Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1898-04-01
FRANK THOMAS WRITES AN
INTERESTING LETTER
FROM SkAGUAY
On ifs Way to the ondiae Tells OF His
Plans and oi the Encouraging Conditions
This Spring MANY flowing Toward Daw'
son.


SKAcrAY ALASKA MAR. l3 9S
Dear Parents: | just received three
letters from you dated Feb 20 % and
-. received them all In one mail
the same day They came on Queen "
Seattle Well wrote you some time
ago just before | went over to Lake
Bennett | went over on the White
Pass trail and come ont over the Dyea
trail across the famous ChilcO0t Pass
and sheep camp. got back to Dyea
in just three days from the time ! left
Skaguay. 1t was very stormy over
there but not cold. The THERMOMETERS
stood just 30 above zero when was at
Bennett Well found my goods ali
right over at camp My partners had
moved on TO Bennett and left my goods
in the cabin where.we had stored them
last fall when we got stuck where we
lost the last two OF our horses. The
horse skin roof / wrote you about last
fall is all right and proves to be d good
roof and l think it quite modern I'D
vention. When got back to Skaguay
l followed my previous intention of
taking more goods over the summit so
l bought nearly ton of goods consist
ing of flour, bacon, beans, rice sugar,
fruit etc and hired them hauled up 10
the ford for 211s cents per pound. This
is nearly to the summit, about mile
and is very cheap for that distance. /
saw that the trail was going to break
up below here before | could get them
over myself and so it has, the river road
is almost impossible to get over now
and in few more days will have To be
abandoned. Now | have my goods
up where it has not thawed bit yet
aud Shedding will be good from there to
Bennett for month yet and | Will have
plenty of time to move them from there
on by hand | think myself very
lucky to get them up there when L did
as the price for freightlng has RAISED 30
6 cents since then and as soon as the
river breaks the freighting will be any
price My intention is to go on down
the river unless see something better
here in which | can sell my goods at the
lakes at profit. The cost OF moving
goods from here is going 20 be greatly
enhanced as soon as the snow goes Off.
If | go on down ami don't sell out here
l will leave my property in .jim's care
and then if don't like it on the klon-
dixie or at Dawson | could sell my out
fit at good figure and come back up
the lakes and river to Skaguay. Provi-
sions will be very high and scarce early
in the spring. They will be very scarce
and We that start from the lakes with
the first break up will get in fully a
month, before the first boat can get up
from st. MichaeIs. | will. go up to the
camp in day or two and pitch camp
and start to Shedding my goods on over
The shedding is fine from there on and
Is the wind is from the south everybody
uses sail to help them along. | will
have to pay duty on my goods at the
summit as the custom house is estab
lished there now. They say they are rea-
sonable and fair on outfits. Now as tC
my selling out here l am not In a bit
of hurry for | consider the future of
this town bright. L have now been over
both trails and | know to a certainty
that Skaguay has no cause TO be jealous
of Dyea. They have trail over there
over which 1t will be next to impossible
to put a railroad over. When the snow
is on they can get over fairly well. by
going up the Dyea river on the ice to
sheep camp when the ice goes out
which it will In few days, they vii
have nothing TO fall back on but the ole
summer trail where We have the wagon
road over the White Pass which is in
tended for railroad bed AS soon a,
the spring rush is over the only thing
am afraid of Is the SteKeen route and
know but little about that except tina
it IS a long overland route and up yer,
rapid mountain stream where nothing
but smell boats can navigate and in the
time is entirely impossible. The Cana
dian capital may take hold of it and
build railroad to Lake Teslin from
Telegraph that would solve the problem
of the over land part of the route if th'
snow does not interfere too much. The,
say snow falls and drifts to depth o
75 feet in places on that route. tool
in Dyea and sheep camp pretty wei
when came to see how they compared
with this place. They had no compar
son to this place in point of location t