The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-11-30

|
| yesterday after an absence of nearly
a year during which he was en- route
| to and in the gold country near the
! l<londike fields. He was there on a
| prospecting tour FOR the National
! Klondike Mining and Trading com
| pany, Of which he il vice president
| and intends to start on his return trip
next February
| At his home, go Webster avenue
Mr.. Bartl was interviewed last night
| by a Tribune reporter His story did
| not, on account of lack of time, in
Gude more than a few of the scores
! of thrilling experiences and hardshps
which Mr.. Bartl and his companions
| encountered, but these experiences
| alone If his advice was not sufficient,
| would he enough to prevent any but
the most physically hardened ana prac-
tical of men from attempting to- enter
| the vast arid. inhuspitable and dan
gerOus stretch of northwest territory.
Mr.. Bartl, by reason of his knOwl-
| edge of civil engineering and meChan-
| les, and by his robust constitution and
fine physique, was enabled to return
in as good health as he enjoyed year
! ago. Nature, he says. permits only
3 per cent. of the men who go to the
| northwestern gold fields to return as
! well as when they started. He is one
of the oer cent. and weighs now 200
pounds as against 172 pounds when he
left Scranton last February. In the
course of the interview last night he
said:
TRIP TO KLONDIKE.
eve left the railroad at Edmonton
on March 9. Our party comprised be-
sides myself. l. Hodsberg and Joseph
Melzer, of New York city, president
and secretary of the company, respect
lively, and six paid men. We had II
ponies, double bobs and single bobs.
After crossing the Ethabesca river we
travelled 1876 miles over trail made
by Klondikers to Little Slave lake.
| thence so miles over the ice on the
lake and IS miles across country to
Peace River landing. The latter stage
was mighty rough sledding To reach
the landing we went up and over noun
tains whose altitude was 400 feet. and
down on the river side over ground
as rough, uneven and treacherous as
mud and nature could make it.
Our greatest trouble began twelve
miles down the river, which we trav-
ersed on the ice. Here we left one
section of our party to built a boat
for carrying our 3la tons of provisions
after the ice went out. The rest of
us started with the ponies for Hud-
sons Hope or Rocky Mountain port
age, where the boat party was to
meet us and where we would have to
begin packing our grub and stuff. l
understand the Scranton papers have
already related how our pony party
went four days without food after
coming back up the river to meet the
boating section and missing it.
1--WE finally got started from Hud-
sons Hope, packed our goods over ID
mile hill and went 60 miles by
water and i20 miles by trail
to Fort St. John. These forts
by the way are misnomers: they are
nothing more than houses. the head
quarters of lonesome government
agent. To Fort St John is only 60
miles by water from Hudson's Hope
so you can figure out the knd of rab-
bit trails one has to follow in that
wild land"
NAILS VALUABLE.
AT the fort on July 3 we burned our
boat in order to save the nails. They
are scarce and worth their weight
in gold, almost up there. At Fort
st. John we found placer mining in
operation, but the game was hardly
worth playing. From there we worked
on to Gust House across a 14-mile por-
tage.
Gust House is described in Mr.. Nc
| Connells government report. 1t was
{ | there that Gust got several thousand
dollars worth of float gold early in
the sos. 1t is a kind of fine faky
metal found on sand bars. Here we
: built a 36-foOt boat and went 80 miles
down Parlo Pass rapids and thence &c
miles 10 Finlay river rapids eXper-
! fencing a half-milc portage on tn,
, route. Five miles from the rapids is
= the fork of the Finiay and ParsniI
rivers.
The former is really the headwaters
: of the Peace river. We went up it and
after going IL miles found claims
/ | staked and recorded clear up TO the
4 | Ouranica river for a distance of II
. miles. We kept on to Fort Graham
l on the Finlay, so miles above the forks
Here. on September l6, We made oul
stand ana headquarters.
I'VE had not lost man and but few
= of our supplies. In this we were luck.
ier than most parties. We We're shor
of grub, that Is, we had too small an
} amount to risk staying there for tn,
! winter and working with men with
} out an increased supply. On our way
: up we had sent back for certain in
} structions and ton of supplies actual
ly necessary if we remained after III,
} close of the open season. So we de-
cided 10 wait at Fort Graham unit
our mail and supplies came.
HE is SATISFIED.
"We prospected in that region unit
( Oct. 3, when, hearing nothing of III,
news and goods we expected, / cam,
( out with most of the men, leavinl
} Mr.. Weller there to await my return
: next spring" Mr. Barl courteousl,
} declined to discuss his success or fail
Z ure in locating gold, but said ne wa
} satisfied with his venture.
Z When Mr.. Eartl returns il will be witt
} an equipment ample for large part!
: to prospect and work a long tim
} about the headwaters of the l'inlay
: Ingenlca, Oslinca and Stickine rivers
All these streams, he says, have thei
origin within small radius and in
miniature field as rich as the mali
lilondike fields. About these head
waters all the conditions are mucl
better than in the Klondike fields
There is more quartz mining possible
Placer mining can be done If desired
but II is not followed to such am ex
Z tent as west of the Rockies. Tn
} glacier region, in Mr.. Bartl's opin
ion, does not extend so far east a