The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-03-02

our blankets pretty thoroughly tired
out. You should have seen me grab a
few slices of fat bacon out of the fry
ing pan, sandwich them between a
couple of soggy hunks of bread and
working it all down with little hot
coffee. Yes, we are through the worst
Of the pass with all our outfit and
haven't found it so dreadful after all.
We waited at Skaguay until January
u, getting our oxen shod and every
thing in readiness. Then we moved our
outfit six miles up the Skaguay river to
the mouth of the canyon. Here we
camped and began moving our outfit
in small loads to a each in the pines
about five miles further up. 1t took us
seven days of hard labor, but we found
it very exciting. The Skaguay river
runs very rapidly throgh this canyon
which is thickly strewn with boulders,
many of them as large as a house. OF
couse when the river froze the surface
was left about as even as a storm
tossed sea. Then the river fell and the
ice began to cave in leaving numerous
holes, down in the depths of which the
water roars and tumbles. There are
scores of places where a slip would
mean the certainty of being carried
over into one of these holes and whirled
quickly out of sight under the ice. The
canyon is very narrow from where we
first camped all the way to the summit
and where the way winds around and
between those holes there is difficulty
in one sled or animal passing another.
Goodness knows what trouble there
will be when the rush is fully on q
month hence. You see a blockade is
caused by either of two things, too
great q number going up with loads,
trying to get past others running down
eight or some one party having trou-
BILE. The others cannot get by so all
have to wait. Thank heaven we are
out of it in good season, in advance of
the rush. We are among the first to
arrive at this point. One of the most
unpleasant features below our present
camp has been the constant danger OF
ice giving way under one. A huge shelf
of ice gave away one morning just
ahead of us and dropped six horses
into the icy water. Fortunately the
river Was shallow at this place and the
animals were saved with great difficult
ty. We had no accidents except with
one load. The ice cracked under the
head steer in a narrow place. He jump
ed and saved himself and all but the
rear portion Of the load, which slipped
into a deep hole. / caught sight of it
as it was being drawn under in the
whirling water. The recent snow
storms have doubtless improved the
canyon below. We have to wear ice
creepers to keep from slipping as we
handle our loads. The steers are acting
splendidly. Recently dog team I'M
dertook to dispute the road with us.
We had the right Of way as we were
loaded, but the dog driver cursed our
steers and "siked" his dogs at old
Doxology, the leading OK, which I was
driving. Old Dox just lowered his head
and charged. The air was filed with
tossed dog for moment and then the
way was cleared. Having all our goods
cached five miles from out first camp
we broke camp and came on, expecting
to reach this spot the same day, so
that we should only have to make two
camps between Skaguay and the lakes.
Three men joined us to help in return
for the help our oxen gave them. We
were caught in powerful snow storm
and had to make camp at the first
available place, which was about three
miles below here. We were a cold, wet,
hungry and bedraggled lot that night.
We. came on here next day and are
now hauling our stuff from the cache to
the summit, IL miles above. When
all our goods are at the summit we
shall take no more 500 lb loads but
shall put on a ton to the OK and make a
rush for the first timber on the other
side which is 20 miles. That done we
shall consider half our journey to the
Yukon accomplished. Some days, like
to-day, it is impossible to approach the
summit, owing to the storm raging
there. We may be delayed for some
time should a period of very stormy
weather set in, but we have cattle
feed to last so days and we are con-
tented in the knowledge that the hard
est part of our journey over the pass is
done. We are we'll and my appetite is
enormous. Have been anxiously
looking for letters from you but none
have arrived as vet NV lantern is go