eful of gold when they got down to the
mouth of the Klondike, and they still thought there was more
money in lumber than in mining.

"Everybody got wind of it now, and there were a lot of
people in this country already, before the Klondike news got
out. There were twenty-five men looking for Henderson's
Creek, and about that many looking for the Carmac claims.

"So Henderson didn't get any of the rich strike on Bonanza,
although he had told Carmac about it. He always said Carmac
ought to have told him, so he could have got in there, too.
Henderson couldn't get out to Forty-Mile in time to record
his claim on Gold Bottom, until Andrew Hunker got in on the
creek below him, and he recorded his Discovery claim and had
the creek named after him--Hunker Creek. But Henderson had
cut a blaze on a tree and marked this creek as Gold Bottom
Creek long before that.

"So they gave a discovery claim to Carmac on Bonanza Creek,
and another on Gold Bottom or Hunker Creek to this man
Hunker. So Henderson, who had been in here two years, and
who had told everybody about what he had found and wanted
everybody to share in it, got only a very bad claim, after
all. Hard luck.

"I wish I could talk with those old-timers and the Indians
who were first in this gold country; but Mr. Ogilvie did
talk with them all, and I think what he sets down is
perfectly true.

"What I was rather surprised to learn was that all this
country was known as a gold country so long before the
Klondike was heard of. Most people think that the Klondike
strike brought the first stampedes into the Yukon Valley,
but that is not the case at all. So I thought I would set
this down, to have it straight when we all got older. As
time goes by these things seem to get crooked, and sometimes
men get credit who do not deserve it.

"Well, I have heard a good many stories about wild times in
Dawson, but I have not any place to set that down here, nor
to tell stories about getting rich quick. We only wanted to
keep track of the early times in the wild country. So I
guess this will do.

"Well, here we go, off for home!--On board the steamer
_Norcom_, bound up the Yukon. Left at 9 P.M., after saying
good-by to all our friends in Dawson. We liked Dawson, but
found it