The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, August 19, 1897, Image 3
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1 H KIMD1KE GOU
The United States Government in
? 1867 paid Russia $7,2000,00 for the
W Territory of Alaska.
* ^ Alaska has paid back her purchase
money in gold four times, having produced
during the time it has been a part
of the United States about $30,000,I
>600 of the precious yellow metaL
|y- To-day the eyes of the world are
v 'turned toward our frozen acquisition
?' -* in the north, for within its borders
r has been discovered an Eldorado, seemingly
"richer than Pluto's mine/*
A few weeks ago the word Klondike,
j \ literally translated meaning Deer
River, was keown to geographers and
* lew miners on the Yukon; to-day it
. is on every tongue and is known as
j f the designation, if the reports be but
kalf true, for a gold-bearing district
> greater in area and richer in character
4han any the world has known, with
J* ike possible exception of California,
yr The reported gold discoveries of the
fresent day in Alaska and the reporttod
gold discoveries of '49 in California
afford many parallels. To the average
v. man the treasures of the coast State
swere seemingly as inaccessible a? are
| tbexiches of the Yukon and its tribuv
taries. One was more than 2000 miles
| across a trackless desert and over
aaow-bonnd mountain passes, beset
Vfc by savages, whose deadly attaeks
% marked the trail with bkaching bones
? asroas the Western States; the other
x is aesrly 7000 miles by water, through
? a rigorous climate, or almost 40(30
y miles by land and water, with mouar
tain passes to scale as dangerous as
those of the Swiss Alps.
, The fabulous tales of wealth sent out
i by the California pioneers were no less
N wonderful than those brought back by
the men who braved the last cold
t>. season in the Klondike mineral belt,
IAS THE MINEBS JOUBNET DOWN LA
. ,.and in both cases those who returned
brought book with them great nuggets
oi the precious stuff that left little or
lio doubt in the mind of the hearer.
The California miner in the song who
& .had so many nuggets that he was accustomed
to "go a hatful blind" finds
* bis parallel in the Yukon miner who
oiaizns to have "washed out" $212 in
one panful of dirt?a process that requires
ten or twelve minutes.
Poor Man's Mines.
Rr The Alaska and California gold fields
# are alike also in being placer mines.
jSSi'Plaoer mining is commonly called
jPSr "poor man's mining," for the reason
that it is done without machinery,
? -while the implements required in the
Jjjfii' work are few and of small cost. A
placer miner can get along very well
& , with a pick, shovel and gold pan. If
K&' the dirt is not rich he can accomplish
Ep&ttier results by running it through a
V. htoice box, but where the yield is in
BUggets instead of fine gold he prefers
SR.; to "pan" it.
] The great Klondike strike was made
W-: wfc? months ago, but nothing was
<..known of it in the United States until
June 15, when a vessel called the Excelsior
arrived in San Francisco laden
with miners from the Klondike, who
in turn were laden with gold.
I They told almost incredible tales of
H 'the richness of the newly discovered
'ijjV district, where fortunes had been accumulated
in a few months. Experij/^.,C?eed
miners and "tenderfeet" seemed
' to have shared good fortune alike, and
-with some justice, too, for the oreait
at the discovery of the new gold fields
- is due to the inexperienced men.
' Another vessel brought to Seattle a
. ssoond party of successful prospectors
*ud a ton and a half of gold. These
men had endured peril and undergone
XZKZB8 CROSSING THE CHILKOOT PASS.
f great hardships in accumulating the
fortunes they brought, and thev told
story that had a dark as well as a
bright side. To follow their example
means a risk of wealth, health and
f even life, but for those who are willing
to take the chances the prospect they
^ hold out is alluring.
! ^Location of the Klondike District.
The richest of the mines in the
Alaska region seem to be in the Klon'
dike. a. few miles over the British
W
A : r X$
?n? < ' "* * . . 1 7
vvvtvfVfVvvvvTviVivvv$v^
) FIUS IS ALASKA. I
border. They were discovered, as his
been said, by a party of "tenderfeet,"
who, against the advice of the oldtimers
in the district, wandered "over
yonder in the Klondike" and strnck it
rich. From Klondike oomes much of
the gold and from Klondike seems to
come ?ll the excitement. A few
"tenderfeet," going it blind, have
stirred up the Nation. Out of the
regions of their discovery has oome,
it is estimated, $2,000,000 worth of
gold during the present summer.
