The San Francisco call., 1898-08-17
Many Return on the
 National City.
GOLD WAS VERY SCARCE
THE STRATToN REPORTED LOST
 WITH ALL HANDS.
She Started Up the Yukon With a MT. Casey and Party on a Pros pecting Trip-Hard Times
 at St. Michael.

The steamr National City arrived from St. Michael yesterday with sixty three passengers all told. Of these eighteen were the crew of the stern wheel steamer James Eva which was wrecked while being lowed to St. Mi chael by the National City. Of the others, four were miners who went up on the steamer, and not being able to secure transportation to Dawson came back to San Francisco. It Is said that the other Klondikers brought down a half million with them in gold dust, but the owners of the National City say if they brought down $50,000 it was all they had. The most anybody had on board in dust was $500 and the lowest $1OO.
 If the stories of some of the passen- gers are to be believed, and there seems to be no reason. why they should not, the richness of the Klondike country has been much exaggerated in the past and the area of paying claims in that region Is narrow one and much more circumscribed than has ordinarily been supposed.
 Dr. H. H. Look, a physician of Sacra- mento, returned on the vessel after a thorough inspection of the mining pos abilities in that section, and after an exhaustive investigation has come to the conclusion that there are but sixty six paying claims and subdivides them as follows: Bonanza, 30; Fl Dorado, 80; Big Skookem he classes as a doubtful creek; Little Skookem and Chief Gulch he rates as mo good"; French Gulch, 3 paying claims; Fl Dorado benches, be- ing the claims near the hilltops, and the Bonanza benches are also classed by the doctor as doubtful; Bear Creek has no paying claims and Hunker Creek only 3. He says that these claims pay big. and he does not reckon as paying claims such as those which pay wages only.
 Albert F. Schulte, an Oakland attor ney, was also passenger on the Ma ttonaI City. He went to St. Michael a year ago. He located no claims and Is out just $500 on his venture. He makes a more liberal estimate of the number of paying claims and places them at 104. He left Dawson on the 27th of June, after enduring many hardships in that cold country, and reached St. Michael on July 31. He took passage on the National City on August 9. About thirty-five of the passengers were HIGH WHO udu lOCdleu claims and had done some mining and Mir. Schulte said that the total amount of gold dust brought back by them would not exceed $20000 in value.
 The richest man in the party, whose name could not be ascertained, had S20OO to show for three years of hard ship.
 The rest of the passengers, to the number of about forty, consisted of the men rescued from the James Eva, which was lost two days from Dutch Harbor. They were carried to St Michael and were given the privilege of returning to San Francisco on the tickets that entitled them to passage to Dawson. Half of them avatled themselves of the privilege, while the other half either pressed on or sold their tickets at a sacrifice, S35 being a top price for them. H. F. Bodine was one of those who returned and claims the loss of fourteen tons of freight and Is out just $3000. His Is the ill-fated party taken up by the Alaska Yukon Transportation Company.
 J. c. Brown, who also was a passen- ger on the National City, does not think much of the ability of Captain c. Anderson, who navigated the vessel to this port, and says that If 1t had not been for the presence aboard of Cap tain w. L. Lock the National City would never have reached this port
 
 boat Taku to the Yukon and there turned her over to the proper officials Mir. Brown said that when the National City was two miles out of St. Michael Captain Anderson ran her on sandbar in broad daylight. After losing twelve hours on the bar he Steered forty miles out of his course, and lost 1t four times between St. Michael and Unimak Pass, and lost 1t again nve times after pass ing that point. He sighted Point Arena on August 15, and was within ten miles of the heads at D. m the weather being clear. In spite of the advice of Captain Lock and the chief engineer, he refused to enter port After wandering around outside until a. m. of the 18th he got his bearings from the fog whistles on Point Reyes and at last entered port to the Joy and satisfaction of the passengers. Com plaint was also made as to the discip- line on board ship, which was voted as frightfu1ly bad. Had the vessel been properly managed she would have reached here on Sunday last
 A private letter from St. Michael, dated July 30, says that wind and rain storms are preventing the departure of the river steamers for Dawson. Up to July 29 no vessels had arrived from the Klondike, and the river was falling very fast The writer says the steamer T. c. Powers is about to leave with a full cargo and a limited number of pas sengers. It Is feared that not enough provisions will be got up to Dawson, as the river has fallen considerably and some well-known channels have shifted.
 The steamer Laurada has arrived with a dredger and the stern wheeler Governor William Low in tow. The Laurada was late in getting here and there may be trouble in getting up the river.
 The steamers Stratton, Elsie w, Li- esta, Martha Glow, Beaver, Silvery Wave and Clara Belle started for the fields on July 26 The first three of them go to Cuikuk and the others to Panama River. Some In- dians came in on July 28, and re- port small stern-wheel steamer bot &nrrn m in the river It fhn11rht