The San Francisco call., 1898-07-11
KlOndikerS Arrive on the
 Hattie 1. Phillips.
THEY ESCAPED STARVATION
ATTEMPT OF CAPITALISTS TIC
 CORNER PROVISIONS.
Hard Times in Dawson Next Winter Predicted on Account of Scarcity of the Food
 Supply.

The passengers of the Hattie I. Phillips arrived from St. Michael early yesterday morning and gave glowing accounts of the gold yielding country.
 The star attractions in and around the hotel corridors yesterday were without doubt the twenty klondikers who arrived on the Hattie I. Phillips, which left St. Michael on June 2. Parents, wives and sweethearts whose loved ones had gone to the frozen north were early callers on the miners anxious to gain information as to their relatives The passengers were very reticent about their own financial success, and most of them gave the Klon- dike black eye.
 The largest sum brought down by any individual was S30,000 and the small est 5000. The general average is about s6000 apiece. Nearly all admitted that they were compelled to leave the country on account of ill-health, ana w. F. Pinkham, a mining engineer of Boston. who was sent up to the klondike district on behalf of an Eastern syndi- cate is confined to his room at a local hotel from frost bitten foot contracted on his way from Dawson to St. Michael.
 The miners speak very bitterly of the way few capitalists in Dawson attempt ed to corner the provision market and charge exorbitant prices for flour, beans. etc. but their scheme failed, as miners with more provisions than they needed sold their superfiuous stock to old resi- dents at cost, and the Speculators in pro- visions instead of selling flour at $5. which was the market price early last winter, preferred holding their stock, hop ing to get as much as sl75 for a sack of flour, but they were dismally disappoint- ed, and would be glad to sell the same -four now for SS sack.
 F. F. Haller, who left Dawson City on May 26 stated: "I left Seattle last Au- gust. and on arriving at Skaguay immedi- ately started over the trail to Dawson, arriving there on October 19 I staked a number of claims which I would con- servatively value at S15 ,000. November was the coldest month there last winter, the thermometer at one time registering as low as 65 below. There was an unus- ually heavy fall of snow last winter, which made it good sleighing at all times People were arriving and leaving every day, and l have no doubt that unless a large number of people had become dis satisfied and left a large number of resi- dents would have met death by Starva- tion, but, fortunately, over 700 people left Dawson during the winter, disgusted and discouraged at their chances of making a fortune. I would recommend no one ts go there who is not in perfect health as the life is very severe and no one can stand hard work up there more than two years. l have not decided whether 1 shall return there or not.
 F. H. Durbin and a party of friends were caught in an ice jam in small open boat twenty-five miles below Circle City while on their way from Dawson to St. Michael. MT. Durbin returns to San Francisco the owner of two claims which have not yet been worked. He states that there is plenty of work in Dawson