The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-08-11
ARE PHYSICAL WRECKS
Frightful Hardships on the Ed
monton Route.
STARVATION AND SCURVY
Heartrending Stories OF Suffering in tbs
Wilderness - Comrades Lost and
Abandoned-Miners Dying
OF Hunger.

Wrangel, Alaska. Aug 6, via Seat
tie, Wash. Aug. 10.-The Stickeen RIVER
steamer Strathcona arrived here today
with 80 survivors of the Edmonton
trail. They are:
| NJ. Randleman Of Chicago. j. Cliff of
Vancouver, W. T. Mum of Missouri,
K. L. Lyons of Missouri, w. Coulter of
Manitoba, M. Ostig of Chicago, G. Vel
ger of Canada, S. w. Morgan of Silver
| ton, Ore, II. Fenk Of Los Angeles, Cal,
q. Gafney of Los Angeles, Cal, II. Bar-
ton of Salt Lake City, W. HinXman of
Chicago, c. jefferson of Asbury Park
| N. j., j. More of san Franc SEQ Nj
| Neley of Ohio, j. McGillvary of Lon
don, England, w. Reed of Canada, O.
Reed of Canada, ]. Levin of Ottawa,
J. Hackney of Ottawa, E. II. Dunbar OF
| Seattle, w. II. Dunbar of seattle, NJ.
Tall of Canada, E. H. Tai of Canada,
NJ f. Weisen of Chicago, A. H. Tigar
| of rrince Albert province, Canada,
| {. Stiefel of Chicago, w. H. Wells of
Missouri, D. Robertson of Vancouver,
| /. G. Tomlinson of Tacoma.
All these men came in with the pack
| trains sent out from Telegraph Creek
and Laketon by the various trading
companies last spring. These unfor-
| tunatcS tell healt-rending stories OF
| hardships endured. comrades lost and
abandoned and strongly denounce the
| trading and transportation companies,
| as well as the Canadian officials and
| newspapers that so profusely advertised
| this route as a feasible one to the klon-
! dixie gold fields
| To outward appearances. these men
| certainly give evidence OF the awful
! sufferings undergone since leaving Ed
monitor. Is months ago. Most of them
| lI~ t.t-lt I. .,lytnn ..rtt III
boards and greasy ciothes-pictures of
physical and financial wrecks. Several
are prematurely gray and bear tn
marks of scurvy. a few have jus
enough money 20 reach Seattle or Vic
| toria, but the majority are without
| funds. The citizens of Wrangel have
| appealed to the United States govern
ment al Washington, but up to this
date no aid has been received. There
are now about 25 destitute miners here.
| Many had narrow escapes from star
| walton along the trail from Fort Simp-
son to Mud river and Fort Lard. A. "A.
| Tigar and party lived on red squirrels
! and bacon for nearly two weeks.
NJ. Ostig, c. Stiefel and M, w Wei
| sen. three of a party of five from Chi
| cago. owe their lives to bear that
they killed just as they had run out of
provisions, about 20 miles from Lizard
post. William Schmidt and Fred Swift
| Lard post last spring to trap and have
| never been heard from since. M. Ran
| dleman of Chicago was lost in the
woods above Fort Lizard last fall and
was compelled TO live on bacon for
three weeks.
Perry Wells, brother of w. II. Wells,
who was one of the passengers on
the steamer, died of sCurvy at Tele-
graph Creek.
1t is estimated that there are st l.
more than 100 men scattered along the
trail between Lizard post and the PellT
banks where relief parties have been
sent out by the Hudson Bay company.
The last reports brought to Lizard pos.
were that many were dying of scurVy
and hunger.
1t g estimated that there are 30 or 40
sufferers at Telegraph Creek awaiting
the next trip of the boat. The sick
that had to be carried on stretcheTs had
not yet reached GlenOra when the
Strathcona sailed.
Several starvation cases are reported.
About 20 miles above Devils Portage
two unknown men were found frozen
to death last winter. A man bearing
the name of johnson. from New York.
was found dead in a tent near tn
source of the Mud river last fall. This
poor fellow had as a covering only hall
a blanket and in a diary Still open and
in his hands were these words oppo-
site the date, Feb Is, 1897: II die of
hunger
All aIong the route from Fort Simp
son. on the Mckenzie river, to Fort
Lizard, men with frozen limbs were as
sisted while some too weak to help
themselves were necessarily left be-
hind by those more fortunate and abb
to struggle along.
Scurvy ragged in all the camps more
or less, but there were few deaths from
this disease reported.
A number of Canadians who attempt
ed a crosscut land trail from Fort
Simpson to Fort Frances last fall have
never been heard from. and it is likely
that they perished from cold. Baaupree
was the name of one of these men and
he hailed from Ontario.
Provisions were scarce and high at
all the military posts last winter and
at several, including Lizard post and
Fort Frances even the postmen were
put on ratiOns during the months of
April and May of this year Flour sold
at S35 per sack. bacon - cents per
pound and beans % cents per quar-
This made up the daily menu for sew
eral weeks Many owe their lives to
the relief party under Scott Simpson
sent out by the CosCa Trading COM
pany, that reached Lizard post May 23
This daring party left Laketon in
March and made a most perilous trip
across Dease lake with dogs. As the !
ice broke up one of these rescuing Par
ties was drowned and nearly all the |
dogs and sleds We're lost
The majority of the returning gold |
seekers took the Mckenzie water route |
from Edmonton. Coarse gold was |
found in several small streams and |
gold coors We're often seen, though not |
in sufficient quantity to work.
Sulzer Has Returned.
Victoria, B. c., Aug. 10-Representa-
tive Sulzer of New York arrived here