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1 2 3

4 5 6

CAPT. J. D. WINCHESTER'S
EXPERIENCE

ON A VOYAGE FROM

LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.

AND TO Till.

ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

SAI.EM, MASS.
NRWCOMH & GAUSS, I'RINTKRH.

1900.

Newcomb & Gauss Press,
Salem, Mass.

PREFACE.

That my reatlcrs may fully uudcrstand in the begin-
ning who the parties are they are readinir about, 1 write
this ])reface. I joined the Lynn Mining Company that
left Lynn Nov. 10th, 1^UT. This company bought a
schooner, the Abliie M. Deering, and went l>y way of
water, stopping at Bahia, Brazil, S. A., then passing
through the Straits of Magellan, and so on up to San
Francisco, I had a rare chance to sketch the many true
pictures from nature that decorate this book, the total
number being thirty-seven. The schooner in the book
is called the Diver, nicknamed by the crew for the
vigorous way in which she dove into a sea, giving man\
of >is a good wetting, in spite of every precaution.

Pacific N. W. History Dept.

PROVINCIAL LIBRARY
VIOTORIA, ». 0.

4^447

CONTENTS.

PACK

CHAPTER I

Preparation for tho cniiso . .

CHAPTER II

From Lynn to Nova Scotia— A heavy storm is encountered
througli which the Diver passes safely— Experiences of a sea-
sick crew— At anchor at Ihyer's Island

CHAPTER III

The long voyage commenced— Running through the Gulf Stream
into warm weather— The mad dog takes command— Drinking
water runs short and a stop is made to replenish the supply .

CHAPTER IV

Through the Straits of >Iagollan-A deserted sheep ranch— Duck
shooting in a strange land-We see glaciers and explore a Pata-
gonian jungle— Our first news from liome

CHAPTER Y

Into the Paciflc-We make our sleeping-bags and llud them too
small— Practical jokes on board-Food and water get scarce-
Collision narrowly avoided— Arrival at San Francisco

CHAPTER VI

On shore at last-Unsuccessful attempts to sell the Diver— Hoop-
er's rascality disclosed-The vessel at length disposed of and
five of us embark on the Umatilla for Seattle . ...

CHAPTER VII

Arrival at Puget Sound— Secure passage for Alaska, and purchase
our outfits-Shortage of provisions on board the Haydn Brown-
Peculiarities of some of the passengers

104

CONTENTS.

CHAITHH VIII

From Dutch Harbor to St. >Hchiiel8 — A tram]) over the moun-
tains — Doings on board tlie bar(|uo — Trouble for the Chase
gang— Hot'man docidos to go home— The com])any ri'diicod to
three 14(1

ClIAITKi; IN

Up the Yukon— Wo work our passage to the mouth of the Koyu-
kuk — Land and jirocure a boat — Hun a gauntlet of mosiiuitoes —
Difficulties in navigation— ('on(|uered by lapids . . . \'iS

(JJIAITEJJ \

<Ju the way to Arctif City — Hunting for Treat's Island— Trading
with the Indians- The ^[aiy Ann meets with an accident —
Mishaps in towing — We reach Hughes Har and see our first
gold HJ

CIIAI'TEK X\

A winter in Beaver City — Up the Allenkakat to " Help Me Jack "
— Stake a claim on McAlpine Creek — Bnild our shack — An at-
tack of the scurvy and a struggle alone with <leath — Many tales
of woe 11(1

CHAI'TIiK XII

Light begins to dawn — A general exodus and I-epage and 1 are
left alone — Visits from the Indians — Gilded delusions— The ice
in the river breaks up and we, too, get ready to start . . 214

CHAl'TEH XIII

Wo embark on our long journey — I part witli Lopage at St.
Michaels — Take passage on the Roanoke— A burial at sea —
Across the continent — Home again 2:W

APPENDIX

Exonerate my companions from blame — liOpage a true friend . 251

IJST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Cai't. Winciikstku'8 Shack at Hkavbr Citv, Alaska

Lkavino Lynn. Nov. 10, 180it

In a Stobm in thk Bav ok Fhndy

LKAViNfi Bkykk'h Isi,ani>, N'. 8,, Foil San KitANti-^c

FlIUl.IN(i TIIK .Till

(;atciiin<j Doij'iiin

TlIK Irtl.ANI) Oh- KkKNANIK) NoROMAll, BKA/II, .
TllADINO lillOOKHS or Baiiia, B|!A/II. .

Hoisting tiik Mainsaii

Thk, Man AT TiiK Whkki,

(iOINO UP IHK UlVKU KOK VVATKK ....

I iiKi.n MY HiFi.K hkady kou Vhk ....
Thk .Vdmiuai, Tuyino on ins Si.EEiMNfj-iiAii

Mac's Uu.mmy Bki>-kki.i.o\v

Tiikkk ("a.mk Xkar Bkino a Collision

Kntkki.ni^ thk (Joi.den (Jatk, San Fhancihco .

Thk Stkamku Umatilla Bound kou Skattle .

Thk Bah<;uk Haydn Brown Makino thk Unamak|Pass

Thk Ko< k Lsland Lkaving St. Michaels for TnEjYiKON

The Canok (^Ai'sizEP

Takino IN Wood on THK Yukon ....
(tEttino Ready to Ascend the Koyckuk .
Difficulties We Met on thk River .

Hands I'l' !

The Indian Home on the Koyukuk .

Our First Indian Traders

Boarded iiy S(/uaav Traders ....
The " Florence " ON A Sand-mar

Working the R.\i"Ids

Paying Toll

Breaking the Traii

Sa^i Mallimoot Trading

I Lay Alone Struggling ayith Death

The Dbsebtion

Stewart Island . . . .

Landing in .v Storm on the Bering Sea^Coast

A Burial at Sea

FronUiti)ieve.

3S -
44-

.')4-

(10

(17

«s

88'

i)0 -
Kil _
120 -
l-ld-'
LJS -
1(10-
1()L' -
l(i(i -
170-
172-
174-
17(>-
178 —
184-
18(1-
104-
108-
21K)~
204-
218-
2U^ '
238- a^o
250 ^

CIIAl'TKU I.

PHEPAIIATION Knit TIIK CIMISK.

Ill tlio summer of '97, the jfreiit Klondike fever swept
across our land, and canii'd many of our i Mig, able men
int(t its vortex and swept them away to tin- great North-
west to seek their fortunes in a land ■ illi all the casuali-
ties and horrors of a cold Arctic cli.iiutc. Many never re-
turned to the dear ones who awaited them, and whether a
wife or a inr)tlier, she must weep for liim ■who now lies at
rest in tlie icy embrace of some piospeeti u'"s hole.

I know not what temptw me to write this liook, hut the
inspiration of a sad experience that clings to me and seems
to say — " Show me to the world, keei) me hid away no
longer, but let the world know of this horrid decei)tion
that lurks around our peaceful homes, destroying oui
peace of mind until we know no rest, and through our
fancied thoughts of riches and vain endeavors to procure
them, come to the conclusion that the wealth we most
needed was in the homes that we so longed to see."

I had read of the great finds they had made in Alaska,
and often Avished that I had the ways and means of reach-
ing there, but it \vas a long, disagreeable journey to make
as I lived in the town of B — , in one of the eastern states,
and consequently cost considerable money, so I felt that I
must overcome my great desire and remain at home.

It was in the month of August when my wife, after
reading a paragi-aph in the papers, of a woman in
Klondike \vho took out with her dish-pan sixty dollars

(9)

TO THB ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

a pan after her husband's first washing, began to get the
gold fever. Soon after we saw in the papers where the
Hattie L. Phillips, Captain Blackburn, was fitting out for
Alaska and would sail the latter part of October.

Being a sea-faring man, I began to see my way to Alaska.
After devising schemes of all kinds that failed to meet
the requirements needed, I read in the papers where a
Mr. W. II. Hooper was organizing a company to go out
to the gold-fields. I wrote to him at once and he replied,
wishing me to call — which I did. Mr. Hooper was a man
who would impress one fairly with his manner and style.
He expressed himself freely on the common topics of the
day, and finally, with a superficial flow of socialism in his
discourse, told how the working-man was held down by the
heel of the oppressor, but there was redemption for him in
Alaska, where a jx)or man could drive his stakes with no
millionaire bosses to say that he should not. He gave me
his plans which were as follows : The number of members
belonging to the company should not exceed twenty ; each
member was to pay in to him <8250, making a first payment
on the 10th of October of fifty dollars — that would be
forfeited in case the member backed out — and the remain-
ing two hundred dollars to be paid between that^time and
and the first of November. This contract was to be signed
by all the members of the company. There would be a
committee chosen by him to select a good vessel at some
of the sea-ports, one suited to make the voyage around
Cape Horn, and to purchase the same if it came within
the limits of our means. His plans I considered all right
as far as I could see, under the blinding influence of gold,
and so I became a member of the (^ompany. He chose
me on the committee for purchasing a vessel, and as soon
as practical we went in search of one. We visited one
of the fishing ports where a large fleet of schooners was
owned, knowing that there we would be more liable to

PREPARATION FOR THE CRUISE.

find one that would suit our purpose. We were directed
by a man who kept a restaurant, to a Mr. Babmon who
owned a few vessels in the ileet, and wanted to sell out.
We met Mr. Babmon at his home who said he had one for
sale, lying at the wharf and that he would like to sell the
othei-s and go out of the business. We told him that we
wanted to buy a vessel and if his suited perhajw we could
make a bargain, so he directed us to the wharf where
she lay. We went down to the wharf and found lying
there the schooner Diver of 98 tons register, not in verj'
presentable shape about decks, for she had just come in
from a fishing cruise, and her sails were not furled but
tumbled together in a hurry ; her gear lay loose aliout the
deck, and a very strong odor of fish gurry could be de-
tected, for ',he boys in thee e cases of just returning from a
trip, jump her as soon as she touches the wharf. We
looked this vessel all over and found her perfectly sound
and well fastened. She was just the size we wanted, well
sparred and rigged but would require a new suit of sails
and running gear before she was fit for the voyage. We
liked thie looks of the schooner, her rig l^eing modern, car-
rying a fore stay-sail with balloon jib, and all other light
sails.

So we talked it over and all of the committee agreed
that the vessel would suit, and as Mr. Hooper was chair-
man he went to see Mr, Babmon to make the purchase,,
while we waited around the wharf, listening to the stories,
told by those who had sailed in her ; we got all her quali-
ties both good and bad, and as they did not want to say
aiiything that would hurt the sale, I came to the conclu-
sion that they had not told all they knew. Mr. Hooper
cime down after an absence of two hourrf and gave us Mr.
Eabmon's figures. Ke wanted twentj'-four hundred dol-
liU'S for the whole outfit ; Mr. Hooper wanted to make an
offer, and asked our advice ; we thought that two thousand

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

dollars was about right for the fli-st offer, as it was nejirer
the mark of what we could afford to give. Mr. IIooi)er
went up to the office again and made the offer which, of
course, was refused ; this we expected, and as Mr. Hooper
was not authorized to raise it, he came back to us and we
raised it one hundred dollars more, as Babmon had dropped
■one hundred dollars. Hooper saw Babmon again, and when
he returned to us Babmon was with him. We had just
returned from the Kobin Hood, a craft whose dimensions
would acconnnodate us, although she was not quite as
large as the Dive)', but their figures were higher, as she
was not as old and in better repair than the Diver.

We were ready to receive Mr. Babmon and the bantering
began. We raised it twenty-two hundred dollars, and
there we stiiyed while Balmion stood at twenty-ihree hun-
dred ; I said that I would give no more, and we started
for the train. Babmon kept along with us arguing that
the vessel was woith more money : I whispered to Hooper
to split the difference. He did so and Babmon closed the
bargain, we paying a small sum to bind the trade, and the
Diver belonged to our company. We felt that we had
done our day's work satisfactorily' and retmned home.
Next morning, with an addition of two more of the com-
pany and a Mr. Ballser, we went after ou" ' to bring
her to Lynn, it being the nearest harl .>ur homes,
where she wiis to luidergo a thorough repairing so as to be
ready for sea by the 10th of November.

While on the train enjoying the ride, I began to look
over my companions, those who were to be my shipmates
for many montlis on the stormj- ocean. Some of them 1
had never seen before ; one they culled Admiral, who, by
the sea phrases he used in his conversation, I judged to be
quite a sailor, but the Bartlett brothei-s I plainly saw knew
nothing of a sea-faring life, but Hooper claimed that they
were all right. Here was a bit of deception and 1 nuist

rUEPARATION FOR THE CRUISE.

confess that ray confidence w.ts a little shaken, when I 1)6-
giin to realize Hooper's true character, that he was a little
careless of his word at times and deception with hira was
a virtue.

Mr. Hooper held all the aioney without honds. He had
elected himself president, secretitrv and trcivsurer of the
company, his ruling was despotism while he preached so-
cialism. \Ve had bowed to his will like so many pagi\ns,
paying in our money on a bai"e i-cceipt and accepting his
dictations whenever or wherever he saw tit to dictate.

