The San Francisco call. [volume], September 07, 1897, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
VOLUME LXXXII.-NO. 99.
GOING TO
PIECES IN
ALERT BAY
Fate of the Rickety Old
Northbound Steamer
Eugene.
ABANDONED BY THE
BRISTOL.
Passengers Also Refusa to
Further Risk Their [Lives
ana Leave in Disgust
OTHER INCIDENTS OF THE
RUSH FOR GOLD.
Governor Brady of Alaska Deter
mined to Suppress the Lawless
Element at Skaeuay.
! VICTORIA, B. C, Sept. 6.-The mad
cruise of the river boat Eugene, which
bade defiance to the British custom offi
cers at Union Bay last week, and sailed
for St. Michael with the steamer Hope in
'hot but ineffectual pursuit, has come to
an end abruptly and in a manner quite as
dramatic as the seizure and escape.
Collector Milne, yielding to the repre
sentations of marine men that the Eugene
would quite probably be a coffin for all on
board if not picked up, gave the desired
permission to allow the Bristol to pick up
the Eugene and act as her escort to St.
Michael.
Tue Bristol then . made speed and took
up the river boat just as the latter was
passing through Seymour Narrows. About
half way between Cape Scott and. the
lower end of Queen Charlotte Sound,
where there is pirlicularly rough water
at all seasons, a heavy blow from the
southeast sprang the Eugene's limbers,
and she commenced to leak badly. The
passengers, not caring to further jeopard
ize their lives, held a meeting and decided
to go no further.
Captain Lewis, knowing that to return
to a British port would entail severe pen
alties upon himself and his command, de
clared that he would keep on to St. "Mich
ael Bay ••if all — - broke loose." Then
the miners mutinied and took possession
of the ship, and Captain Mclntyre of the
Bristol being appealed to decided that
their action was justifiable.
He accordingly towed the filling river
tub to Alert Bay, where she was aban
doned. The passengers by the Eugene at
the bay met the steamer Capillano and at
once offered her a charter for St. Michael.
Captain Powers tiad to proceed home for
orders, however, and reached Vancouver
this morning with the news.
The Bristol, her trio blocked by the se
ries of misadventures to the Eugene, has
now no other course open than to return
to Victoria, and in fact she may be ex
pected hourly.
BRADY IS NOT BLUFFING.
A ! aska's Governor Will Suppress
the Lawless at Skaguay Ir It
Takes the Whole Navy.
PORT TOWNSEND, Wash., Sep. 6 —
From officers of the tug Pioneer, which
arrived to-day direct from Skaguay, it i
learned that previous reports relative to
legal action to be taken in suppressing
gambling and sale of l.quor at that place
is no j: ke, as Governor Brady has sent
word that order must be preserved there,
even if the entire United States navy has
lo be called upon to enforce order. Old
Alaskans here who are personally ac
quainted with Governor Brady say he is a
man who means all he says, and that if
he take-) a stand he will carry out his
promises.
EXAMINED BY ENGINEERS.
Reports Made on the Existing Con
ditions at the Skaguay and
Dyea Trails.
SEATTLE, Wash., Sent. 6.— After an
examination of thirty days of the Skagnay
trail R. H. Stretch, a mining engineer of
this city, says:
"Skaguay Valley was once occupied by a
huge glacier. Near the lower end the
rocks are ancient sedimentary or stratified
deposits with innumerable dikes and
stringers of granitic aspect, but all the
upper portions of the valley and the sum
mit of the range are nothing but a very
coarse granite without a trace of any
structure, but with v«ry strongly marked
nearly horizontal bedding planes cut by
nearly vertical cleavage joints! The action
of the ice which lormeny plowed its way
down the valley has ground these rocks to
polished surfaces, the vertical faces sup
porting only p. few lichens, while the
horizontal benches before the advent of
the gold-seekers were covered with a thick
carpet of moss and lichens, which, though
with but a very frail hold on the rocks,
gave a sure and satisfactory - foothold.
Only in a few places are (here pebbles or
bowlders and but few reek slides, but
where these do exht the ndividual bowl
ders are so large ami massed so irregular
that travel over them is more difficult
than over the solid unbroken benches.
