The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-01-13
THE WOMEN Of THE YUKON
THEY STAND HARDSHIP BETTER
THAN MEN.
There are Several Hundred in the
Klondike ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS in
Which Some of Them Engage.

Last spring several hundred women
reached the land o6 gold. They came
from every nook and corner of the
earth; they came from every rank and
condition. Once fairly launched into
a life of pioneering women seem to
withstand hardship better than men.
| never have heard of the death of
woman on the trail to Dawson, al
though they encountered vicissitudes
as varied and as trying as the men.
Last winter Miss Mac Dougal
through long exposure on Lake La
Barge contracted rheumatism, from
which she was almost helpless for
months. The men into whose hands
she came cared for her as best they
could for some weeks. Finally her
people at Skaguay heard of her plight,
and sent a man-one Long shorty
with a dog team nearly 200 miles TO
her relief. The valiant Long Shorty
brought her to the coast in safety.
Women do a great variety of things
in Dawson, even stampeding when
there is new strike. They are not
asking for equal rights with the men,
for at present they have much the
best of it. At the postoilice men stand
in line every week day. The delivery
of mail is always vastly in arrears,
and sometimes it happens that after
a man has stood there all day wait
ing his turn he has to go away with
out having a chance to ask for his let
ters. At the gold commissioners Of
flee the situation is even worse, for
the reason that often the unfortunate
male citizen has to wait for several
days. WITH woman it is different.
at the postotfice she goes to a side
door, walks right in and gets her let
tiers. incidentally she gets mail for
tIve or SIX or her trienus.
1t must be said that this courtesy
to the sex has been abused. Frece-
dence, especially at the recorders Of
flee, sometimes is worth vast amount
of money. Women have been known
to undertake commissions for others
for consideration.
Last winter seamstresses and those
with knack for making fur caps or
mittens made a great deal of money.
Mrs. Hamill, with two or three others
in her employ, turned out drilling
parlas at a wonderful speed and at
the price of SO each. y parka is a
case, and it has about 81 worth of ma
terial in it at Dawson prices. When
the supply of fur and tanned cariboo
skin ran short last winter mittens
were made of two thicknesses of fab
ric, wooden blanket inside covered
with cotton drilling.
Two or three young men are doing
well at Dawson as stenographers and
] Il
! themselves with the common legal
/ forms of the country, and consequent
| ly have made themselves very useful
/ to the miners in drawing up leases,
deeds and contracts.
\ little woman with a French name
went down the river Dawsonward OF
| the ice last spring. She had pretty
good outfit, part of which was dog
team and two men, whom she mad hir-
! ed to do the work. She was known all
along the trail as the Nut Woman
| Whenever they stopped for midday
| lunch the men laboriOusly cooked
victuals-bacon and bread, dried APP
| pies and so forth, of which they ate
| heavily. The little French woman felt
no such need. She got out small
sack of nuts, of which she ate few
and a chocolate carmel or two, and
was as good as ever.
Mrs. Wood, "the stampeder,' is
familiar figure in nearly all the min
ing camps of the Yukon. If there is
a new strike, whether it is far or near
she is one of the first on the ground
and she probably has seen as muct
of the mining territory as any person
there.
Four Chicago girls-the Saunders
sisters-have made their way very
well in Dawson by doing anything
that any plucky self-respecting girl'
could do. They kept a small store TO
Il time, until change in the owner
ship of the building compelled then
to discontinue. Then they started
laundry, which paid them $50 day
Having an ambition to go into mining
they built half way house up OF
Hunker creek and divided their force
two of them taking charge of the he
tel, which gave them better chanc
for early information of strikes. Nov
they have some claims.
OMER MARKS.