The National tribune., 1902-07-17

miles in length. lin order to get more
correct report of the interior country ly-
ing betweens the Yukon and the south
coast, whera- a'nnumber of new mining
camps are springing up. This meant a
much harder and longer trip than via
Dawson. butIwuiIld be justified by the in
formation gained. Fortunately l discov-
cred two men passing by. just out from
the kOyukuk country. who were also
bound for Valdez, SO we agreed to COM
bine forces and go on together. Some mail
is being brought in by this route, the car
riers making hi-Yeekly trips, and we ex-
pcctcd to ind an open trail and easy
travelling.
Continuing on from Eagle up the Yu-
kon two days travel, we came to Forty
Mile Post. where our trail branched of
to the southwark. The weather continued
severe, and although it was then well on
toward the middle of March, the ther-
mometer kept down below the sos. The
first day up the Forty Mile River we en-
cuuntercd IL head wind, and in spite OF
all we could do we all froze our faces
more or less severely; indeed, l believe
We should have frozen to death had we
not found an old deserted cabin, where
we built ii fire and thawed out. Toward
evening we reached an unoccupied cabin
ard found the thermometer registering u
below zero. We should not have suffered
greatly if the day had been calm, but
wind at that temperature sears Ike n
rcd-hot iron wherever it touches the skin.
Arizona Bill one OF my 'pardners, SUI
fcrcd most, and besides losing 4 good
share of the surface of his face, he dis
covered a few days later that the first
joint of one of his great toes had dropped
off. having been frozen without his know
ing il. Bill is Il good deal of Il stole, and
he found in this no great cause for CON
Germ. although 500 miles of hard walking s
sill lay before us. He made occasional
uncnmplimcntary comparisons between
the climate of Alaska and that of Arizona,
but no acknowledgment of suffering ever
fell from his lips. Our team now con-
sisted of six dogs, but we had GOO pounds
of provisions and camp equipage, there
being no place where supplies could be
bought for 200 miles or more, so there
was little chance for anyone TO ride, even
with Il good trail.
TRAIL DISAPPEARED.
~ hundred miles UP the Forty Mile
River the last mining camp was passed,
and then our trail disappeared Fresh
snow and drifting winds had wiped it out,
and for almost 300 miles, only the i'll
stinct developed by long experience en-
abIed Us to follow it. Sometimes we went
far astray; two different times we were
half a days journey off and had to back
track to the place Of dgression. The
snow was from one to five feet deep, and
soft, SO that the snow shoes were hard to
Isanage, and the dogs wallowed and the
men tugged at the geepole. and Bill some
times thought aloud profanely when his
sore toe came up against projecting
root. A good part of the way we were i'll
the midst of the grandest mountain
scenery in the world; on either side tower
ed the highest peaks of North America
Lake Mansfield has Il setting that cannot
be cxcelled in the Bernese Alps, yet few
white men have ever lookd upon IFS
beauty. Our course took us over three
mountain chains. but we followed the wa
ter courses whenever possible. The
Salina River, wars oyertlowed in places,
and we wadad miles of water half knee
deep. The Copper, always u rapids, WIS
cutting out its ice and dropping the trail
into the turbid torrent, although the tenn
pcraturc was still in subzero regions.
Being thus delayed, our provisions ran
short; we ate our last slim ration of bacon
and iiap-jaclss two days before reaching
Copper Center, where we could replenish
our grub box Fortunately We had coffee,
but after two days there is an aching
void which eyen black coffee cannot fill.
Bill opinioned that he preferred to starve
hi AflZoHa, WHefe one couiu heep wan
in the process. at Copper Center, where
there is house or two and a half dozen
inhabitants, We met a number of miners
on their wayy.ap the Copper River, and
they had left, ,uS "A good trail. -Four days
later found us at Valdez. III spite of the
hard conditions we had covered the last
$50 miles in 20 days. A bath, few good
meals. and soft bed made new men of
US all. Three days later the steamship
Bertha arrived in port, and bidding fare
well to my companions and to the faith
full dogs which had stood by us so nobly,
| took passage for Seattle and got on
board. Bill remained to have his toe re-
paired and his 'pardner' stayed with him.
His last remark was: If you ever want to
find me, parson, you'll have to look in
Arizona. I'm goin' back to the desert,
where a man can live in comfort"