The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-01-29
BUTTE News.
81 MARKS IN ALASKA
He Had an Awful Experience On
the Yukon.
AGREEN STEAMBOAT CREW
They Were Obliged to Put Back to
Circle City, Which Was Reached
Just In Time-Deaths From
Freezing and Drowning.

Marks. for years prominent and very
popular resident of Butte, should now
be eating snow up above the Arctic
circle. But that is the case, and there
are thousands of people in Butte who
will be glad to hear the latest from him
and know that he is in good health. Ii
was feared that 81 was buried for the
winter and that no news could be eX-
apacted of him before next summer but
Jack Hylands. Marks old particular
friend. was greatly pleased to receive
yesterday the following letter from him
dated at Circle City, Alaska, Nov. q.
1897:
We'll we are still here in this aban-
doned mining town and can see no
chance of getting out for the present
The promised mail man to go out with
dog team to Juneau has not as yet
nlaterialized. and my last letter to you
is still here in the postofffce, but sup
pose win so sometime this winter.
would like to get a letter or a paper
from America. as the latest news we
have is Aug. 5, the day we sailed. When
you write. address care N. A. 7. Il L.
Co., Dawson. [ will get the mail.
Since l last wrote you we had an
awful experience of a day and night on
the Yukon river. About Oct. II the
river all cleared of the ice that was in
it. and we thought we saw our chance
she closed up again-distance 800 miles.
AS / wrote YOU before we had little
steamboat along a company OF US had
bought at st. Mchaefs of a priest and
it was godSend to u.s. for IL we had
mot made the purchase we would all be
here without provisions of any kind.
AS it is we are in pretty good shape.
As stated above we concluded TO make
the run, got the boat all ready. but at
the last moment the captain, engineer
and pilot refused TO go, knowing too
we'll the treacherous Yukon river. We
did not allow a thing like that to block
us, but selected a new crew, among
ourselves, hired an Indian for a pilot
and started We had man along who
had run a mine hoist in Butte and he
undertook to run a steamboat engine.
and ND the river we started with this
green crew.
They were all about the same kind
of steamboat men as | was, and you
know about how much ! know about
steamboat. 1t is a wonder anyone was
left to tell the tale. After we had run
five or six miles something went wrong
with the boiler and all the steam COM
menced escaping. Pat Boland who was
firing, yelled to us to look out for our
lives, and If there ever was a terrified
outfit of men Ii was us. Some almost
had to be held back from jumping over
board and making for shore. which
would have been impossible owing to
the cold water. and as l couldn't swim
anyway / had to stay with the boat
During all this excitement no one was
attending to his duties except the ST.
wash pilot, who had presence Of mind
enough TO hold the boat against the
current and had someone throw out an
anchor to hold the boat. If he had not
done that the boat would have been
whipped around by the swift current
and down the stream we would have
started without steam or anything to
guide us. and would have been lost 10
a certainty.
We'll, after we got anchored OUT in
The middle of that terrible stream re-
pairs were commenced on the boiler,
which was an all night job. During
the night the float ice started to run
again and beat up against the boat, so
we were expecting to be sunk at any
moment Along towards noon next day
we got up steam again and started
back for Circle City and tell you they
were all glad to get in again. We did
not get in any too soon as the river
commenced tanning up that night and
the thermometer fell to 90 below zero.
If we had proceeded farther no one
could have foretold our fate out in that
stream, frozen in miles from wood. and
then the ice jams of this river would
have made kindling wood out of the
boat. The blocking and jamming of
ice in this river is one of the wonderful
stance. the river is very flat a few miles
below here. and blocks very easily The
water backs up to here where the cur
rent is swift and brings down noun
tains of ice. II gorges and breaks and
runs over until il reaches a point from
20 to 40 feet above the river. Why
right in front of our cabin is an ice
gorge in the river that is as high as an
iceberg. and will be there until next
May or June.
The death rate from freezing and
drowning will be something terrible
and this spring when the thaw comes
and the Yukon gives up her dead there
Will be many corpse picked up that
no one knows and some one in a far dis
fant state will be wondering what has
become Of the wanderer. Men here
seem To become hardened and care
nothing for the fate of others For in
stance, a couple of miles above here
LMo men We're out in the middle of the
river in an ice jam. No effort was
made for day to help them. as every
one was little afraid of the ice Final
~ a rope was got to tnem and they
were pulled in. Twenty miles above
here a party of six was in a scow on
their way from Dawson to Fort Yukon,
where there are provisions. The scow
got caught in an ice jam and was
hurled 10 pieces, and not one of these
men has been seen since. Forty miles
above here. an Indian says. three men
must have been thrown out of a boat.
The supposition is they got wet and got
10 shore. but before they could start
fire they became numbed and their re-
mains are on the shore. The United
States commissioner looks after such
cases and sent a dog team and some
Indians out to bring them in A musi-
clan from New York city was coming
down the river in boat. His name is
Anderson. He stepped ashore to do
something. and had his gun in his
hand. 1t went off accidentally and blew
his brains out. His remains We're
brought In and in searching him $500
an money and a diamond ring were
found. He also kept diary of his
entire trip. | read il and il was as
interesting a piece of romaneing as one
would wish to peruse. Even the night
before he had written up the days
events and as n he was expecting some