The Sunday Oregonian., August 13, 1916, SECTION SIX, Page 6, Image 72

THE SUNDAY OREGOXU, PORTXAXD, AUGUST 13, 101G.
e of Golc.
7yiranA v
Ups and Downs o Fortune Hunters m
Hie Early Daus of the Klondike
Cujpid Often an Interested and
Impatient Bystander Millions Won
and Wasted-
Stories of the Dance Hall Days.
fTopyrlB-fcted. 191, by Frank C Carpenter.)
DAWSON, Yukon Territory. Take
a seat with me on the top of
King Solomon's Dome and listen
to the romance of the Klondike. The
air is full of it stories and the truth
In them surpasses the wildest dreams
of the "Arabian Nights." King Solo
mon's Dome is the very center of the
Klondike gold region. It -Is a moun
tain higher than the average peaks of
the Alleghenies. It rises 3000 feet
above Dawson, and I have climbed to
Its top in an automobile. Standing
upon It I can look over the Klondike
Valley and the creeks leading into it
from which almost t200.000.000 worth
of gold has been won, and turning
to the south I can see the Indian River
alley, where is Dominion Creek, Sul
phur Creek and Gold RiVer. and where
there is a vast bed of low-grade gold
bearing earth which they are now pre
paring to mine. The engineer at the
head of the project is John Treadgold.
He is washing off the muck with hy
draulic giants, and he expects that the
sun will so thaw the strata of perpet
ual Ice that he can use a new kind
of machine to get out the gold. The
average contents of the earth Is less
than SO cents' worth of gold to the
ton, and the most of this is from 20
to SO feet down la the frozen con
glomerate. v
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 it is El
dorado Creek, where Swift Water Bill
Gates and the Lucky Swede, Charlie
Anderson, as well as scores of others,
made their fortunes about a year later.
The man who discovered the gold was
George Carmack, a New Englander
from North Adams. Mass. He came to
Alaska as a laborer 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, it
was one of these 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
$20 worth of gold within a half hour.
Carmack then laid out claims for him
self and the three red men, and each
claim brought a fortune which all
too soon slipped through Its owner's
fingers.
The news of the discovery spread like
wildfire over the North. It was tele
graphed to all parts of the world and
by the next year men were rushing to
the Klondike from every diection. They
staked out both sides of Bonanza. They
laid out claims along Eldorado, Domin
ion and Hunker creeks, and dug out
gold all along the valley of the Klon
dike RJver.
Charlie Anderson's claim was No. 29
Eldorado. It cost him $600, and the
deal was made when he was too drunk
to know what he was doing. Anderson
was living at Forty Mile at the time.
and he had saved this money from his
wages as a pick and shovel miner. He
bought the mine at night, and when
he awoke the next day he cried bitter
tears and asked the men who thought
they had swindled him to take- back
the claim and give him his money.
They refused, and he, walked 80 miles
to the Klondike and started to work.
He found only a hole in the ground,
but he thawed and dug 18 feet further,
and the result was a fortune. When
he made the first strike the men who
sold him his claim were nearby. They
saw he was panning, and asked with
a sneer what he had found. He re
plied: "Ay tank Ay got some gold
here," and he showed them his pan.
There was $1400 worth of gold nuggets
In it, and the claim eventually yielded
between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000.
Ewlft Water Bill was a Portuguese,
who got his nickname from a story
he told of having swam down, the
rapids of the Yukon on his way to the
gold fields. He began his work on, -the
Tukon, some 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 Klondike. He left the order un
filled, and got a dog team and rushed
on to Dawson. He was in at the first
and picked out a number of claims.
Including that on Eldorado, which made
him a fortune. He was successful for
years, but was so dissipated that be
ran through the millions he made, and
finally left with the stampede to Fair
banks. He hadthen only GO cents In
his pockets, but he made a second
great strike and a fortune. He lost that
fortune as well, and is a poor man to
day. Speaking of the extravagance of
Swift Water Bill, he was the man who
cornered the egg market In Dawson at
a dollar per egg. There were 8000
all, and It cost him more than $8000.
The reason for the corner was his love
for Miss Gussie Lamore, a popular and
beautiful vung lady who had "been
nicknamed "The Little Klondike Nug
get." As the story goes. Swift Water
was courting her, but the course of
true love was too rough. e.nd for a time
it seemed as though Bill's cake was all
dough. Then he remmberei that Gus
sie doted on eggs, aad he prepared for
the corner. He slipped about from store
to store and bought every egg in the
town. He then remarked that it Gus
sie wanted more eggs she would have
to eat out of -his hand, or if she stuck
to his rival "she sure wouldn't eat no
,ggs." The result was Gussie suc
cumbed, and so Cupid won by an egg.
