ADVENTUROUS DAYS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 622, 29 August 1933, Page 7

ADVENTUROUS DAYS

the quest of gold STORY OF FORTUNES WON AND LOST IN KLONDIKE RUSH. YORKSHIRE SOCIETY ADDRESS. An address on his experiences in Klondike in the great days of 1898- ' 90 was given by Mr. J. M. Murray at a meeting of the Yorkshire Society at Wellington. The title of the address was "A Tyke in Klondike." The president of the society (Mr. Karl Atkinson) was in the chair. Mr Murray skimmed the preliminary voyaging across the Atlantic and Canada and took his hearers with him to the Island of St. Michael in Norton Sound which was the base from which passengers transhipped to sternwheeled flat-bottom s'teamers for the 1800-mile trip up the Yukon River to Dawson City. The party, consisting of Mr. Murray, sen., and his two sonSj chose the all-water route after seeing the wrecks of humanity who came back after attempting the overland route either across the Chilcoot Pass or the Lake Teslin route. The loss of life on these routes was very heavy, although many thousands made their entry that way and floated down from the head of the river at Lake Bennett to Dawson. At the time Mr. Murray was there, it was estimated that a.t least 15,000 men, mostly entirely "broke," constituted the floating population of Dawson. The fea'ture of gold mining in the Klondike was that whether conducted in summer 01* winter, it was necessary first to thaw the ground by building huge fires, which burned all night. Then the ashes were raked aside and the thawed dirt removed, usually to a depth of 12 to 15 inches, rarely more. Then the process had to be repeated. In some cases holes exceeding 90 feet were sunk in this way before "pay-dirt" was reached, and at that depth the frost still held, and the surface would turn the point of the best pick ever made. Yet when it was thawed, the ground was actually gravelly soil. On most creeks shafts ran from 15 to 30 feet deep, and on bench claims (on the hill sides) tunnels would be driven in from a cutting along the line of pay-dirt. But, of course, four or five feet of useless rubble had to be taken out to reach the pay. This tremendous consumption of ivood cleared the surrounding country of trees, and the party had to g 0 as much as two miles back, stand up to their waists in snow, fell trees, cut them into lengths and haul them back to the mine on rough sleds. During seven months of winter, which commenced in October, the temperatures registered from 9 to 77 degrees of frost. That winter was a mild one, and Government records told of 81 and 87 degrees of frost during January and February. Yet in the summer the thermometer rose to 122 with 90 in the shade, and perpetual daylight during June and July. High Cost of Food. The diet was principally porridga, beans and bacon, some dried fruit and vegetables, and bread made with yeast cakes. The following were some of the prices, indicating cost of the items landed on the claim: Flour Is 5d, salt ls 3d, bacon ls lld, and oatmeal ls per lb. Condensed milk at the stores was 5s per can, candles 5s each, sugar 2s 6d per lb, water for drinking 40 cents (ls 8d) a gallon. Fresh milk from the one cow at that time in Dawson, 2s per 2oz drink, whilst a genius who raised some radishes sold them at 4s a dozen. \The cost of living, indeed, made a goldmine indispensable. Some fabulous fortunes were made. On No. 17 E1 Dorado a single day's wash-up produced £6000, and the claim changed hands at £60,000. The sum of £12,000 in ten days was another remarkable wash-up. One miner set off to Dawson with 15001b weight of dust on pack horses, but got drunk at a saloon on the way, and his pack train with gold valued at £300,000 went on without him to Dawson 18 miles away, where the bullion was duly deposited with the bank. Strange stories were told of men who, under the influence of liquor, were induced to pay a few hundred dollars for claims at that time believed to be worthless, and who, "broke" and in despair, prospee'ted the properties which brought them big fortunes. On the claim owned and worked by the speiaker's party the biggest day's "rocking" produced £18, and they never had less than £2 10s ; they ran mostly £8 to £10 for the day's "rock," while the washing-up lasted. The method of work was to dig out the pay-dirt in winter and dump it on the claim, whejre (it immediately froze solid, then in the spring the dump was washed-up, so that the spring represented winter and summer work combined. Government's Toll. Despite the fact that the Government reserved every alternate claim, ,or block of ten claims, and took 10 per cent. royalty on all taken out and 20 per cent. if over £100 a week, nothing was done to make deeent roads, and the trails to and from the diggings were hills and swamps in summer and switchback sled roads in winter. Haulage was by man-drawn sleds, and freight was roughly, .one cent. per lb per mile on everything. The prospectors "packed" their grub and kit on their backs, the stronger amongst them covering many miles with a 1001b pack in a day. The main street of Dawson City was a bog of sawdust dnd rnud with rough lumber thrown down' to make a causeway. Saloons and dance halls flourished. In spring, before the river opened up, there was a big fire in Dawson, and they ran the fire engine out on the ice to get water-— only when they got the engine -working the vibration sent the whole outfit through the ice into the river. • Of the many thousands who flocked to the diggings some few made tre- , mendous fortunes, some made handsome piles, a fair number made it a good paying proposition, but thousands. -lost all they had in the world and often life itself in the pursuit of Klondike gold.