The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 20, 1898, Page 25

THE SAN FRANCISCUO cvaLL, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1898. 26 HELPED HER HUSBAND FIND A FORTUNE IN THE GOLD FIELDS. HAdventures of a Plucky Oakland Woman Who Started for HAlaska, and by é Lucky HAccident Stumbled on Rich Diggings on the Way. OCTOR and Mrs. W. A. Turner of Oakland have just returned from a sum s outing in the newly exploited and suddenly gold fields of the Atlin British Columbi: famo d Lak . by the name of overed, six years excellent pros this.regl - kept his d a secret, and it was only the instrumentality of the nd their small but adventur- ers, who made p from Bennett to Atlin in June that the truth became known con- cerning the rich auriferous deposi along the many creeks in this particu- lar section. The Turner party found, on June 11, nly three men—Fred Miller, brother of the original discoverer, and two help- ers—working - on the banks of Pine Creek, in the midst of a silent wilder- ness, but by the middle of August over 5000 people fourfd their way th 1 all of them giving promise of ns. ner. a slende: 1y 1 who an all the long and to this r El Dc n active and us expedition, not as e baggage, and her hope- ailing pa d amiability under the most t umstances won her popularity deserved as it was genuine. The only woman in the party of nine that, deserting the beaten track that led to Dawson and beyond, built boats and rowed down the lakes and rivers to the unknown country beyond Lake Atlin, and fsr weeks the only woman on the busy mining camp which wa n flourishing on the banks of Pine Creek, Mrs. Turner saw life from an unusual standpoint. She was called “‘the Queen of Atlin” by the rough but respectful crowds of men who flocked into the ‘‘new dig- gings” and found this solitary young weman installed in her husband’s tent. No Queen of royal blood could meet with more deference and consideration from her most loyal subjects than did rado. as [OROJO] ICRONOXO CAC, [CRORORC CXOJ OF MA (OFO) and WOMEN OF NOTE #~—HE most magnificent and costly pearl necklace in the world is said to be owed by the Countess Heckel, a lady well known In Paris society. It is composed of three historical necklaces, each of w attracted attention in its day. One them, valued at 12,000 pounds, was s0ld to the Countess by a Spanish grandee, and is known as the ‘“neck- lace of the Virgin of Atokha.” The sec- nd was once the property of the ex- Cueen of Naples, sister of the late Em- press of Austria. The third was the famous necklace worn by the Empress Eugenie on state occasions and sold not very long ago to a firm of London jewelers for 20,000 pounds. Y Colonel Henry, the French officer who | killed himself when the fact that he was a forger was discovered, was the third member of the family within twenty-seven years who died a .trag- ical death. The first had the misnomer of “Fortunate Henry.” He was a mem- ber of the commune and a colonel un- der it in 1871. His son was Enfile Hen- ry, who dynamited the police station of the Rue des Bon Enfants and the| cafe terminus in 1594 Leo XIII is an ardent lover of chess. He has been a constant player for over thirty years, and his skill in the game is anything but mediocre. this scepterless young wife, who ruled those around her by the simple power of pure womanhoo The story of her xperiences on the “from Oak- 1d in March with a party of fifteen and a two years’ outfit, intending to go straight to the Klondike, but nothing happened as we expected. For various reasons our original party disinte- grated, some going on to Dawson and some returning to California, while we stopped at Linderman to think matters over. “While there my husband heard that a George Miller had-six years ago pen- etrated Into the region beyond Lake Atlin and found good indications there. He also saw a rough map of that place and became convinced that it would be a good thing to visit it. Associating himself with seven others they hurried- 1y bullt two boats and in them we went to Bennett, from which place we made our real start. “It was a six days’ trip from Bennett to Pine Creek and hard work all the way; but we were all so eager to get to our destination that we hardly wanted to take the time to eat or sleep. We camped on shore nights, and lived on bacon, beans, baking powder bis- cuits and fresh eggs—duck eggs, with which the various islands which we P ed were literally covered. “When we arrived at the end of our journey we found, to our astonishment, three men busily at work where we had expected to find primeval solitude. The RK | | His Holiness' favorite opponent used to be Father Guilio, with whom he was | in the habit of playing when he was | Cardinal Pecci. On being raised to the | pontifical throne