"Of ear there is practically none, but
in the course of ages a black vegetable
muck has accumulated in some of the
crevices at.d i* -potholes along the river
bottom. Scrubby timber— spruce, bird
and alder— finds a foothold 10 the crevices,
the latter chiefly in the wettei bottoms.
Over such material the trail Audi its way.
Distances from Skaguay arc: Firstcro-s
--ing of river, I*. miles; end of road. 3}£
miles; small lake. 5 miles; Porcupine
Creek, 7". nubs; second crossing of river
(bridge), IJ>_ miles; third crossing of
river (bridge), 13J4 miles; fourth crossing
of river (bridge), 14J. miles; fifth crossing"
of river (ford), 17>£ miles; summit, 19
The San Francisco Call
THE SAN FRANCISCO LETTER-CARRIERS as They Appeared in the Parade or
Market Street Yesterday Afternoon. Postmaster Montague in One of the
Carriages Near the Head of the Procession.
miles; Meadows, 26 miles; Lake Bennett,
42 miles.
"Five miles ont, at the small lake, the !
elevation i« 460 feet, Tho trail quickly
ascends to 810 feet, and then sink-) to 470 j
at Porcupine Creek.. In a short distance i
the elevation is 1400, and the path zigzags j
down to the second crossing, 1000' feet ele- I.
ration. The, fourth bridge '•• 1400 feet
above the sea, and the trail almost at once
goes upward to 2100 feet. A descent is
then made to the ford, 1800 feet high, and [
then comes the climb to the summit, an
elevation of 2600 leet. From this point to
the lake the trail is not extremely dif
ficult."
Mr. Stretch says there is no danger to
human ii c in making the trip.
Dyea trail has been reported on officially
by John A. Miller, a railroad engineer.
"A good road," he says, "extends for
eight miles; then it gets muddy, but not
very bad. Pack trains of horses make the
round trip to Sheep Camp, fourteen miles,
in a day, carrying 250 pounds. From there
to the foot oi the mil the road is not so
good, and here is where the se?kers of gold
are delayed on this trail. For about two
miles the difficulties to overcome are
equally as bad as on the Skaguay trail,
but, having once got over* the summit,
the trail is comparatively easy. Aft:
talking with reliab c men, who have noth
ing at stake and who have been ever both
trai s, alter talking with Indians who
know every inch of the country ami after
my own experienca on both trails, I can
only come to one conclusion and that i
that at the present lime the Dyea trail is
the only practical one and it is getting too
late to attempt that now."
CLOSED BY THE RAINS.
Dismal Story of the Skaguay Trail
Brought Down by the Tug
, ' Pioneer.
PORT TOWNSEND, Wash., Sept 6 —
Iho tug Pioneer, Captain Neilson, which
four weeks ago towed the barges Ajax and
Bjax, laden with horses,; from Seattle to
Dyea and Skaguay, returned at 9:30 o'clock
this morning with the barge Ajax in tow,
having sold the Bjax to be used as a
lighter at Dyea. The Pioneer was at the
two landings over two weeks and Captain
Neilson says the half ha. not been told of
the . miserable condition of the trails over
which the gold-seekers are striving to
cross to Lake Linderman. Captain Was
son, banker and ex-Collector of Customs
for the Puget Sound district, is reported
as being camped on the beach at Skaguay
with not one chance in 5000 of petting
through this fall. He has ten horses.
One man at Dyea offered $750 to have
1200 pounds packed over, hut the packers
refused the offer. Less than fifty persons
have succeeded in crossing from. Skaguay
and Dyea. The trail is practically closed
on account o.' the mud.
DR. SMITHS DISGUST.
Declares the White Horse Trail Is
the Biggest Humbug Ever
Perpetrated.
PORTLAND, Or., Sept. 6— Dr. Andrew
C. Smith, who lett for Alaska on avaca
tion about a month ago, taking with him
three men with an outfit, whom he hoped
to send into the gold fields of the 0.1
--dike, returned home last night. He came
down by the steamer Queen to Seattle and
then home via the Northern Pacific. Dr.
