The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1898-04-22
K,oudi;,e Letter from Alec. LeROck.

last year bjlt L Will not Kho" un'ii
s1ring how it turns out, as nearly all
ont work is V inter work, drifting and
the like. The Kinney boys and Joe
Crockford have lay on my ground
and Charlie Winters is working with
me also have a partner. Breau
and solomon Alberls are also here.
the latter engaged IN frelghtlng. Ihls
winter is colder than the last. We
have had one cold snap, 81 deg. below,
but.it is quite mild now.
e. Food has been quite scarce but ow-
ing to 50 many coming In, hundreds
ere Obliged to 60 to Fo.t Yukon for
the winter, and hundreds of others
went ack to the states, many OF them
intending to return again in the
sprjng. with big outfits. Beans are
now $l.25 pound, flour sells from 500
to 500 per sack and everything else
is in proportion. The food question
was helped out considerably this year
bv men bringing in live stock, beef
and mutton, watch brought from $1.25
| II SO pound.
MANY people came in with few
thousand to invest, and they are worse
off than anyone. You can't touch
anything on Bonanza and Eldorado
under $4,000 and from that up to
500, 900 and over. Some big concerns
like the trading companies here have
bought several claims, at the higher
figure, It's they can bring in men and
food to iced them cheap. There is no
work here now for anyone, as food is
so dear that men cannot work for low
wages, and most OF the claims wont
stand it high enough to pay for work.
This country is way Over-rated, but of
course it is the biggest thing ever
struck in placer mining. There are
several good ~laims and | was lucky
to get in here on Bonanza. Things
look all right for me aud think they
will be.
1t was fright to see the people
coming in here last summer, and way
into the fall, men with wives and lit
tie children, landing with no place to
go for shelter, or food, many leaving
good places outside in their excite
ment and starting with only enough
to land them here. There are all
kinds and conditions of them, from
highway robbers to bank-yellers, and
ticket-of-leave men to clergymen, so
do not let the excitement outside at
| feet you 1t is terrible country
t. get into in the first place and worse
after you get here.
They had ii great time bringing in
the cattle, taking them over the sum-
NIT, then down the river in scOws.
Cattle in this country are a great
Curiosity, something we never expect
ed to get. The food question is the
M st serious one TO contend with,
many claims are laid over this year
owing to the shortage in supplies.
| There are many people here now who
have only enough to keep life in but
not enough to work on. If immigra-
ton is as large to this country next
year as is predicted, there will be great
misery. starvation and freezing, as
Yukon to supply even those who came
IL this year. | would give you par
culars regarding the work necessary
in mining, but you will hear all of
those things from Mercier and others
who are out there now, better than
Can write it,
People who tried to come in late
this fall through the slush ice ran
great risks, and it is reported that
many were lost. There are CAMPERS
AL the way from salt water to Dawso u
who were unable to get down before
the ice closed on them. Men came
stringirg in every day, short of food
and one to he had here Many were
told the condition of the country on
the WY, but nothing would change
them, they were bound to come through
anyway, and now they must suffer for
it.
There has been great change in
the ASPECT of this country, as seen by
those people who went out in the
>prln5 IN their reports to the papers.
MANY o. the reports were entirely false
and inanH far from correct. Conse-
quel tlv l.""plc came III here through
their mislea ing stories, and found,
when 1t was too late, that reports we're
different IRON the truth. I am not
saying tins t. keep you from coming
to this country, if You have such an
idea, am simply telling you the
truth about it,
should have sent you out some
money this fall but opening up a new
claim took all I could scrape. There
are nine men now at work on nv