The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-08-26
miners cabin is interesting, and there i:
a good picture Of one:

miners cabin is interesting, and there i:
a good picture of one:
The Yukon miners cabin is from about lGN1:
feet square TO liS1s feet averaging perhaps l2Nli
feet. The logs are eight or nine inches thick
and the sides are nine OF ten legs high, which,
with six inches elevation fer the floor, allows am
lie headroom. The ro1i is rather fiat, Ta!Sf
OF more than two feet at the ridge beirts uncom
'4VH, ard it extends four TO six feet in 'front.' and
IS frequently enclosed for store room. The rooi
Is made OF small poles, covered first with mos
and then, to thickness OF six inches or more,
win dirt, which in tine is covered with weeds
and grass, causing some one TO observe that one
| Of the duties Of 4 householder in the Yukon was
moving the hay on his house top. There is one
door in front, and at least one window on the
sunny side. fitted whenever possible with sash
Of from four to six panes, the better cabins hay
ing double sashes. to prevent frosting. AS a
sash, whenever il is 10 be had at all, is worth
so many cabins have only wife -four sack
| nailed over the opening. much better wlndow,
! and really decorative one, is made of dozen
or more white ginger ale bottles, set vertically
IN an opening the thickness OF log. The MOOR
! IS either OF lumber or poles hcwn fiat on top.
Many cabins, especially on new creeks, dispense
! with floor. The cabin is warmed with an ordi'
nary sheetiron Yukon stove. set on four posts,
the stovepipe passing through 4 square oil can IN
thu roof, the space around the pipe being usiia y
| filled in with clay. The logs are chinked with
moss, which is usually laid as the walls 20
| up Properly chnked and rooted, the tempera-
ture even in the coolest weather can be raised TO
an uncomfortable pitch. To avoid i'll effects from
overheating and likewise poor ventilation, small
box is placed in the roof. with door, which can
| be opened and closed. Some OF the camps have
| Russian iurnace"-an oven made OF three thick
sides of baked clay, covered with a large sheet
| OF iron, the open end being fitted with Siding
| iron door. A Yukon stove, made by tlnsmlth
in Dawson, with drum for baking and three
joints of pipe. costs $50. An open fireplace is no
| use in the ccldes- weather.
An interesting chapter is that which
deals with newspaper ventures in Dawson.
| The first number of the Yukon Midnight
] Sum was issued on the 18th of June. 1t
| was teur-page, three column sheet, and
the subscription price was half dollar a
copy, or SO per year. Five days later
was born the ''Klondike Nugget" at about
the same price, and the ''Klondlke Miner"
a weekly, appeared early in September.
! The description of the way In which the
news Of the Spanish war was received is
| vivid and picturesque:
The startling news of the blowing up OF the
/ Maine in Havana Harbor was brought in late IN
/ the spring by the Montana Kid a sporting
/ gentleman who, in his haste to get out of Dd "
/ sHn tie fall before, had borrowed team OF dogs
without the owners permission. There were Ia
! definite rlmors of war. About june newcomer
/ brought word that some one had told him re
J had seen a bulletin at Seattle Of a big battle
| with the Spanish fleet. No one credited it. Rep
rosentatives Of outside newspapers planned for
/ public readings OF the first definite news, and
!
any newspapers that arrived. On the 9th of June
word was passed along the street that paper
| had been found, and everyone was told to be
AZ the "a. c. store at O'Clock that evening.
| Long before the appointed time the crowd began
! 10 places around goods box that had
! been placed in the middle of the street Ky
o'clock fully five hundred people had gatherec
| Promptly at the hour the New York Times"
man and Judge Miller, 4 lawyer from san
1 Francisco, came down the street with another
crowd at their heels, and pushed inside the ring.
The judge, who had been chosen as having good
: voice, wearing cowboy hat, mounted the box
3 There was a breathless silence as. after making
or two opening remarks to make himself feel
at home, the judge opened the pIper-a Seattle
daily of two weeks previous. Clear and distinct
! came the words "pewey's Great Victory The
/ Spanish Fleet Annihilated"' There was mo-
] ments silence. when cheer broke out from
five hundred threats. and arms and hats were
+ waved in the air. When the reader could begin
! again. and read something about the English
captain telling the German admiral Hands on!
| the enthusiasm of the crowd knew no bounds.
/ They cheered and cheered, demanding every
item OF news relating TO our preparations for the
war that evidently was on. That night hardly
anything else talked about. Next day an
| other paper was found, and as soon as 1t was
known crowd started down the street for the
| Alaska Commercial Company's store like lot Of
school boys, calling out MILLER! Miier! Now
| for the first time we heard Of the preliminary
movements of the Atlantic fleets; our unprepaTeG-
ness for the war; the bnmbardnent Of San Juan
| the sad mishap to the Wirslow. third paper
! gave details oi the fight at Manila. Again
and again the reader p1uked for the cheers Of the
.ToWd the graphic story Of the battle WIS
/ told. When that part was reached where the
| Spanish captain nailed his colors 10 the mast
| and his brave kept firing the ship sank
1 beneath the waves, there was dead silence
! Then several low voices said, They were all
1 right. They were all right!' There was not a
| man in the crowd but whose heart was touched
| and it would not have been hard just then TO
| have raised cheer for the men who could
! fight like that.
An amusing passage in the same chapter
| describes an ebullition OF American pa
| triOtism:
The Americans, who comprised the bulk Of the
| population, felt proud OF Dewey's victory; but
! hardly anyone was prepared for what happened
! at Just one minute past twelve on the morning
| Of July f. At that time night and day so
near alike that half Of Dawson awake and
Up At one minute past midnight rife cracked
| out on the hillside. Within the next minute a
/ CAMP In FIVE minutes FIVE thousand guns and re-
vo!yers were making steady roar-hanS. bang!
| bang, Everybody else then remembered that 1t
was the Fourth OF July-and what an uprodr!
! The street was soon filed with whoopinS
! and emptying revolvers, shor guns, and rifles
! The dogs in alarm at the uproar, began running
/ with their ears straight back and tails between
/ their legs, if distracted. They ran into people
| or into each other. until. with the jumping, howl
! ing, yelling, and shooting 1t looked and sound
ed as if pandomonium were let loose. The police
|
| ward heard one OF them laughi.giy say he ddn' t
| know but the Americans had begun to carry out
| their one-time threat Of rebelling. However,
| when they remembered it was the national holt
! day the comet bugler gave Yankee Doodle
| America" and the star SparGled Banner" In
! the afternoon the local town band. made up Of
| theatre oTchestras returned the compliment by
| a serenade The dogs kept running whichever
way they happened to be started Several plung
| ed into the Yukon, and it days before their
| owners got many of them back.
In the appendix are given the prices Of
supplies, etc. tables of distances and tenn
| peratures, and other useful information.
! (New York: Harper G Brothers. $50
| Fiction.
"Whilomville Stories" the last work OF
| the late Stephen Crane, is one of those
books which some people will like very
much and others will consider inane. 1t
will be of no use for the latter to read the
| book at ALL while the former will deyour
every word of it. A small sample of one
of the stories will suffice to show the in
| tending reader to which class he belongs.
| Whatever else may be said of the tales,
| it cannot be denied that they are abso
| lutely true to boy nature. They are as