The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-08-03
FREAKS OF kLonDlKE FORTUNE.
Good Luck and Hard Luck Stories from
the Alaska Gold DisgIngs.

(From the San Francisco Fxami ner.)
When Frank Phiscator, who came out of
the Klondike country with about $40. GOO.
first went there, not many months ago.
he staked claim on Ell Dorado Creek.
At that time Ell Dorado Creek was un-
staked, and he was the first to try it's
merits or dement's. From the first he
struck gold averaging from 50 cents to
$3.50 pan. For six days he had it all
to himself. Miners would pass him and
they would say, "How much are you
making?" and he would reply, truthfully
enough. "Oh, from so cents to s..
pam" Then they would scott at him and
would say, IF you want to stake moose
pasture, you CHICAGO (Which is Klondike
for tenderfoot), this is all right, but il
you want gold, you would better go where
there is some." Thus it was that the
FL Dorado diggings which have panned
out SO bountifully were opened with a
scott and sneer from those who passed
by on the other side." AS for Mr.. Phisca-
tor, he stayed with his claim and grew
wealthy. For instance, he took $4,000,
(royalties included) from claim No. on
Ell Dorado and $40, 600 from claim No. 10
below Bonanza
Another instance of striking it rich is
that Of d. B. Davidson. He heard some
body say that he had seen some sights of
gold in dragging wood down hill on
French Gulch, by Ell Dorado Creek. Hun
\ 80 Sc e%o 10, ,oy,t hyIt N avid.
SON concluded to see what he could do on
the indicated spot, so he staked out q claim
last March, and in aFshort time be had
taken out $50, 900 and sold the claim for
$25, 900. He secured $50, 900 from claim
that many another man had refused to
have anything to do with. But, to show
how utter a lottery is KlondiEe gold
mining, it should be said that after Mi.
Davidson was successful hundreds OF
claims were staked out on French tGulch,
and only eight or ten of the hundred
have paid.
The boys who make theirfmoney easily
blow it in with equal facility. An illus
tratjon of this fact Is found in the Pavil-
ion, dance hall which was opened in
Dawson City month or two ago. On
the first night the management took in
$4,000. One man spent $4,000 for cham
payne at $40 a bottle, representing total
of seventy-fve bottles, andnon of the
girls, who made her money by O percent
age on the wine she sold, received $3.50 as
her first weeks salary. But SEQ lis not,
in Dawson City, so much as it seems. To
Illustrate, the first eggs received there
last spring sold for $18 dozen, while
lemons and oranges retailed at 81 to 81. so
apiece, and it required SIS. BIZ to buy two
pound can of butter But prices were
higher last winter than they we're In the
| cnriro Eor 1nntanrn a sack nf f10nr
that cost $50 to Sl25 in the winter could
be bought for SIS even before the first
boat came in the spring.
AS general proposition it may not
pay to get hilariously full, but the case
Of "Charlie" Anderson demonstrates that
1t sometimes pays. One night he looked
upon the wine when it was red, and three
of his acquaintance took advantage of
the occasion to sell to him for $500 a claim
which they considered worthless. The
next morning, while his head was still
with him, he tried to get them to retract
the contract, but they would not. So.
for lack of something better to do. be
worked the claim. To sum it all up
briefly, he struck it rich, and before the
gold seekers now in town left the Klon-
dixie he had been offered and refused
81 900 for the claim for which he paid
$780, And 1t is solemn thought that he
lever would have secured this bonanza If
he had not walked in the broad and easy
way wbichsleaves ones head unduly large
on the next morning.
3 Another kind of luck was that of the
"Lucky Kid, who may have had mother
name, but it has been forgotten. In the
first place, he staked out a claim on Ell
Dorado, grew weary of working it very
soon and sold it for 500. 1t since has
yielded to it's owner more scores or hun
dreds of thousands of dollars than a per-
son with regard for reputation for yerac-
ity would like to mention. Then the
LUCKY Kid" went to Bear Creek, stalSed
claim there and sold it for Sc, 500. This
sounds like pretty fair price, but when
it is considered that the claim now is val
ued at large fraction of million dol
lars, it will be seen that the Kids own
peculiar kind of luck still was clinging
to him. 1t is confidently believed along
the Klondike that very good way to
acquire wealth would be to follow along
the s'Kid's'' trail and pick up. his leaving
at his own price.