He now carried with him two thousand two hundred and
fifty dollai-s of the Company's money, trusted beyond pru-
dence ; how easy he could skip. V»ut no one thought such a
thing of Mr. Hooper, in fact it would not do to think this
of him, for be was (juick to anger, and when you w?re out
of his books, there was no hope for you this side of Alas-
ka. The money he carried was to pay for the vessel,
and when the train stopped at the station, we went on
board of the schooner, and l)egJin to get her ready for the
trip to Lynn, while be went up to pay Habmon the balance
due on the vessel, and engjige a sailmaker to make a new
suit of sails. The sailmaker came on boaitl and took the
measure for the sails and we cleaivd at the Custom House,
as the business was all settleil. We hauled down to the
end of the whai'f where we made sail, and with a fair
breeze we sailed out of the harbor. ( )ff tlie Cape the wind
died out and left us in an uncomfortable chop of a sea,
that tumbled us alwut in all shajies, and I l)egan to feel a
little faint, as I liad eaten nothing since I left home. But
there was a good clam chowder cooking below, and I kept
up ray courage, patiently waiting for the fii-st call. I saw
that Hooper was watching us. to see us run to the rail, and
pay our respects to Father Neptune as there could not be
j> l)etter sea invented to make a man sea-sick than that we
,.i.ie experiencing off old Cape Aiiu. Dinner being ready

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD riKLDS.

I went down in the forecastle where it was to be served,
followed by our two new men Fred and George Bartlett ;
they were brothers and I noticed by the dull and don't-
care-a-snap state of mind the}' were in, that they were lin-
gering on the borders of sea-sickness, and though assuming
an air of defiance in front of a bowl of steaming clam
chowder, their laughter sounded unnatural as they bumped
against each other, and their countenances took on that
sickly hue which indicates a bilious turn of affairs in the
region of the stomach. I saw Fred seize his bowl of chow-
der and make for the companion-way saying at the time
it was too hot for him down there. I sat enjoying my
dinner with George, who sat opposite and tried to talk in
an off-hand manner of the voyage we Avere to make, and
attempted to swallow his chowder as though it was an
easy thing for him to do, when he suddenly said, " Don't
you think it is hot down here ? I don't see how you can
stand it." •• I think it about right," I said, and then he
suggested that we ascend to the main deck and finish our
dinners; I quietly demurred, and saying, "it is too hot
for me," he made a stivgger for the steps which he grasped
with a grip of iron, and making one bound, disappeared

up through the scuttle. " It is hotter than h " was

his last remark on that occasion, and I heard something
like New York choked out with the gurgling and spitting,
as he cast up accounts with the old sea-god, who appeared
to enjoy the sport as he rocked tlie vessel to and fro, as if
to make sure that he had given up all the fruit of the sea,
that he had attempted to swallow without Neptune's con-
sent. The chowder and cabin was all left to me ; " the
world is mine," I said as I finished my dinner, and went
on deck.

We were running along in smooth water now with a fair
breeze. I looked around for the boj's and there they lay,
each one on a coil of I'ope, looking pale and desolate, little

PHEPABATION FOR THE CBUISK.

caring what become of themselves or the vessel; these
symptoms are always exiierienced just before a relapse. I
could imagine how they felt and sympathized with them,
but sailing along in smooth water brought them on their
feet, and they stood initiated into the miseries of a home on
the rolling deep. The weather changed and it was getting
dark with squalls of rain and we were anxious to get into
port before night shut in. We made Egg-rock light and
shaped our courae for Lynn. We got up off Nahant and
the wind blowing ou<- of the harbor gave us a dead beat in.
We expected a tug to meet us, but, it being a stormy night,
none came, so we anchored under Nahant, tied up our
sails, put up our anchor light and set our watch, and as
we had on board a passenger who wished to l>e landed at
Nahant, we launched one of our dories, and set him on
shore. The wind was blowing a cold sleet, and it was dis-
agreeable boating, our dory was slow in coming on board,
but at liist we heard them alongside making a great deal
of Relay house noise which I understood when 1 saw two
or three suspicious looking black bottles handed up over
the side of the vessel ; they were carried below and the
corks drawn before any (questions could be asked, the boys
imbibing freely and smoking their pipes. As the black
bottle kept going the rounds, their spirits rose and they
told their funny stories, and sang their happy songs. I
forgot to mention there was a bottle of ginger ale for me,
as I did not use intoxicants. T got one glass of ginger
when it was captured by the black bottle gang and its con-
tents was foon passing down the parched throats of this
thirsty creW.

I want^ed to get a little sleep and retired to the afttu*
cabin to get awaj' from the noise. It was cold and ilamp
but I found a room and turned in. I tried to sleep, but
could not, and so fell to thinking of the long, hazardous
journey I was about to make with men all strangers to

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

me and if those I could then hear singing, dancing and
shouting were a sample of the rest of the crew, and Mr.
Hooper, organizer and manager, at their head there wan
trouble enough ahead for me. I formerly had a feeling of
respect for Mr. Hooper. When I first met and talked with
him, he gave me the impression that lie was the riglit
man in the right place, but now I could hear his voice
above the rest, as he sang or broke forth in language both
ol)scene and profane ; and so they drank until the contents
of the black bottle was gone, their hilarious songs ended
and they were soon stretched out in the arms of that great
comforter, sleep.

There was our leader, the man to guide us around that
stormy cape and up in those regions above the Arctic. cir-
cle, to put in a winter auudst snow and ice ; was lie capa-
ble, was he to be trusted i If he was, I doubted it, and but
for the confidence I had in myself I should have felt dis-
couraged ; but I felt equal to the occasion, and consoled
myself by thinking so, and soon fell iisleep. I awoke next
morning and found the tug-boat alongside. I jumped out
of my berth, shook myself and was all ready for business.
We manned the windlass and hove up anchor, and the
tug took us and placed us alongside of Breed and I Folder's
wharf, where we moored her. Mr. Hooper Avas to look
after the repairing of the vessel and so I went home, but
before I left he told me there would be a meeting of the
whole company and wanted me to be present. Of course
I wanted to be there, to see the rest of our company and
to get acquainted.

Shortly after I happened in Lynn and called on Mr.
Hooper to see how he was getting along. I rang the belU
and was ushered in by Mr. Hooper. There were three
men present, — one a Mr. Hoytt, who belonged to the com-
pany ; and another gentleman who wished to join us. Mr.
Hooper questioned him sis to his experience. He said he

PRKPARATION FOR THE CKUISE.

had heen hunting down in Maine one winter, and found
he could live in a log cabin quite comfortably. Mr Moo|)-
er thought his experience not sufficient, and so dismissed
him. " Now," said he, " I have plenty of just such fel-
lows calling here every day, trying all manner of induce-
ments to get me to tJike them. One man offered me five
hundred dollai^s, but I won't break our agreement, which
calls for only twenty men, and I have that numl)er
already." Mr. lloytt nodded his head, as though he a[>
jiroved of ^Ir. Hooper's way of conducting affairs, and I
said, " Of course we must carry ourselves along in a
straight and upright manner, if we expect success." ^Ir.
IToytt nodded liis approval again.

Then Mr. Hooper went on to say that he thought he
had a good company' of men, honest and sound, every one
of tliem. lie said tiuit he was born in Nova Scotia, that
he had taken out his fii"st papers for citizenship, that he
could have been made a citizen with one set of papers. I
advised him not to try it as he would be sorry for it, — it
was best to have an honest set of papei-s. To this Mr.
Hoytt nodded with two or three successive nods, which
showed his highest approval. Mr. Hooper said he would
do as we advised him. He told me he had engaged a
navigator, who was a very old acquaintance, and who lived
in the same place he came from. The man would not be
present at the meeting, as he was not in the city. He was
an old sea captain, and had sailed the world over, and his
name was Rounds. Mr. Hooper admitted that he never
liked Rounds, but a« he had joined our company his com-
radeship would be tolerated.

Mr. Hoytt had not spoken throughout the evening, but
seemed to be in a deep study, with his head between his
hands, but nodded as phrases in our conversation met his
approval. I liked the looks of this man ; he had a good, .
earnest look in his countenance, and although no conver-

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

sationalist, tried to show in his manner that he was with
us through thick and thin.

Mr. Hooper claimed to know all about the west coast.
He said we could sell our vessel for a fabulous price, — it
would pay to load her with steam launclies and dories, to
sell out there, as we could reap a large profit. He knew
all al)out Alaska, too. He said the Yukon river was easy
to ascend, as there was but a three-knot current, and he
knew of a steam launch that he could buy cheap, with
power enough to tow our outfit up the river. We must
each have Winchester rifles and two hundred rounds of
ammunition, for the Indians were hostile, and many of the
wliites were desperadoes and might need standing off with
a rifle.

He did not know just what part of Alaska we would
locate in — some thought of Cook's Inlet, or the Tananna
river — but this was to be decided when we arrived in San
Francisco. He showed me the articles tliat every man was
to sign, which he had composed. Each man was to have
a duplicate, so that he could read for himself, and not be
found wanting. He was going to have this business car-
ried on S3'stematically, and every man know his jjlace, or
there would be trouble in camp. Mr. Hooper tried to im-
press me that he was a bad man to run up against if
things did not go his way, and so he rattled on until it
was time for me to go home.

I was pleased with my visit, for I had learned his inten-
tions. I thought of Mr. Hooper and his dissipation the
night off Nahant, and now in the role of a stern, hareh
disciplinarian. If he practised these moods in this com-
pany he would find the rock to founder on ; that he w&s
using poor judgment was plain to be seen, for twenty
men of good, sound sense, and trusty mechanics, could
not be brought under the tyrant's heel without a struggle.

After a few days I was notified of the time of meeting,

PREPARATION FOR THE CRUISE.

ami was soon on ray way to Lynn again to Mr. Hooper's
house, where I arrived in clue time, and found a few had
assembled before nie. To these I was introduced, and
then seated myself to watch proceedings. A few more
came, and then Mr. Hooper declared it was time to proceed
to business. In the first place he wanted to know what
the company thought of the vessel, to which they answered
they were very much pleased with the purciiase. They
•considered the Diver just what was needed, and after they
had talked on the merits of the vessel, commending me as
well as Mr. Hooper for finding such a craft, someone sug-
gested that the meeting be called to order. ^Ir. Hooper
rapped, and all were silent. One member asked if it was
in order to make a motion. Mr. Hooper nodded, and he
moved that the company proceed to organize and elect
officers. The motion being seconded and carried, we pro-
ceeded to organize and elect our officers. Mr. Hooper was
elected president and treasurer, and I was financial secre-
tary. Mr. Hogan was elected secretary. This w us some-
thing Mr. Hooper did not expect. He had planned to
carry on this business according to his articles, where he
stood at the head, and would not be dictated to. I could
tell by the look on his countenance he was very much dis-
pleased, yet he smiled, indicating an inward feeling that
they would hear something yet. This movement showed
that some one beside Mr. Hooper was working for the
company, and was a direct slap in the face, which he felt
pretty bitterly, and so we came from under the dictator
and stood ready to govern oui-selves in a body.

Mr. Hooper took the chair as president-elect, and said,
" We have a great deal of business on hand to put through
to-night. We have here a provision list — we would like
to hear from members concerning it; we haven't got
much money, so we must economize. I think the list can
be reduced." One or two of the members said they knew

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

nothing about titting out for a voyage, so they would leave
it to the judgment of those who had had tlie experience.
Mr. Hooper claimed it could l)e reduced considerable, as
he intended to fit out plain. " There," said he, " is five
gallons of vinegar, we don't need it. I don't care nothing
about vinegar myself." I then arose and addressed the
chair : *' Mr. President, if economy is necessary, why, vve
must economize, but we must have some vinegar. If no
one else cares for it, I do. I think a half gallon would do
me the journey." To which they made a motion, and it
was voted one-half gnHon of vinegar.

The list was soon disposed of, being cut down one-
quarter ; all delicacies were disposed of, and salt-horee
loomed up in large quantities, with salt pork, i)eans and
peas. I suggested that as we had done away with al' the
delicacies, that we buy the best in the market for our
stores, so a committee of three was appointed to visit
different grocei-s and get their list of prices. Mr. Hooper
then arose and said, " Gentlemen, we must have a steam
launch. I know of one, three years old, all in good con-
dition, that 1 can buy for three hundred dollars ; a launch
is something we have got to have, and we had better con-
sider this one." After a ffrw moments' silence, some one
moved that Mr. Hooper procure a steam launch fit for our
work up in Alaska ; another member moved an amend-
ment, that Mr. Hooper purchase the same launch of which
he had spoken, and have her in Lynn by the fii-st of No-
vember ; another member wished to strike out the word
" purchase " and insert the words " be instructed to pro-
cure a steam launch." The chair did not put the question,
but sat there with a frown on his brow, as the crowd de-
bated in a most disorderly manner. Some one called for
the question, when the chair arose, pale and agitated ; al-
though he spoke calmly, you could detect a slight quaver
in his voice as he spoke : " Gentlemen, I wish to say right .

PRKPARATION FOR THE CRUISE.

here tliat there are two men in this company wlio want to
fight me. Now if they think they have got an easy joh,
they had Itetter run up against me, that is all."

If a boml) had exploded we would not have been more
surprised ; here he had ignored the (juestion, he had
stampeded the debaters, and the meeting was practically
at an end, b}' his bringing Injfore it some of his own per-
sonal affairs. However, we tried t<i pacify him i»y saying
we would stand by him, and order was soon restored. Mr.
Hooper sat as stately as a king who hud won some great
victory. A new motion was made that Mr. Hooper i)ur-
chase the launch Twin Sisters, and being carried, the
meeting adjourned until some indefinite period.

I was thoroughly disgusted with the wii(»le affair. I
had attended a society once a week for some years that
had sometimes pretty sharp debates, and although I was
numbered among the wall flowei-s, 1 knew how a meeting
should be conducted.

I felt sure I knew the cause of the break in Mr. Hoop-
er's ruling — it was his ignorance of parlimentary ride —
and they got him twisted and so he got mad — and thought
the only way out of it was to get in a row. After the
meeting I was introduced to some more of our company.
There was was Mr. Grey, the engineer, a solid looking
little man ; there was Mr. Ryan, a rising young lawyer,
and Mr. Hogan, the pharmacist; Mr. Ricker of New York,
and Mr. Lepage, a boss plumber, all healthy-looking men.

