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FULL OF STEAMERS.
Twelve Thousand Klondikers Al
ready Gathered at Skaguay.
Aerial Trumwny Aci-ohh "White Vanm
Kuw 11 ii n Ml 11 tr Toll ltund Shixrkn
Kxuct Heavy Tribute from-
the Gold Seeker.
Special Skaguay Letter.
The great exodus from the United
States and Canada to the Yukon gold
Holds has begun. It Is believed that
by the middle of Juno fully 50,000
gold seekers will be on their way
to the Klondike country. Already peo
ple are arriving at Skaguay and Dyea
at the rate of 600 a day; and
the St. Michael's and Yukon river
transportation lines announce that
their facilities will be taxed to
the utmost as soon as naviga
tion opens. Conservative reports from
the Klondike districts are to the ef
fect that there are too many people
Ihero now, and that those physically
and intellectually unfitted to cope with
the hardships of pioneer life should
not venture their chances in the wild
scramble. But such words of caution,
although based on official investigations,
cannot stem the tide. Each individual
expects to make a fortune, although he
has grave doubts about the successful
outcome of his partner's plans. Self
ishness reigns supreme. The weak
ore pushed to the wall by the strong,
browbeaten and abused. There is no
community of interest, no cohesivc
nebs among the thousands thronging
the busy thoroughfares of Skaguay and
ito energetic rival Dyea. The domi
nant idea is to get over the passes to
the promised land.
Skaguay, which had no existence n
year ago, now is a booming town with
widcstreets.largcbulldingsand an elcc-
UT-'
LOOKING OVER THE DIVIDE FROM THE SUMMIT OP WHITE PASS.
trie light plant and a water works sys
tem already in process of construc
tion. It is a compact place, managed
on business principles. Dyea, the
younger rival, has about 250 buildings,
30 of which are hotels, 15 saloons and
10 gambling houses. Its resident pop
ulation is estimated at 3,000, and
there are usually 2,000 strangers bound
for the gold fields within its gates.
At Canyon City, nnother boom town,
mi electric plant has been installed to
furnish power for an aerial tramway
across the summit of the pass. The
people of Skaguay are building a toll
road leading from their town to Lake
Bennett and navigation. It will cost
at least $100,000, but as a two-cent-a-pound
toll is to be charged the pro
moters of the enterprise expect to have
their money back before the 1st of
August. Everything is done on a gi
gantic scale, and persons intending to
avail themselves of public improve
ments must be prepared to pay gigan
tic prices for the privilege. As a pro
moter of one of the many transporta
tion companies said: "We don't know
Iiow long this thing will last. It may
peter out after this season, and we
must have our money back, with big
profits, before September. Next year
we can make better terms, but this
year Well, God helps those who help
themselves."
Nobody is taking chances. The im
pression seems to prevail at all the
gateway towns that if A doesn't rob
the greenhorns, B will; and so, of
course, A does the robbing. The busi
ness men and promoters are making
the money. There's no doubt about
that. The embryo prospectors live
on hope, and many of them drop the
bulk of their possessions before they
cross the pass. There is no use to mor
alize about this state of affairs. It
is but a repetition of former mining
epidemics, and will be repeated when
ever new fields are discovered.
A great sensation has been started
nil along the Alaskan coast by the dis
covery of rich finds on the American
tslde of the Klondike district, below
American creek. Pay dirt, :he latest
reports say, is more easily divided and
shallower ' than across the line. A
$9,000 nugget, rumor adds, has been
found on Eldorado creek, and Hose
bud creek has yielded up precious dirt.
What the effect of these stories will
be cannot yet be foretold with cer
tainty, although hundreds who had in
tended to try their luck in British ter
ritory have announced an intention of
seeking their fortunes on American
soil. Sensations follow each other
thick and fast. One day it is said that
$40,000,000 will come out of Dawson
ns soon as the Yukon river opens, and
on the next that sum is reduced to
4,000,000. One thing which the new
arrivals do not like is that the return
ing argonauts bring nothing but btg
stories. Their gold, in almost every
instance, has been left at Dawson or
some other safe place. Speculators are
busy trying to negotiate sales of
"precious" claims at ridiculously low
prices. They do not find many vic
tims, however. Not because the new
comers arc not easy to work, but be
cause they expect to make discoveries
of their own far more valuable than
any yet recorded. What a mighty host
of kindred spirits Col. Sellers could
have found had he ventured the trip
to Skaguay and Dyea!