he summoned Father Guilio from Florence, where he was | then stationed, and gave him apart- | ments in the Vatican. Father Guilio | was said to combine a rare mastery of | the game with a.. exceedingly irascible temper. Sometimes during a game with | his Holiness he would burst out into | an ungovernable fit of rage. On such | occasions Leo XIII immediately inter- | rupted the game and proceeded to de- | liver a little homily on the virtues _of Christian resignation and self-control. The faculty of philosophy of the Uni- versity of Munick has conferred the honorary degree of Doctor upon Lady | Blennerhassett in recognition of her la- bors in the fleld of English, German, | French and Italian literature. Mr. and Mrs. Jean Roy of St. Joseph, Beame, Canada, celebrated last week the fiftieth anniversary of their mar- riage, and the event presented some ex traordinary features, The bridesmaid, the best man and the fiddler of fifty years ago were present. But a still more extraordinary incident was the presence also of Mr. Roy’s mother, now aged 98 years, who was twice mar- | ried \and now numbers 267 descend- | ants. Mr. E. Menken, to whom Mr. Glad- gtone was accustomed to give large or- ders for second-hand books, has pre- sented to the British Museum a series TCLIMBING THE men were Fred Miller, brother of the George who had originally visited the place, and two helpers. We were sur- prised to see them—and they were not v surprised but disgusted to see us. ou see, they had felt so secure, « there, away from everybody, that they had not even staked out claims, but were working away quite comfortably just where their fancy led them, with no thought of possible interruption or competition. Our coming changed all that, and things began to ‘hustle.’ “We could hardly wait to get our tents up, we were so anxious to begin prospecting, and Miller and his men began to hurry up too. They jumped in to stake out ‘discovery claims' at once, and as soon as possible started off to record them legally. This brought the matter to the attention of the Can- adian authorities, and some of them were sent up to look over the district. They went back to Tagish and Bennett with exaggerated reports of the rich- ness of the ‘finds,’ and the next thing we knew the little steamer Kilborn came up through the lakes with 100 men on board, and a more excited crowd I never saw. “After that the steamer ran up regu- larly, and thousands of men poured into the place. They didn’t all stay around Pine Creek of course, for the claims there were soon taken up, but they spread out to Spruce, Birch, Muskett and Wright and all around there. “There is free gold in plenty up there, not in big nuggets, and not lying around loose, but it is distributed with wonderful evenness all along the creek of booksellers’ catalogues with manu- script notes by the late statesman. In nearly every case the catalogue bears the note, ‘‘Pleasze send the marked lots with the usual discount (or subject to 10 per cent discount) for cash to W. E. Gladstone.” The “marked lots” refer to almost every conceivable subject of literature — theology, anthropology, folk-lore, trave:s, French editions of Shakespeare, politics, natural history, art, Greek and Latin authors, theoreti- cal and topographical. Queen Victoria was born in Kensing- ton Palace, London, May 24, }819. She is daughter of Edward, Duké of Kent, the fourth son of George Ili, and suc- ceedea to the throne on the death of her uncle, Willlam IV, June 20, 1837. She was not crowned until June 28, 1838. On April 28, 1876, she was pro- claimed Empress of Indla. One of Admiral Dewey's pet aver- sions is the man who claims to be ac- fiuainted with him. On a recent occa- sion a stranger walked up to him, ex- tended his hand and exclaimed: *“Ad- miral, I bet ou don’t remember me.” Admiral Dewey recognizing in him one of these bores, answered laconical- ly, “You've won your bet,” and walked off. President Eliot of Harvard said the other day that the modern university sometimes ‘develops a very peculiar human being, the scientific specialist. He wants his name known not to mil- lions, but to nve or six students of the Latin dative case. He doesn’'t make money. because, like Louis Agassiz, he hasn’t time.” ‘Willlam R. Harper, head of the Uni- versity of Chicago, is said to v¢ Ameri- ca’s hardest working college president. He teaches all the year Tround, edits two magazines, administers the af- fairs of his great colony of students, and is also principal of the Chautau- qua system and the American Institute of Sacred Literature. cHiLkkooT PAass.. SHOoOF | e ATLINTS - banks, and any man who is willing to work can make his pile. “The climate is such that the old California mining methods are in us As the frost does not go down a great