The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-12-15
SOUR DOUGH BOYS HARDSH|PS
Some of the Trials Alaskan PrOspectOrs Have to Meet
and Overcome-Temperature 80 Degrees Below Zero
Solitude Brings Insanity

Alaska, home Of the tin can and
dog; waste of snow and ice; the grave
yard of ambition; a by-word for hell,
home of the famed double-cross.
These and hundreds more like them
are printed and sung in the North
Land There have been such hard
ships, such disappointments and such
suffering that there are few to find
things to sing praises of.
But this ism I to be moralsm. 1t
is rather to tell you Of some of the
interesting expedicnts the hardships
of the cold land teach those who live
with her.
Whore the "sour doughs" beat the
newcomers to it is on the long pros
lpectmg hikes or stampede races to new
strikes. Here is where experience
counts.
News win come III to Yukon town
that a strike has been made far back
in the hills and of course that means
| q race Of about everybody in the town
who can raise n grub stake or dog.
! The movies picture these men as
| starting on foot, pulling ON their coats
as they run, and other rank foolish
ness. The slowest and best prepared
mushcr is the one who will stake first,
and the experienced men know it.
SO instead Of Harvesting the dogs
and mushing out in ten minutes after
the news, the "sour coughs begin to
prepare an outfit, one they can 90
through on with the least loss Of time.
Beans will be boiled before the
| start. In a mushing race TO a gold
strike, the camps are where night finds
the men. often where wood is very
scarce and where few twigs must
suffice for the fire.
The beans are not boiled soft, Just
enough TO cook them through, then
they are spread out and allowed to
freeze. After they are frozen they
are put in bags and they separate
as dry beans.
4 terderfoot would boil them and
let them freeze solid and the tender
foot might lust as well throw then
away and cook fresh ones so far a,
time saving goes. Try thawing ou
q bucket OF solidlv frozen beans-ol
rather don T try it.
Same with meat. The old timer viii
cut his bacon or bear meat into slices
lct it freeze solid in slices and thel
pack it in one package The "chee
chako' viii cut il in slices and let i
freeze together and he might bette
have never sliced it for frozen to
gcthcr they are like a solid chunk o
ice. \ trail follower win never le
his meat slices freeze together bu
once, for if he is going fast he will
not have any meat TO eat. In a no
irving pan frozen meat will burn OF
one side and BE raw on the other.
\ mushing outfit can he no stronge
than its grub outfit, and this is tn
main reason why there are thousand
Of square miles in the big North tel
ritory that have never been prospecte
) and thousands of acres that have nev
: or had q human foot on them.
The river towns are the supply has
and there are no others. Let a ma
: strike north from the Yukon anywher
in the interior of Alaska and h
knows that lie win never get anothe
/. ounce Of store provisions until h
. comes back to that town. Ahead O
him are no posts. settlements, supple
:. or even Indian yillages-for the IN
dians and Eskimos invariably live alon
! the streams.
{ So when proSpcctors start out the
d must only 90 as far as half their foo
D. | supply viii carry thom-md even TIL
/. limit l.. q long chance. When the CRU
. is half exhausted, they must at one
turn back, and if ON the back ira
severe Billiards should stop them, sicl