The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-20
THOUSANDS ARE
ON THE TRAILS
CeaseleSs Exodus From
Dawson.
MANY ARE WITHOUT FOOD
DEPEND UPON CHARITY WHILE
TRAMPING OUT.
Could Not Find Gold Nor Obtain EN-
ployment and Were Compelled
to Leave the Klon-
dixie.
Special Dispatch to The Call.
BY HAL HOFFMAN.

JUNEAU, Alaska, Feb. Is (via Port
Townsend, Wash, Feb. 19).-C. H. Eli
son, one of the most noted trail warm
ers on the coo miles TO Dawson. has
come out of the frozen north swift
footed as Mercury. He was accompa-
MED by J. A. Bradley, an athlete of
Titusville, Pa, who assisted in setting
the pace.
According to their story, an army Of
men is now on the trail to the coast.
Several thousand men have been lying
around Dawson during the winter, I'M
able to get work or prospect and wait
ing for a favorable opportunity to get
out. The trail has recently become in
good condition.
According to Ellison, If one could
take a birds eye view from some lofty
interior mountain peak, thousands OF
disappointed and hard-looking men
would be seen hauling their little sleds
and toiling up the icy trail. Some OF
these men are literally "on their up
pers," with no money and Just enough
grub" to last them on their trip. 9th
ers have little more than their blan-
ketS and only a few pounds of food.
depending on the more fortunate and
the road houses to help them through.
Dogs are high-priced in Dawson,
bringing from $500 to $1,000 each. and
proportionately low in Skaguay. There
are teams of the best Malamutes in
Dawson which $4,000 would not touch.
A single Malamute ito the manor born"
is worth a team Of a dozen dogs Of
the kind brought up from the States.
The serious question presents itself:
What is Skaguay to do with these men?
.Skaguay is the first point they reach
on the coast, except the few who may
come over the Taku trail by way Of
AtIin. Many, of course. have money.
but the vast majority had not enough
TO buy an extra pair Of shoes for the
trip out.
This tramping army is estimated at
between 1000 and 5000, and Ellison says
most of them will arrive out in thirty
days. When he left it looked as though
a good sized section of Dawson was
packing up, getting sleds, dogs. har-
ness, etc, preparatory to leaving:
This. of course, will greatly change
the appearance of things in Dawson,
but the gold is still in the creek beds
and in the sidehill claims of the klon-
dixie tributaries, and nearly everybody
agrees that as much as, If not more
than, last year will be taken out in
next springs cleanup Though 1t may
be said Of Dawson that She mas seen
better days" and that the boom has
collapsed, the gold is there for the COM
parative few who were lucky enough
to seek it first.
News has just reached here of new
strike in the Porcupine Creek district.
in American territory, back Of Haines
Mission. Tufts and Cummings. two
prospectors, We're staked last fall by
Ed Finley and instructed to go into the
ChilAat Lake region with Finley's part
rer, s. W. Mix. Finley is the discov-
erer Of Porcupine and, with Mix, still
owns Discovery and No. below. Iu1ts
and Cummings reached here this morn
ing and report having found excellent
prospects on what they named Lake
Creek, which empties into Chilkat
Lake They dug through the snow to
the ground, cut wood, thawed the
gravel and PANIED it out, getting sew
eraI cents to the pan, near the surface.
other creeks in the vicinity gave good
Indications This is hurrying more peo-
pie to the Porcupine district