The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1898-05-26
KLONDIKE.
An Interesting Letter From a
Well Known Citizen.

Following letter from his son Melvin:
LAKE BENNETT, b. G. MAY 8. '98.
i DEAR FATHER, MOTHER, SISTER AND
4 BROTHER:
The last letter I wrote was from
Sheep Camp, on April 10Th, so you
can see that we have maderapid strides
since then. We left Sheep Camp early
in the morning with our camp outfit.
the weather did not look very good but
we were determined to get over. When
we got to the Summit you couldn't see
i fifteen feetfor the snow anda wind blow
! ing about forty miles an hour, but
lucky for us twas on our backs. We
ltook three sleds put on our camping
! stuff and part of our baggage and came
to Lake Linderman with two men to the
sled, we got to the lake at 100 p: m.
made camp got supper and wentto bed
at ll:3e, couldn't get boughs so slept
on the snow and we didn't stay awake
Hong even then. The next day which
was Wednesday we changed camp to a
better one about mile down the lake
Egot wood and stayed in camp. Thurs
day, Friday and Saturday it storlned
some couldn't do anything but rest up,
! thu v ind blew agale all the time. sun
day stayed in camp the other boys
we tito the Summit and brought down
400 lis. each. When you tell about
! it, it don't seem hard but how we had
to work, from our camp to the top of
the mountain is II miles and some
PLACES you can hardly walk up with "a n
empty sled then you get there eat a
cold lunch or pay so cents for about
as much as you can eat and come
back. / hope you got the pictures |
sent you. From the top to Crater Lake
is about 1000 feet and very steep, we
drag fifty lbs. behind the sled and put
| a ROACH lock on the runner even then
it is hard work to keep your load from
coming down too fast. Two men got
killed this spring; one got the rope of
his sled around his neck, it ran under
the sled and broke his neck, another
had a G pole run through him. From
Crater Lake to this Lake you can haul
400 to 500 pounds it is not very hard
until you get TO the canyon near Lake
| Linder nan there you have TO do the
same as on the Summit it is very steep
| and crooked and instead of 1909 feet is
two miles long, when you get 800 lbs.
down you are nearly ready to lay
down. Monday the others were SO.
tired they couldn't go up SO went
alone and brought down $50 pounds.
made a very quick trip that day, the
weather was cool and the trail hard, ]
! left camp at 700 am, and was back
| by 800 p. m, Tuesday the weather
got warm and our troubles began, we
got up at 800 a. M, left camp at AGO
and got back at 500 p. m, and We
until the afternoon, the road got SO
soft during the day that we were going
to make it by night. We leftcamp at
four o'clock and got back at six Mon-
day morning. Instead OF freezing it
rained all night, then We We're tired,
but twas our last load to the top.
Friday Rogers and Tom took the
/ last two loads down from the head OF
the cany on and Nels on, and | with two
i sleds took 1900 lbs to the foot of Lake
ILindumans Nelson and ! had two
sleds dashed side by side with a sail
7x10 feet, we. took 1000 lbs and Jim
Warburton with one sled and a sail
we struck since we were on the trail.
i In the afternoon five of us with five
sleds took down $500 lbs, the ice had
got soft and it was hard work. Satur-
! day morning we brought the last OF
| our stuff down the lake and took it
across the portage about mile, to
the shore of Lake Bennett. Wehave
the incest camp place we have had yet.
We are on the ground for the first
time and seems good too. We found
a broken board at Sheep Camp, which
| we brought over with us yesterday. l
made table two feet wide and i've
feet eight inches long, and we did en-
JOY supper last night We found
Buesing camp the first thing, they are
one quarter of a mile from as and are
whipping out their boat lumber. They
Hound some nice trees and have saved
enough for US, which we thought was
very good of them. We would have
had to go down Bennett Lake fifteen
miles, if it had not been for them.
Glenny is going oyerto Skaguay to-
morrow so can get what mail is
| over there. / don't think I can get
; any more mail here as we expect to be
) away in two or three weeks, it will
t take us about that long to build our
} boat and the way the ice is melting i
! can't last long. You don't know how
$ glad | feel that we have got where we
( don't have to haul our goods any far
) ther, we are worn out. | got rather {
-. a.. r.. l1Ff hoe