The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-04-02
ALASK A NEWS.

and so much advice has been given
concerning routes, methods and
ways of going to the Yukon country
and to the navigable head waters of
the Yukon River that it may interest
your readers to know what has been
done this winter in six weeks time
by an outfit under the management
of Fl. n. Coleman, who represents
the Klondike Pioneer Syndicate,
limited, of London, England.
The party, consisting of Fl. N.
Coleman, David Porter of Cripple
Creek, j. H. Leaning of Los An
geles, Cal, and myself, left Skaga-
way, Alaska, Jan. 5, with four head
of oxen, twelve tons of provision,
and food for the cattle, to cross the
winter trail and White Pass for
Lake Bennett. We arrived with
all our provisions and cattle food at
Lake Bennett, Feb. Is, without the
loss of anything or an accident, and
with men and cattle in perfect health.
The much dreaded pass has been
singularly good. The travel of
men on foot, pulling their ''outft"
on sleds by hand or with dogs has
been continuous and now that we
have opened the road for cattle and
horses much stuff is being very sue
cessfully moved in that way.
We have made in all five camps
since we left Skagaway, stopping
about week in each camping place.
We have been using altogether the
eight-foot-long by eighteen-inch-
wide Yukon sleds, which we bought
at Seattle, and which have proved
treasures indeed They have stood
the wear and tear wonderfully.
The twelve sleds we purchased are
still in good condition and invaluable
to us. We will use them on our trip
further down the lakes, to. the foot
of Lake LIE Barge. This certainly
is fine record for Yukon sleds.
We have had to work the cattle sing
ly, the trail never being wide enough
to allow them to be yoked.
We have been using from two to
| four sleds one after the other, and
loaded with from 400 TO 500 pounds
each. We have moved our goods
in relays, about eight miles daily,
and it has taken from five to seven
days for us to move the whole of our
stuff from one point to another.
Mr.. Coleman isnow building very
large sled for yoke of oxen, which
together with our small sleds, will
enable us to move all our goods and
chattels henceforth in one trip, saw
ing MS the endless trouble of retracing
our steps.
This last forty miles of the trip to
the Yukon country is the most diff
cul tand the most dreaded. The
next 140 miles from here to lie
Barge Lake is over series of lakes
and the road is level and smooth as
turnpike. We will build our boats
at the foot of lie Barge, near Thirty
Mile River, by which we will gain
nearly four weeks time over the men,
who build their boats on LAX q Ben
nett. Thirty Mile River breaks up
from four to five weeks earlier in the
spring than the upper lakes.
The sive of us are living in 10
by ~ foot ten-ounce duck tent, over
which Mr.. Coleman had much larg
er the ordinary ''hood." 1t covers
the entire tent and it extends beyond
it four or five feet on all sides. and
can be banked with SNOW This
precaution and wisdom has protected
us from the heavy frost which forms
at night on the inside of single
tent in this extremely cold weather.
To-day at 8 a. m. the mercury in our
thermometer, which registers 40
degrees below zero, was entirely in
the bulb, and at 10 a. m. stood 3S
degrees below, and yet we men are
perfectly comfortable in our double
tent.
We are using TIE ordinary Yukon
stove, with the oven set foot above
the stove in the pipe, allowing the
stove to burn wood twenty-four inch
es long. We have found a suffic-
iency of good wood excepting with
in FIVE miles of the summit of White
Pass on the either side. The ad.
vantages of cattle over horses are
L =