Last season there was very little
dredging done on the Yukon and its
tributaries. This year, however, scores
of companies will engage in this method
of mining. It is estimated here that
fully 100 dredging outfits will go up
the Yukon from St. Michael's, and an
other 60 will be employed on the large
creeks running through the gold dis
trict. Most of the dredging machines
are owned by stock companies, whose
promoters manage to sell their shares
In the eastern states. Each machine
most are propelled by bteam has a
crew of six men, and if but a tithe of
the expectations of these hardy mar
iners is realized, the owners of dredg
ing stock will roll In wealth before the
first of January next. But, you know,
there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and
the lip.
Most of the gold seekers will have
to secure the yellow stuff by cradling.
Mr. Josiuh Edward Spurr, in his not
able work on"ThcGeologyof the Yukon
Gold District." issued by the United
States geological survey, describes this
laborious process in detail. The cradle,
ho says, consists essentially of a long,
narrow box, an upper and a lower com
partment. The floor of the upper com
partment is preferably made of metal,
and is riddled with holes of convenient
size. Into this upper compartment the
gravels are shoveled, and the whole con
trivance is moved back and forth upon
the rockers on which it stands, und
from which it derives its nume. By this
shaking the gravel is sifted, the finer
material passes through the holes in
the lower compartment, while the
coarser stuff, which contains little or
no gold, passes out of the box as use
less rubbish, or "tailing," as it is tech
nically called. The floor of the lower
compartment is, in its simplest form,
an inclined plane, the surface of which
is roughened and corrugated in va
rious ways, such as by the use of cleats
or wooden "riffles," corrugated metal
sheeting or other devices. A favorite
method of obtaining this result among
the miners of Alaska Is by the use of
carpeting, of coarse, spongy weave,
such as cheap tapestry. Upon this
roughened surface the fine gold lodges,
while the lighter material is carried out
of the box by the btream of water. In
the collection of the fine gold which is
thus caught amalgamation with quick
silver Is usually resorted to.
In some bars there is considerable
concentration of gold, and when a creek
or river is sufficiently lowtheseaccumu
latlons ore worked by the miners; but
the comparatively small size of the de
posits, and the fact that they are ex
posed only an uncertain length of time
during low water, lead to the necessity
of using the simplest apparatus, and bo
the cradle is generally utilized. In
.some cases bar gravels are bluiccd in
the home way os gulch gravels, the
water being raised to the head of the
sluice in the buckets of an undershot
wuter wheel.
WILLIAM WALTKH WLLLS.
FARM AND GARDEN.
ABOUT BARN FRAMES.
Description of One Tlint In Hnld
to Pohncnm Annotate Simplicity
nnd Very Great Strength.
Inventions chango conditions. Once
Bny high barn wos a white elephant.
Next the harpoon fork running up to a
track under the roof-peak made height
an essential of the model barn. Then
came the invention of the hay-sling,
that final perfection in unloading of
hay. With the sling came the problem
of waste of power, of time, in hoisting
the draughts over the great beam or
"tie" that in all old barns connects
the tops of the posts at the upper ends.
Not only was there prodigious waste
of energy and timo in hoisting theie
great draughts of hay to the peak be
fore running in, but when it whs
dropped from the height, if at all green,
it might pack so solidly as to "mow
burn" at that place.
Next followed the "open center"
burn, and to-day there is no barn built
by up-to-date builders with a tie across
t a a a
OPEN CENTER BARN FRAME.
the center of it. The Shawver frame
has the open center; the joint frame
that I have invented has no tie and
there is no tie in the modern solid
timber, pln-and-mortise frame.
