The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-07-11
Terrible Sufferings of a Pr0spector
on Edmonton Route.
PRESENTS A SAD SIGHT
A MENTAL AS WELL AS A PHYS
ICAL WRECK.
Was One of Party of Fourteen Who
Tried to Reach the Alaskan Gold
Fields Over That Trail of Death
Nearly All Succumbed to the
Hardships.

Seattle, Wash, July 10.-M. Fleming
of Philadelphia, who arrived here to-
night from Fort Wrangel, Alaska, on
the steamer Rosalie is mute witness
of the suffering of prospectors who
rushed to the Yukon gold fields over the
Edmonton route. Mr. Fleming presents
a sad sight, being badly bloated with
dropsy. He has gone Through great
physical and mental suffering. The
successive attacks of fever, scurvy,
pneumonia and dropsy have left him
in a critical condition both physically
and mentally. The physical pain he en-
dures constantly is so severe that for
the past thirteen days he has scarcely
slept.
After all his sufferings in the north
he has returned to civilization to die.
At a late hour tonight he was unable
to leave the steamer. His mental con-
dition is such that he cannot tell a
connected and succinct story of his eX
periences.
a Tale of Suffering.
From his rambling sentences it is
learned that in February. 1885, he
started for Dawson from Calgary with
a party of fourteen which was made
up at Calgary. The party had eighty
horses and it was captained by John
Mason an old Californian whom Elem
ing formerly knew in Colorado. Mason
was drowned in the Nelson river. a
Bulgarian named Valley was accident
ally shot and killed by a Frenchman
at He'll Gate on the lower Lizard river.
Three others of the party died at Dease
lake of scurvy. Fleming could not re-
call their names neither could he give
the names of any members of the
party
The surviving members cut a trail
for 500 miles through underbruSh. For
four months they lived on short rations.
Nearly all their horses died and much
of their equipment was lost.
Suffering Began From Start.
Captain Mason was drowned about
Aug. 4. while trying to take some horses
across the river in a scow.
Fleming says from the moment they
started out on the trail. their suffer-
ings began. They opened trail and
bridged streams and swamps for 600
miles. In the latter part of October
they lost their outfits while floating
down Lizard river in boat. They pro-
cured another boat and that was also
wrecked. For thirty-siX hnnrs they
stood in the snow on the bank of the
river. unable to go either way, on ac-
count of nigh banks. The thermometer
stood at 10 degrees below zero. The
party were badly frozen. When they
reached Crow river they found them
selves out of provisions again. Six of
them went seven days with only one
up of tea between them. They killed
and ate their last dog. When they |
cached Dease lake, Fleming became so /
II that he determined TO return. Drop /
~ had set in and his limbs were use |
ess.
His companions procured a horse for (
lin and with great difficulty he rode I
ninety miles to Telegraph creek From |
here he was taken to Wrangel in a I
.anoe. Fleming says he does not know
What Will become of the rest of the
'arty. Some of them, he thinks, will .
ome back at once as they can never
,et through to Dawson. He says he
ften passed men dragging sick men on
leds towards civilization.
The next steamer from Wrangel will,
e thinks, bring a number of sick.