Nearly all of that gold has fonnd its
way into the United States.
It is hard to tell where the Alaska
gold fields are located except that in a
general way the best of them are along
the Yukon. There are a few "lode"
miners near Juneau and along the
southeast coast of the Territory (the
most accessible part of it), but the ore
is of low grade and mining is made
profitable only by the most careful
management.
The placer mines, from which prospectors
are said now to be lining their
pockets with gold, are in the region
remote from civilization, little known,
and, on account of its uncertainties,
dangerously alluring to the average
man. This gold-producing country
of the interior is in the vicinity of the
Yukon near where that great river
turns to the west in its course to the
sea. Before the discoveries in the
Klondike the most productive districts
had been along Forty Mile Creek,
partly in British and partly in Ameri
? J ik. C.aol
can termorj, muu uiu nuv,u viwa
district, all in American territory.
Along all of the river in this section,
tributaries to the Yukon, gold diggings
exist, and in many places pay
the prospector well for his trouble.
In all the immense country over
-FE
.KE LABARGE DURING THE WINTER.
which the placer mining extends it is
estimated that np to last year there
were 2000 miners. The districts in
which most of them worked were in a
a broad belt of gold-producing rock,
through which quartz veins carrying
gold occur frequently. Through the
gold-bearing rocks the streams have
cut deep gullies and canons, and in
their beds the gold which was contained
in the rock is concentrated.
The mining of this country consists,
therefore in washing out the gravel of
these beds. So the miners worked,
being fairly well paid for their labor,
until the "tenderfeet" made the Klondike
discovery. That was nine months
or so ago, and the news of it is just
reaching the outside world. It was
not long in reaching the miners along
I Forty Mile and Birch Creeks, though,
and they shouldered their picks and
moved forward in a wild rush at the
first word of the new lucky strike. As
a result gold dust and nuggets by the
ton are turned into the mints out on
the coast, and men who never before
rose above the level of the commonest
of miners have come back to civilization
and comfort loaded with gold to
last them a lifetime. Take as an illustration
this list of returned miners
who came on the Excelsior:,
Brought Value
from of
Alaska claims.
T. S. Llppy $ 65,000 $1,000,000
P. O. H. Bowker 90,000 500,000
Joe La Due 10,000 500,000
J. B. Holllnseed 25,500
William Kulju 17,000
James McMann 15,000
Albert Galbraith 15,000
Neil Macarthur 15,000
Douglas Macarthur.... 15,000
Bernard Anderson 14,000 35,000
Robert Krook . 14,000 20,000
Fred Lendesser 13,000
Alexander Orr 11,500
John Marks 11,500
Thomas Cook 10,000 25,000
M. S. Norcross 10,000
J. Ernmerger 10.000
Con Stamatin 8,250
Albert Fox 5,100 35,000
f * rtfto on nnn
vht^ v,vw ?v,wvv
J. 0. Rest wood 5,000 250,000
Thomas Flack 5,000 50,000
Louis B. Rhoads 5,000 85,000
Fred Price 5,000 20,000
Alaska Commercial Co. 250,000
Total 5399,850
A Perilous Journey.
Every one of these men has a story
to tell of the vast riches of the new
gold fields, but they tell another
story, too?a story of hardship, trial
and suffering through long winter days,
when the sun was smiling on this
earth's other pole and leaving them in
miserable cold and darkness. They tell a
story of prodigious travels, of staggering
journeys and the dangers that beset
the traveler. They tell what a
trip it is to reach the gold fields, and
when they get through the fainthearted
prospector, who isn't thoroughly
convinced that he wants to undergo
the trial, decides to forego the
trip to Alaska and dig up his wealth
at home or go without. Some of the
gold-mad adventurers, thougb.rush on
?
" 7 V :l
unheeding, crowding into the Alaskabound
steamers without anything like
enough supplies or enough money to
see them through ten days of travel
on land. Miners who have been there
say that such as those will perish.
How to Beach the New Gold Fields.