The antics of Charlie Anderson were
quite as wild as those of Swift Water
Bill. He ran through his money as
fast as it came. He was cheated by
every one and I understand that he Is
iw poor doing day's work some
where in the states.
In coming up to Dawson I had a chat
with Captain E. G. Baughman, who
commanded the steamer Humboldt,
which has plied between Seattle and
Skagay since the days of the gold
rush. He knew Charlie Anderson well,
and told me many stories about him.
Said he:
"Anderson was known as the Tucky
Swede.' He had been at work on the
railroads in the states, but was dis
charged and that drove him to Alaska.
When he struck it rich he took out
more than $200,000 the first year, and
during the next four years his claim
yielded him almost $2,000,000."
"What did he do with the money?" I
asked.
"He spent it as fast as It came. He
kept a gang of gamblers anr dance
hall girls about him and gave away
thousands. When he was at the height
of his fortune he hid an income of
half a million dollar, v year. He then
fell In love and was i arried. He took
his wife to San Frs Cisco, where he
bought a house and g ? It to her. He
gave her other mone: and when he
was about at the enu of his fortune
he told me she had cost him a quarter
of a million. With that he pulled out
of hlsjpocket a garter which had a
diamond clasp as big as th end of
your thumb, and showed it to me say
ing: 'And that is all I have for it. I
am almost broke now, but I will go
back and find some more.'
"His claim was then played out. He
tried to find others, but failed. In his
first trips- with me he lived In state,
buying til the liquor and cigars that
that ship had and handing: them out
free to the passengers. His last trip
he made in the steerage. He was dead
broke. Shortly after we started I saw
him, dressed in rough clothes, sitting
at the prow of the boat. I went up to
him and said: Well. Charlie. It is dif
ferent with you from what it was in
the past? He looked up and his eyes
...-.a y-xj-y-'" ''111''.'. "."'" '" ""'"i
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kA-. ' -S ''All .?--
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of the pieces. The man who bets in
the negative holds one of the halves.
The other is burled In the earth or
thrown down among the gravel and
covered. Just as soon as that soot is
filled with tears. 'Yes,' said he. 1 am in quantities. Pockets worth hundreds dredged, the missing half comes out
goingsteerage, for I have not enough of dollars were not uncommon. In with the gold.
money to pay for first class.' I was AuguBt. 1899. In a claim on Bonanza
sorry for him, and I put him in one of Creek, George T. Coffey took up two
All sorts of characters came to the
the first cabins and took him home shovelfuls from which he washed 63 sucn types aa the Lucky Swede. Swift
without charge." ounces of gold, worth between $900 and Water Bill and Frank Slav In, the
$1000. This included three nuggets, pr:zf Iprhter, came business and pro
Another claim on Eldorado made a eacn of which was worth $100. fesslonal men from all parts of the
fortune for a young secretary of the A miner by the name of McDonald United States. There were also cor
T. M. C. A. This man had started min- took out J94.000 from a 43-foot patch r aheV" 'joVquTn'S.H-r "camftJ
ing on Forty-mile Creek, and when of ground two feet in thickness, and It mne gold and write poetry and news
gold was discovered near Dawson he is said that some of the miners on paper articles. Rex Beach was here
left his young wife there, and came on Bonanza Creek were dissatisfied when and so was Jack London. Jack London
with the crowd. The first claim he the gravel went less than a dollar a w at one time a partner of Swift
selected was comparatively small-and pan In ordinary region. 6 cent, a ter BUUand it Uthat h. ptwo
ii nnu no umotr upon n- xie wa.ni.eu " . - dUCed over a million dollars in gold.
logs to build a cabin Tor himself and saia, me earin mey are now mining
wife, and traded his claim for another in the valleys of the Klondike and
furthnr dnvn th or pole whr thr vni. Indian river, doe. not run. more than
ley was wider, and timber was plenti- 30 cents on the average to the cubic started to work his way down. As
i Tt. -v vr - a K,,in virH night came on he left his tools in the
fuL The Y. M. C. A. man then built ard. , Before mornlnK tne ther.