distance thawing is not nece: sary, and as soon as the creeks are open in the spring work can begin. You don’t have to dig for months on an un- certainty, but vou see what you are doing right along. For these reasons one doesn't have to stay there during the winter; it is a summer diggings en- tirely, and it is now so easy to get there and back the doctor and I intend to go up every summer and spend our wi ters here at home. We have several very rich claims up there, and the doc- tor 18 going to take a party up with us in March next, to work on what is call- ed a lay—that is a certain percent of the output. Wages are $5 and keep there now, and as provisions are high— flour 25 cents a pound, sugar 75 cents, and so on, the Keep amounts to some- thing. “This year I could have sold all the bread I could make at a dollar a loaf, had I cared to make bread for sale, the men were so tired of their continual fried ‘doughgobs,’ but next year it will be different, for many men will take their wives up, and homemade things will be plenty. “You want to know how I stood the journey and how I lived through the N = summer? “Well, T looked upon the journey as a kind of a picnic from beginning (o end; it was all so new and strange and ting. I was never frightened or discouraged once, though I got pretty tired going up the 1925 steps cut in the ice over Chilkoot Pass. “We go up there in a regular proces- sion, one after the other, holding on the rope which is stretched along one side for a banister. Every 100 steps there is a wide one, like a terrace, where you can drop out of the line if you wish and rest, and these wide steps are the only breathing places on the way to the summit. “We went over on the 19th of April, and, although the snow was ten feet deep all around us, the sun beat down so terribly that my face was burned al- most to a blister; that was the only real suffering I had to endure while I was away, but that was real enough, for my face did not stop smarting and' heal for a long time. “I was the first woman to ride the rapids in the Atlinto River, where it takes four and a half hours to go up and eighteen minutes to come dow: but I wasn’t alarmed at all. In fa I think I must have had the regul:u:@ gold hunter’s fever right along, for I didn’t seem to mind or think of any- thing else but the object of our trip. Everything outside of that seemed of YolororororoIolo TororoIoTotoToroRororo reroto rereiore oo oo YoyoJoYooXoooJoXoJoRoRoXOROX CROROR OXOXCROROJ X CROJORO CROJOOROJOROROJOROXO) AMERICAN RAILWAYS IN ENGLAND Special to The Sunday Call. HE era of electricity in city transportation is just arriving in Lon- don, and it has been brought about largely by the activity of Amer- ican manufacturers. First among the roads to adopt it is the new line, lately completed, running underground from the Lord Mayor's mansion to Waterloo Station, and its heavy passenger traffic is show- ing to the other underground roads the great advantage this route has over the stuffy, smoky tunnels through which the steam locomotives now run. This line has the distinction of passing under the busiest spot on earth, expressively known in London as “‘Slaughter Corner,” being the converg- ence of Queen Victoria street, New Bridge street and the approach to Black- friar's Bridge. Hundreds of hackney cabs, scores of omnibuses, a maze of trucks; all keep up a humming, drubbing roll, and all sorts of trades and traffics cccupy the ground surface, while above the trains of the Dover Rail. way go crashing over their viaduct almost every minute. the under earth would reveal a strange confusion. A cross section of One railway above and two below are only items in the activities of this crowded spot. In the building of the new lowermost electric road, which is seventy- seven feet below street level, more than half of the construction was with American equipment, and a large part of the electrical installation was per- formed by experts from the United States. A much longer line is that now being pushed by day and night to com- pletion from the Royal Exchange to Oxford street, under the heart of Lon- don. cost about £3,000,000 for the work now under way. It will be nine miles in length when its laterals are complete and There was danger that the American electricians would capture all the equipment contracts by the superiority of their materlals and by making lower bids than the English could reach, but a compromise was finally agreed upon by which the con- tracts are now so divided that the English companies will get about half of the work. Were it not that English firms are constantly favored Amer- ica would eventually drive out a great deal of the home business. The conservative old underground companies are beginning to realize that they must equip