Smith is outspoken in the assertion that
the White Horse trail is the biggest hum
bug ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting
public.
"This trail," said he, "is advertised by
a lot of townsiie boomers who have no
other object in view than to boom tne
town. .Miner* have been working on this
trail for a year; they are still working on
it and they will work on it for years to
come before they will ' ever succeed in
making people believe that- this is , the
most feasible route to the gold fields. The
people now congregated at Skaguay are
the most disgusted crowd I ever saw in
SAN FRANCISCO, TUESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 7, 1897.
my life. I myself was lea into the trap
and had I kept away I would have beer,
money and time ahead. After prospect
ing the trail thoroughly I came to the
conclusion that my men would never get
across. It is enough to discoura.e the
strongest mountaineer. Seeing that I had
been cau.ht for a 'sucker,' along with
thousands others, T- reduced* my outfit
from 4500 pounds to 1500 and called two
of my men off. I then went to Dyea and
■had no trouo'e in getting my one pros
pector and bis 1500-pound pack over the
divide."
Dr. Smith is one of Portland's most sub
stantial men and absolutely reliable, too.
CRAZED BY THE KLONDIKE
While Her Husband Is Struggling
Forward Mrs. Carscadden Be
comes a Maniac.
PORTLAND. Ok.. Sept. 6.— Sorrow and
destruction have come upon the home of
J. J. Carscadden, a restaurant man who
departed for the northern gold lands a few
weeks since. His wife, who was lett be
hind in charge of bis business, has become
so wrought up over the horrors of the long
trail to the Yukon that she has lost her
reason. She is in ironsatthe County Jail,
and to-morrow will be taken to the Salem
Asylum. Mrs. Csrscadden manifested a
violent desire to kill her little son at the
County Jail last night when he was taken
in to see her.
By direction of Judge Northup Mrs.
Carscadaen . was examined for insanity
this morning by Dr. 0oe» who found that
the woman's mania was of a very violent,
hysterical kind.
Somewhere up in the snowbound moun
tains of Alaska, Car-cadden, the hus
band and father, is toiling along hope
fully, thinking of the day when, with
riches realized and the hard task over, he
will return to his waiting wife and boy.
But it will be many months before he
knows of the misfortune that has befallen
bis house. His restaurant' business will
be left to other hands, the home broken
up, and worst of all — his wife in a mad
house. To-night the woman's cries, as
they rang through the cells, were blood
curdling and dreadful. . .' . : , ".
Mrs. Carscadden's hallucination' has re
cently taken complete possession of her.
She believes -at her husband is perishing
beyond the reacti of help. With every
report from Skaguay trail from, the: time
the steamer Elder made : its first J trip, she
became more and more worked up. She
was" unable to subdue her imagination.
When she received a letter, from her hus
band it did not reassure her, and in the
days of silence following she awoke .each
morning to fresh terrors. v ;i
"KLONDIKE OR SINK."
That Will Be the Motto of a Party
Sailing From Chicago In a
Schooner.
CHICAGO, 111., Sept. 6.— "Klondike or
Sink," will be the motto of members of
an expedition which proposes to navigate
from Chicago to the mouth of the Yukon
River in the schooner George Sturges,. a
well-known lake vessel. The Sturges will
sail from Chicago in about a month,
manned ami provisioned for a trip of six
months' : duration. At the end of that
time, If all goes.well, the craft will be
among the icebergs in Bering Sea, and the
doughty mariners ready to ascend the
Yukon in the spring.
The Sturges to-day was purchased by a
party ol men, beaded by Adolph Friet-ch,
tue bold mariner of the little yacht Nina,
which crossed the Atlantic, and ,it has
been figured, out among members of the
party that a large number of m«n can get
to Alaska cheaper in this way . than any
other. They ; propose to sail down the
great lakes and St. Lawrence River to the
Atlantic, and thence, rounding < Cape
Horn and back up the Pacific Coast to the
Continued on .Second J'ut/e.
FAMINE IS
THREATENED
IN IRELAND
Failure of the Harvest
Causes a Gloomy
Outlook.
CEREALS RUINED BY
FLOODS.
