HUNDREDS MAY STARVE.
Gold Is Plontiful, Food Is Scarco,
in tho Klondike
Stop tho Crazy Uttftli u Hip Unlil
KIvIiIm." In the Cry of ltetiimliiK
Miner A I)llialicr'n
IjilcUy Strike.
The treasure ship Portland which ar
rived at Seattle, Wash., recently brought
not only $350,000 in gold nuggets, but
also a crowd of hardy miners who were
unanimous in advising gold-seekers to
flay away from Alaska until next sea
son. One of them went so far as to say:
"Warn people to stay out of Yukon
tliis year! Tell them it means starva
tion! Telegraph to every puper in the
country that people will starve there if
more people go in!"
These warnings were repeated time
and time again by each and everyone
of the Yukon miners who returned on
the Portland. More than this, several
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SCOW LOAD OF KLONDIKEUS AT DYEA.
of these have frankly stated that had
they not realized there would not be
sufficient supplies in there for the com
ing winter they would not have come
out.
These men are in earnest. They
know what they are talking about.
These warnings, too, they asked the
correspondent to write before they
V' knew half the story of the insane rush
to Dawson City.
When they reached Dutch Harbor on
their return and secured n few scatter
ing papers of late dates, the latest Au
gust 5. the one topic of conversation
was what the situation would be at
Dawson and in the Yukon this winter.
When the Excelsior arrived at St.
Michael's with her load of one hundred
nnd thirty-odd people and the miners
heard that the Cleveland would bring
IHo more they talked strongly then.
They said that many people were going
in and that supplies could not possibly
liold out during the winter.
After leaving Dutch Harbor the par-
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A GENEUAL VIEW OF THE TENTED CITY OF BICAGUAY, WHICH HAS
UISEN IM A KOHTNIGHT.
tinl extent of the rush dawned upon
them.
"My God," said one man to the cor
respondent, "what are they thinking
of? Are people crazy? There will b?
itrrible, horrible times on the Yukon
next winter. Starvation will stare theui
in the face long before spring."
Prom his own personul investigation
nt St. Michael's the New York World's
cnrcial emissary is convinced that min
ers do not speak too strongly. The
company is doing its utmost to gel
supplies up the river, and, were it pos
s'.ble to do so, would have food for all.
Hut it labors under disadvantages
which cannot be appreciated until seen.
A serious mistake was made by the
Alaska Commercial company in carry
ing up too much liquor on the last trip
or two of the boats. The miners want
iood not liquor. Last year, with 1,500
persons on t lie river and facilities for
transporting very little under those of
this season, there was a serious short
age. This year these same 1,500 people
must have supplies, nnd they with those
who went in Inst spring, making a
total of probably 5,000 persons ou (he
river uctore the lost rush, will require
cery pound that can possibly be taken
in.
1? is doubtful if 0,000 pounds will be
taken up the river this season. That
does not mean 6,000 pounds of food by
any means. Perhaps the large half will
be food, but furniture, hardware, stoves,
iquors, clothing, blankets, etc., will
figure up nearly one-half.
Regarding the situation over the trails
or the various passes the correspondent
is not informed, but these same miners,
each and every one of whom has gout
in over the trails, say that it is au utter
impossibility to transport enough sup
plies over that route at this season of
the j'ear.
in warning people to wait untllspring
the writer simply acts for the miners
who speak in the name of humanity.
There is gold in the Yukon country
plenty of it but to seek it this season
ufder these circumstances in no less
than sheer madness. It is even more.
It is criminal to those who already are
in the conn .ry.
Living is propcrtlonotely high, board
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at restaurants averaging six dollars a
day, the lowest price being $1.50 a day.
Lodging can only be had by putting
up one's tent. Two hotels ure being
built and will be ready by winter, but
they will not begin to accommodate the
people requiring lodgings.
William Oler, who left Dawson City
July 14, says that there was not nt that
time enough supplies at Dawson to last
the people there over three months.
"1 don't believe," he said, "that there
can be got enough supplies there this
season to last half the people until the
river opens next spring. I saw old
timers paying for their supplies in ad
vance when I left. A friend of mine
paid one of the stores $1,000 in dust
for goods that had not left St. Michael's.
Numbers of men have done the same.
1 don't think there will be a pound of
food left in any of the stores by Decem
ber 1. Firewood will be at least $15 a
cord this winter and perhaps more."
One of the latest additions to Dawson
is Jack Smith's variety theater. This
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was opened July 12, and the opening
night was a hummer. Every inch of
standing room was taken, and the min
ers were perched on every rafter. Tho
sole performance was a "whirlwind"
dance. The audience crowded the place
so that the dancer had hut a space less
than ten feet square to dance in. The
price of admission was one dollar.
