Show ON A GOLD HUNT the strength perhaps the wea weakness knese too of the american nation to shown in the manner in which it is carried away by a new idea a new prospect pro it is characteristic of a young powerful nation to risk life happiness and comfort for an idea a hope hom new and therefore fascinating rich and therefore there tom tempting when the transportation companies started to boom alaska last su summer intner and succeeded in inspiring a hope of untold wealth in thousands of hearts I 1 know which to admire most the cleverness of the companies or the power of imagination in the people when the winter covered the lake and yukon river with ice and stopped the mad rush for 1897 there was left a few hundred men who were willing to risk their lives in a new experiment in attempting to reach the land of gold over the ice they hoped to be at the chil koot pass early enough to strike clear ice and be able to take on sleighs with dog trains enough provisions to last until summer it is the fate of those few hundred men I 1 am about to describe the first obstacle was the pass itself to cross it we had to pack our provisions tent stove clothing etc on our backs for six and a half miles over hills u up and down crossing creeks climbing H ils jumping from rock to rock and ana higher up working through snow and breaking new trail every day at last men succeeded in placing their goods at the scales about a week before christmas and the last ascent of the 1400 feet high summit was commenced we we had to make footholds in the snow wall which rose almost perpendicular up to the famous top of the pass there tere were days when we had nice calm weather at the scales and a a blizzard blowing on the summit and vice versa an avalanche covered the most part of our outfits but through hard work we get them out again and by the last of Doe december ember we all had our stuff cached on tho the bluffs when I 1 say all I 1 forgot to mention that about one half already bal b dropped out at sheep camp tired of oce ibbe packing ipg and scared of snow storms and cold weather we then moved buo ouo curf camp over to lake under linder maan and pitched our tents on the snowy hillside among the trees the camp c was named atter after me whose tent was As the first pitched there so far our calculations were all right the ice on toe the lakes was still clear and if we then had had our stop down we could hav gone cone further but for four weeks a hiat heavy snowstorm blew almost without cessation and it if we had a single clear dy it was almost impossible to take aw any sleigh load through the snow over atte ten miles road from the top to lake TAn lindermann dermann furthermore the mountain lakes were dangerous and several of our ur best beset friends got lost on crater lake and were lost forever the road from crater lake to the next lakes long and deep lake goies through a five mile lonk canyon aaa it if a storm Is blowing ll 11 on crater lake it is almost I 1 impossible in ossi ble even for an old timer to an find the mouth of the right canyon th trail Is gone the snow and fog d donot allow you to see two feet ahead and several other canyons leading to ung unknown iowA regions and with swift running never creeks may take you away for ever I 1 especially rl ember three russian pins flins fine specimen of manhood with a 4 number of interior dol dogs fa they left us in the morning hearty hopeful and strong aad never returned those days ot h hp work and danger created a friendship among us that was entirely unknown later on under the wild spring ruah too the above mentioned snow storm covered up the lakeland lakes lake sand and turned back most of our friends only a few went together and decided to go fur ther thep with title intention of taking all our belongings to tagish lake and st stay ELY fill march when the southern atoa thae chinook would allow us on wg with big sails to take sufficient further with ease ekeh each maa had about 1400 pounds and d it was for a mat man and two dogs to 1 rafter load than pounds which aka that tor for every ten milea mile we had to go 70 several of the W boya r vy and only nine two english f one american a harvard graduate two swedish hunters and trappers one old danish mii ner two russian fins and I 1 were left lake linderman lake bennett and baraboo cro crossing sAing are embedded between tall mountains all covered with glittering snow patches of wood are running for miles up in deep gulches cut out by powerful mountain streams after getting away tram from the coast range we only had one severe wind storm lasting five days with a temperature pera ture of 47 deg below zero the lowest temperature was 57 deg but the weather was then calm and we did not feel it very much and were able to work outside the tents right along those who had expected to find game were sadly disappointed our whole winter result was a few squirrels tar megans snowshoe snow show rabbits and one timber wolf the last one was temp ed by our dogs to run close up to our tents we lived on bazon bacon beans beana flour rice cornmeal and dried fruit and consumed quantities that were really astonishing but our health was waa excellent and only a few a accidents stopped the men from working wes we had read in the papers before leaving about the horrors of an arctic night but I 1 must admit never to have seen anything so beautiful and grand as an arctic night with the northern light shining over the picturesque mountains and over our small camp of white tents and sparkling camp firm fires several ot us soon turned out to be expert cooks and pies and doughnuts were not uncommon although I 1 am aan afraid they were heavy enough to be used as deadly