El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-07-15

I and champagne $50 a pint have long
since disappeared The songs of the
| dance halls have been driven sout by
the hymns Of the Salvation Army. and
in the hotel where I am staying is a
Christian Science lecturer who is draw
ing large houses.
The order on the streets is as good
as that of any town in New England.
and Internationally and socially the place
is the equal of any Of its size in the
states There is still a large proportion
of miners. but most of them are con-
nected with the great dredging and ny
draulicking operations, and the indi-
vidual proSpectOrS are few. There are
many business men and officials DaW-
son is the capital of the Canadian ter
ritory of the Yukon. which is one-third
as large as Alaska. and il is the resi-
dence of the commissioner or governor
and the headquarters of the courts and
the mounted police There are plenty
Of lawyers and doctors. and now and
then tribes of Indians, who come in
from long distances TO sell their furs
to the traders
Good Trading Center.
The town has dropped down to plain
business The stores have large stocks
Of goods; they have most Of the trade
of the Yukon and some from eastern
Alaska Every one seems well to do.
Wages are high and the cheapest labor
is paid as much as IS or SIS a dav
states. I pay Is cents for newspaper.
25 cents for a shine and like amount
for every least thing under the sun
In fact. the smallest coin used is a
quarter. and this has been so ever since
coins came into the country. For the
first few years after gold was dis
covered everything was paid for in
gold dust or nuggets. and the store
keepers had their gold scales. upon
which they weighed out the cost of
their sales. Every miner then carried a
gold poke. and took out a pinch of dust
to pay for a cigar or a drink.
Quarter Is Smallest Change.
Today the only place where you can
use any coin less than a quarter is at
the post office, and there the change is
in stamps. I had my shoes shined this
The bootblack was a negro
whose high chair was seated on the
board walk next TO a barber shop
He blacked my shoes; 1 handed him 81
and waited for change. He went into
the barber shop and came back with
rs cents. I got shave and hair cut
and that took the rest of the money.
Leaving the barber shop, I dropped !
into a provision store and asked the !
grocer his prices He had some water |
melons Of about half the size of those |
sold In the states. and sells them at |
SL50 each His cantaloupes bring 75 |
cents apiece and his apples q dollar a |
1ozen- Ranch eggs are worth 81 a |
iozen. and eggs from the outside 70 /
,ents Chickens are quoted at IS apiece ]
n s36 a dozen
Bread is now selling at the rate Of !
wo loaves for quarter. and butter,
made IN the country, costs 81 q. pound. /
-filk brings $3.50 a gallon and cream |
S 81 4 quart These are prices in sum-
ner. In the heart of midwinter. when
he hens go on strike. eggs 90 to IS |
dozen In early days they sometimes
old for SIS dozen, and were cheap at
apiece
Leaving the grocer. went to a 10
uacious butcher hard by and asked
i'm the prices OF meat. The butcher
as clad in white and his shop was as
lean as a pin A pink salmon that
-eighed ten or twelve pounds lay on |
is white marble counter. He was cut |
ng il up into steaks. which he sells
25 cents a pound. He told me the
nd that il had Travelled 1900 miles up ! ,
he Yukon to get to the market The ,
esh is not as tender as that Of the .
almon caught nearer the ocean
Beef IS Cents q Pound.
1 picked out a fine porterhouuse
-eak and asked the price. The butcher
eplied: That cut is SO cents a pound
Ut can give you a slice off the neck
II IS cents Beef is now selling for
ON 80 to So cents. depending on where
le cut comes from Our beef Is ez-
client It has TO be brought in from
lie states, and the freight rates are so
Ugh that we cannot afford to import l
linny animals Indeed. the freight .
ost is quite as much as the first cost
the beef" II
Game Is Cheaper.
asked as 70 game. The butcher | !
I'D; "All game is cheap. We sell .
Dose and caribou steaks and roasts )
20 or IS cents a pound. AS TO bear,
e people won't eat it; il is too tough. ,
g have plenty of caribou in the win :
T. The Indians kill the deer in great !
lmbers and bring in the hind quar- :
rs They sell them TO US or peddle !
en- about from house to house The !
re parts of the animals they feed to | !
cir dogs. This country is also full Of I :
ouse and ptarmigan, and any one can I
I game in the winter if he will go out :
ID hunt for it. Grouse bring IS cents :
oh by the dozen Large ducks are =
birth S12 a dozen and small ones So" ,
Ny next call was at a drug store, \
here I paid quarter for a bottle of 4
p. I complained Of the cost, and !
e druggist, a pioneer gold miner. told :
2 something of how he sold drugs in
rly days The mans name is Cribs
: had drug store in Pittsburg be- h