The saloons are doing a brisk busi
ness. Drinks are 50 cents for straight
whisky; fancy drinks are $1.50. Cigar
ettes are 50 cents a box of ten. Cigars
are 50 cents each, and everything else
proportionately high.
Dogs, which are valuable, are sold by
weight. The holding price is one dol
lar a pound up to 75 pounds, For any
thing over 75 pounds the price rises to
$1.50 a pound. These were the prevail
ing prices for live dogs for freighting
purposes last winter. There Is no tell
ing what dogs, dead or alive, will be
worth next winter.
The nearest diggings to Dawson arc
eiht niiles distant on Hear creek. All
the other diggings are within 30 miles
of the town.
Hut It is more than doubtful whether
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these earnest and sincere warnings will
carry any weight with the gold-seeking
multitude now on the way to tho
Klondike, in spite of all protest, olllcial
and private, hundreds of men, and
women too, nrc willing to brave the
dangers of nn Arctic winter for the sake
of being the first oil the field next
spring. They nrc possessed b3 the greed
lor gold a disease for which the medi
cal fraternity, from Hippocrates down,
has not yet discovered n cure.
The stories of lucky strikes arc moro
potent than sober admonitions; nnd
one of the most romantic of these
stories was told the other day by Clara
Wilson, of Denver, Col., who went to n
little mining camp south of Circle City,
Alaska, a year and a half ago to serve
us cook for a number of miners.
Miss Wilson does not have to wash
dishes for a living now, neither is she
one of the deserted ones in the presence
of other women. She is not a handsomo
young woiniiu ns personal appearauco
goes, but she is now the possessor of
that which makes her the loadstone
where eligible young men nrc present
and would ulTortl her an opportunity
of taking her pick in ordinary coin
pnny. In other words, the dishwasher,
Clara Wilson, returns to the United
Stntes the multi-millionairess, Miss
Wilson, and all through her own ciTorts.
Miss Wilson was educated in tho
public schools at Scranton, Pa., but her
parents moved to the western country
before she had an opportunity to get
above the grnmmnr grades. At that
time her father had considerable
menus, but he exhausted it in an en
deavor to locate gold in Colorado and
California. Miss Wilson was 10 years
old when her father died and nt once
determined to make her own way in tho
world. She went to Seattle and found
employment as a domestic on n steamer
bound for Alaska. She found her way
to Circle City and became the cook and
general housemaid for a number of
miners.
Miss Wilson wns not sntlsflcd with
this kind of a life. She had had some
experience in mining while accompany
ing her father on his pilgrimages and
she "crossed lots" In Alnskn on her own
account. The result was that she lo
cated n copper mine which is now being
worked and which is snid to be panning
out ns proiifically as any of the gold
mines that arc making the Klondike
fields famous. Miss Wilson had no
sooner staked her claim than her pos
session was disputed by a number of
men, but besides mining she had
learned from her father how to use
rille and revolver and for days she sat
the sole guardian of her claim.
Her possession was finally recognized
and several of the men who disputed,
her right of occupancy are now work
ing with or for her, nnd it is estimated
that she is not worth less than $2,000,
000. The young woman said recently:
"I was in Chicago five years ago after
my father died. Then I was a coin
monplnce restaurant waiter or dish
washer and no one enred for inc. Now I
am worth perhnps $2,000,000 in money,
nnd nm being constantly followed by
young men of good families who would
be glad to take a wife. I might ns well
pay now that I am not innrrying nt this
time. I do not know when 1 shall go
back to Alaska. I may never go back,
for I don't mind saying that I have had
an nbuiidnuce of the kind of living they
have in that country. My mother and
I can live now wherever we sec fit, and
want to tell you that we shall not have
our rooms facing in alleys, as we have
been compelled to since father died.
"The copper mine in which I nm tho
principal owner was all my own find.
The funniest part is that I found it less
than a quarter of a mile from where we
were making our headquarters. There
were indications that others had dis
covered the presence of copper ahead
of me, but the gold fever must have had
full possession of them because they
passed it over. I secretly prospected
my find for a month before anyone else
found it, nnd then three men claimed
prior ownership. Then I hnd to make
a personal defense, nnd this I did. I
never hnd to fire a shot, but I would
have done so without hesitancy.
"No; I would not advise any j'nung
womnn to go to that country who has
not hnd some experience with miners
or who is not prepared to defend her
self nnd undergo the severest hard
ships. In that country self-preservation
is truly the first law of nnture.
Men forget nil their chivalry and al
though women nre scarce they nre not
curiosities nnd do not seem to awaken
nny specinl interest among men.
Alaska miners nre not sentimental.
They are looking for riches nnd they
do not care how they get them."
The first letter mnil to lie dispatched
from this country to the Klondike re
gion under the new reciprocal arrange
ment with Cnnndn, effected by estab
lishing nn international exchange be
tween Dyen, Alaska, and Dawson City,
will be forwarded from Seattle by a
steamer leaving there September 11.
