The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1898-01-01

A Kloadiks King Makes . $50,00(
Display for His Family.
4 A New York correspondent o
the St. Louis Republic gives m &C
count Of Christmas Tree in the
palatial home Of Klondike kine
in that city which reads like . fairy
tale. The writer says:
| What would you think if you
saw ! Christmas tree with nuggets
of gold worth $50, 600 strung upon
it with silk cord, like popcorn is
strung on the childrens' tree7 And
what would you think if at the
base of this tree, heaped up care
lessly, rejecting a thousand times
the light of the lamp, were $50
gold pieces to the amount of $751;
OOO-75O of them? What would
you think, if in addition to all this,
there were presents worth 5000
strung among the nuggets--a Christ
mas tree worth $4,000?
And wha: would you say if, while
looking at this Christmas tree, you
were told that the man who put it
up for his wife and two children
dined last year on Christmas Day
off q piece of caribou meat, with
the top of a tin lard bucket for a
plate and his fingers serving the
purposes of knife and fork? You
probably would throw up both
hands and cry that there was no
truth in the world were you told
that the Christmas dinner of the
wife and children was bread and
butter and milk, and that the moth
er of the children bought five cents
worth of candy and made rag doll.
Such a Christmas tree occupied
space in the Hotel Lafayette yester-
day evening, grazing the rooms of
James I. Clements, ''the Eldorado
King of the Klondike," who is
worth about $2,OOO,OOO. Not only
was the tree there, but the gold was
there, and those fortunate, or unfor-'
tunate, enough to be allowed to
feast their eyes on this prodigai
display of wealth were granted per-
mission by the proud owner of it
to sift the $40 gold pieces through
their fingers, to lift double handfuls
of gold nuggets and guess how
much they were worth. And every
visitor carried away a little nugget,
whether "the Eldorado King" had
ever seen them before or not.
This Christmas tree, as it stood,
was the exact reproduction of 4
Christmas tree Mr.. Clements dream
cd about year ago tonight, after
his meal of caribou meat. He was
up in the Klondike then, on the
Eldorado Creek, with. millions of
wealth scattered about him, and
not enough to eat in sight. He
had just realized, few days before,
that he had struck it rich. and de-
spite the fact that he knew his for
tune was made, it was the sorriest
Christmas he bad ever spent. It
was while sleeping that night that
he saw a Christmas tree, with his
wife and babies standing about it,
strung with gold nuggets. seemingly
growing out Of a pile of $40 gold
pieces, valuable presents of every
kind hanging from every limb.
Next Christmas" he said when
he rose in the morning, "if l ever
get out of this country, my wife and
babies will have just such tree.
IDEA EVOLVED FROM A DREAM.
James I. Clements, whose idea,
evolved from q dream, made pos
sible this remarkable Christmas |
tree, arrived in New York about two
weeks ago with his wife and chill
dren, Velmer. aged Z, and Walter,
aged 3. He displayed considerable
gold when he came and the fame
of rich strike be had made in the
Yukon country had preceded him,
but he kept his Christmas tree pro-
ject to himself, mentioning it only
TO ono or two friends whose cooper
alton he wished to enlist.
Yesterday morning he purchased
= tree five feet high and had it taken
10 his rooms in the Hotel Lafayette.
He then went to the Office Of the
hotel, and with the assistance of the
servants he carried up his presents.
for which be had ransacked the
shops of New York. When they
were displayed on the tree by his
wife, he went to the Office of Wells.
Fargo & Co., and took from the
custody of the express company
three sacks Of caribou skins, con-
aiming his nuggets worth 80, 600.
From there he vent 10 q safe de-
post company, with which he had
stored several days before SIS, 900 in +
go gold pieces, coined from Klon-
like nuggets he had brought back
With him from his claim.
The Christmas tree was placed on i
table ia the middle of the room.
With much trouble the nuggets
Eere strung on strong silk cord and
lung about the tree in shining
trings carslessly. On the table at
- la~> - a. $3.50 49, <vxfA ,.sAnA.f