Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1898-04-21
GOING LIKE soLpIERs
Sold Hunters for the ISIoadfle Go
Heavily Armed.

Heavily Armed
There is now trailing across the state
from east to west some of the motliest
crowds of men that ever crossed a con-
tinent. 1t is the crusade TO the klon-
dixie that is now on in earnest. In q
few months the movement viii be re-
verSed, and thousands of the crusaders
who now have money Will be working
their way back home again without
any, but rich in experience.
Every west-bound Northern Pacific
express that passes through Helena Is
loaded down with Klondikers- The
other day there were Il coaches on No
I, the Hyest-bound train, which pulled in
about on time Nine coaches make an
ordinary and heavy trainsbut the rush
was so great that five additional coaches
had been attached to the train. The
through Pacific express was not $x-
ceptionally heavy the same day. for
every day there are from three to six
additional coaches to each westward
bound train. The passenger list of this
through train included about 200 men
bound for the gold fields and 100 dogs.
Most of those bound for the Klondike
are young men, but there are n few
gray-headed enthusiasts among them.
Many of them are from the far east, and
there are delegations from Iowa, Illi-
nois and other middle states. 4 rail-
road man who came into Helena on this
Same Pacific express said that 90 per
cent. of the Klondikers travelled armed,
and many of them exhibited their weap-
ons in true Buffalo Bill style. They
seemed to think that as they were in
the wild west it would be advisable to
have their trusty siX-shooters at hand.
ready on the instant to repei an attack
of train robbers.
I'm one car alone" said the. railroad
man, there were about so men Who
wore big Colt revolVers i'm ScabbaSt1S
attached to harness under their arms.
Nearly every one of them also had big
hunting knives attached to their bets
The weapons were all bright and shiny
and made an imposing array. If the
train had been going the other way
one would easily have imagined fill
clustering expedition on the way to lib
crate Cuba. think from the way some
of them talked they rather looked fore
the train to be held up, and were almost
wishing for the adventure. These men
exhibited their weapons In the way
that might be expected of Wild Bile the
king of the plains. They would gS off
when the train stopped and walk up
and down the platform with theirs big
guns and knives in plain view. They
were on parade, and it did them good to
walk through large crowds at the more
important stations. These fellows
and their arsenals were never parted.
They actually slept with their pistols
and their knives strapped to them.
Now, suppose that the armament
OF these men must have cost each OF
| then: in the neighborhood of SO. Some
of them had rifles as web as feyolvers.
and 1 saw one man with n shotku Al
though they had expended so much for
guns they did not waste any aloney on
the dining car. Nearly every Klon-
| diker on the train either Brought his
| provisions with him or ate at stations
along the line. And they had no money
| to spend for sleeping car berths, either
Perhaps they were only inuring them
selves 30 the hardships they propose to
| subject themselves to on their way to
| the gold fields. (Mont.) indie
| pendent.