The record-union., 1898-07-29
DISGUSTED WITH kLONDIKE.
THEJACKSoN-BULLARD PARTY
COM aiG HOME.
A Few Good Claims and Thousands
of Men Discouraged and
HOmesick.

who left Sacramento last Fall with
Ben Bullard and William Ahern, in
which he gives a very clear idea of
the condition of things in Dawson a
couple of months ago.
The letter is addressed to the writer s
brother, W. F. Jackson. In the same
envelope came short letter, written
four days later, stating that John
Houston ('Scottya') of Oak Park, DR..
II. H. Look and ex-Conductor Condor
had just, reached Dawson, and that
they were worn out and utterly dis
couraged. The postscript also stated
| that j. A. C'Al.'o Gibson had reached
| there. All but Gibson, Mr.. Jackson
writes, will return this fall.
| (There is good reason for Gibson not
returning, as he is wanted for the en-
bezzlement of a large sum of money
from his mother)
THE JACKSON LETTER.
Dawson, June 2, 1898.
Dear WILL came down off the creek
yesterday and my first act, of course,
was to go to the Postoffice for mail.
They brought to light letter of yours
written last November. The lot Of
mail that arrived some time previously
middle Of ApriD brought your letter
of January 10Th. 1 hope to receive
others when people come down the
river, which will be soon now
Just think, until l received letter
| from Mort Smith in April / had not
had line from home since leaving
there. Even though your letters bear
dates months back. it is a great relief
to know that up till then all were well
at home
I know, too, the anxiety you felt for
me on account of the reported condition
| of things here. I tried my best to
/ get letters out at every opportunity,
| but know now that not one of them
reached you. Being up on the creek, l
did not know until too late when par
| ties were to leave that were trust
worthy. l sent letters by strangers,
and finally put all in the office, for
the Government promised to send mail
| from time to time all winter. / don't
believe they have sent one batch out
| yet and there must be an accumu-
| lation of tons by now. AS result
| you will probably get a number of
letters from me at one time. However,
I have felt quite easy in mind since
Denham left for I knew he would eX
plain the situation thoroughly
Well, the long winter has come to ar
emu DIT ldSl, anu Il CAN lCSl just ct dS-
gree of comfort in the open air for
the first time. We had frosty mornings
and raw, chilly days up to a week ago,
but now the thermometer registers 80
in the shade. The snow and ice have
disappeared, and not sign of winter
remains. You can see how quickly the
seasons change. The rivers and creeks
are out of their banks and the greater
part of Dawson is under water. If
one has business to transact in par
ticular part of town it is necessary to
hire boatmen to land you there. l
paid $3.50 yesterday for ride of five
mintes and was put in at the door Of
the Postoffice.
1t seems quite impossible to buy
line of provisions now. There must be
plenty here, however, for several res
taurants are running: Those coming
in from the claims are compelled to
board. Of course. Meals can be had
for So The universal custom is to
sleep fourteen hours of each day, and
indulge your appetite for food but
twice A boat from down the river is
expected hourly and then conditions
will be somewhat changed.
It is light now all the time. One
hardly knows when to go to bed, and
it sometimes requires reckoning to
figure the number of hours you have
been in bed when you awaken.
The sun dips behind mountain to
the north and is soon in sight again,
and it never gets the least bit dark.
In the near future we will have sun
light all the time, or nearly SO. 1t is
the season we have all looked forward
to- and now hail with delight. The
travelling, though, is much harder than
in the winter. / was thirty-six hours
on the trail between here and the
mine, a distance Of twenty-five miles.
shall return tomorrow, as / still have
some of my effects TO move down, and
also want to do some work there. Pos
sibly | may spend the greater part OF
the month on the creek and not come
down again until / am ready to take
the steamer for home, for l have made
up my mind to go out this summer L
think all Of the Sacramento people now
here have decided to do the same. Ben
Bullard is down the river, but 1t is safe
TO say he will go out with the rest
Captain Wasson, too, a future Sacra-
mentan, will join in the running. In
other letters and in one to Mort just
written and which l have asked him to
let You read, / have explained the best
l could why this country and our trip
is a disappointment, SO 1 will not go
into the subject again here. / Will fol-
low this letter SO soon, too, that hard
ly feel like going into the why's and
wherefores as would be the case other
wise. / can explain all SO much better
when l reach there.
There has been a great deal of sick
ness all winter, and physicians predict
much more this summer. The country
is covered with moss and decayed veg
citation, and the water in all streams
that drain the mountains and hillsides
is the color of tea. Many men drink
the water without trying to purify it
in any way, and the consequences may
be an epidemic of typhoid.
Dawson is located on fiat, without
drainage of any kind and as the moss
and muck thaw the surface of the
ground keeps in wet and boggy state
continually. The accumulation Of gar
bage and filth already would appall
any community in civilization What
the state Of affairs may be in few
months hence you can imagine.
Last winter scurvy and pneumonia
caused the greatest amount of sickness
and dead men were hauled past our |
cabin on the claim almost daily, for a |
time, by dog teams, and it was not |
an unusual thing to see man trying |
alone to get into Dawson with sick |
companion from some out |
point. In one instance it was two |