Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1899-09-21

/ lives ana IilthQS StHetulN. II Was
| known that they were on their way
home, as a brief letter had been re
/ eeiyed some time ago by their brother,
/ Alfred G, Kroneke stating that they
had taken passage from ST. Michaels to
| Seattle, but they were not expected to
I arrive rs soon as rney tiilt
| The brothers left Madison on
Jan. 10, 1898, for the gold fields of
Alaska, going by way of Seattle where
they secured passage to Dyea, ON the
coast They arrived at Dyea Feb
and remained there four or five weeks.
making some Investments in real es-
tate, In regard to the temperature Of
/ Dyea at that season OF the year Her
mann Kroncke said that the mercury
rarely ever registered lower than 10
! degrees below zero, owing to the influ-
ence Of the Japan ocean current, which
mUdifes the weather very much,
Dyea was a thriving place then, but
now is largely a thing Of the past as
the enterprisiLs city OF Skaguay, with
its railroad facilities, has completely
eclipsed its former rival
The Kroncke brothers entered th1
promised land. over the famous Chill
koot pass, passing the summit in May
Walking was decidedly stylish, and in
common with the push" they adopted
this method and walked the entire dis.
lance. The pass at this time was COW
cred with snow, but they did not see
such evidences of loss OF life and prop
erty as many Madison people have
been accustomed to associate with this
trip over the divide. IN regard TO
mining, Mr. Kroncke said that the bot
| tom or damp ground has to be worked
in the winter while it is frozen, as In
the summer it is too wet He said
they never get through the frost, no
matter how deep they go. The mines
| are dug down to bed rock and then
! drifted in; sometimes this may be only
six feet or it may 70 down to sixty feet
/ The ground Is thawed out by burning
wood over It, and the operator throws
perfectly safe as it freezes solid enough
SO that no one wants 1t enough TO chop
II loose The boys spent the winter
principally in a camp that rejoices in
the name Of Lazy Mans Gulch, about
Is miles south OF Fort Selkirk.
one would naturally infer that they
put up at a frst-class hotel If he were
to Judge by the scale Of provision
prices that prevailed The cheapest
meal cost ST, which was scantler than
many an ordinary free lunch A little
better meal cost $3.50, while a good
square dinner was 81. Flour sold ia
the winter at $l2 per sack Of so pounds
and al the present time is Sc per sack.
/ Omelets were not always on the bill Of
! fare as eggs were exchanged for cur
roncy at ST each These of course
were an frozen and were thawed
ont In cold water before using.
| When oysters were a novelty they com
manded S. per can and wnen the mar
ket became glutted they could be had
for 81. Butter the real thing was
thinly spread at SO per pound, and
#as a drug at 1925. Smoking tobacco
at 81 a pound was IN active demand
while the genuine Durham for the elite
was obtainablo al s2i per pound
There was m abundance Of food for al
last winter, bu, the expense Of getting
the supplies there was something as
ltonigbine
Mr. Kroncke said that at present
more persons are coming away than
going to the gold fields The latest
find Of importance seems 10 be at Cape
Nome about 80 miles from ST. Mich
aels There were IN May" he said,
thousands Of idle men In Dawson
looking for work and nothing for them
to do Nearly all eff them we're with
out means and unable 10 get away
The government Is helping some Of
them back from Delayan BAY, and
hundreds are working their way down
the river. Not one man IN a hundred
has been paid for going to AlasRa and
NOT one III a thousand has made any
thing IKE q fortune ! would rather
have The money that has gone into the
KJndike than all laas has ever gone
out The man that d working in tho
streets of Madison for S175 per day has
a better gold mine than II he had gone
to the Klondike But after an /
wouldn't have missed the trip and the
experience FOR twice the amount that
! have made and spent
T1e coolest weather they experienced
there was G2 regrees below zero. bnt 1t /
brought no more discomfort than a
.s.t+F t.t.gts, i. - .g.s. 43t.s IUrg tr Ybo