Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1905-06-01

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~ W. business with her
MRS. HuTCaEON' life and small for
tune as the stake, setting up a store
at Dawson to sell gowns, laces, lingerie,
silk petticoats and ribbons.
At that time the demand for those
articles was limited, but the miners
came in throngs to look in the windows
just to get glimpse OF a silk skirt
ruffle-and her business began to pros
per.
Soon after the discovery Of gold In
the Klondike she learned from a nurse
returned from Skagway that provisions
in the way of clothes and facilities Tor
dressing were most difficult. Spools OF
thread and papers of pins were SELL
ing at SO cents each. Other prices were
relatively appalling. This time Mrs.
Hutcheon kept her counsel, purchased
small supply here and went as far as
St. Paul before writing her sisters and
brothers Of her venture. She reached
Seattle, tired and strange and very
faint hearted-a fact which she dis
guised as enthusiasm and determine
ton. Somebody told her she was max
ing a mistake to settle in SkagWay,
that Dawson was the camp elected for
the boom.
The trip to Dawson, perilous at any
time, was quite impossible so early In
the year. 1t was May, 1898. So the
traveller unpacked at Skagway, dispos-
ing of small portion Of her stock dur
ing the month she remained there. On
June 10 she set out again with three
travelling companions, man and two
women, for Bennett, 4S miles distant.
There was but one road, the difficult
White pass, too narrow to accommodate
q vehicle of any sort or even mount
ed horse or mule.
Once in Bennett, the party rested as
best they could with scant conveniences,
until navigation opened to Dawson.
The trip was made on the chain of lakes
and rivers, including Lake Bennett,
Hoodlinka river, the fatal Thirty-mile
river, White and Pelley river and on
into the Yukon. 1t was 16 days trip
and they embarked in three little open
boats for their gamble with death and
ruin. Once in the promised land,
there was no time to lose. kl0ndike
gold, the gold of the mining capitalists,
was in the balance with failure, defeat.
Mrs. Hutcheon put up an army tent
and contracted for board floor and a
wall, four feet high, at the total cost Of
$780, In this improvised structure she
displayed her first stock. Dawson was
ready for the enterprising little woman.
She had timed her venture we'll.
The women, destitute of finery,
f1ocked. Out of lot of hats bought in
Chicago for $12 each, the cheapest sold
for $S5. After everything else was
gone, Mrs. Hutcheon began to sell her
own slightly worn clothing. A feather
boa for which she had paid $40 and
which she had worn for year she
sold to a young woman for $64. Her
eight-year- sealskin sack went for
$500. Dresses that she had worn before
her mourning she disposed of for 5000
each. She sold pair Of her shoes. for
SIG. In six or eight weeks the shop was
empty.
She then returned to Chicago, where
she remained for the rest of the year.
She was undaunted by the persuasions
and arguments of relatives, and the
next year saw her back in Dawson
again with fresh stock.
That year she made three trips across
the continent and into the Klondike.
Dawson continued to flourish with a
floating population Of about $1,000. The
shop evolved from tent to a neat lit
tie wooden building, and the feminine
taste of Dawson grew proportionately
exacting and luxurious.
Five years after her initiative season
Mrs. Hutcheon went to Paris and Lon
don for her supplies, a trip which has
been biennial since that time.
The weakening of the Dawson boom
has reduced the population to a mere
5000. Prices are lower. Quartz min
ing has come quite to = standstill, the
only hope remaining In the placer
mines. Mine owners and their families
are moving to newer camps. Fairbanks,
q small settlement about IA days over
the ice by stage from Dawson, has
caught many Of the people. The future
camp, however, seems to be Tanana,
aud here Mrs. Hutcheon will open q
branch shop in the summer, when trav-
cling involves fewer risks
A Silent Wedding.
A nufet xeddinR recently f00k Mace in