The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-20
WINTER IN CIRCLE CITY
MINERS STOP BOATS AND HELP
THEMSELVES TO PROVISIONS,
Paying Big Prices TherefOr-Incidents
of Winter life in the Gold Region
Along the Yukon River.
eclal correspOndence Of the journal.

Special Correspondence OF tie Journal.
CIRCLE CITY, Alaska, Dec. 20, 1881
When the party with which I am travelling
came up the Yukon river on the steamer
Healy we expected, according to contract,
10 be taken through to Dawson, but at Fort
Yukon we were dumped ashore and the
Healy went back down the river, the ex-
PLANTATION being given us that the boat could
! go no farther because of low water It is
a curious fact, however, that the Weare,
! belonging to the same line and drawing the
| same if not more, water, started up the
river all right within a, few days. She had
about two hundred tons of freight. but re-
/ fused us passage, although we had tickets
! to Dawson by that line and the boats are
common carriers. This trip of the Weare
was eventful She had plain sailing until
she got to Circle City. Here a crowd of
miners boarded her in search of provisions
! but Eli Weare, who was in charge, refused
to unload any at that place. The miners
then took possession of the boat and re-
moved about eighty tons of various articles
by force. This food run into the COM
| pany's warehouse. where it was properly
checked off and distributed to the men,
who paid for it gladly at big prices. The
| Weare was then allowed to go on to Daw-
son.
The Bella, which also tried to get past
! Circle City without leaving any provisions
there, was similarly unsuccessful. and when
the officers refused to unload the miners
went aboard and helped themselves to about
fifty tons of food and stuff, for all of which
| they paid at handsome rates.
The little steamer Victoria only had
| aboard about fifty tons when it drew into
Circle City, but the boat was practically
confiscated bodily. 1t was not allowed to go
on to Dawson at all, the cargo was taken
off and the boat sent back to Fort Yukon
! for another load.
All of this will doubtless seem a very
! high-fanded proceeding to the people in the
! States, but judgment must not be passed
| lightly nor without full comprehension OF
| all the circumstances of the case. The men
at Circle City and this part of Alaska have
practically made the country what it is.
! Many of them have lived here for years,
| and winter after winter have been at the
mercy Of the companies for their food and
! supplies The Birch creek district miners
are dependent wholly upon Circle City for
their supplies, and, while this place was al
most deserted early in the summer in the
rush to Dawson, there are now fully 1000
!
panies run their boats through Circle City
without unloading any provisions. The sit
uaton got really grave and there were
many men here who had no food at all and
could not buy any at the stores, as these
| repositories were cleaned out of every
thing. In addition the town was filling up
rapidly with men who had come down the
river from Dawson. These later arrivals
had been driven out Of Dawson by the
scarcity of provisions and they expected TO
/ find plenty here.
FORCE OF STARVATION.
With possible starvation staring them in
the face the people here determined on
| some drastic action. There are no civil au-
! thorities, not even a marshal, and when
! any question comes up that requires popu-
| lar action a miners meeting is called by
placing poster announcing the fact in
some conspicuous place. The chairman and
secretary are then elected at this gather
ing, the action, whatever it may be, is
decided on and the result is the law of the
community. Such a meeting was called to
discuss the food situation and it was de-
termined that in case any more boats came
up the river they must unload some grub,
either willingly or otherwise This seemed
the only solution of the problem. 1t was
lively easy to come down the river with
the current from Dawson, and as soon as
food began to run low in Dawson all the
arrivals over the passes who were not sup
piled with enough food to carry them
through the winter were told "to move on"
to Circle City Circle City knew of the dis
treSs al Dawson, but it knew also that
it's own distress was equally severe, and
moreover, it was being forced to care for
all that Dawson thought it could not feed
The Circle City people felt satisfied that
they were justified in forcing the boats to
| unload enough provisions to insure against
starvation, especially when every pound of
food was paid for at big prices.
The Weare, the first boat to feel the effect
Of the Circle City miners meeting, reached
Dawson at just about the time the people
there had given up hope Of getting any
further supplies from down the river. They
were in the deepest dependency the day
the little steamer was sighted, when the
shout went up like the cry of sail" from
ship-wreclxed band in mdocean. Men.
women and children focked over to the land
ing. many crying for joy, because the awful
suspense for weeks seemed TO be ended.
But the consolation brought by the Weare
proved to be trivial. The small amount of
| food she had on board was hardly drop in
the bucket and most of that had already
been sold and was consigned to people who
had paid for it long, long ago. Then the
people in Dawson learned for the first time
that there was an immense stock of pro-
visions at Fort Yukon. 1t had been unloaded
there by steamers which should have gone
all the way up the river to Dawson, or at
least to Circle City. Arrangements were
made to send the Weare down to Fort Yu-
gon for another load. About one hundred
men were put aboard, who were to act as
crew, chop wood and do all the work neces-
! sary to run the boat just for the privilege of
going down the river and buy food.
BY the time the Weare reached Circle
| City the weather way growing very cold,
and ice was forming in the river and the
captain refused to proceed any further. 1t
was probable the boat could have reached
it's destination, but the captain was timid
about it, and so much time was lost in de-
lberating on the question that when he
/ announced his decision it was really unsafe
| to begin the trip. This left the one hundred
men from Dawson stranded with few pro-
/ visions The company refused to feed them
on the plea that it had no provisions, but
| again the question was referred to a min