Amador ledger., 1904-06-24
ARCTIC TRAVEL
CONTINUED

oi6 nOi oSo ulo" 1-eSdIeu Sl6lPn WIN
plenty of robes and eight passengers.
Jack Downing, the driver, is an old
''sour-dough, u" very proud of his team
and reputation for getting in on time
The route is on the river, and great
skill is required to avoid hummocks
and crevices, the latter being especi-
ally dangerous. After the first freeze
the river falls several feet, and the
cracks, chasms, and sloping slabs of ice
make travel quite risky. The ice that
comes floating down before the freeze
up, sometimes piles up in the river
bends more than 10 feet high
We came II miles and crossed the
141st meridian into Canada. Ten miles
further and we came to road house,
where we warmed, changed horses and
had good dinner. Just at dark we
reached Forty Mile, where we passed
the night and the custom house. At
a. m. were again on the road, with
the same horses and three more pas
sengers, who had come down from
Jack Wade creek en- route to the tout
side" The thermometer showed 3SO
below zero, and our driver and three
passengers had their faces frozen. Half
way to Dawson, where we stopped for
dinner and fresh horses, the body of
man had just been brought in who had
frozen to death on the trail two miles
away, but less than so rods from a
wood cutters cabin.
We arrived in Dawson at in the
evening. The following day, Feb. 14th
[ celebrated my birthday by resting in
my room in the hotel, only going out
for meals. Feb. 18th l started on a
bicycle for White Horse. The route
lay up the Klondike for eight miles,
then up Hunker creek 19 more, to the
summit, beyond which is the head of
Dominion creek. Nearly the whole
distance placer mines are being worked
every 500 feet or less. Seen from a
short distance the great dumps" of
pay dirt resemble hay stacks. All along
the route are saloons, stores and road
houses, and the whole region is ''hum-
ming" [ stopped over night at the
Summit hotel. Next morning six
inches of fresh snow showed that the
wheel was out of business for week at
least, so put it on stage that was
just leaving for White Horse and took
a seat by the driver. Dominion creek
is 38 miles long, an1 just as lively as
Hunker. These are two of the best
creeks in the Klondike district. They
have several towns, each having a few
hundred people, with stores, churches,
repair shops, etc. The next day we
had left the mining region and entered
the forests that cover the hills. The
third day we crossed the Stewart river,
which is navigable for steIm boats, 265
miles from its confluence with the
Yukon. Crossed the Pelly river. four
miles above its mouth at Fort Selkirk,
where it unites with the Lewes and
forms the Yukon proper. Fifty miles
further up we crossed the Lewes. and
did not strike it again until we reached
White Horse, which is $50 miles bv
stage route from Dawson, fare SIS, ex-
elusive of meals and lodging, which
average $3.50 per day. Three regular
stages leave each end of the route every
week, besides several extras. One dav
strange object showed up in the dis
tance, square tent on a sleigh, with
smoke coming through a hole in the
roof. 1t was cargo of fresh eggs en-
route to Dawson, which the owner ex-
pected to make money on if he could
keep them from freezing. Several dogs
followed our sleigh, and it was great
sport to watch them chase rabbits.
which were very plentiful. The light
snow was over two feet deep. Rabbits
could run on it, but the dogs would
sink almost out of sight. Their hunt
ing instinct would make them start
after every rabbit they saw, but after
foundering few rods they would stink
sheepishly back to the road, only to re-
peat the process the next time rabbit
appeared. The latter seemed to really
enjoy the fun.
On nearly every stage we met l no.
ticed one or more bicycles, but did not
try to buy them although the owners
were willing to SELL When the road is
good man can easily make 80 miles
a day with a wheel.
After eight days of staging l reached
White Horse, and never had railroad
look so inviting. Travel to the interior
is the heaviest ever known at this sea-
son. Every day one or two stages
start for Dawson, each carrying II pas
sengers. A stampede is on to the
Elsek diggings, 160 miles west of here,
said to rival the Klondike but not yet
so proven. Not more than one in ten
of these stampedes profit any except
the hotel and transportation men. Still
it is not reasonable to suppose that
Nome and the Klondike are the only
very rich places in the north, and more
bonanzas are liable to be struck any
time.
On Feb. 28th l arrived in Skagway
not much the worse for wear, and glad
[ had made the trip, but like the boy
after dinner of pusley greens, who
liked what he had had but didn't want
anV more Sinoera1v