The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-13
THE FLIGHTFROM DAWSON.
A VIEW rEAR'S DAT LETTER PROM
rHE KL0HDIHE CoUgTRr.
Ths easadinn Registrar D-srris,- tire Ssia-
wIntrr sltsatIsu aissE tho N~uhss-Ers-t-
stttea VsEitive- EsrrtnE Tsetr WaJ ov~r
the Tremendous Rec Jaus ca the River.

Frederick Coato wat,o. the Canadian Registrar
OF the Yukon Provisional district, who. with
Major y. VI. Walsh. the Canadian Commits
siuner of the district. IL established in head
quarters for the winter at. the junction Of Big
Salmon, ON The Yukon River. II is dated Jan.
l, 1893.
Mr.. wade's letter came through TO civilization
by The hand of a specinl courier delegate TO the
Canadian Parliament at Ottawa Sent out on New
Year Day from the heart OF the Yukon country,
in a camp completely shut of from the world Of
mails, telegrauhs. and railroads. with hundreds
Of miles Of snow and leo bound country between
Il and us. it was. nevertheless, typewriter.
The Canadian Government representatives arc
showed in for the winter, but they evidently
have a good machine to help them while away
their time and record their observations.
YUKON RIVER. JUNCTION OF Bro SALMON.
Jan. l, 1898.
Scarcity OF provisions is no new thing In
the Yukon country. Not q year has elapsed
since the commencement of placer mining there
on a large scale without some suffering from
shortage Ut supplies. The enormous influx Of
outsiders this year mas so increased the demand
for food that the danger is more acute than ever
before. : Many who went into the interior
carried no supplies at al. or Just sufficient TO take
them to Dawson. They tell At Lake Bennett a
Story lllsVTlIlNt VI lllE. LttuDCn INNlituSbeln.
a Hebrew, anxious to reach the gold telds, ar
rived at Bennett with no provisions but what u
small lunch basket contained. He repaired to
the woods ami telled a tree. bringing back u
log 10 feet long and = feet wide. Leaving, a
branch forty feet .ong 70 serve rs 4 mast. he
converted the .ug into 4 dryuut. and huisted i
six foot sail TO the very top. Reuben then took
his seat in the craft. put his lunch basket n POI
si;inn. and. after b0nst!ng of his ability rs Il
navigator. pushed OF from the shore. Three
quarters OF u mile had been made. when, the
lFttrntr usVNzAf and II AL han ~ arsr nEnnr
insensibie. WhisEey freely administered soon
brought Consciousness back.
were is mine oaCkF' were his drst words.
"Mein Gott!' DO exclaimed when told thar the
the poor fellow darted over the nearest noun
tain tOp anal Disappeared.
The happy Eo-lucky ignorance or many OF
those who hit the trail Is further illustrated
by an anecdute Of an Grfshman. After many
days on the river the current was sweeping him
past Dawson City at about ave miles IN hour.
Sewing a cit zen on the bank. ne called out:
Ha-se Rapidsl' The astonished Dawsouite re-
piled that ne had passed them 400 miles back
''Be iaberS, thin said the 1rishman. that
mus hev bin the tonne whin me boat whit 50
fast ii couldn't see thin banks"
Early in september the Canadian officials nc
Dawson City realized that Immediate action
muSt pc taken to avert the threatened calamity
ami escape the horrors Of starvation. About
sept. L. hey issued q proclamation warning al
who had nor supplies 10 carr them through 10
next summer 10 get ont 70 The coast or 70 90
Fort Yukon while they could. The
mounted police furnished free transportation 20
all who desired 70 70 to Fort Yukon. They
are said to have furnished supplies 70 some
who were short NJ provisions. The reports AS
TO the total number of those who travelled in
this way 20 Circle City ami Fort Yukon are so
conflicting that tt is impossible ~ form an eN-
act estimate. According 10 one Informant, 500
is the estimate made by Mr.. Flwcett. The Coli
higher 1Sures. while some think there were not
more than 400. since the Yukon became
Circle City and EOrt.yukun. AMI bv way " Dyen
back 70 civilization. where business can be
transacted AMI plans formulated for another
season = work at the mines.
Already over 300 have passed Major Wllsh's
e~nuaInDusrnr IN the Yukon at the mouth NJ The
Big salmon River. at almost m eTuni distance
between Dawson City and nvea. Many more
are m the way ont. probably several hundred.
