Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1898-10-12
MANY ARE LEAVING ALASKA.
Louis kier Explains the Exact Condition
OF Things in Observation-Disclosures TO be
SuImounted by Those Who go There.
Under date OF August IL, Louis Kier
writes Albert Solyerson from Dawson
CITY as follows.

1
| Under date OF August IL, Louis Kier
writes Albert Solverson from Dawson
City as follows:
NY our letter of April IA, lust received TODAY.
we VIII DE busy for some time as we are going
klondkc viii have to 20 About e ii Ave up ID th s
miles up the river and raft our logs down a.
t .he lumber has all been cut near town. but
Ne wa = pie envy OF wood handy 10 our cabin.
We were very glad to receive your letter
ana alS. Learn learn some news from yiroqna. The
i hrse SIetter we received from home since we
ter ., neatele was last week; They nave bet
yer maii system now, SO | think we will get
our mai sooner. The last time | wrote Won
S Was AZ Dyea. Now will try and give YOU a
Eron, 'p nna Oh inc remainder of our trip
sshonl Dyea we hired our goods hauled 70
ssheep camp, which Is about ia miles distant
from there. We had them hauled to the
sumn, ABOUT bout tour miles and packed 10 the
summit about three-fourths of mile max
tang distance OF nearly 10 miles that cost us
I'VE cents per pound. We had an outfit thai
T T6Slg de s,44l pounds when we left Dyea.
. Ing uay we arrived at the Summit vas a
very nice one. The sun shone bright bar nv
lhe time we got our outfit ali up there IL had
nsguh 10 storm and turned cold. 1t being
nisnt anu no notels, we had to spread our
Tent over one side of our goods and prom II mn
enough so we could crawl under and sleen
n rot having any poles there to ptch our tent,
not even any wood to burn. Wood there
cost I'VE cents per pouno, when you could
get 1t at any price. We crawled Under the
lent roiied up In our blankets and silent as
! @siI as though We were in a fine house with a
Ieatherbed to sleep on. The next morning
the storm ragged terribly and wind blew tie
snow we started to face it "a little ways,
ana mad to take refuge behind a nile of
goods 10 get our breath. Wisconsin's storms
were nothing to compare with it. We could
,,os uo anything trying to load our sled till
nearly noon. BY the time we got loaded and
went to the custom officers and paid our duty.
Whlch was $40 so altogether, IL was o'clock
ana ten miles 10 go and pull our sled There
oeing no wo1d closer by. the time we got there,
cut TENT poles, p tched our tent, cut wood
which we had to climb the hill about cne-half
mile 70 get got supper and made the bed, you
may think IL was about bed time We i'm
proved the time from that until morning
When we had to get up early ana make
a ,uao det trip to the summit The morning
getting worse all day. In the Afternoon We
came down the summit (which is about one
uaii mlie long and about as steep as any of
IL impossible to go down il with anything,
put there was some big loads brought down.
we met man at the boat, and he said he was
my noe going 10 Try TO cross Crater lake that
hlghi as ne didn't consider IL safe, for we had
crossed IL Ia one storm, nevertheless we kept
on going; We had about 800 pounds on our
SLED sh me track was drifted full nearly all
the way Tor six or seven miles. Some places
we nau 10 feel to find it as it was ali level
4 ne sieGs that were ahead of us not more
shan lo minutes had left their tracks all filled
up When we got to the canyon (which Is about
three miles long, we found a blocade, there
Delhg ba1 places In the canyon. where il took
long time to get down, it being so steep that
only one sled dared to go down at a time
There being thousands on the trail il took
long time to get through, and before we got
IIh nt9 II was dark. were wet and cold.
Lots or people left their sleds and went on
nome We got home about 9 o'clock all wet,
mourning to eat from early in the morning ex-
e etIp luhch, winch we had to stand in the
stor and eat No fire, no supper ready and
camping On about ten feet of snow. Never
tneiess we got supper, went to bed and got up
d dhe hext morning feeling as good as we ever
ulo. EVERY day we made trip to the sum-
NIT Lit stormed excepting the last which
was was fine day. We brought eight hun
ared pounds orr last load. wish you could
NIL Ii was a sight that never w be re-
peated. Both runners had to be rough
packed, then there were places we couldn't
twenty Feet deep; Some of the sleds would
get loose and go down the hill like lightning
mat was the most dangerous part as the
sleds had a small pole that stuck out in
front about six feet that was used to steer the
sled with. If one of these wild sleds(as they
were called, would come down'the hill behind
could do to handle their own, it made it hard
TO get out of the way, for IL we turned
cross the hill our loads would tip over.