I forgot to mention that I was elected mate of the
schooner Diver that same evening. I was not a bit proud
of my office, for I knew there was a responsibility that 1
did not hanker for. It being my train time I bade them
all good night and started for home. Mr. Hooper followed
me to the door, told me there would probably be another
meeting called as there was considerable business that had
to be attended to, and as he bade me good night, told me
not to fail to come when notified.

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIRLDS.

I went home tliinkiiig of the evening'H perforinarjoe, and
although (liM^iiHted with evei-ythiiijf connected with the
affair, laughed in Hpite of myself. Nothing had got down
to a husineHs basis, and time was passing. There lay the
vessel with ftne of Mr. Hooper's nephews on board, Mr.
Dalton, keeping ship, and Mr. Hooper running the streets,
followed by an army of reporters, to whose questions he
answered in language that was prftfane and vulgar. This
he told me himself one night as he went swaggering along
the sidewalk towards his home, where I was invited to
take tea with his family. I enjoyed my repast very nmch
as Mrs. Hooper was not only a good cook but a pleasant
entertainer.

I called another evening on Mr. Hooper but he was not
at home so I strolled down to the wharf where the Diver
lay, but found no one there. When, two days later, I was
told bj' a friend that the Diver had blown up and was a
total wreck, I could not believe it ; — there was nothing in
her to blow her uj), — there wasn't anything we were going
tfj carry that would blow the vessel up. I worried that
day until I got a paper that had the case laid down some-
thing like this : the schooner Diver that was fitting out for
the Klondike, was blown up while the workmen were do-
ing some repairing ; one man was blown overboard, one of
the carpenters badly hurt but would recover, one man be-
low was blown from the forecastle to the mainmast and
was badly shaken up and had his arms burned, but his in-
juries were not internal it was hoped ; he was carried to
the hospitiil ; the condition of the vessel was hopeless ; ac-
cording to the story of one of the men, Mr. Hooper was
cleaning for bed bugs and was using a very high explosive,
when one of the men attempted to light his pipe, and the
consequence was — she went up. 1 could not believe the
papers, for what was there in bedbug poison so explosive.
That night I went to Lynn to see for myself, and I found

PRKPARATION FOR THK 0UUI8E.

it l)iul enoiigli, I nssure ytm. 'J'lie place that <an wrecked
waH covered over with an old sail hut I could Hee that it
wttH (|uite a damage. WImt wuh to he done now would \m
decided when the company met, ho I went to call cm Mr.
Hooper, hut he was not at home. As 1 waH HatiHtied the
schooner Diver was a wreck, I wanted to Hee him and find
out the particnlai"H. I didn't have to wait long for a poH-
tid called me to a meeting that night, and I wan noon on
the train for L_vi">i wondering what was to happen thiK
tin.ie. The train ntopped jiist as I thought I had the ex-
plosion figured out, and the conductor sang out Lynn so
loud that I started to lu}- feet; had I hecn asleep and
dreaming ? As I hustled ot¥ the tmin in the cool air, I
said to myself, " no, this is all real."

There were not as many present at the meeting as I ex-
pected ; their ahsence, Mr. Iloofjcr explained, showed their
confidence. He said the hoys were standing hy him;
ready to advance more money if reciuired. Me said the
vessel was not hurt nuich, that l)etween three hundred and
five hundred dollars would cover the damage. I in(|uired
into the cause of the hlow-up and it seemed Mr. Hooper
had got it into his head to go house-cleaning, and as the
schooner was pretty huggy, he consulted the pharmacist
Hogan, who said that he knew of a compound that would
drive all the vermin on hoard into the sea. He fixed up
a pailful of this compound and gave it to Mr. Hooper who
took it on hoard, and told the hoys how to use it so it
would he safe. Mr. Hooper had a joh at the other end
of the vessel, a good safe distance away, while one man
went helow to ap[)ly this hug remedy, with wnat result he
learne'^ to his sorrow. Mr. Hooper had heen to Boston
and seen some of the contractors on such jobs, and the
vessel could be repaired cheap. He could have all the
work done by contmct or by the day, but recommended
the day work, for he could get a more thorough job, al-

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

tliougli it might cost a little more. Some member suggest-
ed lie had better call the meeting to oi-der so we could bike
a vote on it. The chair rapped to order and a motion was
read tiiat Mr. Hooper take the scliooner to Hoston and
have what repaire done he considered necessary and that
he engage the oarjienter to work by the day. Mr. Hooper
asked, " Are you ready for the question i " — to wliioh two
or three jumped to their feet and called for a division of
the question. The chair was stuck again, and without
mpping order, insisted on putting the question in full, in
spite of all opposition, ignoring the meml)ei"s who objected
and who did not look very much pleased. A vote was
taken, the chair declared it a vote, and so another battle
Avas won. Mr. Hooper thought it was time to adjourn,
and said they would have another meeting soon to see
about our outfits. If we wanted auA'thing, he could get
them cheap. As we should want sleeping liags and shee{)-
skin jackets, we could think it over liefore next meeting,
for then it would l)e brought up, and without ceremony he
left the chair saying he would have the Diver back in
Lynn in ten days. We said good night and parted and I
returned home to await my next call.

While Mr. Hooper Wiis getting the schooner ready for
Boston the wharf was crowded with people to see the
wreck. Mr. Hoojier abused and insulted them and raised
one of the sails l)etween the fore and main rigging, so they
could not look on board. The schooner was tiiken away
and he told the jnlot she drew but eleven feet of water,
when she realh' drew twelve, and thej' nearly got ashore
on the bar — she was to go on the marine railway accord-
ing to agreement. Mr. Hoo^ier's nephew remained to see
that she was docked but he went home. According to
the nephew's story, they had the dix'k set for eleven feet
of water, so when they came to haul her in she stuck half
way and then it was high water. He tried to get a tug

PREPARATION FOR THE CRUISE.

to haul the schooner out of the dock, but none would help ;
of couree we knew what that meant — •• you are in trouble
and must bid high if you want us " — but poor Dalton had
no money to bid, so the tide went out and left the vessel
hanging half way out of the dock, which was a terrible
strain — some would have broken in two. This showed
Mr. Hooper's pig-headedness ; he would not give in ; he
was always in the right, and when he knew he was wrong
would never admit it. This is the way I ever found him
on thd voyage. Dalton sta3'ed by the schooner with an-
other relative to help fit her out, and they had a plenty of
hard work, for he told nje afterwards tliat Mr. Hoojier
would give him money to buy his food and then would
borrow it back aq;ain, and so some days he liad but little
to eat. He said Mr. Hooper was veiy initable and abusive
when things were not going right, which will be explained
further along in these pages.

The vessel was repaired sooner than we expected and
was brought back to Lynn, and I was notified that
another meeting would be held ; I was not long in getting
to Lyim, to have a look at the schooner and found all
repaii-s had been done, and it looked lietter than before.
Mr. Hooper was there painting and Dalton was working
on the rigging. He asked me how I liked and 1 replied
that I '.vas very much pleased with what had Ijeen done.
He had the main hatch enlarged, so we could put the
steam launch and dories below, and the schooner was as
strong as ever. He invited me up to supper with him
that evening, and Dalton and his cousin came along with
us — this is the way he fed the boys, sometimes at his house
and somntimes on board, and I wondered how he kept
run of their expenses, as I supposed it would surely come
up in the settlement, but it turned out as I thought it
would, he had kept no account and it was never mentioned.
We had for tea a sample of the tea he was going to buy

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

for US and I considered it very good for cheap tea. Later,
the members began to arrive and we were soon seated,
ready to open the meeting. Mr. Hooper said he wished
to stiite that our secretary, Mr. Hogan, was phiying it
mean — that witliout doubt he was trying to shake the
company, and draw his money out. Mr. Hooper claimed
that the money was forfeited to the company, and so mat-
ter's stood. Mr. Hogan was not present, but was expected,
and we must keep (j^uiet and he would do the tjvlking, for
he thought he could shame him and by so doing prevail on
L. in to stay with us. Hogan soon put in an appearance ;
he was very pale, with a woe-l)egone look, and witli a for-
saken sort of demeanor. He took his seat, the chair rapped
the meeting to order, and the record of the last meeting
was I'ead and approvetl. The chair arose and said, " We
have got quite a push of business to go over to-night, and
the most important part must come up first." He iield in
his liand an itemized account of the work done on the ves-
sel and passed it to the secretary to read, and the amount
of t..3 bill was seven hundred do.iars. After a great deal
of talk and explaining, it was voted on and accepted, then
Mr. Hooper brought up the subject of water casks. He
had been looking at some and thought they would be just
what we wanted ; the membei's asked for some information
regarding water casks, as they had never had any experience,
and wanted to know what constituted a good water cask,
to which Mr. Hooper referred them to me. I told them
that a good water cask was a cask never used for anything
else but water, thnt in buying ctisks you had to be careful
not to be deceived into buying cheap casks, for I had all
tlie experience I wanted in drinking rotten water, and be-
fore I took my seat warned Mr. Hooper to get nothing
but the regular water cask. Mr. Rounds remarked that
he had been a sea-faring man and thought I talked about
right. On a vote being taken it was carried and Mr.

PREPARATION FOR THE CRUISE.

Hooper was to purchase the casks. Mr. Hoo|)er said there
was nothing more to vote on, l)ut he wished all those who
wanted sleeping bags and slieepskin jackets to leave their
names with him, for by ge'^ting a large number he could
get them cheap, — the jackets would l>e made in Lynn and
the sleeping bags and clothes Iwgs made on boanl the
schooner. He could get the canvas a ;d sheepskins cheap ;
hud examined some l)ags in Boston and had a good idea
what style thej- should l)e matlc in, — so we left our names
with him. One memlter. Mr. Rowley, said ho wovdd make
his at home while his Ijrother's would Ih? made on l)oaixl.
We also left our names for Winchester rifles, but were to
go with him to purchase them. The committee on ship
stores was called for and reported progress, and there be-
ing no more business the company adjourned until a special
notitication was received.

Mr. Hogan called for his coat and hat, as he was in a
hurry to go, when Mr. Hooper arose and confronted him,
saying, " Mr. Hogan. I have something to say to you before
you go." Then turning to us, he said, •' Mr. Hogan. here,
is one of the head promoters of this great voyage we are
to take, and he has l)een a hard worker, as you all know,
but he surprised me the other day by asking me to give
him back his money as he had changed his mind and
wanted to stay at home. I don't see how I can give it
l)ack to him, for, accoitling to the aiticles, he has forfeited
that money. I am very sorry, but I can't give him the
money, besides l)eing disappointed. Now I think all you
gentlemen will sustain me in this when you come to read
the articles. I am very sorry but it can't be helped." Mr.
Hogan thought differently ; he thought it could be heli)ed.
He said he was a poor man and it was all the money ne
had and he thought it rightfully belonged to him, and poor
Hogan shed tears. Mr. Hooper explained that if he gave
him the money, he would break the articles and all the

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

rest of the company would be entitled to theira — the only
way he could get his money was to go with us. Hogan
declined and with a very sorrowful countenance withdrew
silently into the shades of night, and bitterly lamented the
day he ever met Mr. Hooper.

As far as I could see, Mr. Hooper was right, for, ac-
cording to tiie articles, Hogan had forfeited his money,
and Mr. Hooper could not break these articles without
risking the loss of the majority of the company, and he
had the vessel on his hands. Mr. Hooper said, " He is
going to make trouble for us. Hogan is a good fellow,
but there is his girl, she is at the bottom of it all, she
don't want him to go and he has given way to her, so I
suppose he will go to law." That subject being dropped,
we talked of having tlie company incorporated, but as no
one present knew what it would cost, we could not pro-
ceed. Our engineer, Mr. Grey, said he was well acquaint-
ed with a lawyer in Boston who would tell him and not
charge him anything, so we thought it a good plan to find
out what it would cost before we took any decided steps
toward incorporation. We talked of the events of the
evening until we tired, and each one of us started for home
with our minds full of Hogan, wondering how it would all
end. I had no real pit}' for him ; I did not want any part
of his money, but he deserved to lose it for he was one of
the head promoters of tiiis scheme which, so far, had made
so much trouble for us.

