Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1898-07-29
FROM THE KLONDIKE.
A CASTLETON BOY WRITES HOME
HIS EXPERIENCE.

]
Argonauts-H Hardship in Getting water
! to Drink-Incidents of the Traii-Boat-
making on Lake Bennett.
Charles Oakman, a member of a Yer
mont party of gold-seekers who started
for the Kondike early in the year, writes
! to friend in Castleton rs follows. The
letter is without date but was probably
written in May
1--WE are camped for three or four days
! in an arm of the lake that reaches six or
seven miles west. ! have been hunting
twice since have beeu camped here.
shot two large looms. one weighed y
pounds and the other nlne. We did not
know what they we're until had them
dressed. and we were so hungry for
fresh meat that we were bound to see
what it was like. so we cooked and re-
cooked it for two days and at supper
time the second day we had spread
that we thought would do for the queen
if she were here, but we were very much
surprised to find that it was impossible
to eat it. We parboiled it and changed
the water four or five times. and still it
had such strong taste that we gave it
to a neighbor for his dogs. | shot a
duck, which was fine. Friday three
friends of ours were hunting. and they
shot a moose. Two little ones were fol-
lowing her. The next morning we went
up after the meat and the little ones.
Our friends gave the little ones to US,
and we are trying to raise them. They
are about the size of calf that is two
weeks old, with much larger legs. They
know no fear. The old one dressed
about 80 pounds.
"Tomorrow we leave for Dawson, but
probably cannot get down any farther
than Tagish lake, as the ice is not out of
that yet. but we want to be ready, for
there will he an awful rush as soon as
navigation is open. There were 10
drowned last Monday on this lake. They
got caught in the ice and their boat got
smashed and they could not get out.
There were two drowned near us two
weeks ago. The ice is all out of Lake
Bennett now. We had a hard Job get
ting ont the lumber for our boat. We
had to whipsaw out about $50 feet of
Humber one inch thick. If any one home
thinks it is not work, let them try it,.
We had to carry out boards nearly a
half mile We have good boat. pointed
at one end. % feet long, six feet ten
inches beam, two and One-half feet deep
and will carry three tons. We have
named it vermont" went last Sun
day and called on the Whitehall party.
William and Henry Grindon, Mr. Belou
and four others in the party, whose
names | do not remember. They are
camped four and one-half miles from us
and are building a dredging scow about
20 feet long, and one about 30 or 35 feet.
They will not get away before June 10.
"We had call from Mr.. Thomberg
and Asterhout of Orwell. They are
well. We met Mr.. Hanchett of Bristol
three or four weeks ago on the trail.
Porter, Taft and Gray of Ticonderoga
are three miles from us across the lake.
Last Tuesday Mr.. Richmond and Belden
of Fort Ann called on us. There is a
party Just across the lake from us from
Cohoes, n. y; also two from North
Adams camped near us; also a party
from Holyoke; so there is quite crowd
of US from New England.
Every one looks rough and rugged
, There is one thing about life in Alaska
that is not exaggerated, and that is the
mosquitoes. They are as thick as bees
We cook outside and every night we
build a smoulderng fire in our tent anC
; drive them out. We get little sleel
then. but it is of short duration, for they
, seem to come out of the very ground
for close the tent as you will they man
age to get in some way and then we ge
up, as you cannot rest. They are somt
> larger than our Vermont mosquitoes
and great deal more fond of biting.
at does not get dark here at all now
+, | can sit outside my tent at midnigh
and see to read a paper. The sun rises
. about , 80 o'clock.
"Our next trouble to encounter il
! White Horse rapids. Some say they
=, will 90 through them, but we won't, fol
: all we have to depend on in this country
- is our outfit. so we shall not take an,
chances where we are liable to los,
- them.
zone sees some very queer shaped
- boats here, some that | would not ven
ture down the lake in for all the golt
there is in Alaska. They are making
lot of scows 20 to p feet long that loo
. safe Every boat has sail, some can
- vas, some blankets, and some oilcloths
. and have seen two or three with a Goa
for sail. This lake gets very rough a
- times. have never seen the wind blol
- only from the south, and it is very pleas
=, ant only in rain storms.
= 1.-Two weeks ago an Indian shot tw
~ men, killing one and wOunding tn
~ other. 1t was about 10 miles below her
. on river. He got mad because the
,f would not give him grub. They keI
- him for awhile and then told him to g
- out. He took his gun, went upon hi
and when they came out shot them. Th
~ wounded one escaped and got to tn
= mounted police station at Taglsh LAX,
of The police arrested him and have hil