The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-21

Much Suffering and Several Deaths at
Lake Lindermann.

Lake Lfndermann.
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 20. - The latest
news from Lake Linderman, over the Chill
koot pass, cones in a letter from a--news4i
paper man. who says the condition of the
rushers to the Klondike is something ap-
palling. He gives full description of the
trip over that trail, telling in detail of every
portion of the route. This shows that the
worst part is not from Dyea to the summit,
as generally supposed, but on the other side,
from Crater lake to the head of the Yukon.
There it is a continual succession of port
age and ferriages, and every time the goods
are removed it costs from / to cents
pound.
People are now eating provisions at Lake
Linderman which cost 81 a pound. exclusive
of the original price. 1t has been raining
and showing almost continuously for three
weeks. 1t has been impossible for any one
to keep his outfit dry. and there has been
much suffering, as well as many deaths,
and many more will succumb to the rigorous
winter.
The saddest case was that of a family
named Card, from Missouri. There were
the father, wife, a boy aged seven and a
papy girl aged three They reached Lake
Linderman in safety, but the storms began
and the mother awoke one morning to find
the baby dead by her side. A few days later
the boy sickened and passed away in few
hours. Then the mother died of grief, and
the three bodies now lie side by side in
that desolate spot. Three other persons
men, had died in the week the, letter was
written, Oct 3, but no one knew their names
or went to sufficient trouble to find out
Food is already short at Lake Linderman.
Board is $40 day and a single meal from
$3.50 to 49, There are still over $50 tents dot
ting "Lnderman flat and over five hundred
people IN them, who expect to reach Dawson
City or the Klondike this fall
Carpenters have their time engaged for
days in advance at $25 a day and board
and laboring men very scarce at SIS
to $50 a day. Twenty-Five dollars for a
pair of shoes and $65 for a seven-dollar
whipsaw is not out of the ordinary at this
sold here tomorrow at 81 a pound Nails
are in big demand at $3.50 a pound; pitch
is hard to get at $2 pound, and oakum
sells readily at such fancy prices
The summit itself is the easiest part Of
the trip. 1t is only mile and a half from
the foot of the steep part to Crater lake
and here the traveller thinks his troubles are
about over. The fact of the matter is he
has yet to learn what trouble is. First it
almost always blows a gale on Crater lake
and when 1t blows the ferry cannot run
When a still day or night does come there
is a big pile of goods on the shore, big
enough TO load the Oakland ferry, and the
price of transportation over the lake ad-
vances. So it is, and has been, the fate
of most Chilkooters to spend about four mis-
erable days and nights on Crater lake. With
not a stick of firewood for five miles either
way he vainly tries to tie his tent to the
barren rocks, while the wind and rain beats
upon the unprotected outfit and himself At
length, in desperation, he carries his goods
with the wet tent and pays $1.25 for a cup of
weak coffee and plate of half-cooked
beans. in order to gain the shelter of one of
the very few tents standing-"the restau-
rant