The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1898-04-23
TRlALs OF THE TRAIL:
Many IIardships For the Klon-
die Fenderfoot.
HdlaEs Arb oFL1rFLE BENEFIT
From Our Special Correspondent.1
LAKE LINDENAN-IN-TH !


II I we're to give my opinion Of the
difficulties and hardships Of the trip to
Dawson City thus far, could not ex-
press it better than by quoting an old
Connecticut farmer. He had Just killed
his hog In the fali,,ssnd his neigkbor.
after the usual onstom in rural locali,
ties asked him how much It wSashed, I
ss..NelA !" was the reply ttttsdSnst;
weigh D much ass rsses,tei. md i.
didn't expect itW0nld. ,sss z. - =
T. The trip tot Ekwson City isI moi kquitst
s6 dit4cuits 10 i seexpeoted. apd- 70 dfdn,t
expect itMould be-. And yet II, ii nd,
eAsy thing for q "tendeffoot, 81 even
though he has money TO pay for the
packing Of his goods, this travelling Id
an uninhahited mountainous country
where the snow lies from to SO feet
deep and the mercury hangs around
zero day in and day out.
| As for ourselves, the most exasperat-
ing feature Of the trip Is the innumera-
BILE and unexpected delays at every
point. Steamers are week or two be-
hind their sailing dates and double
that time in reaching the Alaska shore.
Then there is another delay of two or
three days in getting goods from the
steamer and one Of similar length in
preparing them for packing to the first
camp in the interior. It is safe to esti-
mate the average time from Seattle to
this point at three weeks, even il the
goods be packed in the most expeditions
way.
Horses Of Little Use.
/. There are thousand and one things
to cause these delays-weather, tides
blizzards, snowdrifts, balky horses and
dogs. looking up lost goods, leading
and unloading. etc.
But why not get your own team
horses, oxen, dogs-or use your own
strong arms and back7" some one asks.
. Simply because when horse is laden
with enough forage to take him from
the beginning Of any of the trails to
Dawson City that load alone is about
all the animal can carry. Two or three
hundred pounds extra might be added
II the animal were q strong 'one, but
this is less than quarter of the weight
that the miner must carry, according to
the mandate of the Canadian authori-
ties. At the present writing their rule
Of insisting that every person take three
pounds day for a year, besides tea and
coffee, has not been modified.
. As for dog teams, dozen will not
drag the weight Of a single individuals
outfit and their own food to Dawson
City. The dog is a fast traveller and eats
little, but he cannot pull much. In ev
cry reported case Of quick trips by dogs
the journey has been from Dawson City
to the coast, where only food enough for
the journey was taken, and not from
the coast to the interior. Oxen are good
burden bearers, but it would take one
at least six months to go over any Of the
trails at this season provided the animal
carried any load beyond that Of its own
forage.
There are packers In abundance strung
all the way from the coast to Dawson,
but 1t costs a good deal to employ them,
and the reader can imagine the oondi-
tion Of his outfit after it has been loaded
and unloaded by the wayside upward Of
q dozen times. think it is fair to esti.
mate the present cost Of hiring years
supply Of goods taken from Dyea to
Dawson City at about $400, and the
owner must be at an additional expense
of from 81 to $3 a day, according to his
taste, for his own living. OF course the
expense will greatly exceed this later
in the season when the ice breaks up in
the canyon and the snow is melted from
the rough Chilkoot between Sheep Camp
and the summit.
II man be strong, be can pack his
outfit to Dawson City himself, but 90