The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-10-14
CONDITIONS At DAWSON
A Great Country in Which to
Make Money.
A PERILOUS EXPEDITION
Four Men Drowned at Five Finger Rap
ids-Last Springs Cleanup Was
Large - Business on
Solid Basis.

Frank Durand of New Chicago, who
recently returned from the Klondike.
has been spending few days in the
city in connection with matters of
business pertaining to big expedi-
ton he is planning to take into Daw-
son in December. Mr.. Durand went to
Klondike last spring and had a most
momentous trip in endeavoring to take
in string of scows laden with grain
and packing outfits. The journey was
made in safety as far as the Five
Finger rapids, where the expedition
met with disaster. Two of the scows
were wrecked and four members of the
crews were drowned, the entire cargo
of both scows being total loss. The
four men We're all from Seattle AID
were not known here.
Mr. Durand spent three months in
Dawson and the surrounding diggings.
He states that while the country was
overdone at one time, business is now
on a more settled basis and that he re-
CARDS it as a great country to make
money in. Mr.. Durand was in Daw-
son at the time of the big fire in April
and his account of the big confiaSra-
ton gives a good idea of the rustling
qualities Of the Klondker. The fire
broke out at night said he, ''and
burned all night along the water front.
BY morning the front of the city was
in ashes. The fire burned back all Of
the following day and when it had
burned itself out 1876 buildings had
been destroyed. During that day, while
the back side of the town was burning.
the work of rebuilding was started on
the water front. and when / left in
August one who had never seen the
town before would never have known
there had been a fire. While vast
amount of property was lost, the fire
really proved a benefit to the city, for
every building destroyed was replaced
by a better one"
Mr. Durand expresses the opinion
that Dawson will be better for the next
four or five years at least than ever
before He states that last springs
cleanup was very large. and in one in
stance in particular the owner of a
claim on Eldorado creek paid packing
! charges on 1900 pounds of dust. Liv-
ing, he states, is now quite reasonable,
considerable gardening is done in the
summer and people enjoy many more
of the comforts of life than they have
heretofore.
Mr.. Durand saw considerable of Ike
Hennessy or Corrveau. the story of
terday's Standard, while he was in
Dawson. He states that Corriveau had
a lease on a rich claim at that time,
which would have paid him $4,000 a
week if he had ATTENDED to business,
and he cannot understand why he. is
| not rich, instead of being in Canadian
| prison for stealing. = '
Mr.. Durand Is planning to return to
| Dawson, probablyr in December, and
| figures on taking in Is sled loads Of
those provision supplies that Klondik-
ers see very little of in winter. He
states that the Canadian government
has arranged for a twice a-Week mail
service from SkagWay to Dawson dur
| ing the winter and to make it possible
| has built a road from the railroad at
| Caribou crossing across country to the
| Hootalinque. which limits the route tc
| 125 miles. The government aims ito
| use horses between Caribou crossing
and Five Fingers and dogs from there
on. Mr.. Durand plans to use horses
all the way in and thinks he will have
no trouble travelling on the ice from
Five Fingers to Dawson. During the
| past summer he has provided for the
| expedition by storing feed and hay
along the route. and feels confident he
will not only make the trip success
fully, but will make big cleanup or
| the enterprise