dawson to fur
nish the whole Klondike for three
| years. There are no good prospects for
/ those who remain, and the men are
/ becoming desperate The miners are
/ greatly incensed at the outrageous con-
duct of the gold commissioner, Thomas
| Faw"ett, and threaten his life if he
| continues to so exercise his absolute
power. III give you an example of how
he treats them He had notices posted
| throughout the town that the Domin-
ion creek bench claims were closed to
entry, and no locations would be re-
| ceived from there. Later he gave no
tice that the district would be open on
May IL to those who obtained permits
from him. Accordingly, a great many
went to him in good faith for permits
on the 18th and were informed that the
first order had been suspended, and no
| permits were necessary, as the claims
! had been opened on the Sth OF May
The result was that all the claims had
/ been located by Dominion officers be-
! lore others knew anything of it.
| The syndicates will not work their
claims this winter" said Mr. Norrell.
because of the enormous royalty they
have to pay. They have made appli-
al i'm 70 l,a 1t.
have the same lowered, and will let
the diggings remain idle until they are
successful. Those who are able to
suspend operations have followed the
example, so the chances are that the
output will not be very great for this
year
The Klondike boom has faded. and
Dawson will narrow down to a quiet
mining camp, with just enough bust
ness and men to keep the thing going.
There has been no money made from
mining claims located since those
claims which caused the first excite
ment.
The hardships which u man endures
/ IN that country are fearful. 1 had my
nose and ears frozen several times, oace
by facing an ordinary (Klondike) biz
zard for ten minutes. One has to sled
wood in all kinds of weather and alto
gether it is trip should advise every
man to avoid
Mr.. Lloyd was prospecting on Do
1 minion creek when Mr.. Norrell unit
the country. Harry Jennings was AT
Minook, new camp, and stood in a
fair way to make a stake. Cap
Donovan is managing some teams for
a Dawson company. John Bechtol is
working claim on tributary to Bo-
nanza creek. Bill Martin is in Daw-
son. Mike Sullivan is gold commits
sioner'-that is, weighs out the dust
pehlnd the desk in a prosperous Daw-
son saloon. Mr.. Seckles is doing tbe
assaying for the N A. T. Co. There
are great many Utah people in the
country, says Mr.. NorreH, but he found
very few who had made any amount
IF money