The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1898-06-17

anu mint tpmiuE toStAAtfs Des o"''N
OF a small spot above my left eye. Ike
a bump on ! Jog. l arrived AT the Scales
o. IL. i; was fearfully cold. Not a
man could be seen on the pass. and the
men on top. who worked for the tram
companies. had been compelled 10 stop,
owing 10 the severity OF the storm. Here
| Learned that al. my freight, except
our personal baggage. was on top OF
the summit; 1000 pounds had already
started for Lake Bennett. This wor-
ried me not a little, as ! knew the duty
had not been paid. and wondered how
il would pass the customs; so in spite
Of protests from the boys and packers,
who had returned unable TO face the
storm, | determined to climb to the
summit; and taking my bedding on
my back, / started. After three-quar-
ters OF an hours climb. the hardest l
had ever experienced, / reached the
custom Office on top 10 find it closed,
for the first time since the openings
not because il was Sunday, but be-
cause II was the worst blizzard since
the slide, and no one had tried to do
business. i was fortunate, however, in
finding congenial and obliging gentle
men al the custom house, and a good
place to warm, with wood that cost
three cents per pound. That night l
slept on the floor Of the custom house
brokers Office. about IL feet IN the
snow: some Of the mounted police,
whom | had met before, invited me TO
a roast beef dinner. Next morning l
discovered that Mr.. Mckay. a freighter
ON the other side, had advanced 500 as
part payment of my customs. and, as l
was well known to the authorities, the
goods were allowed 10 go through
About nine a. IN. Judge Irwin. an old
friend and former Indian agent, brought
my personal baggage. and that of my SIX
men (Which he insisted on doing. be-
ing in the freighting business) free of
charge, in all about 1000 pounds. from
Dyea TO Lake Bennett, just for Aud
Lang Syne." About three p. m. we start
ed for Lake Linderman, stayed there
all night, and reached Lake Bennett
with nearly all of our outfit Tuesday
morning at ten a. m. just so hours
from the time we left Canyon City. from
which point our goods were packed on
horses and mules TO the Scales.
About this slime they commenced
sending goods through on the tramway
from Canyon City TO the summit, and
to-day they are carrying freight from
here by way of this tram TO the summit
, for four cents per pound, and | am cred
ib,y informed that within a week TIT
rate will not exceed three cents, con
: s%euuently one can easily figure or
freight from here TO Lake Bennett a
this time at not over six cents, anC
next spring, when everything is frozer
up and the trails are good, ii will no
exceed five cents; and feel almos'
sure that within a year there will b'
5 a ~three-cent rate from Dyea 10 Linder
2 man.
Now let us see for a moment wha
the difficulties and dangers OF thu
r route really are: In the first place
E have talked with a dozen Indians am
everyone tells the same story, that n
Indian could be found on the trail O
that terrible day OF the slide. n the
the Indians) warned the people I
: stay In camp and net risk il but IL seem
+ useless to warn people; l myself woul
e be one of the first to try to prevent pee
pie from going into such danger; an
v vet because / had business that nigh
r suffer on top of the pass, l refused I
listen to the warnings / received and /
while facing that storm, l had bee
v buried in a slide, / alone would be I
o blame.
Here is one incident which / thin
worthy of mention: While my good
were being loaded here S~uperintender
Hammond, Of the ID. X. L. compan.
said to me: 'Capt. Jack. why do. 20
take those big boxes with you? Thi
# heavy lumber is not worth nine cen
r per pound. When we unload at Canyo
City get your men TO AXE those m
chimes out, pack all you can in sack
and will give you credit for ever
L., pound O throw away" The resu
n was hat 500 pounds of goods are no
1t packed in the Dyea Trading company
le store. where / am writing this lette
k These 60 tree 10 Bennett in lieu
a boxes dispensed with. saving SIS. whi'
he is quite an item. Everything should
Y. packed in so and 100-pound sacks wv
~ terproof and boxes should not weif
tt over 100 to 1870 pounds, so as TO be east
ee handled, thus saving lots of breakas
as and often much loss.
as We purchased four boats in Seattl
Id and here is another item worth remeI
Ic- bering: Two of our boats. galvaniz
IT. steel, rs feet long, in two rolls abo
"a Is inches in diameter, S.i feet Ion
Id weighing $50 pounds each. while I
in frames weigh about so pounds each.
he 400 pounds in the two boats. cost
Mt Seattle $50 for the two. Freight frt
yn Seattle to Bennett. $40, making abo
I'D $3.50 for the two boats complete. VIII
he at Bennett or Linderman the lumber 4
nut one boat cost about as much as 25ce
a per foot. ] could not purchase a be
in for $3.50 made of poor lumber that wot
aid be as good or as valuable as one OF mi
TO that cost Sos. hence, | say. buy 70
yht boats knocked down or bring your Ia
All Der to build them and save mon
ct. When one realizes that last sunni
IN f~a;oht ,repf nm as hivh as so cents