The cut illustrates perhaps the most
common and generally applicable sort
of framo possessing the advantages of
open center, simplicity and great
strength. I supposed that I had in
vented this frame, did, in fact, in
vent it, yet this winter 1 have seen
more than one barn built on exactly
the same model and built before our
barn was planned.
I have said that the modern barn Iibb
no tie across it. This is true, yet not
just an accurate way of stating the
facts. The barn must of course have
B tie to hold the thrust of the rafters,
else it would spread and the roof sag.
Really, the tie is at the level of the
mow floor, at T, Fig. 1. Prom here the
itrain is taken by the standing-brace,
B, to the short ties, C, C. With this
arrangement the building is quite as
solid as though the tics, C, C, were con
tinuous. Perhaps I should have stated that
the modern hay carrier has the faculty
Df gripping the rope at any desired
height and taking the load in whenever
It is high enough to clear the mow
I'.oor or height of hay in the mow. Thus
it is readily seen how convenient it is
not to have tho tie, C, cross the path
of the traveling draught of hay that
may perhaps be quite below its level.
When wo built our barn our carpen
ter was quite anxious for fear some
thing would give way and the thing
wreck itself. I had no fears, yet 1
watched it curiously when first we be
gan to lift the hay. Our barn takes
In hay at the end, from outside, so
that it is not tied together abovo at
this end. We often hauled up as much
IB 1,000 pounds of hay at a draught and
pot the least fraction of an inch of
fclving was anywhere noted, although
I watched it very closelj-. It amuses
tne, however, to see how anxiously
some old gentlemen even yet advise
that I spike on some plank for collar
beams, for fear that It may "spread."
Joseph IS. Wing, in Ohio Farmer.
The lAtts of Pencil TrecM.
It is an almost universal complaint
that peach trees do not last as long ah
they used to do. We do not believe that
thlB Is on account of the weather, be
cause late winters certainly have not
been so destructive as many that oc
curred 30 to 40 years ago. The increase
of borers and of fungous diseases, in
which we include the yellows, are, we
think, mainly responsible for the
change. By keeping borers out and
dressing heavily with potash manures
peach trees moy be made much longer
lived than they used to be. One of the
secrets of the longevity of the old-time
peach tree was that they were never
severely pruned, and never produced
heavy crops. The old-time 30-year-old
peach trees had a tall trunk, with very
little top. American Cultivator.
IIornlcNM Ccmvm Are Ilcwt.
My experience in the past 10 years,
In herds of both horned and dehorned
cattle, both milk cows and fattening
cattle, leads me to the opinion that
horns are a great source of trouble and
expense to the herdsman, says a writer
In the Jersey Bulletin. I have found
that cattle that were of a quarrelsome
disposition before the operation were
rendered as , docile as lambs by being
dehorned; and in cases of milk cows,
their product was materially increased
from the fact that they attend strictly
to business instead of chasing their
mates around the yard or pasture.
FACTS FROM INDIANA.
They Furn lh n Solution of the ItonU
Improvement UncntUm from n
Money Ktniulnoliit.
In a recent paper Prof. W. C. Lattu
tots forth the results of investigations
which he has mado in Indiana. lie
sent out a largo number of letters to
farmers in different counties, and from
the replies received he gathers tho fol
lowing facts:
First. Tho avcrago estimated in
crease in the selling price of land due
to existing improved highways is $0.43
per acre. The estimates from which
the average is made refer in most cases
to lands near tho improved roads; but
In a few instances they apply to all
lands of the county. The nvcrago in
crease, therefore, of $0.48 per aero is
lower than was intended for lands in
the vicinity of tho improved roads.
Second. Tho estimated average in
crease per acre that would result from
improving all the public roads is nine
dollars.
Third. The estimated average cost of
converting the common public roads
into improved highways Is $1,140 per
mile.
Fourth. The estimated average an
nual loss, per 100 acres, from poor roads
Is $70.28.
He says that if these htatcments are
even approximately correct that they
furnish a key to the satisfactory solu
tion of the question of highway Im
provement from the money standpoint.
