The Portland daily press., 1898-01-28
New Mexico to Washington, and has fol-

New Mexico to Washington, and has fol-
lowed almost every occupation known to
those regions. But the collapse of one of
her enterprises in Tacoma necessitated a
new move, and she fixed her eyes on
Alaska.
She went first to st. Michael, and OBJ
tanned employment as a cook. She earned
good wages, and, being an excellent cook,
soon became a favorite. She heard SO
many stories of lifeson sthe Yukon that
she soon concluded that the simon-pure
pioneer life of laska was to be found
only upon the Yukon.
Much to7the regret of the boarders. Mrs.
Wills resigned her position as head OF
the culinary department. in the boarding
house at St. Michael and took a passage
on the river boat to Circle City.
She took with her the regulation camp
outfit and soon pitched her tent at Circle
City. What to do was the next question.
After a few days of investigation Mrs.
Wills concluded that she would set up in
business for herself.
The very next morning the Circle City
bakery took rank among the f1ourishing
institutions of the then chief city OF the
land Of the midnight sun.
In her camp outfit she had sheet iron
camp stove and two baking pans. The
two pans were all that the oven would
hold, and for that reason her "bakings"
were limited to two loaves at q "hatch. !"
But ready market was found for her
bread at so cents loaf. The miners
soon learned that Mrs. Wills could double
discount them when 1T came to matter
of baking bread, and before the week was
over the demand for Wills loayes was
such that the price went up to rs cents,
and a few DAYS later to 81, and there it
stuck for the season.
By working IA yours q day she could
turn out "a leaves, and in the meantime,
while the oven WAS doing its share of the
work, Mrs. Wills filled in the time wash
ing, ironing and mending.
When side issues, such as baking and
mending, did not encroach too much on
spare time, Mrs Wills would bake a pan
of biscuits and batch or two Of cake.
The biscuits went lively, and the cake
sold at 81. 80 pound.
Six mince pies, made of moose meat,
sold at Christmas time for IS each. But
Mrs. Wills was too busy with plain bak-
ing to give II UGH attention to the fancy
end of the art.
A 8 the miners congregated at Mrs.
Wills's bakery for their daily bread, it
became the news centre of Circle City,
and to this is due the fact that she was
among the first to hear of the rich strike
on the Klondike. Although she was
making money at the rate of $25 day, 1t
only whetted her appetite for gold, and
she no sooner heard of the Klondike than
she was ready to start. 1t was in. Deem
bersthat word reached Circle City to the
effect that Louis Rhodes had taken dirt
that ran $65 to the pan out of claim No.
81 above Bonanza, and a few days later
she heard of Clarence Berry taking out
800 to the pan.
hat e0tt1od tho nupStiOn with Mrs
Wills What was the-use Of wasting her
strength over pans that @only yielded 81
loaves of bread when she might be jug
Cling with pans that turned out $l00 in
bright, glittering gold? She would go to
the Klondike, and to the Klondike she
went.
She made her location on the Klondike.
ana filed thereon, and at once set a man
at work, while she returned to Dawson
City and accepted a position with the
Alaska commercial Company as head
cook at SIS day.
She paid the same amount to the men
who worked her claim. Thus shs was
able to work the claim and yet employ
herself in the more congenial occupation.
AS soon as all the good claims were
taken I'D near Dawson City, then the
claim jumpers began to get in their work
Several attempts were made TO get pos
sessionEof Mrs WilIs's claim. which prom
Used to pan out exceedingly rich, but she
fought the case, and held down her claim
against all corners. Finding that she
could not be scared off it, offers to pur-
chase were rendered, but Mrs. Wills was
mining for what there was in it, and the
surn of S25O, 900 did not swerve her from
her purpose She expects that her claim
will nan out twice that am mount. Mean
time she is making net profit of more
than $50 day in her bakery.