Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1897-09-23
TELLS or TRIALS.

TELLS or TRIALS. 4,
aovernment Omcial Writes OF the.
Hardships In the Gold Country.
Washington, Sept. 2O.-Oren w.
Weaver, acting commissioner of labor,
has given out a copy of a most graphic
letter on the terrors of thest trip across
Alaska to the Klondike gold fields. The
Eletter has Just been received from
Samuel G. Durham, statistical expert
of the governments department Of la
Dor, who had been assigned by Commits
sioner Wright to make an investigation
of the opportunities which the gold
regions in the Yukon valley and adj
Joining territory afford for the re-
munerative employment of American
labor and capital. The letter is as, fol:
lows: 1850 ..s~ -.
Lake Lindemann, Alaska, Aug Is. 1851
Sir: I left Dyea Monday morning at II
o'clock and arrived here Tuesday evening
at seven. Ny four Indians started ahead
of me. but I have not seen anything OF
them since the start and am Visiting for
them here. When reached the foot Of the
the pass. had an awful experience COM
Ing across the summit. I started out with
my hand bag strapped on my back. think
Ing that as it weighed only 40 pounds I
could carry 1t. managed to struggle along
to the head Of navigation for canoes. six
miles from Dyea, and was there forced
to employ an Indian packer, paying him
ten dollars to carry my grip to Sheep Camp,
II miles from Dyea. spent the night at
Sheep Camp. which is merely collection
Of tents. and started for the summit at
eight o'clock Tuesday morning In a driz-
carry my grip from there to Lake Linde-
mann, paying him sc. At the foot of the
summit we met perhaps 100 Indian and
white packers, who had cached their packs
on the trail above and were returning to
Sheep Camp to await an abatement Of
the storm. -. =
1.-THE distance from the foot Of the sum-
NIT to- the top is said to be three-Quarters
of q mile, but 1t seems like five miles. The
trail ascends at an angle of As degrees.
skirting precipices where a misstep would
hurl one thousand feet below: crossing
the face of glaciers as smooth as glass,
and in many places traversing the pol
ished surface Of great granite powders
hundreds Of feet in extent. Every hundred
yards or so mountain torrents, fed by the
glaciers, and on the present occasion aug
mented by the rainfall, rush across the
coming Ito the knees. ~ Z ~ .
add to this gale blowing so miles an
hour, with sleet and snow rushing hori-
zontally through the air. and the tenn
perature at 30 degrees, and you will have
faint idea Of the horrors Of my passage
across the summit. After struggling up
steep. ascent of Is or 80 feet I would be
forced from sheer exhaustion to rest for
moment, but would scarcely stopsbefore
the chilling wind would cut me to the mar
row, and I would have to continue my
course to keep from chilling to death. Be-
fore reached the summit 7 was wet to
the skin and my boots were full Of water,
and the added weight Of the water made
it almost impossible to proceed. finally
reached this camp at the head of Lake
Lindemann, about seven o'clock in the
evening, having been II hours. in covering
II miles. 50 thoroughly exhausted that /
could scarcely drag one foot after the
othec.
AT present the condition Of affairs on
both trails is terrible, and hundreds OF men
are bound to starve and freeze to death
II they continue to come thisway. 1passed
at least 1000 men between 'Dyea and here
and not more than 100 have their outfits
this side of the summit. Every so yards
along the trail are piles Of goods, and I
suppose there are provisions to the value
of 100000 scattered along the trail. Prices
for packing and for all kinds of service
are Qract1cally QIOHlDlCOry LOT most OF
those who are attemptingtO get in. 20 many
are carrying over their own outfits. Some
of the Indians carry as much as 200 pounds
at one load and make the trip from Dyea
to Lake Lindemann in two days, returning
to Dyea on the third day, thus making two
trips q week. White men carry from Is
to 125 pounds, and 1t takes man with an
adequate outfit month to get to the lake.
There are many here who have been five
or six weeks packing their outfits over
and are not ready to start down the river
yet. All who have come to Skaguay or
Dyea within the last week or 80, who have
to come In without sufficient outfit pay
40 cents or more a pound or not get in at
I ALL. - ,
Lumber is $500 a thousand and rising.
A great many whipsaw their lumber, two
men turning out about 100 feet a day. A boat
carrying three men sells for $3.50 to $4OO,
according to the purse of the purchaser.
Wages of carpenters are $3.50 a day and
board. Everything Is high in price when
you can get it at ALL Whisky is 80 cents
drink and five dollars bottle, and poor
stuff at that Alcohol is worth $40 a gal
mann whisky. Meals cannot be had for
money, as everyone is holding on to his
provisions. I never saw such selfshness
anywhere as is displayed on this trail.
You pass a hundred people without receiv-
ing response to your respectful ''good
morning. and soon learn to keep your
mouth shut. There are so many on the
trail that it Is like walking the street of a
city-the individual is lost in the passing
throng and you are recognized only by ac-
quaintances. If you ask for food in nine
cases out Of ten 1t viii be refused.
aee..I have tried to give you q fair idea of
the hardships Of this journey. but feel my
incapability to paint its terrors. It is out
Of my line. will simply say that no one
who has written on the subject has over