The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-08-19
BUT HE'S VERY RETICENT
He Would Not Advise Anybody to Go
There Who Has Not Plenty of
Money to Start whirlpool
Scarce and High.

and has come back rich, how rich he
will not say. as he is opposed to doing
anything to ~ncourag people to go
there. But he admits he did far better
than he ever dreamed of doing when
he started. 1t was Mr.. Wall and his
party with others hat purchased the
steamer St. Michaels. stocked the boat
with provisions n started up the Yu-
kon, as, it will be remembered, was pub
lisned in the early part of the Klon-
dixie excitement last summer. y report
came back late in the fall that Mr.. Wall
had met with a fatal mishap, but he
has come back safe and sound, has not
seen a sick day since he left and in the
year he spent ava from Butte acquir-
ed a fortune.
Mr.. Wall was seen at his home at
543 East Mercury street last evening
and in giving an account of his trip
and of the country, aid Our party
left here July 2Sth of last year and
started for the Klondike by way of st.
Michaels. At that place we purchased
the steamer St. Michaels, the boat the
Jesuit fathers used to use in carrying
supplies to their missions on the luxor
river. There were u of us all told.
Each one put in an equal amount and
bought the steamer, paying 81, 200 for
her. and then we laid i'm % tons of pro-
visions and started up the river. Each
man was a member of the crew and had
to do his part of the work. We had to
cut our own wood and progress was
therefore pretty slow, but we eventual
ly reached Circle City. The river began
TO freeze at this point over he flats
not in the immediate channel. and we
got frozen in. You see, at Circle the
river spreads out over a fiat and is
about a mile wide, the channel being
1900 GU
shore. We got frozen in at this fiat and
had to cut our way for about 300 feet
through a foot of ice to reach the chan
mel. We made about six miles more
and reached Fish Camp, where we had
to turn back, as the wood to be had
was all soggy willows and would not
make steam. If we could have made
two miles more we would have reached
timber again and would have been able
TO make Dawson, hut we could make no
Roadway With the wet wood, and as
the cold weather was coming on very
fast, we concluded to turn back. We
put in at Circle and tied up for the
winter. -
The rest of the party concluded TO
stay at Circle. so | sold out my interest
in the boat and cargo and went on.
This was about the rush from Dawson
came down and | was able to dispose
of my interest in the cargo to good adj
vantage. My interest in the boat |
sold for what / put In. / bought a
couple of dogs and taking just enough
grub to run me, started for Dawson
on the ice. / arrived in Dawson Feb.
% at the end of my provisions, and
when l applied to Captain Healy for a
supply he sold me five pounds Of dried
apricots, but would give me no more.
He said | was in big luck to get that.
The country abounds i'm game. caribou,
moose, a species of prairie chicken or
grouse and arctic hares. SO If a man is
a rustler he Won't staTve. for he can
go hunting and exchange game for pro-
visions.
"A fellow named Charles Wolf and
took our guns and went out and sue
ceeded in killing a moose, whic we
brought in and exchanged for flour and
other provisions, and from that time
had no difficulty in getting plenty to
eat. ! bought a tent to live in and
spent the winter quite comfortably. OF
course | really never had enough of any
n thing, nobody did. for the sharks
got in and got up all the provisions
when they saw there was going To
be a scarcity and held them at exorbi-
tant prices so that provisions were more
valuable really than none or gold.
still. there was no actual suffering. |
spent the winter prospecting and ex-
aiming claims for one of the bonanza
kings, and located seven claims for my
self. / got 20 on American creek, eight
on Dome, the left fork of American.
402 on Dominion, 22 on Soda gulch, 21I
on Swedish gulch. Fl on Dawson creek,
Is on Julia creek and a half interest
in "a pm Cold creek. None of them
have been worked very extensively, |
but a couple that were worked during
the winter paid about SIC a day to the
man. The others are much more val
liable, and ] could have sold them for
a good figure. but l preferred to keep
them"
Mr.. Wall was averse to saying much
about his claims or what he took from
them. When questioned on this point
and asked how much gold he brought
out, he said: II don't care to state how
much / made, for the reason that | am
opposed to encouraging any one to go.
The newspapers have spoiled the coun-
try already by creating so much excite
ment about it that it is overcrowded
with people, the most of whom are going
TO suffer greatly, n unless a man has
money he had better stay away. There
is no lack OF gold, but
there are too many people
for what there is to eat n the
transportation companies are not TAX
ing in an adequate supply of provisions.
Their object is to keep the prices up.
III they TOOK IN plenty OF provisions
prices would come down. They can
make more by taking in barely nough
TO prevent starvation. because they can
demand their own prices and this is
what they are going 10 do. ] would not
advise or do anything to influence any
one 10 60 for at least another year.
The country is good for 20 years. and
after another year the great bulk Of
those who are there will have been
starved out and have left and a man
would then stand some show. II Is for
reason that i would not be the
OF influencing any one TO go that
/ ont care To say % well | did, but
you can say / did far better than | ex-
pected."
While Mr.. Wall was dislnclined to
say anything to boom the country he
a quantity Of gold. which ne
said was taken from one of his claims.