From that time forward letter mail
will go over the new service regularly
once n month. The Inst opportunity
to send newspapers and reading mnte
rul generally into the gold region until
next spring wns afforded by the "paper
mail." the last of the season, which was
forwarded by steamer leaving San
Francisco September 5.
A bit of good news for the miners has
just been bulletined by the North
American Trading and Transportation
company. It is to the effect that a full
quartz mill sent by them into the Klon
dike country hnd orrived at its destina
tion in excellent condition.
MONUMENTAL CHURCH.
History, Roirmnoo nnd MyBtory
Clustor Around It,
The Muni IntcrcNtliiK' It ti 1 1I I his In
llleliiiioml, Yn. A l'luturo That
lU'cnll the Doiititx Ahout
lloitth'n Ocntli.
Seclnl KIchnioiHt (Vn.) I. otter. 1
The Monumental church tit Klch
moud, has not only a wonderful history,
but there Is u romance concerning one
of its priests which will live forever in
locnl history. Writers in the future
will undoubtedly weave a web of weird
doubt concerning the identity of the
priest, nnd probably the legend will
form the foundation for myths; out of
which the unbridled fancy of poets may
dcvclope stanzas as peculiar and won
derful ns those which trickcled from
the gifted pen of Edgar Allen Poe.
One thing is certain, and that is that
the picture of llev. Dr. Armstrong and
the picture of John Wilkes Hooth are
so much alike that every observer will
declare that they arc not resemblances,
nor likenesses, but counterparts.
The Monumental church manifests
many strange vagaries of construction.
It stands in n quiet old churchyard
fronting on Hroad street, upon the
slope of a hill which was at one time the
venter mid circumference of official and
fashionable life in the capital city of
the Old Dominion. The church itself is
u part of the history of the city, mid
even tho ground whereon it stands is
held in reverence by the people here,
because it constitutes a part of a block
of ground bought by Thomas Jefferson,
and by him dedicated as the site of an
institution of science and belles letters
after the fashion of the French acade
my. There were people in Richmond who
shook their heads With doubt and de
preciation when the academy building
was concerted into u theater. They
were not croakers, without cause, be
cause the theater was destroyed by
fire n few years afterwards. The his-'
toric block was then divided, and the
new Richmond theater was ereeteil
upon one corner of it. The second then-
MONUMENTAL. CHURCH, RICHMOND.
tcr followed the fate of the first. The
new theater was a short-lived enter
prise, but it became famous rapidly
because the actors who appeared upon
its stage were the greatest of that day
and generation; and the Hlclimoiid
theater was regarded as the cradle of
tho dramatic art, which was then in its
American infancy.
E. Placidc was well known in the
dramatic annals of the early years of
this century, and the performance given
in the Richmond theater on December
2(5. 1811, was for his benefit. It wis
looked forward to as a great event, and
the social life of the Old Dominion was
enlivened with expectation. It was an
nounced that the English custom of
presenting pantomimes at Yulclide
would he followed by t lie presentation
of a new piece called "Raymond and
Agnes; or, tin Hleeding Nun." It was
further announced on the bills that it
would he "the last performance of the
season."
There was a grand thioug in the
Richmond theater when the curtain
went up that evening. The governor
of Virginia was there, with his olllcial
staff. There were old-time gentlemen
from the prosperous plantations of the
istute, statesmen, members of the bench
and bar, family parties, of husbands,
wives mid children, bevies of maidens,
the loveliest of girls, mid the most
stately or matrons, silked, satined and
bejcwelcd. There were successful
tradesmen, merchants, seafaring men
and importers, in the rear section, re
served for them, were "poor whites"
and negroes, nlso present to enjoy the
play. The audience filled the theater
to overflowing, and there were very
nearly 900 people in the assembly. For
that time and place it was a great au
dience; the greatest that had ever as-t-cmhlcd
in any city in the south.
In those days chandeliers were made
with lamps, instead of gas or electric
ity, as we have them now. At the be
ginning of the second act a boy ou the
stage pulled up into the fiics overhead,
a chandelier, onu lamp in which was
still burning. The flame Ignited one of
of the strips of painted cnnv.in. That
wnu the beginning of the awful eiidlnir
of that guy evening.
1 here was a cry of "lire" when the
little Hume was first seen, and the peo
ple rushed for the single exit. One of
Hi.! actors rushed forwurd, and ussured
mmmSmmi if jam
the audience that the Arc would be pirfc--out
without trouble. There -waa n-
pause for a moment; but the Jfcnns.
grew stronger. They crackled ivncAJ
roared. Wider and wider, nnd larger
and larger grew tho fiery serpent. 2k
devoured the tinsel coverings of tho
celling of the stage. Screen of ter screen
went nwny In puffs of finmc, each add
ing heat to heat, and doom to disaster.
