The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-04-25
THE YUKON ROADHOUSES
STRUNG ALL ALONG BOTH SIDES
OF TIE RIVER NOW.

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Mr.. Jack London, when he wants to
tell a Yukon tale of men who have
travelled fifty miles n day on snow
shoes for fifty days, eating one dog
salmon and handful of flour, aud are
shivering under their blankets in a
cotton tent, the Thermometer seventy
degrees below zero. The temporal
qualification is necessary to be true to
life. The Yukon country Is no longer
young, though the remainder of Alas
ka is generally younger than the Yu-
kon Valley has ever been since the
first steamboat ascended 1t in 1868,
says KlondilSer in the New York
Commercial Advertiser. 1t is quite
four years since II was the custom in
winter for men along the Yukon to
sleep in cotton tents and eat dog sal
mon. In the winter of 1899 1900 the
thermometer at Dawson didn't once so
below sixty degrees below zero.
The ''road-house" has civilized the
Yukon Valley. If you start in No
venber with the great exodus from
Dawson to salt water, up the frozen
boulevard OF river, you won't take a
cotton tent, and it's nuggets to mar
bles you won't even get a dish Of
beans. You win spend every night in
good-sized log cabin, with two or
three rooms and more or less sawmill
made lumber with rustic ornamental
tion. The fare will be somewhat more
pretentious than in n New England
boarding house. A bunk will cost 81,
meal will cost S1.50, and you may
get among other things, canned oyster
SOUP, caribou steak with cranberry
jelly, and, of course. pie. The Yankee
makes the best pioneer, and he does
it on pie; and the Yankee has won
Alaska.
Every ten miles or 80 in travelling
up the river comes n road-house. On
foot or with a dog team, when you are
beginning TO get little hungry for din
ner or supper, cast your eyes ahead
along the hills of smoky, amethyst,
and there is blue splre Of smoke ris.
ing, straight up--oh. how quiet and
slim!-into sky Of lacquered brass.
All summer the cabins are empty.
Travellers sleep on some OF the stern
wheel river boats from the rest. too
small to serve meal on, they pile
ashore three times a day with their
stoves and grub boxes, and at night
with the cotton tent. Likewise do the
scow-travelers. In September and Oc-
tober the last steamboats, begin to
make stops ut the road-houses, and
unload crate after crate of canned
hash and tomatoes, this years eggs"
hams and flour. The proprietor, OF pro-
prietress, who has been running q sum
mer restaurant at one OF the big
camps, or on one of the creeks, is on
hand, and with him gang of the
"unemployed' to make the woodpile
and fix things UP.
But outfitting of n rOad-house is an
expensive matter and great financial
risk One should have such things as
eggs and tomatoes, for IL you haven't
got them, your reputation suffers, and
the dog teams and mushers walk
right on past you. Competition among
the houses is very keen. After the eX-
penses of Quitting and keeping a
gang OF men all winter carrying your
wood and water, you must have every
person of the thousands going out stop
with you. The season Is very short,
November to April, and the New Eng
land farmers could get points on how
TO trap the city boarder from the host
of Yukon road-house.
The road-house is there and ready
before the trail is broken, but whether
the trail follows the right or left bank
or keeps In mid-stream depends on
whether the river is open or closed,
whether the Ice is rough or smooth,
and ON the whim OF the first traveller,
whom the rest follow like sheep. Sup
pose the trail passes n road house on
the other side. 1t does this TO one out
of every four. The proprietor sees his
egg and tomato money going, so he
goes out into the woods With his little
hatchet. He chops down many hum
dred little spruces, and going Il mile
or so back and n mile or so forward on
the trail dlYerts it gently 10 his side OF
the river with an avenue of trees.
Then he puts up n sign so only the
traveller approaching his house can see
it: ~ mile to Smiths" and another
so only the man going away can see it,
"2 miles to Smiths" ANY one who
has travelled much in the north gets a
fairly good idea OF how far he goes at
his customary gait in an hour, and can
estimate distances fairly well. But
the tricks of the road-house break him
all up.
How far to the next house,? you
ask after dinner of Smith.
"Oh, it's putty good ways, fifteen
miles, l guess" drawls out mine host;
and your partner adds: I'VE can't
make that tonight" Then the host
ventures, NOW, l tell you one thing.
boys, you'll be doing the wise thing IL
you stay here and get a good early
start in the morning. There's nothing
like good early start. I've travelled
d bit myself up in this country" ETC.,
etc. Then partner remembers some
thing some one has told him once. and
says, "Hain't the Jones boys from
Hunker got a place about eight miles
on" and mine host scratches his head,
and says, II believe there was some
body camped on an island there, but
they've only got wood camp" After
believing this once, and staying, when
You hear of the wood camp. you run
a..