The herald., 1897-08-10
PRE=KLONDYKE DAYS
A LOS ANGELENo WHO FORMER
LY RESIDED IN ALASKA
The Climate Fine in Summer, But the
Mosquitoes Make Life Burden.
Dark, Dreary Winter Days

1t is not generally known, except
among his intimate friends, that F. H.
Poindexter, the expert now working
upon the books Of the Los Angeles Elec-
tric company, was for four years located
at Chilkat, Alaska, near the entrance Of
the Chilcoot pass into the Yukon coun-
try, from 1887 to 1890, where he was op-
Grating an extensive salmon cannery,
and secured the first profitable pack Of
salmon ever put up at Chilkat.
Mr.. Poindexter for three years held a
United States license as pilot of steam
vessels ard commanded a fleet steamer
belonging to his company and used in
connection with his cannery operations.
He also held the appointment from Gov.
Knapp of justice of the peace for the dis
trict of Chilkat, and Captain John J.
Healy-now largely interested with Gu
Gahy and other Chicago capitalists in
the Yukon Trading company-was then
operating two stores, one at Dyea ard
one at Chilkat, and was acting as dep
uty United States marshal, and assisted
Justice PoindeXter in making it lively
for whisky smugglers ard other Grim
inals.
Mr.. Poindexter succeeded in estab-
fishing the postoffice at Chilkat in 1890,
at that date the most northerly post
office latitude So degrees 13 minutes) Of
the department, and was the first post
master.
In those days small parties of miners
would arrive at Dyea in April and work
their way through the pass into the
Yukon. The Chilkat and Chilcoot In
dians did the packing for the miners,
charging at that time the uniform rate
of $13 per 100 pounds. These Indians are
mostly stalwart specimens Of manhood,
and would pack almost incredible loads
UP the steep and icy ascent. Several of
them held the record of packing four
sacks of flour GOO pounds), when stur-
dy miner would think he was doing well
if he made the journey with one-fourth
Of this weight. Along in the latter part
of September the returning miners, with
bronzed faces and tattered garments,
would begin to emerge from the interior
with their small sacks of dust, occasion
ally one would arrive with substantial
reward for perhaps several years toll;
but the average was hardly above fair
wages for months or years Of peril and
privation.
Mining operations were confined at
that date to Forty Mile creek and Circle
City, and could only be prosecuted dur
ing three months of summer, when the
streams receded sufficiently to work the
bars. Since these the richer locations
and this plan of getting out the dirt-to
be panned out during the ensuing sum-
mer-has entirely superseded the earlier
methods.
Mr.. Poindexter says no other climate
is more bracing and health-g giving than
the summer weather of Alaska-barriug
the mosquitoes, which are simply intol-
erable and become worse as the interior
is reached-but the winters are dreary
days of darkness and intense cold, ard
before the opening of spring it is safe to
anticipate many narrowing tales of suf-
fering and privation. And of the thou
sands now rushing blindly into the gold
fields. many of them ill provided with
the actual necessities for sustaining life
through the coming arctic winter, it is
to be feared that the harvest Of the grim
reaper will be most appalling.