There are two general routes to the
Klondike distriot From Chicago both
lead to Seattle, and there diverge. One
goes by ocean steamer west and a little
north, and passes through Dutch
Harbor, at the extreme end of the
southwest Alaskan peninsula. From
there th s steamer turns north and continues
on to SI Miohaers Island,a little
oK/ntta tka mnnfh nl tKa Valrnn ifl 1W.
ing Sea. At that point passengers are
transferred to the river steamers to begin
the long journey up the Yukon,
which winds northward and eastward,
And finally brings the traveler to Dawson
City, now the principal town in
the mining district, although sixty-five
miles from the Klondike fields.
The cost of the trip from Chicago
this way, as prospecting miners usually
travel, is $251.50. It is divided
as follows: From Chicago to Seattle
(seoond class), $51.50; from Seattle to
Dawson City, $200.
In time the trip costa thirty days?
four from Chicago to Seattle, sixteen
THE EIVEB BOUTE TO DAWS05.
from Seattle to St. Michael's Island,
and ten np the Yukon to Dawson City
by the fast boat. The distance in general
figures is 2250 miles from Chicago
to Seattle, 2500 miles to St. Michael's .
Island and 1890 miles up the Yukon
to Dawson, a total of about 6600 miles.
The other way to the Klondike, the '
"mountain route," is shorter in miles,
but equally long in the time it requires
and a great deal more difficult. By
this ronte the traveler sails more di
rectly north to Juneau, which is 899 ,
miles from Seattle, and then goes by
lake and river and over the mountains j
1000 miles to the new mining terri
tory. On arrival at Juneau the trav- (
eler changes to a smaller boat and i
sails 100 miles north to Dyea. From \
there he has a portage of twenty-seven
miles through the Chilkoot Pass. The
last half-mile of this pass is over a
glacier and the severest of climbing. !
Chilkoot Indians are employed to pack I
supplies to the top of the pass, but <
from there on the traveler has to pack i
his own load. i
After getting through the Chilkoot i
Pass the traveler reaches Lake Linde- i
man. At that point is a sawmill, J
where boats are sold for $75 each. (
Travelers who do not care to pay that 1
price can purchase lumber and build i
their own boats. The lumber can be 1
bought for $100 a thousand feet, and 1i
about 500 feet are required to build a J <
boat that' will answer the purpose.
Still other travelers carry whipesaws t
and get out their own lumber, and a c
man handy with a saw and hammer i
can baild a boat in three or fonr days, i
To continue the trip, though, a boat <
is necessary and by some means or {
other one must be had. <
After securing his boat tho travel- t
er floats down Lake Lindeman and i
Lake Bennett and then has half a mile <
of portage where his boat has to be <
moved on rollers. There is any {
amount of rollers to be had, though, J
for earlier beaters of the path have 1
left them. This half mile overland
brings the traveler to Lake Tagish, i
through which he goes six miles and :
over a quarter of a mile of portage to
w?d T.aira ftnrl nn to the White Horse
Rapids. Here there is another port- 1
age of three-quarters of a mile, and (
the traveler brings his boat to Lake j
Labarge. From there on the journey 1
is through Thirty Mile River, the i
Lewis River, 150 miles to Five Fin- i
ger Rapids, to the Yukon at Fort Sel- <
kirk, and then down stream 250 miles i
to Dawson. <
DAWSON CITY, IN THE KI
The cost of the trip this way can- <
not be definitely stated beyond Ju- 1
neau, because after that point it de- '
pends somewhat on the bargain made 1
with the Chilkoot Indians, who pack
supplies : through the pass, and the
length of time the overland part of the
journey requires. The cost from Chi- i
cago to Seattle is the same as by the i
other route, of course, $51.5,0 second
class and $10 more for first class. The <
steamer fare up to Juneau and on to :
Dyea is $12. What it costs on the
overland trip each traveler determines 1
partially for himself, but the Indians
who act as guides and pack supplies
do not work -vfithout big pay, >
The Centre of the Gold Region.
Dawson City, the centre of the new
mining region, although sixty-five
miles distant from the Klondike, is
said to be a typical mining camp?
minns the gnns. The British Government
enforces its laws in Dawson, and
those laws prohibit the uue of firearms,
so few men carry gnns. The laws of
the camp are enforced by mounted po
a placer mine in the :
Iiee, whose captain ii a civil officer.
