New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-03-01
ON THE KLONDIKE TRAIL.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF A FORMER
NEWSPAPER MAN

DoGs-rN DANGER on THE ICE OF
THE sKAGUAY RIVER
Malone ~ Y. Feb 2s-Lucius c. Pease a news
| paper mar well known on the Pacific Coast. who
| left place on 'rhe Seattle Post Integencer' for
n trip to the Yukon. writes the following interest
ing letter to his aunt Mrs Sarah J. Chesey. OF
Malone, n. Y:
Last Timber. Skaguay Pass.
January %. 1898.
IT can scarcely excuse myself for delay in writing
you. but every one who attempts this trip knows
| how 1t IS There is barely time for more than
| line. apd I wanted to wait until could send full
particulars and this first stormy day gives me tho
chance We brought four big oxen and three
months feed for them. decided upon oxen for
two reasons. The man upon whom we had de-
pended for dogs raised the price TO double that
agreed upon. but fortunately had learned some
/ thing by n trip made TO Skaguay and Dyea some
two months ago for the purpose OF acquantng
myself with the needs OF the trip ! found that
oxen the satisfactory animals OF all
the variety OF quadrupeds that have been used on
this trail since the rush began. met Willis
Thorpe. the old-tmer. who has made money during
the last two seasons taking stock TO the Yukon
over the Dalton trail He sad oxen would go
where horses could not be made TO 60. ana tnat
they would haul twice much on the same feed'
and could stand more cold.
OXEN TO DRAW SLEDS.
"A dog will not haul much moro than TO last
himself in the Journey TO Dawson ana you nave
got 10 take a lot OF dogs TO haul mans outht.
When returned from Skaguay my partner agreed
with me- and when the dog man wired us tha' nc
could not give dogs for less than $40 each We
.elecrapbed No dogs: thanks We shall put our
trust in God and oxen and We have been hugslng
ourselves ever since that we did so rakeh ,he
country with a fne-toothed comb to get Just 'he
oxen I wanted and We have them mere Inc iour
average eighteen hundred pounds each Ihey a's
Young lively and exceedingly gentle and WORK
.,rclv IN harness each drawing a large tobosgan.
fourteen feet long with three shoes bolted on the
bottom to protect It from the wear OF the ice ana
rough ground and to keep IL from snolns siue""''
down a slope Each toboggan VIII take as nv
shaped load six hundred pounds OF pressed ray
six hundred pounds OF corn and barley ana e'sn'
hurSred mounds OF outfit for ourselves. Tnls -
forty days provisions for the OK, ana rour 'oooe
con. ,oL. our entre outfit. which weighs three
thousand mounds and includes tools and one year
provisions for the men. The oxen traVe' III ''"s'
A.. string.ng out into quite Respectable caravan
you should have heard the comments as we
passed up through the centre OF SKaeuay l'o" wa
dock There goes the newspaper syndicate QUIZ
a.. rrh.ts the most sensible Klondke outnt tnat
has aver struck this tail: Beats dogs all hoho"'
don't t?' Yes and then look AT all that peel
ZOO The town Is full OF all sorts OF ours lou -"
men with all the way from one 10 SIX ooss anu q
small sled endeavoring 20 train the FORMER 70 pun
the latter II one knows nothing OF TINS Aiasha
excitement and should happen UNEXPECTEDLY upo'!
,b,s ,ovn he would be apt 10 think that many OF
ts citizens had returned early 70 their cnlidhood'
so juvenile does II seem TO see these DIE cHap'
tearing about with the poor little dogs snou'lhs
.Moosh, Moosh- which seems 10 be DOG LOT yet
IN. There Is something laushaoe aoout ,he
n.c,ac,s NJ bearded Klondlker bumped up on
mn. sled with his face with the expression OF
a b,cvcIe scorcher doing his best TO control the
movements OF a lot OF capricous dogs Al ieas'
wa could AFFORD 10 smile. for the comparison was
by far in our favor II remains to De seen no" we
shall get along with them In the interior II Is GER
tain however that they will take US to the laKes'
and that is always looked upon as half the jour
nav We shelter them every night in g. tent by
themselves
OUTFIT FOR THE PARTY.
"A list Of our grub OUTFIT may prove Interesting
10 you Beverages. twenty-five POUNDS, '"eNe
cans condensed coffee and milk five POUNDS conee'
twelve cans extract OF beef ninetyet cans con-
dansed milk Cereas-One hundred pounds p1ot
bread ono hundred pounds cornmeal one hundred
mounds pea meal nifty pounds wheat hour. SIX
6oz.n cans baked beans. one hundred pounds rice
ten pounds barley. one hundred AND nfty pouhus
small beans. nifty pounds rolled oats seats-fh'y
pounds beef. $50 pounds bacon, one hunofeo
mounds salt pork. Ave pounds cheese nVe pouhus
smoked herring, Ave pounds ham, Besides thls' we
hav. q good deal Of fresh meat 10 eat ana Will
have about q ton and half TO sell tat 81 %
pound when butcher our oxen. sweets-one
Thousand saccharine tablets, one hundred POUNDS
sugar nve oans OF molasses. Evaporated goods
Twenty-Five pounds soup vegetables. MY POUNDS
potatoes fifty pounds onions. five pounds raw
onions two pounds squash five pounds evaporated
egg, Dried fruit-Seventy-ive pounds rasins. nifty
pounds apricots. thirteen pounds plums twenty-five
pounds peaches, 125 pounds French prunes twenty
five pounds currants. Mscellaneous-One can pep
n1a half
der mustard. soda. celery salt horseradish ten
bars SOAP two cans coal oil. two boxes candles.
and matches galore. Total weight, 1850 pounds
with boxes. Total cost. $500.
I'VE are now near the summit where the last
timber is found and l scarcely realize that
nearly a month has gone since / began THIS
haven't written q line In that time and my pehci
feels unnatural in my fingers. which have already
grown caous with work. We are cainped down
In a Wild gorge. the rocks towering far above us
on all sides Our tent is pitched on the snow
which 10 about ten feet deep under us am
seated Turkish fashion my sleeping bag, which
ia spread on a few armfus Of evergreen. boughs
ha silly gathered in the neighborhood good fire
ia roaring In our Yukon stove. and tho north wind
is bowling and drifting the snow outside. our cat
tie still fat and in good condition. ana are
snugly housed in snowshed which We dug out
OF tho side of n huge snowdrift. against the wall
of the canyon. We worked until Il o'clock on tho
stormy night OF arrival here to get that shelter
Tor them so tnat tNey iHisht Hot AASeHo
There were six OF u.s. and when we had that done
for q fire we had coffee and hurried supper. and
rolled into blankets. pretty thoroughly tred
out You should have me grab a few slices
OF fat bacon out Of the frying pan. sandwich them
between a couple Of sogEy hunks OF bread ana
work il all down with little hot coffee
ON THE sKAGUAY RIVER.
Yes we are through tho worst Of the pass. with
all our outnt and haven't found It so dreadful
after all We waited at Skaguay until January IL,
getting our oxen shod. and everything in read |
ness Then We moved our outfit six miles up the |
skaguay River to the mouth OF the canyon Here |
we camped and began moving our OUTFIT In small |
loads to a cache In the pines. about five miles |
further up 1t took US seven days OF hard labor |