The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1929-07-19
CHAPTER ~

or her, q IOriOrn, palneIlc uSuTe III
black, waving a farewell TO me as |
stood on the wharf The gray eyes
were clear and steady as she babe
good-by TO me, and from where we
stood apart, her face had all the pa
thetic sweetness of a Madonna.
Well, she was going. and sad enough
her going seemed 10 me. They were
all for Dyea, and the grim old Chill
coot. with its blizzard-beaten sleeps.
while we had chosen the less pre-
cipitous. but more drawnout- Skagway
trail. Among them l saw the insep-
arabic twins; the grim Hewson, the
silent Mervin, each quiet and watch
ful, as if storing up power for ire
mendous effert There was the large
EMBELLISHMENTS of Madam Wrinkle
stein. all jewelry, smiles and coarse
badinage. and near her. her perfumed
husband, squirting and Sinking abom-
inahly. There was the old, man. with
his face of Hebrew seer. his vision
airy eye now aglow with financial en-
thusiasm. his lips ever muttering /:
'Klondike. Klondike"; and lastly, by
his side, with a little wry smile on
her lips, there was the white-faced girl.
How my heart ached for herl Bur
the time for sentiment was al an end.
The clarion call TO action rang out.
The reign Of peace was over; the
fight was on.
Hundreds of scattered tents; few
franc buildings. mostly saloons, dance
halls and gambling joints; an eager.
excited mob crowding on the loose
sidewalks. Laundering knee-deep in the
mire of the streets, struggling and
squabhIing and curSing over their out
fts-that is all l remember of Skag-
way.
The Prodigal developed a wonderful
executive ability: be was marvel OF
activity. seemed 10 think of every
thing and 10 glory in his responsibility
as a leader. Always cheerful. always
thoughtful. he was the brains of our
party. He never abated in his efforts
moment. and was an example and 3
stimulus To rs ALL | say "all." for we
had added the -Jam-wagon" "a Jam
wagon was the general name given 70
an Englishman on the traiD 10 our
number. II was the Prodigal who dis
covered him. He was a tall. dissolute
Englishman, gaunt, ragged and yer
minous. but with the earmarks of a
gentleman LOST soul in every sense
of the word. the North was to him
a refuge and an unrestricted stamp
ing ground. So. partly In pity. partly
in hope of winning back his manhood
We allowed him 10 join the party.
Pack animals were in vast demand.
for il was considered pound of grub
was the equal of pnund of gold We
were lucky in buying a yoke of oxen
from packer for four hundred dol
lars On the first day we hauled half
Of our outfit TO Canyon City. and on
the second we transferred The balance
This was nur plan all through. though
in bad places we had 10 make many
relays. II was simple enough. yea. on.
the travail of it All days were hard.
all exasperating, all crammed with
discomfort: yet. bit nv hit we forged
ahead. The army before Us and the
army behind never faltered Ii was
an endless procession. in which every
man was for himself. There was no
mercy. no humanity. no fellowship.
All was hlasphemy. fury and ruthless
determination eli is the spirit of the
gold-traiL
Al the canyon head was a large
camp. and there, very much in eFi-
denee, the gambling fraternity. On
one side of the canyon they had estab-
lished camp. Ii was evening and we
three the Prodigal. Salvation Jim and
myself. strolled over 10 where three
shell man was holding forth.
II was Mosher. with his bald head,
mis- crafty little eyes. his tlat nose, his
black beard. ! SAW Inns face harden.
He had always shuwn hitter hatred
of this man. and often | wondered why
We stood a little way off. The
crowd thinned and filtered away until
but one remained one of the tall
young men from Minnesota We heard
Mosher's rich voice.
Say, pard. bet ten dollars you cant
place the bean. Seei | puf the little
;oker under here. right before youl
eyes. Now, where is il 2"
Here" said the man. touching one
of the shells.
"Rigft you are, my heartyi Well
here's your ten"
The man from Minnesota took the
money and was going away.
Hold on" said Mosher: -how do
know you had the money to cover
that bet 2"
The man laughed and took from his
pocket a wad of hills an inch thick
Guess that's enough. amt it?"
Quick as lightning Mosher hao
snarched the bills from him. and the
man from Minnesota found himself
gazing int the barrel of a six-shoorer
This here's my money" said
Mosher: NOW you git"
A moment only-a shot rang out.
saw the gun fall from Mosher's hand
and the rod of hills drop 10 the ground
Quickly the man from Minnesota re
covered them and rushed of.
That night ! said TO Jim:
How did you do iii"
he laughed and showed me a hole
in his coat pockei which butler had
burned.
fTO BE CONTINIgEDl