I anxiously awaited that special notification; it soon
came ; and I went to the last meeting that waj* held in
Lynn. A number of the company were present and every
one was talking of the Hogan case. He iuul engaged a
lawyer who claimed he could get his money for him, —
this is the way the talk ran until the chair rapped to or-
der. The chair appointed a secretary pro tem, and Mr.
Grey took his seat ; the record was read and approved,

PREPARATION FOR THE CRUISE.

and we proceeded to business. The chair said there were
bills to be paid, and as the tenth of November was draw-
ing near, the day on whicli we were to sail, the sooner
they were paid the better. It was voted that Mr. Hooper
be authorized to pay all the bills for the company, then
the committee on ship stores Avas called ; they said they
had the different prices of many different stores, and they
found Blood's in Lynn had figured the lowest ; their re-
port was accepted. Mr. Hooper liad bought the water
casks that would hold two thousand gallons of Avater. He
had fallen short of money and borrowed one hundred dol-
lars of Mr. May, one of the company, and he would Avant
two hundred dollars more as the boys had not paid in. To
this Mr. Rowley arose and said his brother had the money
and he thought Ave could get about five hundred on a
mortgage — of course the vessel was good for it — if the
company agreed to it. We consented that Mr. Hooper
get Avhat money he Avanted from Mr. KoAvley's brother, as
he Avas one of us, and this business Avould not be knoAvn
outside of the company, so Mr. RoAvley Avas notified mat
he Avas Avanted at Mr. Hooper's house on a certain even-
ing on a matter of business. Mr. Hooper notified the
boys they could go to the Globe Manufacturing Co. to
have their measure taken for the jackets, an.' went on
to say that he had found out that Mr. Hogan Avas a crook,
that he had found a man to take his place Avho Avanted to
go with us, and Avanted him to pay his money into his
hands and he could haA'^e the money he had paid into the
company. Mr. Hooper denounced Hogan as a scoundrel
trying to rob this Mr. Ricker of New York. Yes, it Avas
a doAvnright attempt to rob, but it seems Mr. Ricker was
advised not to pay it and escaped a bunco. Mr. Hooper
said further he Avas glad such a man Avas out of the com-
pany. He had known liim for a long time and thouglit
him honest and upright, his judgment had led him astray;

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

in the future he would not know whom to trust. A mo-
tion was put that we elect a new secretary, and Mr. (irey
was named and elected. The new secretary arose and
thanked the memhers for the honor conferred on him and
also stated that he had been to see the steam launch with
Mr. Hooper ; she was a good boat, as far as his judgment
went, but was too small ; that he l)elieved we wanted an-
other launch. Mr. Hooper breathed very hard as he lis-
tened to Mr. Grey, who soon t<Jok his seat. Mr. lieeman
of Boston arose and said he stood in with Mr. (Jrey; that
we wanted another launch was a plain fact and he knew
where he could j)urchase one the same size of the Twin
Sisters and could get it for a great deal less money than
Mr. Hoo|)er was paying for the Twin Sisters, and accord-
ing to what he had heard of the Yukon river there was a
strong current there. This statementdid not set very well
with Mr. Hooper for he began to look very much dis-
turbed, but the sj)eaker stood with a determined look on
his face that meant good business. Mr. Hooper stood
by his ideas that this one launch was enough, that Bee-
man knew nothing of the Yukon river, but I believed
with the engineer that we wanted another launch. At
last Mr. Hooper gave in and said if the company wanted
another launch they could have it. A motion was then
made that Mr. Hooper ■ have the power to authorize any
member to purchase another launch if, after trying the
Twin Sisters, he felt sure we needed another steamboat;
and the question was put and carried. This about ended
the business for the night and we adjourned to meet next
time on the schooner. Mr. Hooiier said he was ready to
collect for the sleeping bags and sheepskin jackets, that
the next day he wanted us to go with him to Boston and
get our rifles. He told me he would get mine for me if
I wished it. I rejjlied that he might; then he gave us the
name of a cheap John where we could get fitted out with

PRKPAKATION FOR THK CRUISE.

oil skins and sea boots which, of course, we needed. So
the meeting ended and we returned to our homes to dream
of our great undertaking.

As the time drew near for us to start on our
voyage for gold, I felt like a man who was voyaging to
another world. What would be the outcome i How
little we knew of the sutt'ering to be experienced on that
long, desolate voyage, but I hoi)ed for the best, for I had
no dread of the voyage. I called on Mr. Hooper at his
home and there mot another one of the company, the
brother of Mr. Rowley, who claimed he had money to
loan. Mr. Hooper was insisting that the loan be made
by Rowley as he was one of the comjjany but the young
Englishman was very careful how he talked, said he had
drawn all of his money and sent it 'ome, but Mr. Hooper
came down on him harder until he owned up he had a
little left but he did not know how much. Mr. Hoo})er
squeezed him again and he said he woidd let him have two
hundred dollars and would take a mortgage on the Twin
Sisters, but did not thank his brother for getting him in
deeper than he had intended. Mr. Hooper arranged with
young Rowley to draw this money and he would have the
mortjrajre all readv for him on a certain date. He feared
trouble from Hogan yet, but otherwise business was
booming. He did not get my rifle for me but gave me
a note to the party he had bought of and as I had to go
to Boston the next day to see some dear friends and bid
them good-by, I bought it and ordered it sent down in the
case with the others. By this time it began to rain hard.
1 went down on Atlantic avenue, which was flooded with
water, and found the place I was looking for, — a sailor's
and tisherraan's outfitting establishment. After getting
what I retjuired I started for Lynn and went on board
the schooner. The tide was high and so was the wind and
the rain was very wet. Mr, Hooi)er was swearing and

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

tearing; Dalton was with him, and some others I don't
remember were trying to haul the vessel down to the end
of the dock — she was moving along as well as could be
expected — and I did not see anything to swear about, but
Mr. Hooper thought a little of this 8i)ice mixed up with
the seaman's vocabulary was more effective on those
about him. When I asked him why he moved the vessel
his answer was such that I refrain from writing it. I
told him I would be down in a few days to help get
ready for sea, then I went home again to await develop-
ments, which soon apj^eared in the sha))e of a letter telling
me that he wanted my help very much, and to come at
once. The next day 1 Avent over and began my duties on
board the Diver. I never saw so much confusion about
a vessel, — there were halliards, sheets and mooring lines,
lying in every direction about the deck. Dalton and
Fred and Rounds Avere there besides a number of men
that I did not know; they had taken the IVin Sisters
on board and i)ut her below and got everything ready for
the Avater casks. We got the deck cleared up after a
fashion, and Avhen supper time came I went below Avith the
rest of the men ; there seemed to be a scanty fare on the
table, but Avhen I inquired I Avas informed that the men
had to buy their own provisions, that it Avasn't ship fare,
but I Avas pressed to stjiy, and did so, making a very good
meal. After supper I Avent up toAvn to see my brothers,
Avho resided in that city, and engaged my meals while I
remained ; they also had a bed Avhich I occupied, not
knoAving Avhen I Avould sleep in another. So I AViis made
quite comfortable for the time being.

The next day the Avater casks arrived, and I set the boys
at work Avashing them out with a stro)ig solution of potash
Avhich Mr. Rounds said would make them clean and sweet ;
they had a strong smell of molasses, Avhich we tried to
Avash out, using hot Avater. While we were working, the

PRBPARATION F'Mt THK CRU18K.

other launch was landed on the wharf, coming, I under-
stood, from I^awrence. The model of this craft did not
take '\ .th me, — the party building her showing some tact
and ingenuity as a carpenter, but his marine architecture
was a faihire, — however, here she was, and we must make
the best of it, so I passed no remarks, for I did not know
whose toes I might be treading on, but thought the boat
and the Avater casks looked like poor business, they could
go together very well. There thej' laid on the capstan of
the wharf, waiting to be put on board and below out of
sight. Four more dories had arrived from (Tloucester,
making a total of thirteen boats.

Mr. Hooper asked me how I would like to stop at Bry-
er's Island on the passage, and I replied I thought it was
a little too far out of our course, but he thought not ; he
said he intended to stop there to get some of Mr. Rounds'
charts, and he had planned to get our potatoes there, as
they were so much cheaper, and fish and sacks for the
coal, of which we were going to take in fifteen tons. He
had sent to his father to have them ready for us when we
arrived there, so it was no use to object, but I thought it
was to show the people what an enterprising young man
he was, whose genius had been obscured by petty preju-
dices, now come down amongst them with his schooner
bound for the shores of gold. I could see that this was
what Mr. Hooper wanted to go to Hr3'er'8 Island for, and
I was not wrong, as was seen afterwards. Next day our
water casks were stowed and filled. I had wet my foot in
the potash when we were washing the casks, and got a bad
burn, but kept at work until we had all the dories below.

Our ship stores began to come down and were taken on
board and stowed as fast as they arrived. That night we
were to hold the last meeting in the cabin of the schooner
to settle up our business. Mr. Hooi^er was there and had
the mortgage of the launch, which I signed £is he directed ;

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD PIKLU8.

there were other nanicH on the papei-s but I did not read
them, for of course they were men of our company, as
they must all sign. Mr. Hooper began to sing and tell
funny stories and wlien some of the men called for order,
lie laughed and made all the noise he coidd, some of the
others joining in with him ; it was useless to try to hold a
meeting and we got disgusted and left the schooner.

When I got down next morning an officer was on board
and the vessel locked to tlie dock with a chain ; Mr. I logaii
had Stopped the vessel until he got his money. A lawyer
was engaged to fight the case, end the war began ; at the
same time there was another constable hanging around in
behalf of the lioston lawyer whom Air. (irey had consult-
ed conoerning getting the company incorporated, so they
were putting it on us in great shape. The wharf Avas
crowded witli spectat4)rs every d.ay, but none were allowed
on board and it was a hard job to keep them back. Anew
suit of sails arrived and we soon had them bent to see how
they would set, but they were too large, no allowance be-
ing made for the stretch in a warm climate, wliere we
would be the most part of our voyage, but they had to go.
Mr. Hooper had sent on board some cordage for halliards
and very little else to take the place of other gear that, of
coui-se, wears out. He had consulted me previously and I
told him to have all the blocks taken down and overhauled
and put new in the place of the old worn out block sheaves,
but when I asked if this had been done he thought the old
would go all right, so I gave up advising liim. I had had
experience of this kind and knew we would have trouble
before the voyage was over. His experience was very
limited, and it was a crime to aiiow such a man to fit out
a vessel for such a voyage wiili seventeen men's lives de-
pending on his bull-headedness and ignorance. Mr. Hooper
came on board the next day, swearing as usual. He had
settled with Hogan and had to pay him his money, so there

PIIEPAKATION KOll THE CKUISK.

ill

was nothing too bad to call him. In the meantime the
Admiral went up to see the niai'siial and tcdd him not to
take the chain off until we were ready to sail, — this scheme
would keep the I Jos ton otiiceraway, — and it worked all rififht.

We wanted to know who was going to cook : we con-
sulted one another as to ahility for holding such a respon-
sible position and founu l)ut one man who couhl cook, and
he was not willing to take the position but would take
his turn with the rest; no one else knew how, so the
matter was dropped until finally a young man who had
worked in a restaurant offered to cook for us, if we would
give him his passage to Alaska. Wc accepted his otter
and soon had him installed as cook of the schooner Diver.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hooper was lighting the land sharks;
the carpenter who got hurt in the blow-up sent in his bill
for injuries received. I don't know in what way he was
blown up but I know we had to pay his bill, and every-
body who could trump up a bill against the schooner
worked it for ail it was vvoi'th. At the head of the wharf
a number of them waited to meet Mr. Hooper when he
came that way, wanting i') know when he was going to
settle. This would drive Air. Hooper almost frantic, and
down to the schooner he would come and look over the
capstan of the wharf to see if the chain was on. Yes, there
it was, holding her hard and fast, they could not get her.
Oh, that safeguard of a chain I Ht woidd come below and
say, " Boys, we must get out of th'.s at once I " and in his
excitement he would curse all thf land sharks for lubbers,
and say he would get the best of them yet ; then he would
dance and sing a little, and finally wind up by singing
some old church piece. Some of our crew began to get
their baggage on board, and would come down on the wharf
to see if there was any work going on, if there was, turn
back up town to enjoy themselves once more amidst lux-
uries that Lynn could abundantly furnish, and with which

TO THE ALASKAN liOLD KIKLDS.

they Honn must part, so of course you could not hlivtne
some of tlieiii if tliev iuduljrcd to excess, and soon had
nia(U! tlio voyufre around the worhl, and eonie home mil-
lionaires, every one of tiiem, and then, — yes, what then i
After all, it was hut the wanderinji; delusion of a mind in
the swim, and next morninj; stcuii reality, — and the old
Diver loomiiifif np tliroiifrli the fo;;, as they hrou<rht down
their arms full of straw to make their heds. I looked at
these men and thou<rht them a (jueer lot. hut perhaps hetr
ter ae(iuaintance would clian<;e my mind. 1 couhl see no
sailors amon<r them, tiiev seemed so out of place, and each
one had a smile on his countenance, as thon<jh he thoufrht
it a very hi*; joke. 'I'his was the day we were to sail, the
10th of Novend)er; seventeen men were treadinf; the deck
of the Diver, imi)atieutly waiting for the word, each of
them acting as though he would like to do something, hut
his contidence was lost in the mysteries of the Diver's rig-
ging, and so thought it hest not to touch anything, for it
might come down, — who knows hut it might after Mr.
Hooper's litting out ',

We went to Ahirhlehead, the clearance port of Lynn.
Mr. Hooper asked nie to act as master of the Diver as he
could not, and I aci^epted. We cleared the vessel for San
Francisco, Cal., got our clearance papers all right and re.
turned home and signed the crew l)y the deputy.

I was master of the schooner Diver, i)ut 1 foresaw trou-
ble ahead in my new position. The navigator and Mr.
Hooper I could «(eo watching me with jealousy in their de-
meanor. Why did i '.icy appoint me master i Because I
was the only navigau r in the company, with the excein
tion of Mr. Rounds, and he, being a Hritish subject, could
not take charge of an American vessel ; there I was, master
of the Diver, but not a bit proud, for it was a responsibil-
ity not to be envied.

