The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-08-22
An OPTIMISTIC LETTER
l.. Schley Says Alaska Is All
Right.
VERY TOUGH PROPOSITION
He Left Montana With Hardly a Cent
and Is Now Making Money Hand
Over Fist Has Jumped a
Town.

Great Falls. Aug. 2o.-Joseph Van
den Heuvel OF Geyser has received the
following optimistic letter from a for
mer resident of this county, now seek
ing and apparently finding his fortune
in Alaska:
Eagle City. Alaska, June MY Dear
Joe: Well. / made It. 1 am now in
the land of gold, and she's all right. 1t
is not quite as plentiful as I imagined.
but Is good just the same. and you may
believe me when / say that In 10 days
/ have made about $50 per DAY. You
see, we jumped this town, and = I'm
city recorder and / locate Is TO 20 men
a day. This town is 100 miles down the
river from Dawson and by spring will
be a larger town. 1t is on American
ground and is wide open. Ted and Jim
are both located here; they ave made
quite a pile and at present are out pros
pecting. We all three figure on show
ing up in Montana in about a year.
I'll tell you a few things to kind Of
strike you blind I wanted a two
pound can OF butter, a can of milk and
a 10-pound ham from the store. j got
IT and paid s32 for ii. A man got 10 lots
here and wanted them cleared off. /
took the contract for $500. In six hours
l had 10 men on them and they wera
through. I paid them s25 each. Made
a little whiskey money by selling a
plug of tobacco, one-half pound. I
got S. for It. This is the way matters
go here. Any kind of a man can save
$1,000 a year here and not hurt himself.
but ~hard-well, of all the tough propo-
sitions i ever struck. IL Is to get in here.
| left Montana broke. o might say.
but there were only six men got down
the river to Dawson ahead of me. 1
and three mnro wara in the fhipd hno .
that got to Dawson this spring. When
] left the Falls / had about 500 ]
got to Spokane and dropped II all
gambling. ! went TO Tacoma, tried to
get grub staked to Alaska, but failed.
Too many were after such lays. l
worked my way TO Dyea or the Dash
ing Wave and got off her with just a
couple of dollars. I went up to Sheep
Camp and in two days made $50, got
tired n pulled out for Lake Bennett;
worked there for 10 days and made
$50. This was too small. so I found a
party to stake me to Walsh creek, got
n permit to go In with $50 pounds, but
! could only get 200, yet I went in. and
by standing hardships ] got TO the foot
of Lake Lebarge. Here l found five
fellows who wanted one more to help
build a boat. ] Joined them, we built
the boat and struck out for the Hoota-
linqua river, got there, passing nina
W IN q NAAA va ~ NAA- 60 10
The river was full of ice. so we waited
for three days. then We started again
and never stopped until we reached
Dawson. We got in third. How's that
for a record for a busted man? ] real
ily think I am all right. We'll. at Daw-
tson | found that Ted and Jim had gone
down to Eagle City, so down l came
in the same boat with one of my part
ners, Tex McLain, an old-timer here,
found Ted and Jim the same as ever,
toll them ] had grub for o month only
and was broke. They told me | could
get 800. 5000 or $500 If / needed il for
grub. / rustled around AM found the
town wanted a recorder, had an cleo
ton and got il, n am now fully 5000
ahead, besides having a lot worth a.
much more. That's the way things go
here. Ted and Jim each carry a sack
holding 81. 900 or SO. ZOO and are to get
between 49, 900 and 81. 900 in July. They
made considerable on the Klondike last
winter. Fred Madden is down the river
somewhere. I don't think he is much
ahead. We expect IN awful rush TO
this town from Dawson. The own
was flooded a few days ago and many
viii leave there on account of sickness.
They can only come down the river,
and we have the onlv town to eaten
them, so we figure on having a boom
ing time soon.
/ will give up my Job o and locate
a few placer claims. They sell like
wild fire and vary from $3.50 TO so. 900.
That's quicker than $500 or $500 a
month. even II 1t is easy. Well. I must
stop. / could say lots more. but paper
is scarce and time also. SO, with re-
CARDS to all, 1 close. Yours,