Within ten minutes think of it
within ten minutes the theater was m
mass of flames, The tragedy was a;n
speedy as it was complete. The tonguen
of llnmc swept from the stage, hastened
forward by the air from rear doors and
windows, mid like demons rushed after
ond upon the struggling, suffering'
crowd, It singed the hair of men umU
women, mid ignited their clothing, oo
that soon the people themselves beenmo
n part of the holocaust, their bodlcai
burning while they yet lived.
it was till over in ten minutes; but;
during that brief time the governor oC
Virginia mid 72 others of high rank in
the social and olllcial ranks of the old
dominion, lost their lives, and the city
was in mourning; yes, the entire stnto
was sliodowed and darkened with woe.
Early In the spring or 1812 It was sug
gested that a great memorial should bo
erected by public subscription,' nnd
Chief Justice Marshall, of the United
States supreme court, assumed chnrgo
of the movement. A building fund -wan
raised. Then the remains of the lost
were gathered together ond placed in n
vault beneath the center of the ruins,
and around this tomb the people built
the Monumental church.
Having said that there Ih history, inyin
tcry and romance connected with tlila
building, and having viewed the history
of its wonderful nnd pathetic origin, let
ua look into the mystery and romance
of Monumental church. Let us go lnto-
tho vestry room. There, In that dnrk.
corner, hangs upon the wall n picture of
John Wilkes Hooth, in long clerical
garments. The sexton says that it is n,
picture of Rev. John O. Armstrong, who
was pastor of Monumental church from.
1878 to 188L
The photograph plainly shows, Ira.
every Hue alid curve, the broad 'lil'glu
forehead mid long straight hair, tho
handsome chin nnd exquisite proflle.of
John Wilkes Hooth. The man is in tho
prime of life, standing beside n tabic,
with a serious mien. He Is undoubted
ly u clergyman, but that is the face ot
John Wilkes Hooth. Every picture cxt
tant shows the semblance, mid people
who saw Hooth ou the stage, when lip
was a well-known actor, say that ilia
photograph of Rev. John U. Anna trough
is n perfect picture of Booth.
There is the mystery, but there 1b ro
mance also connected with the tory
for nobody ever knew where therevcr-.-cud
gentleman cume from. ItwassnU)
that he had been ordained In Ireland..
An investigation of his past did noi
produce satisfactory results. JlocmW
to Richmond a comparative Btrnngor,,
Everybody wondered at the likeness ol"
the man to John Wilkes Hooth, nndj
somc accused him of being Mint man,.
Finally the clergyman wns accused of
irregularities in his hnbits, and thy
started afresh the story that he was nuV
what he claimed to be. At last, in de
spair, lie left the ministry, lived ta.
private and died in obscurity. 'JT.lr
doubt of his identity hung over Kixu
like (i pall. On h! deathbed, hla last;
words were n denial, an earnest, tcaxc
ful denial, that he was John Wilnv
Rooth.
There were many men In Ulclimontf
who had heard Hooth on the stage, audi
wlioheard Dr. Armstrong in the pulpit,,
who declared that two men could not bo
to much alike; in face, form, voice,,
gesture, everything; for tlio prenche
was a man of such dramatic manners,
that it would have been almost im
possible for nny man to have acquired'
them anywhere except upon the stage.
Moreover, it was remarked that- lie was
slightly lame, as Wilkes Hooth would
undoubtedly have been, after sustain
ing the Injury which befell him as he?
jumped from the box to the stage of the
theater on the night of the commission
of his awful crime.
It is well known that there wcre.
doubts expressed by many people hv.
Washington, In 1805, ns to whether or
not the assassin, Hooth, hnd renlly been,
killed. These doubts were often ex
pressed in public prints. When Rev..
Dr. Armstrong appeared in Richmond,,
all of those rumors were revived; audi
there was such a general dissemination,
of gossip and rumor that the preacher
found himself surrounded by mystery.
When an attempt was made to Investi
gate his antecedents, he gnvc no as
sistance. ,
It is known thnt he had n daughtcr
whom he trained in elocution, and sho
went upon the stage, after her father
had died. It is said that whatever tho
secret of his life may have been, before
he appeared in Richmond, he told it
to his child; for she often snld that sho
alone knew her father, and only her
could he trust.
Hut the mysterious priest of the
Monumental church has gone to his
grave; and there is no stone to mark
his last resting place. Just before ho.
left the ministry, lie had two photo
graphs taken; one for his daughter, the
other for the church. And there, In thnt
dark corner, in the shadows thnt sur
round it, as the shadows of mystery
surrounded his life, in the vestry room,,
the photograph shows the features of
John Wilkes Hooth. Whoever ho
was, poor fellow, his was an unhappy
life; his was a pathetic death.
SMITH D. KltTJ.
