The San Francisco call., 1898-01-11

any of them gave signs of a conscious ness within of what was passing here There was no wind: the night was as still as It was silent. The thermometer regis tered 52 below zero.
 l followed the trail down the hill and out upon the frozen swamp and there heard the scream of the snow under the hurrying footsteps of some others too dis tant to be seen, who had been reused by the lire and felt enough interest to come out into this weather at this time of night Following First avenue straight down its length parallel with the river, l came to the scene of the fire. The NJ. and NJ. saloon and dance hall, a large two-story building. was burning and the flames had already climbed up the side or the opera-house adjoining. Roulette wheels and faro tables, tin stoves and piles of the rough furniture of the saloon, masses of bedding and bedroom furniture, pianos from the dance halls and heaps Of provisions were strewn along the edge of the fire in the front and rear.
 Although the streets were filled with people there was no noise save the roar or the flames and crash of the timbers as they fell in the fire, or as men tore them from neighboring buildings. A few men, led by George Foster of Spokane swung timber to batter down the burn
 
 timbers were still too firm There was nothing to be done to save the buildings already on fire, and excepting the few engaged in carrying goods out of the threatened houses all were spectators moving about to get the changing views of the fire, speculating as to where it would end and what effect the losses would have upon the food situation
 The intense heat did not melt the snow from the street immediately about the fire further than to cause a surface dampness that impacted it under the feet of the crowd and gave it the hard con- sstency of ice.
 There had been a masquerade ball in progress at the opera-house, which the fire Interrupted. The masqueraders had been driven into the street in all the gro- tesque variety of their costumes. With them had come the girls from the other dance halls and the men in furs almost as grotesque as the masqueraders. Most of the women had run out wearing only the light clothing in which they dance.
 This queer crowd moved about the edge of the fire, compelled by the intense cold to keep close within the circle of warmth for just outside the touch of the weather was most acute.
 A little donkey that was brought in this spring. and has become a familiar figure beside the stove in the M. and NJ, ran continually so close to the blaze that his hair was Singed.
 As the flames took permanent hold on the opera-house and ate through it's northern wall. three windows of the sec ond story were thrown suddenly out of the shadow, the light of the fire being behind them. Tn the middle window stood Mephisto of the masquerade ball. throwing boxes and packages containing certain treasures of the saloon to half dozen workers on the ground below.
 The northern lights kept up their dance overhead, and on the heights of the white mountains to the east a line of skeleton fir trees stood out distinctly against the night sky. The tossed and broken icefioes of the Yukon lay on the westward side, and here and there, within a narrow circle, the fire touched some jagged point into bright distinction, but the broad sweep of the inhospitable ice stretched north and south into darkness. The majesty and immensity of the setting made the grotesqueness of this act in the great tragedy most notable.
 Nov. 29.-The story of Alfred Anderson, who has a lay on Fl Dorado. developed to-day. He came down from the creek for little 'time,' did some drinking went round into one of the little red-blinded houses in the back street and there met his wife, whom he had not seen for sev- eral years. He had built home for her in Wisconsin, then went to San Francisco with the purpose of going with a whaler, got drunk missed his boat, drifted to Circle City and then came here. She went to San Francisco. looking for him, learned he had come to this country, followed him, became discouraged in her search, and so they met again in this house of the abandoned. They decided to remain apart hereafter.
 Dec. 1.-Wise Mike, the little donkey, froZe to death last night. Ills body was found in the street this morning in front of the Fl Dorado saloon. Wise Mike could not keep warm. He had the liberty or the saloons to a great extent, and kept so close to the stoves that his hide was constantly being singed. He was also a great nuisance to the men who wanted to get near the stove. At the burning of the opera-house he ran into the fire several times. It was too cold for Wise Mike Dec. 4.-Joaquin Miller and party ar rived from Circle City at Il o'clock this morning. MT. Miller is badly frozen but in good spirits. He came with a miner and trader known as Montana" and was accompanied by Harold Canovan of Ot- tawa, with whom he started from Circle These two started without dogs, pulling their outfit on a little red sled. l had a talk with Mir. Miller.
 T have had severe experience" he said. II have lost toe of the left foot and my left ear is sloughing off. have to wear my hair down over it. How ever, it does not matter. I shall not need ears much longer. My cheeks are also frosted. We got into all this trouble jus, about Forty Mile. We encountered a blizzard there, the breath of which was death. It was like confronting a bayonet charge. We were at the time within a mile and half of a cabin, the location of which we knew and we were eight miles beyond Forty Mile. Rather than face that wind for the mile and a half team that had kept with us turned back over the eight miles. Canovan, shortly after we met the wind. complained that his knee was freezing. He began to limp and lean forward. I saw the dogs in the other team turn back. I knew that Canovan could not walk that eight miles. It was death to turn back or to stop for a Ancrc tad Me-