Though there are said t<rbe 3000 people
in Dawson, few houses have been
built, for the principal reason that
lumber is $100 per 1000 feet. The
general fear is, of course, that there
will be great suffering there this winter,
and it will be increased, it is expected,
by the rush of unprepared
prospectors who sailed for the new
fields immediately on learning what
luck had befallen those who have but
recently returned.
To give an accurate idea of the cost
of living in Dawson City, the price
/vf ^ ?ana?nl o+avo tliora ia hnrAnnf.fi
113If VI m gouoiai OWAV VMV&V ?U MNMWTTAVM
given:
Flour, per 100 per ads $12.00
Moose nam, per ,>ound 1.00
Caribou meat, par pound 65
Beans, per pound 10
Bice, per pound 25
Sugar, per pound 25
Bacon, per pound 40
Butter, per roll 1.50
Eggs, per dazen 1.50
Better eggs, per dozen 2.00
Salmon, each fl to 1.50
Potatoes, per pound 25
Turnips, per pound 15
Tea, per pound 1.00
Coffee, per pound 50
Dried fruits, per pound 35
Canned fruits 50
Canned meats 75
Lemons, each 20
Oranges, each 50
Tobacco, per pound 1.50
Liquors, per drink 50
Shovels 2.50
Picks 5.00
Coal oil, per gallon 1.00
Overalls 1.50
Underwear, per suit $5 to 7.50
3hoes-. . 5.00
Bubber boots $10 to 15.00
Alaska and IU Resources.
In the purchase of Alaska, the United
Q+o+aa a/vmirad a Territorv more than
half a million square miles in eitent,
% part of it within the arctic circle and
in the regiqn of everlasting ice and
mow, where, dtiring part of the summer,
there is continuous day and during
the winter continuous, dreary
aight. The Alaskan coast line is
greater than our Atlantic seaboard, but
;he entire population of whites, Eskimos
and fierce Indians, who are called
;he Apaches of the north, is not much
pqre than that of a ward division in
Chicago.
In acquiring the Alaskan Territory,
hough the United States moved its
:enter, figured in geographical riiles,
lot in area or population, as far west
is San Francisco. The country now
extends from about the sixty-fifth decree
of longitude up at the far east
sorner of Maine to the 122d degree up
it the far northwest tip of the Alaskan
mainland. This is taking no ao-xrant
)f the little island of ?ttu, 1000 miles '
>ut in the Pacific, beyond the Hawaiian
group, which, since the purchase of
Uaska, has really been our western
and limit.
The United States, therefore, may
ilmost say with England that the snn
never seta on its possessions.
The principal river in Alaska, the
Fukon, np which prospectors have to
trork their weary way to reach the
gold fields was called by Schwatka, the
Alaskan Nile. It rises a little more
than 200 miles above Sitka, in the
southern part of Alaska, and then
strikes northward, following a broad
:ircle to the west before it empties
nto Bering Sea through an extensive
lelta. Six hundred miles in from the
.ONDIKE GOLD REGION.
uoast it is more than a mile wide and
the volume of its water is so great as
to freshen the ocean ten miles outfrom
land.
The principal cities of Alaska are
Juneau and Sitka. They are both
thriving towns, and probably they will
thrive from now on, for a time at least,
as they have never thriven before.
Alaska is ruled by a Territorial Governor,
who just now is J. 6. Brady,
recently appointed by President MoKinley
to succeed James A. Sheakley.
The Governor's residence is in Sitka.
The citizens up in that frozen country
do not vote for President of course,
baing under Territorial government,
but they do send delegates to the National
political conventions. The judicial
function there is exercised by a
district court, established in 1884.
The court sits alternately at Sitka and
"Wrangle. [How odd for a coart to sit
at Sitka and Wrangle. ]
And speaking of Wrangle, among the
things Alaska has done for this country
aside from stirring up the present
3^'""
KLONDIKE GOLD FIELDS.
gold excitement one of the most forward
was to involve it in disputes with
England on the boundary question and
the seal fisheries business.
Both of these disputes threatened
war, but white-winged peace settled
over the situation in each case and
brought the suggestion of that newly
invented English-American institution"
?arbitration. However, the boundary
question is not settledyet, and the Britf
\ ? f ! KuUa.J
1SD lion is eyen now roaring a incis aim
angrily swishing its tail because of a
diplomatic (1he British call it undiplomatic)
note from Secretary of State
Sherman demanding that British vessels
"keep off the grass" as it were in
the seal fishing grounds.
