The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-08-19

CHAS. MCKAY HEARD FROM.
He Recites a Terrible Experience He an
Two Others Had While Prospecting.
The following interesting letter wa
received few days ago from our wei
known citizen, Chas. Mckay, who ha
been prospecting in the mountain
near Northport during the past few
months. His kind and noble DISPOSE
ton prompted him to undertake tina
which many men would think i:npos
sible and by his heroic efforts he like
ly saved the life of one who was mos
dear to his family, and his earnings
most essential to their support:
SPRANGLE, WASH, Aug. 6, 1897
Dear Friends Tucker and Murray
write to you to let you know tha
I am alive and well, although ] had :
terrible experience for the last ten days
| I got acquainted with two men who
| told me of rich mine that was found
| five years ago, but the locator died and
| it has never since been located, SO the
three of us were in the mountains last
Monday, in terrible rough country
and found what we supposed to be the
lost mine. Work had been done on il
but it was not what it had been
represented. I called the other two
men and we examined it and found
four feet of galena, but it was not rich,
so we concluded it was not the place
and left it to hunt further on the
mountain, which was the toughest
place I ever saw. There were three
benches, was OH the last one, ROs-
brey on the second and Shoultz Oh the
third. Rosbrey and l waited to ex-
anime a place and Shoultz went on
ahead. When Rosbrey and l started
again / was two hundred feet lower
than he was and l heard rolling of
rocks and called to him but no answer
the place and found him terribly man.
gled but not dead. prayed to God to
spare his life SO could bring him back
to his family at Northport. l had a
small ak, and called to ShOultz but
could get no answer. L could not
leave him to go for help for fear of the
wild animals eating him, and besides
[ could find no level place to lay him
on. He fell fifty or seventy-five feet
and rolled hundred more after strik-
ing, it was so steep. He weighed $50
pounds so you can see it was no fool of
a job to pack him, but / said I would
do it with Gods help. [ took my ak
and cut my way and when l could not
pack him [ dragged him. The noun
tain was so steep could not stand, but
I got him down two miles to the part
of the mountain where [ could safely
leave him on level spot where he re-
covered enough to beg for some water.
/ told him was afraid [ could not get
it. and he said "Then will die before
you get me down." I took small can
and went mile down the toughest
place you ever saw, but it was the
hardest job to get back, and l found
him nearly dead but the water revived
him, and I took him on further in the
same way to another level spot and
built large fire to keep off wild ami
mails while / went two mills for help.
when we got back we made cot of
two sticks and some sacks and packed
him by the light of a lantern two miles,
and got doctor to set the broken
bones. I think I had a hard days
work for boy like me, but that trip
took the conceit out Of me. One time
when had him on my back [ fell and
he went over the top of my head and
we rolled OH together, but [ held on to
him, 1 hurt my hip but did not know
it until the next day. 1t is getting all
right now but 1 don't want any more
trips like that. The man has an arm,
three ribs and knee cap broken, one
lung injured and head and face badly
bruised. When was packing him L
could hear rafting of air and blood in
the left breast, but with all this | never
let up till [ got him to his wife, and to
the surprise of all think he will live.
was so disguised with this trip that
[ thought would leave Orawhile and
come down to where my partners are.
They came home to harvest their crops,
the finest wheat fields [ ever saw
miles of wheat and all good. | will
work here until harvest is over. think
1 can do well working and selling
washers; [ sent for lot yesterday. l
came from Spokake yesterday. l have
made sale of one-half interest i'll one
of my claims, but will not get the
money until after harvest. This Pa
louise country is a fine one. The Alaska
boom has put a damper on our mining
country for while, but the new snelt-
er is building up Northport and will be
great help to me and will come out
all right yet. AS soon as my partners
get through with harvesting we will
20 ahead with our mines, in good
shape. They will have plenty OF
money after harvest and they look to
me to take charge. Now l don't know
whether you can read this letter or not
but l will say as the Irishman did
when he was writing-"you are good
scholars" With love to you and Muir
ray and all inquiring friends l will
close; though l will say Shoultz was
lost for two days, without food, but is
all right now. thought he was dead
as my calling to him was not heard.
Yours ETC.,
CHARLES MCKAY.
| A Remarkable Cure of Chronic Diarrhoea
II, 1862. when served my country