have seen sleds roll over several times
When we got our goods all to Linderman the
hardest part of our trip was over. From
there we sledded our goods across lake Lind
whlpsawed lumber and buliJ our boat. When
the Ice was gone we came on down to Miller
Canyon and White Horse Rapids, which was
an easy journey. We looked the rapids over
and decided to hire pilot that knew where
the rocks were and how to avoid them to help
us run through Our boat was 26h feet long
by .1a feet wide, on top, and 231 by Al on the
bottom. We got two pilots, one on each end
OF the boat. Ernest and myself rowed and
the pilots steered the boat through all right
we had the goods all covered up, SO the water
smashed a.
them at all The rapids are not as bad as
some represent them to be. ] am glad we
run them as enjoye' the ride. After pass
ing the rapids there was nothing of import
ance until we reached the mouth of Little
Salmon River. From there we took our first
prospecting trip. We went across the coun-
try to the headwaters of the Peiby river all
OF 100 miles, making round trip of 300. We
had tocarry enough grub on our backs to
pan, cooking utensils and blankets. The
weather being warm we did not need many
of the latter. We travelled nights and slept
days as 1t was to hot to travel In the middle
of the day; were gone Is days, got nothing but
experience. The next place of note was Five
Finger Rapids, which We run ourselves in
safety The next was Rink Rapids. Neither
OF these rapids are very bad. Our next stop
was made at stewart. which is at the mouth
of Stewart river. Several thousand people
had stopped there to prospect. Lots OF them
niitt gone up the river, some coming back dis
gusted with the river, some staked claims up
| there and thought they had something. We
to do, whether to winter there or come on
down here. We finally decided to come here
with skiff and size up the country before
we brought our outfit down. We decided to
run our boats here and winter. Going up the
river with skif is no snap. There were
four of US The river runs so swift it is inn
possible ost de to row up stream In some places.
rope from the bank. Some places along the
cliffs where we could not walk, we pulled
ourselves along by catching hold of the rocks
III nc fntNn n
from here to Stewart: rs miles. We came
down in ten hours. All the rivers in this
country are very swift.
SUNDAY, AUG. 1--we have our goods all
| moved aboutone mile np the klondike to the
site of our cabin. 1t was hard work getting
them up here; had to wade in the wat ,r to
our waists all the way and pull and push our
boat. We went up about five miles from here
YESTERDAY ana cut raft of logs for our
| raft was seventy three feet long and sixteen
wide. We are going after another raft to-
morrow. AS soon as we get our cabin built
we are going out to the mines and see what
we can do. There are thousands of people in
Dawson with nothing to do The country
has been prospected for miles around here.
There are few very rich mines here and
| lots of them that won't pay for working.
Wages are 81 per hour, when person can get
| a job, but jobs are scarce. There are six saw
mills running here and the seventh is nearly
| the Youkon. They ali run day and night,
and can hardly make lumber enough to sup
| ply the market. They pay common laborers
| 81 per hour, settlers 81 Is, ana head sawyers
$3.50. | would like to have any one OF their
| jobs, but there is a hundred men waiting for
every job, so person stands a small show at
present, as this is the closed season in the
mines. They can't work any but the bench
claims until 1t freezes, on account of the
water coming in on them.
This country has beer terribly boone by
newspapers and transportation companies.
| Some of the western newspapers also boom
| it for the benefit of their own towns. There
has been some of the worst lies printed about
are thousands OF men leaving here for
the coast with just enough to get there ON.
The fare on the steamers is sl.50 and 81. am.
not discouraged with the country yet. |
up this winter, and all the people get out OF
here that are going home. All along the
streets at every corner, where there is space
big enough, even out on the boats in the
river there are signs of outfits for sale. Lots
of things have been sold for less than they
could be bought and brought in here for,
some things for less than they cost in the
states. but that time will soon be past as 1t
won't be long till all who are going home will
be sold out, then the merchants will have 1t
IS per hundred now it Is SIG here. The second
hand stores have bought an awful lot osstuH
from the people that are selling out They
are filed from one end to the other. There
is no possible danger OF famine here this
winter.
There has been only five or six steamers up
from St. Michaels this summer. They say
there is lots of them on the way. There are
several steamers running on the lakes and
rivers above Dawson City. They have all
been built along the lakes this summer.
You don't want to believe one thing you
see in the papers about this country, as IL Is
so far away they can't get any correct re-
ports. am glad | made the trip and still
-,l I. gxrr hot trG