Mrs. Lippey was the first woman to go over the trail to Klondike. She went because she did not wish her husband to undertake the journey alone, preferring to share his hardships with him. They brought back sixty thousand dollars' worth of gold. Another party has just reached Seattle, Wash., having come direct by steamer from St. Michaels, Alaska. In this party there were sixty-eight people, who brought back with them one and one-half tons of gold. This is worth nearly a million dollars. [Illustration: Alaskan Child and Dogsled] The gold is found in dust and nuggets ranging in size from a hazelnut to fine bird-shot. It must not be supposed that this gold is lightly earned. Those who have returned say that the hardships of the life are beyond description. Many declare that no amount of gold could tempt them back, as beyond the hard, rough life, the severe cold, and the constant labor, there is an ever-present dread of starvation. It is difficult for any man to take in sufficient food to last him through the long winter, and there is hardly any possibility of obtaining more when the supplies run out. A company has been formed to send provisions up into the district, and if this is done the work will be rendered much easier. The treasury of the United States has already begun to feel the benefit of the Klondike gold discovery. The San Francisco mint has received half a million dollars' worth of the gold, and expects another half-million by the next steamer. The Mint Bureau has been informed that Alaskan gold has been received at several of the Pacific ports for shipment to the East, and the ton and a half from Seattle is also on its way. * * * * * There has long been a movement on foot to limit the wearing of feathers on hats. So many charming birds are slaughtered to adorn the headgear of our women folks, that it has been feared some of the songsters might become extinct. A law has, however, just been passed for their protection in Massachusetts, which forbids the use of certain birds for millinery purposes. The petition begging that a bill of this character might be framed by the State Senators was drawn up by United States Senator George F. Hoar. The petition was supposed to come from the birds themselves, and to be signed by thirty-five song-birds. It was written in such a delightful manner that it roused the interest of the Massachusetts Legislature, and the desired bill was prepared and passed in an astonishingly short space of time. The document is so pretty and graceful in its tone and language that you would certainly like to read it for yourselves. Here it is: "_To the Great and General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:_