The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-03-21
People Rapidly Leaving the Great
Boom Town.
BUSINESS AT A STANDSTIlL
SPECTATORS at Work - Polr Men Have
Small Chance Costly and Diff
cult Methods.


outlook for Dawson during 1899 is most |
Hundreds OF people are
migrating TO more congenial cllmes,
and the retail traders complain that
they have more outfits offered for sale
than purchases sought. The saloons
and gambling houses are popularity re-
ported to be operating at a loss, and
the Tivoli Theater, with Cad Wilson
as its bright particular star, mas clos
ed its doors. The warehouses OF the
great commercial companies are still
filled to the caves with unsold mer-
chandise, and on every hand goes up
the cry that Dawson is dead"
News from the new discoveries is not
of such character as to arouse ener-
getic enthusiasm; indeed, with the eX-
ception of Thistle creek, all are report
ed as strictly barren. Hundreds OF peo-
pie have left for the outside with the
intention of returning with large i'm
portations of merchandise, but unless
lau present indications are misleading.
lmost of these ventures Will prove I'M
profitable Travellers passing through
there from the Koyokuk region bring
Vague and hazy tales of richness to be
uncovered in that district, but there Is
an alarming silence from the ne.ghbor-
hood of Rampant City, which indicates
lLhat the tales OF Aladdin-llke wealth.
sent out from there last year are far
from true.
TO sum up the situation on the 1u'
lkon in the fewest words, it is sucn aS
should deter all adventures from en-
itering the field unless supplied WIFI
lsufficIent money and determination u
withstand several years OF successive
ldisappointment. Rich fields, such a
lBonanza and FL Dorado, are the eXcep
ltion. and less profitable fields thar
these are not for the poor man. L
Unjust remain for great aggregations
capital to utilize these minor sources o
wealth.
I New methods of mining must be de
!. yised whereby the cost OF gatherln
the gold is cheapened. The maJorit
of the diggings are neither Sruu
lstake" nor wages propositions"-the
lareg syndicate enterprises calling 70
cheap labor and perfected machiner!
The steam thawing machine, 1t is true
4 has opened an avenue for the man {
moderate means TO profitably work OF
claims of average richness, but It's d'
yelopment to such a magnitude as
make the working OF the ordlnat
Yukon gold fields profitable is pro-
lem for associated capital. 1 MS pha'
of the situation is we'll understood ne
bv mining experts and representative
of foreign capital and by the usual CT
Gle of well-informed spectators, Wi
the result that applications are Dell
made for concessions on all creeh
whether they have shown up Wen
, not. for bedrock flume" grants wnl
is but a preliminary TO the establis
ment of hydraulicking plants.
Joseph f. McGillivray, the CalirS
mia mining expert who was instr
mental in devising many aids TO I
more perfect working OF Californl
placer diggings, has matured a pi
tb. whereby he expects TO solve the pre-
lem of cheaply handling the fuk
gravel gold deposits. He starts
morrow for San Francisco by dog tea
ON He refuses to divulge anything or
Ter plans.
mn John j. Healey has sent out TO
~ Iclaim, No. 50 below on Bonanza, an
mense steam pumping plant with
ght exnectation of working that claim
to the process that is now successft
used in Oregon, but l have been
formed by at least one expert that
also 49,, o,,,trr The result of Heal,
iced experiment will be awaited with
Q to lterest by many observant ones, '
are watching it, eagerly hoping for
q. 4, success.
1t is altogether too early to give q
;ui' thing definite or reliable concerning
output of the creeks. Earlier in
ON lseason reports were highly favoraol
r,-Ic Ian immense clean up. Just now
1T, reports are directly the opposite.
phur and Dominion are reported L
on utter failures. But such reports ar
nde- little worthy of credence as the ca
ones of startling richness. \ few
; ar men on the lower end OF each c
have bottomed on blanks, and hav
consequence abandoned their lays
}, at beartened On the other hand, 5
arine few claims have developed anna
richness. There is a popularity 4
..- these creeks that makes them espe
o' " difficult to operate The pay st
is located in most instances at so
Mt siderable height and distance
the stream that water must be
,LUB in fumes from the creek perha
p. m. mile beyond the limit of the G
Is in yukon laws render this impossible
cept by consent of the lnterVe
|c. claimant. and this cannot be obta
The result is that most holes have
lsunk in close proximity to the CT
~ with the result that an INN
amount of waste labor has been
IN formed.
W. To thoroughly understand thi:
reader must know that the windir
ups these creeks are tortuous, whil'
"a pay streak supposedly runs in a
-. channel whose windings, equally
l1 ~. tuous, bring il at times several hu
Job leeI uis'1n' III" - - Nc,
,oticA course. III soihe p'''0e