The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-04-12
kLoNDIkE GOLD HUNTERS.
Stories OF Their Experiences In the Far
Frozen North.


William Curry. q 16.year-old boy,
arrived at Vancouver several days ago
from the Klondike with SO, 900 which
ne made out CT chewing gum.
He went to the Klondike a year ago
with barely enough money to carry him
to Dawson City, found all desirable
claims taken and was unable to get
work elsewhere. He noticed gum ex.
uding from the balsam trees, and the
idea occurred that there would be mon
ey In chewing gum. He mixed this gum
with the pitch of pine trees and flavor
ed 1t with extract of lemon which he
begged from restaurant keeper. He
mixed these ingredients and called the
stuff new chewing gum which was
sure preventative of scurvy. He sold it
to the miners for 81 package, and 1t
went like hot cakes.
Curry says that there is more money
in patent medicines than in gold min
ing, and he will return to the country
with big outfit of nostrums.
Irwin Miller. formerly a merchant in
Fort Plain, N. Y, and owner and oper-
ator OF several large straw board manu-
featuring plants, writes from Skaguay
under date of Feb. "a:
Alaska is not q paradise, and I
would not advise any body to come here
at this time. 1t will be at least three
months before one can get through to
Dawson. There are about as many GO
ing back from here as there are coming
in, and many would like to get out of
this If they had the price. The most Of
the booming is by transportation COM
panies, and much to the sorrow Of many
passengers who have money for fare
one way only.
There are hundreds here who would
be willing to work for their board, and
there are also hundreds living here in
tents with the mercury degrees be-
low zero and the wind blowing per-
feet gale. You can therefore imagine
what the situation is here"
johnson Lynch Of Dawson City
writes to his brother, Henry Lynch, Of
Scranton, Pa:
"There is q certain amount of chari-
ty here for everybody but the sure
thing man. This feeling probably
grows out Of mutual sympathy, for a
big part of the population consists of
men who had to leave other towns for
one reason or another There is no mer-
cy, however, for the man who puts up
faro box with needle or a wheel
Of fortune that stops whenever the deal
er presses button.
81 was standing by faro game in
Circle City few weeks ago when q
player who had lost few bags of dust
expressed the opinion that there was q
needle in the box. OF course the pro-
prietor, dealer and lookout made great
howl, and the bartenders came out with
enough guns to fit out cruiser. But
the player held his ground and appealed
to the crowd, asking for an examina-
tion Of the box and agreeing to apollo
gize if he was wrong.
"That proposition seemed fair. The
box was inspected, and, sure enough,
there was needle which pushed up the
winning card whenever the dealer
wanted it.
"Well, you should have seen that
place after the crowd got through with
IL. There wasn't enough left for bon
fire. The proprietor and his helpers
were fred into the street, with notice
to leave the town in IL hours.
"As result of this feeling crooked
games are mighty scarce in the gold re-
gions.
at looks as if the Klondike would
become a rendezvous for all the cranks
in creation, said James MoNamara,
who recently arrived in Buffalo from
Dawson City. II never saw anything
like the number of people who are look
ing for gold upon the widest supersti.
tions.
"At Lake Bennett I met three men,
all from little New England town, and
you never could guess the queer game
they are working. It appears that one
of them, an old gray haired man, was a
famous authority upon dreams back in
the little down east community. The
story is that nine out of ten Of his
dreams came true. Well, he had q
dream which reappeared for six consec.
utive nights revealing the location OF
an immense body of nuggets at the
junction of Ell Dorado and Bonanza
creeks. He Immediately announced the
dream to small circle Of friends, and
the result was that these men, all with
limited means, organized syndicate
and sent the old man and two young
fellows to get the gold. lat ~
"Itold them that every inch of ground
was taken up on both Ell Dorado and
Bonanza, but they said that my state
ment made no difference; they would
get the gold anyhow. They had no min
ing tools, for they, said that according
to the dream the gold lay only six
inches from the surface and under q
thin growth Of red moss. 49,,
Zone Of the first arrivals In Dawson
last fall was q man with q rod Of peoul-
;.r form and co,unosed of several met.