El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-08
A SILENT PARTNER.

q longer time TO get to the klondlke.
In the first place, he made a mistake.
He selected the trail from Skaguay over |
the White pass to Lake Bennett. Now,
that was bad, but not so bad as his next |
error He would not give it up and go to
the Chilkoot pass, though he heard Chill |
koot was much easier.
Olaf had a hard time on the trail, |
though he didn't know it-that is to say, |
any other man would have thought it |
hard time but Olaf, expecting bad things,
had no CHICK" as he expressed it, against
adversely.
Olaf was an exceptional man on the
trail-phenominally exceptional. For on
a trail where each man had one partner at
least, and most many, Olaf preferred hav-
mo no PARTNER "Anoder man in the party
besides me won't du," he said. " might
want to do one thing and him anoder. be-
sides. 1 don't want no pardner, nohow
Pardners always means trouble
The experience of many on the trail con-
frmed the wisdom of Olaf IS views. Moth
ing discouraged Olaf. When misfortune
overlook him, he set to work to do what
he couId for the best.'' Up before day
break. he cooked substantial breakfast
for he believed in feeding himself we'll
and with so pounds more on his back than
any other man could carry started oil on
the trail climbing over rocks and wad1nS
through mud keeping at it all day with
a short interval for lunch.
1t took him ten dayl to move his outhu
from station to station. Difficulties too
great for other men never prevented OlaH
| from moving forward. If he could not
make ten miles he made five; if not five,
| he made two. But he always kept moving
| forward When some of his provisions
| were stolen he ''rustled,' as he called it,
| and worked for others until he had earned
| enough to replace what had been stolen.
| Then he moved on his own outfit. When
| at last he reached Lake Bennett, he built
a boat and calmly set sail without any OF
| the excitement which others exhibited.
| Men wanted to buy passage in his boat
| and assist him to manage her, but OlaH
said, "No, 1 don't want no passengers,
and I guess can handle the boat myself. -
| At the Tagish Lake custom house OlaH
worked four days to pay for the duty on
| his goods, and went on his way w1thout
the delay ruffling his temper. He sailed
his boat around the point at Windy Arm
when 80 other boats hauled up on tho
beach. Approaching Miles Canyon men
shouted to warn Olaf to land and Tighten
his boat and wait for the pilot. THAT the
canyon,' they shouted. miles Canyon.
s'Is it?'' said Olaf. 1--WE been watching
for it all day. And he took his boat
through and on through the White Horse
rapids without moving an eyelid- But
now floating ice began to impede OlaH
progress. 9Th keep going till she freezes
up, - he said. And he did. She froze UP
when Olaf had got to Five Fingers, and
Olaf went into camp He built sheo
and ate up his grub until he had left wha'
| he could pull.
About Christmas Olaf started for Daw
son on the ice with more his sled thai
any two men could pull. He made slow
| progress, but he said, II shall come there
some time if 1 keep moving" Four mile:
| a day doesn't seem much, but if persisted
in it counts up. and at last Olaf arrived IT
Daw son.
He Immediately moved up the creel
and went to work prospecting. To hi:
surprise lead pencil prospector jumped
his claim. Olaf moved to another loca
ton, found good prospects and reported
Then he built cabin and settled dowI
to work. He put in II solid hours day
His claim was 500 feet, and as he looked
around he felt pleased. He had all th'
gold he wanted, he thought, and it was al
his own. He congratulated himself dali,
on having no partner.
Some staInpeders camped one night a
Olaff's cabin and discussed the mining
regulations, as stampeders will YukOl
staInpe6ers are strange. Yukon mining
regulations are still stranger. Olaf
learned, to his dismay, that half his CLAIM
queen, the stampeders said. Olaf wa
nightly troubled. He, stopped working
and thought over the situation. Then h
went down to Dawson, took his place il
line behind some hundred others outside
the commissioner office and waited pa
tiently for admittance. The thermomete
registered 53 below, but Olaf wanted tt
see the guild commissari," and that was
detail he could not remedy.
After waiting two hours and a half h
got in. 81 want to see the guild commits
sari, said Olaf to worried looking MAI
seated behind roughly made desk ano
some gold scales. 81 am the gold commits
sioner," was the reply, ''what do you
want?'' II want to know the queens ad
DRESS" said Olaf. Somebody's alway.
wanting to know something" said thu
commissioner. "What do you want will
the queen address?'' ''Well,'' said Olaf
1.-THE queen and me is pardners on claim
up the creek, and don't want TO be pard
ners with the queen no longer. So wan
to write to the queen to know if she'll buy
my $50 feet or sell her $50 feet to me.
dom want no pardners and anyhow the
queens not putting any work into the
claim
The commissioner advised Olaf not tt
write, but to wait and see what the future
would bring, limiting at possible changes
| in the law. Olaf went back to his claim,
but had no heart to work. 1t worried him
to have a partner, more especially lady,
and one of so exalted rank But Olaf
found it hard work. Thinking and idling
was strange to him, so he gradually drift
ed into working regularly OH his claim as
hard as ever.
AS time went on Olaf sized up matters
something as follows and grew contented
Il don't want no pardners. but my pard-
ner's never here to bother me- She doesn t
|
she's lady, and wouldn't let her work
| nOhOW. even if she wanted Ii q man must