The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1897-10-14

getting fat. Milroy has a boil on his
neck, but he has to grin and bear it, for it
wont do to stop on the trail. The boys
may make it through when the snow
freezes fast and hard enough, but the
weather was about 20 degrees above zero
when left and the boys bad to sleep for
weeks under wet blankets, after working
some times from four O'Clock in the
morning to eleven O'Clock at night. You
may form some idea Of the sad havoc to
that mail carrier from Skaguay to Lake
Bennett counted 200 dead horses on the
trail, to say nothing of 400 or 500 killed
by shooting and falling over precipices
and the like, out Of the $500 engaged in
packing. Speaking OF the mail, it costs
one dollar letter on the Skaguay trail.
paid that for two or three letters from
my wife. The hardships men have un-
dergone on that trail will never be told.
/ saw several men OF weaker constitution
than the rest, lying on their backs in
One big Swiss, a professional packer from
the Alps, broke down completely.
Around the cutoff, about mile and
half, packers charged five cents pound
for freight. The mounted Canadian POI
lice managed to get some of their goods
over the Skaguay pass to Lake Bennett
by using their own horses and paying
pack trains IS cents pound Tents and
log cabins are being erected all along the
route from Skagusy to Lske Bennett.
Oats and chops are worth $50 a sack at
the lake, which men will pay rather than
90 back to Skagnsy and buy feed at 81 a
sack.
dan Simmons crowd intended to get
near to the lake as possible and then
come back to juneau or home for the
winter. advise everybody that intends
to go to Dawson, to wait till February or
March and then go by way Of Dyes. 1t
Is almost impossible to get over White
pass at any time. Dogs can pull about
200 pounds on sled, about a mans
work, but there are none until you get
further inland. Burros sink into the
mud and mire, but bulls are the best
packers, carrying $50 or 800 pounds, and
bring so cents a pound at the lake for
beef.
John Bartholet ia at work in Skaguay.
Griffin and Stratton have big tent there
and we'll prepared for the winter and
making money in trading.
"We met people coming out from Dsw
son for grub intending to go back in the
spring. They advised everyone to camp
until they could go on the ice. Their one
cry was Don't go to Dawson Gold
they said was plentiful but starvation
stared the people in the face. left
Skaguay on the 4th of October and the
steamer Rosalie had about l75 returning
pilgrims, including three or four from
Dawson. II Is very quiet at Skagusy.
There are about 1000 or 1900 in the place
and all who had money were leaving for
the states. Norby aud Jungst killed eight
or nine horses. but went back to Skaguay
and replaced them paying a good round
sum for their horses. A man wants an
outfit of Zoo pounds of provisions to last
him year and with complete outfit
the cost would be about $500 to make the
trip 20 Dawson. Transportation to Dvea
from Seattle is about $40 and $40 more
for pilgrims OUTFIT
There il talk of tranway across
Dyea pass and if they build one, which
is said to be practicable, it will be an
easy journey across the mountains that
way. My story of the hardships may
seem pretty tough, but met miners there
who had mined in Australia, South Afri-
ca, Colorado. California and indeed in all
the mining camps of the world, and they
all agreed that this trip was the worst
they ever saw"