THE KLONDYKE GOLDFIELDS. (Sydney Morning Herald Correspondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2300, 31 March 1898, Page 18

THE KLONDYKE GOLDFIELDS. (Sydney Morning Herald Correspondent.)

Victoria (British Columbia), February 12. The rush to the- gilded KSondjke is now on in earnest, ami every steamer bound to the gateway cities from which tha divers trails leading to the Mecca of ths treasuro-seekers »tart is crowded to its usmo&b capacity. Yesterday the steamer City of Seattle aad the *teatnei" Cleveland sailed, carrying another 900 would-be gold-getters and over : 1200 tons of freight. To-morrow the steamer City of Topeka will guil bearing another 4UO northward, and ou rhe day following the steamer I dander will go to Alaska with 450 prospectors, 350 tons of supplies, | 425 dogs, and 75 horse?. Victoria, from I whence the majority of the argonauts comI mence their lomg and arduous journey, is I now a very busy town, and the merchants l are doing more thaa ever they did, even in | their palmiest days. The f csaes which wera \ to be witnßfeged on her streets during the | dayu of the Cariboo, Ci3Biar, and Fra%er River excitements are very small as comj pared with the present crezs — for- it is a craze. i People for the tirna being have seemingly | lost their rsason, and can talk or discuss I nothing save tho gold land?. All other &übi jsctg are tabooed. Merchants, eS'psciaily those engaged in the outfitting trade, have duriog the las& two moaths taken in more money daily than they have in a month ia bygone years. About two weeks ago one of the liners conveying passengers to Alaska, the Corona, was wrecked, ami her 354 passengers lost all their outfHs, dogs, and in fact everything save the clothicg on their bnckn. The acGident occurred at 930 Sunday morning, January 23. The mornicg gong had sounded to waken the passengers- for breakfast. About 100 of them had already risen. Captain C. H Pierce and Pilot H. E. Caufman were on the bridge. Ifc was Caufman's first trip as pilot. The day was light enough to see the shore on all sides. Suddenly, when the ship was going at full speed, without warning, a terrible shock occurrec, followed by a grinding succession of lesser shocks; Instantly it was realised that the ship had struck a rock, and a scene of great confusion followed. The wheel' was reversed, buA the ship settled on the rocks. The &ea was calm. Captain Pierce ordered ths boats to be lowered. The women were taken ashore first. By 10 o'clock the passengers wera all landed. The stock and some of the baggage and provisions were then taken ashore. Tbe passengers remained on the islaad until Thursday, patisatly waiting for a passing steamer to take them away from a place of great personal discomfort. On TLmrsday the steamer Al-Ki arrived, and 300 castaways boarded her, about 100 remaining on the island in the hope of catching a north-bound vessel. As thousands will in & few months join those who have already begun their rush to I the goldfields of the Yukon, it is wall that they should become acquainted with the | country to which they are directing eyes of i hope and impatient fest. Your correspen- . dent has therefore interviewed a number of those who have recently returned from the gold land as to its climate, laws, and the administration thereof, so chat those who go Klondykfcward may know in advance the conditionsto which they mast defer. In the Epricg and summer the climate is wet. The rainfalllast summer was very heavy. Although there is sunshine almost continually — it often shines when rain is falling heavily—evaporation is very slow, as the thick moss will not conduct the heat. The ground is ia consequence swampy, and. there is a dampness on everything. It is only after several years of draining that the ground will become sufficiently dry to nllow the frost to go ont in the spring and fall, and then only for a fevrfeer. Duiiog the winter the cold is intense, with usually considerable wind. These winds, which tire like the breath of the frost king himself, solidify the garments of the ; miner and almost chill the marrow in !Ms bones. A heavy misfc usually arises [ from, the open places of the river and settles dowo ja fcUe valley tlariirg the calm- extreme'

