The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1898-02-15
n Letter From o. e. PsnweiI.
[Gibbonsville Miner.1

y
Alaska, Jan. 5, 1898, to Messrs.
Burnett & Gardner, after writing
of some private matters, Mr..
Penwell says
The people who started for
Klondike last August, and pass
ed through here in September
and later, are camped at the
lakes and down the river for 300
miles, having got frozen in on
the route, and great many have
come back for fresh supplies.
We supposed that the rigors of
an Alaska wj,lter (of which we
have not seen yeti would stop
the tide of gold seekers until
spring, but such has not been the
case. Every steamer from the
Sound has brought more or less
say from 100 to 200 each trip,
until three days ago the steam
ships City of Seattle and Elder
brought 600. So the spring rush
has already commenced only on
o small scale as to what it will
be in another month. / am camp
ed in a cabin within miles of
the summit of the Chilkoot pass.
of which you hear so much said
in the papers and the expense of
getting over it. Of course every
body has been bled at this place,
but more on account that each
man was afraid his neighbor
would get ahead of him. In sum-
mer and fall the trail is muddy
and sloppy and over roots ard
rocks to the foot of the hill, then
no trail for animals for one-half
mile. No one takes time to fix
the trail or hardly to feed the
animals, hence the loss of stock,
and the reported terrors of the
route. Five hundred dollars
would make a trail up the hill,
and few thousand would make
an excellent trail the entire dis
lance from Taiia to the summit,
distance of 16 miles. This was
the condition last fall. But things
have changed; a cold snap we
had in November, 8 degrees be-
low zero, closed up all small
streams and coat of snow more
or less, none at Taiia), to ten
feet on the summit has covered
up all rocks and mud, and now
we have good wagon road nine
milee and sled road and trail the
rest OF the way, and fully one
half of the people coming trans
port their own supplies on the
Yukon sled, which is is inches
wide z inches high and eight feet
long. Some use dogs but the
majority do their own work and
make several trips from place to
place until all is landed at the
foot of the hill, and there is now
a tramway running which carries
the supplies to the top of the
summit for 500 per ton.
On the LIST day of November
last Taiia consisted of one store,
one saloon and q few Indian huts.
AT that time the promoters of
the Chilkoot Tramway and Trans
portation company landed at
this place and commenced sur
vey for a tramway. A town was
plotted out and today the town
is Ii miles long, with three dance
halls, twenty to thirty saloons
and fully twenty -five stores and
as many hotels and restaurants;
with everything else that goes
with new places, and still build
ing as fast or faster than at any
time since the commencement
building wharves out into the
channel mile long, and today
there are seven different wire
tramways Ia course of construc-
ton to reach the head of naviga-
ton, or Lake Linderman, and be-
sides two other towns have some
claims of importance on the riv-
er, one at the mouth of the can
yon 8 miles and one al Sheen
camp II miles above Taiia, with
almost continual line of cabins
the entire length of the stream
ii miles, and business is boom
ing In all lines, one saloon took
in 81. 900 Christmas eve., and it
is surely what is termed red
hot town. Yet supplies are not
high. Wages are from 40 to so
cents per hour and board; teams
charge SIS per day; hay and
grain $40 per ton.
We had almost continual rain
until Nov. 3 with the tempera-
ture 80 or 40 deg. above; then a
short cold spell of about ten
days, and since it has been be-
low the freezing point up to this
time, and men that have been