The San Francisco call., 1898-01-11

on his back, and the straps on the shoulder checked the free circulation in his arms. There are two others in his party, both of whom are severely frozen; one of them, George Winters, an old man, has both feet frozen, his ankles being swollen and the flesh broken. James Stronach, the third, is also badly frozen. The party was caught in the ice crush thirty miles up, and has ever since been plodding on toward this city, having in three weeks made twenty miles with their entire outfit.
 Welsh says there were days at first following the jam that they struggled the entire day chopping a passage through the ice to make distance of one mile. In their crippled condition they are going to try to bring their goods to this city without moving camp again until they move it finally here. George Winters is an old soldier of the Union army and James Stronach of the Confederate army, and both are suf- | fering in the same tent. They say that the war developed no such hardships as they are now undergoing.
 James Carter, who came down after the ice stopped running, tells the story of the loss of a boat with three men, Judge Sullivan, Dr. Harvey and a MT. Dillon, all of ColfaX, Washington. Carter says he and his party had made a landing before the ice jam took place and that from the shore he saw a boat caught out in the stream between two foes, crushed and carried under, and that the three men went down with it. The men were all fellow passengers of Carter on the steamer Elder, that sailed from Portland on the 25th of July. The fatality occurred only about twenty miles above the city, from which point Carter walked to town.
 With the stacking of the tension in has intensified There is a stampede at least once a week to some creek in the district near or far, and the work in the commissioners office has grown very heavy recording newly staked claims.
 Reports of new discoveries come from all quarters. The reports from the creeks where systematic prospecting is going forward is of such a character as to create and sustain this excitement. On Upper Bonanza, as high as 122, very rich gravel has been found and the greatest expectations .are sustained with regard to bedrock. The twenty per cent tax proposed to be levied by the government on the product of the claims has had the effect of stopping all boaSting about the great yields of the mines, and it is now very difficult to get at the product of any particular claim. However, very rich strike has the effect of driving the lucky miner to drink in most cases and then he talks. It was through this agency that rich pay was reported from Bear Creek, a few days ago, and another sweep of excitement spread through the camp. George Howard took $76 from one pan on his branch claim No. 4, on the right side of Skookum Gulch, a few days ago. He tried a second pan and got SS6 This IS the first report from the right side of Skookum. The left was reported quite rich some months ago. DeadwOOd Creek is known to be very rich, as heavy covered gold has been se cured in the gravel. The Deadwood empties into the Yukon four miles be- low Dawson, but from the opposite side.
 The sale by Louis LePlant to Jim Hagen of a half interest in 43 on Hunker fer S30,000 has precipitated 8 very pretty race between dog teams to Circle City. Fred Trump, now in Cir cle, offered a half interest in 46, three claims above Haggen'S, for S2000 last summer. Since then 43 has developed big prospects, and the sale to Hagen, a Snohomish, Wash, man, quieted all doubts as to it's wealth. Two parties started on Monday to go to Circle City to find Trump, who is not supposed to know the value of his property, to buy it from him for those 5000 perhaps. Tom Lynch got out with five dogs last time as he can. He goes on behalf of a gambler named "Goldie." There are several others about to attempt to overtake him.
 Despite the depth of snow that cov- CTS everything and the intense cold, a good deal of prospecting is being done for quartz. Quartz in the Bonanza or Fl Dorado hills is held to be the thing most to be desired, and parties are spending the winter among them look ing for the white rock with the yellow metal in it. Several finds have been made, which the prospectors believe are the foundations of great fortunes. James Pyle yesterday filed a quartz claim on the point of the hill rounding out from SkoCkum Gulch to Bonanza Creek, and covering some 90 placer claims. The placer claims, however have prior right under the law, and must be worked out before the quartz claim may be worked. The AIl-Gold group of quartz claims and the Too Much-Gold group, covering the two lodes extending through the hills from one to the other of the creeks of the same names, are said to have shown very rich prospects. The following pages from my diary will take up the story of life in Dawson where my dis patch of November 21 left it:
 Nov. H-Nigger Jim walked into Jim mic kerrys saloon, scene of the recent robbery of s22 ,000 this morning about o'clock and called for a drink. As the whisky was placed before him Jim said: Now, don't want you people to get ex- cited, but l have come for that SS000 that l left here, and that you stole from me-