The Pioneers of the Kiondyke. Narrated by M. H. E.
Hayne, and recorded by H. West Taylor. (Sampson Low, Marston, and Co.)—Mr. Hayne is a non-commissioned officer in the Mounted Police ; Mr. Taylor is a journalist who has worked up his story into literary form. The wealth of the Klondike region is strongly asserted; so is the hardship of the work. The temperature in the winter 1896 97, which was milder than its predecessor, never fell under 50° below zero; but then it never rose above freezing point between October 31st and March 3rd. As for gold, it was not so abundant that the sugar was adulterated with the dust, but it was plentiful enough. Two miners, finding their strength giving out, sold a claim to some new-comers, who agreed to give .25,000 for it, paying £400 down, and the balance in three months. NV hen they came to make the final payment they had worked fifty square feet only (? fifty feet square). As for the hardships, here is a specimen. The common drink is " hooch," made of molasses, dry fruit, or berries, fermented with sour dough, and flavoured with old boots and things far more unsavoury ; when fermented it is stood in an empty kerosine-can. Nothing is said, we see, of the route overland from Calgary.
Previous page
