Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1897-12-17

Edward Hern aud Charles mcCarlele Tell
Their ExperIences-Tra a Night
and nay In Stocking Feet and without
Food Until rhey We're Rescued.
Seattle, Wash. Dec. 15.-Passengers
Of the steamer Alld which has Just ar
rived here from Skagguay. Alaska, re-
port that Collector of Customs Godson,
who Is stationed at Lake Tagish, came
into Skagguay on Dec. bringing con-
firmatory news of rich strikes on the
Hootalinqua river and that many pros
pectors at Lake Marsh,and other places
on the road to Dawson had gone into
the Hootalinque country.
According to a new ruling Of Deputy
United States Collector Of Customs
Floyd, at Skagguay, goods purchased in
Canada and brought to Skagguay must
either pay duty or So per day be given
a customs official while the goods are
in transit to the International boundary
line.
Collector Floyd has already collected
duties on five outfits from British Co
lumbia, the owners paying the duty
rather than pay a customs official to
travel with them to the line Owing to
the dispute over the location of the
boundary line, IL is feared that bad
feeling viii be engendered by Col
lector Floyd's Interpretation Of the GUS
toms law.
The steamer Alki had on board the
latest Klondikers from Dawson City,
Edward Hern OF Aspen, Col, and
Charles McGarigle of Chicago, who left
Dawson on oct. 25, nearly ten days lat
er than recent fugitlves from hunger
already reported.
Hern left Dawson with Frank Pierce
of San Francisco and another man,
whose name he did not remember They
had a terrible trip and a narrow escape
from death. After being three days
out they put back to Dawson for q
boat. The third man decided to face
threatening starvation in the Klondike
rather than attempt to escape UP the
river with its terrible hardships. Hern
and Pierce left together.
After being a week on the river, with
the thermometer about 30 degrees be-
low zero, Pierce turned his back TO the
coast and returned to Dawson, taking
his full share Of the food Hern went
on alone and few days later fell in
with McGarlgle and Frank Thomson
and Frank Callahan Of Tacoma. The
latter two remained behind on the trail,
bNiiAA uAleAbAI " h0NH UP AAAN paw
Hern and McGarigle had their ears
and cheeks frozen. McGarigle is lying
In his bunk on the ship, being unable to
come ashore.
Capsized In n Swift Current.
The mems canoe was capsized by
cake of floating ice on Nov. s, and they
were thrown into the water a quarter
of a mile from shore The current was
very swift, but after being carried down
the river half a mile they succeeded in
swimming ashore. Their coats. shoes
and provisions were lost. Hern had on
sweater. A few minutes before the
canoe capsized Hern had got his feet
wet and had taken off his shoes, wear
ing a pair of heavy wooden socks.
They walked UP the river bank all
that night and most of the next day.
Their clothes were frozen so stiff they
could hardly walk, and they had Moth
ing to eat. With their knives they cut
off one of the two pairs of mackinaw
trousers which each wore and tied them
around their feet.
At the mouth of the Little Salmon
river, the next afternoon, they found
a camp of Klondikers, but they were
on the other side of the river. It took
nearly two hours of yelling to make the
campers hear them. A man came over
in a boat and rowed them across, and
they got something to eat and place to
sleep. Hern walked ten miles up the
Little Salmon river to Indian Village
the next day and purchased fur clothes.
when 1 left Dawson" Hern said to
a reporter, from 5000 to $500 people
were preparing to leave and go down
the river to Fort Yukon. Not man
among them wanted to go, but It was a
case of get out or starve. About a
week after we were out the river got
clear of Ice and as they were waiting
at Dawson most of them doubtless
started They are by this time at Fort
Yukon. of course they will all flock
up to Dawson as soon as grub gets in
there.
'I think other creeks as rich as El
Dorado and Bonanza will be found, but
a mans hardships only begin when he
gets to Dawson. He must pack his own
grub further than to this place. and that
till he finally decides to locate at some
point and do some work"
The news was brought out by Mr..
Hern that three men of Major Walsh's
Canadian police party were caught in
an ice gorge below the Little Salmon
river on Nov. II, and j. J. Freeman of
Seattle and two others were drowned