ALASKA AND THE KLONDIKE. 167 



Klondike business were displayed, mostly in cramped quarters. The 

 variety of things that had in so brief a period found their way to this 

 region was truly astonishing, and one marveled at the mental in- 

 genuity which spirited some of these articles to a champ de vente. 

 Surely nothing but " manifest destiny " could have placed a mam- 

 moth's molar on sale for a hundred dollars, when it was thought that 

 a period of starvation was reigning in the town. And yet almost 

 alongside of it were posters announcing that four loaves of bread 

 could be purchased for one dollar in another place " six loves " for 

 the same price and that " half an ounce " of gold dust, the equiva- 

 lent of eight dollars, would gain admission to the best seat witnessing 

 a boxing and wrestling contest. 



In addition to the booths doing a regular merchandise business, 

 there were those whose masters ministered to a specialty druggists 

 and doctors, photographers, auctioneers, and brokers of one kind or 

 another. " Bartlett Bros., Packers " served the inner core of the 

 gold regions by means of long trains of pack-mules, but they were not 

 the only ones to whom the cargador was an officer militant. Dog- 

 teams there were as well as mule teams, and the majesty of the law 

 was hardly considered invaded when the former effected a junction 

 with man in the capacity of common carriers. One of the most in- 

 teresting sights was to me the large number of letters awaiting owner- 

 ship which were tacked up to the fronts and sides of different build- 

 ings, in the most public way petitioning for rapid delivery. My 

 first letter in Dawson was obtained by stripping it from a door-jamb, 

 but it was three weeks before my attention had been directed to it 

 by a friendly discoverer. To obtain anything from the post office was 

 a most exhaustive process, and usually required a long wait, some- 

 times of a day, or even of two days, before entry could be obtained 

 into the small room where the sorting, distribution, and dispensa- 

 tion of mail matter were being effected. Even when finally issued, 

 this matter was usually of several weeks' antiquity of arrival, the 

 sorting of tons of substance being much beyond the capacity of the 

 few official hands that were engaged in the work. 



By far the most imposing side of the street was that which faced 

 the river. Here, at least, were real buildings. The stately depots 

 of the Alaska Commercial and North America Trading and Trans- 

 portation Companies, with their outer casing of corrugated iron, 

 would have done credit to a town of larger capacity than Dawson, and 

 in regions much more accessible to civilization than the Northwest 

 Territory. Farther on, the signs of a number of well-built saloons 

 " The Dominion," " The Pioneer," etc. attract attention, not by 

 the supposition that they are alone in the business, since they are sup- 

 ported" by probably not less than two or three score others of their 



