Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-02-17
with the expected stampede. Wishing
you better Xmas dinner than | shall
doubtless enjoy, remain. Yours, ETC.,
F. r HoUsToN.
Dawson. N W Dec. 10. '97.

|
Pete, Barney, Bull, Billy and Whitley,
| to call them by name, and will probably
be about thirty days from here. Keep
track of it. They will leave Saturday,
Dec. y, and you ought to receive the
| letter about Feb'y 1st to 10th. Note:
The letter made quick time. reaching
Centralia, Jan. q.
| am very tired tonight as | just got
back from 60 mile trip up 10 Hunker
| creek and back. I made 50 miles yes
| terday before | got a chance to get into
| a cabin. Five miles was a little side
trip. | located claim on pup"
| tributary to Hunker, and will try and
record it, but there is such jam at the
office that I'll stand a good chance of
| waiting week. Rube also got back to
night from trip up the Yukon Is miles
six miles where he located. He says it's
a fine looking creek but that is all we
know. All we can expect now is that
some property now regarded as ''cul-
iuo, VI III SOou; VI olSS uuhuONu, Will
develop into something good. Chances
are darned slim though, but we may
fall into it. [ can asfslre you that there
are fewer chances now when a man is
one of SIX or seven thousand than when
he was one of as many hundred.
[ tell you it's a hard proposition to
live on beans, bacon, bread, tea and
dried fruit. We have plenty and are
never hungry but darn the monotonv
of it.
You see every kind of face in this
| country. Contrary to what one would
expect, very few wear beard here, as
| it would be solid mass Of ice and the
upper and lower lips would be frozen
tightly together. There was a rather
expensive and destructive fire here the
other night. I was playing for dance
Thanksgiving eve in tie Dawson opera
house, when the place next door, a
dance hall, caught fire and burned down
together with opera house and one
building farther away. [ only received
pay for one-half night, or $1,000. [ am
going TO hustle couple more claims, if
possible, and then try and get job of
playing. [ went out and sized up the
proposition of working in the digglngs
and | don't want any of it, even if it
| were at all easy to secure a job, but you
can readily see that, With the number
Of men around that there is here, work
is much sought after and the mine
owners have taken advantage of condi-
tions and forced down wages to S100
per hour and as there is but six hours
of daylight now, and less to come this
| month, there isn't much in such pay
and it's too hard work anyhow.
I have not been brought up right to
relish having big, ignorant Mick as
boss over me while standing out at a
windlass with the mercury down to
| lowest notch.
[ don't know yet, in fact have not
made up my mind as to what I'll have
| for our Xmas dinner. I'll probably
have leg of Siwash dog and will try
and make some mince pie stuffing out
of bacon and old moccasins with few
| raisins. | can make a pie that is pretty
good but don't like to make bread as it
requires too much molding. I can make
up a batch of biscuit, though, in good
shape. Rube is too putterlpg to make
successful cook. He lacks the faculty
of cooking meat, bread, tea and oat-
meal ali at once, besides rocking the
| baby. If | remain in the country an
other year IN have to find squaw for
housekeeper SO as to be a real Yukoner
SquaWs are now so scarce as to cause
bitter complaint amongst the minated
bucks of various tribes, because the
white man has taken I'D all the young
| ''chickens" and he has to live q life of
celibacy. I don't think there is much
possibility of my remaining here for an
other winter unless [ run an undoubted
chance for strike. If I can make a
| thousand dollars clear cash I'll not
com plain, but [ am liable to make more
and also liable to make less. 1t, in all
events, will be the experience of my
| lifetime and will probably save me
money in days to come. I'll be able to
call my son to my knee and tell him
how the old man was an old sour-dough
stiff of a Yukoner, and how he left a
good comfortable country to shiver in a
land where nothing but ice is cheap. l
don't want Arthur or George to start
for here if there is anything like the
crowd | understand is coming in. It's
.overdone now, and they cannot get
enough grub in here to keep all the
people and the boys would not be able
to buv good years outfit, pay for pack
ing it over summit, buy or build boat,
pay duty and get here, as it would cost
lot of money.
| 1t is nearly seven months since / left
| Centralia and will certainly be as many
more before [ see it again, If then, as
! may remain on the coast-ce rtainly
shall if | am short of cash, for no one
would ever see me back there broke
| Now, I'll have to call this all. Give my
regards to friends and love to all of YOU
| Direct letters Immediately after receipt
of this TO me AT juneau, Alaska, care of
James Warddell, Occidental Hotel, as
he takes this out for me and will leave
juneau on the return trip in the first
part of March, '9S, somewhere before
| the 18th. Make mp one letter of clip
pings from papers such as will interest
me-no d d Clondyke gold news
either, foi they are bores and usually
exaggerations. Don't send any full