The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-08-28
Great Rush for Rich Placer Dig
gings in British Northwest
Territory.
Discoveries Near Lake Atlin Cause a Vast
Movement Of Gold Seekers From Many
Alaska Locations.

might never get back and would starve
to death. and he refused to go any far
Their. Thompson was forced to re-
turn. Thompson is the miner who
nearly laughed himself into hemor-
rhage last January in Juneau when he
heard about a man who had under
taken to drive a flock of chickens into
Dawson over the Dalton trail in the
dead of winter. Nothing has ever
been heard of the man or chickens
since. Thompson is still alive, though
not quite SO fortunate as he might
have been.
The new discovery possesses in some
respects the popularity of being fam
lily affair. Fritz Miller kept the find
secret and came back to Juneau for
more grub and to let his relatives and
friends in on it. This was about three
weeks ago. Weppler is married to a
sister of the Millers. Dockie McKin-
non, the two Millers, James McClusky,
proprietor of the Arctic Hotel; Walter
Carter and a man representing United
States Deputy Marshal Staley, who was
let into the secret, composed party
and announced they were going into
Dawson. This diverted suspicion from
their real objective point and enabled
them to go across Lake Atlin and stake
all the ground that the law allows be-
fore they would let the secret out. But
somehow the cat escaped from the bag.
McClusky and Weppler returned yes
terday, and this morning the former Is
sprinkling the street with hose In
front of his place, surrounded by an
eager crowd and trying to look as
though nothing out of the ordinary had
happened. Where gold seekers are the
news of strike leaks mysteriously and
spreads with the rapidity Of a fire
alarm in a great city. A stampede fol-
lows like the rush of the engines and
red helmets. When McClusky and
Weppler were coming down Takou Arm
several days ago on the way out they
passed fleets of boats filed with ex-
cited gold seekers, headed for the lake.
This rush has only one predecessor.
That was the rush to the Klondike.
Every camp between Juneau and Tag
fsh House is deserted. Men have left
tents and cabins and hurried away
with insufficient food and clothing, in
many instances taking hardly enough
grub for the trip. When the news got
to Skaguay the whole town was electrf-
fed. 1t is the one engrossing topic Of
conversation. The stores kept open all
night to supply the extraordinary de-
mand for outfits. Everybody who can
is already gone or preparing to go. The
small steamers on the river below Lake
Bennett have deserted Dawson and are
carrying crowds up Takou Arm. The
kilbourne made a brave attempt to run
up Atlintoo River into the lake with
her crowd of passengers, but could not
proceed against the swift surrent. Men
here and in Skaguay who can't leave
their business are rushing around in
state of excitement trying to find the
right man to grubstake. A sack of gold
from Pine Creek was brought out by
Weppler and is being examined and
much admired at Circle City Men
who came up the river from Dawson
on the steamers on their way to their
homes in the States have postponed the
home trip and are focking to Lake At
lin. Efforts were made to get the local
newspapers Of Skaguay and Juneau to