Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1899-07-21
A Lsttsr from Alaska.

seeking his fortune IN Alaska, to his
wife in Centralia, and published In the
CenraIia Courier, will doubtless be
read with much interest by his many
friends in KeytesvilIe. The letter was
dated April 22nd, 1899, at Denison
Fork, Forty-mile river, Alaska. DR..
Downing and family formerly lived IN
this city:
was sitting in the tent, Sunday
evening, and had just gotten supper
ready when l heard the mail-carrier
yell: Mail from Copper Center" You
should have seen me drop everything
and scoot across the river. l got 81
worth of mail, seven letters besides
the photographs. 1t costs us IS
cents letter to have them brought
up Copper river, and So for bringing
it over the glazier. Two month S
mail, you know 1 thought that was
cheap enough considering he had to
haul his mail on foot nearly 800 miles.
We are now in the land where gold is
found, and l am satisfied that some
of US who came over the trail this
winter will strike 1t before fall, and l
mean to be one of them if there is any
chance. lust think, we have been
pulling sleds for about five months,
and have pulled our outfits as nearly
as we can calculate good 800 miles.
When you consider that 1t always took
from two to five loads to move our
goods (but most of the time three or
four would do it, according to the traiD
you will see that we walked a good
many miles. suppose such a thing
was never undertaken or accomplished
before. Most of the boys are in good
condition and the best of-spirits.
have splendid outfit, one Of the
largest on the trail and quite suffi-
cient to last me until late in the fall;
then if haven't struck pay dirt I'n
head for home, but you need not look
for me as long as l think there is a
show to find anything here. We have
been resting up for the last two or
three days, but will start in the morn
i I1,r,,, fho CrOnl- oh hn1If n
mile, where there is better timber and
better camping place. There l sup
pose we will hang up our sleds and
build boats. The snow is going quite
rapidly. The Indians say: Zone
more moon and we can go in canoe. d"
There are quite a number of In
dams on the trail, and we get all the
fresh moose and caribou meat from
them we can use. l have doCtored
several of them lately, one woman
with rheumatism and boy six years
old with pneumonia. They both got
well. So the Indians have taken quite
fancy to me. They give me meat,
moccasins, tobacco, etc. l don't use
tobacco, but the two fellows l am with
now, r. NJ Shannon of Tacoma and
Byron Hurt of near Kevtesville, do so
give it to them.
Some of the Indians talk quite good
English and understand most all we
say to them. They don't pretend to
mine any, and seem glad to see the
white men. About 80 or 40 miles
below here on Chicken creek and
Franklin gulch are good paying claims.
If a man gets sick on the trail the
rest of the fellows take care of him
and move him and his outfit right
along with the rest of them and never
think of charging for it.
AS rule, the men who came over
the trail this winter are kind, genial,
big-hearted set, who would go to any
trouble or dare any danger for one of
their comrades. Thirty or 40 miles
back little fellow who was travelling
by himself was taken with scurvy. l
told him 1 thought 1 could cure him,
and 1t was too late for him to turn
back anyway, so the different parties
took it time about moving him and
his outfit along. Now he Is up with
the rest and able to work. I've been
very successful in treating scurvy.