Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1903-05-27
TO
DAWSON CITY
An lnundation Of Immigrants Threat
en- the Metropolis Of Alaskan
Gold Fields.
THE cIrY's WONDERFUL GROWTH
A Place Of Several Thousand Popu'
Iation and Has All Convent.
ences Of a Modern City.

The Spokane Chronicle has the fol
lowing from its correspondent in
Alaska:
"The coming season threatens TO
bring an inundation of goldseekers
to this point, says a correspondent
writing from Dawson, Alaska.
THE argonaut, however, should re-
member that in coming here he must
not trust to luck entirely, but be pro-
vided with a certain amount of means
to tide him over a few months of
waiting for golden opportunities.
Dawson today is of course as civ
ilized and up-to-date as the average
American city. Civilization in 5000
years made no more progress than
Dawson has done in six. The total
assessed valuation, according to the
report just compiled for the city by
its assessors, is Sl2, 03S, 740.
During the past year Dawson has
spent 100000 improving the city
streets. Many blocks of eight-foot
sidewalks have been built, and extern
sive work has been done m%acadamiz-
ing streets and laying permanent side
walks, while $4,000 was spent for
the maintenance of the fire depart
ment.
I'VE now have telegraph commun.
ication with the outside world not to
speak of a telephone system and dis
trict messenger service with electric
call boxes. Nothing better could be
desired than its electric lighting sys-
TEN, which is quite up-to-date. This
city was not affected by the coal
strike as were several places OF the
Yukon.
THE man who travels to Dawson
may have hard work finding employ
ment, not because there Is no EN-.
ployment for such men, but because
the field has already been occupied.
Dawson City now has fine municipal
buildings, including a court house, a
residence for the governor and a hand.
some new school house for the &C.
commodation of upward of 200 pupils,
The Presbyterians have erected a mod
ern church, after the style of the Eng
lish country church, with a seating ca,
pacity for several hundred. Three
of the churches of the city have pipe
organs.
"The questions bothering Dawson
nowadays are much the same as else
where in ciyilization-elections fran
chises and the like. AS regards dis
sipation in It's exuberent manifesto.
tions, Dawson long ago settled that
Gambling even has been tabooed, and
Dawson is an ideal Sunday school
picnic ground today. The question
is shall the Klondike Mines railway
be permitted to traverse to the west
side Of First avenue to gain access
to the wharves and quartz mills: and
it can be stated for the benefit OF
New York City that the government
Is not holding up the measure like
their aldermanic prototypes in the
wicked east.
Twelve millions of gold was Daw'
sons contribution from her creeks
in 1902; but the city is also important
in trade For the three months end
ing October LIST Dawson's customs re.
ceipts amounted to S227,1 44, and dur
ing September she received and dis.
tributed to the value of a million and
a third.
I've have disposed of the Boulders
from the Thirty Mile river, while the
channel Of the upper Yukon has been
greatly improved by dredging. Just
above Fort Selkirk. at He'll Gate, a
dam $50 feet long has been complet.
ed to concentrate the river in one
channel and to deepen it by the scour.
ing that is bound 10 come with an
increased head. At Lake lie Barge
jetties with sections measuring 400
feet. $500 and 3,40O feet, respectively
have been constructed with a similar
purpose. At Five Finger rapids hun.
dreds of IONS of rock have been blast.
ed away so that the railroad has mas.
tered its grades"