The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-10-27
GOOD WORD FOR FANCEIT.
KLOyDIKE PIONEER DEFENDS
DAWSON GOLD COMMISSIONER.
Michael Kelly, of south Park, Be-
lieves Fawcett Was Perfectly
Honest-How Frauds In Location
Of Mining Claims Were Practiced.

IT am hack from the Kiondlke." said
Michael Kelly. Of South Park, yesterday
afternoon TO help elect the Republican
ticket / have been looking over the si,ua-
ton and am convinced thai the chances
for Republican success are excellent. Next
spring / viii return 20 the go.d district and
see v nat | have got in my. bench claim on
French h24i- As ys< have not done enough
work 10 give you any idea OF what X viii
produce. AL L know is taat the clam u
John u Ostranoe-, who L. well known in
Seattle, Just below IL Is producing Well. /
think mat / nave = good proposition and
Shall stay with il until the final outcome.
Notwithstanding az this talk about De-
ing unAIae 20 locate Claims. / had no trou-
Die when l got down 10 the truth OF the
matter l saw that some one had put a
sign or claim stating that K had been
staked on suca and such a date and re-
corded a few days later. Judged from the
way he sign MAS written tina. either the
syn had been written after bosn The Stak-
ing and Ming, or that x was merely q
bind 10 keep Others away. / went 10 the
soid commissioner 5 Office and obtained an
interview with Commissioner Fawcett. lie
Immediately brought out the records and
told me mat the claim / spoke about, and
Others adjoining. had TOT been fled upon
When / asked for PERMISSION 20 lie he
SAID that, owing 10 the regulations Of The
oElce, y would De necessary TO have Il sur
veyed properly. He tod me that l could
crowd. that was waiting outside the rail-
ing. saw that L was inside they hooked AZ
NE as much as 10 say that had Used some
peculiar influence 10 get inside. told the
other man / Know that While / was n line
that would see hin, after the office closed.
In this way 1 did not deprive any OF the
men OF transact1ng their business
The surveyor said that his duties would
take him 10 the locality I tad mentioned
IN TWO or three days and tina. ne would run
the lines for the claims ! mad spoken of.
TIE claims were surveyed and recorded.
cannot understand why there should be SO
much talk about Commissioner FaDcett. /
firmly believe that he - an homes. man.
certainly had no pull with him and did not
pay one cent for any advantage over an
other man know that while l was in Ene
and the policeman in charge would admit
fellow, that there would Immediately be
how! about how he had fixed up things.
l told the crowd that such talk was fool
ish; that the real trouble was that every
time fellow made a legitimate location,
there We're ten others watching him wait
Ing for Il chance 10 steal il. Some of the
crowd agreed with me.
Through my discovery that the bench
claim on French hill had not really been
recorded. S. S. Rowland. of South Park.
got calm, and also ex-Cons.ab.e Fftzger-
aid. Mrs. Ostrander got fractional claim.
Mr.. Ostrander Is getting along nicely in
Alaska and viii come our ahead
"A man who goes into that country must
Keep his eyes open and not be deceived by
appearances. II requires q ntle detective
work 20 find out whether claims that are
alleged 10 be staked and recorded viii
prove so on investigation. A man VII file
a creek claim and later discover that there
is gold on the benches above him. Sup
pose he drive. stakes and puts UP notice
saying that John Smith. OF Suoilom.sh has
got that claim II You are fool enough 10
walk over IL without Investigating, IT IS
your own fault. II you talk with claim
holders they will frequently size you up
and finally say that they know where a
good claim may be had. You pay for the
information ana g-t the claim.
Suppose that the Klondike was on the
American side. and that a large number OF
Englshmen rushed there. Would the
Americans or English De first in favor with
officials: Human nature is the ne the
world ever have made several trips TO
the gold fields and yet have 20 lose even a
bunch of Matches
There is story current in Dawson 20 the
effect that on h's last "trip TO Dawson Kel-
" was 80 well known that every other man
said: Hello Nike" One day he landed
where the Dalton trail strikes the river.
and walking up onto the bluff found a
party OF men asleep. They awoke. looked
up and in chorus said: We'll I'll be
II there amt Mike Kelly and they con-
tirued their nap