The record-union., 1898-07-31

II
turn, where the river seemed alive
with rocks. The current roared fear
fully, but l was accustomed to sur
prises, although not quite so great.
There was no time to lose, so I picked
my current, pulled with all the power
in me, cleared one six feet to the right.
switched and shot three feet to the left
| of another and emerged on a smooth,
though rapid stream. Great was my
relief, when in a few moments l heard
the waters of the Hootalinqui. We had
made thirty-two miles in five hours
and twenty minutes, ten miles of which
we did not exceed three miles an hour,
so you may know with what speed the
remainder of the current carried us
Thirty Mile River is decidedly the
worst piece of water in the whole river.
White Horse Rapids is perhaps i lit
tie more dangerous to life, but Thirty
Mile wrecked boat after boat and hard
ly a man came through without strik-
ing rock. With all my vigilance my
boat struck one broad side, and glanced
over about like a rubber ball. A boat
man may escape a dozen, but when it
comes to twenty or twenty-five miles
of them it is more good luck than
all. I will admit with candor the for
mer helped me out on several occasions.
While at Big Salmon we listened daily
to tales of wrecks and misfortunes on
that river, and when our party came
down they reported the shores lined
with wrecked boats and scows People
were not informed of the dangers of
that river and came unprepared for il.
I nd Of hax
although quite a number were drowned
at White Horse Rapids, but the loss 10
property exceeded the loss at the rap
ids ten fold.
The current was still rapid though
smooth from the mouth Of the Hoota-
linqui, and we made that thirty miles
to the Big Salmon in about six hours.
Big Salmon was our destination, and
we landed there on the 22d Of May.
Leaving Bennett on the 10th of April
| it consumed thirty-six days of the
! hardest and most varied experience of
my life.
The Chilcoot Pass was, perhaps. as
| hard, but there was an end TO it. This
seemed interminable. If you received
my letter from the White Horse Rap
ids you Will have the history OF my
| journey to that place. 1t was sledging,
rafting, like a squirrel on logs, packing,
boat building, lodging rocks until al
most dazed and pulling at the oars un-
til ready TO drop. For what? Nothing
! but the natural reward Of my own cx-
| perience. 1 had heard at the White
Horse that the Big Salmon was a fake,
but | determined TO go there and await
| the arrival of the party, so was pre-
| pared for their reception. Walch Creek
| was abandoned. Some had burned
holes to bedrock Gt is not digging here,
| it is burning; frost goes forty or fifty
feeD. They got nothing, and few colors
| showed Up, but you can find them any
where 1t is wash gold, and under the
| conditions that exist here cannot BE-
| worked.
got quarter Of a cent to a pan or
a hillside. I found as much In the mud
on the river bank, and some Frenchmen
burned a hole thirty-feet deep on the
banks Of the Big Salmon and they got
no more. They We're still in frozen
earth. All the earth must be thawed.
and one fire will only thaw out a foot
and a half at most. There can be
| only one fire a day, as a rule, SO the
dirt must be rich to make it pay. That
country in California would be i'm
| mensely rich.
A Government Bunco Game.
At Big Salmon we met many disap-
pointed people. Some had gone on, but
what were left We're waiting for the ar
rival Of their partners What increased
| the disappointment was the belief that
the Government had connived to cause
the rush. 1t is indeed hard to believe
otherwise from the evidence before US.
and it is a reflection on the character
of this Government whose officials are
pleased to boast of a superior political
virtue over the United States, but more
| hereafter.
All our troubles were not ended at the
Big Salmon. Another important fact
stared US In the face, and that was pro
visions Our supplies We're growing
shorter daily, and the ice still remained
IN the lakes, so the travellers informed
US. No one had provisions to sell, al
though an honest" policeman sold us
some Government bacon. Flour, beans
ana little bacon was all we had and
still the ice lay in the lakes We got
some dried moose meat from the In
dians, but the odor was not consistent
with a good appetite; yet we ate 1t. One
~ N'it Heti ~ SOl the SCuTNE, SO L melted
some dried apples and learned to recog-
nize the leaf of a root which is a grea,
delicacy among the Indians and bears,
so l disputed the marsh with those two
creatures. I found wild onions also
but the rise of the rivers soon covered
up my vegetable garden, and we settled
back to the diet of hot cakes without
baking powder, beans and an occasional
slice of bacon.
/ Mosquitoes were so bad I could not
read, yet had read everything through
/ had with me. After a week and a
half people who were camped on the
lower end of Mash Lake began to come
/ scrubbed boats for exercise and
coached the tenderfeet on the current
Had / not done SO many a boat would
have been crushed, for the current a,
the landing place is seven miles an
hour. Many had the scurvy, and a
large per cent. who had wintered there
were still suffering from that disease.
+ Narrowing Tales Told.
Following these came those who haG