David E. “Dave” Griffith
D. E. Griffith went north in 1897 and spent fourteen years in the north. He worked in a saloon for $15 a day. Business was so good that sometimes he made $50 a week in tips. The saloons were the warmest places in Dawson on cold winter nights. Griffith claims credit for bringing the news of the Spanish American war to Dawson after briefly visiting Seattle. He ordered 1000 newspapers to be put on the boat and discovered that another man had the same idea. The newspaper suggested he wait another day so his news would be newer, and he missed the boat doing this. He took the train and caught up with the boat in Vancouver. Griffiths paper carried the news of the battle of Manilla and the other fellow’s didn't. The people in the north didn't know anything about the war. He sold his papers quickly for fifty cents each and he let everyone bid on the last one. It sold it for $50 to a man named Morrison. Morrison rented a hall and read the paper to the public and charged a dollar admission. He made $600. Griffith set the record for time from Dawson to Nome in 1900 by averaging forty-eight miles a day for thirty-three days. He said it was a lousy trip.1) Dave Griffith was the historian for the Yukon Order of Pioneers (YOOP) for twenty years.2)