The San Francisco call., 1897-11-29

| ing. At first my padding caused ire
! quent grounding. Thirteen days OF THIS
up-river work, all days OF difficulty,
doubt and dargar, we reached Selklrk on
October 25. Dallon's other men got IN
| the next day. Alter rest OF two days we
| left Selkirk.
"Mr Dalton was the leader o. the party,
in which there were nine white men and
three Indians. Three other men )llowed,
but did not belong 10 the party. Tairteen
| inches OF snow was on The ground ana
more was threatening. This was very
unusual early. 4 trail through the
wood had TO be cut as We slowly headed
for Five Finger Rapids, hity-tve miles
further up the Yukon.
1--WE had five horses one OF which was
1T my disposal when L cared 20 ride. The
trail kept so bad that on the second day
Dalton and two other men went back 10
Selkirk and brought up a canoe, to which
were transferred The packs. thus greatly
tightening the horses. On the third
morning the horses were swum over the
Yukon, on the further side Of which there
was fair trail. One of the animals
drowned almost the moment he entered
the water, indicating great weakness.
Feed was scarce and the animals, rein
deer-lke, had to paw down in the snow to
get it.
1T showed off and on for two days and
On the third day it seemed that further
snowfalls might make the trail lmpas ss-
ebe for anything like rapid travel. L wo
feet already lay on the level. Under these
circumstances and with over 800 miles
OF land travel before us, Dalton strongly
urged US to 60 back 10 .Selkirk. But we
refused, and for very good reasons. My
son and l had already contributed all our
provisions and single round was not to
be had at Selkirk. The Yukon was tHeh
almost closed with ice, too. There was
therefore, no apparent hope that we could
get back TO Dawson, and even II there,
nothing was 10 be had to eat. To 90 on
was, therefore, the only wise course, we
thought.
without food, life at Selkirk would have
been like a living death. The trail on the
left hand side OF the river was con-
stantly rolling one, the weather was con-
tinuously gloomy, showing some and
always threatening more. Near Five
Finger Rapids the horses swan the river
again and we pushed on up the right bank
to Cormacks Post, twenty i've miles,
where we left the Yukon without any
poss bility of turning back. SIX days
over very rough country, but with no
new snow. brought US 10 Hootchy- Eye,
sevenly-five miles, where there were three
deserted Ind an cabins. Mr. Dallon had
a cache OF provisions there, but Il had all
disappeared, except one sack of flour, five
pounds OF sugar and thirty pounds OF ba-
con. Fortunately all OF our food was not
out or we would have been in a very bad
fix, the next cache being at Dalton Post,
a hundred miles further on. The next
day we passed through country bare OF
timber, III very gloomy, wlnd-threatenlng
weather. On the summit OF the surround
ing N ountains heavy gales and snow were
prevailing. Dense clouds, as black as the
blackest oke, were seen; they looked as
though vast confagration had started.
"a more gloomy or torbiddlng sight
could hardly have been seen outside OF
Tartarus Bad water beyond Hootchy-
Eve poisoned most of the party, causing
severe and frequent cramps, with hem
orrhages. In add ton to this, b ad Sc
we're attack OF Ium bago. The hrSt day L
was lashed in an Indian freight toboggan.
In thus being pulled over the trail my
back and every rough spot in the trail were
brought in violent contact, making In
tense pain much more intense. The next
day l rode and walked, and on the third l
walked altogether. portion OF the
time on that day, although on my feet
and keeping up with the procession, was
unconscious from pain. We got only two
meals a day on the entire trip, breakfasl
always in The dark, between and q,
and dinner between and s. The short
daylight and the difficulty OF packing pro-
visions did not allow Of stops for mid
day meals. meal at Daltons Post,
which we reached in six days from
Hootchy Eve, and com posed OF canned
corned beef, bread baked by Dalton and
can OF cold tomatoes, had at once such
physical strength, comfort and ply sical
satisfaction in it that strains blown from
far-off sunset lands or the music OF
Foiian harps could not have been more
soothing.
zine horses were left here. two died on
the way, but three new ones, estrays, were
picked up. Thirty miles from the post
was another base of DaIton's supplies i'll
TWO tents We should have reached this
place, called the Cache, on the second day.
We walked from 1880 A. NJ. until after
p NJ, three hours past daylight, without
reaching tim Der shelter, or without reach
ing the cache. We then lost the trail.
Dalton was still behind at the post. A
night spent far within the arctic regions
could not have been more desolaiely ex-
posed, though. OF course, 1t could have
been colder. The thermometer was about |
20 deg. below zero and the wind made it
vastly worse.
-Four of the party were partially frozen |
in their feet during the night. Next |
morning we found, much to our disgust, !
that we had been only three-quarters of |
mile from the cache. Next day, by moon
light, very early, we were off 1oT the first
summit for there were two to cross. The |
first has an elevation of $500 feet, the Sec
ond 900 feet lower
the pace was a running walk and the
course largely over smooth ice. l got |
some vary tai falls or it. After crossing |
this sum NIT the worst of our troubles was |
over and we were within forty miles OF
Chilkat had for forty days on icy, up
river work for 200 miles, and by land for
over 300, been pushing on, in very poor !
condition. in unceasing work, portion of
the time, too, in intense pain. Part of
the time did not in the least care whether |
lived or died. Had l been assured any
morning of the trip that would be dead
before night L would with none the less
appetite have eaten my full share OF bacon
and beans and drunk my coffee in con-
tentment,
ION the last day l did not walk, but
gladly rode in an Indian sleigh on the ice
of the Chilkat River. We entered the
world again on the forty-second day from