On the basis of the last mentioned esti
mate the avcrago annual loss per aero
from poor roads is over 70 cents. In
live years the losses would aggregato
$2,432 for every section of land, and
this sum would construct two miles nt
a cost of $1,210 per mile, which is $70
per mile above the estimated cost given
by the farmers themselves. The pres
ent road tax which, under existing
laws, is largely thrown away, would,
under a proper system of road mainte
nance, doubtless keep improved high
ways in perfect repair.
Tho advantages to bo gained he con
cisely says arc that good roads (1)
economize time and force in trans
portation between farm and market;
(2) .enable the farmer to take advan
tage of market fluctuations in buying
and selling; (3) permit transportation
of farm products and purchased com
modities during times of comparative
leisure; (4) reduce tho wear and tear
on horses, harness and vehicles; (5)
enhance the market value of rcul es
tate. NEW JERSEY ESTIMATE.
Coat of lluulnitc Deimiiiatrutrn the
Advniitiiffca of Good lloml Sur
face mid IilKht Grade.
The annual rennrt of tlm Rintn mart
commissioner of New Jersey makes tho '
following statement of the cost of haul
age on various roads, ami shows very
concisely where the advantages of good
surface and light grades come In. Ho
says:
"It costs dys cents a bushel to ship
wheat from Chicago to New York, a
distance of 1)00 miles; it costs three I
cents a bushel to haul wheat on a level
road a distance of live miles, and on
sandy road it would cost nine cents
per mile to haul it. The saving on n
bushel of wheat with good roads for a
distance of Ave miles would be equiva
lent to that of 000 miles of transporta
tion by steamer or canal bout, or 373 i
miles by railroad. One. mile of good
roads would make a saving equal to 75
miles of railroad transportation. Thus
every mile of good roads places the
producer 75 miles by rail nearer to the
markets. It is estimated that the cost
of hauling 500,000,000 tons of farm prod
uce to market is $2 per ton, or just
about $1,000,000,000; It Is also estimated
that about CO per cent, of this last
amount, or $000,000,000, would be saved
each year if farmers were able to do J
this hauling over good roadB."
FRUITS AND FLOWERS.
Don't neglect to grow petunias.
Handle fruit as if you were bundling
eggs.
It Is the early sprayer that catches
the worm.
The Bartlett pear beats the world In
popularity.
Akebia quinata is a hardy, pretty vine
for the porch.
The Norway and Migar maples are
desirable trees.
Pear growers say that clay soil is tho
best for the pear.
Cut out all the limbs from the pear
tree that show blight.
Evergreens are hardy, pretty and
make line wind breaks,
A bed of tulips is a gorgeous sight,
having all the colors of the rainbow.
If the tree peddler comes from a rep
utable nursery you can afford to listen
to him.
Trim up the old orchnrd and give tho
old tree a banquet of potash spread on
the ground.
Send for what you want to any rep
utable nursery and you will get what
you order.
There is no difference between
budded and grafted apple trees os to
superiority.
It is cheapor to buy fruit trees und
plants than to buy fruit a good deal
cheaper. Western I'lowwnu.
VILLAGE WITH A HISTORY.
Tho Prominent l'nrt Fountain Cltyi.
Ind., Vlaycd In AIjoIIhIiIrb
Slavery.
Nino miles north of Itlchmond tkezt
stands tho unpretentious vlllugo oz
Fountain City, with its population of 40a
or 600 people, most of whom are Quak-l
ers or direct descendants of Quakcr&J
In these days Fountain City is scarcely
ever heard of outside tho borders olj
Wayne county; but n half century or
more ago, when the anti-slavery move
ment was sweeping through the north,
tho little settlement was known tho
country over. The town has u hlstoryj
iinlikonnyothercity or town In Indiana,
It was the central station of what watt
known as tho "Underground rnilwuy,"
and the house still stands that sheltered'
hundreds of fugitive slaves who were
en route to Canada. Fountain City wok
originally called Newport, and it wn
laid out by Quakers about 182l). Thia
religious sect began the untl-sluvory
work In Indiana, and the Newport set
tlement was the first to bring about
means to assist in carrying on tho un
derground railway. Anti-slavery work,
wos carried on in Becret for several:
years, but finally the Quakers became
bold, and the subject was discussed inu
the churches and in public meetings
As early as 1830 there were two news
papers published in Newport, both ad
vocating the abolition movement, mid'
they had considerable strength. Levi
Collin, president of the Underground
railway and one of the grentest abo
litionists of his time, wns one of tho
residents of the town. Ilia fame spread
far and wide, and his deeds arc a por
tion of the slavery history of Americn.
