The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-01-27

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Apache history ever brought to znsnt. u
is a tradition of the birth of the Apa .G,
race told from one chief TO anoliiel. ~.
last chief gave it, when dying. 70 .ne
white chief to present to the usins -. -
rior,s sons in the future, at the tinlG 80, w
small to understand it's meaning iliae
is another reason that came 10 w sslh- i
ington.
LIVED IN WIGWANS
Previous to my life among the apdehes'
I had lived for fourteen years IN :' aeAiSo
and Arizona, exploring and collecting oio
Mission History. l was for 1--WE years s'li''
n half with the Apaches and, OF course,
lived as they did in wigwams. but nad
been among civilized people agar solile
time before ] determined to start lor
IIondke in the mad rush 1or scih'
consider that / owe my life during my
after experiences TO the fact ina. III VIC
first place l possessed OF an Unusual
ly rugged constitution, and. in the secono'
after the death of my son, did not care
whether 1 lived or died. Had 1 "lshed
ardently for success and gold would
doubtless never have achieved either
During my stay in Arizona l became
interested in mining in that region ana
secured property there, experimenting
the work myself. In this way was bet
ter equipped for work in the klondike
than some others.
II started for the Klondike- the last OF
December, 97, armed with commission
from the Bureau of EthnoloEy and COM
mission to invest from people IN the
States. l reached Skagway after an
eventful journey, being in a wreck on
Puget Sound. When l arrived, the place
was suffering from epidemic of spinal
meningitis and nurses were a rarity. The
hospital was crowded to the doors and
everybody was afraid of their lives. In
stead Of going on my journey l at once
offered my services at the hospital and
was put in the pest house or "last
stage place to nurse. My patients all got
well, and afterwards had the pleasure OF
travelling behind one who had been pro-
nounced incurable
DEATH STRUGGLE FOR GOLD
Miles Canon was reached just the
night before the ice broke. 1 stayed there
three weeks. and during that time saw
things that l had never dreamed of in
all my life. In their mad desire to get
to the sgold-fields first, people of all ma
tionalities in all kinds of crafts would
be upset and drowned: seven or eight {:
day. Such cursing and quarreling with
each other | never saw, right in the midst
of those dangerous waters. To those
watching from the shore the scenes pre-
sented were comedies within tragedies I
can never forget it, Nearly every one
had to make his own boat; nnd such
~
to hew down trees and fashion a boat
How they ever did it do not know. My
boat was Il caribou hide canoe, bought
for $50 from the Indians, but such ca
noes were scarce, and too, often human
beings rlsked their lives in a craft which
could not even keep out the water at the
start. In this way many lives We're lost
Men would suddenly enter into some
heated argument, and then they would
tiJ1,f IN, aoI- bno tn =
ids. Often such discussions ended in the
| whole boat-load of people being upset and
drowned.
My boat was the fifth through, and
after passing the Five Fingers rocks,
where steamers are wrecked every sum-
mer, and Rink Rapids. also very dan
gerous, my Swede oarsman and I landed
at Dawson. Out of a 5000 outfit with
which l started, I had only $50, a buck
skin ulster and my canoe. The rest of
my outfit had been stolen by a former
guide on my way UP the pass.
EIGHTY BELOW ZERO.
However. [ was not discouraged. and
soon found I had no reason to be So
for everyone was very kind to me. The
Governor gave me permission to build
on a piece of Government ground, and
men whom / had never seen before haul
ed logs for my cabin, and then the neigh
bors united in giving me log raising,
the first and only event OF the kind in
Dawson. My cnbin was half finished by
these kind-hearted men in one day. Two
women and myself provided the dinners.
In six days more every cEinll was stop
ped up, and I took up my residence there.
l have another cabin now, and needless
to say. it is the denrest place on earth
to me. I long to get back to it. OF
course, the climate has its disadvantages.
For instance, imagine the thermometer
at eighty degrees below zero. l have
experienced such cold when the mercury
was lost At other times l hive been
compelled to go out in 4 doe sled to in
vestigate some property with the mer-
curry at fifty-one below. The cold is
fearful, bus one becomes somewhat ac-
customed to it. 1t is not agreeable, how
ever, when ones ears freeze and are cut
off or ones eye or nose. Think OF 1t.
I received Il letter only yesterday from a
man in Dawson who has always laugh
ed at the danger OF freezing, and, he
saws he will be obliged to have the tips
OF his ears cut off.
How would you like to pny 81 a pound
for potatoes; s1.75 per pound for onions;
81 per pound for stewing meat 90 cents u
loaf for bread, and 81 for pie? That's
what Dawsonites pay in the winter when
navigation is stopped.
TITLES DON'T COUNT
Dawson is Dawson however. 1t has
"a charm that no other place can possess.
There nature bursts forth unrestrained,
and no one dnres subdue it. With each
year we become a little more clViilZed.
Perhaps in a few years we shall be like
other people. At present there are all
classes of people there, from English
lords nnd barons and American colonies
and majors, on down. The first thing
the American man does. when he comes
to Dawson and realizes that he is no
body, is to assume a title, usually mill
tary. There are few judges, but they
nre not in it with the militia. There
was one lone lieutenant there, but per-
haps on account Of the .inferiority OF his
rank he did not seem ITO get along. In
fact, he got into debt and had to leave
THE English noblenaen haul wood ana
carry wrter just the same as other peo-
pie. OH you can't stand on titles and
ceremony in Dawson. A wood-chopper
is as good as a lord.
"Yes, We have churches, theatres ana
hospitals just like other people Our
newspa 1ers are very witty. and we de-