The record-union., 1898-05-29
OVER THE ALASKA GLACIERS.
EXPERIENCES OF SEEKERS FOR
GOLDEN NUGGETS.
"a High-Toned Dinner at Sunrise
City-Another Letter From
Ralph Murphy.

Mrs. c. r. Murphy of Brighton re-
ceived the other day another letter,
dated at Sunrise City, from her son
Ralph, who is among the seekers for
golden wealth now travelling over the
snowy mountains and through the icy
canyons of Alaska 1t will be found
of much interest:
March -, 1898
Dear Folks at Home: AS / mailed
you a letter March 9TH, 1 will write
from that time up to date. l carried
that letter until 1 met a party going
back over the glacier. 1 hope you re
ceived the letter all right. l have not
enjoyed better health for some time
and have gained ten pounds. If l do
not make a cent, the trip will do me
good.
This is a hard country to travel IN.
It is all. l.mountains, and covered with
ice and snow. In the creeks the ice
IS falling in now, making that line or
travel very dangerous. In the winter
months is the only time TO travel, as
you can go on the creeks and not
climb the mountains nor travel
through brush.
We have moved all our outfit to
log cabin on Quartz Creek, twenty
four miles from where we were, at the
foot of a glacier. The last day we had
a hard trip. The trail was so soft we
had to leave two loads. The dogs
worked faithfully until they became
completely exhausted. When the har-
ness was taken off Don he lay right
where he was unhitched for an hour
before moving. We were all tired out,
as twenty-four miles in the soft snow
was too much.
We were invited to Twenty Mile Riv-
er to eat moose meat. 1t was the
sweetest meat l ever ate There were
seven men in camp, all very polite and
gentlemanly. / saw the first squirrel
on March 18th Some men called here
looking after poison put out for wolves.
We came to Sunrise City by trail
which leads out among the mountains
and creeks a distance of thirty-five
miles. We took two sleds, with two
dogs each; also stove, beds and pro-
vision to last four or five days. We
went up Quartz Creek on the snow
and ice, which was badly broken. for
about two miles, then took a branch
to the summit between Quartz and
Granite Creeks.
That was a great trip. It kept one
of US busy breaking trail and coming
back to help right some sled that had
rolled over. Sometimes it would take
all three of us to get the sled over
some siding place where, should it
slip few inches, would roll over into
the creek below, taking dogs and all
with it, Maddox was trying to straight
en- up his sled once, and fell or slipped
into a hole. We could just see his
hands and snowshoes sticking up out of
the snow We could hardly get him
out, we had to laugh so.
Some places the snow was so soft
we had to break trail for the dogs.
We lost our shovel, and Henshaw went
back several miles, but could not find
it. We came to a steep, high ridge,
and had to take off our snowshoes and
tramp in a solid trail, then carry our
things up on our backs. After we
had nearly everything up there, Hen
shaw overlook us, and said we were
on the wrong trail Then We had to
cary them all down again.
We next found the ice in the creek
badly breaking up, and had TO cross
some very dangerous places, through
deep canyons, where the water runs
deep and swift under the ice which
was breaking and falling in. Many
places looked as if it would not hold
long enough for US to pass over, but
we got through without any serious
accident. Sometimes we would cross
on fallen trees; one place on a couple
of trees six inches through The limbs
were trimmed off, and the trunks were
laid across where the ice had fallen
in.
We took the sleds across without un-
loading them. Don and Mig were
afraid to cross, so one of US had to
take the dog by the collar and pull
him, while another would hold him by
the tail to keep him from falling
At the forks of Six-Mile River Can
yon Creek we found a few houses.
Packers Camp is five miles from Sun
rise City. There is a pack train here
consisting of twelve animals.
We had to leave the main creek and
climb up over a high ridge to reach
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