I had a berth to myself in the after-cabin ; Mr. Hooper

I'RKPA RATION FOR THK CRUISE.

aii(,l RoundH liiul tlie twn rooms wliicli tliey liiid (tlioscn lin-
t'ore I caiiii' on Itoiird ; Mr. Iloytt was to room with .\Fr.
IIoo|H>r; Mr. liouiuls roomed hy liimselt', and Uu; otlier
berth was o(;ciij)it'd l»y Mr. Stewart, a sturdy son of Mont-
pelier, \'«irmont. There was tlie Admiral, a tall, six-Foot
Do\vn-east<ir, whom I saw knew what kind of [)lank he
was treadinff on ; and there was Carliff, who knew nothinj^
ahoiit a vessel, and was not ashamed to say so, hut wantt^d
to learn, and thonj^ht he would soon make (juite a sailor,
but when you explained to him some of the workinj^s of
the gear, he would say, " Now, what is the philo8oi)liy of
this?" and so he posed himself for arf^ument on everythinj^
from the truck to the keelson. Tiie rest of them kept
aloof, they did not want to learn, or else they were in
hopes by staying back they would give the im[)ression that
they knew enough. This was tlie day we must sail. The
tide came in, the Diver was afloat, but Mi'. Hooper was
not on board; he claimed that business matters were [iress-
ing him hard. He had engaged a tug boat to tow us out,
our line was let go, and the chain that had been our safe-
guard so long was unfastened amid the shouts of the peo-
ple crowding the wharf. The Diver glided silently along,
when very suddenly slie stopped, — this meant she was out
of the channel and stuck in the mud; this was about six
o'clock in the evening, and we would have to wait until
two o'clock next morning before she would float, so we
dropped anchor under foot and the boys began to prepare
to go on shore to finish out the night. There was only
one boat seaworthy, but they managed to get ashore all
right.

I stayed on board with two or three others and kept
ship ; along through the night some of them eanie
down and hailed us but the boat was already on shore and
we did not answer their hail, so they went back and joined
their companions and let the schooner wait for them, while

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

thoy indulged in another schooner that tliey never kept
waiting, but its contents disappeared very rapidly as their
stomachs yawned andexpan«led to each lengthened draught.
Soon, too soon, came the news that the Diver was afloat,
and they gazed on eadi other wondering in their tiret im-
pulse if they should not shout " Hooray I we have floated
her at last." They got it through their nuiddled brains
that the tide had come in and floated the Diver, and they
must go on board, and they began to realize the rocky
waves thty had floated themselves on before they got
down to the tow boat that was waiting to take them <m
board; the boat came alongside with our jubilant friends
and made tliem undei-stand that it was tlie Diver they
must f.o on l)oard, and not the tow boat. There was Mi-s.
lIoo| er, who came tt) see her loved one dej)art,— there were
no jubilant ft'ces in that lot; they were taken IkjIow away
from tlie noise of the crew, a?ul to tiie friends who came
tc» see them off, it was a disgraceful sight. Heie were
the reputable citizens, forming the bone and sinew of our
company, all in a l)eastly state of intoxication, — I had
never seen any woi"se among old sailoi-s, who are suppitsed
to enjoy their last day on shore in a similar way.

'I'he tug boat gave us a hawser and the word was passed,
"weigh anchor," and then thcK was a wild rush for the
end of the Diver we call the l)ow ; they were crowding
and walking over each other's feet, and linally swarmed in
the bow as far as they conbl go without going into the
sea. Yes, this nnist l)e the place to operatr, and simie did
operate with their heads over the vessel's side ; they gave
back to Lynn what they were forbidden to carry away with
them ; after a struggle and two or three getting upset, the
windlass brakes were shipfied and the anchor was raised
without any casualty, and the Diver was towed out of the
harbor. The next onler was given to make sail, " I Joist
the foresail." There was another rush, for there were two

.:j> ■,■■•.

HH^HB

, ■ , ';„...,:-vi.,

' ■

' ■ ■'.

■ i 1

I.KAVINU LYNN, NOl . lO, l8j).

PREPARATION FOR THE CKUISE.

sailors in the crowd that these men attempted to follow,
but it being dark, they followed the wrong man, and came
running aft, chasing one another around the afterhouse,
stumbling over loose ropes tliat happened to lie in their
way, but finally seeing where they were wanted, rushed
down on their fellows like a lot of frightened colts, and
began to pull the fii-st rope they couhl lay their hands on.
I could see that the foresail was hoisted by some one, so I
did not put myself out of the way to find out which
party it was, but I knew it could not In? those who were
hauling on the jil) halliards with the <lown haid fast. The
foresail was up and '* behp- all " was given, then the next
order was "hoist the njainsail." Here was some hard
work for the l>oys ; tiiey were getting pretty well fatigued,
and the mainsail was a heavy sail, so they grasi)ed the
halliards with a grip that meant their courage was gnod
for this one sail, and they struggled and kicked and
stamped on each other's feet, their main effort seem'.ig to
be to get their hands on top,— if it liuit the hands iinder-
neath they were supposed to lK?ar it, this was only a slight
taste of the sailoi-s" woes, so keep on top was their nu)tto :
some poor fellow who was luulerneath would break away
frou) the struggling mass and after a few l»reaths of fresh
air would make a spring for upper liand and catch the
man's hands that were uppermost — perhaps a sore finger — -
then, with a muttered curse, out wouUi c«mie the man with
tlie sore finger with an expression of psiin and disgust on
his counteiiance. " .\ bad place for a sore finger,"* said
I. He admitted that it was, t'le'i tried to get a ludd <»n
some other part where the crowd was not S'* vicious and
was doing no good. The mainsail wa*» u^t ai last and 1
ordered the jib set, after wliid. the tow lH>at whistle*! to
let go the hawsor ; this Ijelag done the tug came alongside
to take those on ah.ore who were not going in the Diver.
The ladies came on deck stricken with irrief : thev seemed

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

to have no hopes of ever meeting their ioved ones again.
Mrs. Hooper clung to lier husband as if she could not let
him go, and with her head on his shoulder whispered to
him what her heart felt, as he supported her over the rail
on to the tow boat deck, while Mi's. Hoytt could not be
comforted ; with her arms around her husband's neck she
sobbed hysterically. Tears came to my eyes at this sad
scene of parting, for I thought of those whom I had left
behjii^ :^nd T stepped beliind the mainmast to better over-
come V itions, when I felt a hand laid on my arm,
and there is Mrs. Hooper's sister standing by my side.
" I came to bid you good-bye, you seem to be alone," said
she, and 1 took the proffered hand. She wished us a safe
and prosperous voyage, and as the towboat called all
aboard, stepped lightly over the rail and the towboat was
gone.

CHAPTER II.

FROM LVNX TO NOVA SCOTIA. — A HEAVY STOHM IS EN-
COUNTERED THROUGH WHICH THE DIVEIl PASSES
SAFELY. — EXPERIENCES OF A SEA-SICK CREW. —
AT ANCHOR AT BRYER's ISLAND.

When tlie towboat cast off the hawser and left us
I betran to look around to sei \vhere we were. Wo
were down oft' little Nahant, with a fair breeze and tide ;
and were soon shaping our course for Thatcher's Island
light. It was getting on towards dajlight and we divided
our men into two watches, port and starboard, and sent
one watch below while the other patrolled the deck with
a fair wind and tide. We were soon outside of the Cape
and siiaped our course for Bryer's Island, N. S. That
morning at breakfast the boys did very Avell, but poor
Ricker was lying on his back in his berth, so sick he could
not hold his head up ; some of the boys had their break-
fast on deck. I could not eat what they placed before me,,
there was too strong a suspit ion of a cook's slush flavored
with rusty kettles, so I turned in for a nap and was soon
fast asleep. I slept until eight bells when I went on deck ;
it was almost a calm ; the sky looked to me as though we
were going to have a change of Avind, the barometer was
falling and the navigator looked uneas3- ; the wind came
in cats-paws with little rain, and the eastern sky began
to look dark and threatening. As the sun went down and
night came on, we took in our light sails and made every-
thing secure for a storm ; putting up our side lights, we
stood ready for whatever came our way, and it seemed as

(41)

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

if something was coming, and coming rapidly too, in tlie
sliai)e of a huge hhick hank that was spreading its length
over the sky, racing down upon us like some great winged
monster. The stars disappeared one by one until the
whole sky was one dark pall and we were enveloped com-
pletely, when out of the l)lackue8s came that moan that
indicates the gale was near us.

"■ Take in the mainsail I " was the order, and the main-
sail was lowered and secured just as the storm l)roke over
us. We had the jibs in and nothing but the foresail
standing, so we hove her to and the little vessel, as she
bounded from billow to billow, dashed the spray high over
us. the rain and the sleet l»eatiug in our faces as we tried
to peer through the density of the night for any danger
that might lie in our path. I looke«l to sec how many
men I iiad, and could see only one dark figure standing by
the foremast holding on to all the ropes he conld get into
.his hands, and the spray wetting him down with every
plunge the Diver made. My watch had all deserted me
but two, one at the wheel and the one away up forward ;
sometime th'ough niy watch this <lark figure began to move
cautiously towards me. " Is this you, Mr. Winchester/ "'
he said ; and before I couhl answer, he continued, " Now
you juust excuse me for taking the lilierty of addressing
you, l)Ut I always try to do my duty, and when I see a
wrong I like to sjjcak of it. Xow, 1 am no sailor like you,
but I think some of the boys should have stayed up and
given you a chance to go below." The speaker's name
wa.s Carliff ; he had rather a peculiar way of addressing
one ; I was standing holding on to the main rigging with
my liack to the storm and Carliff stood holding onto the
same and facing the weather. " Is there an}' one forward
l>esides you { " " No, sir," he replied, and just as I was
going to tell him to go below and change his wet clothes for
<lr3- ones, a heavy sea struck us just forward of the main

FliOM LYNN TO NOVA SCOTIA.

rigging, completely iimiiersiiig us, and the Diver gave a
heavy lurch to leeward. Poor Carliff let go his hold and
I saw him shooting across the deck, sitting as upright as
a hoy coasting down hill on a shingle, but the termination
was not the same as the hoy's would he, for the deck being
full of water, I could see ( arlitt" wallowing, grabbing and
gasping, until he caught hold of some rigging and raised
himself on his feet; lie clung here a few minutes and
looked around him, as if to make suie he was still on Ijoard
of the Diver, then he began to move toward me, and when
he was in hailing distance 1 told him to go below and put
on dry clothes. " It is not your watch on deck, your watch
is below, my man. Go and get some sleep, you may be
wanted soon," l)Ut he coidd not understand why it was and
what was meant by my saying it was his watch lielow, but
-he was willing to learn, was the last I heard through the
roar of the sea, as he passed along forward and disappeared
down the fore scuttle.

I was cold and hungry but liiere was nothing I could
get to eat, as the cook was sick with the rest, so I nmst
wait for fair weather. Toward daylight the wind blew
heavier and I watched the foresail, with every fibre strained
to its utmost, and though it was a new sail I feared it
would not stsmd much longer. We talked of the feasibil-
ity of reefing it, if we could get our men out to help. I
went forward and down into the forecastle to rouse them.
I called aloud for them to turn out and reef the foresail,
but got no answer, only a stifled groan from some poor
fellow strangling for a bit of fresh air, and trying to hold
down that inward feeling that seemed determined to rise
up in spite of all his exertions. The sight of this place
beggared description. Ten men were lying there, all of
them sick, and the stench that arose was more than I could
stand, and as I felt my stomach begin to give away, I
sprang upon deck and reported to two or three there that

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

we could not hope for any lielp from that part of the ves-
sel. As the vessel was fallhij; off with too much head-
sail, we tliouglit it advisal)le to set the storm try-sail. It
was stowed heiieath the cabin floor so I went l)elow to help
get it on deck, and there lay ])ej)age on tlie cabin floor as
far to leeward as she could throw him, the cuspidore hav-
ing followed him in his slide and now rested under his
head, brimming over with tobacco juice, and he so sick, —
"Take it away, take it away." he moaned, but his plead-
ings were not heeded as we handed up the storm-sail, and
M'ere soon busy l)ending it: that took some time with our
small crowd of workers, but llnally we got it set and tlie
Diver Itegan to head up to the wind and make better
weather.

Tlie storm came down upon us in all its fury, the
mountain-like waves lashed the sides of our sturdy
little craft, and rolled away in seething foam, while blind-
ing sheets of spray fell over us. I was wet and chilled,
uiy boots tilled with water, and my hands benund)ed with
the cold. Some one got me a cup of coffee that I was
very thankful for, and the day broke dismally, for the
storm clouds, dark and unyielding, bore heav}' on us, while
each succeeding wave seemed striving to swallow us up.

The Diver rode out the storm well; our foresail held on,
and as long as that stood, I saw that she was master of the
situation. Mr. Hooper came to me and advised cutting
away the steam launch that was lashed on deck, and letting
her go overboard. He said she was liable to break loose
and would smash up everything. " If we cut her away
she will smash up everything, and she seems to be holding
on well, so I think we will keep her for a time yet," I re-
plied. He said no more, and the launch was saved. To-
ward noon there seemed tobe a change taking place, so we
looked out for a sudden shift of the wind from some other
quarter, and we dearly hoped for a west wind. I felt quite

IN A STORM IN THE BAY OF FLSDY.

FUoM LYiNN TO NOVA 8(M)TIA.

I'oiitideiit that we would j^et it and sure enough the «>;ale
went down and tlie mist Id'oke away in the west, and we
cotdd see the send ha/.in^ across the sky like some great
unny in hasty retreat. We l>egan to make sail on the
Diver, as a fresh westerly wind overtook us and swelled
out our canvas once more to a fair breeze, as we shaped
our course again for Hryer's Island. The sea soon ran.
down and we were sailing along on (|uite smooth water.

^^'e sighted the hills of Matimicus and as Mr. Hooper and
Mr. Rounds were both good pilots in these vvatei-s, — with
clear weather and the wind holding, would soon land us, —
we had a fine night of it, with a clear sky and a good
breeze. Next day we sighted Hryer's Island and went into
the harbor in fine shape and dropped anchor on the oi)po-
site side of the harbor away from the town, for Mr. Hooper
and Mr. Rounds both lived on this side. Mr. Hooper re-
ported no custom house work to do, so the boat was low-
ered and he and Mr. Rounds were set on shore. All the
boys were up on deck now, looking rather thin after their
sickness ; the cook had got his apparatus set in order and
was doing his part as though nothing had happened, in fact,
nothing had happened, so far as they" knew or could tell,,
though they seemed to remember on the night of the
storm that Ryan, who scented danger, raised himself out
of his berth and wanted to know why we did not set out
our signals of distress, then fell back into his berth, which
he began to realize was the best place for Mr. Ryan. This
was all they knew of the storm, so it was not talked of a
great deal.