The burning last month III the NlunGiks Church,
in which quantities OF provisions werr stored.
ami of a urge portion Of the business section NJ
Dawson shortly after'vard. must nave reduced
the FOOD suppl" and may swell the exodus
The effect u thh exodus !, air-nuy apparent
in I -cuH"'!Ca II prices Flour On Dee. 3 had
allen N 81 4 pound. Nearly every man who
goes our has some supplies 70 sell. 80 that his
dcparrure means not only one man less TO be
rsfinned. M parT ral.yns or some one .ett
behind. This is he primo fact 20 be remem.
bcrrG n solving he problem Of how best 70 re-
!!ieve Dawson. Should the exodus cease. the
highest prices must again prevail. The fact
mat most individual -Ur-lus supplies IRE IN
the lanG5 Df the gambling and sporting eie-
rent. who had annie time 10 take advantage
vi the situation While the lCsS fOrtu-ate min
ers were working their Iia.lus or Prospecting
in The nils. II not reassurinS rom a nunani'
The difficulties and hartships attending the
6VO-m.lc march from Dawson city 20 DyeR over
frozen .aNes and rivers n midwinte- cannot be
rallized without some eSp!ana1nn. { arises
not in come, r.un with rhG lakes. hut from me
rivers. lakes L~.nder~a an. Bennett. ragish.
and IA Barge VII no nuht present i smooth
enough surface when frozen over. The nnis-
rure near LAe coast VIII cause u heavy snowfall.
but hat - hut : rrlf!:ng difficulty when rails
haze once been broken. Not 20 the condition
NJ the rivers. The Yukon ard Lewis riverS-
they are really lne and the sAme-consJitute
ono -grNll. sllIOll-. and SUItt-r1lnpInE srrnum
from the Thirty Mile River at Lake La Barge
Thirty Mile River leaves Lake La Barge at Ave
miles an hour FOR the iirst i've miles. then
guickens 70 seven miles for a distance OF ive
miles. and then runs 1t Ave miles 70 The HOOta-
lirgua. The HOotatinQua itself is nearly 800
miles in length. and pOurs its waters inro the
Lewis nj the rate of - miles An hour.
From It's junction with the H0Ota!lnQua the
Lewis wh.r.s along al I've miles an hour for
tAtrty, thret miles. until ths blg salmon Is
in length. Thirry-ziX miles lower down comes
the Little Salmon. a swift but smaller stream
a hundred miles or 80 in length. Next in order,
hut this time from the vest. the NordenskiOld
enters IN" Lewis. Below tho Five Finger
Rapids Tor some distance the main river trar-
-z At 4 rare of six miles an hour. At Fort
SrlkirS tGr Polly enters with \ fve-mile cur.
rent. Further Town White and sixty Mile
rivers pour in from the west. and stewart
arr Is slack. but that OF the White River is not
less Than eight miles m hour. The current NJ
the Yukon then moderpte- 70 about i've miles
an hour. | might have pointed ont thar IN the
'spDeF river EDt WAFER td-Lt= DeINH'n me Cl-
snItic walls NJ Miles Canon at l2Le miles an
hour before convarZing at rhe White Horse
RaDids. The river portion NJ he :riD from tho
coast 70 Dawson Is ,ySlft enough TO arouse the
must sluggish compartment.
But this very rlpliity makes the river route
a most tlHicult one for winter travel. The
shore ice forming n the lakes with The .rSU
frr'Ze-up becomes detached and is vhIrird Town
stream II thousands Ut cakes Of al sizes AMI
shapes. The falling snow is caught in eddies and
-piled into great disk NJ lush. which The first
rrust ruEyerrs INTO hard AMI dangerous masses.
Wien we paced The rlnkenna IN Nov. } It
was POINTING Is IEparentIY unlimited ribbon NJ
ice ,ntu he Lewis. ON The 9th we reached the
Huprai!nGUa Ard fnEnd - tischarging lis hun.
drtis u miles NJ i"r cakes with considerable
velocity Fran This HUiIt The slush ir- piled
up - rapidly On he oars AMI 80 rlOgEr-i the
sides NJ he boats thar 0Irther progress became
very tiftlr ~. an the lIth We encountered the
t"" 1r b" Little salmon rs we'll. The channel
o. the main river vas now full Of whlrling lca
cakes. the sides II the boats aad been worn thin
with the sharp surface igr u tar lakes, ard
Progress h"rHmc dangerous. If NOT impossible.
On rhe lT'h the ice legan 70 lam at various
points along tho river, and ten miles below the
Big salmon John j. freeman uf seattle was
SUCKED under a am ami drowned. several
70tts 'oadrd with provisions disappeared 1T
'An .amr time. ON he l!ght VI rhe 16th. in m
mr. -4T1a rkn txuFar GOO. 4,,,