Klondike.

Manawatu Herald, 30 July 1898, Page 3

Klondike.

The " Chronicle " has published an interesting letter dated 20th May from Lake Bennett from Mr Willie Beaven. eldest s<sn of the well-known Mr G, Beaven, of Wanganui, from which we take the following: — THE LAKE NAVY Boat timber, or lumber as it ia known by here, ia very scarce ; it is selling now lor twenty five cents per foot. There are tno saw mills working on Bennett, and hundreds of men are pit sawing their own timberThere are boat builders here by the hundred, or men who call themselves such. It 13 a strange sight to see the banks of the river and lake ; . they are a mass of tents, boats, and scows, for miles on end. The craf-? here, if manned, would prove a match for the British navy any day. There are also three small iron steamboats being built, which have been packed to here in pieces by mules ; they would be about the same size, if not a little larger than the Ohura. We brought all necess aries with us for boat building, and then made a purchase of one ready made on arrival here. The maker brought all his in with him from Siattle (Se-at-tel), built the boat, and then got disgusted with waiting for the river to open, and left her with some of his mates to sell. They asked us one hundred dollars for it, and we beat them down to twentyfive less than two hours after. We were offered another twenty-five on our bargain, but declined the offer. NEW ZEALANDERS AND MAORIS T >. Blair and W. Low are camped but a short distance from us, having arrived here about a week before wa did. They have three others in their party, amongst them being a doctor from the Wairarapa by the name of Hcdgskins. A full blooded Mao i and a half-caafce are camped within a few chains of us, and are expecting the arrival of two more of their race at any time. GAME. Game in the vicinity of Linderman and Bennett seems to be very scarce. Two of us were out with the rifles on Saturday, and after a long and tough tramp over the enow covered hilte, managed to get two brace of Ptarmigan ;, no larger game to our knowledge has been caught within nine ■ules of here On Sunday night wu this delicacy in the form of on Monday the pole rebird was stewed with a mass of bacon, dried ! ' vegetables and beans j £ a real bonne louche ■ ] good authority wo j j birds nro worth j i a pah' in London. They j I the size of a bush pigeon ; ' [ a solid mass of flesh, and j l^men on the wing have very much « lihe nppfaronce of a white pheasant. | They are often so tame that a good i ' stockman would have no difficulty in 1 .killing them with a whip. 1 [ (Concluded.) <