The San Francisco call., 1898-01-11

was simply a play for the ad<artlsing of his newspaper. It was urged that if he were selected to go to Ottawa, the government would look upon the whole affair in the light of a newspaper fake and would simply throw the memorial in the waste basket.
 Livernash took this reference to him as personal insult, he said, and made a violent speech in which he declared that he represented as much capital as any man in the room, that he was ac lively interested in mines, owned claim, and had interests in several others, and that he was not a mere newspaper reporter, but was the as sistant managing editor of one of the greatest newspaper in the country.
 This speech only quickened the op- position and in order to get the quar- rel out of the way of the meeting and adjust the difficulty with the least of fense to anybody, it was proposed that a committee be appointed with power to select the three delegates. Liver nash at first opposed this, declaring it was clear to him that the committee would be stuffed against him. He wanted the meeting to name the dele gates. The committee was appointed, however, and he was placed on 1t him. self
 I made no reference to any of this in my dispatch that reported the meet ing because 1 deemed it a detail ot small importance, the business having been concluded and Livernash named as one of the three. It becomes impor- tant, in view of the general expression of protest that has since been made as against his going to Ottawa
 A petition circulated in town and on the creeks, asking the committee of ten to reconsider his appointment and to name some other in his stead, secured in a few days 2000 signatures. It was being actively pushed for even larg- CT list, and in the meantime members of the committee were informed and asked to get together and decide upon some other man.
 Livernash was to have started out tomorrow. That was the date he had fixed. Hearing of the movement against him, he got together what of his outfit he could quickly and lefttown last Friday. He went up the river few miles and made camp there to await his party. Frank Slavin, the prize-fighter, who is going with Liv- ernash, is still in town, and says he hopes to get away tomorrow. The miners who signed the petition are greatly incensed at Livernash's action, and it is more than likely a meeting . will be called to make informal protest to Ottawa.
 Captain Hanson, the local head of the Alaska Commercial Company, told me to-day that his clerks have an average of 100 requests for food every day that he is unable to grant. Men not only offer to pay for provisions, but offer the clerks all manner of bribes to fill their orders. It seems impossible, he says, to make the people believe that there is nothing in the store to sell in the pro- vision line.
 T have at times been worried be- cause of the responsibility l took In urging men to go to Fort Yukon" said Captain Hanson, but I am now con- vinced that I was right. If there were 600 men more in this place without pro- visions there would be certain starva- ticn Relief cannot be brought here by dog teams The best dog team in the country could not land more than 200 pounds, and no team can make more than two trips. There are not dogs enough n the country to make any material impression in case of famine.
 Notwithstanding the signs of great scarcity of food, there is nevertheless much easier feeling here in this matter The great exodus of men, first down the river and now up, has brought re- lief in two ways-there are not only fewer men to feed, but nearly every man going out has swelled the stock of 1oi This has been such a material quan- tity that three restaurants have opened The price of meal in any one of these consisting of a very slim piece of meat a dish of some one vegetable, bread without butter, pie and coffee, is 8 50. Pie and coffee is $1 50. These res taurants do a good business. They are backed by the gambling fraternity, to whom they are a gOdsend. With no place to get Q meal, the miners on the creek did not dare to come to town.
 The terrible march over the ice is now fully under way, and there are now over 400 men on the trail. Very many go without any equipment for such an undertaking and apparently without any conception of the danger they must encounter. I have seen half uOZen start out Wlln nothing more than what they carried in their pack straps on their backs. One man I saw start in this way alone-no tent, no stove, little clothing and little provi- sion. His name is Henry Pellet of Sioux Falls. A score of men start out every day. The great majority are without dogs and have their outfits on clumsy sleds which they have made themselves and which are scarcely fitted for the work they will be required to do. These sleds are often loaded so that the men haul them with difficulty over level ground; indeed, they must be so loaded ii the person carries with him an equipment in any wise in keeping with the requirement of his journey How they expect to make their way over the heaped up masses of ice that lie in their way only desperate necessity can sug- gest.
 For ten days the temperature has ranged from 40 to 57 degrees below zero