The False Gold of 'Swiftwater' Bill

One of the most picturesque characters in the far north, a man who has made the gold-bearing ground of the Klondike yield several fortunes—'Swiftwater' Bill Gates—is in dire financial straits. When seen by passengers who came down on the steamer Humboldt at White Horse, he had very little money. A. Winn of San Francisco, who was interested with 'Swiftwater' on claims 11 and 12, confirms that Bill is broken financially. 'Swiftwater will have to make the play of his life now with that English company he formed,' Winn said. 'His scheme now is to work a quartz grant on Quartz Creek. He has interested certain English capitalists, but he will find it difficult to mine quartz profitably in the Klondike as the working expenses are enormous.'

Beyond his mining failures, Gates’ social life has become a public scandal. After coming out from Dawson on his notable trip two years ago, he was seized upon by the leaders of San Francisco society and made a social lion. A number of them called upon the supposed multi-millionaire, inducing him to become president of an Alaskan mining company they organized, and insisting upon his purchase of an elegant home on Thirteenth Street in Oakland. He agreed, but after a short while, he closed the house and left. A few months later, the sheriff took the property into custody. It turns out that when he traveled through the United States, he tipped porters and waiters in magnificent fashion and threw money in all directions, creating the impression that he was rich enough to light his cigars with $100 bills—all on the strength of only $1,000 in gold dust.