weapons in a fight A mandolin belonging to one ot of the crowd gathered us often together round the fire and was only disturbed by the howling orf of the dogs that did not appreciate thle this symptom of civilization when about five miles from teklah post we got information that canadas governor major who had tried with horses and dog team to make dawson city had failed and was returning giving at the sae time the order that nobody should be allowed to go further with less than 1000 pounds of eatable provisions although apparently without any legal right he forced his order through and our last hope was gone nobody was wais able to carry that amount over the ice without covering the road several times we therefore either turned back or went into permanent camp at to belld boats and wait for the coming spring from the middle of december we met several Yuko ners coming out light with just provisions enough for the road and with 7 or 8 splendid interior dogs each and through conversation with them we got an impression of the land of gold somewhat different from the newspaper stories this is the report in nwee all Yuko ners conring con ring ang out before the middle of Jai january nuary were entirely ignorant of the excitement in the world at large and were not able to see any reason for it of course there was gold in the interior and new strikes every year but that had been known for years and the amount of hard work wark hardships sufferings and dangers a man had to go through for reaching those with provisions enough to last from one yew to the next were so eo immense that only a rich gold mine was a suitable recompense and lots of them thought that even gold could be bought too dear all Yuko ners coming out later were either boo boomers meTs or men who came to talfe take in their usual spring supply the canadian government has made life pretty unendurable for the tb americans besides the duty they collect taxes on everything A mien man has to pay tax for the permit to build a log capin and for the right to out cut timber for every foo of lumber to in the sluice aulce boxes there is a tax the claims are reduced to feet and the royalty Is ie 20 per pent cent which gives in fact the miner a mighty poor show to make anything on my coming back I 1 met on the coast side of the chilcoot pass pase the wild spring rush of people sheep camp canyon city and dyea peaceful small towns were just wild with excitement especially e specially ally aily sheep camp which in fact Is 1 only the last place in the pass where timber is plentiful was booming real estate eutte was out of sight about 1000 men were camping on the snow and I 1 doubt the world before has seen a bigger camp of tents in the snow region even on the frozen creek were pitched tents and sometimes the inhabitants were surprised to find a natural well under the snow formed be the melting ice gambling houses and saloons were running freely and in full daylight shell games and any kind of sure thing game could not be stopped A man killed his partner and friend in cold blood right in the tent next to me stealing and fights were an every day occurrence every morning started the bhe gang of men with horses dogs burrows billy goats oxen and human teams to drag their provisions up to the scales and there was a string of human beings three mites miles long all fighting swearing and laughing and all inspired by the gold thirst that always has and always will set the world crazy I 1 had recovered from the klondike fever and was able to see how very few of those men were really fit for the trip and stood any show to succeed but advice and warning were just as useless on them as five months previous they would have been to me tadia aard were grown considerably sider ably since I 1 was there and although the houses were very poorly constructed they were grown up in an immense number looking back on the excitement that now is a story ot of the past I 1 dont think very many made money the boom was too snort short to justify the investments necessary for a start when the boom was going down the travelers got away and only the gambling houses sta loons and prostitutes were left I 1 dont think there ever was a more godforsaken god forsaken place on earth and a place more unfit for civilized beings doubt that thousands of people will be going over to st michaels and the first treasure vessel coming wt out with gold will again start some people crazy if not this war in which every patriotic citizen to la interested with his whole soul is able t to shake people up and show them that gold is not everything finally only a short story about the indians those poor sickly ignored beings who are hardly recognized as human I 1 met on lake bennett a small sm 11 tribe trotting along with their children and aggs and bought a few curiosities from a middle aged woman two days after they crossed the chilcoot pass in a snow storm and in spite of their old precaution prem ution to tie the gang together with a rope the same woman with the on her back got lost coming down to sheep camp they first missed her and a gang of at miners was organized and went up after her she was waa found frozen to td death but had taken all her clothing oft off and wrapped aio und her little pa oae who still waz was in pretty good spirits this hero hem db deed id of motherly love worked op the tha gold id hunters more powerful thao the ct beat sermon and they all united and ge ehfe woman a royal funeral fune raj when anen the report reached us on an the othe either r side our small camp lighted a campfire and my young swung american friend aroi from made a song ong in honor of at the pooi anaa Xia iii m mother he dit C f P 01 |