Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1901-06-28
JOAQUIN MILIER's cHtRoGRAPHY
In Spite of Years Of Practice 1t Is
Practically Illegible.

joaquin Miller, the Poet of the 81
eiras,' thinks no man alive writes a
more illegible hand than he" spoke up
the reporter. Upon his visit to New
Orleans a few weeks ago he told me
that his poor chirography had always
been q source Of much modification to
him, and ne had tried In vain for years
10 acquire a palmer fashion of writing.
He said that, in strange publishing
house. and newspaper Offices where the
Compositors are unacquainted with his
manuscript, they are never able to do
anything with 1t, so he makes 1t rule
TO copy off his articles ard poem. on
the typewriter, and IN this fashion they
reach the compositor and proofreader.
When news of the excitement Incl
dental TO the great gold strikeo and
discoveries in Alaska first got to the
outer world. Mr.. Miller WAS dispatched
TO the klondyke as the representative
OF q San Francisco newspaper. He
thought there was a rich field before
him for graphic descriptive material
Tor stories, and he was right; but there
was also plenty of hard newspaper
correspondent When Mr.. Miller fl
Lslly got into the hlondyke he
found score Of n wspaper cor
respondents, representing the great
allie. OF the country. already there
and ready for news Of gold strikes and
great fortunes being made by men
daring enough 10 brave the ice and
snow and hardships. Competition be-
tween these correspondents was keen
from the very first. and there was any
amount OF 'scooping' and beating done
away up there in the Klondyke.
The only way, at that time, the cor
respondent had to get out their news
was to send it from Dawson to Seattle
10y steamer, and, II it was important
enough, have it wired from Seattle to
its destination. One day Mr. Miller
ran across Alexander Mcdonald, since
famous as the King of the Klondyke,'
end three times millionaire. McDon-
aid had just reached Dawson, after
having made the greatest gold strike
in the history Of the dig9ings. II told
his story to Mr. Miller, and likewise to
several other correspondents. Then
LtedH scTdHlDle 10 get the Story out
to the world. The steamer was TO leave
that afternoon for Seattle. Mr.. Miller
had taken no typewriter into the Klon-
dyke when he went there, and he had
to write his Mcdonald story. which
was n thrilling recital Of the suffer
ings and hardships of one man, with
pen and ink.
1T went off all right with the stories
OF two or three othrs. and reached the
manager Of the telegraph office at Sc
attic. The manager was able 10 make
out the name of lle San Francisco
paper, but that was all. Not a line or
sentence could he decipher; neither
could any operator in the Office Print
era and proofreaders were summoned,
but they could do no better. Not a man
in Seattle could real Mr.. Miller's COPY.
The telegraph manager could do moth
ing but forward the manuscript by
mail to San Francisco. There it ar
rived two days after the story Of Nc
Donalds strike had been published to
the world The ether stories got out
f. ON Seattle BY wire, and Mr.. Miller's
paper was badly beat. simply because
no man in Seattle could be found TO
read his handwriting. New Orlean.
Times Democrat