The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1898-08-24
ATHABASKA.
Gold Seekers En- Route to
the KlOndike.
An Interesting Letter From Mgr.
Grouard, the Vicar-Apostolic of
the District of Canada Through
Which Many of the Miners
Passed.
Continued from YeSterday.)

Klondike gold mines, They tell us
that considerable number Of
miners have gone towards this place
by way Of the Pacific Ocean, Juneau
City, Dyea and the famous Chilcoot
Pass. This route was encunbered,
INSTRUCTED, even by the crowd, and
especially by the enormous quantity
Of stores boxed up at the foot of the
mountain which it was necessary to
convey by the Chilcoot Pass. They
said also that the provisions could
not be transported as quickly as the
men, that famine was certainly
going to attack the ever Increasing
population Of the new town called
Dawson City, which had just sprung
up like mushroom on the banks of
the auriferous river They spoke of
ten thousand, twenty thousand and
even thirty thousand people who
had already gathered there All
that seemed fantastic to me. 1
could readily imagine that the whole
world had lost it's head, had l not
known the power of that passion so
we'll described by the latin poet,
auri sacra flames. They went 80 far
even as to predict that within a year
the number of miners would reach
more than hundred thousand.
That which most touched and
moved me in this unseemly afhuence
of immigrants was that the gold
bearing lands to which they were
bound, are situated in the most
deserted up to the present date and
the most unapproachable in my
district.
Just for moment reflect on the
position OF poor Vicar-Apostolic
who, up to now, had only a
few savage tribes to evaugelize, and
who suddenly finds himself con-
fronted by such an extraordinary
invasion
When | left Athabaska Lake on
the first OF September the miners
fleet accompanied us. We were de-
layed several days by the storms on
the Slave Lake, and we arrived at
Providence on the 18th of Septem-
Der in the midst of most violent
hurricane storm of wind and snow.
The savages encamped on the shores
of the Mackenzie we're much fright
ened when they saw pass the large
number of boats carrying the immi-
grants. One Of them rushed up to
the Mission:
"This is without doubt" said he,
ian army come to annex the
country"
| treasured him by telling him
that they were miners bound for
the Yukon. He laughed at me and
wanted to know whether such a
statement could be true. He could
scarcely believe that any man in his
right senses would come so far to
enter into an unknown country to
gather the yellow dust; but he was
happy in learning that neither he
nor his had anything to fear from
these men.
At the Mission everyone was
astounded at learning of the dis
covery of the mines of the Klondike
and Of the crowd of men who came
upon the country like thunder clap.
While waiting, the Mackenzie was
choked with ice from shore to shore,
but believe it, we saw dozen OF
these boats laden down with miners
descend the current on their way to
the Yukon. Poor fellowsl they
could not go far like that. In fact
the cold continued, the river closed
over and the feet were imprisoned
Happily the voyagers had provisions
enough to last them for at least q
year They would, however, con-
sumo large proportion of these foi