The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-09-14
Starving ON THE TRAILS.
ASHCROFT ROUTE To KLoNDIskE
LINED WITH DESTITUTE MEN.
Many . Poor Fellow Has Lost All His
Belongings and Il Compelled To
Depend on the LiheraIity of Those

VANCOUVER. =. G.. Sept 12.-Fea-fui
reports have been rece:ve'4 about distressed
miners or the Ashcroft; route into the kioE-
dixie. II was said taas between so and
1850 prospecEors. many completely 6esSi-
saie. were xtrung on. along The route. AID
thai help would have 10 reach them soon
Or they would die This rumor is con-
nrmea by party OF Manitobaus VINO.
travel-wora and 5ishearte az their fail,
ure 20 reach the gold country by way Of
Ashcroft arrived az Telegraph creek about
September !. They took river steamer
70 Wrangel and reached Vancouver this
morning OF the steamer Coqu.fiam. Tie
party IS composed OF James and Frank
Hazard. " Bough and William Mulli0.
ard they all han from Dolphin Lake. Mani
toba. The latter when interview by al
evening paper said;
The scores CT distress along the trail
are wildly impressed on oUr minds, We
passed fully one hundred outfits. represent
ing perhaps sixty nsen. and many 0. them
were actually starving. TIE poor fellows
had In many cases lost everything. cloth
ing. horses and provisions. and were strue-
CLING along n a hasf-dazed condition. How
DO they keep themselves alive2 Wei. they
ars eating gophers. ground hogs and sq1.r-
rels. in fact. anything they can get. They
are ragged. hungry, desperate crowd OF
men, with small hopes Of reaching their
destination. Occasionally a fortunate party
on the trail gives then, provisions, bar none
0: Us mad much 20 spare. All along the
trail you could see them lying under the
trees and under imp.ovised shelters, tradg-
Ing hopelessly alcag In the day time and
often lying down at night w.,hou; = bite
to eat. II IS simply terrible.
r. c. Wade. crown attorney CT Dawson.
~HxsT ut
down from ST. Michael on the Garonne.
Wade eft Dawson August 10 and reached
s.. MIchae.s on the 2sth. He started cut on
the river steamer Irving. bat she broke
down and re was compelled 10 return 10
Dawson TO take the steamer Y. g Power.
II s just about year ago since Wade left
Vancouver tor the kiondike. He has seen
al there IS 20 see in that famous gold
district and Is Of the op!gIon thai I. is
one Of the richest counIriss In the world
II a man cannot make money in the Klon-
dixie. said Wade. he can't make Il any
where. Hundreds Of people have rushed
into that country with the idea Of getting
rich without working hard I believe that
fully 50 per ce.st. OF those who have left the
country did - without invest. eating at
all The klond!ke has not been worked 70
any extent ard a vast gold bearing country
has never been prospecte1 a. all. The ont
Maj. Walsh alone took out S500 80 collected
IN royalties. This OF course does not repre-
sent gold brought out. Many OF the miners
are leaving their gold II Dawson Shortly
before Wade LEFT the north. a census WAS
taken showing that there was then 1904
people tn Dawson and 1860 on rivers
creeks and in The district. Nc new strikes
OF Importance have been made. Wade had
heard Of no strike on the north fork ot
Forty Mile creek IN American territory
Mining camps on the American side were
practically deserted. Wade viii proceed 70
Ottawa TO report. IL Is not In a position
10 say whether he Will return 20 the klon-
dixie.
Louis CCste. chief engineer OF the pubic
works department. who also came down
from Dawson. says he Was very fayoraaly
impressed with the Kloudike district in
which he spent three weeks. Costa left
Vancouver last May ard wen. over the
Stickine-Tes!.a route. Iio viii report on
this route when he reaches Ottawa ard in
the meantime he does not care - talk for
publication. \ detachment OF seventy o.
the Canadian militia has he sal1. reached
F0-. Se,k!rk, where the barracks are being
hstfft