Evening star., 1899-03-15
RUM0R SET AT REST
Lieut.. Castner Did Not Perish In
Alaska, as Reported.
TORY OF HIS THRILLING EXPERIENCE
Exploring Party Was for Months
Wandering in Mountains.
ACCOUN" OF THE RESCUE

ACCOUN" OF THE RESCUE
The rumor that prevailed here for a num-
ber of weeks that Lieut.: Joseph c. Castner
4th United States Infantry, who was
member of Capt. GIenn's Alaskan explor-
ing expedition. had sperished in that far
distant territory has been set at rest and
disproved by the reception here of letter
from him by friend.
Lieut.. Castner went to Alaska in April,
$685. as an engineer rofficer with Capt.
Glenn's exploration party. For some time
he was engaged in taking notes of Prince
William sound. Late in the summer he
started from Cook inlet over the Alaskan
mountains purposine to find make
trail via Birch creek totthe Yukon. He fell
victim to privation that an ordinary man
would account the hardest kind of luck.
Indians refused to work for him for money.
and one who was smitten with bright
blanket in the outfit was all he could get
to accompany him. A few feeble horses
which were given him played out one after
the other, and he was just about at the
end of his rope when Capt. Glenns party
overlook him, and with a fresh supply of
rations and two good mules he again set
out. He left Skagway February % on his
return to the land from which he was for
nearly a year an exile. Lieut. Castner was
rot lost at any time during his Wanderlngs
with two companions in a desolate and bar
rem region. but the story of his experience
is one which is calculated to convince vol
unteers who complain of bad bacon that
there are some hardships in a soldiers life
which they have not yet experienced.
For many months the little party knew
that their chances for life were about as
good as those of condemned murderer.
They lost their guns, their shoes and most
of their clothes. They gathered about
tbynn g. ,lpy- 10
meal from the seed pods. Once the meat
of a young wolf which they had shot saved
their lives. Another time two small ducks
furnished days rations. Footsore, scant-
:ly clad and more than half starved they
were ready to give up all hope and lie
down to go on no further when the music
of an old AK told them that human beings
were near, and few seconds later they
were seen by an Indian squaw, who speed
ily saroused a camp, and their lives were
saved.
The Lieutenant's Narrative.
The lieutenant wrote as follows:
After we left Glenn's party we made a
run down the delta to the Tanana and
reached it in eleven hours. Glenn would
have liked nightly to have seen the river
and, had he known it was so near, proba-
bly, would not have turned back My two
companions were Privates Bitch and Nc
Gregor of the 14th Infantry. Our animals
were fresh and we We're well supplied with
provisions. From the maps in my posses
sion l had been led to believe that by fol-
lowing up the Volkmar, which emptied into
the Tanana at some distance from where
1t reached it, we should come to the head
waters of Birch creek, and it was my in
tenton to follow that stream down to. Cir
Gle City. 1t looked easy
THE first thing to be done, of course. was
to get across the Tanana, which was a
swollen mountain torrent, carrying ice-cold
water from the glaciers at its head. We had
no nails with which to build a raft but tore
up our blankets. lashed a few logs togeth-
er and started just above d rapid. We got
the first animal across all right, lashing his
head to the raft, SO that when his strength
gave out and he could not swim longer it
would be impossible for him to drown The
second gave out just before the raft with
all the provisions and the whole party of us
reached the other side. and his carcass.
dragging limp in the current. Slowed the
raft around that We drifted helplessly
down stream. narrowly. escaping the rapids
From the time got those mules ashore
they never ceased to shiver and grew weak
er and weaker. till in a few days both were
useless. We shot them, and taking as
much meat as We could use, went on our
selves.
Midst of, Marshes.
I'VE Travelled 100 miles up that river,
bucking our way all the time. From our
maps We learned it was a country COM
paratively free from mountains but looking
about us we couldn't see it that way On
every side were masses of great hills ris-
ing sheer and steep. There was little tim
Der, but marshes were everywhere. | never
anything like it On the tops of the
mountains. on the sides wherever there
a patch of level ground as big as a
front yard there was marsh. Gradually
our rations ran low. We could not find
Birch creek, for the reason, as we learned
afterWard that it was more than 100 miles
away. Instead of running north, as we
supposed, the Volkmar ran nearly east.
We knew more when We got out about Tho.
geography of that country than we ever
could have learned from studying mans
AS said our provisions began to run out
and our clothes became torn on the under
growth and burned while we sept close to
the camp fire at night. We kept on. how
ever, hoping to find Birch creek, till Sep
tember 10 we discovered we had provisions
enough left for one day only. We were all
tired and discouraged, and when | put ali
the strength / had left into a climb to the
nearest peak to lind way to get out. and
saw only range after range of snow-capped
mountains, | began to conclude It was time
to turn around.
The next morning We breakfasted off a
little bacon we had left For several davs
our rations had run SO low that the privi-
lege Of licking the frying pan was one which
we almost fought for. That afternoon I
managed to shoot two small ducks and
that was our dinner. We ate them bones
and all.
ION the 18th We We're left without suh-
stantial food of any kind, and no chance Of
getting any. Help came, however in the
shape of an old she wolf, whose howIs we
heard across a canyon. Looking up we saw
her standing Just in front of two half
grown cubs. She was bowling to cali the
attention of a third which was out of sieht
down the canyon, but which presently came
in view in easy range. One of the mon
fired and missed. He fired five more times
before he killed it, and each time the cub
came closer out of sheer curiosity. tilI If
fell dead fifty yards from the slayer. IT had
| never seen a human being before. We pot
the skin off that wolf in double-quick time
and found 1t delicious, the flesh not heine
the least bit strong.
We fed the next morning on a Gun of
coffee all round and started back down the
| ri1r1ax 4 AxsailL