Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-09-30
THE KLoxpIKE.

! deluslon and a snare TO hundreds or adj
| venturous citizens who FASTENED thither
| in tho hope OF speedily acquiring for
tunes Travellers now returning from the
| ice-bound land tell melancholy tales OF
blghted hopes and hardships. and few.
| indeed. have found themselves compen-
stated for the sufferings they underwent
| in the bleak northern country.
| When the first wild rumors OF the lucky
| finds" in Alaska reached us in the sum-
| mer of 1896. a fiutter OF excitement went
throughout the land The kilograms
| from California told OF an El Dorado.
which opened its arms TO all and offered
| gold almost for asking. The picture was
| irrosstibly alluring TO that class who
dream OF rapid wealth without continual
work. and ere many weeks had passed
| several expeditions were put on foot Ana
meanwhile. others, laden with the pre-
| cious metal, arrived in this country and
added the stories OF their experience TO
the many wild rumors already afoat.
| The tales put IN circulation set our por-
| ton of tho Western Hemisphere agog,
tracted the attention Of London man.
| ciers. The old excitement created by the
| discovery Of gold in California and by the
finding Of the coveted metal in Australia
was revived. Men reckoned not the difii-
culties. but hastened on the mad chase
against which sober thought would have
warned them.
A few, after encountering unspeakabie
hardships, gained their prize. but the
great majority have been disappointed
Difficulty after difficulty met them, and
the hardships incident to their lot proved
themselves a hydra-headed monster. The
civilized world, cut off from communica-
ton with the frozen land, for long time
heard only the most cheering news. True,
there were stories of self-denial and OF
biting frosts and rugged mountains and
rivers CONCEALED by ice, but these, in the
eyes of the adventurous, made the field
more picturesque, and were not regarded
as insurmountabe barriers. And so a
grand stampede followed, and Alaska was
besieged by thousands of ill-equipped per-
sons-in some cases the worst element of
the couritry-whose one thought was gold
Had the public mind not been attracted
by the war with Spain. it would be hard
to tell how many would have risked their
lives and fortunes in the Klondike. The
fever was at its height when the mutter-
ings of international strife were first
heard, and later when the war-cloud
burst, Alaska was temporarily forgotten
For this at least, many a man owes a
debt of gratitude to Spain.
That there have been vast quantities
of gold found in the Klondike we cannot
doubt, and that more yet awaits the
steady patient worker We do not ques-
ton, but the cost of procuring it should
be carefully considered. The principle of
first come, first served" has so far pre-
vailed, and those tardily arriving upon
the scene have born the brunt of the
hardships. The profits of the first pioneers
in the ice-bound land may never be
known. Doubtless, they earned all they
got, and are glad to make room for others
Alaska was purchased from Russia by
our government in 1867, and the sum paid
for it was $7,200,0O0. 1t can hardly be dis
puted that the country has already yield
ed this sum in gold, though the metal
has been dearly bought. Indeed, the pres
ence OF gold in it's soil has been known
for years, though the fact did not attract
general attention. In 1858 there was n
great strike in the British Northwestern
To, tor. A,tt ,fx,i, dor Of 40,
have been actively pushed after that.
The output in 1894 only amounted to $780,
O00
The man TO whom the recent craze is
partly attributable is George w. Cormack
While fishing on Bonanza creek in Sep
TENDER, 1886, he made a lucky find"
which is said to have enriched him. At
that time millions Of salmon were coming
down the river and Cormack was catch
ing them. These fish are not eaten by
the natives, and it was his idea to sell
them for dog food. but when he found the
gold he abandoned his flnny quarry. The
following December the news of his good
fortune reached Circle City, 300 miles dis
tant, and seven or eight months later our
own people heard it. Thousands snatch
ed at the hope of wealth, and braved the
risks incident to the harsh climate in their
rush for opulence. And now, every way
worn fortune-seeker returning to his
home, tells the story of what awaited the
avaricious pilgrim, and reafirms the old
adage that all is not gold that glistens.