weather. This dampness causes the cold to be felt more, acd is conducive to rheumatic painp, colds, &c. Miners are veryprone to sickness, bub they oft become indolent acd careless, and, neglecting the laws of nature, pay the penalty. One especially noticeable cause* of sickness in the far north ia the closeness of the cabins. The regulation miner's cabin is but- 12ffc by 14ft. wiih walls 6ft and gables Bft in height, and as^thereare often as many xv four men hvicg in a small cabin like tins, mtb no vensila'.ser. to speak of, it is foisf to see fchafc thay i^sMfc fall victims to diasast. Th*n; *giio, "shovelling" irr the summer rime tfcey?;crk hard and long, sparing but little tirnefor eating and less for cookirg. They -eat-but those foods which- are readily cooked s>nd prepared. This manner of living, which is quite common among the beginners, often leads to debilily and sometimes to scurvy. The- diseases chiefly met with in this country are dyspepsia, arstemia, scurvy (caused bynrnpro--perly cooked food, sameness- of' diet, over> work, wane of fresh vegetables; over-heated and badly- ventilated: cabin?, &c), rheumatism, bronchitis, enteritis, cystitis and other 1 acute diseases, from exposure- to- wet and cold ; •debility and chronic diseases, due- 16 excesses; Lust" sum mer- many graves- were fi lad by typhoid fever victims. S:> much for the laws of Gad; tb&l'aws of man are also to be considered. Unlike thß mining camps of California, when- every man was a law unto himself, the camps 'of the Ktondyke region *»re as peaceable and" as law-abiding as any city, town, or* village over which flies the British 1 flagi and'wfa'oh is controlled by the honest, just; and 1 upright laws of the Qa^en. The representative of tbo Government in ths Klondike is Maj;-r Walsh, the admißJstratcr of the Yukon mißing district. I>w and justice are meted out' there by Me Justice E. P. M Guire, who has recently been appointed to sic on the' bench' a* D^wson and punish the guilty who may happen to be brought before him. Those who 1 -.ill act ss guardians of the peace *re the Northwest Mounted Pol'ca — a strong, healthy; and reliable body of men, alreadynot unknown to ? ame. Under luepsctor Constantino- a large detachment is statioaecT in theK^endyke, if/a headquarters- beiDg at Fort Consitaotine, an imposing log structure s-ur- ~ rounded by a high stockade Dstachnie* <3 are also stationed at points on the roai^s into the mines from the coast. Li, the junction of the Hootalinqua, or, as the miners usually abbreviate it, the " Hoot v " and the Lewis a number are situate- ; another detachment is located sfc WM t »j Horse Rapids, another afc Tagash Leko, atd another si; Lake Bennett. eceify that the criminal laws- are obeyed, fcb<?u« officers look after the customs laws and assist ia the coHfc^oa o£ duties, for ok. sil goods bought in the Uoited States a duty is imposed a3 thty cros3 into Canadian: territory at T3gteh Lake Gr at Fore Cudahr. T'aosn at the Wbice Ht^rse Eapids have- ako j added to s:heir service* 1 he- salvation of Ufa. f They faava dragged mauy victims, from the t clutches of the angry rapids. The records show that the work o£ the North-west; Moxmtftd Police and their officers has v been most effective, for- the crimes which have occurred ar. Dawson or anywhere else in' the Canadian Yukon' have been extremely few j for miners, ao matter what natiouality, hs-ve a wholesome regard for th« law 3 as-ar?minis-tered by the Canadian authorif.ips. Whether it is the fear of retribution, for in; Canada punishTnent follows fisctiy after^ crime, or the prevention of the police, tb a writeris 'not, able to say, bur, the fact; is wall* established that the "laws of men are- rarely broken in the goldfielda. There may be some | little fquabbles over claims and- other i matters, hut these are readily settled by the administrator, the inspector, and his assistants. Dawpqn is verily as law-abiding as a city of- thß Quaker State, atid as for carrying revolvers ; and bows« knives ao man ever'thinks of doirg so, for who would carry around luprgusro nejDscessarily 1 They are- not needed. 'Ebktn at its nest, however, tha life of the goldfielc:^ is a wearing one, as the looks- of any oictimer will testify. No man should go to the Klondrke unless he is sober, strot>g.-and ' healthy. He sbonid be a practical man" with sound lungs and frea from rbeHmatisnrfind rheumatic tendency, and- able to- quiefrjy , adapt himself 'to his surrounding Heshecici be of a cheerful, hopeful'disposition, aod-a. willing worker, for those who. are" of gul-len, morose natures sre very apt. as soon . as<" ifie novelty wears off to become dissatisfied, pessimistic, and victims of-mfl&ncholia 1 .