The record-union., 1898-02-15

Dear Sister: In my cabin I sit think
! ing of you all, but with no tears in my
| ewes. fer my heart is filled with hope,
| even with all the hardships one has 10
| endure, that you folks know nothing
about. Net only hardships, but danger,
! such as frost nips lost on trails. etc.
| The country is all full of trails. | went
| to town last week and got my ears
nipped with frost. Day before yester-
/ day I Went to a cabin just below my
camp and had my nose bitten by frost,
and it is quite sore.
| l am here all alone in cabin l built
myself. There are other cabins within
! 400 feet Of mine. / have to keep fire
| almost night and day or freeze. The
walls are all white with frost. There
was eighteen inches of snow on the
ground when I built, and that is what
makes il so cold.
! But with all this l feel hopeful. l am
at present representing claim ter
other parties. l get 81 600 for ninety
! days service. l have no work to do,
and my time expires January 10th. But
still | am sinking a shaft to prospect.
! If there is anything here l can get a
lay or percentage to work it for the
/ owner. | do not know what L VIII 40
after | get through here.
AS TO taking up claims, there are none
/ to be got that you can make your SAT-
! on. There is lots of capital here buy
! ing up every claim they can get. There
are 1900 claims here, and about forty
! that are worth working. Wages have
come down to 81 per hour. Last winter
they paid 81 % per hour. There are
] plenty of men here, about 4 900 all told,
and 1000 are waiting to get out. a
| great many have gone out on the ice,
and some of them will starve.
| 1t has been Al to 90 degrees below
zero for eight days. and is about 6O
tonight. 1 wear four shirts, two pairs
| of drawers. heavy wool socks and
pieces of blankets wrapped around my
! feet, and then my moccasins. Even
then my feet are only just warm. on
must have robes to sleep in, as blankets
are no good A good robe costs 500.
bought a bear skin for SO, and made
that do Grub is worth 81 % per pound
beans. bacon. flour or anything. You
can get meal in town for IS % l
will be short Of -four. / offered a man
500 for fifty pounds of flour, and rs
said ne could do better. l got here
with coo pounds of grub, so l am all
right, and will get the -four later on.
I | would like to see my little ones,
but not until l have a dollar or two. l
am not looking for big money, but want
some of it, "Old Andy" who used 20
work in the shop with me. is here. He
has no grub, but some little money, and
no work I don't know what he will do,
and he don't know himself. So far l
am the only lucky one of our party. |
am going to look out for myself first
! in this country.
In prospecting this claim / am digging
a shaft ali alone. l am down sixteen
feet. / have a long ladder. Hoisted
twenty buckets to-day up and down
that ladder twenty times day, and
! pick your own dirt. with the mercury
| 80 below zero. / had to quit writing
last night, it got so collaborating next
to the fire and freezing on the other
side 1t is not so cold tonight, only
10 below, and showing. This is a great
place for money, but you can't get il
for nothing.
We don't see the sun any more.
There is about four hours of light, and
We won't see it until the 1st of Febru-
airy.
A Young man just below me sold his
claim for $4,000. He came here last
June. There are some that strike it
great here. I don't know where | viii
| get off I had a chance to go in to
some thing last week, but, as | said
before I can't leave here until January
! Goth. Then I get my sack / would
| like to get about two more chances like
! this before summer
| What a contrast between here and
where ] was in Mexico! You cannot
satisfy your hunger, and everything
i tastes good. People are very kind to-
ward one another. There are about
thirty miners on this creek. They call
me old California
I have the neatest looking cabin,
windlaSs. ladder and buckets or the
out Of logs, for we have no lumber on
this creek. My sled is worth $40. 1t
took me four days to make it.
l had bad cold when l first came
here. one never has many colds here.
Still a man has to be strong to stand
! it. No man with ailments can stay
here. 1t is hard country, anyway, but
/ shall stay with it for a while / would
not advise any to come here. Neither
would | come If / was in civilization
| again.
Mails are very Irregular here, and one
can't tell when they may come or go.
/ am happy and content. but hope ! will
| be with you all some day again. With
love to all, your brother.
0. NJ SHAFT.
/