The record-union., 1897-08-06


Twelve of fifteen more steamers are
yet to leave for Alaska this season,
with prospectors for Yukon, but all will
go to Dyea, and take the land route
over the White Pass and canoe down
the river. Among the passengers on
the Cleveland were Captain P. NJ. Ray
and Lieutenant Richardson, L. S. A,
who will be followed next spring by
sixty soldiers from Fort Russell.
A BIG GAME OF CHANCE.
CINCINNATI, Aug. g. William Bal
ley of this city, who recently returned
to Forty Mile and Dawson, has fur
nished the Enquirer with some valu-
able information.
Mr. Bailey says: when sleeping in
tents we always have two blankets
over us. This is a great country for
mosquitoes, and they are a curse here.
They prevail all the year. There are
lots of blue berries, high and low bush
cranberries, and currants that grow
wild, but taste good. They say there
is not a poisonous weed of any kind of
deadly vegetation Snakes or poison
Gus bugs or reptiles are unknown.
But we have one thing that makes
up for all the others. Dogs, of course,
are an essential animal here, the ma
jority of them being Indian dogs. They
are poorly fed and to this may be at
tributed some of their thieving tricks.
Some time ago a dog got into our boat
and stole all our bacon. On various oc-
casions we have had some queer exper-
fences with these dogs. They will steal
anything in sight, no matter how we'll
protected. 1t is said that they open
covered milk cans with their teeth, and
even open a nailed box of meat by
chewing off the wooden cover.
Strawberries, potatoes and turnips
can be raised here and grow fast, be-
cause we have about two months of
perpetual day. The sun shines twenty
or twenty-five hours out of every TWEEN
ty-four. The country is a hard one to
get into, and travel is tedious and ex-
pensive. Edibles are costly; flour So
for q fifty-pound sack, sugar % cents
pound, rice 20 cents a pound. The
potatoes, which are evaporated, cost 40
cents a pound and butter 70 cents.
Bread that we can buy at home for
3 cents a loaf costs here % cents a loaf
1t will cost me about 500 to buy a
years outfit. That is the way they do
here. The miner buys his outfit, and as
soon as the snow falls the freighters
put the provisions on sleds and haul
them with three, four, six or eight dogs,
and charge S cents a pound for the
hauling.
'One great drawback to this coun-
try is the difficulty to get around You
have to carry your boarding house on
your bacll-that is, if you go out pros
pecting.
There is gold in almost every place
here, but too little to do much good.
One man left here a few months ago
with $4,000. He had been here five
years, but struck nothing until about
a year ago.
THE majority of the men stay here
from two to three years and go back
home with only about $1,000. 1 know
men who have been here six years and
are heavily in debt. 1t is a, big game of
chance. You have no assurance of ever
striking a paying claim. The life here,
to say the least, is a hard, reckless eX-
istence. 1t is often amusing to see the
crowds of prospectors who come here.
take a look at the situation and return
home by the first boat disguised with
the prospects. There are really only
about 100 working days in the season,
and many of the diggers remain idle
from September until the next May.
There are about thirty or forty women
here now. They work with the men,
and help in pulling the sleds up the
steep hills. / would not advise any fe-
male friends of mine to make the trip,
because few can survive it,"
Mr.. Bailey writes an interesting ac-
count on the Northern Lights, so beau
tiful about Alaska. He says: 1--WE
have them three or four times a year.
They are gorgeous. They lay in long
streak across the sky, and whirl in all
manner of circles, having a green and
the winter they hang low, and are
more brilliant, and, at times, popping
like fireworks can be heard
Speaking Of the dress of the coun-
try, he says: I'VE generally wear the
heaviest clothing to be obtained, and a
cap, covering the whole head, ears and
neck. Our overcoats have a heavy
hood, which is worn most of the time.
On our hands we wear pair of moose
skin gloves. All the people here wear
moccasins on their feet.
1--WE live in cabins about 12x12 fees
square and feet high, made of logs.
We do our own cooking-pancakes con-
stituting the principal part of our
three meals "