The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1897-08-19
Noah Bro WINS Experience In Alaska

The following are extracts from letter
written by Noah N. Brown, formerly
landlord Of the Hotel Yakima, from Dyea
on August 3rd, to State Fish Commits
sioner James Crawford, of Vancouver.
The Northern Pacific conductor referred
to is evidently Chas. Pond, Of Ellens-
burg, as the number Of horses and the
date at which he would have arrived
there tally very well. Mr.. Brown says:
1--WE arrived here the LIST, after q trip
OF seven days, all told, from Seattle. Had
450 aboard, and no sardine box was ever
packed more closely than was the steer
age of the Mexico. The meals served
steerage passengers was poorly prepared,
poorly served and far from clean. The
cabin meals were not first-class, either.
although the boat, it is claimed, cleared
5000 on the trip. We were landed
about two miles from Dyea, on the rocks
part OF us on one side OF the river and part
on the other, by means Of the steamer g
small boats. As consequence, many OF
the necessaries of the passengers were
lost or stolen.
'lf we had stuck together and demand
ed it, we might have forced the captain
OF the boat to land us at Dyea, as our
tickets called for. but this we failed to
do, and the captain had things his own
way. We paid SO cents per 100 pounds to
Indians to get us off the rocks. After
a delay of day and half We got up to
where We are now. Dyea consists of one
store and postotfice, one saloon and an
other building, where gambling games
are run, and chiefly 'bucked' by Indians.
81 found an old friend here, an ex.
Northern Pacific conductor. He has IL
head OF horses and is engaged in pack
ing supplies to Sheep camp. He claims
he has made clear of expenses, including
ferryage, with his horses an average OF
$3.50 per day during the last two weeks.
81 will have our outfit OF 200 pounds
carried over to Sheep camp tomorrow,
and consider ourselves in luck to get
started 80 soon. 1t is raining today and
rained yesterday and fog is hanging to
every tree. This Dyea river is a bad
mountain stream and runs like mill
race. The Indians here are a strong,
healthy tribe. They have things pretty
much their own way. They formerly
packed from salt to fresh water, 81 miles,
for cents pound, but now charge 20
cents, and one has to beg them to do 1t
at that. What few white men there are
here are as busy as can be. Most any
kind of job brings 800 per month. The
Skaguay trail, six miles below here, be-
lieve will become the principal route next
year, but it, as vet, lacks a few miles of
being completed. 1t is said to be 1000
feet lower in altitude than this. 1t will
be much better to come in here in the
spring than this fall for several reasons.
man who has four Esquimaux dogs,
told me they will draw 1000 pounds right
along from here to the lake when there ia
snow on the ground.
II would advise my friends to go by
the Yukon route, as there will doubtless
be opposition boats put on in the spring
and the cost of transportation reduced. +"
Mr.. Brown states that fights and quar-
rels occur occasionally along the route,
and gives one incident of row between
some white men OF the Mexico party and
the Indians, 10 which guns were pulled,
but no one hurt. He says: "Imay stop
at the mouth OF Stewart river for the
winter. am we'll and living on whole
some, coarse diet, getting myself in shape
to stand the long tramp"