Potatoes Will Also Be Very
Scarce, and the Prospect
Is Dismal.
PEOPLE WHO AIDED POOR
MAY NEED CHARITY.
In Some Localities There Is Danger
of a Repetition of the Scenes
of Black 1847.
; NEW YORK, N. V.. Sept. 6.-A special
to the World from London says: The
World's special inquiries throughout Ire
land fully corroborate the alarming pre
dictions of a failure of the ; narvests and
the consequent impending famine. . Cries
of warning to the Government are rising
from all parts of Ireland. From Mullin
gar, one of the most prosperous parts of
the midlands, a World correspondent tele
graphs: "'Crops are now irretrievably de
stroyed. It will be impossible for farmers
-to make anyt.iing from their cereals this
year, as they are quickly rotting. In t c
churches yesterday prayers for fine
weather were recited,' and if a change does
not come immediately the crops might as
well be left to manure the ground.'.' '",'"•
From County Wexford, noted as one of
the richest in the country, tho tidings are:
"The green crop may be described as a
gigantic, failure this year. The greater
part of the potato crop is only fit for feed
ing cattle.'' :.•"*,'.;••",' *-'-."''
From Fermanagh, in Ulster, a corre
spondent telegraphs: At a meeting held
here to ask for a reduction of rents, the
parish priest presiding declared tnat not
since black 1847 'has the prospect for the
farmers in this district been so bad. In
several places potatoes have been a fail
ure. Hundreds of tons of hay have been
ruined by' the heavy rains and floods.'
From Carlow, known as "The Model
County," a dispatch says: , There is before
our farmers an outlook as disastrous as is
possible to conceive owing to the frightful
weather. A great deal of corn cut early
remains In the!, stalks, injured beyond re
covery. In many districts the farmer-*
have been unable to cut their crops, which
present a saddening spectacle, being lev
eled to the earth by persistent rains, while
mass of second growth snd weeds have
come up. The apprehensions ■ concerning
potatoes have also been dismally, realized.
At a meeting of- the Board of Guardians
at Mitchellstown, County Cork, Saturday,
the chairman said: "* "The ' potato crop is
generally a' failure, while other crops have
been hopelessly injured by the ' unparal
leled inclemency of the season. We are
on the verge of a great agricultural crisis.
The outlook in farming affairs is gloomy
in the extreme, and to aggravate the con
dition of affairs caused by tne failure of
the potato crop' the prices of provisions
are con iderably increased, and before
long people who are supposed to contrib
ute to the. poor, rates will bo in the work
houses themselves." '
The Irish Government has adopted.no
measure yet to cope with the threatened
famine.
SCATTERED RV THE AMEER.
Indian Natives Realizing That Afghan
istan's Ruler is Keeping Faith
With Great Britain.
LONDON. Em, Sept. The Times
Simla correspondent says tbat in addition
to dispersing, the Lughmanis, who
had been collected by the Mul
lah's disciples and who were about to
join the Mullah, the Ameer's troops also
scattered a body of Shinwaris who had as
sembled near Peshbalak, intending to en
ter and hold the Xhyber Pass for the
Afridis. ■ ' ' •
The Ameer, the correspondent says, is
plainly determined to keep the tribesmen
in. check, and measures, will be taken by
his orders that will cripple the Mullah's
power and , probably prevent further
risings.
, SIMLA, , India, Sept. 6.— -A dispatch
from Jamrud says it is reported that
M addah Mullah . has gone to his . home
and that his followers have dispersed,
owing to the refusal of Haiiinazai Mah
rhands to join in the uprising. All the
Afridi tribes held a palaver at Tiran on
Friday last, .when a majority of those in
attendance opposed the plans of the lead
ers for the adoption of hostilities against
the British, on the ground ■_ that every
house was already in mourning for those
who fell at the capture of Fort Luddi-
Kotal and that the crops were ready to be
harvested. r «
VIC TORI A SAVED THE UNION.
Personal Intervention of .the Queen
Averted War Retween England
and the United States.
NEW YORK, N. V., Sept. 6.— was
the direct personal intervention of Queen
Victoria on ber own initiative that avert
ed war ■ between the United states and
Grea*. Britain over the seizure of -Mason
and Slidel on a British ship during the
Civil War in America.
