The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-06-10
VIZ On TEE RIPPLE.

upon for companions, but even Jack
con" knew hill had to cover deposit
to make Il mine out II it. and that a
part could not be greater than the
whole. 1t now became irritatingly
lonesome with so little TO do and
no definite time ahead when it
might end About noon,o July
5, white man and two
Indians in boat appeared from down
the river. Mr.. Frank G. Ii. Bowker, a
young Englishman, was in charge, his
Indians rejoicing in the names of David
and Peter. This party was going
westward prospecting. and as Bowker
had full authority from Harper as to In
dians, supplies and other necessaries it
became easy to unite the parties to the
advantage of both. David and Peter
spoke better English than "Sam" and
negotiations thereafter with the others
were more easily carried on. The
moral effect on the local Indians was
quite apparent | got six of them as
packers at once with the promise of
half dozen dogs and the assurance that
the latter could carry thirty-fve to
forty pounds apiece. The Bowller
party came from the Placer mining
region on Forty Mile creek,
Western tributary of the Yukon coming
in something over 200 miles below
Selkirk. He gave us much information
about this region, probably the most
isolated mining camp in the world
Here news is received but once year
and then of a meager character.
Bowl1er said that when polling up the
Yukon the year before he inquired of a
newcomer floating down if the United
States had yet elected the President.
The reply was that "a new Teller named
Harrington or something like that" had
been selected.
There were two tame, domesticated
moose in the mining camp. These
carry bells on their neck to prevent
their killing when making long jaunts
from home. Whenever they walked
down the single path in the camp that
did duty for a main street everything
else politely gave them the right of
way. A small terrier was the
only opposition to this emolu-
ment they ever had and this
was short. The terrier had a playful
way that greatly attached him to the
miners of running out from his masters
cabin at any passers by, and inserting
his teeth into their calves or other dis
tai extremities. He tried it on the
bull moose calf one afternoon when
spectators were near. The moose was
grazing slowly down the path and near
the cabin, the dog rushed out and
started for his posterior dew-claws,
when he got more of them than he
really intended, the bull calf letting
both feet fly as if the terrier had
touched the trigger. The moose did
not stop his grazing until he heard the
dog drop little later, when he looked
around, stared at him for awhile, then
yawned, and began grazing again. The
dog, stupefed, returned to the store,
then skunk away and was never known
to bite man or moose after that. The
moose was not quite full grown, but he
was as much larger than the dog as the
United States is larger than Chile.
One might make some other COM
parsons but they would probably be
waste of time. This country is
one that is well-stocked with
large game and it is rare that
moose or caribou meat cannot be
had in the winter mining camp for ten
to fifteen cents per pound, and occa-
sionally as low as five cents. Where
'hdrd-tack crackers are i've cents
apiece this makes the figures on game
ridiculously low. On the high barren
tracts lying between "Forty-Mile" and
''Seventy-Mile" rivers, Bowker SAYS he
has seen herds of caribou, probably
1900 to 5000, while on every side We're
these animals making the SHOWS of APP
preaching winter fairly gray. At this
time an Indian with u Winchester
killed 105 caribou. number to which
he limited himself, only by the fortu-
nate fact he ran out of ammunition. lie
'wholesaled' this meat to miners at
Eve cents per pound. Bowker's best
story was, fortunately, about fish. On
Forty-AIile Creek miner had
70 live on them until he was
sick of fish. 1t was nothing to
eaach them and he simply walked down