Evening star., 1898-09-17
RUSH FOR ATLiN LAKE
A Stampede for the Newes. Gold Field op
the Kond ks
How the strike Was Made and Mhr,
Has Come OF lt So Far
skaEuay Deserted.
Special Correspondence OF The Eycuius star.

SkAGWAY. August Ri. ISIS
Alter lo3S tra>el ana some trihula;tou 9,
genuine 'st" mp,de" las been found The
latest rush has involved the correspon-
cent along With almost everybody elsc IN
this district. SkagWty is as quiet as
prairie town in winter. There Is no ehoo.-
irg. no grating" no rolling" of newly
arrived Dawson miners. and very little
gambling
Every man Who can get away has gone
o. is going 10 the new strike at Pine creek
and those VINO can't get away are scndinr
some one, They believe ia this strike
They were not carried away by the STAN
pede to Walsh creek last winter. but they
are excited now. out OF 800 men working
o.: the rIilwa., nearly Loco have QUIT work
Many OF the small slopkeepers have locked
tLelr doors Or turned their business over TO
their wives on every side one may see
men VITA packs on their hacks ploddiuG
a.ohg the trails to join a long procession
OF other heavily laden two-legeed reetlrs
with noses set 10 the north
Inc excitement began "A week ago vester-
cay lhe story Eo"s that a man 10y the
fStlne OF Roberts has been quietly working
on small creek which runs into Atlln
lake from the easterly side H., thought the
was IN Northwest territory and subject 10
I"sdI,S' therefore he said little about his
output. some ten days ago he came into
lSehh@u city TO buy some provisions and
IN a moment OF indiscretion his secret es-
cakeu him. Bennett was boiling with the
news whom n steamer came up the Yukon
win some Dawson adventurers aboard
ana some of them turned back and made a
determined rush 10 get next"
Two OF these men have returned TO Skag-
r,,sS Ny, ana lht'r report has put The iinal
push 10 an evacuation. one man Nlr Ten
htht, a reputable Citizen) SAYS he dug a
small hole in his claim, and at four faaf
P1nhea cGupl" of shoVelS of dirt; out of
he q elli
cents. L have seen the gold but as il Il IN
potne and lo, Ks very much like other
| bottles of gold from Daw son / am not pre-
lake.
Mixed, but II GIftters.
The other man who has been TO this
promising land and returned is Mr.. Jcfr
Evans of Portland, ore. He also WAS on
the way back from Dawson. and caught
lhe lnsplriting news at Bennett. He return
ei last night. and has told his story 20 me
ana mas drawn map Of the country as II
APPEARS TO his eye. He has some coarse
Solu IN an envelope which he claims 10
nave taken from the ground on a second
creek near the discovery
ne reports people streaming in by boat
and tralL and that locations are b-inE made
with great rapidity. He considers II a
cheerful country TO mine fn-oDen. easily
tfaVersable. with plenty OF water for sluic-
ing or rocking. The lake is beautiful and
the SOIL black aluvium. Tha gold he
showed WAS of mixed character. II com
sisted OF 1ne dust, fiat scales and ore or
two larger 1aI nuggets. lie claimed TO
nave secured this by digging few feet In
lhe SOIL OF his claim. He did not 20 to bed
rock.
1t will thus be seen that no decisive thing
can be reported at the present moment
The air Is fun Of gold, but the gold is
mainly In the blue distance yet. | am to
80 IN in day or two to see for myself what
ne N rs.f
SkaSway has acquired unguestioned su-
! premacy an.orG the coast cities Her I'M
proFemehtS are more permanent, and dur
| ing ny stay in the town l have hardly real
| ized that was in a far northern part-ihe
| cold winds from the mountains alone re-
mind me of il. The land is cold and ma
| Jesuc, without color or grace. Bronze
| green, dull gray sea, and vast rivers of
! ice descending from IN clouds in splendid
| sweeping curves, while far above the
| peaks, half hid in angry mist. are stern
| and monacing.
| Army of Seekers There.
Men are beginning to roll into the town
| from the south in response TO the Cottage
City's report. Returned Dawson miners
may he seen on the street surrounded uS
! clusters OF eager listeners. but the mar
flom Atlin lax. is treated with almost as
| great respect. Rates for freight to Lake
Bennett range from eight to ten cents per
t''-I't- a. ~ p'eib 10 ll''' Hcttu OF lahcn
Arm is so the one way, 50 the round trip
| one hundred pounds of grub free Boats
are from $1. to $lto each. 1t is about l2l
niles by way Of boat and about nifty by a
dubious trail Short cuts are being tried
and 10 doubt the -esoluIe prosgectors will
| Yet find way TO get TO The Gigginys in
three days.
one attempt by way OF a glacier has
ended in disaster. The glacier IS said to be
enormous and hllcd with deep crevasses.
Some OF the party became snow blind and
all were badly worn out by the trip. 1t
has disposed of that trail IS 4 short cut
for the present. and also settled that there
is no truth in the story that some man had
| made rich strike just over the glacier
The weather is fair in the middle of the
day, but clouds hover on the mountains
&C ntinualy and the sunlight is faint and
cold. Winter is not far away: his grim
presence is on the passes already.
HAMLlN GARLAND.