Gilpin observer., 1899-10-12

oossoE duu proprietor OF q newspaper
throughout the length and breadth of
the great Yukon region-that land OF
snow and Ice, of hardy pioneers and Of
gold, says the San Francisco Examiner.
But Clara E. Wright, just past 80 years
of age. bears her distinction modestly.
ITS just matter Of business" she
says. II find 1t pays, now that I have
passed the experimental stage with my
publication, and money is what I am
after" And such unique publica-
ton as the Rampant City Whirlpool is!
Its motto. 1--WE amt so warm!" gives
an indication of the paper and Its pub
Usher. Established in January of the
present year, as a twelve-page monthly
publication, its advertising business
has increased to such proportions that
the energetic publisher had to Just dou-
BILE the number OF pages, while the cir
culation far exceeds the total popula-
ton of the place Of its publication,
men, women and children-a circula-
ton that no other journal in the world
can boast of. And this, with the pa
per selling at 81 copy-no reduction
for term subscriptions-and the over
worked publisher unable to supply the
demand at that. Did you ever stop to
consider the labor involved in getting
out an ordinary newspaper, with its
almost human typesetting machines Its
corps Of news-gatherers and editors,
and its lightning presses that turn off
many thousand copies in an hour? If
You have. make another pause and give
thought to the labor devolving on this
undaunted California woman, with not
soul to assist her but her daughter.
There is not single type in Rampant
City; a printers stick" would be a
curiosity, while there is not even a
cider press. much less printing press
anywhere nearer than Dawson, some
hundred miles away. A plain ordinary
typewriter makes the Whirlpool, with
the manipulation of Mrs. Wright and
her daughter Doris. In the old days in
San Francisco Clara Wright supported
herself and little Doris after the death
Of her husband, ten years ago, by stem
ographic work, and when she went to
Alaska In June of last year she took
along the machine that had long been
tho means Of her livelihood here. That
machine IS now proving a satisfactory
substitute for presses. Advertisements
and reading matter, editorials and
headlines are all the same, capital let
ters doing service for all display type,
while small ads and reading matter
go in the lower case letters. Being
business manager. advertising solicitor.
circulation clerk, managing editor, city
editor, local staff .compositor and press
woman combined, it is no wonder that
the Rampant Whirlpool is not published
more frequently than once a month.
A weekly publication under such cir
cumstances would be almost an impos-
sibility; daily issue would mean men,
tai and physical collapse. Not in the
least elated over her multiplicity of
titles, not crushed by their weight, Mrs.
Wright sets about her daily tasks with
dauntless courage and rejoices over the
fact that with the growing business the
days have heightened proportionately,
for every advertisement, every news
item and each new subscriber means
tust SO much more lingering of the
typewriter. When the rush to the
Klondike set in she determined to go
to the new El Dorado. 1t was not until
June, 1898, however. that she was able
to make the start, and then against
the advice of her friends, and unac-
companied save by her ten-year-old
daughter, who had been left fatherless
almost from the time of her birth, Mrs.
Wright started for Dawson by way of
ST. Michael. Arriving there she en-
countered so many people returning to
the states, with most wonderful tales
Of the Klondike region that she deter
mined to cast her lot on the American
side OF the boundary line. According
ly she went to Rampant City. the GEN.
ter OF the vast gold discoveries on the
Minook and It's tributaries. No thought
OF starting a newspaper entered the
lady's head at first. She had gone to
that country for gold, and the pre-
cious metal lay buried deep in the
ground. She made a personal inspec-
ton OF the different creeks and gulches
IN the district and located several
claims. while she acquired an interest
in several others that had. been located.
After the streams froze up and deep
snow covered the ground, Mrs. Wright
made frequent long trips to the claims,
enduring perlls and hardships that
many strong men shrank from.
Mrs. Wright conceived the Idea Of
starting a newspaper upon her return
from one OF these trips, when the In
tensely cold, dreary. sunless days af-
forded little opportunity for a woman
OF her energetic temperament to "do
something" So in January Of the
present year the Rampant Whirlpool
began its career under circumstances
as unfavorable as those usually attend
ing the establishment OF rural publi-