Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1902-10-09
A Returned kIondiker.

An hours talk with DIR. George p. Nor
ris, who has lately returned from a stay OF
more than four years IN the Klondike re-
gion, gives one new conception of the
rigors of that strenuous latitude. DIR.
Morris left here four years ago last spring,
and from San Francisco journeyed up the
Yukon to Circle City, being one OF the
pioneers of that settlement. He has en-
gagged in gold mining and the pra -tice OF
his profession in that locality, and comes
to the East now to obtain a needed rest
from the hard lot and the homely fare Of
that land, hoping to return another spring
with machinery to work claim that he
has opened 12O miles from Circle City.
Among interesting things told the HER
AID representative, were the following
sits strange country up there. You
are right up against nature, yes, up against
her.
"The winters are worse than Vermont's
some. The ground freezes in October
and thaws out about the middle of May.
The cold is something terrific. Fifty de-
grees below is not unusual, and | have
seen x z degrees below. The snow is not
much deeper than here, though, and after
one gets used to the intense cold, the win
tiers are quite endurable. Give me the win
ters for comfort, instead Of the summers.
The mosquitoes make life a burden in
summer. II Il were left bare, they would
you could not see it. We have to wear
gloves all the time, and a kind Of screen
overthe head and face.
"Things are pretty rustic. We have to
do all our own cooking, washing and
mending. There are few women to attend
to these matters. Ii is so difficult to get
material and the expense of transporta-
ton is so high that we have to live in the
crudest way. Canned goods are our prin-
cipal food, with what moose and caribou
meat we can get.
'The prices Of everything are very high.
A barrel OF -four laid down at our camp
costs s112. Labor is 80 day, but as the
season is short the laborers ego broke"
during the long winter.
During the time ! was up there, | only
saw one man, Martin Washburn, whom
had known before. Saw him twice. We
get mail about once in two weeks in the
winter. Ii comes up the Yukon 1000 miles
on the ice, drawn by dog teams. All
traffic in the winter is by dog team; in
summer horses are used, for pack convey
ance. There are no roads,
1.-THE government allows miners to stake |
out claims Of 20 acres each, along the
creeks. Gold is found as yet only in the |
beds OF small streams. The miner pros
poets first to strike dirt that bids fair to |
yield gold in paying quantities. Usually |
he goes out in the winter, finds a spot, \
fells the trees, makes a fire of them at /
night and in the morning the ground will |
be thawed out underneath for a depth Of a |
foot or more. He digs in this. pans it out, |
and If the promise is good builds another
fire and digs deeper.
''rhe mining is principally done in
when the earth is free from frost.
A small party goes to a claim, and begins
by damming a stream so as to divert its
waters and leave its gravelly bed exposed. /
Then trees have to be sawed into boards |
and these used to build boxes for running
the water through, as il receives the
gravel shoveled into II, the gold particles
sinking to the bottom of the trough as the 1
dirt is carried farther along. The gold is
found in dust, or sometimes in small mug |
get form. Expenses are so high it takes
! pretty rich strike TO pay for the mining. II
Machinery is beginning to come in, and
his will greatly improve conditions.
"The long days and nights give one a
queer sensation at first. For a time, the
Jun is in sight almost the entire "a hours,
'ircling about in the heavens, and barely
tipping below the horizon, only to reap
Dear in few minutes. Then there is a
DeriOd OF almost complete darkness, when
he days are but about three hours long.
)ne extreme is about as bad as the other.
SIN travelling, the man usually goes
foot, for he must save his team, II be is
ucky enough 10 have one, to carry his
,utfit. In the winter, a considerable part
4 the load is the furs that are necessary to
.eep one from freezing.
II came home by the Dawson-Skagway
cute, which is much shorter than the
Yukon route. There is now a railroad
cross from Skagway to the head waters
t the Yukon, so that il is comparatively
asy TO reach the klondike. / made the