Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1897-12-31
THE YUKON DANGERS.
SCORES, PERHAPS HUNDREDS, PER.
lsH ON LAKES AND RIVERS.

A Late Letter From Dawson City Gives
Account Of Many Fatalities In the
Frozen North--LIves Constantly Being
Lost Along the Upper Yukon.
Seattle, Wash, Dec. 2s.LThe follow
ing letter from Dawson city, bearing
date of Nov. %, was brought to this
port by the steamer Allxi:
No pen or tongue can describe the
hardshlps and dangers to life in this
country even to the hardest and best
provided for How many men have lost
their lives by drowning, by accident or
privation will never be known.
There is no newspaper published on
the Yukon, and there are few other
means of distributing news. AS a re-
suit, few people here even appreciate
the dangers of the lakes and river.
Never day passes that reports are not
brought in of death by drowning or Of
lives lost in the ice foes in the river, or
robberies of caches and of holdups by
highwaymen between Dawson and the
/ passes.
The latest arrivals from up the river
/ all tell of different cases Of drowning
on the lakes; one or two of these men
report having heard of a dozen deaths
within the past month. Rumors which
cannot be traced to certainty are heard
/ here OF people lost at Lousetown or
Dawson while trying to make a landing
after their journey from the states.
One case is reported OF six men In one
boat being drawn under the ice a few
days ago just as night had set in.
Those who saw the accident could rem
| der no assistance.
Ten days ago, in the early morning, a
man was seen floating down the Yukon
In front of Dawson on a large piece of
ice, while his boat, from which he had
been separated, was a few yards ahead
of him. His cries for help attracted
the attention Of two men on shore but
they made no attempt to rescue him, as
1t would be impossible to reach him in a
boat from shore when the ice is flow
ing so heavily.
He f1oated on down, and II is hardly
possible that he can have escaped
death from cold or drowning before
reaching Forty Mile, which is s. miles
down the river.
Two days later the river closed again,
and two men went from here to Forty
Mile in a canoe. Just as they started
back the ice began to flow thlckly, and
they were compelled to desert their
boat and attempt the hazardous jour
ney overland. This is a difficult under
taking, for the cliffs along the Yukon
are almost impossible.
Boats Imprisoned In the Zee.
IT would have been out of the ques-
tion for them to return to Forty Mile,
for 1t was on the opposite side of the
river, which could not then be crossed
again.
They were five days making the jour-
ney of 55 miles, and on the way they
saw imprisoned in the Ice two boats, in
which were three men. II was impos-
sible for them to make a landing, and
the chances are they were lost.
The trails from here out of the passes
promise to be the scenes of much hard
ship from now on among those who, i'll
prepared for a long journey, will at
tempt to make their way out. Nearly
200 men have started up the river to
attempt to reach Juneau without the
aid of dogs, and poorly supplied with
food and robes.
Many have nothing but blankets to
sleep in. and others have no suitable
footgear. ola timers saYkhat unless
they receive assistance on the road
some will freeze to death and few will
reach Juneau or be able to return un-
less they can purchase food along the
line of travel.
Now the first dog teams are begin
ming to start and many large parties
are preparing to take the trail during
the next few weeks. Many of these go
well equipped. All the best dogs are
being picked out and command fancy
prices Robes which sold last year at
st. Michaels for SO each are now worth
$500 or more.
At least 300 men will have left Daw-
son before Jan. 1. A large portion OF
these are men who lately came in and
have left in disgust after selling their
outfits. A number are going out with
the intention of returning in the spring
with supplies, which they believe will
, command high prices, and many are
confiding public.