The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-29
ENDURANCE OF INDIANS.
Hardships of Prospecting Trip which
Tested Thoroughly tho Mettle of Three.

Hardships of a Prospecting Trip which
Tested Thoroughly tho Mettlo of Three.
A lot Of prospectors among the mountains Of
Alaska and the Northwest were talking about
the hard work OF the trail and the varying values
Of men and dogs and mules conveyors Of sup
plies when Mr.. Gibson Taylor, lawyer and pros
pector OF Seattle. got the floor
"A. W. HaGcr and have Just got back, said he.
from nine days trip on the Fraser River British
Columbia, looking for a mine OF molybdente,
mineral used in its state In the manufac-
ture Of steel and worth $500 ton. We had three
Fraser River Indians with us az packers whose
endurance astonished me. One of them, Chief
jim was 60 years old. feet inches tall and
weighed 100 pounds; his son Henry, 25 years old,
feet 0 inches in height weighed 100 pounds:
the third, Bob, 80 years old. feet inches
tall and weighed 1876 pounds. We had fifty miles
TO go over an unbroken trail through primeval
forest from SpuZzum, the Can adian Pacific road.
UP Spuzzum creek. and the Indians started with
seventy five pounds on each mans back. the old
one OF sixty carrying as much as the young ones
of twenty five. 1t took us four days and a half
TO get in and IL was the hardest going had ever
experienced up to that time.
Coming back was worse. We had boon delayed
two days and concluded to take a short cut across
a mountain pass TO save time and distance as
provisions were running short On the second
day we had nothing TO eat except beef tea, but that
afternoon one of the Indians killed fine deer
weighing two hundred pounds Every part of
II that could be used saved and each indian
added fifty pounds to his pack making his load
about 100 pounds. With this weight on their
backs they went up the mountain pulling them
selves along by the wire naples where there was
no sign Of n trail. The gong was over rocks and
logs and through almost impenetrabe thlckets
food ~.
from noon of one day until seven o'clock the next
evening. Hard work? II was the worst ever
saw and hadno load at all. The Indians, how
ever. never kicked once and seemed to like 1t.
AT night when we stopped on the mountain
side 10 camp, was more than ever as!onishcd 10
see those Indians eat that ,yenison They built
sticks about three feet long on which they sptted
the meat in chunks weighing couple OF pounds
around the fire and as as the meat WAS cooked
an Indian proceeded To devour it. They kept
time forty five pounds Of meat forty Of which was
eaten by Bob and Henry. the chief being con
tent with only five pounds They didn seem to
feel any bad effects either. and ate their usual
breakfasts next morning. may add that these
Indians were members Of the Church Of England
and always asked blessing before eating and
said their prayers night and morning.
During the climb one Of the old Indians slipped
and fell some distance alighting on stone on
him. He was unconscious for half an hour and
when We brought him round we tried to get him
to throw away the extra weight Ol meat ne was
carrying but he would not, and after pulling
himself together awhile he went ahead, only
giving up his gun for to carry.
Going down the mountain on fair trail took
us five hours and one of the Indians told us he
could make il in an hour without q white mai or
pack To bother him and doubted his word. He
dropped his pack to show me how he went down
a mountain and for two or three hundred yards,
the way he jumped and ran would have made a
mountain goats hait curl ON the way out We
came across a peculiar natural formation in the
shape of pretty lake in a mountain pass situated
on the divide The lake was several acres in
extent and was fed by roaring torrent from
the mountain at one side It's outlets were two
streams one at end. flowing To tho North
and one at the other end flow ing to the South.
never heard Of such lake before though there
may be others.
"As for the mine of molybdcnte,- concluded
Nc Taylor II will say there wasn't any there,
nor could We find where 1t was though the speci-
mems we had seen, and had been told came from
there, indicated plainly that there was plenty
more of the same material where the specimens
had been found 1t was a hard job OF nine days
tramping all for nothing. but that Is part of a
prospector's luck and his business, SpuZzum
Creek. far up. had never seen a " hite man till
Hager and struck IL and had evidently never been
fished, for one Indian caught speckled trout OF
the finest kind, foot so in length faster than
the rest of us could clean them. The water was
ice cold and they were the best eating ever stuck
n tooth