Another tale not quite so pathetic is that of Mike McCarty, of San Francisco. He bought a claim and paid all the money he for it. When he went to have the lease recorded he was told that it was not legal, that the property was not his, but still belonged to the Queen. “Damn the Quane,” said Mike, “I bought it and paid me money for it. The Quane has nothing to do with it at all.” Then he was informed that some one had sold the claim to him under[130] false and besides losing it he would get three months’ for insulting the Queen. “Faith and how could I insult the Quane when I niver see her?” Mike. “All right,” said the , “you go up for three months and the claim still belongs to the Queen.” “Damn the Quane,” said Mike, as he was taken away to his cell. Mr. McCarty is on his way home, a , penniless, but a wiser man.
These miners are bringing down a great deal of gold. One man who has made sixty-five thousand dollars in mining is taking two children to Seattle to be educated.
One lady has her stuffed with paper money, another her dress skirt interlined with five and ten dollar bills.
Gold may be converted into paper money in Dawson City at the rate of fifteen dollars per ounce. Its actual value runs from sixteen to eighteen dollars per ounce.
Living is quite high at Dawson, owing to the long distance over which freight must be carried. Coal oil sells at seven dollars for a five-gallon can, bread at fifty cents a loaf, beefsteak at two dollars a pound, candles at one dollar each. This is an item in household expenses, as during the winter months it is only[131] from eleven o’clock in the morning to two o’clock in the afternoon. Candles are used for lights in the mines.
There is plenty of gold in Alaska, but one must go equipped to withstand the winters and prepared to work his claim properly. Mining in Colorado and California is not mining in the Klondike. For various reasons mining in the Klondike is much more expensive than in either of the other places. The British mounted police are very , so that miners lose but little by thieving.
We arrived at Juneau at eleven o’clock at night. The sun having just set it was still daylight. Nearly the entire population was at the , eager to learn the news of the outside world. We repaired to the opera house, where we attended an impromptu political meeting. The mayor presided and Judge Delany, judge of Alaska under Cleveland, set in a forcible manner the needs of Alaska. The speaker said that this rapidly growing child seemed to be somewhat neglected by legislators, mainly because Congress does not know her needs. “First of all,” said he, “we want the boundary line settled. We want every foot of land called for in our treaty with Russia in 1867. Until[132] the discovery of gold in the Klondike England had never questioned her treaty made with Russia in 1825. But when gold is discovered up comes England and plants her flags on our territory. Our government sent out troops and forced them back to the original line. Now let Congress settle it once for all. It with business and until this question is settled we don’t know where we are ‘at.’ Next we want better school facilities. In Juneau we have two hundred and forty children of school age and room for only forty. This state of things exists all over Alaska. If Congress will give us half as much attention as is on the seal we promise to ask no more. We want some sort of government. We have no government and are not represented in Congress. Next we want more judges and more courts, instead of one judge and one district as now. We think that Alaska should be divided into three districts.”
Congressmen Warner, Dazill, Payne and replied in short speeches and the meeting just at dawn, one o’clock. The opera house is lighted with electric lights and heated with a furnace. It has a
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