This highly interesting historical fact is
[ mentioned in an article by a writer for
f Current Fact in the latest, issue Of the
British Quarterly Review, whose contrib
l utors, though anonymous, are all men of
I high standing in literature and politics.
He says: . ..''• '.. , : * .
"We are in ,a; position to state on the
authority of the most prominent States
man* of our/time, who had the distin
guished honor of enjoying in a special
manner tue confidence of her Ala -sty,
that it -was ■ the Queen'',-, -herself,
in < opposition to the ■ views -of her
Ministers .and;,. of the .. distinguished
man in ■ question, .-■ : who: averted
war. She insisted that the dispatch which
| was sent to America demand ing r peremp
i torily : the surrender of r the envoys should
be communicated at once to all the powers,
and the grave consequences of such a con
flict from an international point of view,
were pointed out. The result was an able
state paper was sent .to .Washing
ton by M. Ttiouvenel, stating that
France regarded the act of the Ameri
can captain who had arrested the
Confederate envoys on board of an Eng
lish ship quite unjustifiable and expressed
the hope that the federal Government
would accede to the demand of Great
Britain. Austria and Prus-ia immedi
ately followed suit. Prince Gortschakoff,
on the part of Russia, urged Lincoln to
surrender the envoys without delay.
These remonstrances from the powers
enabled the Government at Washington
to escape without humiliation from ati un
tenable position, saved England from en
tering into a war which would in all hu
man probability have ended in the disrup
tion of the American Union and sown the
seeds of a deathless enmity between Eng
land and the Northern States.
HOT COND EM NED TO DEATH.
Candid Anarchist Rarril, Who Tried
to Kill a Police Chief, Sentenced
to Forty Years' Imprisonment.
BARCELONA, Spain, Sept, 6.— The
prosecutor at the court-martial yes
terday of Barril, ' the anarchist who
attempted to ' assassinate the po
lice chief on Friday last, asked
that a sentence of forty years'imprison
ment be imposed upon the prisoner. Tbe
defense urged tbat ten years' imprison
ment would be adequate' punishmert for
the accused.
Barril admitted before the court-martial
that he came to Spain with the intention
of assassinating Chief of Police Portas on
account of the measures taken by the lat
ter against anarchists.
The request of the prosecutor was
granted and the court sentenced Barril to
forty years' imprisonment. Much sur
prise was manifested when the sentence
was announced, as it as expeit.<» thai
the prisoner would be condemned t death.
SAljISlifJItX'S J-'KksH PROPOSALS.
His Reply to the liussiitn Foreign Minis
ter's Intimation*. '
LONDON, Eng., Sept.* 7.— The corre
spondent of the Times in Constantinople
says that owing to the note of Count
Muravieff. the Russian Foreign Min
ister, implying that England was
responsible for the incalculable
evils from which Greece and Turkey are
suffering through the delay in the con
clusion of peace ? between the two coun
tries, Lord Salisbrry has submitted
fresh proposals, name'y: The constitution
of an international commission repre
senting the six powers, • under whose
control Greece shall place the revenue,
guaranteeing their interest to the holders
of the bonds and the inuemnity loan, to
be followed by the prompt evacuation of
Thessaly by the.Turks.
-■-'," .** i '■■
FrUtht fill Eruption in the I'hilippinea.
Tt LONDON,: Eko ; Sept. 6— A special
dispatch from Madrid says that Mount
Mayon, south .of the island of Luzon,
Philippine Islands, is in a state of violent
eruption, and the streams of lava thrown
out by the eruption reach to the seashore,
a distance 'of twenty miles. .Several vil
lages have been destroyed and 500 persons
are reported to have been killed.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
CARRIERS
FROM THE
FAR EAST
The National Convention of
Men Whom We- Like
to Meet.
WERE HOSPITABLY RECEIVED.
Royal Reception Given Them
by the State Board of
Trade.
THE COIVEIITIOJ OPESED WELL
There Was a Large Attendance in
Odd Fellows' Hall in the
Evening.
