Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-09-18

| watermeions. a year ago for SIS and to-
| day they are selling for So The price of
everything will go down with the al
vance Of communication with the coun
| try.
(which way is the tide of travel?"
| 1T is great both ways. but | think it is
| inclined to be coming out instead of GO
ing in. Some people have an idea that
| the country is crowded. but bless you
! they couldn't crowd that country by
| pouring another million of people into il.
| There Is room there for all. and there ;
! gold IN plenty if one will dig. Some sec
| tons and some claims turn out more
| than others but there is gold in every
inch of ground up there. In our party
| that came home was man named
| Charles Anderson who was bringing out
4 half a million in gold dust. He got his
! claim one night after he had been pros
| pecting and had bad bad luck. lie was
| in Dawson and got intoxicated. While III
! that condition he was induced to pay his
last dollar. $500 in all. for the claim that
was considered worthless. When he was
sobered he wanted to get his money back
but they don't do things that way in tn
| klondike. He went to work ana me very
first shaft he sank he struck pay dirt IN
rich quantities His claim is being
worked ana it is worth today about $3.50.
0UO'
How do they bring out their money!
IN boxes that will hold about 100
pounds. one sees the boxes being shipped
out. piled on the wharves. They are too
heavy for man to carry off ana no IN
/ casiness IS felt in having them transport
| "a.
II met Everett Hutchlns ana Mason
| Farrar before left and they have been
in rather hard luck. They have claims
over in the American territory that are
not panning out well. They have about
decided 70 90 over on the FL Dorado
where a first they have situations in
view u work At 81 an hour. III mean
10 stick by the country ana win some
gold. Both are in good health
Where are your claims situatcd?"
I'VE own claims on the Dominion.
Thistle. Excelsior and Scraggy creeks
They are little creeks running into thu
klondike river. Each claim is 30 feet on
the water front and extends back for 1913
feet from the creek on each side. our
claims are turning out fairly well though
nothing extra. Each one of US owns
of our party staid behind to work them
and in case they pay well think the rest
of us will return and work them.
Mr.. Jackson showed the Journal some
Of the nuggets he brought out with him
from the country. There We're two sorts
one was the Fl Dorado gold that was of
a brassy color ana Is worth less than the
other sort. This is valued a sll an ounce
urbi lilo, he, ,,.,. +I,,,,
country is valued at about $40 an ounce
or little less. The more valuable metal
is of a much yellower cast. He also
showed the Journal a five dollar gold
piece which he picked up on the streets
Of Dawson before starting so that story
that gold can be found in the streets
must be true)
Then another piece Of money was a
Canadian five dollar note. one of the sort
that is being introduced into the region.
bank has been started at Dawson with
this sort of money and with silver. Thi-
latter article is about unknown until
now. The smallest change there is tn
% cent piece about everything goes in
larger quantities. The introduction of the
paper and change is much welcomed BY
the miners who find that dealing in gold
dust Is losing game.
II have not felt the cold so greatly
while l have been away as | used to here
in Maine" said Mr.. jackson. 1T has
gone down as low as 6S degrees below re
ro but it is a dry cold and in the region
where we are situated we do not get any
winds to speak of. We live in log cab
ms which are warm and comfortable.
But speaking Of the cold | believe the
country must be much warmer than it
was at one time. We have known of
cases where the miners have dug for POO
feet and the earth was frozen all the
way. With the cold weather that they
have now it could not freeze so deeply
as that. 1t must have frozen long ago.
Then | have seen places where a 50
feet the tusks of the mastodon have been
found with spruce spines as green as they
are here imbedded in the frozen ground.
one tusk that | saw Of the mastodon
was seven feet long and about four inches |
in diameter. That country has in some
time past been through a great transfer
nation"
How about the health Of the miner?"
"Out of our party of %, one died of the
scurvy. another was sent home crippled |
from the disease ana three others came |
are all right. | have black spots over me |
caused by the disease. Scurvy there is |
caused by the lack of vegetable food |
which causes the blood to thickcn. The |
man who died was black all over when |
he died. Eating fruit as We have since |
we have struck the fruit sections will |
soon cause us to be in good health If the |
man there with the scurvy lies around |
camp he is done for. because his joints
will stiffen. He has to work to keep
alive This will be overcome to great |
extent by the Introduction Of the railroad |
allowing fresh supplies of foods to be |
brought in in short time.
The country is growing to be very |
civilized, compared with its past. and if |
the young man who goes there will let |
rum alone and attend to business he will |
succeed in the end and bring out money. |
The difficulties that have been overcome |
in the way of getting to the mining coun
try will cause many to go there. | be- |
lieve. and there are hundreds of millions |
of dollars there for the man who can get |
, them. l would like to have some of the |
deposit of the bottom of the Yukon |
which is down on bed. rock. 1t must be |