The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1898-04-21
Maine Women en- route TO klOndike

To THE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL: My
sister and | are here on our way to klon-
dixie, and shall stop here about week
that we may secure suitable outfit. l
send clipping from Boston paper which
may interest some of your readers. We
were born in Montville, but our father, the
late Chas W. Hall, kept the house in
Belfast which used to be called the San
born House. We have lived in Massachu-
sets the past fifteen years.
LIZZIE NJ. CHEEvER,
Seattle, Wash, April s, 1898.
A Journey of 5000 miles, the greater
part of which is to be through wild and
uncivilized country replete with hardship,
exposure and dangers of every descrip-
ton, is a thing which sturdy men might
well hesitate to take, but it would seem
that unusual courage and resolution would
be necessary for two women, with only
each other for company, to make jour
ney Of such extent.
Perfectly aware of the risks of the I'M
dertaking and famiiiarized by their read
ing with the hardsnips of life in the sub
Arctic regions of Alaska, Mrs. Lizzie NJ.
Cheever and her sister, Miss Ella Hall, of
25 Joseph street, Somerville, propose to
leave Boston on Wednesday for the gold
fields Of the klonCike,
Mrs. Cheever, who is the wife Of Ches-
ter G. Cheever, we'll known bicycle dealer
of Somervlle, and Miss Hall propose to
make the journey alone, and their OBJ
jective point is Dawson City, in which
place they will finally determine their
course
Yesterday afternoon Mrs. Cheever talk
ed to a Post man of their trip.
Ever since the opening of the gold
fields my sister and | have been talking
of going to the klondike, and | have tried
to persuade my husband to leave his busi-
ness here and try his luck in Alaska. But
he doesn't want to 90, and I've decided
to try it myself
''We are going across the country by
the Canadian Pacific railroad to Seattle,
where we shall purchase the necessary
paraphernalia for the journey to Dawson
City, and take one Of the steamers going
to Dyea We have chosen that route,
because at this time of the year it is i'm
possible to get up the Yukon River on ac-
count of the ice. We are neither of us
very large women, but we've got more
\,
don't anticipate any particular trouble,
either on the way or after we get there.
think our bicycle riding will stand us in
good stead when it comes to tramping
through Chicott Pass. At any rate, we're
going that way, and | think we will get
through all right. Dawson City is where
we shall probably stop,
''We are going up there to make money.
Ny sister and | are experienced dress
makers, and if the Esquimau ladies don t
want dresses, we shall try running a
hotel, and we may take up a claim and
turn miners. We were born in Maine,
where the women are not afraid to work,
and | think we can do our share. My
husband may decide to come later.
''Afraid of desperadoes? Oh, no;
don't think we fear them much. Of
course, there are plenty Of rough charac-
tiers in that country, but we shall be
safe, | think. My sister is an excellent
shot having had considerable practice with
firearms when she lived in California. 1t
isn't likely we shall have any trouble.
There'll be too many along with us to
make the journey greatly dangerous.
''We don know a soul up there, but
that doesn't matter. People are pretty
much alike the world over, and we shall
be company for each other. If we don t
get rich we shall have had the pleasure of
seeing country into which few women
have ventured, and have undergone ex-
periences which will probably more than
pay us for the hardships we may have to
endure