The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-25

@. y. Hniler.s Account Of his seuruey over
lnnd shootipa tho Canyen.

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@. y. Huiler's Account Of His Tourney Over
Asnd shootips tho Canyeu.
ST.. LOUIS, July 2A-Men who arc thinking Of
going to the Klondike gold camps will hnd an
Interesting account Of tho hardshipa and ter
riblo suffering that must DO endured in
a letter writtcn at Circle City by O Il.
Miller TO William Buermann of Window, st.
Louis county, Mo. Mr.. Miller was a farmer n
Rock Hill, st. Louis county, and sold his farm In
1905 and went to Alaska in August Of that year
to seek q fortune In the gold fields. He says In
his lettor, speaking Of the journey:
"one goes from Juneau by steamer to Dyea,
the head Of navigation on the coast north Of
Juneau. and then begins the perilous journey
over the mountains. Each man starts from
Dyea with about eight hundred pounds OF
supplies, including provisions, and also tools
with which to build o boat. Thcse supplies
must DO hauled on q hand sled In the snow by
the man himself II no has no Eskimo dogs. 10
is a terrible load over the strangest country It has
ever been my lot to. travel. One man
can haul on, his sled only about 200
Ave miles, unloads. and then returns for 200
pounds moro. and SO, on until he has his outfit
moved to the spot where he left his 1rst load.
reaches ChiiEoot Pass. Which Is 100 feat aboVe
the sea level, and through which the trail
H1ossSs nhI pass sS'i Is t eoHeGe O. w MISSn glaciers T ana
snow. Steps are cut in the ice up the sides
90 GOLD ms region RiSs'' m ssrS WITH Via '6 difneult,es 10 ts tss
Try his nerve and patience. One must pack on
his back from Z fifty x tS ono III hundred cnsrIc pounds Of
poSnds Of outs. Is carried up the mountain n All
snows and blows all the time except in the two
summer months,
and It remains frozen all summer. We crossed
this lake on our way down the mountains to the
series Of lakes Csc b GLOW; and then continued 9gr
head OF the Grand Canon one night, and then We
ran the canon in our boats the next morning.
This canon ia three-Quartera of a mile long and
only 60 feet wide, and the walls rise 200 feet high
The terrible suction draws the water to tho cen.
tre. causing it TO DO much higher in the middle,
"on This central upheavni Of water leap and
on the morning OF june ii, 1905: 10 arranged
stsefins oar last. discarded our cos,s and boots e
and babe good;by to tho boys on the shore; We
osson, us and aaifshs sgFo 70 our the boat n0 fof s OF the h.
ssH pHooe ssH" 3D.. i t. was Sss oniy . as nom Il ss stop.
hat hell R q boiling : waters Issa; An ' we co aniS
H tho Clouds lse ef blin SR spa 'l Bns Before 'H %s Rsa
had run that threo-ouarters of a mile through
the canon In two minutes and ten seconds.
The scene that lay before US as We merged
from the seething waters Of the canon wns
tween gently slopins banks that were Gov.
cred with, wild flowers, of brilliant col.
ors. But there was something lacking. Not q
single bird song could be heard. That beautiful
picture was set In a desolate country over which
reigns the stiffness OF death.
"1saw an old man who has been in the vicinity
Of that canon for ten years. and he says he will
die there. But he says he would like once more
to hear q bird sing, hear o rooster crow. and see
q pretty girl, and then. he would te
ready te lie down and die The ground
bodies were recently removed from the old
graveyard to the new ono at Forty Mile creek,
and they Were In the same state of preservation
as when buried. The ground only thaws a few
II have been presenting the dark side OF The
picture, but there is another. There 10 Cold
here. and it Is In paying quantities, but II
takes time to find it. Men have taken out from
$1,000 up to $4,000, but the latter amount I.
out of the ground. The seasons are so short ant
food Is so high in price that 1t takes q long time
to accomplish anything.
This Is very discoureging to many who come
rock and drift out the pay dirt. Then this pnJ
dirt 10 washed out in the spring.
This letter would be incomplete without
word about the mosquitoes. They orc thicker
and larger than in any other country. / be
l!Sve. on earth; They never new. let up on
driven men to commit suicide. l stood on
mountain side the 22d OF June and saw tho SUI
set at IL LAS In tho evening and dip bchtnd tn,
horizon and then rise again at 1915 midnight
year, but 1t Will soon change and then there vii
practically be no day."