The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1897-07-30

down the thTee-mile declivity.
They landed all safe at the bottom
on the Yukon side.
'FThen we followed, swinging and
tumbling after. We crossed Lake
Lindormon OH the ice all right at
the foot of the mountains, and got
safely to the head of Lake Bennett.
By this time the weather was getting
warmer and the snow melting.
The snow crust on the lake would
support the sleds, but we. broke
through every step, and there was
about a foot of slush under
the crust. Alter wading this way
for two Gays, and having traversed
but four miles we went into camp
to wait for cold snap, or more of
q thaw to break up the ice. We lay
in camp three days, and there came
a cool spell, the wind blowing a
gale.
"When V struck Marsh Lake
the weather had bee he warm again,
and it took us three days to make
seven miles through eight inches
of slush; so we waded into a good
patch of timber and remained there
fourteen days building a boat. 1t
took us six days to fell the trees and
saw the boards out.
"When we got to the great Yu-
kon we launched our little craft and
tried her in the swift current of the
mighty river "a river as large as the
Mississippi and found she would
answer our purpose very well.
"The next day we came to can
yon called Miller's Canyon, the
most dangerous place on the river,
where many party have lost all
they had, and their lives, too. 1t
is steep cut through the mountain
range. The water rushed through
with frightful speed. There is a
long, devious way around the can
yon by land, which requires four
days hard work to get over, while
to shoot the canyon only takes two
and one-half minutes. As soon as
the boat entered the canyon she
seemed to shiver, and then plunged
head foremost into the first wave,
and about a half barrel of water
came over the bow. Then she
Strengthened out and rode through
the rapids without shipping-a drop
more water. We continued down
the river to lake Labarge, thirty
FIVE miles. There our boat riding
ended for the present, the lake being
still frozen solid, 1t is thirty miles
long. The ice was smooth as glass,
so we rugged up two sails on the boat
(Which we had deposited on two
sleds).
"Two days later we once more
launched into the friendly Yukon,
and fioated calmly down the river
to Klondyke, d distance of 400 miles
from the last lake, in eight days.
"This is great camp, and con-
servative estimate of it's richness
sounds like exaggeration.I have been
here now II days and cannot get a
hold of anything. l cannot even
buy a foot of ground in the town,
not to mention the diggings. Val.
ues are so extremely high. Every
foot of ground in this district is
claimed, and there are hundreds of
prospectors in the adjacent country
looking for other rich ground. The
gravel must be very rich in gold
or nobody wants it. From the
amount of gold dust and nuggets |
have seen IL Klondyke and the mad
hunt for it, the district must be all
they claim for it.
"Both of my partners have left
me and gone to Circle City to get
work, for there is no work here on
the Klondyke to amount to anything
till the fall, when they will work all
the men they can get, for they are
winter diggings, while Circle City
is worked in the summer.
cat Circle City wages are SO to
$12 a day, while here on the Klon-
dyke wages are SIS a day for all
kinds of labor. / have been at work
seven days for a saloon man, work
ing around poker tables, faro and
crap tables. He pays me SIS day
and grub. 1t looks big but when
you take into consideration the cost
and hardship in getting here it is not
SO much. They pay principally in
gold dust at $40 an ounce, ] have
made enough on the provisions !
sold to pay all my expenses in get
ting here and also my return home.
l sold one gallon of whiskey that
cost me in Seattle SO, for S25. Ba-
con that cost me IL cents l sold for
IS cents per pound. | sold a $50
pound sack of flour for $50. Tea
that cost me 20 cents per pound, for
50 per pound. Sugar sold for 60
cents per pound. One suit of I'M
derwear for S12. A pick that cost
me $3.50 / sold for SO. All of
these goods l could easily spare and
would have no use for.
eff had only known, l would
have brought in $1,000 or so worth
of goods.
''There are about twenty-five
hundred people here now, and more
coming in every day. About fifteen
hundred wintered here last year.
"This letter, among hundreds of
others, is going out by special car
rier, who charges 81 per letter.
On the CapitoPs Dome.