The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-04
IN TO THE GOLD FIELDS!
u,RD ROAD TO TRAVEE, BUT
UIyERS PRESS FoRTARD.
.,.,,,e Man says the skaEvvny Trail 10 .
scers or Desperation ana SUFFERING, but
,,o,her FINDS the Hardships Not Half
md M They HhNe Reen Painted.

SEATTLE Man says the skaEVny Trail IL .
ao.,. or Desperation ana Suffering, but
another FINDS the Hardships Net Half
q. had ne they Have Becn Painted.
SEATTLE, Sept. 3.-Tho task undertaken by
A.. Thorps OF driving a band OF cattle through
I'm salt water TO the Klondike, having started
=, ,tsamer from Seattle in September. 10 creating
.0rsat deal o. interest among people who have
nan contemplating the trip n~orthward. but
-. b.sitated owing to tho ~lateness OF the sea-
IN and the mlsfortunos attending those making
,hs attempt by way OF Skagway.
The Thorps went through successfully last
..,royer the Dawson trail with q band Of cattle
-, time when tho trail was scarcely defined.
- accomplished the trip without accident.
Th.v expect now TO get through by Oct. 8 or 10
.,ls.est. taking nine men TO drive and thirty
horsos for packing, two newspaper CORE.
,ropdents accompanying them, preferring to 60
,h,oncb with experienced men than to taking
chances over Dyea or Skagway.
Miners have already made the journey to tho
vlopdike over this trail In forty days, using
mack animals all the way through, at a cost of
a 800. and taking In 5000 pounds each. The
Thorps plan to start from tho mouth of Chilkat
river. 20 up the river, and then up tho Chilkat
valley until they strike the Dalton trail. which
,hsv will follow until the Yukon Is reached at
Tort s,lkirk. II the weather is favorable they
viii ford the river and drive down the east bank
.the Yukon. crossing Stewart River and stop
ping at Bonanza Creek.
II the weather is unfavorable they will
slaughter the cattle at Fort Selkirk and float
,hsm down the river to Dawson City.
g Benson OF Seattle, who went to examine
The passes with a view to building a tramway,
writes thus his impressions of the situation to
his principals:
al went over tho Dyea trail to Lake Linder.
man and returned over the Skagway trail. I
found Dyea very rough. but passable for horses
ali the way except two and a half miles on the
summit. Here they take Off, load. and drive
them over without pack. A tram road or any
hind Of road woulu be very expensive, as there
Il a solid mass OF 1ouldcrs. from the size OF a
mans head 10 the Size OF q building, with no
sin what little depressions there are you and
hog or ulire OF moss, making the country In all
one Of the worst that you can think ot to travel
over on foot, 10 say nothing Of horses. found
LOO people on the Dyea tTail-most OF them
trail did not hnd any campers to speak OF un-
II reached the summit, where there were n few.
! have ever seen in my life or expect to see.
IN fifteen or twenty miles were from
1890 to 300 horses am about twice as many
men trying to mako their way over a trail, or
rather. no Trail at all, over u mass OF boulders,
such rs l cannot lind words to describe. Dead
mules ana horses NeTt tNtES W mere, anu every
iittie while one was seen down either in tho
mlre or rolled over = boulder. and no one max
twenty OF these on this trail will get over the
summit before snow falls. I shall make my re-
port but do not think our people will do any
thing here"
So. Cowan, another Seattle man. takes alto
rether another view Of the situation. He writes:
ave are on the trail and making line time,
heating hundreds that have been here for a
Month. We will be at the foot Of the hill by to-
borrow. The trail is not one-sixteenth as bad
. told in Seattle OF, skagway; From the land;
md a better trail than at Dyea. l have this from
afriend. who woull not lie about it. and from a
pan who has packed loo pounds TO the lakes.
Gsrs here, who don't know a horse from a dog,
and what these men say goes to coast cities. and
all think it must be so. They are stopping good
pen from the chance Of their life The trail is q
hard one, but any man who wants TO go through
can"
Harry Ash and Joe Lowe. returned Klon.
dikers, have gone to New York TO close a deal
for their properties on the Klnndike for $780,:
yesterday b. telegraph. These men came down
on the Portland on her last trip. bringing con-
adorable gold dust.
SAN FRANCISCO. Sept. 3.-The latest news
nom s~kaSway !s dated Aug. IS. Robert Hous-
ton, a special correspondent says:
Last evening powder and drills arrived from
Juneau, and to-day a number of men are ct
work on the White Pass trail. A few days OF
i snSo1s Ssrte'es som l"e'I men ean who mokhs ave a s0 jSss rel
turned nom Lake Bennett report that. in it's
possible.
More and more adventures arc returning dis
eouisged. one party OF four Seattle men having
decided 10 give up the struggle at the very foot
ofthe last ascent. Outfits OF clothes and pro-
visions can he bought very chcaply.
The most serious theft SO far occurred yes
terdsy, when one of the campers lost a belt Of
money amounting to Sl,4oo. He was foolish
enough to leave the belt in his tent while he
was taking a load up tho trail. The Vieilantes
have the matter in hand, but there is little
chance OF finding the thief. II caught, death
viii be his portion"