The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1897-08-07
WILL NOT GOTO ALASKA
!. X. Edmonds Will Rest His
Gold Case On His First
Trip.
HE ONCE HAD THE FEVER.
But The Change Of Climate Cured Him
Completely.
HE ONCE HAD THE FEVER.

But The Change Of Climate Cured Him
Completely.
Everybody is talking about Alaska, the
Yukon, the Klondyke. People are dream
ing about gold and building air castles
with millions in them. Every town in the
state nearly has sent a delegation of en-
thusiasts to the gold field. Lexington will
hardly send a delegation. She gave her
quota to the craze in '96 and she has
enough of Alaska for this summer at
least.
In 1896 James and Joseph Edmonds and
Campbell Smock started for the gold
fields, and are now at home, having paid
for their experience and thanking a mer-
ciful Providence that they are back in His
country. The gold fever may get bad, but
these three young men Will not be moved
by the newspaper reports to leave this
country in search for gold. James Ed
monds, the leader of his little party,
talks interestingly about his experiences
in Alaska, and at this time, his experience
is interesting. A reporter of the INTEL
LIaENCER cornered Mr.. Edmonds We'd
nesday and interviewed him. Mr. dmonds
said:
"Every day since the newspapers began
to give such glowing ~accoun of the o
derful Klondyke gold fields, 1 am besieged
by gold fever patients and II 1 could only
collect a small fee from each, l might
play even on this gold excitement. But as
it is my experience" account is largely
debtor, and / am only too glad to give my
experiences while in Uncle Sans delight
full summer resort to any one who may
desire it.
"Seattle is the principle port where the
gold seekers congregate and lay in a sup
ply, from wooden blankets to clothes pins.
1t is at this lovely town that one parts
with civilization and a good deal of
money.
sit was on Easter Sunday, '96, that we
steamed away to the golden north, every
one seemed happy, except one or W.
kickers who said We would be "Jonahed"
for starting on Sunday. But what did we
prospective millionaires care for poor old
Jonah's troubles, what we wanted was to
get to Alaska, and there Is no doubt but
that we got there.
"Thrse days out, we steamed into the
beautiful bay at Sitka, but we were here
only q few hours and could only get
ashore by going in an indian canoe, which
by the way, is a great surprise for a tender
foot, as he feels so thankful to be alive
and above water after the experience.
"Sitka is a very picturesque place and its
merchants are a live, hustling lot of { y
men. From Sitka to the entrance of
Cooks Inlet-our destination-was a very
rough trip of four days. We encountered
some grand storms, just the kind you read
about. The boys at such intervals would
stop playing cards and raising the decks
to attend old Brother OdelPs prayer
meetings.
"Right here let me say, age is no limit
to the prospector. There were several men
in our crowd Of 225 that were over seventy
years old, men who RECALLED you by the
Dur with wonderful tales of '49. They
had made 1t once and lost, and were try
ing it again.
Cooks Inlet is an arm OF the ocean ex-
tending inland about four hundred miles.
1t was named after old Capt. Cook, the
great English explorer, who thought he
had found an open passage to the pole.
THE inlet was running full of great
pieces Of ice which we could not get
through, and Capt. Anderson. that noble
hearted 20 Swede, cast anchor in Cool
bay, where several schooners and ships
were waiting for the ice to break up. Here
we passed q restless week aboard hip,
having to AXE shifts at getting water
across the bay for cooking and drinking
, purposes. We Jared sumptuously on the
= grand mountain scenery, had ice tea from
! two glaciers, n besides our regular fare
of black coffee (chicory) and hard tack.
"The man who chartered the ship had
to make so many thousand dollars, and,
therefore, forgot to put enough grub "a
!. most proper word) aboard.
) "Seeing that we could not get to Six Mile
!. creek, where our tickets called for, the
captain tried to bluff us into landing on q
wild, rough shore in about six feet oil
But this was too much for the good
natured crowd to stand, and the boys held
an indignation meeting. at which it was
decided to shoot the captain and hang
Wakefield, the man who chartered the
ship, If something was not done to get US
where we had paid our money to go.
n 'Seeing hat his bluff would not work
the captain steamed back to o bay, and
diJcE muCu Purifying, beCuEoO auOLnei
ship to finish his contract.
"Then we landed on What is called ''The
Cool Spot" being a neck of land about a
half mile wide and Ave long, with the bay
on one side and the ocean on the other.
sit was here our real life as o prospectoI
begun. Being a past grand master in the
art of cooking, l o charge OF that most
important position. The rest of the fellows
carried the wood and water q small space
Of a quarter of a mile.
"Here it was we learned the art of pam
, ming gold. The banning was good, but
like the hunting In Missouri. Here !
killed my first moose, the sweetest
moments of q hunters life. Here it was
, we ate that moose and dreamed of the
tender feet behind at home. The boys
? would dig CLANS and l would turn them
into chowder n f~ritters. A fellows
q waist measure is alright in that country
"But 1 must go on board the old Utopia
and finish our journey to Six Mile creek
1t was after camping OIL the spot two
weeks that we resumed our explorations
> farther inland on the Utopia and in a day
. and nights hard steaming had landed
: safely at the wonderful Six Mile creek
! The place where The uncoined eagle:
I screamed for birth and the gold bug liyeC
on gold. 1t took a day and night for the
! ship to unload and to get our tent
: : pitched and the two feet of snow cleared
away or our camp ground.
"The place where we camped was in the
timber not thirty feet from where the
!. high tide came In, behind us was the ma
iestic Alaskan mountains; while before vi
: lay the inlet, on each side OF which great
= towering snow and ice-cIad mountains
I reared their heads. When the sun woulC
set away down behind the mountains anl
t the sea it was a most sublime picture t.
behold. But most men care not for SUI
sets, it is gold; and I'll tell you about tn,
gold we pioneers of '96 didR't get.