It was some time before we could break away from these enthusiasts. Go where we would they followed us, each wanting a private word or two. It was an exciting time truly.
There was one fine steamship leaving for Victoria that very evening. With difficulty I got on board, interviewed her commander, a first-rate English sailor, and secured our passages. The Parkers did the same.
This ship, a well-known Victoria trader, had brought up a full to overflowing complement of passengers. She was returning empty for another lot.
We heard that Victoria, Vancouver, and all the inland towns of Canada, all the American cities on Puget Sound, with San Francisco and all California, were half-mad about these wonderful finds reported on the Klondyke. The latest news from Eastern Canada and the States, from Britain, and indeed from all the world, was that vast crowds were coming.
We heard such stories, such wild, astounding stories about the doings up where we had come from. Such exorbitant fortunes that had been made, such heaps of gold-dust, such nuggets, buckets full of them! flour-barrels full! kegs heaped up with them! We were told that in some of the creeks the precious metal was so plentiful that men had picked up piles in a few hours—that there was plenty for every one who could but reach the Klondyke!
It was in vain that we assured them that we knew nothing of such occurrences,—that we were sure it was mostly gross exaggeration. No one would listen to this; they said we were trying to deceive them, to hide the truth from them, for that it was well known we ourselves had so much gold with us that we were multi-millionaires already, and were hoping and scheming to make ourselves richer still. It was no use our arguing, our disclaiming—they knew far better than we did.
We hardly heard a word about how the swarms, bound in, were to be fed. They knew that every ship had reached the port with heavy cargoes of food, they knew that the stores and warehouses here were full, but scarcely any one appeared to have an idea of getting it up to where the gold existed. They had very much to learn.
With some scheming we managed to get our gold transferred to this other ship; then we sailed at midnight.
This was a real steamship, flying the British ensign, manned and served in proper British style. We had excellent quarters, a capital table—my darling girl and I were in the lap of luxury.
I need not particularise much about this voyage. We had good weather, bright, clear, and not so cold, for our 750 miles passage across Behring Sea to Dutch Harbour on the island of Unalaska, the most important of the Aleutian chain. Its mountains were capped with eternal snow, but the greenness of the lower land was very charming. Many vessels were lying here, as it is a supply station for the sealing and whaling fleets.