The herald., 1898-01-29
OF GOLD
Los Angeles Men Back
From the Kl0ndike
THEY CAME OUT FOR SUPPLIES
WHAT THEY THINK OF THE
COUNTRY
THEY CAME OUT FOR SUPPLIES
Several People From This City Yet on
the Trail-All Doing Well.
Some Good Advice

Mace d. Ford, former business man
Of this city, who has been in the Klon-
dixie country since early last summer, is
spending a few days at his former resi-
dence on North Daily street, in this city.
Mr.. Ford was seen by Herald reporter
yesterday and questioned concerning his
trip to and experiences in the gold fields
of the northwest. The gentleman had
no fault to find with the outcome of his
venture. In fact, he was so well pleased
that he intends to return within the next
few days. However, Mr.. Ford is not
wildly enthusiastic. Having endured
north, the romantic side of the Klondike
trip has been thoroughly chilled.
81 went into the gold regions of the
northwest territory last summer short
ly after the beginning of the boom.
and located on White Horse Rapids, at
point about 500 miles south of Dawson
City. My partners and found some
very rich dirt in that region, and it was
agreed that 1 should come out for
| horses, provisions and some machinery
while they remained to look after our
| claims.
I'VE found the White Horse Rapids
country very difficult of access. The
canyon is without doubt one of the worst
points on the trail. l know that when
we passed through there my hair stood
straighter than at any other time in my
life. We made a distance of nearly a
mile through the surging rapids in n
little more than two minutes. COM
pany of capitalists is now building a
tramway around the canyon for dis
tance of about three miles. Therefore
the danger of getting into this territory
will have been overcome upon the COM
pletion of the system. There are sew
eral tramways being built over many of
the more dangerous passes, and those
going into the Klondike country next
spring will not encounter many of the
hardships along the trail that had to be
met by the pioneer invaders.
"A tramway will be built from tide
water to The Scales, a distance of three
quarters of a mile, and another to the
summit of Chilcoot Pass, a distance of
twenty miles. Then, too, there will be
a wagon road from Skaguay to Lake
Bennett over Whites Pass, about forty
two miles in length. The Skaguay trail
has been one of the worst in the country,
as it is very marshy. Over 5000 horses
and mules We're lost along the trail last
season. By the early part of next spring
it is expected that four bucket tramways
will be in operation over the Chilcoot
summit Two of them will be run by
steam power, one by electricity and one
by horses and whims. With these ad-
vantages for the transportation of pas
sengers and freight, many of the great
est difficulties in getting into the gold
fields will have been overcome"
Mr.. Ford stated that he met several
Los Angeles people on his way out. Most
of them were headed for the Stewart
river country. Ralph Rogers and Charles
Lamb were the only ones he met with
whom he was particularly acquainted.
Lamb had gone into the country in
March last, along with Clements and
Berry, who made big strikes, and had
been doing well. He took his wife with
him last spring, and both are now To-
Gated near Dawson. .
Ralph Rogers, who formerly conducted
real estate business in this city, and
who controlled the chief portion of the
Garvanza townsite, had met with con-
siderable hard luck.
Rogers was accompanied by his
daughter and son, aged respectively
about II and Is years. On two occasions
he was caught in an ice jam and lost all
of his provisions" said Mr.. Ford. "Just
before l left 1 heard that he had been
caught the third time, but this report
was not fully verified. The story as ]
got it was to the effect that his boat
had been capsized, throwing himself, son
and daughter into the river The boat
and provisions were lost. 1t was also
stated that the daughter narrowly es-
capped death by drowning, while both
father and son reached the shore with
great difficulty.
II have stated that nearly all of the
Los Angeles people of whom learned
anything were bound for the Stewart
river country. I am free to say, from
my own knowledge of that territory,
that they are making a great mistake.
1 am satisfied that nearly all of them
will return disappointed and discour-
aged. The only reason that can give
for the attraction of so many people to
that district lies in the last report of the
Canadian governor-general, who, in his
last annual report pronounced the gold
fields along the Stewart river to be the
richest yet discovered. AS a matter of
fact, there is not claim along that
stream that is paying reasonable re-
turn for the labor involved in it's devel-
opment.
"A large number of people went in
there last summer and fall on the
strength of the lurid reports that had
been sent out, but they were unable to
strike anything, and many of them came
out shortly after, seeking new fields"
Mr.. Ford stated that it was his opin-
ion that more than one-half of those in
tending to go into the Klondike country
during the coming season would be dis
appointed and return to the states.
"There is plenty of gold up there" he
said, "but the rich fields already dis
covered are confined to a comparative
y small territory, nearly all of which
has been staked out. Many of those
who went up there last fall and in the
early part of the winter gave up their
trips at Dyea and Skaguay, where they
sold their provisions to the government
at prices ranging all the way from 81
to 50 per pound. and started back for the
states.
I'm those districts where rich discov-
cries have been made the Canadian