Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-05-28
ON A HUNT FOR GOLD.
Thrilling Adventures in the Mountains Of
Alaska.
PLAIN STORY BY ksALT LAKE PHYSICIAN


The strength, perhaps the weakness,
too, of the American nation, is shown
In the manner in which IT is carried
away by a new idea, new prospect
1t is characteristic of young, power
full nation, to risk life, happiness ana
comfort for an idea. hope, new ana
therefore fascinating, rich and therefore
tempting
When the transportation companies
started to boom Alaska last summer,
and succeeded in inspiring hope of
untold wealth in thousands of hearts,
/ didn't know which to admire most,
the cleverness of the companies or the
power of Imagination in the people.
When the winter covered the lake ana
Yukon river with ice and stopped the
mad rush for 1897, there was left few
hundred men who were willing to risk
their lives in new experiment in at
tempting to reach the land of gold over
the ice. They hoped to be at the Chill
koot pass early enough to strike clear
ice and be able to take on sleghs
with dog trains enough pro-
visions to last until summer. 1t is the
fate of those few hundred IAen l am
about to describe.
The first obstacle was the pass itself.
To cross it we had to pack our pro-
visions, tent, stove, clothing, ETC., on our
backs for six and a half miles over hills.
up and down, crossing creeks climbing
| hills, jumping from rock TO rock, ana
higher up working through snow and
| breaking new trail every day. AT last
200 men succeeded in placing their goods
at the scales, about week before
| Christmas, and the last ascent of the
| 1,i0O feet high summit was commenced.
We had to make footholds In the snow
wall which rose almost perpendicular up
| to the famous top of the Chilkoot pass.
There We're days when we had nice calm
weather at the Scales, and a blizzard
blowing on the summit, and vice versa.
An avalanche covered the most part of
our outfits, but through hard work we
got them out again, and by the last OF
December we all had our stun cached
on the bluffs. When l say ALL l forgot
| to mention that about one-half already
had dropped out at Sheep Camp tired
of the packing and scared Of snow
storms and cold weather. We then
moved our camp over to Lake Under
mann and pitched our tents on the
snowy hillside among the trees. The
camp was named after me, whose tent
was the first pitched there. So far oui
calculations were all right; the ice OF
the lakes was still clear, and II we ther
had had our stop down we coulc
have gone further, but for four week,
heavy snowstorm blew almost without
cessation, and II we had a single cleal
day 1T was almost impossible to talk,
any sleigh load through the snow ovel
the ten miles road from the top to LAX,
Lindermann; Furthermore, the noun
tain lakes were dangerous, and severa
of our best friends got lost on Crate
lake and were lost forever.
The road from Crater lake to the mex
lakes, Long and Deep lake goes through
. hve mile lonk canyon and II a storm
Is blowing on Crater Lake, It is almos
impossible. even for an old timer. T.
find the mouth of tho right canyon
The trail is gone, the snow and fol
do not allow you to see two feet aheai
| and several other canyons, leading t
J unknown regions and with swift run
ming. never overfrosen creeks ma
take you away for ever. / especial
. remember three Russian Fins, fin
/ specimen OF manhood, with u numbe
of interior dogs. They left us in tn
morning hearty hopeful and stronl
hard work and danger created a friend
ship among us that was entirely un
I known Inter on under the wild spring
rush. The above mentioned snow
. storm covered up the lakes and turne
, back most of our friends. Only fe,
went together and decided to go fur
!, ther with the intention of taking u
/ our belongings to Tag1sh lake and sta
there till March, when the souther
: wind 1.-THE Chinook) would allow us o
/ sleighs with big sails to take suflicier
provisions further with ease. Fac
e man had about l,iOo pounds, and 1t We
: Impossible for man and two dogs
t take bigger load than $50 pounds, whic
= means that for every ten miles "
: had to go 10. Several of the boy
= gave 1t up and only nine, two Englis
: lining engineers, one American,
5 Harvard graduate, two Swedish hun
e tiers and trappers, one old Danish m
e ner, two Russian Fins and were LEI
: Lake Linderman, Lake Bennett al
Caraboo crossing are embedded b.
: tween tall mountains, all covered wit
I glittering snow. patches of wood ~
: running for miles up in deep gulch,
s cut out by powerful mountain stream
: After getting away from the Goa
c range We only had one severe wiz
3 storm, lasting five days, with ten
e perature of AZ deg. below zero. III
c lowest temperature was 81 deg, b,
It the weather was then calm. and we d
:. not feel 1t very much and We're alb
Y to work outside the tents right alon
q Those who had expected to find gan
winter result was a few squirrels, tn
i megans. snowshow rabbits and OF
= timber wolf. The last one was tenn
II ed by our dogs to run close up to OF
!, tents. We lived on bacon, bean
: -four rice, cornmeal and dried frtl
n and consumed quantities that we
e really astonishing, but our health WI
e excellent and only few acciden
G stopped the men from working. "
had read in the papers, before leavin
II about the horrors of an arctic nigt
e but I must admit never to have sc.
anything so beautiful and era,
n as an arctic night wi
l. the northern light shining ov
IS the picturesque mountains and oy
y our small camp of white tents al
Ie sparkling camp-fires. Several OF us so,
l. turned out to be expert cooks--and pi
and doughnuts We're not uncommon. q
n though I am afraid they were hea,
enough to be used as deadly weapo
n in u hight.
- A mandolin belonging to one of [
IT crowd gathered us often together roui
N the fire and was only disturbed by I
q bowling of the dogs that did not appr
N ciste this SYMPTOM of civilization.
)f When about five miles from Taxi
IS post, we got Information that Cnnadi
At governor. Major Welch. who had tri
!. with horses and dog-team to ma
I. Dawson City, had failed and W
I'd returning. giving at the same time I
le order that nobody should be allowed
II go further with less than 600 poun
q = 81.