The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-01

The following letter to an Ogden man
from J. L. Cook. now at Rampant City,
Alaska, was received yesterday. Mr..
Coos left about year ago from Sc
attic. going via St. Michaels and the
Yukon, and spending the winter in the
Minook district. He is known as a
careful observer, and is conservative In
all his statements. He was for sew
eraI years deputy United States mar
stal. and later an attorney in Ogden:
Rampant City, Alaska, July rs, 1888.
Gear Friend am now going to
write you all l know, and some that L
don't know. about Alaska and the
Northwest Territory.
What 7 write in this letter will be
what I have seen, or have reasonably
reliable information of.
The advice I expect 70 give in this
letter will be such as l would give my
own brother were he to ask me as to
the ACCESSIBILITY of coming to Alaska
In writing as l do l may seem to You
a trifie severe on the country. But l
honestly believe that SO per cent of the
people that have spent any length of
time here and did any ruStling at all
would pronounce this a boom letter
when finished. / only ask you to re-
member that you who are familiar only
with the bright side, as presented by
cannot be as familiar with
conditions here es they actually exist
as l, being on the ground and talking
every day with people who have been
here Cor years. must necessarily be.
THE DARK SIDE.
The dark side of the question, SO far
as 7 have been able to find out. has
never been published. nor do l intend to
" rite about it in this letter Except in
for the reason that the
little that has been published is not
and can't be by anyone that
IS carried away by the gold fever, the
1Ely cure for which is actual ex0er-
ence I'D here, where it only takes a
very short time to take all the enthu-
siasm out of at least 70 per cent of all
hat come on here, no matter how san
guine they may be at the start, and
am judging from the number that are
going out, and the way they are cursing
he country. Nor do l want it to aD-
pear that ] am one of the rs per cent,
or l am not, although l can't say that
like the country any better than they
10. although l am going to stay in ii.
am neither homesick or diSaDDoint-
d; in fact. have been much more for
innate than most people that have
.cme up here, l mean in locating prop
.rty that may prove valuable, but the
My reason l have been more fortunate
S because I have been on the jump
yer since l came here. / have drilled
Town from DIS pounds to less than us
'cunes. so you can see l must have
,een on the move, and 1 intend to stay
lere and
KEEP HUSTLING
i'll 7 make a home stake" or my
ealth Calls me, and l have strong
lopeS of the first and but little fear of
he latter
l left this place for Dawson City on
he second boat that went uD the
liver. and the boat ran on to almost
very sand bar in the river, and fin
lily landed high and dry on a sand bar
0 miles above Circle City, and stayed
here between two and three weeks |
efore getting off.
My partner and l were among the |
rst to desert the steamer and drop |
own the river TO Circle City, and |
here was so much delay m getting an
Their steamer that we abandoned the !
ri9 and went out to the Birch creek /
iggings.
DISAPPOINTMENT AT DAWSON.
But nearly every one went on uD to !
lawson. but the most of them are /
ack here. or else on the road back, or
one out of the, country.
Every one returning from Dawson
grees that the mines there are very
oh. brit that the whole country is
a!-ea u. and there is
'OTHING THERE FOR THE LATE
COMERS,
nd that the restrictions in the way of
Qualities and taxes, etc, and the zen
al cusseGness of the powers that be
i'll make Dawson a very dead camp
Y winter, although at present they re-
ort II the liVelieSt town, considering
he number of inhabitants, there is on
lie American continent
But there is not employment there
n the thousands that have rushed
lere. and they are going out almost
5 fast as they come in. A great many
re going out by way of st. Michaels,
e., dropping down the river in small
BATS. Even here at this place we are
labled to buy goods on the beach at
most Seattle prices from parties go
e out. Steamers coming up the river
ON st. Michaels report meeting many
nall boats. and that the inmates in
lriably motion for them to turn back,
Id when they don't do so
AXE SIGNS OF CUTTING THEIR
THROATS
Id jumping overheard, as a slight
arning OF what to expect above, and
e resort IS that there are twice as
any going out over the pass as there
e coming down the river. The cry
ems to he how to get cut
One fellow expressed the desire of a
eat many in a very neat manner here
e other day. There was a party sell
g out On the river front. and this
her party came along and picked UP ,
book that was for sale. The title
as How to Reach the Gold Fields of
aska and the Northwest Territory.
2 said: What / want is a book tell ,
g me how to get out of the country. I
l know how l got in
EXTORTION AT DAWSON.
Another thing that is going to hurt I
Lwson City is the royalty charged !
d to beat that royalty a great many $
lin owners are going to try and get 5
cir claims laid over for two years ! {
they will not have 20 work them
ring that time. in the hope that by !
2 time the two years are up that the l
" collecting royalty will be repealad ,