Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-09-23
FROM ALASKA.
DIR. Frank r. Houston Writes His
Mother His Experience.
Prospecting on Stewart River.

LAKE BENNETT, N. w. T., Sept. %, 1897.
Ny Dear Mother: A good many days
have gone by since I last wrote you,
| but have been SO busy in our "shlp-
yard" that could not get around to it.
We left Linderman on Thursday, the
| 22d, and have made some 30 miles but
are now wind-bound, as all the wind
| there is is blowing from the north for a
change. Just our luck for it blows from
the other way SO days out Of 100. The
| trip from Lake Linderman is as easy as
the rest of the trail was hard-just raise
the sail and sit down and smoke. That
piece of canvas You put in came in good
play as I added five ripped-out sacks to
it and have a 7x10 foot sail which
catches lots of wind. We and the Dun
avens are going down together. We
lash the boats side by SIDE and enjoy
life. Our boat is a scow--26 it. long
over all, Is #. bottom length, 8 ft. bot
tom width and ft. top breadth-Dun-
avens' boat is some two feet shorter but
six inches wider on bottom.
We are yet in the mountains but their
appearance is so different from what we
have seen for the last two months that
it seems like release from lmprison-
ment to look upon verdure and small
pieces of level country. All those lakes
on the map are enclosed between high
mountains, from 600 to 1000 feet high,
and occupy what would be gulch or
big valley otherwise. Our next lake
will be Takish, then Marsh, then La
Barge and then we are through with
the lake question. White Horse rapids
are about 70 miles from here on other
side of Marsh lake and if everything is
favorable should reach them about
Wednesday, July %. The accounts of
richness of Klondike river seem to be
in nowise exaggerated. They are mar
velous, but of course the question is
is there anything left? Juneau is de-
creased in population on account of
latest reports and every class of men
an old Scotch miner from Colorado en-
route for Klondike who was made
Mason in Tarbolton lodge, Scotland, the
same one that raised Robbie Burns,
have met good many and am very
glad | have that emblem tattooed on my
arm and only sorry that my name and
address is not also.) We are all dwell
ing on the prospect of possible fresh
meat soon for we are IN the home Of
the caribou and moose. One of the
boys found a cache with a lot of hides
and some smoked meat. The sanctity
of the cache is pretty thoroughly re-
spected here. We, however, lost an AK
on the summit but | saw it in the pos
session of the person We had suspected
and to save words | stole it back. We
are great looking gang. [ have tre-
mendous growth of beard and very good
color. Rube's whiskers are the color of
one of those cinnamon-nosed horses or
that of Jersey COW. | am very fat and
my cheeks stick out for once as if l were.
kid. Don't know what l weigh. No
telling when [ can get this taken out to
Dyea or Juneau as mail goes only once
month from the interior.
FIFTY MILE RIVER, n. w. T., Aug. l, 1897.
AS the most dreaded part of our trip
Is over, Will add P. S. to my letter to tell
you we have met and conquered the
enemy--Miles canon and White Horse
rapids-and are tied up at the mouth
of Tahkuna river waiting for Rube and
Painter to show up from a trip up that
river. Rube made three trips through
Miles canon and two through White
Horse rapids and from everyone re-
ceived praise for the mastery way he
managed his boats. He is absolutely
cool-headed and quick -witted in times
| of danger and does the right thing at
the right time. If you can imagine a
river of three times the volume of the
Wisconse compressed between walls
the width of one of your streets it will
give you an idea merely Of what Miles
canon is. | went through it also. Rube
and Gardner ran all the boats, RuDe in
| front and Gardner steering for him.
| Rube also took through a small, 16foot
| skiff for the Dunavens and he and
Gardner ran their (Dunavens') scow
through White Horse also. | do not
consider that there is much, if any dan
ger to experienced rivermen even in
White Horse, but it is an awful piece Of
water. The boat was completely hid
den from sight behind the waves at one
time and Rube was drenched. We had
a ton of stuff in ours also. We ran
everything through the canon. White
Horse is two miles below Miles canon
and has record of twenty-five poor
fellows gone under at its worst place.
The canon Is beautiful piece ofnature's
carving in Basaltic rock and must be of
the same appearance as Fingal's cave,
Ireland. Talk about ish-just below
Takish houses, at entrance to Marsh
lake, we saw our spoon hook line
straighten out and Rube hauled up a
salmon trout while l brought him his
rifle, then l took the line and brought
it to the side of the boat and he shot it.
1t weighed about 10 pounds. In two
hours we had four more averaging five
pounds each. They are beautiful
fish. Grayling were very plentiful
! above tho ra pi6S but mono bara Tbev