The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-04-03
written for The Post BY I.ue Vernon


ION to Klondikc!" is the cry. Here, at the
lies Of Seattle and Vancouver. b. O.. tn,
teways 10 the Alaska and Canada gold
ids. one sees the mad rush Of men, women
even children, crowding, pushing and
rambling over anu past each otner, nustilns
. another out oil their way SO they viii
lrst and what for. AN on account unu
me sake oil the yellow dust, wnicn one
a All are STRIVING TO ootain, ana Tor the
Ke OF procuring 1t many a man has lost
life. ~
re on their way, leaving mother, wiie,
eetheart and homes, and risking their own
v,s 10 get mold OF gold. Yet fancy a great
hny oil the pilgrims Journeying to the ptom-
Sa land viii remember \ line OF the old
Nc. .,The snip Tnat Never Returneu:"
ust one more trip for the golden treasure,
aid u. man to his weeping bride;
An, alas. poor man, he sailed commander
M The ship that never returned"
Nj In the memory of the oldest prospector
miner on the Pacific coast has such a tue
a streain OF gold-maddened humanity ever
IN heard of. In the paniest days OF ~
,,alifornia, no such u stampede was ever
own. 1t is the craze OF the nineteenth
i,post OF our world. And all because a rev
.ky.born aredevils have found fortune
tne ice protected regions now Worldwide
and the amounts taken out OF the frozen
ov,.co, cred earth by the lucky fellows and
ralded and telegrapheu to every hamlet,
laee and town mas caused men to become
n.fics on the subject and to sell, mortgage,
do and in some known cases give their
IA possessions away In order that they,
might toin the crowd bound for the
ues they have christened Tho Klondike"
Ihe great lines of railways reaching to the
al points have had to increase their fucilI-
Il. ban vel
adding and putting more trains IN service,
iftly carrying armies of geld hunters to
attic or Vancouver TO start north as soon
nossible to seek wealth and fortune, or To
arre the pangs of disappointment and de-
air for as we all know that old adase
Ms: Fortune Is tickle goddess and the
pplc who Will make the "trip Will find out
m while good fortune smiles on some 1t
bwns on the efforts of others.
)n the Pacific coast. from San Francisco
Seattle from Tacoma to Vancouver, every
kamer that can be utilized in the Alaska
FRYING trade has been bought, sold or
Used 10 corporations or companies who in
IN have repaired, built and reiitted them
the purpose of carrying freight and pas
lgers between Skaguay and Seattle. Old
hts that have been in the "boneyard" for
bnths have been hauled out, cleaned and
tainted put in trim and are advertised to
il. on certain date. for the far away
rthern ports, where the men can get ready
take their choice of the trails or
asses that lead to the fabulous wealth
BIT lies underneath the snow, guarded by
and snow capped peaks in the Arctic cir
of the Yukon country.
rhese old gteamers-not all, but some of
enl--represent, as an old salt told me,
my a coffin for, said he. some of them are
lat we sailors call rotten old tubs. and it
a wonder that many life has not been
L ere now. Four steamers plying between
sound and Alaskan ports have been
ecked so far, but, fortunately not soul OH
bird Of either steamer was lost, as far AS
own The four steamers that have gone
Mn were crowded TO their capacity with
ssengers.
bne can not with any degree of accurate
es, describe with pen or pencil. a departure
steamer for the ice glades of the Kion-
10. II must be seen to get any idea of the
bying mass Of humanity.
Pm the deck of an outward bound vessel
gs of all species, sizes, shapes and colors,
the most looked at articles of freight.
ne ure Just tied to the railing OF the boat
tli not. thing to protect them from the.
ray OF the waves and the cold, biting winds
bt play hide and SEEK with the sails, at
S time of year, while others have a small
fce OF ducking or a strip of canvass tied
| their backs. Other dogs, whose owners !
We some feelings Of kindness and human
ttnct Tor the animals which play an i'm
ftant role In their hurry to get into the |
Eat gold diggings. have provided them with
tirst- class berth, as il were, in the shape of |
4
pund with oil cloth or canvass, thus pro- |
ftlng Mr.. Dog as much as possible from the |
hd and water. AS they are being holsted |
deck they look much like sewing machines |
kted for shipment OF all the dog talk here
where you hear ii. Growing, h:.rking |
iwiins and groans of despair, mingled with
curses OF the dog keeper, almost make
feel blessed that you are not a dog, in the
mai sense, anyway.
he next feature is tho Klondiker's sled
IS article has been greatly talked about.
|itten about and fought about. Each man
INKS he has the best model of a sled to
Fry IN his supplies over the trail. Hence
LOOKING over pilc of sleds on a steamer
fterday found long sleds, tall sleds, wide
os. narrow sheds, short sleds, fat sludA
lean sleds. In fact, any Eind OF m OLD
VIII 90 to start with, as | am told by |
VINO have made the trip out from
f"son tnat not one man in n thousand
,ws what Kind OF sled he must have, or
ds until he has made the rip either in or
! himself
order to have the poor fellows who have
the money TO go with and who arc in
CROWDS at the dock, know who you are. or
ner nave them to understand that you are
~ ior the land of gold, you must have a
Nhite nat, la Texas cowboy hat, large
cart wheel and larger, II you can find
.he larger the better. The bigger the
inc more prominent and conspicuous 1t
A t you, and ! am informed by one OF
asiiows Myself. that It gives you better
ras "hions your fellow companions on the
ase, as to your ability to find gold mine,
~ oiu-time prospectors would say, 'gtrlke
men among the crowd on the steamer is
mlse man, that is, the man WHO has
~ an the great boom mining camps
10y, .as world, and who knows It all and
LING connected with mines and mineral
Ia ne is Just going UP to have "A look
LIZ merely a pleasure jamnt Heard so
- ~ opoul inc klondike--only a side trip
w. ~ see He is talking with some man,
ns man says that Il is $50 miles to Lake
ss ran from Telegraph creek The wise
~ sa.s IL IS only l49 miles and gets out his
ana pencil and figures for an hour or
convince the man that 1t is a mile
~ ~ snah ne says He knows every foot
~ y. ground, also knows what he Is talking
W. ana says the fellow is a DIN liar The |
gives him Fitssimmons upper cut
h s wso mans friends carry him TO his
bnt a Nv ne wont hgure any more until he !
81, 70 sea Tor Gay or so. Ii don't pay |
'er w Wise with the genuine old-time
" next thing is the garb and dress of the I
Stal,u, pound gold hunters
800 '1aws OF all descriptions. Red
kse,s' otue trousers. green trousers, yellow
ats gray trousers ana coats In endless .
| ", Leather coats, drilling coats, bear |
ss.s' wolf skin coats, dog skin coats i,
sam coats, coats or all hues and cor ,
II. iaci' Joseph's celebrated coat of many | +,
.. would be a back number among this
n a