The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-10-16
CHILk00T THE BEST.
WHITE pass NOT To RE COMPARED
WITH THAT FROM DYEA
Fosf-tntrfIiEeace Correspondent
Makes the TRIP over Both and n
Result Claims That the sEaEuay

- aims hH1 the aat
Proposition IL Entirely Worthless.
correspondent % ths Pcst-Tntelh-
E@1cer az SsaE1sv vito re w~1 Known n
Seattle. and waose reputation for Tsractty
cannot be questioned warrs prosPscto-s
from TIA, route. he says.
Z have beer gnah}e &c write vcu fcr
some tine rasr as ~as absent o. TIP
~ A@AFs hsHetE ans Lnts oman Atfer
putting IL month - sn3lscr. aale bard
ships 2 an eZ9eavor 70 cross Ss.aguay
pass wtth ny oaE..s arA Hn6l-E e Wss 80
tnz 70 pe ar tTnpcss3aslttV 20 accomplish
ms task without fhe atd e unlimited cspi-
tAS- tfecl1eG &c cache nv gco0S ana
await the freezing - tAe rivers 10 order
mat might - able &c SEED through After
placing my provisions where they wou}1 -
safe 0sctGef1 70 make 3 through trlp over
nsath tire Skaguav and DIVA traits ln oreer
20 satisfy E1NSsLE 20 the frue condition
q affairs - 81 vas Impossible 20 believe
any stories one might hear Nv real OBJ
1ect = making this trip was % pick out
good winter eourse NV object In writing
this letter Is 20 tell you how tie people at
town boomers and What misery and SUI
terlng have been 0ccaSioued.
FtrGapE the best way 10 explain this IS
70 describe the trip, A companion and
myself started from nEre on September Is
for Lake Bennett with packs weigh ng
seFenty-tve pounds each. We Travelled
through the rain and mud All that day.
Stopping tnar night a. what Is known as
the Third Bridge. Next morning IL was a
repetition OF the day previous we found
nothing bur rough rock and mud mud.
Eud-FeEular rivers % mud running down
tEe steep trails. The next two DAYS were
O mixture u snow. rain. mud and dead
horses ] am putting a very conservative
estimate when I state that there are over
On the afs-noOn OF the Gfh. Or after
nearly folif DAYS q continuous watkins. We
trtp cannot he described IN words: re
waded Swamps through water TO our
waists. the river fords were worse than
the swamps on account OF the dangerous
currents. We climbed hills that would put
any Citlkoof summit in the shade by Ear.
We climbed down such steep places In the
trail that wonder how any horse could
manage 20 keen rs footing for an Instant,
and We waded ~. entire length ~ shallow
lake In ice-cold water - our waists, be-
cause the tran was so bad with mud that
we could not possibly keep from sinking 20
proposition.
Il could write whole pages Of Just such
particulars. bot VIII forego that I only
wish 70 say that the people OF Seattle need
not call the fellows who return weak
hearted because they have gone through
the hardest experience Of their whole lives
Let the one who calls the other fellow
weak hearted come here and try Il for
Just ore dsy and he will then fully appre-
ciste what the word hardship really
but coming back TO the trip After
reaching Lake Bennett we looked the
camps over and talked with those that
bad succeeded IN getting through. and
found that Il Rad cost each one anywhere
from 81 so TO = on and from six weeks 70
two months of the hardest possible work.
Many who are stili on the tran viii never
set over this winter. as their horses are
dying Ike flies and should they succeed In
getting 10 the lake they ssill have no boat
and no time 10 build one before the freeze
90 ia IN
went through the woods where they were
whtp-sawing lumber, and took a hand at
the work FOR three days ourselves. We
received from % 10 ~ cents Per foot for
what lumber We sawed. and averaged
ninety feet dav Provisions cannot be
bought AZ Lake Bennett. as people viii not
sell, and what some Of The poor fellows
are going 70 do for food this winter who
are going down the river with only three
or four hundred pounds OF grub, do not
know Nearly everyone Is short and some
have brought only enough TO keep them
for two months.
After spending several days more
around the lake. We went over 10 the end
OF Lake Linderrnan 10 see that camp.
Here we found an entirely different state
OF affairs Instead % tha; haEEard. weary
look on the face OF every man that We
met. as was the case at the Ska quay tran
we found A cheerful set Of people who
seemed to be enjoying life as well as could
be. We also noticed that the sacks 81
provisions sll Iooh4 fairly clean Instead
OF being pl8stere1 With mud. The next
morning after reaching this camp. SEN
tember p We started for Dvea. They told
Us Il was two DAYS walk hack over that
trail but nevertheless starting ~
O'Clock We reached Dyea az Z o'clock that
evening. We sat down 20 supper az Dyea
eleven hours from the time we left Camn
Llnderman and without one particle Of
mud above our shoe tops That awful
summit that the Skaguav boomers keen
harpinE upon when persHadins a new
conner 70 stop here Is not one-haH as bad
or dangerous as the smallest hill on thu
SkaCuav traN and the balance ~ the TRAN
is ten times better than this ere. That ia
why 7 call u a shame that pe0oie have
been 80 badly misled and deceived, simply
to boom a townste for that Is the main
purnose without = doubt.
Now as 70 the winter travel Although
the Skaguay tran is lower than that az
Dyea vet a very dangerous feature must
be considered and that r. the timber for
fuel on This summit. which is several
miles across there r. nothing that could
be used for frewcod except scrub brush
and that Will All - covered with snow
during the winter while ~ the Dvea tran
the summit IS only p short distance over
and then q Is al down hill work and Aut
ni-t. miles 20 tbe }aSeE against thirty
miles Of uphill and down on iris trail:
besides. this tran IS nearly twice a. long
as the Chilkoot.
u am writing this from a purely di~in-
teresfed standpoint and hope that & NAV
al peope who intend coming 20 This point
IN the spring for II ever tf,sre vas fake
penetrated upon a lot q people myself
included = was the one thar cau.d US 20
try this pass.
LAS s0on as the snow IS ~ 70 sled mon
7 shall take my Yukon sled 81 nv goods
from the cache bring thrn back down the
SkaRuav river. ard take them over 20
Dvea where by rights they should have
be,n taken IN fhe first place, ard bid
Ska vuay adleu forever.
YOU may use this latter FOR publication
Il rou wish for am ready 20 take the re-
sponeilflty for any % my statements.
knowing ss ] % that many and many a
poor fellow whc has spent weeks ard
weeks upor This tFsU will verify ms state
n1ents ard rsu better tell th- fan truth
than 7 can wrftH r.
IT WI write Tcu sgain before long
am sr good health ard veil Feaeh the va
kor IN time Perhaps Il is fast az well
thaf dfd NOT succeed ir getting SoWu ths
river this fan ss We are hsaricR pretty
strong hirts o. a shortage q provisions
shere thIs winter I staH spend uv tire
IN me king as much money az ran This
winter and 20 r. with Tv.ug colors in the
spri1g or before that time"
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