The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-04-01
BROTHER OF REV. HEEL SCEIER TELLS
STORY OF FIFTEEN YEARS IN ALASKA


brought to The Gazette by Rev. Hiel-
scher will be of especial interest to all
who have met his brother John Hiel-
scher, the writer. 1t was written to
Mr.. Hielscher's sister, and is sum-
mary of fifteen years struggle with
Alaskan hardships.
Red Wing, Via Holy Cross, Alaska.
September l, 1912
Dear Augusta and Everybody:
Soon, nearly as soon as you
will receive this letter, will have to
say "Goodby" to dear Alaska. feel
now after spending three months less
than fifteen years in Alaska as I would
feel if being an old man and knowing
that had to die within the next thir-
ty days-a kind of loneliness, a de-
presson of my spirits, as though
heavy weight is resting on my breast
that makes me sigh so often l long
to go home but I hate to leave this
free, open, outdoor life, to leave the
big wide Yukon, the trees, the pros
pectors, the Indians that are more like
children than men and the new and ex-
citing events that happen every day;
all this l exchange for slow city life;
to stay at home; while all around me
are strange faces, people go tramping
blythe never ending rush, not know
ing where they come from or whence
they go. They care for no one, for
nothing except their own affairs, neigh
bors for years do not know each other
nor care whether alive or sick or dy-
ing. l have often wished, wished it
with all my heart that we were very
poor and then our home would be in
Alaska-but that is wrong too, for
Leah-the boys would not have it as
nice as they have it now, nor the adj
vantage to begin real life in earnest,
for one is nearly Is years old and will
leave home as we have done. l left
home when was 10 and it seems but
yesterday that l walked up the stairs
to Fathers study room and stood be-
side his desk and said, 81 am getting
| too big to stay here and eat and sleep
without working for it want to go
away" Father asked, "What do you
want to do?" l said, "Go to Califor-
mia to Uncle William" From that
time | paid my own way, often send
ing money home to Mother, until Leah
came, then only five short years of
happiness, when, in July 1897, the news
from Alaska came of the big Klondyke
strike, and day and night after that
my thoughts were not on my work. l
wanted to make better home for
Leah and our baby boy. l worked
from whistle to whistle of the Packing
House every day. Leah kept roomers
and washed their clothes besides her
regularwork, so on January IL, 1898
| left on the steamer Signal with four
| oxen, two boilers, a saw mill, and
steamboat outfit, and two years pro-
visions for five men, leaving Leah only
S17.OO cash, she to make her living
by taking roomers and washing.
have written SO often how we toiled
over the Dyea trail selling two oxen
to save feed, how we hauled our goods
over the snow and ice to Sheep Camp,
of the awful storms on Chilkoot pass;
of the freezing of the Indian woman
who became separated from her peo-
pie and laid down in the snow on top
of her child not 100 yards away from
my tent, she we found the next morn
| ing frozen to death but the child was
alive; then how an old man just across
the trail from our tent was kept alive
by the warmth of his two dogs that he
had put in his sleeping bag with him
self. How the big slide came down,
killing 81 people and only missing our
tent because we had moved away the
day before; how we toiled with thous-
ands of others over the Chilkoot with
our freight and at last began the des-
cent on the other side; how loaded
sleds would run away down the hill
running through tents and over other
sleds, every moment in danger of los
ing our life; then on the lakes, how
the hungry eager mob, a stream of
men and dogs and sleds II miles long,
would tug and work and pull at their
loads, caring nothing for anyone but
to get your own loads to the big lakes
to build the boats and get ready to go
when the ice opened up on Lake Lin
derman. How, if any old and weak
would halt and could go no more the
mob would shove or tumble their sled
off the trail, and go on not needing
their appeal for help; how we cut
trees on the side of the mountains.
hauled them across the lake to our saw
pit, and there, one standing on top
of the log, the other underneath, saw