The Alaska daily empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1912-1926, 1921-04-28

running river are negotiated safely
< According to Johnson, Swanson ar
rived at the bay and proceeded to
go inland He was man-shy. he saws
and seemed to be trying to avoid
people. When men approached his
cabin he. had no sdeire to meet or
speak to them. Nothing is known
Of his history other than that it is
thought he came from Ketchikan.
Starts His Diary.
| Swanson's diary was started on
October 4, 1917, when he had reached
spot about sixty miles from tide
| water on the Alsek. The first entry
Said Getting sick. Packing down,
looking for a camping place. Cold
in the lungs with high fever"
On October 10 he wrote: Going
to build a house. Will not be able
20 pull that canoe this fall. Going
to wait for ice"
On October 13 he said he shot a
glacier bear, and on the following
day two goats. Swanson finished his
house and also built smoke house.
Before the end of the month he had
shot two more goats, one lynx, a
| wolf and bear cub
Makes Bearskin Pants.
On November Swanson wrote
that he made a pair of bearskin
pants and on the eighth he said his
sugar was all gone Between the
thirteenth and eighteenth of the
month he made two pair of mecca
sins and a fur coat The coat was
made of bear, wolf and lynx skins.
On the twenty-frst he finished a
sleeping bag made out of bear and
goat skins, and canvas and blankets.
On that day he complained for the
first time of his eye hurting him.
On December / he complained of
getting worse and that he had been
eating cold meat for several days.
On the sixth the dairy noted that
the river had risen six feet in "a
hours. On the fifteenth Swanson
said it was getting very cold and
that it was impossible to be out
w lthCut ohlh 1lOlnCS vi.
Grub Growing Low.
! On December 10 he wrote as fol
lows: Showing but still very cold.
RIFLES at the bends in the river
open and l can't travel. don't
believe there will be any ice for a
Very little grub now and snow too
deep and soft for hunting goats.
Stomach baking at straight meat
Giet, lynx especially" On the
twenty first Swanson shot goat
and said he had a fine Christmas
dinner
In January Swanson wrote his
health was getting worse and that
the lynx were moving down the river
in numbers. but he was unable to
| get any, and that the goats were
going to the hills and out of reach.
On February / he said the lynx
were robbing his meat cache up the
river and that he was getting short
of tea and salt and was growing
weaker all the time. On the twenty
fourth he said he was living en-
tirely on dried meat and tallow.
On March he shot a goat and on
the eleventh struck out for Dry
Bay in his canoe. but after going for
an hour struck ice and was too weak
to drag his canoe over it. The re-
mainder of March Swanson tried to
get back to his cabin, that was AN
IN nnnn river
and perpendicular cliffs delayed him
and at the place where he was he
said there was nothing to eat and
his eyes were getting bad.
Finally Reaches House.
On April l he reached his house
and found that the wolverines had
been eating his fur skins, including
his bearskin pants. They went into
the cabin through the stovepipe hole
and while he was in bed showed
| fight when he tried to drive them
out.
On April 3 he said he was
cooking his last grub and that he
had no salt On the next day he
shot a goat using all but three Of
his shells and could not see the
sights on the rifle any more.
For the next several days Swanson
complained that the wolverines were
bothering him. eating his furs and
had carried his 5000 rife out into
the brush. They had chewed up
his bedding and also one snow shoe.
He also complained of getting shaky
in the legs. On the fifteenth he
wrote he was in bed most OF the
time and legs very shaky. His last
grub was nearly gone, being cooked
on the twentieth. On that day
Swanson made his will leaving every
thing he had to Joseph Pellerine. of
Dry Bay. and if the latter was not
alive. his property was to go to
Paul Swartzkopf.
Skeleton Is Found.
1 In September. Fred Castrow and
Harvey Trefger, thinking that some
thing might have gone wrong. made
the long trip mp the river to the