The sun., 1898-11-13
WANDERED OFF TIE TRAIL
Delaware Boys in the Klondike
Have Narrowing Experiences
in Search Of Gold.
TELL OF A BARONETS DEATH
Flies and Insects Sting Until Men
arc Crazed With the Pain...Two
\ Boys from Kent County striv-
ing to Reach the Ell Dorado
To Secure Gold.
TELL OF A BARONETS DEATH

10 ocCuFc uOiu'
Somewhere in the great klondike are
two Delaware boys, Surrounded by
thousands OF miles Of trackless forests
and barren lands Dan Murphy and James
Sappho are searching for gold, having
Joined early this year in the maddest
gold rush on record.
For months after these two boys lett
their home in Kent no word was received
from them by any Of their friends.
Whether they had been successful in
their search for. gold or whether they
had perished in the many dangerous de-
files of Chilkoot Pass was not known un-
til two weeks ago. :,
Then a letter came. 1t was post. marked
Ouesnelle, Northwest Territory, Canada,
and was sent to friend Of Murphy in
Wyoming, Kent county. The strangest
part of the two boys experiences was
the fact that at the time Of sending this
letter they had not reached even the
Klondike region. The letter was mailed
in July.
Murphy and Sappho declare that
their reserve money will soon be swal-
lowed up. That at this point, ere reach
ing the Klondike, they are in terrible
danger and dread the unseen dangers
| before.
Winter is not dreaded as much at
Quesnelle as summer. Myriads OF flies
and insects hover constantly about man
and the sting is indeed Grazing.
Native guides pinch travellers for large
| ho font thOt tho latter
are unfamiliar with the scenes, and 1t
would he jeopardizing their lives to 90
ahead alone. Murphy and Sappho once
tried it and for 72 hours were lost from an
Alaskan trail. They suffered but bore It
we'll. The trail had led them through q
dense forest and it was in its trackless
expanse that the two Delaware boys lest
their way.
The most interesting incident cited in
the letter is a description OF the prob
able death Of Sir Arthur Curtis. the
English baronet, whose bones have
found a resting place somewhere In the
trackless waste, beyond Quesnelle.
"a few day ago an athletic looking
Young Englishman, whose fine figure
was clothed in earb that the poorest
clam gatueTeT Oh Cue Coaoo "ou'u AVN
have envied, reached Quesnelle from up
the line. His hands and and face were
blistered by the sun and tanned to nut
brown hue, and, combined with his
striking appearance and an indescribabe
air of melancholy he wore, he attracted
general attention. This gentleman was
Roger Pocock, intimate friend of Sir
Arthur Curtis, v no brought the news ol
that ill-fated barcnet's search for gold in
the inhospitable north.
"He says that after wandering over
nearly 1000 miles of barren lands, camp
was struck at the edge of forest by Sir
Arthur and party. In the morning it was
found that several horses and mules had
strayed, and some of the party had start
ed in pursuit.
"Roger from this point sat down in a
store and told us his story.
"'Sir Arthur was still in camp after
the rest had left. Indeed, did not ex-
pcct him to take part in the search, be-
cause he had always shown curious in.
aptitude for prush work, getting puzzled
and lost very easily. Nature intended
him for the sea, and his tastes always led
him afoat or shooting or mining, In
which he was keenly interested. This
morning, however, after he had arranged
his saddle and gear for the days march
he lit his pipe and walked briskly out OF
camp, before even taking breakfast, evil
IDENTIFY intending to join in the horse
hunting, as he had remarked earlier that
nobody had looked up the valley.
He was never afterward seen.. A
search party was organized that evening,
fires were lighted on the hills, and guns
were fred to, If possible, attract the a.
tention Of the lost nobleman. All day
the woods rang for miles with gunshots
and calls, and night after night the
searchers returned diapirited and hope
less to the camp. On the sixth day after
Sir Arthur's disappearance q band OF
wandering Indians were engaged to trace
him, if possible. That day they found
his tracks, here rotten log crushed in,
there q branch torn down to keep OF the
flies, marks OF bewildered man wander.
ing in circles. Then the tracks struck OH
guided bv the sun northeast, about in
the one direction which would lead to
neither trail nor river, the one possible
course which could lead to no earthly
succor. A strong man, he had been
walking steadily, showing no signs OF
madness on that first day Of his stray
ing.
" "'Then at the end of fifteen miles or
SO was the trampIed place where he had
slept against tree, heel marks sunk in
moss, and without a fire We knew al
ready that he had neither weapon nor
compass. Now we know that he was
without matches and could make no
smoke to drive away the terrible flies.
A man may fight them through the
long hot night, and all the blazing day,
but the hands must grow weary ut last,
and the swarms will settle. Then comes
blindness. On the eighth morning OF
the search the Indians returned discour.
aged and would search no more. They
had seau tho mario Of cOyOte0 following