The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-10-08
THE HALF IS NOT YET TOLD.
NO PEN HAS YET DESCRIBED THE
HORRORS OF SKAGUAY.
Son of Ex-senator Allen Returns from
the Impossible Nail with a Reals
tic Account of Its Difficulties.

states senator JOnn Ii. Alien. MT. Al
len went to Skaguay, intending to get
over the White Pass to Lake Linder-
man, July Goth. While he intends to
go again next year, he will not at
tempt Skaguay, but will go to Dyea,
and through the Chilkoot trail, where
he says he already has Il tender to de-
liver his freight from salt to fresh
water" as the expression goes on the
beach, at IL cents a pound. This ten
der is made on the assumption that
the cable system for hauling goods
over the worst part of the trail will
be operation.
1--WE succeeded in reaching point
twenty-seven miles from Skaguuy,
continued Mr.. Allen, land there as
posed of our outfit after finding that
about a third of it had been stolen.
Our only loss besides our time was on
our horses. We took five from here
and bought three more up there. We
rescued one horse that was stalled in
the mud. whose owner had abandoned
him, which was a sort of salvage deal,
and he proved to be one of the best of
our animals.
''The condition of the trail is fright
believe that there was a betterment.
owing to the mems efforts to corde-
roy the bad places and the occasional
glimpses of the sun, but a nights rain
would undo it all. and the morning
would show it worse than ever. The
horses floundered over the boulders
and through the mud, which is moth
ing more than decomposed vegetation,
L l. Il.
shot or knocked on the head. Lack
of animals and particularly the fact
that it is impossible to move supplies
has led many to split up their outfits
and hurry on with barely enough to
last them until they reach the river
camps.
There is bound to be great suffer
ing. | asked men what they intended
to do. They answered that they were
going to keep going. Those that get
to the lakes will find it milder than
on the slopes, but those who do not
succeed in getting their supplies to
the lakes will have to retrace their
steps to Skaguay. The question af-
ter crossing is to be one of shelter, and
there is an absence of timber. and the
tents will be inadequate. OF course
those who have supplies can make
dugouts or burrow in the ground. but
there will be nothing else to answer
1T has been impossible to get boats
across, although l have seen a couple
of Peterboro canoes and one or two
knock down boats carried over. The
Bond party will reach the lakes, but
it has cost a great deal of money. The
outfit had seven or eight men at work
at $40 day each for a long time.
Half has not been told of the hor-
rors of the Skaguay trip to the lakes
Horses dead and dying line the trail,
and as fodder becomes scarce they eat
moss and the roots of wild parsnps.
and are sickened and poisoned. There
are meadows of wiry marsh grass, and
this grass | think is worse than no
fodder at all. | managed very well on
limited supply of oats. Three of our
horses are now running wild in the
marshes, the others we had to kill,
with one exception, that was a mare
that ! used to pack small amount
of my supplies with.
There is no knowledge on the
trail OF "A scarcity of provisions at
Dawson City, and | saw British com
pany pressing on to the lakes with on
~ enough to keep them alive until the
party got there. | think that man
ought to have at least 81 900 to cross
the Skaguay trail and reach Dawson
City, and this does not include his
outfit. Money is absolutely necessa-
ry to getting along.
81 have no idea what men mean by
by continuing. The other side of the
pass is worse than this. On the sea
side of the mountains there are mud
and boulders; on the other side the
boulders are covered with moss, and
this is stripped Off easily. On the sea
side it is raining, and on the other
side it is damp and the mists and the
fogs settle down, accompanied by icy
winds off the glaciers.
1.-THE party of Seattle policemen,
headed by Captain George Hogle, say
that they will reach Lake Linderman.
They are making better Roadway than
any other party on the trail Police
Imam Bates left Skaguay and went
over to Dyea, intending to cross Chill
coot Pass. | think he will get through
all right. The party that Wesley ].
Young is with. called the Dmond V
crowd, will probably get over the big
White pass to the lakes. Before ! left
snow had fallen to within few feet
of the trail, and it was very cold on
the slopes"