Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-04-14
ALASKA CORRESPONDENCE
DEATH REPORTS ARE EXAGGERATED.
N. Pepin and Grand Rapids Party Gei
Over the Summit of ChiIcoot Pass
on April |.

on April !,
Letters were received this week by
Mrs. Pepin and son Arthur from n
Pepin in Alaska, now packing along the
Alaska trails to the gold fields, and also
by Mrs Clarence Warren from her son
Emmett, who is with the Pepin party
We print paragraphs taken from these
communications which it is thought
will be of interest to readers. Both
letters were written at Sleeps Camp
under date Of March %, 1898. Mr..
Pepin says:
| write few lines to give you news
aging. | hope my letter will find you
four trips to the summit, but it is not
as hard work as we have heard told. l
carry fifty pounds per trip. You would
be surprised to see the great number OF
people here The trail is one-half mile
long and more difficult to come down
than to go up. | assure you it is worth
a great deal to see this country. You
would be astoDished to see all the
women there are on the trail. Today |
passed a woman packing a sack of 5O
pounds up to the summit the same as
though she were man. Expense to
date for me has been just $500 and have
about $25 due to be paid the Indians.
Landed at Dyea Feb. %, had a pleas
ant trip and good weather. Dyea is
located on river of the same name, in
a valley about one mile wide; has l5O
houses and 100 tents, mostly restaurants
and saloons. This valley runs the same
for Is miles to Canyon City, a town OF
10 or y restaurants, 8 saloons, 4 So
called hotels, and number Of bunk
houses where you can pay 90 cents and
sleep on a board or piece of canvas.
Pitched our tent here on March g.
Next move was to Sheep Camp three
miles from Canyon City. The canyon
narrows down until it is 80 to so feet
wide, up hlll most of the way, rise Oi
about $50 feet, | think, in every J miles
Reached Sheep Camp on March H.
Here are 40 buildings, Is saloons, meat
markets, l drug store, l blacksmith
shop, the balance restaurants and hotels
There are at pre- Mt 700 tents here
occupied by tran~ients on the move
At least 1000 tents are along the trail
from Dyea to summit, say nothing o1
what has passed to the other side anG
now pitched at the lakes. Trail from
here to summit of Chilcoot is all up bill
and A miles long. Can use sled for
miles to the ''scales," but have to pack
last half mile, which is like going ur
the side of a house on ladder. We
have most Of our outfit at the ''scales'
and some on the summit, but are not
working hard because we have lots o1
time and it is much colder on the other
side. Have worked in our shirt sleeves
most of the time and water has never
frozen in our tents.
The cold is on the mountains and
there is no timber to break the hard
winds there. Packers on the summit
use a novel toboggan for descent. They
sit down in the snow and slide on theil
pants. 1t don't take minute for the
trip and the track is worn down to II
feet deep in the snow; slide is only Z
feet wide, or the width of man. There
are some good hills before you come tt
the pass; if a man slips down he is
liable to slide to the bottom before he
can stop, yet they use ponies and mules
for hauling freight. One pony to q
Yukon sled can draw 400 pounds and
make three trips per day. The rate
charged is &c per pound. From Dyea
to Sheep Camp the road is a fair one fol
teams and | saw teams hauling loads
weighing 1000 pounds; counted 4C
teams on the trail with loads in one
day, and it's the SAME kind of parade
every day. Did not hire our packing
done for it would have cost us 500, ano
we will finish it in less than one month
of actual work. Twas hard to pull :
| sled at first but soon got used to it.
March 24-Will try and finish this
letter today. Had a pleasant surprise
| last night, got letters from home. I0r
spoke of Keils. We see him every day
He went by our tent few minutes ago
and [ said "hello" to him for Arthur.
/ suppose you see by the papers tina
| there is lots of sickness here, but it il
| false as far as [ can learn. One MAJ
got killed on other side of summit, die
not learn how; two men were burned
to death in saloon at Dyea; gamble
was shot; those are all the deaths W.
have heard about. kells says he ha
heard of only six dying since Decem
| ber, that is a small percentage.
Will relate an incident on one of tht
trail hills, not the largest, which will
give you some idea of what packing is
A pony slipped anu fell, he rollet
against another pony and the secon'
was knocked against a third, then al
three ponies with their drivers anl
packs rolled to the bottom. That is al
every day affair. All one can do is t
get out of the way and laugh. A tende
foot don't realize how steep it is unit
he tries coasting on his sled and land
into snow bank. n. PEPIN.