The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-08
But One Bit of Gold
Seen on a Klon-
dixie Trip.
A WORCESTER MAN RETURNS.
Nothing But Disdain For
1.-THE Country and Thinks
1t a Fake.

Inglis Jenkins, member of the Wor-
eester and Northwestern Mining and
Trading Company, and who was one of
the AZ men that went out from Wor-
cester February 2, 1898, returned from
the Klondike yesterday.
During his adventurous trip of over
year he says he saw about everything
but gold. One glimpse of the yellow
metal was had at Cooks Inlet when the
party went in. This trace of gold seen
on the coast at the outset of a trip of
100 miles, fraught with all manner of
suffering, was all the reward the wor-
cester men reaped for their hazardous
journey.
There came out of the Copper River
region with Mr.. Jenkins, his cousin,
George Jenkins, now in Worcester, Her
man Reynolds, Dennis Trembley. Nels
Oleson. Charles Pierson, P. A. w. An
derson, Ordway B. Eustis, Carl Ma
guerson and Frank Burrows, all of
Worcester. Many of these men headed
Tor Washington and others are still in
the neighborhood of Seattle.
jenkins has nothing but praise for the
worcester men. The party, made UP as
1t was of men who had practically no
acquaintance with each other before the
start, hung together through the worst
of bad luck. He denies the stories of a
breach in the ranks, and says that
throughout the long hard trip there was
nothing but minor differences.
The Worcester man is convinced that
the Klcndike craze throughout is
fraud. He has positive knowledge that
in the entire district around Dawson
City and indeed along the Klondike
river there are only go paying claims
and but IL of these are rich strikes. To
be sure 10000 claims~are staked, but gold
is minus.
The report that Jack Neil, one of the
worcester men who went out with the
Northwestern company, has struck 1t
rich, is denied altogether, and Mr.. Jen-
kins has knowledge that the Haunted
millionaire Jack is in a small Indian
village and barely existing. Neil was
one of II men that left the party and
struck across country. He was seen
later, and if he has struck gold in pay
ing quantities nothing is known of his
ind in the region the Worcester man
has just left
The greater part of the Worcester
Cooks Inlet and Skaguay, without
other mishap than all kinds of delay.
They reached Katatack March ii, and
thence went by tug to Disenchantment
| Bay, which they reached on All Fools
day Then. began the eventful trip of
| Al miles up the Al-sack river. The party
| was burdened with 1900 pounds of bag
gage, and were six weeks making the
trip. Men were everywhere and the
scramble for gold was on.
In July the party pushed up the river
| distance of 40 miles. Here the route
became continuous round of glaciers
and mountain peaks. Travel was all
most impossible Prospecting could
better be carried on on Newton hill
than in that country. Wherever a
hole was dug even a few feet in depth.
water gushed out in quantities that de-
fed pumps or bailing. Even on the
tops of mountains, the pressure of
water prevented digging, and in dis
couragement the greater part of the
party refused to go further Twenty
men, of whom Mr.. Jenkins was one,
prepared for camping in a piece of tim
Der. 1t was late last fall and the cold
was becoming intense, and suffering
was increasing.
Against all reason, a score of the men
pushed on overland % miles, when the
winter overlook them and they went
into camp. Soon after, the storms and
SHOWS began in earnest, and the ad-
vance party were showed in. Tents
went down like reeds before the storms,
and in a race for life, they started to
return to the timber where jenkins and
his party were comfortably housed in
staunch log cabins. They reached
| shelter badly frozen, and many of the
men were dragged into camp unable to
stand.
They came without food and the sun
ply was divided The country abound
ed with bears and wild sheep and goats.
and these prevented starving until the
coming of spring Then the party snlit
and some of the men pushed once more
up river as Mr.. Jenkins believes.
against all reason. He predicts that
scurvy will be added to their other suf-
ferings before the summer is over, and
ne sees absolutely no prospect of
striking gold anywhere in the Copper
river region.
Mr.. Jenkins made the trip out with
three companions, and when two Of
the men were taken sick, the trip be-
came a struggle for life. Provisions
which were laid in for three months
began to fail, and the party subsist-
ed on short rations for weeks Seattle
was reached the first week in May.
he left among the men that decided to
push up country, w. Kelley of Sterling
Junction. Patrick Mcclure of Marlboro
T. Estey, Samuel Gilbert and Frank
Phillips of Worcester. He can see
nothing ahead for these men but trouble
and predicts that not one of them will
see gold unless he carried 1t with him.
OF the whole Klondike scare. Mr. len
kins has nothing but scott. He saws
the entire furore was nothing but fake
from start to finish. There is some
gold in that section, but the chances
of the average searcher making a strike
is about one in one million. There are
5000 men in Juneau, and In every set :
Element and village are men who are
destitute and stranded who have aban-
doned the search for gold in a struggle
for existence
The Worcester man said last night
that he is extremely glad to be home
once more. He does not regret his
trip Early in the journey he aban-
doned any hope of finding gold in any
quantity, and gave himself over to en-
Joying the hunting and shooting. He
Is practically the only man in the en-
tire company whose health has not
suffered.