Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-04-05
NEAR THE SUMMIT.
J. K. Martin and Party now on
the Trail Beyond Dysay
E. Alaska. ~

d. Alaska. ~
Under tho date OF Sleeps Camp,
March II, }. K. Martin wrOts letter
to members Of his ia mily In this city.
and the Transcript In allowed to
publish the following. which will be
read with general interest:
Have not yet received letter and
mail came In last night and ! was
disappointed and have come to the
conclusion that the mail has gone
to Alabama as Ala. Ia an abreviatiOn
for Alabama. Our mail should be
addressed to Dyea. Alaska. and we
have made arrangements to have 1t
brought to us at this point at 10
cents per letter. but a. soon as we
move to Lake Linderman 1t willcost
us Is cents per letter. We are get
ting along nicely and have all our
goods about one third the way up
the summit now and II we have
good wea ther three more DAYS will
put us ON top. A person has to be
awful careful, az the mountain Is so
steep II q person falls down he will
roll or slide to the bottom, unless be
can catch a rope to stop; but it does
not hurt person. We wear iron
creepers with long fiat calks ON them
to keep from slipping down, 80 as
long as you can keep your feet you
are all right. let my sled getaway
from me ON st. Patrick's day with
$50 pounds on it, and it flew back
down the mountain at the rate Of q
mile a minute for 5000 feet and ran in
to another sled, smashed Il, and
scattered goods all over. The deal
cost me $50, besides breaking my
own sled.
The mountaine are 40 steep a per-
son can hardly ascend them and we
use block and tackle and sta tio0 two
men at each end of the line to load
and unload and we catch the packers
coming down to ride one sled down.
which brings the loaded one up.
Four men riding a sled down will
bring up about go or 800 pounds
and they are always glad to get q
ride down When we get our stnn
all on top uf the summit we take
our tent and move to Lake Linde-
man 80 we will be camped there the
latter part Of this week II nothing
happens We have storm on today
or we would be working, but we
worked all day yesterday, (Sunday },
40 We can AFFORD to lay up today.
All days are alike here.
They were having q blk time down
town last night. q grand dance given
by one Of the saloons. Every other
place is a saloon. and gambling Ut
all sorts going on, Every thing Ia
plenty high here az rates ON packing
have gone up. Wood on the summit
10 worth ~ cents. per pound, how
would you like to burn wood at that
price? Flour $l2.OO per sack, coal
$l4O.OO, hay @l7UW per ton on the
summit, everything IL proportion
hut of course every thing is 4 cents
per pound cheaper here at, Sleeps
Camp, as that is what 1t costs to get
it up there. a distance of four and
tbree-iourth miles. We are getting
along In fine shape and all fairly
we'll, Mike Keiwel laid of one day
sick. but all @. X. now. We are
camped upon a hill and you would
think you were In Chicago to look
down ON the tents all lit up at night.
and the trails are just crowded with
people In the day time and going up
the trail on the summit. 1t is made
like stairs and each man has to wait
for the other to step before he can
put his foot down.
l understand they have made sOme
moro rich strikes, one on the Big
SALMON river. Nearly every dayyou
see men coming out from that
country and they all have nuggets
in their pockets SO they can pull out
u hand full and shake 1t at you. A
man 10 safer In this country with
money IN his person than In Little
Falls or any other part Of the east
ern country. I havn't heard Of q
robbery since we left the boat. and
have not had my gun out Of tho sack
yet. Well. my dear folks, / do not
know Of anything Of interest to tell
you. The Dickinson crowd that
Fred is interested in arrived here n
couple Of days ago, and by chance I
run ON to them the very day they
struck town. We do not find much
time to read as 1t 10 usually Z O'Clock
" hen we get in from work and by
the, time we get our supper eaten
md clothing changed and hung no