The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1896-04-09
IN ALASKA.
Rev. H. Beer Is Now DomiCiled in
His Icy Home.

To THE EDITOR: At last I have ar
rived at my destination. Bishop Rowe
and l landed here last Monday just at
dark, from the steamer "City of
Topeka" The fare from Tacoma to
Juneau was twelve dollars, though
the opposition boat, 1.-THE Willapa,"
charges only five dollars. Our steam
or was so crowded that men and
women were laying all over the floor
of the dingy saloon, and on and un-
der the tables. The board was good
enough, and the trip was very pleas
ant except that I got sea sick crossing
the straits of St. Juan de Fuca, and
also felt poorly in one or two other
openings between tho Island where
the broad Pacific gets d cilauce to roll
in her great breakers, which made our
vessel toss and roll like a cookie shell.
This is a most wonderful voyage
of nearly thousand miles from Ia
coma, and all this distance behind the
most wonderful and magnificent
archipelago in the world. Island af
ter island succeed each other and near
ly all them consist for the most part
of lofty mountains, the highest peaks
of which are snow clad. There is
timber enough in sight all along this
journey to furnish the world for many
a year to come. 1t appeared for the
most part small, but probably was
larger than it seemed. The waters
were alive with ducks and divers of
various kinds and deer and fur bear
ing animals are said to abound on the
islands and mainland.
But [ am sure what your readers
most desire to know is about Juneau
itself, and more especially in regard
to the prospect of doing a profitable
business here. Everybody has heard
of Juneau in connection with the gold
mining. Well, | am not yet in a
position to give any opinion on such a
matter A man should have consider
able acquaintance with a subject be-
fore he undertakes to talk dogmatical.
ly about it, and of course it would be
very unwise for me to talk for some
months to come. Still as [ know
many want to know, | may be allowed
to state what old residents say, and al
so [ may state facts without deduc
tons from those facts. Well, then i
has been told me by at least one per
son, who has resided here for some
time, that there are already more mel
il Juneau than are needed. Thi:
gentleman said there was room TO
miners on the Yukon but Juneau wa
already too full of business men of al
kinds. On the office door of tn
NOVEL; gold mining company [. hav'
read placard stating that mo min
ers or laborers are needed"
Rev. DR.. Nevins, my predecessor, oc
casionally employed for odd jobs,
Swede who has been here for som
few weeks and cannot get any work
He has no money to outfit himself 70
the Yukon and 50 is in a bad state
1t takes from fifty to five hundre
dollars to get miners outfit. Tw
or three hundred dollars one ought t
have to make anything like a star
y You have to buy provisions, stove
, cookery, shovels and other tools,
+ tent, besides good strong clothin
4 and boots. Many are taking in abou
! four or five hundredweight per ma
+ on small low sleighs about eight fee
, long and foot and a half wide. The
, stow their stuff in oiled canvass bag
, and take dogs and SNOW shoes alon
and guns and ammunition also. 70
= can easily see that to take provision
o enough for several months must tax
considerable money. Some are GU
b filing for two or three years stay.
0 To give you some idea of the nun
i Der of men going into the Yukon,
J. was talking with a man named 10
r genson this morning and he told n
d he had sold a hundred and twent
@ sleighs and there are others in TT
i same business here, and many OF tt
l. miners outfit at Seattle.
st A large number of those who a
IT going into the Yukon are entirely Il
W experienced. They know no more
n where they are going and how to was
d gold than you or I do. Generally
d think they try to have one person
IL .u4. ,,Lo hoe boon at the blls