The Cordova daily times., 1919-03-27

the swift waters of the Upper Yukon. Two years later I was holding re quent services for inexperienced argo- nauts on the rush to the klond1ke who met with disaster in the rapids. I helped bury good many miners that year.
 "On our first trip we were captured by the natives and were held for three days. I understood Chinook and l found they were debating whether to kill us or not I told the Indians that if they killed us the Supreme Being would avenge our deaths. They re- leased us but would not allow us to leave. 1 told my Stick helper to make a rush for the boat. While l held the Indians back he cut the rope and showed off into the current. l made a run for it, jumped in and we bent to our work They had no fire arms, so we escaped. We made our way to Fort Selkirk on short rations, for the Indians had seized our sup plies. At Fort Selkirk we found a white trader and secured additional supplies, including potatoes raised under a blanket in lieu of a green house.
 '"Two hundred miles below Selkirk we landed at Klondike creek, little stream coming into the Yukon from the right. We camped here and found no sign of life. That same year, a few months later, ill August Skookum Jim and his brother-in-law, a Stick Indian, found colors where we camped. They filled some empty cartridge shells with coarse gold-dust. They were on their way to Forty Mile when they dis covered gold, and as they were out of food they stayed there but one night stalking claims and then going on to Forty Mile for their grub. They con- piled with the unwritten law of the North to tell others of their discov- cry, but the white men said, There can be nothing to it, or we would have found colors there before. They are liars This was in August, 1896. The big stampede to Klondike Creek didn't take place till that winter. Where we had camped in the summer of 1896 the town of Dawson was built two years later.
 "The Canadian government had made Jim a free Indian, which en- abled him to buy liquor. He was so constantly drunk and so constantly in the 'Skookum House or Strong House." as they term the jail, that he was called 'Skookum Jim
 "In 1897 I happened to be up Anvik way, when verw friendly and likable young chap asked me to tell him about the country. I was looked upon as sour dough- as I had been in the country year or so. He told me he was reporting for the San Francis ,fg papere, and tpat his name' wasoac k.bndon.
 E 1T came very near 'cashing in my checks as the miners say, in 1898. We had an abnormal flood on the Yukon. I was going down the Yukon by boat and in rounding point the current swept us in toward the bank, and sweeper as we call the tree wlose roots have been undermined, letting the tree fall into tho water, caught me and swept me from the boat into the swift ice-cold water. Fortunately grasped submerged limb as I was being swept downward and held it with death grip, and fin- ally was able to inch my way up against the rushing water till l se- cured a better hold and crawled out on the sweeper
 "The natives of Alaska are immoral not immoral They do not know our standards, but live up to their own code of honor I nave travelled by