his cabin, sent for his wife and started T , . . . mometer drontjed to 60 deKrees be
getting out all the gold from the
m r t Vi Tl, - min.r. . rr-Y, tk. ir-K
face his wife helped him. He labored spols' only. Today every bit of the
down in the mine, and she wound the valley is being worked over by the
windlass that drew up the buckets of dredges, and that in such a way that
rocks. Time and again they were in all ot the precious metal i. saved. In
r1.Kr.ott- anrl talUrl of colling' our .nrl ISCC you Can TITO your gun II a Dira
s4 froS&ciors Cutft'i
brought In over the trail sold for $1
apiece. A weekly newspaper was
started, known as the Yukon Midnight
Sun, which cost $15 a year, and a little
later the Klondike Nugget was Issued
weekly, and single copies of It cost
60 cents. Job printers got $1.50 an
hour, and the charge for printing bill
heads and business cards was a per
1000.
Banks were soon established and
they did a big business in buying gold
dust and putting their notes into cir
culation. The first eight days after
it opened its doors the Canadian Bank
of Commerce bought $1,600,000 worth,
of gold dust. It paid $14 an ounce
upon the receipt of the dust and the
balance, less certain charges, after
assay. The Bank of British North
America also had a branch. Both the
Institutions are still in Dawson and
they are buying gold dust today.
Not long ago the old buildlns; la
which the Canadian Bank of Commerce
had lis offices was burned to the
ground and one of the clerks asked
permission to work over the s-round as
a gold claim. He wanted the waste
from the assay office and also the
duet which had fallen on the floor
from time to time in the purchase of
gold. His request was granted and
his panning paid thousands of dollars.
While cashing a draft at the Bank
of British North America the other dajr
I saw them sending away a shipment
of gold. It had come into them in the
shape of dust and nuggets and been
melted to bricks. There were $50,000
worth o these about three fer-t square.
The bricks were of a liftbt yellow color,
and some were almoet white on ac
count of the percentage of silver mixed
with them. Their aversre value Ml
$15 an ounce. They were ef various
si-. from that of a blK cake of
laundry soap down to a rake of milk,
chocolate. I lifted one of the larger
one. It weighed a little more than
, ,i j . . , . - .... t n ii .i
aoamon per ceni communion o.. in . bnk ( th
V, .7 J""1 f,sr8 "lt ln;"'!.. . bricks Into canvas bars and label them
DIHUUlBUllirilta, aiiuuici nniui'-i aiiu o,a
actresses to dance at $1&0 a week, and
In many of the halls the women re
ceived $1 for a dance of five minutes.
and
id
ii ...
what in slang phrase Is known a.
"wide open." There were scores of sa
loons, gambling houses and , dance
halls and they all made money. In one
dance hall 12 women were employed
it $50 per week, and they received In
for export by rea-ietered mall.
Leaving the bank I dropped in at
the offices of the Northern Commercial
lved $1 for a dance of rive minutes. - j .,,, m.k
. , . . Company and walcnea mem ma K up
id one girl stated that her bar com- ' , . . , , . .
to work. When he had thawed the
earth to some extent below the sur-
Jack London began the work on the
property. He made a fire and thawed
the muck on the top of the gravel, and
low zero, and when he again started to
work he found he would have to thaw
out his tools and that this would
burr up the handles. He left in dis
gust, and. as the story goes, Swlft
War BUI got the money. Jack Lon
don's wealth came from the literary
material he carried away as the re-
, .L f.T. rr t n i 'Id w0 satchels, and it was worth
-. - j . "t,t K"r. f altogether in the neighborhood of $100.-
? a, da' nd U W" 1 B 000. Ii was put up in a half dosen
a bartender. little sacks of about the size of a five-
I have before me a copy of a bill ot Pom salt sack such as Is sold :i our
. ... iw grocery stores, l.ach sack of that size
contained from $5000 to $10,000. There
were also two larger sacks that held
more.
All gold that is shipped out of Can
ada pays a royalty or tax to the Gov
ernment. In 1S9S the amount charged
was 10 per cent on all the goia mined,
and I think there was in addition a
tax on all gold sent out of the country.
Tnrlv thr 1 an rIOort tax of 2 i
employed three cooks, one of whom re- per cent. and travelers are examined at
ceived $100 per week, and the others tne frontier to see that thev do not
$1 per hour. The waiters were both eVade the duty. Every one who goes
men and women, the latter receiving out of tne Klondike Into Alaska is met
$100 per month. That restaurant was by tho customs officers as he crosses
held in a tent 20 by 40 size, and the the border and examined to see that
rent for the tent was $900 per month. ne no g.0id Upon him.
