Document 93: Letter from Alfred McMichael
Diary and Letters of Alfred McMichael, Juliette Reinicker Papers, MSS 100, Acc. 79/68, Box 10,
Yukon Archives, Whitehorse,
Yukon Territory, Canada.
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Circle City, Alaska
September 11, 1898
....But many high hopes have been blasted already in this country....A party of five, two men, two women (their wives) and a child—came into Dawson....There were not claims to be had....Days and weeks went by without decision, until finally the grub was gone, and their chee-we-keer money as well, and the supply of gold refused to come to the surface. So there they were, penniless in Alaska. The men could find nothing to do so the two women came to the rescue. They went and danced in one of the dance houses, while the men stayed in camp, cooked (I hope) and took care of the child. Now the dance girls get fifty cents for each dance, I believe, and the hours are long, from 9:00 p. m. to 6:00 a.m., so the women soon made enough to get them all back to the states....They were respectable people, too, but fancy the feelings of those poor women! They certainly will return rich in experience....