The record-union., 1898-07-31

Government. Should this be known. I
would likely be in jail or banished be-
fore the sun rises, which is only a few
hours away as it is now nearly set
An incident occurred a few days ago
which impels me to that belief. A
man, after travelling many miles, staked
a claim and came to have it registered
The honest" official deferred it for in
vestigation, after which he very polite
ly informed the man that it belonged
to the crown. But the man, in his Bit
-terness Of disappointment, blurted out
ITO hi with the crown!" Very impo-
lite, / will admit He was taken in
charge by police officer, whose club"
is a Winchester rifle, brought before a
Judge whose sentences are carried out
by soldier, and received the sentence
of banishment from the Territory with
in three days. He went. There are
good governments in Central America
Dawson Reached at Last.
The afternoon of the 18th found US
in Dawson. We pulled up in Lame
town" (Klondike City,, and went
ashore. 1t is on the other side of the
Klondike, and only recently has its
name been changed to a more dignificd
title. There are a few log shacks and
many tents, the camps of new arrivals
Although many people were in the
streets, a state of paralysis seemed TO
exist. All was confusion and detection,
and indecisfOn rested on every mans S
face. / looked for some familiar face
but found none, for delicacy prevented
me asking strangers. After learning a
few facts about landing in Dawson. we
again pulled into the stream and float
ed across the river CKlondike).
The same state of affairs existed
there. The street was jammed with
people, and the appearance of work,
although on a small scale, prevailed. /
met a man 1 knew on the trail. and
inquired the cause of the universal de-
preston He looked at me curiously
and said, wait a few days and you
will see,'' and then turned the subject.
! inquired of another, who shrugged his
shoulders and replied, Il guess the
country is all right" as if he enter
tanned some doubts about it, Another
said there was lots of gold here, more
than he had ever seen. Another saw
lots of dust change hands over the
gambling table. Wages are $40 a day,
was also informed, yet times are dull
l wandered up and down the streets
till the sun was nearly up, for there IS
no night here, and came to my tent
more confused than ever There is
gold here, and seemingly in abundance,
yet a Californian is not easily fooled by
appearances. The medium of exchange
is gold dust, thirty grains to a dollar.
This keeps a lot of dust continually in
sight and dazzles the vision of the East
erner, who has never witnessed such a
spectacle. However, the golden illu-
sion vanishes in the face of facts and
hard conditions. This same Fastener
places a pack Of fifty pounds-all he
can carry-and starts for the mines He
travels along creek banks, over hills
and through marshes and underbrush.
The mosquito is his constant companion
and the days are hot to sleep in, for
all the travelling is done at night. Ev-
erywhere he sees stakes driven, even
to the tops of the mountains.
He goes up Bonanza, the cause Of all
this hubbub. He sees cabins abandoned
and holes filled with water. He in
quires of some one, but the answer is
evasive and the miners lusterless eyes
wander aimlessly over the landscape,
while he speaks in disconnected mono
syllables. He will convey to the tender
foot the impression of mystery, but too
frequently it is dull stupidity. He is
an old timer-a squaw man
The Bewildered Tenderfoot.
Up near the confluence of Ell Dorado
with Bonanza Creek the real work be-
gins. The stranger will be utterly as
tonished at the amount Of work that
has been done in a little over a year
1t seems incredible that human effort is
capable of SO great results. There are
miles of sluice boxes all the boards
sawed by hand, and nailed with nails
at 50 a pound. There are cabins every
couple of hundred feet-sometir1es
three and four on a claim, and the
whole channel seems eXcavated. There
are prospect holes all over the hills
which are called bench" claims He
sees wonderful things and hears more
wonderful tales. Some will communi-
cate to him a profound secret about the
fabulous wealth of this or that piece Of
ground. which will excite the cupidity
of saint. Others will tell him a lie
Of another sort, but all seem to take a
mean delight in befogging the "che-
cha-cos." The argonaut trudges on ur
Bonanza over the Dome to Dominion
and Sulphur Creeks, tributaries to In
dian River, and far famed for their
wealth. Creek gulches and hillsides are
staked.
He is now seventy miles away ana
his supplies are getting low, but he goes
TO the headwaters of Henderson. and
he finds some vacant ground. He pros
poets, but by this time his golden phan-
tom is growing dim. He is not so anx-
ious to acquire property for the sake of
writing his epitaph on a stick. He re-
turns the way he came, and arrives in
Dawson fifteen days from the time he
left, clothed in his right mind
Now for the country. l have elimi-
mated every thing that has a shadow
OF romance and poetry about it. Speak
ing Of poetry, I will remark in passing
that 1 saw Joaquin Miller on the streets
dressed in moccasins, with his flowino
hair and wavy white beard He seems
out Of harmony with the place. IN,
derstand he is to take the first boat
out.
No New Strikes.
Now for facts. Not a strike has heen
made, worthy of the name, since the
FL Dorado strike some two years ago.
Last winter demonstrated that all of
Lower Bonanza, over a hundred claims.
was worthless, and many poor miner
lost his winters work. All claims above
~ on Upper Bonanza are worthless
All claims above 40 on Ell Dorado
proved worthless, and on each of these
creeks from 90 below to "4O'' ahove