The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-07-19
Above the Arctic Circle.

TO the delight OF his friends the follow
ing letter has just been received from George
Lynde Ainsworth, written at point on or
near the Mckenzie river, and north of the
Arctic Circle in British America:
Destruction City, Jan 80, 1899.
l find that mail will go out by dog
train about the middle of February, and
get one more chance to write before we
leave here.
Winter has been fine so far-not much
snow-and though it is cold, there is no
wind and we do not feel it as much as you
would expect.
We are all portagng our outfits up to the
summit OF the pass, at it every day; the
thermometer is above 30 below zero and
we, expect to be out of this within two
weeks. We have good, comfortable
"shacks" to move into as we go, until the
last stage from Summit Lake to Belle river,
and by that time we can live in tents.
When / say comfortable "shacks," l mean
it, as where we are now We have it 60 de-
grees below zero and water never freezes in
the far corner from the stove, and we do
not try to keep the fire going over night.
The sun left us on Thanksgiving day and
we did not see it again till January IT, but
itNwas not dark at any time; that is, there
was an hour or two of fair daylight at noon,
and now we see the sun from about 10 A. NJ.
to2P. We are all we'll in our "shack, Z"
and have not had a cold or been sick day
all winter. There are two or three cases OF
scurvy on the river, but it is from lack Of
proper care and laziness, and we have had
no fear of it, as we have plenty of fruit and
vegetables and can always get fresh meat
for the trouble Of going after it.
An Indian came in from Belle River yes
terday, and tells yarn that he got from
another Indian of twenty-five or thirty
miners burning holes In the ground on the
Old Crow river, tributary of the Porcu-
pine, and only about 100 miles from here
al nd ~ Ia ~ ha
gone down with Indians and dogs to get at
the truth of the story. II there is anything
in 1t, it may mean good deal to US, as from
all we can learn from June and July pa
pers there was greater rush than ever
into the Yukon country last spring.
In case we should strike anything on the
Old Crow river, some Of US will be obliged
to go down to Yukon early in the summer,
and il not we will be there, probably, early
in June. II we get favorable report, we
will, probably, divide up and leave a man
or two here to the outfit, to bring over sup
plies, and the rest OF us pull out for the
digging and see what we can do before
spring. but that will all depend on the re-
ports we get.
The parties who went up the Peel river
are in worse shape than we are in, good
deal. There are l05 men in camp up there,
with hundred mile portage before them
over the mountains, and then the Stripra
river that runs the other way, but that is
all they know about it, though they are
reasonably sure that it runs into some OF
the Yukon tributaries. Here we have a
thrty-five mile portage. and all but about
twelve miles Of II on the ice of rivers and
lakes, and only about 1900 feet rise TO the
pass, while there it is 5000 to 5000 feet and
then we are travelling over well known
route that has been used for fifty years by
the Hudson Bay Company, so we know
what we are doing.
In case strikes are made on the Old Crow
or any other Poroupine tributaries, steam.
ers can get up with supplies and machinery
so we may be in It yet.
Yours,
GEO. l.. AINswoRrH.