Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-08-13
Romance OF KL0ND|KE
GOLD MINING RECALLED
FortHhe Hunters in Early Days
So Had Many Ups and
~ Downs.
INDIANS WHO FOUND FORTUNE
al Sorts OF Characters Rushed In.
~ Some Arrived Beggars and Went
II Away NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. and
sef Dance Halls Galore.
ny FRANK q. CARPENTER.

Ss DAWSON. YUKON TERRITOK
ALASKA, August 12.-Take a seat Will
me on the top OF King Solomon's Dome
and listen to the romance of the Elon.
Sdtke. Tho air is fun of its stories, and
Sthe truth in them surpassed the widest
Edrcams OF the Arabian Nights" KinG
kSolomon's Domc is the very center OF
Sthe Klondilc gold region. 1t is Il
mountain higher than the average
peaks of the Allcghanics. II rises
38.00e feet above Dawson. and l have
climbed to its TOP in an automobile.
Standing upon it l can look over the
Sklondike valley and tho creeks lead
ing into It from which almost ScOo. 900,
600 worth of gold has been won, and
turning to tho south I can see tho
S1ndian River valley, where Is Dominion
Greek, Sulphur Greek and Gold River.
and where there is n vast bed Of low
grade Gold-bcarins earth which they
are now preparing TO mine. The en-
Einccr at tho head of the project Is
John TreadEold. He is washing off
the muck with hydraulic giants, and
he expects that the sun will so thaw
the. strata Of perpetual ice that he
caH use now kind of machine to get
out the gold. The average contents of
tho earth Is less than 80 cents worth
OF gold to the ton, and the most of
this is from twenty to thirty feet down
IN the frozen conGlomerate.
Standing upon the dome We are in
the very center from which radiate the
creeks that held the enormous pockets
OF gold when the discovery was made
There at the west is Bonanza Creek.
where, just two decades ago. gold was
first found, and, running into ii Is Ell
dorado Creek, where Swift Water Bill
Gates and the Lucky Swcdc, Charlie
Anderson, Us well as scores OF others,
made their fortunes about year later.
The man who discovered the gold was
George Carmack. a New Highlander
from North Adams, Mass. He came to
Alaska as laborcr and worked on the
Seal Islands. He married an Indian
and he had three Indians with him
when he was prospecting on the ground
just below us. AS the story goes, Il
was one OF the Indians who had gone
to the creek for some water who saw
the gold shining there in the sand.
They took UP some dirt on the edge OF
the creek and washed It: and they got
S20 worth of gold within half an
hour. Carmack then laid out claims
Tor himself ana the three red men. !
and each claim brought fortune
which all too soon slipped through lis
owners fingers.
The news Of the discovery spread
like wildf1re over the North. 1t was
Photographed to all parts of the world. |
sad by the next year men were rush
Ing to the Klondike from every direo-
tion. They staked out both sides OF |
bonanza They laid out claims along
Eldorado, Dominion and Hunker
Greeks. and dug out gold all along
the valley OF the Klondike River
CLA1M BOUGHT FOR 5000
YIELDS OVER SI.OoO.Ooo
Charlie Anderson's claim was No. 90
Eldorado. It cost him $500. and the
deal was made when he was too drunk
to know what he was doing AnGer-
son was living at Forty Mile at the
time, and he had saved this money
rom his wages as a pick and shovel
FHider He bought the mine at night +!
Ind when he awoke the next day he
trded bitter tears and asked the man
who thought they had swindled him |
% taSte back tho claim and give him
fis money. They refused and he walk
Pd eighty miles to the Klond!ke and
started to work. He found only hole |
the ground, but he thawed and dug
Eighteen feet further. and the result |
was fortune. When he made the
irst strike the men who sold him his /
flaim were nearby. They saw he was
banning. and asked with n sheer what
ne had found. He replied: "Ay tank I
"a them his pan. There was sl.4oo .
worth OF gold nuggets In II, and the .
plain eventually yielded between ST.
100000 and 100000.
swift-Water BIZ was a Portuguese, /
who got his nickname from a story he /
told of having swan down tho rapids
OF the Yukon orr. his way to the gold /
helds. he begatn his work on the Yu- /
kon. como distance below Dawson, as /
"a waiter IN an eating house. One day
while serving two miners he heard one |
tell the other Of the gold discovery in |
the Klondikc. He left the order UNI
hlled, and got dog team! and rushed
on to Dawson. He was in at the FIRST
and picked out number Of claims,
Including that on Eldorado which
q IL
full for years. but was so dssipa,cd
that he ran through the millions he
made. and finally left with the STAN
pede to Fairbanks He had then only
DO cents IN his pockets, but he made
second great strike and fortune.
he lost that fortune as well, and ia
g. poor man to-day.
Speaking OF the extravagance OF
Swift Water BIZ. he WIS the man who
coFnered the egg market IN Dawson ut
81 per egg. There were 5000 in all
and 1t COST him more than $4,000. The
reason for the corner was his love for
MISS Guss!e Lahore, n popular and
beautiful young woman Who had been
!nicknaned The Little Kiond.kc Mug
get" AS the story goes, Swift Water
was counting her, but the course Of
true love was rough and for a time
it seemed as though BITS cake was all
dough. Then he remembered that Gus
Gle dotted on eggs, and he prepared for
the corner. He slipped about from
store TO store and bought every egg in
the town. He then remarked that II
Gussie wanted more eggs she would
have TO eat oct OF MS hand. or Il she
stuck to his rival "she sure wouldn't
eat no eggs" The result was Gusste
succumbed, and so Cupid won by an
egg.
The antics of Charlie Anderson wer.
quite as Wild as those Of Swift Wafer
Bill He ran through his money ne
fast as 1t came. He was cheated nv
every one. and understand that he IS
now poor. doing days work some
where IN the States.
s. In coming UP 20 Dawson 7 mad 3 chat
with Captain f. G. Baughnan, who
commanded tho steamer Humboldt.
which has Piled between Seattle and
Skagway since the days ot the gold
rush. He knew Charlie Anderson vol
and told me many stories about MIN
Said he:
Anderson was known as the lucky
Swede.' lie had been at work on tho
railroad In the States. hut was dis
rhargcd. and that drove him 70 AiaeL.