Mexico weekly ledger., 1898-05-26
Sale Over Chilkoot Pass.
PLUcKY KLoNDYKERS MAKE THE
PERILoUS JOURNEY AND GO
INTO CAMP.
Saving Lumber and Building Boats to
be Used When the Ice Thaws-
Audrain Party all Well-G. W.
Wylde Writes the Ledger.

Correspondence Of the Ledger,
LAKE LINDERMAN, B. o., May H.
Nearly all the Klondykers are over
the pass and camped along the lakes,
making boats. We will not get to
Lake Lebarge before the ice breaks
up, as a intended. We were delayed
getting over Uhilkoot pass on account
of the avalanche and severe snow
storms. Almost every set OF men has
one or more sick persons. Purcell
and party are camped at foot of Lake
Bennett.
We are at Lake Linderman, have
our lumber sawed and will have our
boat built by the time the ice is out,
which will not be later than June 10.
J. A. Elliott, Vanetta Bros, Offutt and
Curd, of Fulton, ars also camped here
and will all get out about the same
time. Most everybody has a sick
spell before getting acclimated. The
M~artinsburg party, Barker, Hubert
and Watkins, is here and in good
health and spirits.
The snow is slowly thawing on the
mountains and the ice is getting soft
on the lakes. Yesterday three men
went down through the broken ice
and four to-day. All YER rescued.
People are still sliding on the lakes
and several will probably be drowned
before they will keep of the ice.
Getting In outfit over Chilkoot pass
is slow business, as during the month
of April, we had, a blizzard four days
during a week on the summit. We
are all over at last and will start down
the lakes soon, determined to follow
it out on this line it it takes all sum-
mer, but we think if nothing happens
we will get to Stewart River by June
10 or July /.
On last Friday at Lake Lebarge a
hunter killed a bear and two yearling
cubs and another hunter in two hours
time shot II ducks. So you see we
sometimes get game here. We have
the Arctic pheasant here all alo ng the
lakes. Being white they are scarcely
p~erceptible on the snow banks.
The climate this side of the pass is
more reliable-nice, clear days with an
occasional snow storm. The lakes are
bounded by high snow-capped noun
tains. The now is melting and water
clear as a crystal comes down the
mountain side plunging into the lake
in beautiful cascades. A person here
can get three climates in as many
hours. At the foot of the mountains
In the valleys it is warm. One climb
ing the mountains will get very warm
first, his muscles will relax and perspi-
ration will ooze from every pore and he
harvest field. But let him ascend a
little higher and he strikes the dry air
and begins to feel cool again, but his
| breath soon gets short and he will
pant like a deerhound after a chase.
Then when he arrives at the summit
still another surprise awaits him, as a
| blizzard is most always raging and
small icy snow, like bird shot, will
beat him in the face, while the intensi-
ty of the cold is hard to endure.
When the writer came over the
summit of Chilkoot pass we were
overtaken by darkness at Crater Lake
and spent the night camped in a tent
| spiked down to the ice. We set up
our stove, had hot coffee, cooked
biscuit and baked beans, not Boston
| baked beans, but Alaska baked beane,
| which are an improvement or the
former edible from the "hub." This
bill of fare was cooked with wood
| which had been carried three miles
| over the summit. During the night
a severe blizzard ragged and in the
morning we had four feet of snow
banked up around III tent. One
might think a man would suffer camp
ing under such circumstances, but we
slept quite comfortable on the ice
wrapped in our fur robes. This was
our first night in the Dominion and
long will it be remembered.
Several of our party are selling then
| OUTFITS and will return to the States.
Tom Moore returns and carries this
message with him. DR.. HALEY will
sail on the Dawson with another party,
who is well equipped for the voyage.
Chas. Nebul, of High Hill, Mo-, died
last week of spinal meningitis, caused
by hard work and exposure. His re-
mains were inferred at the foot oil
Lake Bennett. MIR. Nebul was an ex-
emplary young man and had made
many friends on this trip.
The sun rises here at $3.50 a. m. and
sets a 9 p. M; twilight all night.
G.. W. WYLDE.