The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-01

Of our arrival here to get that shelter
Ior them, so that they might not freeze
10 death. There were six of us. and
Mheh we had that done and our own tent
up and some dry wood collect
ed for fire, we had coffee
and hurried supper and rolled
INTO out blankets pretty thoroughly tired
CUT You should have seen me grab a few
silces Oh tat bacon out of the frying pan.
sahaWlch them between a couple of soggy
hunks OF bread and working it all down
with little hot coffee. Yes. we are
through the worst of The pass with all our
outht and haven't found il so dreadful at
ter all. We waited at Skaguay until Jan.
X, getting our oxen shod and everything
IN readiness. 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
10 cache in the pines about five miles
further up II took US seven days of harl
labor but we found it very exciting The
Skaguay river runs very rapidly through
this canyon which is thickly strewn with
boulders, many of them as large as a
house Of course. when the river froze
the surface was left about as even as a
storm-tossed sea. Then the river fell and
the ice began to cave in, leaving numerous
holes, down in the depths of which the wa
ter roars and tumbles. There are scores
of places where a slip would mean the
certainty of being carried over into one of
these holes and whired quickly out of
sight under the ice The can
yon is very narrow from where we
first camped all the way to the summit,
and where the way winds around and be-
tween those holes there is difficulty in one
SLED or animal passing another. Goodness
knows what trouble there will be when
the rush is fully on a month hence. You
see a blockade is caused by either of two
things, too great a number going up with
loads, trying to get past others running
down light or some one party having
trouble. The others cannot get by so all
have 10 wait. Thank heaven we are out
of it in good season, in advance of the
rush. We are among the first to arrive
at this point One of the most unpleasant
features below our present camp has been
the constant danger of ice giving away
under one. A huge shelf of ice gave way
one morning just ahead of us and dropped
six pack horses into the icy water. For
tunately the river was shallow at this
place and the animals were saved with
great difficulty. We had no accidents ex,
cept with one load. The ice cracked I'M
der the head steer in a narrow place He
jumped and saved himself and all but the
rear portion of the load, which slipped
into deep hole. l caught sight of it as
it was being drawn under in the whirling
water The recent snow storms have
doubtless improved the canyon be-
low We have to wear ice creep
ers to keep from slipping as we
handle our loads. The steers are acting
splendidly. Recently a dog team undertook
to dispute the road with US. We had the
right of way as we were loaded, but the
dog driver cursed our steers and 'sicked''
his dogs at old DoXology, the leading OK.
which was driving. Old Dox just lowered
his head and charged. The air was filled
with tossed dog for a moment, and then
the way was cleared. Having all our goods
cached five miles from our first camp, we
broke camp and came on, expecting to
reach this spot the same day. so that we
should only have to make the camps be-
tween Skaguay and the lakes. Three men
joined us to help in return for the help
our oxen gave them. We were caught in a
powerful snow storm and had to make
camp at the first available place, which
was about three miles below here. We
were a cold, wet. hungry and bedraggled
lot that night We came on here next day
and are now hauling our stuff from the
cache to the summit, two and half miles
above. When all our goods are at the sum
nit we shall take no more 800 pound loads
but shall put on ton to the OK and make
a rush for the first timber on the other
side which is which is % miles. That done
we shall consider half our journey to the
Yukon accomplished. Some days like to-
day it is impossible to approach the sum-
NIT, owing to the storm raging there.
We may be delayed for some
time should a period of very stormy
weather set in, but we have cattle feed to
last fifty days, and we are contented in
the knowledge that the hardest part of our
Journey over the pass is done. We are
well and my appetite is enormous. Have
been anxiously been looking for letters
from you but none have arrived as yet.
l. sion