The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1898-11-22
THE GOLD SEEKERS.
Searching the Yukon and its Branches
For the Yellow Metal.
LIFE AT DAWSON CITY.
DIR. sewell Writes Concerning Alaskan Life
wilIStay to Make His Fortune. 49,.
Papers 80 Cents per Copy.

Papers so Cents per Copy.
DEAR ONES AT HOME:-
My last letter to you believe was
written at the mouth of the Hotalinqua
river about July 4th. You remember
we had promised to wait for Corwin
here, one of our company who had pre-.
ceeded us and gone another route to
investigate if there was anything in
the excitement about Teslin Lake, and
prospect in that region; so ten of the
company, including myself, left the
large boat Iowa and took our supplies
in smaller boat to wait, while the
others went down the Youkon toward
Dawson City. After waiting few
days we were informed by parties COM
ing down the river that Corwin had
gone prospecting in another direction,
so we concluded not to wait there for
him but to prospect up the river our
selves. On July the 18th we started
lining our boat from the shore and
polling. The current is so swift it is
impossible to row except now and then
in an eddy. We prospected number
of bars and could get as high as two
hundred colors to the pan, which we
considered fine indication but still
was not enough to pay us for working
the gravel.
The mosquitoes here were the worst
we had encountered, they were Just
something awful and the trail along
the shore very poor. After we had
gone about forty miles up the river we
saw stream emptying into the Hoota-
linqua which looked very encouraging,
so we went into camp to prospect and
done considerable prospecting in that
vicinity for two or three weeks, digging
two holes to bed rock and starting
number of others but they filed with
water, making it impossible toput them
down further; that seems to be the
worst thing in prospecting in this
country, the excavations after you get
through about two feet of moss nearly
always fill with water in summer, max
ing it hard to accomplish anything.
About the LIST of August Corwin joined
us so we concluded to return down the
river and make our way towards Daw-
son City.
We stopped at the mouth of Big and
Little Salmon but found that nothing
had been found. There were plenty of
deserted cabins at both places, in fact
you can find those or people camped at
at almost all the tributaries of the
Y ukon. About the 10th of August we
passed Five Finger and Rink Rapids
safely. They are very tame compared
with White Horse Rapids, the steamers
run them in. coming up the river. A
little farther down we reached stream
called Marye Creek, about which there
was great dealof excitement lastyear,
it being staked into claims from mouth
to source; we prospected some here and
found color but not sufficient to warrant
our staying. We learned since it was
doomed by parties to sell stock in the
states. Down the river little farther
we reached Fort Selkerk and tied up
for the night. There the English gov
eminent has some log buildings and
more under construction. What is
called Upper Ramparts commences here
and is a Fort-like formation bordering
the right bank of the river for about
ten miles. 1t rises in perpendicular
wall about fifty feet high and looks as
perfect as if the blocks of stone were
laid by mason. 1t was simply some
thing wonderful. The scenery along
the Yukon and wherever l have been
is grand, one must see it to appreciate
its beauty, and 1 imagine that in the
future Alaska will be the home of the
tourist and we'll will he be repaid, if for
no other reason for making the trip
than sightseeing.
In passing little farther down the
river we ran into gravel bar, l jumped
into the water to keep the boat from
going on too hard, getting of course
ca ~