The Dickinson press., 1898-06-04

of life, as he enters their inhospitable
territory; it is not enough to grant him .
miserable little pittance of a claim that
would not be worth working unless every
claim were a second Eldorado or Be-
nanza; it is not enough to tax him with
an outrageous royalty on the gold he has
wrung from the earth under such circum-
stances as could scarcely surround aman
anywhere else in the world; but now the
browning act would be to grant fran
chises, presumably for heavy sums, that
would enable individuals or corporations
to tax the ingoing miner for passing
through waterways that have been navi-
gated for years by men who have devel-
oped their country until the eyes of the
world are turned upon it. No wonder
the would-be Yukoner is growing des-
Perate, as he sees his prospective gold
melting away from his grasp before he
has grasped it. The hundreds Of men
in camp here, many of them old Yukon
ers, declare as one man that they will
not pay toll through these waterways;
and the determined manner in which
they say it makes things look as though
trouble was brewing for somebody. Prob
ably the scent of war in the air makes
men feel more warlike here. BY the
way, we received the news of the en-
gagement in which the Boston and the
Petrol were lost, this morning, May
9th. The papers are hurried over here
by enterprising men, as Don as they ar
rive at Dyea, SO we are not SO badly off
for news if we are out of the world. A
newspaper costs two bits here. We have
an opportunity to send letters every day.
believe every man who starts over the
summit yells, "Mail for Dyea" as he
passes through camp. He can easily
make his expenses in this way, as the
charges are ten cents per letter, and he
picks up a good many letters as he trav-
els the length of the camp. l sometimes
mail eight or ten letters at a time that
neighboring men have left in my care
when they started out to work.
<hA AO6SAAS di1u "olh VII TIC IIdll 10
done at night now, as the snow freezes
hard enough during the night to bear a
mans weight. Shedding is still good on
this lake except at the edges. The ice
has raised in the middle and settled at
the edges until the water is knee deep
here. The men drag their sleds through
the water onto the ice, pack their stuff
on their shoulders, sack by sack, until
the sled is loaded; then hoist their sails
and start. Sails on the sleds are a won
derful help, as the wind always blows
down the lakes, and in a strong wind a
large sail will pull a thousand pounds
easily.
Some few men are still sleddiug their
stuff down to the foot of this lake and
then packing it over the hill to Bennett,
in the delusive hope that they will find
plenty of timber there. But franchises"
have also been granted to two corpora
tons who are running sawmills there;
and the luckless Yukoner finds that he
must still drag his outfit down to the foot
of Lake Bennett, twenty-five miles, in
order to secure lumber for his boat.
l must add a word regarding the per-
sonal appearance of the thousands on
the trail. If there is a passably good
looking person among the whole number
he is so we'll disguised that you never
would suspect it. The men all resemble
brigands or pirates of the deepest dye.
The women are simply indescribable. If
it be true, as l read before coming in,
that all women are beautiful at the Arc
tic circle, then the imagination there
must be stretched more wildly than ever
mortal mind hath conceived befQraTHN
AS to Willis and !, We III
; 8; : ! J i y iii : :
You meet
NEARLY all wear col
So you cannot catch the ex-