The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-13
GOLD HUNTERS SORRY LOT.
Graphic Tale of Suffering I'm the
Rush to the I<IOndisc.

From the Philadelphia Record.
]. L. Buck. who left last January for
Alaska with a carload of dogs trained
to pull sleds, returned yesterday, success
full as to his dog venture, but with most
discouraging reports of the suffering and
restitution among the crowds of gold
seekers who are rushing to the frozen
fields in the wild hope of securing for
tunes The dogs were all disposed of at
Seattle. but after selling them Mr.. Buck
took trip to Skaguay and Dyea TO get
some idea of the conditions prevailing in
Alaska, and he tells an interesting story
of his experiences.
1--WE got to Seattle" he said, with the
dogs in good condition, and found the
city full of gold-seekers. gamblers and
transportation men. disposed of my 40
dogs without any trouble and at good
prices and then determined to go on TO
the land of gold. | hunted up transpor-
tation company and was told that a ship
would sail in a few days, but on account
of the crowd 1 had better pay my fare in
advance so as to be sure of a place.
II paid the money, and then found that
the CoHpdIy owned no snip, DOt with the
advance money paid by the goid-seekers
il succeeded in buying one IN about a
week. 1t was advertised as the best boat
on the line but as soon as we got start
ed every one was given a life preserver
and a blanket and assigned a place to
sleep. I slept with the dogs and horses,
and the fare was horrible. We had sage
brush tea, however, and 1 had the only.
spoon on board"
r.
spoon which he had whitfield out of a
piece of pine.
Before leaving Seattle" he continued,
Il noticed a tail, lank, one-eyed fellow
from Wyoming, who started TO Alaska
with twenty-one mules, and had spent his
funds in feeding them during the three
weeks spent in waiting for the boat to
start. He came up to me after we had
got on our way and slapped me- on the
back, and exclaimed. with a backward
wave of his hand: I have but one wish
just one What's that?' | asked.
" oh, that if l ever go to hi, that
may stand at the gate with a pitchfork
and put those transportation agents Just
where / want to-.
''At Seattle at least 50 or 60 per cent. OF
the men turned back upon hearing the re-
ports brought by returned travellers. while
the horde of gamblers merclfully relieved
many others of their money, so that they
could go no farther. I actually saw
crowd of men reach Seattle, and start back
home. without even taking their baggage
off the train.
"Our pilot was making the trip an expe-
riment, and we soon struck a rock; but
the old ship was so rotter that instead Of
having her bottom splint, the rock simply
punched hole In her. like a watermelon,
and We plugged it up with our blankets.
I'VE found Skaguay and Dyea to be two
miserable towns of 5000 or 1900 people,
short of food and in a wretched condition,
1t was pitiable to see some poor man. with
his wife and family. huddled on the frozen
mud in a shanty, and many of the respec-
table women who went there to start
boarding houses are dead broke as the
men. once lawyers or doctors, but now
tramps, have nothing to pay for their
board. No one can get through to the
fields till May, as the snow is 16 or II feet
deep in the passes.
II saw no one who had come back to
the coast with any gold, and the two dead
bodies found while | was there had none
on them, although l see in the papers here
that they were said to have had over
100000 worth"
rs there much sickness in Skaguay?"
Mr. Buck was asked.
Eyes, lots of pneumonia and pleurisy,
although the transportation companies
suppress the news of deaths. The ground
is frozen too hard to bury corpse, so they
have erected morgue of logs. / saw
five bodies in it, but / was told that the
bodies were afterward taken and put in
the bay.
Men there are so poor that they have
replaced the Indians in carrying the packs
across the pass, and where they got IS
cents per pound at first they now receive
but one-half a cent. Miners going TO
Alaska can get their mining outfits cheap
er there than they can at Seattle. / had
a 5000 outfit offered me for $50 was in
Skuaguay only three days, but twenty men
came into the town in that time hunt
ing jobs. There is great dissatisfaction
because the Canadian government will not
allow miner to enter its territory with
out at least $1,000 worth of provisions, but
it Is mesciful law TO the seekers.
1T is a two-months' trip to the fields,
and by the water route a fellow will have
to build himself a boat with lumber cost
ing $150 thousand feet. The same would
cost about so in Philadelphia. The wood
there has to be seasoned by holding II
over the fire. Contrary to the reports in
the papers. no one is going in from Skag-
uay now. and only / per cent of those
who are already in will return with the
yellow metal