The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1898-04-21
NEWS FROM ALASKA.
An Interesting Letter Contalnlng News
Sfrom Some Of Our Old Residents- The
General Outlook.

An Interesting Letter Containing News
Hfrom some Of Our Old Residents The
General Outlook.
| SKAawAY, ALASKA, April IA, 1883.
| EDITOR IsLANDER.-Dear Sir: AS San
Jaun is fairly well represented in this
part OF Alaska thought ''squib'' might
be welcome, especially to those Of your
readers who have relatives and friends
here. do not think have become .
chronic liar since came up the Skag-
way trail, but the bactaera which super
induces this disease are SO plentiful, both
on dead Horse trair' and "Chilkoot
pass" that if a person should catch a
slight cold and be compelled to breathe
through his mouth for ever so short q
friends so far as truth and veracity would
concern the aforesaid friends. was over
to Dyea, today, to see our old friend John
Void, and he was complaining of slight
cold and found it necessary to make
very perceptable allowance for his state
ments, especially when he was speaking
Of things "Dyea." Speaking of Dyea, /
will say Dyea is a very nice place, in fact
it is SO nice that you do not want to leave
it, especially when there is a wind blow
ing up the Canal, and you have to walk
couple of mile down the beach and there
hire small boat to take you out to a
steamer and help you in the bargain.
came up. When DIR. Kelly went to Seat
tie he said if I would help Fred knight
with their outfit they would take our out
fit over with their horse. We went over
the Bennett trail to the LOG Cabin" and
from there we went to Lake Tagash, over
the Tochie trail, and got everything to
LAX Lake hTsgas,h n about the 24th inst Fred
Skagway, Wednesday, and he will return
to Tagash on the Bird inst; Tom is also go
ing back with me. Fred and Doc will
build boat at Tagash and go down the
river first as soon as the ice breaks up,
which will be about the middle Of May.
Tom and expect to remain at Tagish for
some time. l do not think we will go
down the river.
AS to hardships, we have endured none
to make one Injured to such thinge VINCE
The coolest weather we had on this side
of the summit was about the middle of
February, when the thermometer reached
IS deg. below and very windy, and for
this time it was so deg. below at Tagash
and some lives were lost o. both trails.
DR.. and Mrs. Kelly overlook us at Mid
die lake. Mrs. Kelly says that so far she
has endured much less hardships than
she anticipated and that she is feeling
better than when she left San Francisco.
She makes the best of the Inconvenience
of camp lite and has no doubt already
prolonged the lives of at least three gold
hunters whose digestive organs might
soon have been impaired from eating
their own cooking. Joe Woods and five
other men, from RentOn, are camped
near us, on their way down the river.
George Mullis is working at Sheep Camp,
on the Dyea trail. Tom has been at Dyea,
but is going out to Tagash. John Void
is at Dyea, and George Higgins is agent
for steamboat company at Dyea. 1t was
not until yesterday, when 1 returned to
Skagway, that 1 learned that VIM. Gill
was a passenger on the Inflated Clara
Nevada. Chas. Phelps saw him as he
was going aboard.
Dyea and Skagway have. perhaps, seen
their best days. But few people coming
in on the steamers. think that the peO-
pie who go in later will mostly go via st.
Michael's. There is terrible jam on
both trails. The rivers and lakes are be-
ginning to break and the shedding will
soon he gone. Horses are selling for good
prices, and hay, feed and lumber are
selling for reasonable prices in Skagway.
have seen men begging for oats, at $l5
per sack, and hay, and hay, for ~ cents
per pound, at the lakes.
As regards White pass will say it is an
ideal pass for q wagon road and the wagon
road is fairly good, as far as it goes, but
it does not go far enOugh.R
II. J. PAxoN.