The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1906-11-24

The first readable articles w-ittsn
about the golden treasures of the frozen
north we're penfned by.sam wall, ope of
the most noted and versatile newspaper
men of America, who will be remem-
bered as the companion of George
Francis Train in his tour of the worlo
in 81 days. Mr.. Wall has been living IN
Alaska almost uninterruptedly since
r1s97 and is paying his first Visit 10
IGoldfeld. The following interview pos
sesses keen interest:
II was all through the KlondyKe from
start to fnish-for the finish, so far as
the magic in that old we'd is concerned
has been reached-but L never witnessed
ANYTHING like the excitement that l ma
here and l nave been here but a rev
hours" said MI. Wall. ITO be sure IL Is
all different. Nothing ever happened IN,
the long story of the world to match the
Klondyke stampede for pure picturesque
ness-except it might have been the
crusades. The march of the vast army
of gold seekers over the Chllcoot pass
and down the frozen lakes OF the 1uhoh
interior was q thing TO figure IN hlstorS
and has had no counterpart here' out =
results. the object aimed at-that is
finding the gold-the klondyke never
was i'm the same class. Everybody mere
seems TO have had a share and that is
,ba thing that. as a newcomer, I'M
nreeses me most. The wonder l nave
heard EXPRESSED here is that anybody
etavs away from this camp but that l
on exnIain i'm my own case. The I'M
nrossion in Alaska and elsewhere, gained
from renorts sent out, is that, as a hard
81 country there is no use of anybody
coming here unless they bring a mlllloh
or so along. To that is addeo stoiies
an inhospitable climate and physlcai
conditions of the country that are ~
no1ntalv ali rming My own plans were
TO have led me back to Alaska III ~
ring-cou not develop peIore ma
time-and so / just ran over 10 M ~
the interval with a look at TINS ooui
trv But here / find a general prosperity
that is surprising and a wealth OF oppot
tunitv for which | was wholiy uhpiS
rarad and which scales down from the
millionaire to the bootblack, empracihs
everybody. / found the newsboy on the
train as I came over talking about the
share he held in rich mines-he seemed
IA wear wings he was so Jubllaht, IL
atmosphere is palpitating with TINS sort
of thing. The best years OF the Nun
dvke saw nothing like it for nine-tenths
of the people who rushed in there spent
a little time wondering why they hao
cone and then returned outside g
and broken from their experience. Anu
they called that a poor mans country
Thev have always said in there that TINS
was only a rich mans countr ana tha'
seems to be true. for 1 haven't met d
moor man since / left acramen
"Oh. don't think 1 am disparagihs
Alaska" continued Mr.. Wall in response
to ! question. Il have all my enthusi-
asm for Alaska in full flood. 1t is a won
derful country. 1 like 1t from every
noint of view Including climate. OF Which
II has a variety. The placer mines OF
the interior are only in their first stages
If development. The Tanana, suffering
somewhat from a drouth last summer
produced nine millions and the Nome
district six millions. The gold era
which alone has characterized Alaska
mining hitherto, is soon to be over