The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-09-01
WORTH MILLIONS.
,ork Phiscator Found a Big
Fortune In the Klondike.
uopRoRs OF ALASKAN WEATHER.

a.Il lar
r.,o-peath strews the Way With skeie'
aud Menaces the Traveller at Every
ca thrilling Story Fresh From tho
frozen Northwest.
prank Pniscator of Baroda. Mich. IL
- from the Klondike with his peck
:" frIl OF nuggets. his purse full OF
,yafts and five times a millionaire, ana
HE experiences in the frozen goldfields
oru the most thrilling and engrossing
low that has yet come down from the
Yukon country.
phiscator became gold king in 10
Youths He went west with money he
norned saving wood. He was backed
NV two strong arms, a brave heart and
constitution as tough as knot. he
ION a race with death over glaciers,
oraos and passes, through raging rivers,
CANYONS and rapids, into frozen lakes,
k;ll;np storms, murderous insects and
nests past starvation, along yawning
cbosms and under avalanches. 1t is his
verdict that q man who stands the ven
tnre earns all he gets. He pities the
men who have dared to try the trip. He
will be surprised if one-quarter OF the
crowd that has started gets through
alive He expects to find the trail from
Dyea TO Dawson strewn with dead
when he goes again in March.
This rIan s story sounds like the tales
from books of adventure where fact has
no place He told it the other night to
some men who were preparing TO start
for the goldfeld. They went home con-
yerted.
Built Tor the Journey.
Phiscator looks the sort of man
built for this journey. He is short,
stockv and weighs $50 pounds He
has sharp, clear eye--an eye of a man
that would shoot rather than be shot
His upper lip curls up in an expression
of recklessness. His hair is Jet black.
His neck is short He walks with q
swagger shakes hand with hard tug,
takes his bracers straight, wears the
big, white hat of the west When he
talks, he looks squarely at one, and his
talk has the ring of rough honesty.
Here is the way he tells his story:
1T was the Klondike or die year
ago in February. The chances were ten
TO one j would never come home, and
in view of the cheerful outlook came
to Baroda and Chicago to say goodby to
my friends and relatives 1t seemed
big risk, but / had come to the conclu-
sion to risk all had as we'll as my life
in one last try for a gold mine. You
see, had had years Of roughing it ana
knew exactly what l wanted to take
along There didn' t seem to be any 9TH
er man who wanted to 90 with me, so
one cold day | stood alone on the Seat
tie wharf, about the only white man
bound to Juneau.
at is easy TO juneau. The business of
the journey begins right at this point,
or it did at least with me. picked up
q fellow on the boat who was pretty
brave, and we joined forces. There was
but little accurate and detailed informa-
tion about the country, but what little
there was l had. 1t was all blind
chance, so far as i was concerned, bar
ring the fact that some Of the books
said there was gold in Alaska for the
mere finding. 1t did not take long for
me to conclude that the books were all
wrong 1t looked for about six months
that 1t would be great luck if we got
out with only so much as our lives.
The trip from juneau to Dyea was
MADE III small tCat. The weather was
pad The waves ran over the little
thing filling it with water almost as
last as all hands could bail it ont. This
was mighty hard hundred miles, but
was Il patch Ct roses in comparison
WIN what came few days later
The Start For the CoIdfeIds.
Dyea was nothing hut dock and
rev Indian huts. Charles Fifer, wan
uerer nom Wisconsin, was in the settle
meht' and when told him what was
gong to do he concluded to take hand
III the game. My baggage contained
enoush food for two years, tools which
would be needed in case we wanted "a
ooat and miners outfit. There was
uut little traffic over the mountain at
Un"' tlme, and the Indians were secured
w w reasonable rate to do the packing
1t went all right for the first two
uays' the only danger being in crossing
m n"''nes and orevices filled with snow.
ine thlrd day it snowed-snowed as il
SHOWS no other place but in Alaska No
Tne can tell or imagine its terribleness
Is not possible to see your hand at
arm length. There is nothing to do
su' 10 get on the lee side of a drift, roll
~ ID blankets and rest on the sleds un-
"a ~ 'ne tempest passes. A tent is whip
i.u INTO shreds IN minute or sent tear
,I 'n'o the canyons. A fire was ont Of
~. .Ie question, and we ate canned meats
'nat were frozen solid.
,, Inc sides of the mountains and eia.
an iS are so steep that in many places
- stout man can handle is 100
, ruuuS there are days in which five
il .s Is coed record. The way they do
NIL, " 'ake part of the supplies about five
ot :. ahead and leave them on the side
,es, vac afall while thsy go back for The
- mere Is rot a minute from Dyea
me-. LAKE Lindeman when man is not
Il -, i'keiy TO die or be killed than me