Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1901-09-05
Thursday, September 5. 1901.
FLEEtING or VICTIMS.

tackled by the Kansas City World in a
manner not at all too severe.
According to the World, telegraph
reports from B, itish Columbia, Seattle
or Portland, inform the earnest Arro-
nauts of the United States of the won
derful amounts of treasure hidden in
the mountains and valleys of the land
OF the midnight sun, and Of the quanti-
ties Of precious dust being dumped on
American wharyeS, having been dug
out by individual efforts of American
miners who went to the Alaskan gold
heids. These stories are almost in
yariably inspired By the steamship
companies that desire traffic for their
Alaskan trade, and by the western
quitting houses whose sole ambition
is to fleece the pilgrim in the purchase
OF the tools and implements which he
will need in his search for the mother
lode. Such stories have induced
thousands of young men in search Of
fortunes to sink their ali for passage
to the klondike and to waste their
modest patrimony in the vain search
for the golden fleece that has been dill
gently searched Tor ever since the days
OF Jason. In spite of the fact that his
tory has conclusively proved that $40
has been sunk in the earth for every
one dollar of gold that has ever been
taken from it, there are still countless
thousands who are willing to take their
chances in this grand lottery, in which
almost every card is blank, and
wager their last dollar that they will
''inside OF the money" when the official
announcement is made.
As matter OF cold fact. a few men
have made money in the klondike re-
gion. They are men who have been
shrewd, selfish, careful. sacrificing
the welfare and comfort OF others for
their own betterment. and they have
made the greater part of their fortunes
by fleeing the unwary gold seeker
rather than by earnestly joining IN the
search for the standard metal. Plug
gers for every sort of scheme pounce
upon the unsuspecting all the way.
from Portland to Nome City and de-
spoil their easy victims of their pocket
change. When the poor. deluded wretch
arrives in the land OF large profits he
finds that he is without the wherein ith.
al to purchase 4 modest breakfast and
thar there is glut in the labor market
After drifting about aimlessly tor a
few days he usually seeks occupation
as dishwasher in a restaurant or as
janitor in a gambling hall or dance
house.
y hen the average young man leaves
Portland or Seattle he is immediately
beset by sharks whose purpose is 10
enslave him. 1t is represented that =
new company is being formed. tbe
members of which are to take shin ON
a certain day. The advance money
Tor the enterprise will be furnished by
a developer, who will take the Youth
agreement to work out the amount. His
actual cash goes into the purchase of
an outfit at Seattle. He lands at his
destination to find himself monevless.
lrienuiess and slave to an unconscious
able conspiracy from which he cannot
escape. He is as vertically :, slave as
the Mexican peon. All the ship com
panies stand together. 50 that he can
find no exit. He works. and pethans
dies, while the consc: enceless deyeloner
returns home with the blood-monev of
an hundred victims.
There is more gold for the average
IMAM in the corn field than there is in
all of Alaska.