Audubon Republican., 1897-09-23
TELLS OF TRIALS.
Government Official Writes of the
Hardships i'm the Gold Country.

| Government Omcinl Writes of the
Hardships I'm the Gold Country.
| Washington, Sept. 20.-Oren w.
Weaver, acting commissioner of labor,
has given out copy of most graphic
letter on the terrors of the trip across
Alaska to the Klondike gold fields. The
letter has just been received from
San1del g. Durham, statistical expert
of the governments department of la
Dor, who had been assigned by Commits
sioner Wright to make an investigation
OF the opportunities which the gold
regions in the Yukon valley and adj
! joining territory afford for the re-
munerative employment of American
labor and capital. The letter is as fol-
| lows:
Lake Lindemann. Alaska. Aug. 2e. 1897
| Commissioner of Labor, Washington.-
Sir: left Dyea Monday morning at IL
| o'clock and arrived here Tuesday evening
| at seven. My four Indians started ahead
of me, but I have not seen anything or
| them since the start and am waiting for
| them here. When reached the foot of the
summit terrible storm was raging on
| the pass. I had an awful experience COM
ing across the summit I started out with
| my hand bag strapped on my back, think
ing tHdC as 1t WelSneQ only ~ POUNDS i
| could carry it. managed to struggle along
| to the head of navigation for canoes, six
miles from Dyea, and was there forced
| to employ an Indian packer. paying him
| ten dollars to carry my grip to Sheep Camp,
| IL miles from Dyea. I spent the night at
! Sheep Camp, which is merely collection
| of tents, and started for the summit at
| eight o'clock Tuesday morning in a driz-
xling. cold rain. I employed a packer to
| carry my grip from there to Lake Linde-
mann. paying him SIS At the foot of the
summit we met perhaps 100 Indian and
| white packers, who had cached their packs
on the trail above and were returning to
| Sheep Camp to await an abatement OF
| the storm.
'"The distance from the foot Of the sum-
| NIT to the top is said to be three-quarters
| OF mile, but 1t seems like five miles. The
| trail ascends at an angle Of 45 degrees,
skirting precipices where a misstep would
hurl one a thousand feet below; crossing
the face Of glaciers as smooth as glass,
| and in many places traversing the poll
| ished surface of great granite powders
hundreds Of feet in extent. Every hundred
yards or so mountain torrents, fed by the
glaciers. and on the present occasion aug
mented by the rainfall, rush across the
trail, and have to be waded, the water often
coming to the knees.
add to this a gale blowing 50 miles an
hour, with sleet and snow rushing hori-
zontally through the air, and the tenn
perature al 80 degrees, and you will have
a faint idea of the horrors of my passage
across the summit. After struggling up
steep ascent of 25 or 80 feet would be
forced from sheer exhaustion to rest for
a moment, but would scarcely stop before
the chilling wind would cut me to the mar
row, and / would have to continue my
course to keep from chilling to death Be-
fore / reached the summit was wet to
the skin and my boots were full Of water,
and the added weight of the water made
1t almost impossible to proceed. finally
reached this camp, at the head of Lake
Lindemann, about seven o'clock in the
evening, having been II hours in covering
II miles, so thoroughly exhausted that
could scarcely drag one foot after the
other.
"At present the condition of affairs on
both trails is terrible, and hundreds of men
are bound to starve and freeze to death
II they continue to come this way. passed
at least 1000 men between Dyea and here
and not more than 100 have their outfits
this side of the summit. Every so yards
along the trail are piles of goods, and
suppose there are provisions to the value
Of $500, 900 scattered along the trail Prices
for packing and for all kinds Of service
are practically prohibitory for most OF
those who are attempting to get in, so many
are carrying over their own outfits. Some
of the Indians carry as much as 200 pounds
at one load and make the trip from Dyea
to Lake Lindemann in two days, returning
to Dyea on the third day, thus making two
trips a week. White men carry from rs
to 125 pounds, and 1t takes a man with an
adequate outfit month to get to the lake.
There are many here who have been five
or six weeks packing their outfits over
and are not ready to start down the river
yet. All who have come to Skaguay or
Dyea within the last week or so, who have
to come in without sufficient outfit pay
40 cents or more pound or not get in at
all.
Lumber is $500 thousand and rising.
A great many whipsaw their lumber two
men turning out about 100 feet day. A boat
carrying three men sells for $3.50 to $40Q,
according to the purse of the purchaser.
Wages of carpenters are $12.50 day ana
board Everything is high in price when
you can get 1t at all. Whisky Is so cents
drink and five dollars bottle, and poor
stuff at that. Alcohol Is worth $40 gall
lon 1t makes ten gallons Of Lake Linde-
mann whisky. Meals cannot be had for
money, as everyone is holding on to his
provisions. I never saw such selfshness
anywhere as is displayed on this trail.
You pass hundred people without receiv-
ing a response to your respectful good
morning. and soon learn to keep your
mouth shut. There are so many on the
trail that It is like walking the street Of
city-the Individual is lost In the passing
throng and you are recognized only by ac-
uuaintances If you ask for food in nine
cases out of ten it will be refused.
1T have tried to give you fair idea Of
the hardships of this journey, but feel my
incapability to paint its terrors. 1t is out
of my line. will simply say that no one
who has written on the subject has over
stated it's difficulties. A man who got in
to-day over the Skaguay trail says that
It Is even worse. He counted 172 dead
horses along the trail and several men
! have met with serious accidents, such as
broken ankle leg, etc. Several deaths from
drowning have occurred on both trails,
the swift current carrying packers down.
stream and their packs rendering them
helpless Some movement ought to be made
at once for the relief of the suffering which
ia bound to occur at Dyea and Skaguay.
Every steamship that has brought people
up will have all it can do for at least two
trips in carrying the unsuccessful people
back to civilization, and there ought to
be some way to force them to perform
the service without compensation.
SAMUEL G. DUNHAM."
Buys Valuable Patents.
Denver, Col, Sept. 20.-Frank Gard