The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-04-03

best why Of reaching the tWon.
The two strangers protested TO know All
about the mountains. and said they could
easily guile MS through the passes 10 the
Dawson trail a deal was mnde with
them to &C IS as guides for the party, their
nav TO be 1900 each. payable In gold dust
as soon as Dawson was within sight.
81 don't know how II was. but In some
manner. / became suspicious or the
strangers and at the last minute Pete
Farrell, Dutch Bauer and ] dropped out
OF the party. We were all convinced the
alleged guides were lying and we refused
TO trust ourselves with them. Our only
ear then was that they were making a
hold bluff 10 earn the $1,000, and might
get us tangled up and 10 st in the noun
tains. We had no idea that they were
t,ilots for a band OF CHOU Is, as they after
" ard turned out TO be. We tried 10 In
a ice the other campers TO wait Tor a
m ore favorable opport unity, but the
st rangers had won them over and early
I'm October Farrell. Bauer ana myself
ba, lie the other twenty 2 ood-by ana they
struck off over the hills 10 the north. NO
bod y has ever seen or heard OF any
men lber OF that party, except the guides
sino that day.
20 10 week later Farrell, Bauer, and I
struc k camp and took up a trail TO the
West DtINiE ANt lhAA $3.50
agree 1 we would all meet in DAWSON.
After a five weeks struggle and gr eat
suffer- ny our little band OF three reached
Dawsc and we were surprised 10 earn
that our friends had not arrived there.
We waited nearly a month for them, and
then started for home, CONVINCED II
would do no good 10 walt longer. Daw-
son IS full OF energetic newspaper men
waiting TO send out the news or big
--am n YArfsT 90
twenty men with fully $l00. 600 In geld dust
betwee them could not possibly have
been overlooked. All three Of us made
efforts to induce the Dawson people 10
get up a rescuing party, but were unsuc-
cessful.
"As have said we waited for nearly
n month and then got ready TO start for
home. Just as we were about TO leave
town I ran into one Of the ghoulish
guides in a gambling house. and at once
asked ihm where our friends were. The
chap was drunk and ugly. and replied,
with an i~nsolent leer: If you
win 20 back a few hundred miles
on the trail you'll find them
waiting for you The boldness Of his an
swer made me lose my head. and instead
Of letting the matter drop there started
into mix up' with him. This was a Job
I got the wost of. as tho room was full
Of the desperadoes who were plainly in
| sympathy with him. and at the frst OPP
portunity turned tail and ducked out
of the den. something l should have done
at the beginning. before speaking to the
bandit.
Hunting up Farrell and Bauer, I told
them Of what had occu rred, and we at
once went to the authorit ties and laid the
matter before them. Inside OF an hour
a posse OF thirty armed men was ready
to surround the gambling house and take
out the ghoul. but while we were making
orr preparations the fellow had been
taking away by his companions ana We
could not pick up the trail.
Later we learned that the man went
under the name OF yellow Tom and
was an allround bad man. Two days be-
fore we reached Dawson he had shown
IN with a big lot OF gold dust. which Is
now plain was stolen from the men ne
! murdered. Stronger proof than this was
found I'm a sled which was owned by
, one of our Dead Mule Valley party.
This was unearthed In a secondhand
supplv store. along with some guns and
| blankets. which | had no trouble in iden-
, tifying. and the proprietor said positively
he had bought the stun from yellow
/ Tom"