The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-28
Suffering and Death On the Copper
River.
FROZEN ON THE TRAIL
TIVE MEN LOST CROSSING VAL
DEF GLACIER.
Young Man Yielded Up bis Own Life
In An Endeavor TO Save His
Father-Many Men Will Lose
Their Feet-Names of the Vic
tins and These Injured.

OA~Sf O4-- -A-e~St>eis news I4-ele q
number of Copper river prospectors
persisted in Valdez glacier. The fol-
lowing are known to have been lost:
! Henry kohn, New York City; c. p.
Smith, Chicago; Emerson Baldwin,
| George Sweesey, New York City. Among
the many badly frozen miners are:
| George Poalowitz, New York City; Syl
vester Grog, st. Joseph. Mo-. II. Elmer
son, Baldwin, Wis.
! There are six men at Valdez suffer-
ing from frozen feet, hands and faces.
Quite a hospital has been established
at Twelve Mile Camp, on the other side
of the glacier and some fifteen men
are suffering there from the same
cause. All were frozen trying to cross
| the glacier, but managed to get back
| into camp.
The freezing of the Emersons, father
and son, is particularly sad. They
started for Valdez, but on getting we'll
toward the summit of the glacier found
their feet freezing. Both started back.
The son gave his father some extra
wraDDings for his feet, and as a result
froze both legs in a few minutes, and
was unable to proceed. He babe his
father good-by and compelled him to
move on without him. Then the boy
| lay down in the snow to die. His body
will probably never be recovered. The
father reached Twelve Mile Camp very
badly frozen, and is not expected to
| live.
Smith and Kohn, who also gave up
their lives, were members of the same
party. In company with George Poal-
owitb and Sylvester Grog and several
others, they started across the glacier
early in December. Smith was the first
to freeze his feet After they had
crossed the summit and were moving
down the long stretch toward Valdez
. L L.
he could keep up no longer. Calling his
| companions around him, he told them
he was doomed, even if they got him
into camp, and that they must try and
save themselves. Telling them to tell
his wife and children back in Chicago
how he died, he lay down in the snow
and was soon lulled into a last sleep by
the deadly frost. He was a jeweler
by trade.
Charles Kohn wanted to lie down and
die when the trip was almost at an
end. His comrades forced him to keep
moving, in spite of the pain of his
badly frozen feet, and at last got him
into Valdez. His toes were so badly
frozen that they fell off when his boots
were cut away.
Blood poisoning set in soon after and
| in ten days the miners buried him in a
rough grave. He was a member of the
Manhattan Mining company of New
York, a German, and leaves a widow
and family in that city.
The third man Of the party to lose
his life was miner named Henderson,
from some small town in Wisconsin. He
started out with the party, but was
frozen before they reached the summit
of the glacier. He declared his only
hope was to turn back. Soon after he
! left the party a terrible blizzard swept
over the glacier, obliterating all trails
and making travel impossible. He
probably lost his way in this and GER
ished. At any rate, he never reached
Twelve Mile camp, the only place of
refuge for miles around
George Poalowitz of the Manhattan
Mining company Of New York was the
fourth member to be badly frozen. He
returned on the Cottage city today, in
charge Of DR.. Lewis Of Chicago. He
will lose the greater part of both feet,
and is in danger of losing his life fr5m
blood poisoning He would not let DR..
Lewis anCutate his feet in the north
He said: 1T was bitter cold. and for
four Gays we wandered around the
glacier, trying to find our way down.
We had little food. as we were out of
supplies. The other four members of
the Manhattan company were batting
on short rations at the foot of the lake
l co not know what will become of
/ tA4CAA- NOV blleAL ~ Oll IL QtdNi, anu dll
here in almost as bad a fix. l do not
want my wife to know of my condition,
so l will not tell you my New York ad-
dress"
George Sweesey. OF New York was
blacksmith at Valdez for a long time.
He started across the glacier early in
the winter drawing a heavy sled The
details of his death are unknown, for
he was alone. He never reached the
other side. The miners who arrived on
the Cottage City say that many others
persisted like Sweesey. They are unable
to give names. The men starting out in
pairs or s!ngly were never heard of
again.
Today's arrivals from Copper river
are the first to arrive since last fall
Some of them had been three months
at Valdez waiting for a steamer. The
last party from the interior left Copper
Center Dec. !.
They are a. p MEDIUM of Glasgow,
Mont; John Eckland, Haynan, Wis;
j. r. Marshall, Mexico, Mo-. and Nels
Hyland, Appleton. Wis.
They penetrated the interior as far
as Catcham Stockee, a branch of the
Forty Mile river. They crossed the
Tananu valley but heard of no gold
strikes.
MASONIC ASSOCIATION.
W. c. Bruce. formerly of Tacoma,
said:
after getting into the interior we
( found there were some sixty Masons
/ in the country, and we at once decided
/ to form an association for mutual ben
/ fit. 1 was elected president; B. G. Lev
/ roos of st. Paul, vice president; Her
J bert Smith of New York City, treasurer,
and H. Z. Pierson of Denver, travelling
manager.
One of the members OF the associa-
ton made discovery late in October
! thai will startle the world. He STUN
! bled across Il small creek in his wan
behring's. The indications were unfav-
orable, but he began to prospect. In
side of week he took out over 5000 in
| gold.
HE came at once to the Masonic
headquarters at Copper Center and told
| the members of the find In small par
! ties, so as not to attract attention,
/ enough Masons went in to stake a claim
! for every member. 1t viii make US all
rich, if the report is true.
Those who say there is no gold in
! the Copper River country do it to cover
UP their failures. Malkill creek is a
! seventy-fve men are working on the
creek claims, and all are taking out
! gold. Marker creek, also running into
/ TOGs;na, has proven the bonanza of the
| district On claim 50 above discovery,
which is the most developed, rs cents to
the pan is being taken out. There are
/ sixty-five men on the creek.
| About 200 men have claims in the
vicinity of Mount Drum. They are 10
Gated on a small creek and are taking
/ out from 10 to % cents TO the pan, al
| though they have not yet reached bed
rock.
Reports from Juneau say that a new
lake has been discovered a short dis
! tance in the interior from Lynn canal.
, 1t has been named Walker lake, after
| it's discoverer, G.. w. Walker. The