The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-01
SOME TRIALS OF A MINER.
Il RETURNED ADVENTURE DOES
NOT YEARN ron RLONDIKE GOLD.


Apropos of the rush for the alluring gold
nclds Of the Klondikc region ono hears many
stories calculated TO deter n c~ity-bred man from
ycnturing on q chase attended by portls OF the
wilderness, by rigors Of an Alaskan climate, and
by hardships which apparently only the bravest
and stoutest arc fitted TO endure. Tho refiec.
tions OF an old.time mining prospector who ia
at present in New YORK may be interesting.
Two or three men with the Klondike fever were
in tho group OF which the returned prospector
made ono tho other night. 1t was for their
benefit that ho delivered himself of some In.
formation born Of experience. lie said:
II ain comfortably situated hero now, prob
ably as well of, as far as creature comforts
are concerned, Is the average man can expect
to be. l couldn't 1.-Two any better, and certainly
could not hope to 1.-Two any longer If | owned the
richest claim in the Klondike diggings. Be-
sides, l have boon through about all the up.and-
down experiences that a gold hunter with civil
lized proclivities can wish for, Moreover, I
have II family to consider. The thouuht Of
being separated for u yosr or more from those
I love, together with the knowledge that I
might never return, would probably deter me
from making tho trip at my time Of life, but IL
I were as young and as ambitious as was the
case n dozen or fifteen years ago when l paid
my first visit TO the British Northwest, l would
be apt to start sor the Yukon tomorrow, or. at
any rate, rs soon as l could get my supplies.
1T is wonderful what a man can undergo
without measuring his length in the grave when
he Is spurred on by ambition or recklossness,"
continued the man Of mining experience. II
don't believe there was ever n tenderfoot in tho
Wilderness so raw as l was on my first trip over
the rorteges and prairies in keewatin and
Manitoba. / knew absolutely nothing of tie
hardsh:ps OF mid winter lie In the extreme
Northwest, and probably my soverest experience
in travel up to that time had been on u snow
bound train crossing the Sierra Nevada, and in
a Pullman car at that. l was born and reared
in New York; and my feet were used to city
streets. When the wind whistled around the
corners. and o New York winter storm ragged,
indoors was good enough for me. l had never
done much hard work with my hands. In
fact l had been delicately nurtured from child
hood up. A slight cough was to ME the warn
ing to consult the doctor or some druggist, and
a little chill or fever was sufficient to hurry mo
home to be coddled, nursed, and pctted by some
OF tho women folks. That's the kind Of o ten
der.oot l was when l was dropped down In the
wild country north Of Lake Superior in the mid.
winter Of 80.
II do not mean to say that the winter climate
OF Manitoba is SO rigorous or 30 much to be
dreaded by the man from this part of the world
as the region now attracting SO much atten-
EOn, nut ncSertneleSS IL was q pretty SUN prOpO-
sition that l went up against with my light
soied shoes. kid gloves, derby hat, and cumber-
some ulster. which, by the way, l bought in
Chicago at the advice Of somebody who had
never been further north than st. Paul. 1t
was necessary for me to go Immediately on an
exploring trip with some older and thoroughly
hardened men TO the Lake Of the Woods coun.
tSrya in which q mining fever on MA 3 mild , SCALE
travellers l was exposed for the larger part OF
one day and all of one night to the most fearful
ordeal, so far as the elements were concerned,
that my imagination could have conjured up.
When :, look back at i now | snudder. was
tho hereafter. The thermometer was anywhere
between 500 and .60' below Zero, and: We were
lost on u frozen lake, thirty miles wide at that
point, unable to see as far as you can stretch
your hand before you, and with the knowledge
party that We were slowly but surely freezin;
TO death. We had lost our way in IA blizzard.
city 6rod as was. and raw tenderfo9t at
moro serious than a few mementos in the shape
OF frost-bittcn toes and heels, d pair Of cars that
some respect for the meal OF salt pork and mo-
lasses furnished us by, the rescuing party.
else ! wouldn't be here.
~ Il took my cruel ne with = the rest of the outfit
| could Sleep in a mining, shack the tempera-
I"1 Ie, of o Th iSa, no o,m fire eo snT t eTl1s Of sG srnn zS @ss
hnce in the face OF hardship or danger was u
frame, broad shoulders, and sturdy limbs. A
city man who goes to the new gold fields in
will need all his courage and manhood to land
him there in safety, keep him there through
health to his comfortable home in the East.
without regard to his fortune as a gold hunter.
ov .A' p ! saia e 5SiS Ice EYER Il T IL ;ten Rds SSt S Saet sba5e
with, plenty of marrow in it. natural courage,
or 9evil:may- care determination not to be
IIr1VVu dntrn h ~ q lInHnr my nnd nil Hfr-
cum,tances. remember very well q young.
Gter who was broken down by the dissipation Of
met s', him on lA my seeo nS'i trip II toy to tho e nv
and lie was on his way To Colorado to die. Doc;
marked him for the grave, he told me. He
looked the part to, perfection. l took an in;
e setfa, IN and the took SEea Kim Sr north h tn W W al geil as
"solnething in Tho spirit OF the town, then
at The height OF It's boom, seemed to catch the
,omc mighty bad days and Il looked as II croak-
ing would be his next move. 1 got LIN a job
start for the Athabasca region, and he went
OFT with that crowd. He came book six
and about as far removed from a candidate for
the graveyard as you could Ind in a days
sura' for ES So d lsssPned lq 20 Se $40 YSIk n n1S ,o tI a eo
the practice Of law, devoted himself TO social
pleasures, and so on. but he Is here and alive.
think that trip over the plains OF the British
Northwest gave him his lcase OF life. He had
about as close a call as a man could hsye and
~ ~ OIL ~. q III Iiihh, L L du-
yiso him to go to the Yukon just now; he
doesn't need to.
Il had some pretty narrow squeaks myself
up in that country, first and last. On ono OF
them old Mother Satu.o fooled the doctors.
guess there must have been some wor; left
Tor me to do. At any rate. this is how it was:
had a siege Of continued hard luck, and mado
two, or three flying trips to Chicago and New
York and back again. There were anxious
days and nights when the bottom seemed to DO
falitn! out OF all the land and mining enter
pr!se5 on, earth, so far aS / was concerned. 1t
EFT me high and dry on my back. The doc
tors In Winnipeg agreed that j was to blame
for il .myself; probably 1 was, hut that didn't
make 1t any easier for mo-. l was galloping to
the grave with pneumonia, they said, had u
side line Of plcurisy TO boot, and my only al:
yation was denied me, namely. that should
get as far south as possible and forget all about
business cares, and mining booms in particular.
One young doctor made the light longer
Han any Of the others. He gave in ut last.
ne came to my room one day. / had been
proppcd up In bed with n slab of marble
wrapped, in n blanket, against which / pressed
ny back while l made a painful, effort to get
looked arr oI,,, NJ ,lnanat rInn, Xyln