Tho Boundary Question.
It was not unexpected, of course,
that the discovery of gold in the Klondike
region would revive in a measure
the old question of a boundary line between
Alaska and the British Northwest
Territory,
The Klondike fields are considerably
east of Fort Cudahy and Dawson City,
and both of these are on British soil.
Into the new regions, though, American
miners first ventured and made
the first discoveries of gold. Since
then hundreds of them havfc trooped
over thehnriler staked out their claims
in the rich hills and begun to dig.
Should the Canadian Government pass
an exclusion act all of these miners,
of course, would* be dispossessed.
The difficulty of enforcing such an
act, especially on miners who have
staked out their claims, is at once apXnatBS
CBOSSIJfQ THE BORDER. |
parent. The result in retaliation by (
the Government of the United States 1
is also easily imagined. The Domin- i
ion Government has already established 1
a custom house on the border, and is 1
doing a fair business collecting duty 1
on the goods that go into the new j
nnnnfr<ir and minora thinfc tVlAV will
be satisfied with that. The exclusion,
of Americans would practically close <
the country for a time, for the best of
the means of transportation to that
frozen region are owned by American
companies.
In the past miners of any nationality
have been free to enter any new
diggings and stake out their claims
without restriction. Canadian miners
are now free to work across the border
in the Alaskan fields. What the result
of an exclusion act would mean to
Canada in a retaliatory measure by the
United States, Canadians know better
th an they can be told.
It is not believed, however, that
Canada will attempt to exclude American
miners. It is true that the United
Siates excludes Chinese, but Canada
probably recognizes that keeping out
tuinamen ana oimug me ay iu< <
Americans are two diL'erent things. j
Queer Place of Before. '
The passengers on a Tenia street
trolley car were treated to an Unusual <
sight early yesterday morning. As ]
the car was bowling along in the <
vicinity of Parish street a couple of i
sparrows, one in chase of the other, J
swooped down in front of the car. J
The pursued, by a quick flank movement,
.eluded its tormentor by darting
under the roof of the front platform, i
and before the motorman knew what <
was up the bird had perched on his 1
hand which gripped the lever. There 1
it sat contentedly, while the passengers j
craned their necks to get a view of the
-J J TKn flnorrnw Hilln't
UUU Dpcuiatic. amw .. ?
seem to mind the fact that the motor- <
man's hand was constantly turning <
aronnd as he manipulated his lever, 1
and, after riding on its queer perch 1
for fully a blo:k, chirped its thanks *
and flew away.?Philadelphia Rqcord.
"Breakfast Picnics." '
People get up early in the morning j
out in Nebraska, and from this habit 1
some enterprising social leader has 1
evolved an idea which has become a
fad in the neighborhood of Grant!
Island, where "breakfast picnics" are \
in vogue. The guests start out at 4 ]
o'clock, breakfast in the woods, and \
come home before the sun makes
things too hot for comfort.?New York
1
S
mm mil m
Over a Thousand Increase on the:
t c
Pension Rolls. ' I
STATE SEIZED THE WHISKEY.
*
Dismissed With Gosts?A Manslayer
* r
Pardoned?A Reward by the Governor?Palmetto
Chips.
\ , - jSb
. v?W
There has been a large increase in
the number of the pensioners of the x
State this year. In all 1,127 new names
appear upon the rolls. This year great
pains have been taken under the new
aet to care for all applications filed and
there will hardly be any complaints.
The olerks in the comptroller's office 4
are bnsy transferring all the figures to
the big fnal pension sheet, and the
board nopes to have the checks for tljft
individual pensioners in the several
counties go forward to the clerks o?
court immediately. This year almosthalf
of the pensioners come under the>
head of class C, No. 8?widows. Last
year they numbered 1,966. The total
number of pensioners of all classes is
5,841 against 4,714 last year. The following
facts about the $100,000 appro- 'Pjfi
priation which is the same this year aa
last will be of interest to the pension- \i
ers: Last year the class A pensioners
received $8 a month apiece or $96 for
the year. The total amount paid them
was $j, 184. This year the class A'pensioners
will get nearly $1,800 less, the
act having reduced their monthly payments
to $6. Last year the class B
pensioners got $29. lO each, or a total of
$9,578.90. The class C men drew $45,842
and the widows $38,140.40, each
getting $19.40 apiece. This year the
class A pensioners will draw $72 apieoe.