We were invited on shore on Sunday to see the town
and Mr. Hooper's friends, of whom he had a great m'l; >
We accepted, and passed a very pleasant day ; we called
on his brother who entertained us with some good music
and singing. These men were all fishermen or sailors, or
both ; they had very respectable looking homes and the

TO THE ALASKAN GOIJ» KIKI^DS.

woniiMi were liiinl working and tidy, and uiidei-stood wiiere
to placo til*' small mite to malvo it count most. Wo spent
a very a<j:reeal)lo day tliun returned to the schooner.

I did not feel very easy laying there ; it seemed to me
we ought to lie on our voyage, hut .Mr. Hooper eonhl not
get any potatoes, so he had to send to Varmoutli for them,
and it woidd tjU\e a weelc or ten days. In tiie meantime
we were l)Usy on hoard the Diver; we hrought the dories
upon deck, and put the steam launch into the hold, hut not
before sawing off a |)ortion of one end ; we huilt a hin for
the j)otat()e.s, and got our coal ready to sack, then hegan to
h)ok the Diver over for any hidden ndshaps that the sttirm
had left with us, and we found one which might have Ijccn
quite a serio\is one; un eye holt, two and one-quarter
inches square, that the f(U'e peak halliards lilock had hooked
into, was Itroken half way through, so here were mor»; re-
pairs, hut it was well we found it, for it would not have
hvsted long in another storm. We took it down in order
to get a new one, Imt found wc could not get any on
shore, for they didn't have iron large enough, so we had to
send across the hay to St. John's, proiiahly two weeks
more time to wait.

Mr. Hooper now hegan to hint that it was not a
very safe anchorage for the Diver where she lay, and we
had hetter change over to liryer's Island proper, as it was a
good, safe harhor. I agreed with him there, and at high
tide we got under way, hut found oiir anchor fast to the
bottom, under a rock, and we could not break it out. It
liappened this way: Two or three nights after we arrived
the wind breezed up and blew pretty hard, nndiing quite a
choppy sea ; of course we had anchor watch nights, and I
supjxised it went on regular, but it seems that the men
whose watch it was some time in the middle of the night,
got sick from the rough sea that came in ; there was one
who had never kept watch, and they called on him to take

KltO.M LYNN TO NOVA .SCOTIA.

their places ; this one was Mr. Hyaii. Ilechiimed lie did
nut know how, hiit after a j^reat fnss he <rot out on iiis
feet, put on hia elothe.s, and opening the l)ull\iiead door that
leads into the hold, disappeared into the darkness, stnni-
hlinj^ over harrels and hoxes. At last lie caini! i)a(k and
wanted to know how they expected him to watch the
anchor when he couldn't see it without a light ; wiiy didn't
they give him a lantern i They got him in and explained
he must go on deck and watcii the weather, hut I{yan took
exce[»tions and claimed they said anchor, and nothing
ai)out the weather. He had got a sore shin l)y their di
recting him wrong in the lii-st place, and he t'elt that he had
a clear ea.se against them. " Hold on, Ityan, until we tell
you, you must watch the weather, and if it hlows liaider,
or the Diver should l)reak adrift, you i ust call tlu' old
man." Kyan couldn't .see hut what hiscase would exempt
him from this duty, and so he argued iintil they all fell
asleep, and the Diver hroke adrift, and if her anchor had
not i^aught, we shouhl have gone on ti> a point of rocks,
and that would have heeu the last of the Diver and possi-
hly some of us. Hut now wo must get the anchor up, as
we had hoth main and foresail set. We set the jih, she
filled, and the anchor hroke away, and soon we luul it on
our how, with a had hend in the shank. It was a wondei
we got it, hut it could he straightened or used as it wa.s.

Mr. Hooper and his hrother were to pilot her over to a
safe anchorage, and they stood at the wheel and argued :
" That is as good a place as you can put her." " No, too
near those other vessels." "If I had the say I would anchor
there in deeper water." " No, there is a counter current,
and she will swing into it and foul." Hut they anchored
there, and although we had some trouhle with the strong
currents, it was a very good place. Here Mr. Hooper in-
formed us that they were making arrangements for a hig
-entertainment for us on shore, and we nn he sure and

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

come ; the vessel would stjiy alone idl right, if the weather
was not too had ; he woidd send and let us know when it
woidd tiike place. This made something more for th« boj'S
to talk <yver, besides, we lia;' plenty of visitora looking
over the vessel and at us ; they did not seem to be very
sociable, some not even speaking, but pondering over ever}'
new thng they saw, and seeming to wonder within them-
selves whether this was a li'.iml)Ug or a genuine fact, for
the Yankees are so deuced clever, you know. If rhey had
asked me my opinion about that time, I couid not have
answererl, for it was as much a mystery to me then as in
the beginning, and so it was with these men. Mr. IIooi)er
had .brought something to Bryer's Island for the poople to
wonder over, something that had never l)een before, and
never would be again. Could it l)e possible that this ves-
sel was going around tiie cape to Ahiska ? Some said she
was going fishing,— l)ut there was Captain Hounds, what
of him ? " Oh, I don't believe he is goiuL'."' " Yes, his
wife told Mrs. So and So that he was, for sure, and she
feels very bad over it." " I'm sure I would not want our
A If to go, if there is i)lenty of gold out there. Suppose
anything should hapiien, what then i "' " Well, if Alf
wanted to go, I don't think you could stop him. You can't
blame Mrs. Hounds if her husband wants to go." And so
they gossiped about town every day.

A chicko'i halibut wa.s thrown on our dock by some-
iiivsterious boatuia:?. — I never saw him or his boat, but I
saw a hilihiit come Hying over the mil every day. I
couldn't say he was dead when he ni.rde his tii-st ap|)ear-
ance over the rail, but he wius dead when he struck the-
deck, and as our cook caught hold ol him, he brandisiied a
l)ig knife wlii'-?h he • eld in his hand as though he feared it
would fly back into the sea. We enjoyed our fried halibut,
so fresh and tender, i)Ut our dreams of enchanted fishing
grounds and flying iialibut were bi-ought to an end, as a

FUOM LYNX TO NOVA SCOTIA.

good clean bill was presented, and we had to pay for tJie
luxury that we thought was presented to us througli tlie
good will and wishes of the people. They had won the
hearts of the bojs through their Stomachs, liut the truth
was so sudden it caused a i)anic in the cook's departuient,
when a junk of salt horse was put in soak for the next
meal.

"This is the night of the entertainment, Ikivs. put on
j'our l)est togs. You are to meet iiere the elite ttf I>ryer"s
Island.'' Ryan had a fiddle. This was news. "Couhl
he play '! " Ves, Ryan could play on tlie Hddle. *• Hring
it along, we are ratlier short of artists, an«l you will lielp
us out." Gefjrge had a harmonica and a guitar, and he
would Iielp. too. We dressed for tlie entertainr.ient. I
wore a sheepskin coat, a pair of felt mocassins, ami a white
shirt, with fancy necktie ; the rest were all in similar at-
tire.

We maimed two dories and rowed acrc»ss the chan-
nel — it was a very dark night, and wt- had some tmuhle
finding our way along the shore, getting on ro«*ks. pushing
and tugging to get our lioat along, hut at last a wharf
loomed up through the darkness. It was what we wanunl.

antl

we rowe(

1 our boat alontfsiilc. took lUit our oai-s.

jumped on shore, and took the road fur the [ilace of en-
tertainment. There was no one there to meet us with a
brass band, but we foiuid Mr. Rounds on the mad and fol-
lowed him up to the Temperam-c Hall, lie jKL-sed us in.

and I felt like a big curiosity in a dime show.

-every

bcxh

was looking me over,

an*

1 I

exj

»ec

ted

anv momen

t tl

lev

woidd feel my flesh to see if I was genuine .»r a make-up.
The people were very kind and enter ainiiig : the hall
was decoratiMl with festooned bunting, and a lai-ge Hritish
flag spread on the wall v/here Mr. lloojH>r was to sit. The
aljsence of our Hag was cjuite noticeable to our men, for
we felt that thuy should have decfirated with our tiag out

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

of respect for us, in some part of the hall, but perhaps
they did not know, so we will excuse them. There was a
large number of people, young and old. We stood around
the stove like a lot of school boys in a country school-
house ; perhaps we were trying to keep warm, anyhow we
stood around the stove and grinned at each other, as a few
of the girls came in pairs and tried to draw us out. But
no, we clung together, as though separation meant destruc-
tion, and our courage would almost leave us as we were
charged on by these feminine raidera. No, sir, they could
not have us, but they did get some of the boys and
marched them off, hopeless captives, to show them all the
interesting things in the hall.

I noticed quite a commotion on the other side of the
hall, where the flags were; there was a very long table
covered with a white cloth and spread with eatables, and
here the women congregated ; they seemed to I)e gliding
past each other with noiseless footsteps and whisperings,
smiling through their confidence in tlieir great success, —
they arranged this table for the feast, — and the men stood
around, waiting and watching, with smiles of satisfaction
on their honest faces, for it was their wives and daughters
they saw before them, so diligent in their precepts as they
prepared tliis meal of which we were all to partake, and
which took place in this way : the men were all sent out
of doors and formed in single file, with Mr. Hooper at their
head ; I came next to him. We marched into the hall,
looking neither to the right nor left, and I was seated op-
posite Mr. Hooper, who sat under the British ensign, with
a buxom lass on his right to help bim enjoy the evening's
repast. I began to think I ought to feel slighted ; how
was it they neglected to give me a young lady companion i
Of course I had a wife at home, but so had Mr. Hooper.
Well, I must overlook this gross negligence on their part.

The first coui"se being served, I commenced to eat, — I

FROM LYNN TO NOVA SCOTIA.

could do this without instruction, as the first course was a
clam chowder. This soon vanished, and so did the other
good things that came along, one after another, and as I
began to feel the abundance of that table, I thought it
wise to sit back with those who ha«l showed such wonder-
ful display of forethought, and enjoy the sight of watching
the rest, but supper soon passed over, and the bustle l)egan
of getting ready for tl»e entertainment and arranging the
seats where best t«) look on the stage. The jierformance
began. There was the man with a violin, and a young
lady presiding at the orgtin. For a while we had some
excellent music, then a quartette of singers, and so they
went on until intermission : then DocUir Strongjtrm ajv
proached me with the intention of inti-oducing me to all
the ladies in the hall, but I declined to leave my seat. The
doctor arose and made a speech : he said that I was going
to a eountiy where I would see no females but Esquimo
squaws, and here I had refused a social time, a*< he termed
it, with those of my own race and color. Wh.ii sort of a
man could I be '. And thus he went on, but he faile<l to
touch the festive chord, and gswe it uj ' >rderwas called,
and the entertainment went on, when suUiieuly there was
a pause : not a sound couhl l»e heard: everylxMly he' ' their
breaths, except a poor old kdy, who had a bivl cough, ind
could keep silent no longer : she began to cough in spite
of her determination to keep (lUiet. Now and then we
could hear a giggle from some young miss who had luit
the control over her risibilities, as had some of her more
fortunate friends, but the rest soon caught tlie giggle, and
it became general ; though there was nothing to laugh at,
we all laughed ; my friend who sat next to me brought
out his new red bandanna and wijied tears from his eyes,
and said it was the funniest ^ roceeding he had ever wit-
nessed. Oilier was called and an explanation wtis given.
The reiison of the pause was that Mr. Kyau was on the list

-52

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIRFiDS.

with his fiddle, and they had overlooked him by mistake ;
they were very sorry, but would Mr. Hyan please come for-
ward and give the audience some of his choice solos on his
violin. Mr. Ryan responded with a rush, his face flushed
with excitement ; his hand tifj[htly jj^rasped the neck of
the fiddle, as if it had refused to sound some note, and he
was trying t<i choke it into obedience, while he sawed away
with his bow, — it sounded to me like the recent exhibition
we had just witnessed of the old lady choking for breath.
Mr. Ryan finished up his part with the " Irish washer-
woman," made a stiff bow and dropped out of sight.

The next on the list was George and his harmonica.
George came uj) to the front of the stage and explained
he had left his best harmonica at home, — this was one he
happened to have in his pocket. Fie did not think he
could play on it, but they called out, " Play I I'layl" so
(Jeorge played the " Mocking Bii-d," with a few other
select pieces, and left the stiige. After more singing and
l)laying by the (luartette the entertainment was over, an<l
some of the boys tried to incite othei-s to dance, but danc-
ing was strictly prohibited in that connnnnity, so they
played country plays, with all the laughing, grabbing and
kissing admissible. They soon tired of this sport, and as
the hour drew near for us to depart, the kissing ended, the
exhibition was over for the night, and wc got our coats
and hats, and left the hall for the schooner Diver. Cajitain
Rounds induced me to stay all night at his house, and the
Admiral and I occupied one I)eil. 'bleeping until called by
the captain. We got breakfast, then went on l)oard the
Diver, where we found the boys enjoying a barrel of ap-
ples, and we helped ourselves likewise.