From an old bulletin of the United There are women examiners who
fare of one of the old restaurants, with
the prices attached. A bowl of soup
cost $1, and a bowl of mush and milk
$1.25. A dish of canned tomatoes cost
$2. a slice of pie 75 cents, and a sand
wich with coffee or tea $1.2i. Beans,
coffee and bread were $2. a plain
steak $3.50. and a porterhouse $5.
One of the leading restaurants,
which had a seating capacity of 32,
. .. . . . j - v; , a a i Anarttniit or ji nnr i nave . i v. , fM.i.. i , t
going back home. After a while they "u that thT.hoill'be.'r.d & BLS,deorn.exCBeachnd who ' hTs price, and wages at Dawson in Tuect them make them go Vnto a
came to bedrock, and the gold was so when that Kround ,B mined.- You can ?tt.Z "o m.nv d stories of Alas! 1S98' Carpenters were receiving 1 private cabin for careful inspection,
rich that the claim paid them about throw a red cent into the heart of a " many aooa "riea oi ani common laborers $10 per day. 0t long ajro a woman took out a
AKil ilia.
Sltllled woodworkers
day large quantity of nuggets and dust.
S? nOO OHO TVi t mnn trr1e hl mrn.v ton.nrrA field that i to be unturned
to Seattle and invested it in real es- by these machines, knowing that the Indeed many books might be made ana journeyman tanors i.ow an nour. she was examined in passinsr. out tne
tt w n.r tn h nr.. r.f th cent will come out with the gold. The of the tips and downs. of the Klondike The ordinary charge for a sack suit inspectors took no accouht of a big
J" 's now io ra do ono oi ine Canadan flVe-cent pieces are thin sll- in those early days. Men came here was $125. Barbers made from $15 to flower pot containing a rose bush that
rich men or the west- ine calm ne vej. colns halt a, big a, a nickel. These beggars and went away millionaires. $40 a day, each receiving 65 per cent she was carrying out with her. The
first took up turned out very well, have been thrown into the fields and and millionaires lost fortunes as well of the receipts of his chair. Four such top of the pot was covered with soil,
but not as well as No. 16 Eldorado, later on caught by the dredges. A as made them. Gold was really shipped ehops were in operation, and their and it was not until she got safely
which gave him his fortune. common amusement is to take a dime, out by the ton. and in the city of prices were $1 a shave. $1.50 for a away that it was learned that the soil
sawing it in halves and then bet Dawson it was spent by the ounce and hair cut and $2.50 for a bah. was only half an inch deep and that
The gold of that dav was discovered whether the dredge will reclaim one the pound. At the start the town was During that Winter newspapers what was below ws almost pure gold.
"AN ARROW SHOT INTO THE AIR"
THE thrse little Larkln children
were never at a loss as to how
to amuse themselves. Out in their
big back yard they had a tent; and.
futhermore, each of them was the
proud owner of an "Indian suit."
Jack fancied he looked very fierce
and warlike In his. with its tall "war
bonnet" and stick-up feathers. Ned
considered himself quite as much a
"bite chief" as his older brother. And
Mabel, for once in her life, was really
glad .he was a girl instead of a boy
since she thought Indian clothes for a
"squaw" were much prettier than for
a "brave."
Naturally, the favorite amusement
of the "three Larkins," as they were
called, was to "play Indian." First
of all. there was the whole country
aide over which to roam, for the Lar
kln house was on the outskirts of the
town a Jd. all but in the open country.
There were hedges and fences and
dense bushes, behind which one could
noop" while tracking the enemy or
hunting wild animals. And a. for
Mabel, .he could putter around the
tent all day and pretend to be clean
ing and cooking the "big game" which
the boys brought home with them.
Then, too. she had .to get their
"meals" ready for thein.
Also, there were the "papooses"
the little Indian babies to be looked
after. At other times they were her
real dolls, but when the game
Pt "Indian" was being, played they, ot
course, were straightway tranformed
into "papooses."
One afternoon Jack and Ned beg
pardon. I mean Black Eagle and Fly
injj Wolf, for, of course, no Indian,
were ever named Jack and Ned well,
one afternoon when the "brave." were
out hunting, Mabel (or I should say
Dawn Mist; to use her Indian name),
wm in the "tepee" perparing for the
Him.
&je Let Fly Ha Arrow at
return of the hunters in the evening.
