Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1898-11-02
KL0ND|KE CONDITIONS.
According to Edward Self, Poor Min
ers Have No Chance.
AVAILABLE CLAIMS TAKEN.
Most of These Are Being Worked by
Experienced Men-GOld supply
Certainly Large-PrOspects
For Dawson City.

New York, Nov. 2.-Edward d. Self
formerly consulting engineer for the
Transvaal goldfields at Johannesburg,
but recently engaged in mineraloSlcal
and geological examination of mineral
lands in British Columbia granted to
the Cassiar Central Railway company
has sailed for Europe. Mr.. Self on his
recent trip took with him large party
of prospectors and surveyors. He went
into the gold region at the beginning OF
the present season and remained as
late as safety permitted. TO a reporter
he spoke freely before his departure OF
his experiences and the outlook for the
future.
There is great misrepresentation,
said Mr.. Self, with regard to the Klon-
dixie and it's possibilities for the poor
miner or prospector, or the man who is
scantily supplied with capital. There is
no warrant of success at present in the
Klondike for the poor and inexperi-
enced miner. All the available claims
are taken up, and most Of them are be-
ing worked by men who thoroughly un-
derstand the conditions. The task OF
getting into the interior where the gold
fields lie is not very difficult over the
proper routes, but for men ignorant OF
these it is one of such stupendous diff
Guilty that l do not advise any one not
accustomed to rough mountain life to
attempt it.
I'm making plans for Klondike travel
where the prospective miner has to rely
upon newspaper accounts and most OF
the printed matter published in the
east, the immensely of the country, the
question of distances, is seldom ap. re-
ciated. Many of those who have per-
ished on the Yukon or in the trails and
passes have been inexperienced men,
who had never known the ways of peo-
pie accustomed to rough it,. They
were, as a rule, unprepared, i,npracti-
cal and lacking in resource.
The Klondike Mcxuaito.
much has been written Of the Klon-
dixie mosquito. He Is one of the minor
evils of travel in British Columbia and
Alaska, but can easily be checkmated
during the six weeks of his career by
the use of wells and gloves, yet many
neglected even this small detail, and
their sufferngs We're intense.
LAS to the gold supply, it is certainly
a very large one. The country consists
Of a series Of rows of schists and shales
which, generally speaking. are parable.
with the coast ranges which form. so
to speak, continuation, in strike. of
the Rocky mountain system. This char
acterization of the topography of the
land Is of course a very broad general
ization, nor would it be possible now to
go into the details. Speculation as to
the source of the gold Is of course some
a series of auriferous schists. 1t is bur-
led under a layer of glacial gravel of
varying depths. These glacial gravels
seem to bear little relation to the dis
tribution of gold in the section where
my work has led me.
1.-THE district near Dawson City con-
tains now between 10 900 and 5000 peo-
pie. Many of the traders are Ameri-
cans, and the bulk of supplies and food
sent into the northwest seems to come
from Teattle and Tacoma merchants.
There have been no heavy strikes in
the Inv. mediate vicirage OF Dawson City
during the last year. although there
have Neen several good discoveries re-
ported from near Teslin lake. 1t Is
proba bic that there will be suffering in
Dawson City this winter for there are
hundreds there without sufficient means
for subs stence and no means of getting
out of the country, yet the cost of food
at Dawson City has been greatly re-
duced lately. A man can live there now
for about 81 a day"