Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1900-10-26
UP THE YUKON.
BILLY EDWARDS WRITES AN IN
TEREST1NG LETTER FROM
RAMPANT CITY TO FRIENDS AT

Ao ~ law
TERESTING LETTER FROM
RAMPANT CITY TO FRIENDS AT
FARGO.
Billy Edwards, son of the ma ior, is
writing some newsy letters from Ram
part City, far up The Yukon where he
is receiver of the U. S. land office, \
recent letter says: The Yukon's
system of freezing is entirely new to
me, it doesn't freeze over gently and
continue to freeze like the Red of the
North, but owing to it's very swift
current it has a way of freezing an
inch or two at night then breaks up
and PUSHES down the stream until 2
jam is formed at some point. And
its larger tributaries act in the same
way. From the jam the ice COM
mences to back up and in this way
great sheets of ice several inches thick
and from > to % feet high, stick out
OF the wafer at all angles and freeze.
Often a smooth piece of ice between
two jams IN the river is to be found,
as was the case in front Of Rampant
last winter. Through these ice pin
nacles. the mail carriers and other
"mushers' have to chop a trail, after
Which they have a path for themselves
and dog teams the rest of the winter.
Much snow falls, but there is no wind,
The United States river steamer
Nunnavac came up river last week on
its way to winter quarters, in the Doll
river, eighty miles above this point.
had the pleasure Of meeting Captain
Cantwell, who. by the way, was CON-
mander of one Of the smaller vessels
aiding in the blockade at Santiago.
n captain told me, non other IN
teresting stories, that he took 3, 900
observations from November to June
last year, on The Doll river, which OBJ
servations included the weather. The
vino column during all that time was
absolutely blank, while the thermom-
eter pointed to GS degrees below on
several occasions. In fact it is so
still the snow piles several inches high
on the small twigs of the trees. This
fact is emphasized by the not infre-
quent complaining of men on the trail,
who are compelled to chop wood, when
caught at nightfall miles away from
shelter-the nov falls down their
necks as the tree is Iattacked-as if in
rebuke.
In this connection, l must tell you
of the yukon feathers" The spruce,
as you know, is similar to the ever
green. The little needles on the
smaller limbs are the Feathers" At
night a hole is dug in the snow, and
the ground covered with these twigs
for a bed. AS the needles are usually,
may say very frequently frozen, I'M
less a large branch is taken at a time
the feathers" drop off, on these you
lie covering yourself with a robe and
there you are.
Everybody and everything movable
in this country "mushes." l had the
furniture of the land Office "mushed''
from one building to another a short
time ago. If one Of the 10000 dogs
in Rampant is at your front door
which is the kitchener is in your
way you holler "mush" or "mush
out" If you wish to start a dog team
on the trail you say ''mush." W.
mush Gown to the store for canned
goods and mush the rugs outside to
snake them. The term, as l learned
from Judge Guptill, while in Dawson,
is a contraction from the French Can
adam "Marchon" to march or go
ahead.
The Indian word for an outsider or
"Uitlan.er," is "Chechocho." and we
must bear that name until we have
seen the ice go out, then we become
the much envied Sour Dough-"
This year has been a hard one on
the Indians. Pneumonia and chicken
pox have done their deadly work,
making good Indians of thousands all
along the river. They are a lazy,
filthy set, living on dried fish which
they catch, and prepare in no particu-
lar way. In the summer they add to
this diet-when the squaw is not too
busy to gather them-raspberries, blue
berries and cranberries-bushels of
them are to be found. There are three
little settlements near this camp. In
IN there are fourteen, all stricken
down in their filthy tents but one big
buck. The army surgeon here and
a local doctor attend them as we'll as
the missionaries. but the Indians are
10th to do anything for themselves
and when they are able they sneak
into the woods and hang out more
dried fish.
A new remedy for biliousness is
now On sale at Beardsley's drug store