New Mabel I mean Dawn Mist
was an expert shot with bow and ar
row. TJncl3 Will had laughingly de
clared that she couldn't "hit the side of
a barn door with it, but of course he
didn't know a thing about playing
Indian and shooting an arrow. Of
course not! "
Dawn Mist, a. brave as brave could
be, crawled slowly forward. Then she
lay, quite still, waiting in true Indian
fashion for the enemy to make a move
and reveal himself. Suddenly she saw
something move way down beyond the
fence, which separated the Larkln
pla?e from the garden of the next door
neighbor, Mr. Schultz, who raised
flowers jn big greenhouses and sold
them to florists in the city. He would
have been surprised indeed bad be
known that Indians, wild, bloodthirsty
Indians, were lurking about his place;
but of course he didn't know it, since
he never "played Indian."
But Dawn Mist plainly saw the en
emy crouched down right beside one
of Mr. Schultz". greenhouses. She fitted
an arrow to the string of her bow.
Jumped to her feet, gave vent to a wild
"war cry" intended to both frighten
the enemy and to give the alarm to
the hunters in the field and, in su
preme indifference to any attack from
the treacherous enemy, she let fly
her arrow at him.
Now, there is a saying to the effect
that an arrow shot into the air must
come to earth again. And Dawn
Mist's arrow was no different from
any other arrow. Indeed, she saw it
come down, down and land right on
top of the head of the snooping enemy.
She saw him throw hi. hands wildly
above his head and sink to earth
dead. Indeed, she did, oh yes!
And and well, just then the hunt
ers. Black Eagle " and Flying Wolf,
came charging into camp, and, shout
ing encouragement to her and brand
ishing their tomahawks, they gave
chase to the rest of the enemy and sent
them scampering back to their own
hunting grounds. Of course, however,
in the chase they did not neglect to
kill a few hundred of the enemy and
scalp them. Of course not, for they
were terrible fighters!
That evening, however, after sup
per, when "playing Indian" was over
with for the day, there came a ring
at the front doorbell. And presently
papa called Jack and Mabel into the
library. Mr. Schultz, florist, who lived
on the next place and owned the
greenhouse down beside which the
enemy Dawn Mist had killed had been
snooping was there, and he looked
very angry and very, very well, un
pleasant. "
Also he wa. holding an arrow In
his right hand so that all might see it.
"Is this your arrow?" asked papa.
"Ye-yes, sir," said Mabel 1 presently.
"Veil den. why for you don'd keep
it oud uf mine greenhouse?" demanded
Mr. Schulta.
"This arrow." papa went on to say,
"broke a large pane of glass in Mr.
Schultz' greenhouse this afternoon,
children. I merely wanted to make
certain It belonged to you children.
All right. Mr Schultz. you may have
the pane replaced and .end me the
bill."
"But but. papa. I Just .hot It up
Into the air." cried Mabel, "and and
I didn't know It wa. going to break
his old glass. truly I didn't!"
"Dot aln' a old greenhouse. I
built me dot only two veeks ago,"
.protested Mr. Schultz. indignantly.
Papa smiled. "But you discharged
it in the direction of Mr. Schultz'
greenhouse. didn't you? And you
know. Mabel, what goes up in the
air must come down. That will be all
now. children. You may leave the room."
Strange to relate strange at least
from the standpoint of Indian lore
thereafter Indians never again at
tacked the three Larkins" encampment
from the direction of Mr. Schultz'
greenhouse. Neitaher Dawn Mist nor
Black Eagle nor Flying Wolf ever
looked for an enemy in that direction.
Our Puzzle Corner
BATHIXQ Pr7.rLK
ZIGZAG PrZZLE.
If the following are written one be
low another, their zigzag letters, be
ginning at the upper left-hand corner
and endln at the lower right-hand
corner will .pell the name of a feature
of Summer:
1. A fruit.
2. A flower.
. A contest.
4. An arched cavity for baking.
B. Free from blemish.
. One hundred and sixty square
rods of land.
7. An animal.
BIDDE5 HOTIE STARS.
No. 1 Thr dog- or hi: No. 3 Go
love apart: No. $ He arm. Ma; No.
4 Get no lard. Mama.
Solution of Bathing Fuxle.
ZIGZAG Picnic I. Pear: 2. Lily; .
Race; 4. Oven; 6. Fair; 6. Acre; 7.
SeaL '
HIDDEN MOVIE STARS No. 1.
Dorothy Gish; No. 2. O'.ga Petrova; No.
S, Ma Marsh: No. 4. Norman TalmadS,
r ' s
These two little bathers dare not venture far out in the water for fear
of ecounterlng a shark.
See if you can find a .bark by cut- ting out the black spot, and fitting,
them together.