Rocky Ford enterprise., 1899-07-06
AN ALASKAN ADVENTURE.

AN ALASKAN ADVENTURE.
For some time. early in the present
year. the belief prevailed at Washing
ton that Lieut. Joseph P. Castner,. OF
the Fourth United States infantry, was
a member of a military exploring ex-
,pedition in Alaska. had perished Of
cold and starvation.
With two private soldiers of the
Fourteenth Infantry. Blich and Nc
Gregor by name. Mr.. Castner left the
commander of the main expedition.
Capt. Glenn, near the Tanana river, in
the summer Of 1898. in an attempt to
follow up the Volkmar river to the
headwaters Of Birch creek. and follow
that stream down to Circle City. He
found that the maps indicating the
possibility OF such a trip were griev-
ously wrong.
He lost his mules in rafting them
across the Tanana, or within a short
time after this passage. but the three
men went on afoot. They Travelled one
hundred miles over country which
was all mountains or marshes. They
provisions rapidly giving out and their
clothes being torn from their backs
by thorns. On Sept. Is they found
they had provisions for one day only,
and then they attempted to find their
way back.
Castner climbed lofty hill, and saw
only range after range Of snow-capped
mountains. The next morning the
three breakfasted off their last scrap
OF bacon. For several days." Mr..
Castner says. "our rations had run so
low that the privilege of licking the
frying pan was one which we almost
fought for. That afternoon managed
to shoot two small ducks. We ate
them, bones and all.
Next day VIC heard the howls Of an
old she-wolf across the canon. Looking
up. We saw her standing in front OF two
half-grown cubs. She-was bowling to
call the attention Of a third, which was
out of sight down the canon. but which
presently came into view within easy
range.
lone Of the men fired and missed.
He fired five times before he killed 1t.
and each time the cub came closer out
OF sheer curiosity, till it fell dead fifty
yards from the slayer. 1t had never
seen a human being before. We got
the skin OF that wolf in double-quick
time. and found the flesh delicious"
They hoped to live on little birds till
they could get back to the carcass OF
the last mule they had killed. They
built a raft, tearing up their last
blankets for lashing lines and launched
out on the rapid mountain torrent
called the Volkmar.
They shot rapids after rapids, get
ting soaked to the skin. Presently the
raft was sucked under n log-jam; the
three men clung to the logs for their
lives, and their raft and everything
on 1t was swept away. Their guns and
ammunition and their shoes were gone.
They could shoot no more game.
Barefooted and wet. they kept on
their way. leaving tracks Of blood on
the snow, which had now, toward the
end OF September. begun to fall. By
and by they reached the carcass of
their lost mule, but wolves and carrion
birds had picked is bones clean.
There were few berries here and
there. and on these the travellers lived
for the next six days. Here and
there" says Lieut.. Castner. "a cram
berry-bush would be found, and around
it we would gather for breakfast. The
red seed-pods on the rose-bushes were
plentiful. and believe they saved our
lives. for they were almost all we could
find to eat. They had been bitten by
the frost and had sweet taste-as
least, SO 1t seemed to our famished
stomachs."
At the end of the sixth day, when
their feet were SO sore that every step
was torture. and when they were ready
to lie down and die. they heard the
sound of an axe. Seeking 1t. they
found a party Of Indians. who received
them Hospitality and fed them on
moose-meat. In few days they had
recovered strength sufficient to enable
them to start out again.
Eventually they reached-in Novem-
berthe military post at Rampant, and
they started with a dog-team on a
thirteen -hundred-m Journey to skag-
way. They arrived there Feb. "a, 1899.