The San Francisco call., 1898-04-17
MINERS FEAR RIVER PIRATES Danger That Their Boats May Be Robbed on
 the Yukon. Captain Ray Will Ask the Pres ident for Military
 Patrols. Klondikers Returning With Their Gold Liable 10 Attack by Law
 less Characters.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

JUNEAU, Alaska. April 12 (by steam ship Queen to Seattle, April l6).-A whisky famine and new discoveries of gold are the latest from Dawson. A party of about fifteen men, including Captain P. H. Ray of Fort Yukon riot fame, has arrived here and will pro- ceed to Seattle. They left Dawson on March IS and saw salt water eighteen days later. Captain Ray, c. Morgan and John G. Smith came through from Fort Yukon, having left there on Feb ruary 25 and Circle City on March ?.
 Captain Ray will proceed at once to Washington, D. C., to make a formal report to President Mckinley about the need of more troops in the lower coun- try to protect life and property along the lines outlined in The Calls Fort Yukon letter, recently published.
 Captain Ray is over co years old, but is in tip-top condition and feeling fine after the long journey over the ice and snow. He left in charge at Fort Yukon Lieutenant Richardson, who, single handed, held the army of unprovisioned at bay. preventing II m from seizing a storehouse of supplies.
 Captain Ray will lay before the Pres ident the present and probable condi- tions on the lower river next summer. He thinks that there is much danger of lawlesSness and a possibility the boats going down the river with their burdens of gold may be held up and the treasure stolen. The captain also has some fear that the last boats up the river next August or Septe -lber may be held up and their cargoes of provisions and other supplies taken by the same kind of men who made seri- ous trouble last winter at Fort Yukon. He thinks the towns and rivers ought to be patrolled in the same manner and number that the Canadian police are bivouacked along the river from the Chilkoot summit to Dawson and as at Dawson.
 Among others in the party are Cap tain Hammond of Seattle, Mir. McIn- tosh of Ontario, MT. Pelkey of Mon treal. MT. McCumbar and MT Granger of San Francisco Arizona Charley" whose proper name is Charles Mead ows, of Arizona, and who is said to be one of the richest claim holders in the KlCndike region, and Virgil Moore of Santa Rosa Cal. F. H. Light of Chi cago is here. He has recently been into Dawson and staked some good claims. He will proceed to Chicago and Wash ington, D. c. C. Morgan is from Butte County, Cal, and, though a young
 
 in the Yukon Valley. He has been in there three years and has staked some of the best ground in the country.
 "Malamute Creek" he said, lis new one and one of the richest. It is tributary of the KOyukuk and has been very little prospected by white men. We saw some Indians, who had about S1OO worth of coarse gold, and they said they got 1t on the Malamute. They had just come out. I do not know just how long it took them to get it out but it was not long. On Brick Creek l know that as high as $500 to the pan has been taken out in places. Ameri- can Creek is also good, and there are acres of ground in the KOyukuk and Brick Creek sections, that will go from 75 cents to g 80 to the pan. When grub and labor become cheaper in there. and the day is coming, there are i'm mense areas of comparatively low grade ground that can be worked with hydraulics and made to pay big. The Tanana has every indication of be- ing a rich region. It has never been thoroughly prospected."
 HAL HOFFMAN.