The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-08
FREAKS OF KLoNDrkE FORTUNE.
Good Luck and Hard Luck stories
From the Alaska Gold Diggings.


From the Alaska Gold Diggings.
From the San Francisco Examiner.
! When Frshk Phiscator. who came out of
the KlondIke country with about $4,000,
/ first went there, not many months ago,
ne staked a claim on FL Dorado Greek. At
\ that time El Dorado creek was unstaked
and he was the first to try its merits or
dement's. From the first he struck gold
averaging from % cents to $3.50 a pan.
For six days he had It all to himself Min
ers would pass him and they would say,
How much are you making?" and he
would reply, truthfully enough. "Oh, from
80 cents TO $3.50 a pan" Then they would
scoff at him and would say, IF you want
to stake moose pasture,you chicaco(which
is klondike f9r-tenderfoOO, this is all right
but If you want gold, you would better
go where there is some" Thus it was that
the FL Dorado diggings which have PANIED
out so bountifully were opened with a scott
and sneer from those who passed by on
the other side" As for Mr.. Phiscator, he
stayed with his claim and grew wealthy.
For instance he took $4,000 royalties in
cluded) from claim No. 2 on FL Dorado,
and $4,000 from claim No. Is below Bonan-
"a.
that of ID. b. Davidson. He heard some
body say that he had seen some signs of
gold in dragging wood doWnhill on French
Gulch, by FL Dorado creek. Hundreds knew
of this statement, but refused to try their
luck in French Gulch. Mr.. Davidson con-
cluded to see whal he could do on the in
dicated spot, so he staked out claim last
March, and in short time he had taken
out $50 600 and sold the claim for 5000.
He secured $25 600 from claim that many
another man had refused to have anything
to do with. But 10 show how utter lot
terry Is Klondike gold mining it should be
said that after Mr. Davidson was success
full hundreds of claims were staked out on
French Gulch, and only eight or ten of
the hundreds have paid.
The boys who makes their money easy
blow IL in with equal facility. An illustra-
ton of this fact is found in the Pavilion,
dance hall which was opened in Dawson
CITY a month or two ago. On the first
night the management took in $4,000. One
man spent 5000 for champagne at $40 a
| bottle, representing a total of seventy-tiVe
bottles, and one of the girls, who made
her money by a percentage on the WINE
she sold, received 1850 as her first weeks
salary. But $3.50 IS not, in Dawson City,
so much as it seems. To illustrate, the
first eggs, received there last spring sold
for SIS dozen, while lemons and oranges
were retailed at 81 10 81 So apiece, and it
l Sh.OO
butter But prices we're higher last win
ter than they were in the spring. For in
stance, a sack of flour that cost $50 to 1925
In the winter could be bought for SIS
even before the first boat came in this
spring.
AS a general proposition it may not pay
to get hilariousy full but the case OF
Charlie Anderson demonstrates that it
sometimes pays. one night he looked upon
the wine when ii 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 ger them to retract the
contract, but they would not. So, for lack
of something better to do, he worked the
claim. To sum it all up briefly. he struck
it rich and before the gold seekers now in
| town left the Klondike he had been Of
| fered and refused $750.O00 for the claim
/ for which he paid $500 And it is a solemn
I thought that he never would have secured
| this bonanza if he had not walked in the
broad and easy way which leaves ones
| head unduly large on the next morning.
| Another kind of luck was that of the
| "Iucxy Kid" who may have anoth-
er name, but it has been forgotten In the
! first place, he staked out a claim on El
! Dorado, grew weary of working it very
| soon and sold it for 800. 1t since has
| yielded 10 its owner more scores or hun
| dreds of thousands of dollars than a per-
| son with regard for his reputation for We
racity would like to mention. Then the
| Lucky KID" went to Bear Creek. staked
| a claim there and sold it for $780, This
| sounds like pretty fair price, but when
| it is considered that the claim now is val
ued at a large fraction of a million dol
! lars, it will be seen than the Kids own
| peculiar kind OF luck still was clinging 10
| him. 1t Is confidently believed along the
| Klondike that a very good way to ac-
/ quire wealth would be to follow along
the Kids trail and pick up his leavings
! at his own price.