Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1898 — IN GENERAL. [ARTICLE]

IN GENERAL.

Many destitute argonauts camped along the beach in the neighborhood of St. Michaels and Fort Getthere are reported starving. They rely solely upon the charity’ of the natives for food enough to keep alive. The arrivul of two gold-laden miners at Lake Beunett started a stnmpede to the newest Klondike of the Northwest. A small creek flowing into Taku arm, a branch of Tagish lake, was located by some lucky prospectors nearly a month ago. and gold was found of remarkable richness. Rumors of the strike had reached Bennett before, but until two of the miners came out 1 after supplies little attention was paid to it. One of the men claimed to have taken out SIOO per day for over three weeks. It is said that pans running from $2 to $0 are common. The new strike is within sixty miles of Benhett, and several hundred men and women started at once for the scene. A steamer was chartered and led the stampede. The news reached Seattle on the steamer City of Topeka, which brought down four Ivlondikers, two of whom wore women. Their combined wealth was estimated at $50,000. The Topeka brings news of a rich strike on Baranoff Island, about twenty miles from Sitka and tjiree miles in the interior from Whale Bay. It is similar to the Pande Basin discovery. The gravel on the shores of a small lake was found to be rich with gold. As soon as the news reached Sitka there was a stampede. , Bradstreet's said on Saturday: “Changes in general trade and business this week have been very generally toward improvement. Notable in this respect has been the iron and ,steel trade, which has passed from the stage of prora ise to that of fulfillment on increased demand and marked advances in values. From all the leading iron centers east and west come reports of more or less improvement in tone, demand or prices, especially prominent in the latter particular being steeL billets, with an advance of n per ton: steel rails have had advances ranging from 25c to $1 and sympathetic advances are likewise noted in Eastern pig iron, wrought iron pipes, steel beams and other structural and steel plates. Further P#?ouraging features have been the accentuated demand on foreign account for wheat and corn, which is reflected in advances for those cereals in spite of a rather more favorable than expected Government report of possible yield. Effects of the holding of wheat by farmers for better prices are found in the reduced volume of grain carried by railroads during July. Business failures still incline toward a minimum, numbering only 157, against 189 last week. 214 inj this week a year ago. 258 in 1896, 195 1895 and 254 in 1894.” r