Early in life he becamo convinced oJT
the sinfulness of slavery, and this con
viction grew with every year of his life.
In 1820 the fugitive slaves began to ar
rive at the homo of Levi Collin, which
then and now stands upon the main,
street of the village. Benjamin Strnt-
tan, Dr. Henry Way, Benjamin ThomtiK,
Samuel Charles and other prominent
Friends became identified with the
work, and not a day passed In whicl
slaves were not brought into the tovjir
given food and shelter and assisted on
their journey toward tho north. Tho
burden of the expense was borno chief
ly by Levi Collin, who fortunately wnw
wealthy. Three lines of the "railroad
converged in the town one from Cin
cinnati, one from Madison and the oth
er from Jeffcrsonvlllc. For 20 year,
this work went on, and in 1847 Levi CotV
iln went to Cincinnati and there con-
tinned the work of assisting the fugfrf
tive slaves. In 1804 he went to Eng4
land as agent for the Western Frccd-j-men's
Aid soeiety and aroused th
greatest interest in the work and stie
ceeded in getting from prominent men
of that country substantial contribu
tions. In 1S7C lie published n voluin
of 700 pages relative to tho anti-slavcrjr
work carried on by him and his assocK
ntes. He died at Avondalc, near Cln
cinnati, in 1877.
Newport, or Fountain City, Is stilf
much as it used to be in appearance. It
people arc quiet and law-abiding nndS
noted for their extreme hospitality
Many of the historic landmarks stand
ns they did 00 years ago, and the homer
of Levi Collin will never be torn uwny
Cincinnati Enquirer.
An ICttwy One.
"Tell me," sntd Snaggs to SpiiTlnK, am
they met on the street, "how you enn
judge whether n man has wheels in hi
head."
"If that is a conundrum I'll give it
up," replied Spifllns. "What is the an
swer?" "By the spokes tliut comes out of liittt
mouth."
"Good enough! I'll try that on my
wife."
When Spiflius reached home he snidr
"My dear, I heard a good conundrum
to-day. How can you tell whether a
man has wheels in his head?"
"That's easy," replied Mrs. Spifllns.
"He has wheels in his head if he talk.
und acts like you."
This wob not tho right answer, lrufc
Spiflius said never n Avord in reply..
Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph.
1'roicreNM of Jnunn'M MfiMHCN.
A newspaper printed in the interests
of worklugmcn has been established Ins
Japan. It nhim to advance the rate of
wages and advocates as a means to thntt
end the establishment of labor unions.
The danger apprehended by other man
ufacturing nations that cheap labor 5n
Japan would give the producers an over
whelming advantage is not likely to
prove seriously menacing. As new de
mand shall be created for labor in
Japan wages will commensurntcly ad
vance. The Indications are that thnfc
swiftly progressive nation is making
an advance along the lines'of civills-Ji-tion
which involves the whole body of
the people. There is a general lifting
up of the mass, which is one of the most
remarkable occurrences of the present
century. Philadelphia Record.
Didn't Think It Neccitnry.
"George, dear," said the young wife;,
with a deep-drawn sigh, "why is it you
never talk sweet nonsense and flatter
me like you did before our marriage?
"Oh, then it was purely a matter of"
business," replied George. "My em
ployer always told me it wos a waste of
time to praise the goods after the sale
had been made." Chicago Evcnivg-Newa.