The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-07-30
PERlLs OF A KLoNDIkE JOURNEY.
C. f. Miller's Account of His Journey
Overland Shooting the CANYON.

oo- Aouio, July 24.-Men who are
thinking of going to the KIondike gold
camps will find an interesting account
of the hardships and terrible suffering
that must be endured in letter written
at Circle City by G. F. Miller to William
Buermann. Of Window, st. Louis county.
Mo. Mr.. Miller was farmer at Rock
Hill, ST. Louis county. and sold his farm
in 1855 and went to Alaska in August of
that year to seek fortune in the gold
fields. He says in his letter, speaking of
the journey:
lone goes from Juneau by steamer to
Dyea, the head of navigation on the coast
north of Juneau, and then begins the
perilous journey over the mountains.
Each man starts from Dyea with about
eight hundred. pounds of supplies, includ-
ing provisions. and also tools with which
to build boat, These supplies must be
hauled on hand sled in the snow by the
man himself if he has no Eskimo dogs.
1t is a terrible load over the strangest
country it has ever been my lot to travel.
One man can haul on his sled only
ooOoo ~OO POuL0o etU 1O-ho 1lO lcthOr
that about four or five miles, unloads,
and then returns for 200 pounds more,
and SO on until he has his outfit moved to
the spot whel he left his first load
"This tedious method is pursued until
one reaches Chilkoot Pass, which is $500
feet above the sea level, and through
which the trail crosses the coast range of
x4<4. ~ IT.
cred with glaciers and snow. Steps are
cut in the ice on the sides of this pass.
Here the traveller to the gold region meets
with difficulties that try his nerve and
patience. One must pack on his back
from fifty to one hundred pounds of sup
plies at Time which he carries to the
summit, and then returns for more, until
his 800 p oundss OF outfit is carried up the
mountain. All this must be done in
binding snow storms, as it SHOWS and
blows all the time in the two summer
months.
"Crater Lake is on the north side of
this pass, and it remains frozen all sum-
mer. We crossed this lake on our way
down the mountains to the series of lakes
below, and then continued our journey
of 300 miles before we found suitable tim
Der for building boats. We calnped at the
head of the Grand Canon one night, and
then we ran the canon in our boats the
next morning. This canon is three-uuar-
tiers of mile long and only 90 fleet wide,
and the walls rise 200 feet high The
river is one-half mile wide above the can
on. The terrible suction draws the water
to the centre, causing it to be much
higher in the middle.
On this central upheaval of water leap
and whirl frighftul and dangerous
breakers. We prepared to make his aw-
full runsthrough the canon on the morn
ing of June II, 1896. We arranged every
thing in good order. We dashed the steer
ing oar fast, discarded our coats and
boots, and babe good-by to the boys on
the shore. We showed off, and the fast
increasing current carried us quickly to
the mouth of the canon, and there our
boat for an instant seemed to paused, as
If afraid to proceed. But it was only a
moments stop, for, as quick as a flash,
we shot into that hell of boiling waters.
All we could do was to catch our breath
as we were picked up and slammed
But before we had time to get scared we
were out of danger and had run that
three-quarters of a miles.through the can
on in two minutes and ten seconds.
The scene that lay before US as we
emerged from the seething waters of the
canon was grand indeed. We sailed along
quietly between gently sloping banks that
liant colors. But there was something
lacking. Not single bird could be heard
That bea utiful picture was set in a DESC
late country over which reigns the still
ness Of death.
II saw an old man who has been in the
vicinity of that canon for ten years, and
he says he will die there. But he says
he would like once more to hear bird
sing, hear rooster crow, and see pretty
girl, and then he would be ready to lie
down and die. The ground here is frozen
to unknown depths. Several bodies were
recently removed from the old graveyard
to the new one at Forty Mile creek, and
they were in the same state of preserva-
tion as when buried. The ground only
thaws few inches from the surface all
the summer.
II have been presenting the dark side
OF the picture, but there is another. There
is gold here, and it is in paying quanti-
ties, but it takes time to find it. Men
have taken our from 81 200 up to $45, 900
but the latter amount is the most that
any one man has ever taken out of the
ground. The seasons are so short and
food is SO high in price that it takes a
long time to accomplish anything.
This is very discouraging to many
who come here. 1 shall try it here this
winter. The miners in the winter burn
holes down to bed rock and drift out the
pay dirt. Then this pay dirt is washed
out in the spring.
"This letter would be incomplete with
out word about the mosquitoes. They
are thicker and larger than in any other
country believe, on earth. They never
let up onFa man in the summer. They
have actually driven men to commit
suicide. stood on mountain side the
22d Of June and sew the sun set at II AS
in the.evening and dip behind the horizon
and then rise again at 1915 midnight.
"There is no night here at this time of
the year, but it will soon change and
then there will practically be no day"