The Republican journal., 1898-10-20
From the KIondike.
"A lette to friends at home.

DAWSON, N. w. t., Aug. ~, 1898.
Dear friends in Kansas: drop you few
lines to post you on our movements. We
have become disgusted with Canadian
rule, and will shake the dust from our
feet and live under the Stars and Stripes
once more. Charlie and have just re-
turned from months trip in which we
investigated the Forty Mile river and de-
cided it was a better place for us. We
went up this river 100 miles and staked
three claims each on Fish creek and
Pennsylvania creek, and in two or three
days will start for there, bag and baggage,
and build cabin for the winter. The
country is far from civilization, but is
well wooded and abcunds in caribou and
moose, bear, wolves and other wild game.
1t also promises well for gold. One
as famous as Edorado in the Klondike
district Twenty seven dollars to the
pan is common thing. Several other
creeks are nearly as good The largest
nugget ever found in Alaska came from
Chicken creek, and Napoleon creek near
by furnishes the heaviest and finest quality
of gold in the world, they say. Forty
Mile river is the first place in the interior
OF Alaska where gold was discovered, and
has been worked for many years The
cabins, bitches and sluice boxes and other
evidences may be seen all along the river,
and hundreds are working on the gravel
bars at present with rockers There is a
vast country all around US that is unpros-
pected, and we are within weeks jour
ney of the Tanawa country where Henry
Damon's friends are. We lear rumors
OF strikes in that country. We had pret-
ty hard trip over there. | was lost a cou-
pie of times and walked one whole day
without anything to eat except blueber-
ries, which abound there 1t reminded
me of the stories my mother used to tell
me OF picking bluehemies when she was a
little girl in Maine. We often gathered a
pail full in Ii minutes The Forty Mile
river is a beautiful stream. Its waters
are as clear as crystal and filled with fine
fish
On our return we expected to find lots
of letters from home, but were disappoint-
ed as got none and Charles only one that
amounted to anything. A new steamer is
just now coming into town which | hope
has something for us; but it takes these
swift Canadians ten days to distribute, so
we must have ours forwarded to Forty
Mile post Office and may not get it for a
month.
| think we will build a house at the
forks of the Forty Mile river, as there is
likely to be a town there. Every body
passes there in going up the north and
south forks, and we may run boarding
house and hotel if travel is brisk in the
winter which it is likely to be, as this
district is becoming more popular every
day. People are leaving Dawson by hun
dreds and coming here. They are poor
men, having little money, for they have
been skinned by the Canadians, but there
will be lots of work done and much gold
taken out, and when the spring clean up
comes it is thought times will be good
| guess l have said enough for the pres
ent of affairs here. Winter begins Sept.
18th, and we are having ice every night
now. The mosquitoes and gnats were
terrible a short time ago but are gone
now. Take it all in all have never seen
a summer of finer weather anywhere. 1t
was neither too hot nor too cold and the
days We're very pleasant. Now we hear
but we are not well informed as to details. |
Our latest news is that Cuba will be free |
and will be evacuated by the Spanish at |
once, and that the neutral powers will /
frame a government for the Philippines,
we to retain a coaling station there. It |
seems that the United States does not ask |
any money indemnity from Spain We
also hear that the Hawaiian Islands have
been annexed | fear we shall not hear
from home more than once more this win
ter, as we shall be far from mail routes;
but write at least once month
On our way here we got lost several
times, and now that winter is coming on
we will have to be very careful how we go
out prospecting, for if one is caught it
goes hard with him, and many lose their
lives by freezing.
WILL GOODWIN