their lines with electricity or lose their trade, and so they have appropriated £20,000 for a system of experiments with both Eng- lish and American equipments. So far the London County Council has not consentea to surface trolley lines, even in the suburbs, but permission has finally been secured to allow a trial of electrical traction on the street grade outside the city centers, all of which »American industry, »nromlueu new.and profitable flelds for little moment, not worth fretting about at all. I found that I could take a walk of fifteen or twenty miles, in heavy hobnailed boots, over the rough- est kind of traveling, without even thinking of breaking down, and the cramped quarters in the boats, the in- conveniences of tent life and tent cook- ings were things to be laughed at in- stead of worried over. “After we arrived at Pine Creek, however, I found life a little more mo- notonous, for the men put in all their time prospecting, and I was left alone at the camp to look out for things gen- erally and do the catering and cook- ing for the doctor and myself. I used to provide all the game—grouse, ptar- migan and so on—for I am a good shot and such sport was plenty, and all the fish for the camp besides, and I never felt the least bit afraid, for, although bears are to be found in the vicinity, I always felt able to take care of my- self. “I wore denim dresses made with conveniently short skirts, boys' stout long legged boots and sunbonnets or wide sun hats, with generally a mos- quito net veil, for, although the mos- quitoes are nowhere near so bad as they are in the Klondike, there are enough of them to be annoying, and in August the gnats were too numerous for comfort. “I put in some of my time washing out gold on my own account, and I got a good sized bottle full of coarse flakes and small nuggets. I employed my- self for the most part, however, in ‘spying out the land,’ for it is a most beautiful country and full of interest to any one who is capable of appreciat- ing it. “To begin with, there are no reptiles there whatever. Snakes, lizards and toads are unknown, but there are thou- sands of fleld mice, bright eyed, mis- chievous little creatures, a little larger than our mice, slender of body and with longer tails. These little pests are the chief discomfort of the region, for they swarm over everything and are preter- naturally brave and aggressive. They scarcely ever trouble the provisions, but they make a specialty of destroying (] ® - oXoX YO QRO OXOXOROXOROXOROXOJOXORORONOKO) ELEVATED RAILWAY 7 %)JJ IV SHOOTING Bl HE MENS TH B .D'NNs and carrying sway every woolen thing which they can find, probably to use as linings for their nests. “I made ‘raised bread’ right along, having brought up some dry yeast with me and using it to ‘set’ some regular yeast as soon as we began tentkeeping in earnest. 1 made pies, too, often| using bacon fat for shortening and roll- ing crust out on the bottom of a big gold pan with a bottle for a rolling- pin. The ples were good, too, and so was some French cream candy which I made once or twice as a ‘treat’ to the camp. “Every one was wild over ‘pros- pects,’ and evéry now and then news would come from the different creeks which would cause a stampede in that particular direction, and as our party each held two licenses, one for the Northwest and one for British Colum- bia, we were always Interested in all the gold news that came aleng. I never knew a really quiet day until we were back in Oakland, but in spite of exposure, hard work and rough fare, none of us had a sick hour during the whole time that we were away. “I am _all impatience to go back again. We have to be there by the 1st of June, else our claims are jumpable. “One thing we have learned by ex- perience, and that is that most people take entirely too much outfit; they let the storekeepers plan for them and the result is much is wasted. Everybody takes too much bacon and beans—they are good in their place, but they can be purchased anywhere along the route, and quantities are thrown away by overloaded or discouraged people. Take more canned goods and dried fruits and| more cocoa and less tea and coffee and you will be healthier and happler. “To all married women I would say, ‘if your husbands are going to the Atlin district go with them.” The trip and| camp experiences, though hard, are en- joyable, and the man who has a cheer- ful, hopeful, sensible wife to make a home out of his tent, give him good food and nurse him when he is ill or overworked, can make a good deal bet- ter fight for fortune than he who has to fight his way singlehanded.” [OJONOJOROROJOXOFOROROROXO} ® il (AR r‘] ]‘ I e i iy i "_J[’U{i g \:\I“Ii 1 L | b oy m——— P = T T M e e FEvT SLACTALC & UGWAY IO BUILy LARGATEROP ARSERIGAN HATEFIALS