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When everyone started rushing to the Yukon, this ship was loaded with more people than it could carry. Many times two tickets were sold for every space available, so the passengers had to race if they wanted space. Some had so many passengers aboard, there wasn't enough room for fuel, some had no compasses, many had no refrigeration, faulty boilers threatened to blow up, and several eventually did. Every available ship was rushed into service to accommodate the thousands of waiting passengers. When all of the freighters, ferry boats, yachts, barges, and fishing schooners were gone, rusty, unseaworthy vessels were pulled into use all along the West coast. Crews were hired with only the briefest examination of their papers. On one old coal tanker, the dust clung to the passengers and coated their lungs because it was so full of coal dust. Three or four hundred people slept in a space meant for one hundred. Eight hundred men, women, and children shared the small ship with three hundred horses. With only sixty-five eating facilities, passengers lined up to eat. On the way to the tables, they brushed up against two sides of raw beef, then slid into the seat, gulped down the food, and left the seat for the next person. |
