New-York tribune., 1900-05-12
THE KLONDIKE.
ETIERS FROM DISINTERESTED
OBSERVER.
THE KLONDIKE STAMPEDE BY Tappan Ad-
ney. Profusely Illustrated. octave, PIP. Kill.
Al Harper e. Bros

ney. Profusey Illustrated. octave. PIP. xiii.
sl- Harper Bros.
This book is we'll named. Mr. Adney does not
aim at giving topogra phical and historical
vey of the Klondike district. He wishes
pecially to tell of the stampede in that drec-
tion which set in three years ago. when some
prospectors who had wntered on the Yukon
landed at San Francisco, laden with gold, and
the news of their good fortune telegraphed
ell over the world. Within a few weeks of the
announcement Mr.. Adney. commissioned by
'Harpers Weekly to visit the gold regions and
write letters therefrom. in possession of
through printed" railroad ticket. reading
''NewYork TO Dyea.' The interesting thing
about his book-rnade up of his journalistic let
.ers-is the clear and lively account it gives of
what the Klondikers had to reckon With when
they left the land of printed tickets and had
to shift for themselves. Few of those who start
ed for the gold fields had the least idea Of what
they going do when they got there or
now they were to manage on their way One
took with him. among other things,
of thirty-two pairs of moccasins one case
Of pipes. one case Of shoes. two Irish settlers,
bull pup and lawn tennis set" Mr. Adney was
told that this individual not trader. He
was going Just for jolly good time you
know He must have encountered some queer
surprises before he returned to the East.
Life in Skaguay, where the hard work of the
Journey to the gold fields began is described by
Mr.. Adney full OF unexpected elements. The
who could throw a diamond hitch
horse generally recognized being "all
right but he the exception. The veterans
with whom Mr.. Adney conversed were amazed
what they sa.v. One Of them had been
through the Salmon River mining excitement in
Idaho, but Slzagusy left him breathless An
who Had VIII ha hpo of
Leadville also watched with bewilderment the
pilgrims their way the Klondike 4 Cali
fornia engineer of experience observed: Il have
never seen people act they do here They
have lost their heads and their senses. / have
never behave as they do here. They
have more idea Of what they going to do
than that horse has There was one fellow in
the tent alongside Of mine-I saw him greasing
his rubber boots. 1 said to him, What are you
doing that for?' Why. isn't that all right? - he
asked Another man came along and asked a
fellow where his mining pan was The fellow
said, L haven't seen any mining pam Just then
the man saw the pan lying alongside the tent
ana salo here 1t is! is that mining pan?
1 didn't know that a mining pan" This
gives an excellent introduction to the crudity of
the great company which turned it's face toward
the promise OF fortune; 1t prepares US for the
episodes OF ignorance and drollery which Mr.
Adney celebrates. 1t hardly prepares us for the
impression he conveys OF pluck and endurance
shown by many pilgrim Lawlessness there
has been. of course. in the Klondike, and it is
rot all gone yet: but hard work gallanty done
is the leading characteristic of the miners The
worst thing Mr.. Adney has to tell US relates not
to the attitude Of man toward his fellow, but to
his cruelty to animals. The needless and brutal
manner in which horses were forced over the
trail made Mr.. Ainev vince and he makes us
vince in the telling OF 1t.
This book is discursive and fragmentary as
book made up OF unconventional letters is bound
TO be. II offers. however, fair record of the re-
markabe movement to the gold fields It is
written with vigor. with strong feeling for out
door life and adventure; and the numerous IL
Illustrations well printed haIftones from
photographs which Mr.. Adney made himself
with a keen eye for the thing that would be in
teresting to the reader