The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1898-02-18
THE KLoNDIKE CRAZE.


proportions. All sorts of estimates
are made as to the number of people
who will go there, and this estimate
ranges all the way from $4,000 to 200,-
900. All parts of the world will con-
tribute to this emigration, but the
greater part of course will go from
the United States. 1t is considered
that the estimate Of 100000 people 60
ing there is conservative one, and
the question naturally arises how
they are going to get there. Only a
small portion can get there by the
water route up the Yukon, as naviga-
tion does not open until late in June
and closes early. The greater portion
must go in over the overland route.
And besides these people going in.
there must be an immense amount OF
freight taken over the route. These
trails are said to be very narrow in
places SC that men can walk along
them only in single file. Travel over
them is not practicable before March
LIST, and closes early in the fall, SO
that it becomes question how many
can 60 through this way IN one season.
A correspondent of the Minneapolis
Journal, at Seattle, who has inquired
into the matter says:
every man going through must
either do his own packing or hire it
done. If man has only 500 pounds
of supplies, he must necessarily make
from five to ten trips over the trail,
or have it done. Counting both ways,
ten trips over every part of the trail
is low estimate for every man. Then
if 100000 men 60 in, it will be equal
to 1,000,0 900 men going one time over
the trail. There being two trails,
there would be 100000 to each trail.
1t is little more than twenty miles
over one trail and more than forty
five miles over the other. Some men
can make it over the short trail in a
day, and it requires two days over the
other. In this way it can be approx
mated how long it will take the
greater number expected to go over
the trail to get over. Then when it is
further considered that it takes from
one to three weeks delay at the head
of the lakes to build boats for the
Yukon, further figuring can be made
on the 100000 men. And when Dit is
considered that timber is getting
scarce and has to be hauled six or
seven miles already, then more figur-
ing and guessing can be resorted to
1t is estimated that at Dyea and
Skaguay, as well as at the head of the
lakes, there will be temporary cities
through the summer of from 1000 to
10000 population each,
'If the last of the great crowd rush.
ing to Alaska this year do not get in
until fall they will meet the ones re-
turning who first got in, and the trails
will then be crowded until far into
the winter. If that country has been
prospected by practical miners for
twenty years. and every known claim
of any value has been taken, what
will these 100, 900 gold-seekers do? Can
gold in Alaska be so plentiful that all
or even half of these men, nearly all
of whom are inexperienced in mining,
can locate paying claim? 1t would
be folly to think for a moment that
such could be the case. They will
first make for Dawson City. This
place will swell to an enormous popu-
lation. Then they will branch out in
every direction. Every foot of ground
will. be staked off. Gambling and
speculation will be rife. Winter will
come on and find men scattered all
over that region. Mining villages will
be esta blished along all streams, even
where there is no mines. When it is
considered that nine-tenths of the
men going to Alaska have no particu-
lar point in view, and have no plans
formed-onl want to go to Klondike,
it is easy to conjecture the great num-
Der of disappoin tments and failure
The estimate that every dollars
worth of gold taken from Alaska will
cost 81 is probably a reasonable esti-
mate, and one might estimate sthe
cost of human life for sums so small
as to sound startling, and then not be
far from the true result"
OF course any urging in the way of
an attempt to discourage people from
going there is doubtless useless, but
the man who has position in the
states that is giving HIM fair living,
is better of than he will be to make
trip to the Klondike.
THE JUDGESHIP.