CHAPTER VI.

Women at the Mines.

Schemes for Obtaining Wealth-Mrs. Gage and Mrs. Schwatka in the Frozen North-The Mosquito Pest-Juneau and the Lynn Canal-Climbing the Mountains-Difficulties of Mining-Scarcity of Game-The Scurvy Terror-Morals of Klondike Mining Camps-Female EnterpriseScarcity of Amusements-Sisterhood of St. Anne-The Four-leaf Clover -Bridal Trip to Klondike-Romance of Joseph Ladue-Women's Klondike Syndicate-A Lucky Seamstress.

THE

HE gold mines on the Klondike are not without their romance, and by this is meant, not the romance of speculation and adventure, but the romance of real life in which the gentle sex figure. The poet Compbell, years ago

wrote the couplet :

"The world was sad; the garden was a wild:

And man, the hermit, sigh'd-till woman smiled."

Some Klondike Campbell sighed, and women all over the United States smiled. At least they were among the first to catch the gold fever and brave the dangers and the hardships of the Alaskan wilds.

What is more, they contracted the craze just as badly as the men, and many of their enterprises and their hobbies were no whit less out-of-the-way and outlandish than those of their brethren. From Maine to California women of enterprise and courage, many of them of education and gentle birth, flocked to the North in the wild rush to secure wealth by a lucky stroke.

Women who had never known hardship in any form, did not hesitate to leave comfortable homes and brave the unknown. From the very outset the officers of the great transportation companies received a numerous mail from the women of the

country, making inquiries as to the outfits necessary for them and the cost of transportation, and what they would likely have to undergo in carrying out their projects to penetrate to the interior of the gold region.

Women with Great Schemes.

Many of these women came with schemes by which they hoped to attain wealth, not by mining and prospecting, but by catering to some real or fancied needs of the miners. Others again expressed their determination to become prospectors and bona fide miners. Not a few did not hesitate to admit that they were going to the unknown country in hopes of meeting some miner who had made a happy hit and amassed a fortune, whom they might captivate by their charms and thus secure at once both husband and opulence.

Conspicuous among these women who lent the charm of their presence to camp life were several women of note, who, actuated by different motives than the great mass, made the long, perilous journey over the snow-clad plains and mountains, and up the dangerous rivers as far as Dawson City, Circle City and Klondike. Some of these had had previous experience of Alaskan summers and winters, and knew what it was to live in moonless nights and sunless days. Several of them left their homes with the avowed determination of wintering in the fastnesses of the North.

Among these women conspicuous for their social position may be mentioned Mrs. Eli Gage, wife of the son of Secretary Gage of the United States Treasury. Mrs. Schwatka, wife of Licutenant Schwatka, the well-known explorer, and Miss Anna Fulcomer, who first went to Circle City, under the auspices of the United States Government, to teach the Indians and gather facts for the Smithsonian Institution. A word from such women will

be deemed welcome to those members of the sex who may have it in mind to brave the perils of the North.

Mrs. Eli Gage came from St. Michael's on the ship which brought the Klondike argonauts back to civilization. Her husband, who is prominently connected with the North American Company, is the man who traveled 1500 miles overland last winter and brought out of the centre of Alaska the first reliable news of the wonderful strike in the Klondike region. He is a stockholder in many valuable claims in that vicinity.

Mrs. Gage returned in August to the far Nortwest to join her husband, with whom she will spend the winter at Dawson City. She was accompanied by W. W. Weare, second vice-president of the North American Transportation and Trading Company, and several friends of herself and her family were in the party.

They "went in" by way of Juneau and the Chilkoot Pass, the brave young wife making light of the perils incident to the 800-mile journey over the icy mountains and in an open boat in Arctic weather, to join her husband at the Klondike capital.

Voyage in a Yacht.

A specially constructed yacht was built for the party in Toronto, planned and fitted out expressly for the various exigencies of the voyage from Lake Linderman to Dawson. It was shipped in sections to Dyea, and thence was "carried" over Chilkoot Pass and put together on the shores of Lake Linderman, whence the long water voyage began. It was provided with many comforts and even luxuries to make the journey as little like the rough, hard experiences of rafting or canoeing as possible, and still was far from being suggestive of the winter luxury of the elegantly appointed home in Chicago which Mrs. Gage abandoned to share with her pioneer husband the rigors of a close season in the polar climate of Dawson City.

But her home on Evanston Avenue was, in her mind, at least, the most unimportant of the many things Mrs. Gage left behind her in Chicago when she started on the year-long trip into the northern wilderness. Her fifteen-months' old baby was thought too young to undertake the hard, hazardous journey, and was left with friends while the young mother hastened off to the Klondike to be once more with her husband. When she sees her darling again the baby lips will have learned the use of speech to welcome her, and the tiny fect will know how to fly to greet her coming.

Tells of the Gold.

In speaking of her trip down on the Portland in July, Mrs. Gage said:

"It is almost impossible to tell how much money the Portland brought into the States. The boat was filled with returning miners and prospectors, and the smallest deposit in the ship's safe was $15,000 in dust and nuggets. There were many others -so many that the captain's room was like the treasure store of a king. It was literally filled with gold in all forms, and while I sat in the midst of the wealth it occured to me that the old trade of buccaneering had missed a rare chance in not waiting by the sea road for this load of gold.

Mrs. Gage says there is a wonderful quantity of gold in the Yukon field and any man who has $500 for "grub-staking" a claim need have no fear in going to the Klondike region in hopes of a rich harvest, for he is sure of gaining it.

Even though a man go poorly equipped and supplied, he rarely receives poor treatment from the hands of his neighbors, and may find plenty of work to do which will enable him to earn from $15 to $17 per day.

Mrs. Gage speaks well of the people who make up the population, dwelling on the fact that they are a class who may be

trusted, and that they form a desirable community. The valley of the Yukon is not populated with such men as constitute a large part of western mining camps.

One thing Mrs. Gage particularly emphasizes. It is that there is absolutely no truth in the report of famine. It has been said that starvation would overtake many who went to Alaska this` fall, but Mrs. Gage is firm in her belief that enough supplies are being taken from Scattle and San Francisco by the two trading companies in Alaska.

"Those in charge of the business of these concerns," she said, "are making ample preparations for the coming winter. They fear no famine, and the individual miners are taking advice and are already supplying themselves with necessities. There is gold enough in Alaska for everyone."

Reverting again to the marvelous golden treasures of Alaska, Mrs. Gage said with enthusiasm :

"Four great Alaskan miners came down with us, and a more than interesting sight was to go down into the great safe on the ship and see the bags of gold dust. There have been There have been many fortunes found in Alaska, yet there is gold enough to satisfy every

onc.

"Mr. Gage is at Dawson and will not return until spring. He is constantly busy and likes the life. Since my arrival in Seattle I heard that a man whom he had 'grub-staked' has dug up gold worth $35,000 in three months on a small claim. If a man goes out there without money he can very soon earn it, for wages paid, even for common labor, in all the region range from $15 to $17 per day."

No Fear of the Trip.

Just before leaving Chicago for Dawson City, Mrs. Gage said : My husband and I were separated over a year, and he spent the time in a log cabin at Circle City while I lived in Chicago.