Amador ledger., 1902-04-04
Prospecting In Alaska.

nights it clattered necessarily upon the
tent. We baked the green brush in
our Yukon stove, and shivered while
we were doing it. The day prior to
our leaving we went prospecting upon
a creek named Slate. 1t was COM
paratively barren, and only a few
colors could we find. While crossing
the divide between Slate and Gold
creek j. II. Moore found roll of
abandoned blankets wet and moldy,
and perhaps had been thrown away by
some discouraged, and might be, starv-
ing prospector to tighten his load.
Many men during the winter had per-
ished by being caught in blizzard in
the dreadful winter month of January
that had passed. One man told me he
and his partner camped, tired aud dis
couraged, on their way back from
Kongrork, and lay down in their sleep
ing bags for the night. 1t was fear
fully cold, and the wind with piercing
Shrek blew wildly over the divide.
When morning came six of the Esqui-
maux dogs were lying frozen stiff on
the snow, stone dead. 81 attempted
to awake my partner" he said, land to
my surprise found that he was dying,
freezing to death. harnessed up the
two other dogs and putting my partner
in the sled, started for the nearest
road-house. When | got there my
partner was dead, and 1 was left alone,
with two dogs only out of the eight we
had the evening before. Heaven save
the man" he continued, ''from the
blizzard of the north. 1t is fearful
fearful! fearful" AS he said this the
wild maniacal CLEAN flashed for an in
stant in his eyes, as il he were living
the dreadful scene over in his mind he
had just related. The next morning
we drew the boat close up to the shore,
and pulling down the tent, hastily pre-
pared to return to Nome. The rain
had stopped temporarily, and with all
haste we prepared to go. Three of our
crowd got into the boat and myself and
the others started for the mouth of
Nome river afoot, going diagonally
across the country and thus cutting off
at least ten miles on the route. When
we arrived at the mouth of Nome
river we found the tents stretched by
the boys that had run down the river
in the boat, and standing around the
fire they had built with drift wood. It
was 10 o'clock at night, and we were
again in sight of Nome. The next day
| went up Dry creek nearly to the
head. 1t heads in Anvil mountain and
is directly opposite Dexter creek, it
putting into Snake river running
through part of Nome, while Dexter
creek runs northward into Nome river.
l met an old friend by the name of
Coward. He had stayed in during the
winter before, and his face had slight
bronze color upon it. ''You look hearty
Mr.. Coward, 1 said, "but your face
has lost its brightness. With smile
upon his lips he answered: ''Stay at
Nome one winter like the last one was,
and see if it don't change the color of
your hair slightly. Why one day last
winter l was returning to Nome from
Anvil creek, and had got within two
miles of the city. The wind that had
been blowing increased to almost
hurricane. 1t blew me off my feet time
and again, and finding 1 couldn't stand
| crawled along the pipe line for Nome.
By the time | got to the city 1 was
mass of ice, for ice was all over me.
Blow! my gracious! Mr.. Bell, I saw
team of dogs of eight in number blown
for two miles, rolling them like logs to
the base of Anvil mountain, and it
would have blown them on had not
the great mountain prevented. D.
it," he said, sit is all in a lifetime, I
don't mind it after all.'' In conversa-
tion with lawyer John Breuner, for
merly of Sacramento City, and once a
law partner of the late ex-superior
judge, ]. Armstrong, he said to me re-
garding Nome billiards.: ''No man can
conceive the intensity of a blizzard here
in mental thought. One evening some
friends came visiting to my house.
Lowering clouds, black as the darkest
night, hung in threatening folds in the
heavens. A cold crisp wind was blow
ing from the ocean, and came with
whistling shrek apast the caves of the
house. All knew what it meant. The
clouds seemed to close inward like a
great fold, darkening the heavens and
the atmosphere. Snow as fine as the
point of a needle commenced falling,
and the blizzard was upon us. So in
tense was the falling particles of snow
that you could not see ten feet away.
My friends had stayed two hours or
more, when they thought to go home.
Mind you, their home was only two or
three hundred yards from mine. They
had only gone few feet away when
they came back with a rush at the
door. sprang forward and opened it
and they staggered in, holding their
hands to their face. What's the mat
ter? l said. AS soon as they could
speak they answered.: 1--WE were
smothering.' cit can't be possible" 1
said, ..'that they would smother" +"
Possible, he said, with a look of