Our potatoes arrived that day and so did the iron work
for the foremast. We filled up our water casks again and
were ready tf) sail. The custom house was deternnncd
that we should enter and clear the port, — wc had laid there

FROM LYNN TO NOVA SCOTIA. M

SO long, — 80 I went on shore and cleared the custom
house. When I returned on board I found the windlass
manned and the men heaving away with a will. The nav-
igator came on board after saying the long farewell to his
friends, we hoisted our sails and were soon out on th&
ocean, pushing our way for the gulf stream.

(•iL\PTi:i{ III.

THE I..»N(i VOYAfiK t'OMMENCKK. — lilNMNC THllOUGH

THE CUM' STHF.AM INTO WAltM WEATHKli. — THE

>IA1) IKXi TAKES COMMAND.— I»K1XKIN(; WATKK

KUX.S SHOUT AM) A STOl' IS MADE To

ItEI'LENlSH THE Sll'l'LY.

The boys looked cresttallen as tliey jra/ed over the
side of the vessel, iiml saw the long roUei's swell larger
and larger, as we advanced further and fiirtlier out on the
old ocean, and I knew the cause of their downcast l(>ok.
Did any of them have a sweetheart the}- were leaving l»e-
hind? No, it was nothing left behind, it was sonietliing
to come they dreaded,— it was that fearful monster, sea-
sickness. Would they have to struggle witii it again, —
remembering the night of the storm, — it was terril)le I I
said, " Boys, if you want to know how to get cured of your
seasickness, it all la^s with yourselves, for you must tight
it. Put on your oil clotlies, make yourselves comfort^xble,
and stay on deck until you are cured. It will pass from
you in a few days and then you will be all right." The
most of the very sick ones did as I suggested, and I pitied
them out in the cold and wet, but I could see they were
fighting and knew they would conquer, but Ricker stayed
in his l)erth IkjIow and was a very sick man.

I went lielow to get some sleep. We had a strong fair
wind and a heavy sea following, which caused our old
craft to do some very heavy rolling. All the cabin folks
were on deck and I thought I was alone, when I lieard

(54)

ill!

THE LON(i VOYAGE COMMENCED.

A
P

Hoiiie one stirring in the next berth. Yes, it nnist he Mr.
Stewart who slept next to the coinpanion Aviiy, and iiad
lain in his hed ever since we had got it rough, so quiet
that I forgot he was there. Now, Mr. .Stewart was not
seasick in the upper half of ins hody, but his legs were
very sick, he could not trust them to l>e al)out deck, so
of eouixe he lay below as long as he could, until the calls
of nature demanded liis instant presence on deck. Mr.
Stewart felt the call and being an old sf)ldier, responded
to his duty, legs or no legs. As I peei)ed out of my l)erth
I saw a head protruding from the other berth ; it was Mr.
Stewart's ; he was looking around as though to take
in the situation, — tliere was determination in tiiat look and
I knew tliat some tiling desperate was to take place. He
had on his hat and overcoat and grasi)ed the side of the
bertli firmly as he twisted his body over the side and was
out sitting upright, and watching his chance. It came. He
arose, made a dasii for the steps, but the Diver took a
heavy lurch from him and precipitated him head foremost
across the floor, through the door of the navigator's room,
and landed him in the berth. He had failed l)ut was not*
beaten, and, determined as ever, made for his own berth
where lie struck in such a forcilde manner that I thought
he was hurt, but not so, for he sat still for a minute and
seemed to change his tactics ; when the Diver rolled uj)
towards him, he made a fresh start for the steps, but
whether the deck came up and met him or he went down
his full length and met the deck, he never could explain,
but there again he sailed across the cabin floor, grasping a
pair of rubber boots that he had overtaken, as a drowning
man catches at a straw ; so Mr. Stewart sailed b»^ck and
forward before he reached those steps — he didn't give up,
but reached the steps and passed upon deck and he told
me afterwards that he thought he walked about five miles
in getting out of the Diver's cabin. Afterwards, in speak-

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIEI-DS.

ing of this, ]\Ir. Hooijpv said tlmt Stewart was a inoiiiliine
eater, and had <(iveii him his hox to keep ; ho had asked
for some siiiee, hut lie tohl him the hox was hist, so this
was tiie cause of his fallin<f around. He was <;oinjj to send
him forward and hrinjf Kicker aft, as IJieker was a sick
man. He made the chaniie and Ricker was jjiven Mr.
Stewart's herth. I never iielieved Mr. Stewart was a mor-
phine eater, and what Mr. lloojjer Jiad said turned out to
l)e untrue.

We crossed the gulf stream without experiencing any
heavy gales, and were soon in the Doldrums, jumpnig up
and down to a short sea, while s(|ualls of wind came from
every point on the conipass. It gave us work reefing and
shaking out again. It was good exercise for the hoys,
teaching them how to handle canvas, and we were very
much in need of men of that class. When we got in the
stormy regions we found we were short of sailoi'S ; out of
eight men in my watch there were hut two sailoi-s, and as
we were having had weather, I had to lay aside my long
coat and lend a hand. I took my trick at the wheel and
helped tie up the gaff topsail and passed the earing and
went out to furl the jih, — the man with me heing the only
sailor on the Diver. I will say for our navigator that he
stood upon the top of the house, out of the water, and
helped tie reef points, — outside of that he never gave a
hand to help in anything, not even at the wheel ; this was
his record all the way through. When we came to reef,
Mr. Hoojier would take the wheel, which was my place, —
but he had heart trouble, so he said, — while Dal ton and I
passed the earing. I began to see the meanness of these
two men, who, with the i)Osition they were holding, would
rather resort to cunning than do their duty, especially in a
case like this ; I could see through their schemes, but some
one had to lead. When we went out on that great, long
bowsprit to furl the jib, we were ducked under, for she

THE LONG VOVAGK COMMKNCKI).

would first raise us liigii in tiic iiir, cliuiriuj; to tlu- slip-
pery pole, then would ilrive head t'oreniost int) the uext
wave, with tlie white t'oain covt'iiui'' our heads, ^urt^liug
into our eain and nostrils; we could not Ljet a ijruath ; she
seemed to hold us there as if enjoyiiij^ the sport, then
would vise ii^iin and shake the water fioin her si(U>s like a
Newfoundland doj^ when he huids after his hath.

The Diver must have heen modelled in ancient times
when our i.dliers invented an apparatus for duckinj,' their
8Cohling»i es. I could realize very forcihly the feelings
of the poor wife as she was forced under the coUl water.

IIKLING TlIK Jl.t

and n-ww again to see her h)rd and master standing on the
bank, with a smile of satisfaction on his hard, cruel face.
It t-ould not have been that she was conquered, but the
reverae, according to my experience in being ducked by
the Diver, but it was the law. However, woman kept on
scolding just the same, until the e\ecutive working liie
machine got tired or died, or perhajs there was a drought
and the pond dried up, anyhow, manhood asserted itself
and woman was the victor, for life would be an intolerable
existence if she didn't scold a little.

Well, the Diver went on, as sportive as ever, until we

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

got l)ol()\v the latitude of the thirtieH, then we l)egan to
have line weatlior, Imt we also fniiiul we iiad veiy l)a(l
water to driiilt. Tiie two old caslvs were used uj), and
wiien we opened one of tlie new we found it in an awful
condition, eovered with i)ahn oil ; the stench made us hohl
our breaths when we drank it ; weeouldnot think Imt hatl
to turn it down in one j^nli), for we eould not tike the
ftecoiid one. I liad iieen with liad water before so I knew
how to tiike my me<lieine, hut the other poor fellows re-
sorted to all kinds of devi(!es to get rid of the taste ; they
used the vine<rar and sujjar freely. When we voted for
vinefjar at our nieetiuff in Lynn, no one wanted any, not
even Mr. Hooper, who never eould bear the taste of it,
but now he was usinj^ it with the rest, and it was soon
gone. He had lime juice in his own cabin, that was enough
for him.

Mr. Hooper had a dog given him in Lynn and three kit-
tens. I objected to their coming on board but he wanted
a dog, and now thdpoor animal was dying of thirst, drink-
ing salt water in preference to the kind of fresh water we
had. The kittens got sick and were thrown overboard ;
the dog was left with a similar fate awaiting him. I saw
at times a wild look in his eyes, as the hot weather in-
creased. One day I was standing by the house with one
of my hands resting on the top ; Fred was behind me phv}-
ing rather roughly with the dog, which he slapped and
pushed away, (lyp — that was the dog's name — gave a
leap for the top of the house, passing over my hand, and
with a sharp bark sped along to the forward part of the
schooner, then turned and ran back, and I saw he frothed
at the mouth, anol at intervals gave a short bark. The cry
of "mad dog"isounded through the schooner. I jumped
on top of the house and looked around for something to
defend myself with, but there was nothing I could reach.
I felt a little unnerved at that moment, standing at bay

;»

THE LONG VOVAOB COMMKNCKD.

r)9

with a 11111(1 (log nifiiij^ towiird iiu;. I could hoh fire in his
eyes. Had iu; Helected iiu? out for a victiiu? Must I
fij,dit tliis ferocioUH heast iMirc-Iiiuidcd '/ \V(Uild he juiiip
for iiiv thntut'/ I ln-act-d iiiyself for tlie foiiiiiij,' conHict.
if 1 only had my jackkiiifo I Soiiu; oiif was on tlat top of
the house witii me, I tiiiiik it was tlat iiavij^'ator, liko my-
self—unarmed. iJiit the dot; ran past the corner of the
house, around uu the otiier side, and as he ran i'orward the
navi<(ator hastened to his caliin for a revolver and car-
tridjres, and was hack on tiie house hei'ore tiie doLf turned
aft. I saw two or three men cliii<;iiit; to the rij^f^infr, — a
good safe place — while the rest were down in tiie fore-
castle with the dooj-s l)arrica(le(l, for iiadn't we a nintineer
on hoard tiiat defied tiie whole siiip's company / The man
at tile wheel was standing on tlie wlicel i)ox and not a
man dared to trust his feet on tlie decks of the Diver.
ISIr. Hounds followed uji the enemy for an advantage.
AfttM' getting on top of the dories his chance came, for as
poor (Jyp paused iK'fore the forecastle door, prohalily
seehing for a friend amongst all that crew, Mr. Hounds
fired. 1 heard CJyp give a yelp, then he came hounding
aft, foaming and liarking, raced around the cal>iii again,
and as he went forward Mr. Hounds gave him another
shot ; and so the dog kept running and Hounds kept on
shooting until he emptied his gun; some of the shots he-
gan to tell for Gyp staggered along aft, ran down into the
•cahin into Mr. Hooper's room, and laid down to die.
Rounds followed him down, fired a l)ullet through his
head, and he was dead. The hoys l)egaii to tuiiihle up on
deck, the cook came aft armed with a chain hook, and
without ceremony hooked (Jyp under the jaw, dragged the
body on deck, and threw him over the rail. When I saw
the dog floating astern, food for the sharks, I could not
help saying, " Poor (iyp," and turned sadly away from the
inanimate form, even if it was only a dog, — and the Diver
sailed on.

TO THE ALASKAN GOl n FIELDS.

Our men were all well except Ricker, who was too weak
to conio oil (leek, " 1 can't stanil the sijriit of water," he
wouhl say, and that was all the satisfaction we couM get
from him. VVc had <rot the trade winds and weiv now
sailin<r amons; the Hying rish, — it is a Iteautiful sijriit to
see acres of then* rise »ip out of the water, their silvery
wings glistening in the sun, and fly frftni crest to crest of
wave and then disui)peur. but not for long: they soon ap-
pear again, for their oid enemy, the dolphin, is amongst
tliem ; he seizes his prcN '"ist as they touch a wave, and so
he feeds day after day, while the flying-Hsh swim and fly

CATl HlMi IIOLPHIN.

(Ill to who krows where, pui'sued every day by tlieir arch-
enemy, the dolphin.

Mr. Hooper l)ronght up the canvas f«)r the sleeping Itags,
Init found he did not have enough s > he had to cut thom
short, and we sat on deck .sewing sleeping i»ags while some
of the men wei-e out or;, the l)owsprit trying to catch dol-
phin, — the bait they used wa.s a piece of white rag with a
little red, — and as tiiis, towed in the water, would skip from
wave to wave in the santn fashion as the flying-lish, a hun-
gry dolphin would sometimes make a mistake and get
hauled 'v\ to the joy of the man but the sad fate of the

THE KONG VOYAGE COMMENCED.

«?1

tlolliliiii. Tlu'V Iiiul heeii unsuccessful in their efforts,
Avlu'ii, one nfteriuton, wlieii the sun wius aUnit scttinjr, a
hirgo school of dolpluii crossed under our l>o\v. The uav-
igiitor was out on the bowsprit trying his luck ; suddenly
I saw the men ruiuiing up in the Ik)w, and I felt sure hy
the struggling of Rounds on the lK)W8prit, and the call for
assistance, that he had hooked a dolphin, and sure enough,
a good fat one was lauded on deck, kicking and flouncing
until the cook came with his l)ig knife an<l ended the suf-
ferings of the first catch. Kounds kept on cateliing until
we had five, then the (h»lphins either liecanie wise and swam
away from the Diver, or the Diver sailed away from them,
I can't say which, hut we got no more, and I don't remem-
ber of seeing any more that voyage. The fish weiv cleaned
and put in the pan, and we had some excellent meals on
tish and plenty of it.