The San Francisco letter-carriers and the
visitors from abroad to attend the Letter-
Carriers' National Convention celebrated
the opening day of the convention by a
parade.
It showed as fine and as intelligent'
looking body of men as has ever been seen
on the btreets of San Francisco.
The start was made from the ferry land
ing; at the footof Market street at 3o'clock
in the afternoon, and the route lay up
Market to Montgomery, to Kearny, to
Market, to Golden Gate avenue. Captain
Wittman led the van with a file of mount
ed police, followed by a company of po
licemen on foot. After them came the
delegates from Pennsylvania, Chicago,
New York, San Francisco and elsewhere,
Postmaster Montague, Bookkeeper Rich
ardson and other guests of the convention
following in carriages. -y-,
,ln the evening the convention opened
at Odd Fellows' Hall, which had been
elaborately decorated for the occasion'
There was' a large crowd In attendance,
and the proceedings were ol more than
usual interest. jjj 1 •',•.' i'l
The State .Board of Trade tendered to
the visiting letter-carriers a royal recep
tion yesterday.' At the last meeting of
the board Secretary J. A. Pilcher and
B. N. Rowley were instructed, to make
preparations' to entertain the visitors, and
they ■ fulfilled .• their instructions to the
letter. -r.S.*':.*i. .•?-*-% - *•
' In response to the invitation about 300
carriers assembled at the exhibition
rooms at 16 Post street yesterday morning
and they remained there until nearly
time for the parade, which of itself shows
how much they appreciated the reception
that was tendered to them.
Mr. Filcher made an address of wel
come, which was responded to by George
W. Youst, the chairman of the entertain
ment committee. A few appropriate re
marks were made by Mr. Rowley and
George Wisewell. A very palatable light
lunch was served, as well as every kind of
liquid refreshment that the State of Cali
fornia produces.
The visitors joyed themselves hugely,
ar.d expressed the greatest admiration for
the large and artistic display of California
products. Not a few acknowledged they
had no idea that the State was so pro
ductive.
Thursday will be known as ladies' day,
and it is expected that the ladies who ac
company the carriers will attend in very
large numbers. Light' refreshments will
also be prepared for them, and everything
done to make their reception * a most
pleasing affair.
A ROYAL WELCOME.
The Convention Opens With Fit-
tine Speeches.
The convention proper was opened last
evening in Odd Fellows' Hall, under aus
picious circumstances. Early in the even
ing crowds flocked to the ball and by tbe
opening hour standing room was at a pre
mium. From time to time the vast audi
ence roads the building echo with their
cheers, for they were all assembled in on*
common cause and for one end.
' The ball was very prettily decorated.
From roof to cci. ing it was all ablaze with
red, white and blue streamers. From the
center of the celling depended a huge
canopy of red, white and blue, with car
lands of eschscholtzla cunningly worked
through it and a carrier pigeon suspended
from the bottom by an invisible wire,
The clever work of the decorator, how*
ever, was particularly manifested on
the platform, where, as elsewhere,
the National colors were predomi
nant. The chief features here were
a handsome banner of the local associa
tion, dependent from which was a mono
gram, "N. L. C." of purple and yellow
efchscholtzias, surmounted ;by a carrier
pigeon with a letter in its mouth, in the
act of flying away. To the right of tbe
speakers' stand was a street lamp with a
red letter- box attached, and looking so
natural that one of the committeemen
stooped absent-mindedly in . front 'of . it
and instinctively felt for his bunch of keys.
The background . was . formed of huge
American flags, the whole' being lighted
wi'h red, white ar.d blue electric lights
and forming a beautiful effect. Here and
there thiough the hall, dependent from
chandeliers and sides of the balcony, were
the familiar leather bags to which -so
many precious missives are : entrusted
each day. The entrance to the ball was
flanked on each side with a verdant mass
of palms, ferns and tropical plants, giving
a visitor the impression that he is walking
into a tropical garden. „''...
The exercises opened with an overture
by the Letter-Carriers' band, after which
the convention was declared open ,by
John I-.'Meares, superintendent of the
San Francisco delivery.
When Mr. Meares stepped forward on