The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1897-05-28
L Letter from Solomon, the Miner,
SUMMIT, ALASKA, May 10, 1897.
TO MY BROTHERS OF SHELTON Lodge

~ h1 OhOIdERS OF OHELTON LODGE
No. 81. l. o. O. F.
1t will perhaps interest you to find
out how We are getting along on our
journey to the land of sunshine. Well,
the progress is slow, as we all got
greatly disappointed on account of
the snow. There was less snow last
winter than they ever saw before;
where the miners usetl to put their
freight on their sleds and 60 right
from the ocean, this year it is bare
ground. We are at the foot of the
summit now with about $500 pounds
of freight, and God knows, we are
ahead of anybody who came on the
same boat, except few who hired In
dians, and paid 10 cents per pound
from Dyea to Summit.
At Dyea we bought canoe and
used it six miles to head OF navigation,
we paid $l1. and sold it for $40 to
white men, but the canoe was SO small
and the water so shallow that it took
six trips to haul our freight. Then
we packed our freight six miles and
used our sleds about two miles, but it
was very bad sleighing, being such
steep roads and the people are just as
thick as flies on the road, yet we have
seen but one man who turned back so
far, and another who was sent back
for stealing from the miners. Some
say he was Republican, and some
say he was Pop; nobody knows, but
the sentence was passed on him to
leave the country or give his body to
the dogs and he took the road for
! Juneau.
Last week we met with twenty-four
Canadian Mounted Police on their
way to the Yukon Country to pr otect
the Canadians there. This is very
rough country, yet not any worse than
we expected to find. | never 6 aw a
country so free from birds as this, We
have not heard little bird singing
since we landed, and there IS not even
chipmunks or squirrels of any kind.
There are hundreds of people at
Lake Bennett making boats and we
expect to get there in time to make
our boat before the ice is gone.
We had visit of w. B. Lake, of
Hood Canal, three days ago and he
says that Jake Hopp was at Dyea on
his way in. We also met Jack Price,
If Joe Simpsons camp. bought a
L;c st. Bernard dog in Seattle and he
is is ORE. It help to me to haul my sled.
W. H. net several par ties who
ho' w o ne e the Yukon country
Lost feI1 and sono IN the winter. They
all give good account u ' ;nS I =: a',r
and they are going back W ' W ~ So, oup
plies. One man told me that 80
ed on the next claim to Alex La ' ~
brother OF John Larock, Shelton, IN
last summer and he saw that Aleck
and his partner took out $4,000 last
spring for their winters work. I
think this man means what he says,
as met party in Seattle who told
me he did not give his opinion to
everybody until he knew who he was
talking to. He says we have plenty
of thieves and cut-throats in the coun-
try now, but it is good country for a
good man. and all the news we have
heard from that country is encourag-
ing so far.
The climate here is very fair with
the exception of the last two days,
it is showing, raining and sleeting all
at once. Consequently we have to
law in the tent as we cannot travel on
account of our freight. There are
many Indians around here and the
squaws are all painted black on ac-
count OF getting sun burnt on the
snow at the summit.
will tell you now how the Pacific
Coast Steamship Co. has used us and
all passengers they bring to Dyea.
They unload passengers and freight on
a rock two miles from Dyea and If the
wind blows strong you may be there
a week before you can get out of it.
We were there three days on that rock |
before the weather permitted us to gel
out of it and the boat we came on
went back to Juneau with forty tons
of the boys freight. They shipped it
back on the next boat but some of the |
men never got all their freight. Wei
lost two sacks of flour after paying