The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-10
A LAND OF TERRORS.
Hardships That Must BE Endured by
Miners i'm Alaska.

SEATTLE, Wash, Aug. 9-One of the
most successful argonauts of 1897 has just
| returned to the United States from KIon-
dixie He is j. o. Hestwood who reached
Seattle a few days ago, bringing with him
several hundred dollars in gold nuggets and
dust Mr.. Hestwood says: Modern or an
cient history records nothing so rich in ex-
tent as the recent discoveries of gold on
the tributaries of the Yukon river The few
millions of dollars recently turned into the
banks and shelters of Seattle and San
Francisco from the Klondike district is but
a slight indication of what is to follow in
the near future. When we consider the fact
that there is scarcely a shovelful of soil
in Alaska and the Northwest Territory that
does not yield grains of gold in appreciable
quantities, who can compute the value of
the golden treasure that the great country
will yield in the next few years?
1.-The Yukon river, which forms a great
artery flowing through this frozen, rock
ribbed region for 1900 miles, seems to be a
providential highway opened up for the
pioneer gold hunters and their followers
who are numbered by thousands yearly.
There is room in that country for 100 OOO
miners for hundred years. | do not make
this statement from what some one else
has told me, nor from what | have read
l speak from actual experience in that LAND
of gold l have travelled over her rivers of
ice and mountains of snow in the spring
time for three years.
-Four years ago last May when l first
went into that country, little was known of
its wonderful possibilities With a heavy
outfit strapped to the backs of Indians
squaws and dogs, struggled over the trail
from Dyea, on the southern coast of Alas
ka, to Sheep camp, twelve miles distant
which was my first camping place The
softening snow, under the suns hot rays
rendered travelling difficult and it was a
pitiable sight to watch the half-starved
half-clOthed Indians struggling along with
their heavy burdens on their backs climb
ing the mountain side, frequently breaking
through drifted snow and being buried al
most out of sight, Wading icy streams
falling from foot logs and enduring hard
ships from which death would seem a wei
come relief. The endurance of these In
dams, or human beasts of burden was a
constant surprise to me-, l remember one
young buck whose smallest load was $50
pounds. His wife was a young squaw
who, with seventy-five pounds strapped to
her back and four-weeks-old child in her
arms, struggled up the Chilkoot pass, where
the declivity was so steep that we We're
compelled to dig steps in the ice and snow
in order to make the ascent. One poor
old Indian, l remember, had but half a
dozen small caudle fish and one grouse to
subsist on for three days
We were landed on the summit of Chill
kOot pass 400 feet above the sea level
at Dica, in the midst of a terrific snow
storm, such as takes place frequently on
this pass in the spring of the year, endan-
gering the lives of many who attempt going
over it. The binding snow rendered it dam
gerous in the extreme to attempt the de
scent from the mountain toward Lake Lin
derman, the headWaters of the Yukon river
To make matters worse the clouds settled
down on the mountain top, and we dared
not leave the camp for more than few
hundred feet for fear we might lose our
footing and be plunged over precipice or
into some yawning chasm ip the mountain.
mSStep meant death.
I'VE took shovels and dug hole in the
Ice and snow and spread a tent over it.
placing sacks of provisions on the tent to
weigh it down the fierce wind would
not carry it away. Our supper consisted of
a cup of tea and a few crumbs of bread
Great glaciers were sleeping all around us
but there was little sleep for the weary
travellers that night. The glaciers. however
seemed TO be endowed with life and fits of
would hear cracking sound. followed by
a noise as of crashing thunder. and ten
thousand tons of sleeping giants would be
precipitated from the mountain heights and
shattered into icy diamonds to feed the
roaring torrents in the chasms below
Morning broke bright and clear. There
was no wood on the mountain top, and we
were compelled to chop up a sled for fuel
a pot of half-cooked beans and a little
coffee, which would freeze at the slightest
provoCation. Two sleds were then loaded
with provisions and started down the noun
tain. They went with velocity If fired
from cannon until they struck the ice
in Crater lake, three-quarters of a mile be-
low. After that every foot of ground we
gained was by the most eXcruciating labor
a human being can be subjected to.
Two weeks were consumed in reaching
Lake Linderman eleven miles farther on
Another week had passed before boat
was completed with which we could make
way down the river While in camp at
Lake Linderman one of the party injured