The class B men will get in the neighborhood
of $15.50 apiece. The expenses
last year were something over
$800 paid to the several county Doafrds p
of pensions. This vear the expenses
will run np to about $1,400, under the
provisions of the new law.
The carload of whiskey shipped to !^S]
Anderson after Judge Simonton's decretal
order and injunction, was seised . \S>
3* the constables by the Governor's - .;s3
Hvioe. The reason given by the Governor
is that the shippers oonsigned the '-vi
liquor to themselves as agents and not ., .rjs
to a regularly appointed agent in this &jj
State, who happened to be a resident of
the State/ f|H|
The State authorities admit that the
decretal order settles quite thoroughly
the question of shipping bottles by the , v'
carloed lot, yet at the same time it is
pretty certain that any suoh shipments
not made under the exact conditions of
the Gukenheimer shipment will be fol- ? " '
lowed by legal proceedings. There
can hardly be a doubt that the State ? 2rot
will not attempt to interfere with a
shipment made exactly as in the * , *
Florence case. So far as sales by the
cask or in cases are concerned, there
can be no question about them so long * ,
as the regularly appointed agent of a
house in some other State sells tU
stuff in the shape it was received.
Last week a committee of six leading >?
negro preachers of the Methodist
church appointed by the conference fitp
called on Governor Ellerbe, presenting ,
him with a report adopted by the eon- :, V,
Terence dealing with lynching* and at* r^.p
saults. Serious apprehension was exCefB.d
at "the grnwing dsregardoi ';rl
w and order manifest throughout tbe >'vffflt
Dountry, North, East South, and West.*
]?he orderly investignMon and punishment
of crime by con t are of ted sup- '.J
planted by excited ana prejudice judgment
and the cruel and inhuman taking '
[>f life by mobs." Governor Ellerbe erpressd
himself as pleased with the position
taken by the conference.
There will be no farther attempt on ' 3
the part of Mr. Wesley or hie attorneys
now to get poseasion of the agricultural &
ball property at least nntil the hearing
of the appeal in November before tkW'
United States court of appeals and the
final determination of that appeal. On
the 11th Attorney General Barber wired
the assistant attorney general fcpm
Greenville, that the supercedes* bad
been granted by Jndge Simonton and
the exeontion stayed. Jndge Town- ~i
send, in accordance with this order, ' i
bas amended the bond and forwarded it
to Jndge Simonton.
The State of the 12th says there is
locked np in police headquarters in Columbia
a negro Bullman car porter $;
named D. W. Alexander, who has been
irrested by Chief Daly upon suspicion.
r4 Ka nrnvai fn ha (ha riirhtmM II Vlffr
serious charge will be made against
turn. He is said to have assaulted a -,Si
lady on a Pullman car. He jumped
from the car when the chief made for
tiim, but was caught.
The Secretrry of State has 'issued a "-'M
commission to Louis Belirens, r". L.
Meyer, O. G. Marjenhoff aud &. E. Bi- " S
jaise, of Charleston, as coriKirators of
the Charleston Fire Depar meat Aid
Association. Tho purpose oi the company
is to aid its sick and bury its dead
members.
. *
The assistant attorney general lias
received from Greenville the copies
>f the final orders signed by Judjge cicnonton
in the three other "original
package" cases. Each case has been
lismissed with the costs falling on the
liquor people.
Governor Ellerbe has granted a parIon
to Chas. K. Hatfield, who was
convicted of manslaughter in Darling
ton county in October, 1896, and sentenced
by Judge Aldrich to a term of
three years in the State penitentiary.
^
In an altercation at a colored Baptist
ihnrch at Yorkville Henry Jones, n.ias
Henry Fry, shot and killed Andy Dar- , ?':
by. Both the parties are colored. The
fuss originated over a white woman oi
bad character.
. &
Governor Ellerbe has offered a reward
5f $100 for the apprehension and conriction
of Pat Dreher, the negro who
tilled his wife at Lewiedale a short
time ago. ^
There are now two "original package"
establishments in Laurens.
.- s - - t ,l{