One afternoon, after a hearty <liiuier on dolphin. I \va.H
silting aft sewing away on our canvas, when I was taken
suddenly idind, — all was darkness around me. I arose to
my feet and held on to the rail. I felt a faintne.ss coming
over me, when I was just as suddenly <les|Niiled of my din-
ner, and my eyes opened, — I could see ag-ain. Kvcry man
who had eaten of the <lolphins was sick. Was the lish
poison^ Had it l)een feeding on the cop|ier JMtttom of the
Diver, or perha])s on poor <«yp ■ The symptoms were very
perceptible, and if we ate any njore of this fatal Hsh we
might all run mad and chase each other about the <Ieck
with froth in our mouths and bhiod in «>ur eyes, so t>ver-
board went what remained of the dolphin and the 'uen
soon got over their illness.

Our water grew worse, and as we had lised up all tfie
vinegar and come down to plain water and palm oil, our
s]>irits <lroo)>ed, and we liegan to h>ng fcr rain, but no
rain came. The navigator assured us that umler the
equator we woidd get plenty of ndn in a few tlays. and

(52

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

gave the order to keep a sharp U)okout for St. Paul's rocks.
Cnrliff wanted to know what tliese rocks were doiiifraway
out there, how could it he possihle that rocks were so far
froui land ? The navijjator showed hhn tiie rocks on the
chart and warned him to l)e careful on his lookout. Car-
liti' wanted to know what they looked like. •■« Yctu can't
.see nuich of them," said tlie navijrator, " they arc just a
wash with the sea." Tiicii lie wanted to know what the
reason was they had no li<;ht. '• There is none, for none
can he erected," said the navij^ator.

As nigiit came on and a few of the l>n<rhtest stars jrlit-
t«Me<l tluouirh the soft southern twilii,dit, we saw the Ma-
gellan clouds rising aiiove tiic southern horizon. 'I'hcse
clouds rescmhled the "•milky way": there were two of
them, and when in the Stmits of Magellan they are directly
overhead. The mythical tradition of these clouds is tiiat
they were placed there ity the great Deity to eomnuMnonvte
the wonderful exploits of this great navigator. That
night the most beautiful sight I ever saw was the half hour
we .sailed through phosphorous so thick that it li>okc(l as
though the sea was one sheet of licjuid Hre, l)ut I often
would take a look up north at the familiar stars of o\u'
own temperate /one that were looking down on our native
land. I had a fcelinj> akin to honjcsickncss when I saw
the North Star setting low on the horizon, soon to disap-
pear from sight altogether, and the (ireat Dipper following
close afttM' its leader. The night wore on and eight hells
struck ; the relief watch came on deck, and (^irliff went
on his lookout that night with a special duty on his mind.
Reaching his hody over the knightheads as far as he could,
he |H*ercd steadfastly down into the depths of old ocean
for St. Paul's rocks, and remained in that position until
Mr. Hooper came forward and asked what he was doing.
" I am looking for St. Paul's rocks," he replied. When
the hoys iicard the joke they had a good laugh at Carliff,

THE LONG VOYAGE COMMENCED.

who claimed it was a case of luisplaced confidence in Mr.
Rounds.

The day we crossed the line, twenty- nine days from
Bryer's Island, the navigator apiHjared again amongst the
boys with a telescoi>e, with a hair laid across the lens, and
as they looked thi-ough tliey could see the line as they
crossed it, but, like Carliff, they had lost confidence in Mr.
Rounds, and did not ttike to this kind of a joke. There
was no rain under the line, as Rounds had prophesieil, and
the boys l)egan to show signs of their discontent by blam-
ing Mr. Hooper and his water casks.

The Southern Cross was one of the brilliant sights that
now began to show itself among tlie numerous host of
glittering stars that stud<'.ed the canopy of this southern
night, and we counted, time and again, the number of stars
that formed the cross, but I never felt sure of the convct
ntmiber, and could not tell to-day how many I counted. I
wonder that we could count at all, when a longing for
water and something we could eat was ever foremost in
our thoughts ; yet the Diver saile<l on, carrving us to
what end, wh«) knows i The navigator's ami Mr. Hoojjer's
little side flavoi-s g-ave out, and they were petting sick,
when at last Uounds asked me if I hadn't Itctter nui into
some port and water up. I objecte*! at fii-st, not Itecause I
did not want water myself, but they were the cause of
our having poor water, and I was not a bit sony to see
them getting sick. Finally I agreed to run into Bahia for
water, so we shaped our coui-se for that place, leaving a
fair wind tiiat giive us a day's run of one hundred and
ninety miles : this change helj)ed lengthen our piussage.
We sailed along in Iteautiful weather, and sckhi made the
island of Fernando Noroniah. — this was on Cliristmas day.
Though not like our Christmas at home, we felt overjoyed
at the prospect of soon iiaving plenty of good, pure water
to drink.

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIKLDS.

Tlie isliuul of Fernando Noroniali was a irieat rock, yvo-
triuling I'j) out of the sea, and reniindin<r one of a jriant
cathedral, with a long spire pointing upwards a distiince
of Hve hundred feet. This, indeed, was a wonderful rock ;
there seemed to he hut tiie one landing, a little inlet,
where I could discern a few white cottiigcs. 'I'his island
i)elongs to the Brazilian government, and a penal colony
resides there. As we sailed l>v, Carlift' tried to make a
sketch of the great rock, to show that he iiad seen tiiis
one, if he had missed a sight at St. Paul's, wliich he l)egan

^ ' '"'^ .^W^BS-^.,

THE ISLANU OK KEKNANUO NOKOMAII, DKA/IL,

to helieve was only fiction. We sailed past this ishuid,
and soon I)egan to drop it out of sight, and weie now nt-ar-
iiig IJaliia. On tlie twenty-nintli of tlie montii we entered
t.'ie harbor of All Saints Bay, and anchored under the
fort, which lired a gun at sundown tliat nearly shook off
our hats. Tiie (juarantine Hag was placed on our fore-
cross-trees, and when the doctor got ready he canie on
hoard. Mr. Hooper said that he couhl talk Spanish, so he
was delegated to talk with the doctor, wlio could not speak
or undei-stftud our language. The doctor would not come
on hoard, because the Diver had no gangway steps, but

THK LONG VOYAGK COMMKNCKD.

stood in his Iniat with his trusty l)hicks aiomid him, arnuMl
with ciithisses. He was shown the vessel's jtapers ; "tiie
master's name was Siieems I). Winehist." "No, Winclies-
ter." He tried it again, " Winchistear." The vessel eame
from Lynn, Mass. He could say Lynn, hut the old Bay
State was too nnich for him, and he gave it up, hut where
was it i "In America," answered Mv. Hooper. "l)is
America," said tiie doctor, as he looked around him with
pride on his native home. " Lnited States," we told him,
but his geography was very had, and he did not under-
stand, for he beckoned the men up to the rail, and as lie
looked them over smiled and said, " I am sateesfied."

He pushed off from the vessel, and we were at lil)erty
to go on shore. The boat was put over, and the boys tiled
in until she could carry no more, then they rowed ashore.
It was .surprising to see how (piickly Uicker came up on
his feet, looking as well as any of us, and was the first man
to go f»n shore. Mr. H()oi)er attended to the laisiness, as
he held the nutney. Arrangeuients for taking in water
were made, and the next day we cleaned out the water
casks, getting them into a little better condition than l)e-
fore, and HUed them to running over.

After this work was done I went on shore tt> see the
town ; there were soldiei-s at the fort, and there seemed to
be military demonstration on the shore. We landed at the
Custom House steps, not being allowed to land anywhere
else, and passed ui) through the Custom Ib.use yard, in
front of the Custom House, which was built on the end of
a wharf, and well guarded by soldiers. The streets were
guarded with sohliei-s, ahso. We went to the ship bntkers,
Avhere they could understnnd us, and they told us that
Brazil was having a war, and there had been a battle fought
a few days |)revious, just init^ide of the city, but the rel)els
lost the day, and Mahia was saved. Now I undei-stood
why so niiiny wounded soldiei's were on the street, leaning

> THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

on the arir

I of

a friend or brother.

The l)oy8

made a few -

purchases.

some buying the Bahia hat, a large

hat, conical

8hai)e, plai

ted

out of gmss ; the}

were worn

mostly by

laborei-8, and made an excellent sun hat. I sat around the
ship chandler's, where they were dealing out the native
wine and imported Scotch whiskey, until I got tired, then
went up to see the town.

Bahia is built on the side of a great ridge, and there is
a lower and upper town. The lower town is built after
the quaint idea of old Spanish architecture, ^vithout doors,
but tlie whole end out, so that you can walk right in and
do business. Most of the help was colored, and so were
all the laborei-s that I saw. The water man, with his don-
ke}', with two water kegs slung each side across his back,
supplied the stores with good cool water, the donkey being
the only animal I saw used for working around the street..
Poor little donkey I How he is al)U8ed. I saw some of
them l>eaten without mercy. What a life for this poor
animal ! His only pleasure was his evening meal and rest-
at night.

Wi; saw all we wanted of the lower town, then went to
the upjjer. There was a long road running diagonally up
the side of the hill, built of stone, l)Ut there wsus an ejusier
way of ascension, for here Wiis a great elevator to take
one up for a few millreas. There was plenty of travel on
this elevator, and one could look out on the harbor as he-
swcended and get a splendid view.

The upper town Avas more modern and iiad some fine
buihlings. We went along to tiie American hotel, and sat
for a while l)eneath the shady alcoves of its luxuriant gar-
den and rested. There was nothing more to \ye seen in
Bahia without money, so, after taking a long look at the
harbor, all dotted with ships of every description, we
walked back to the lower town, got our dinner, and went
on l)oard tiie schooner.

THK LONG VOYAGK COMMKXCKD.

♦57

How 1)01111 ti fill tlio cliiiiiile was here .it tliis time o I' year.
Kveiybixly Heeiiied to enjoy tlie best of liealtli, altlioii<.'li
the yelli)W jack was prevalent on hoard the ships, and tiie
doctor's boat was kejtt laisy riiniiiii^r from om; to another.
Quite a numlH'r of small craft, with three or four masts,
(III which was hoisted an oblonjr-shaped sail, seemed to be
very busy carrying fruit. The <lii«r-out canoes were (piite
numerous, i)ein<r used for lisliiu^ about the bay, and I no-
ticed tlu'y set a trawl.

While we were waiting for the stores to come on board.

TKAI1ING Ll'CiliEKS OK IIAHIA, IIKAZIL.

some of the boys tlioujrht they would try a swim: Dalton
startt'd in, followed l»y those who could swim, and thev
seemed to be »'njoyin;r their bath, when Kyan appeared on
the rail. Nt)w, Hyan thought he would do soniethinj,' that
none of tlie others could do, that Wiis to turn a somer-
sault; but he inisjud^'e<l the distance, and struck flat on
the water, with his face downward, and lay motionless for
a minute, then made a slu{,',<rish struifjrle to [tlace himself
ri^'lit, but he had his mouth o|)en, and consequently drew
in a lot of salt water. I was afraid at fii-st. but when he

TO THK ALASKAN OOLD FIKMJS.

Htnu'k out for tlie side of tlic vessel my fetus vanished,
my hopes were realized, luid Hyaii was safe. Tiu; hoys
came on hoard and coiit'Tatulated him on his escape from
u watery grave, and advised him to keep his month eiifsed
whenever he dove under water, l»ut it really was a narrow
escape from a sad accident that would have ended Ins
days.

The next day was the first of January, and as our stores
had come on hoard, and everyhody seemed to have all
they wanted of IJahia, we <fot under way, hove up anchor,
set the foresail ami jih to swinj; her head out, and then

MD'STINr. IHR MA[NSA1I.,

hoisted the mainsail, wh'vh seemed to go u[) heavy and
slow. The i)oys seemed to have forgotteu how to set this
sail, for one would pull while another was fleeting his hold.
I hearil some one suggest resting liefore the sail was half
way up, hut they kept on cross-hauling until the sail was
set, then wondered what made it hoist uji so hard. 'I'heii
liahia hats were now doiuied, making them resemble a
native crew of Brazilians. We sailed out of the Hay of
All Saints, and were soon on the big blue ocean, heading
for the Faulkland Islands. When we got down ofY the
river I'latte we hud u few aciualls, which are always

THE LONii VOYAGK COMMKNCKl).

expected when aldenst of tliat river, ami soon alter
began to feel the chilly \vin<ls t'roiii the south, and cliilly
they wei-e, too. The hoys laid off their Haliia Imta, exeei)t
the man at the wheel, who felt the comfort of its shade
when the sun shone hriglit.

Tiie Diver sailed on, nodding to the sea, and we lav
aroiuid the deck nodding with the schooner, wliich now
and then would send a sjmiy of salt water to wake us up,

would take
ters and

but we
new quar-
soon nod
Thus the
away. It
8Uiiset,an(l
still nod-
thenaviga-
to leeward
" La n d ,
awakened
sense of
a n d w o
our feet at
i n g out
I o t o f
ch)sing tilt!
the sun,
aire a d y

THE MAN AT TIIK WHHRI..

a g a I n .
days wore
was just
w e w e r e
ding, when
tor spniiig
and called.
llo!"This
us to a
d a n g e r .
were all on
once, peer-
amongst a
clouds now
pathway of
whi(;h had
drop pe d

below the horizon, — and it was there that the navigator
pointed out what he called land. At lii-st siglit I said it
was clouds, but tiiey all looked through the glass and
tiiought it was land. I took the glass and looked again,
and saw a cloud resembling land lying low on the horizon,
b\it following it along could see i)etween the horizon and
the edge of the cloud. The mivigator, however, would not
give in, but said the chronometer had thrown us three or

TO TIIK ALASKAN tiOLD FIELDS.

four hundred miles out of ..iir oouiw. Tluit uns pnH.F t(»
mo that I was riylit. for the chionoiin'tor lia<l no crn.rs
i\o\\u t(. Ihihia, and 1 could not htdiev.' it was wroM<^- now,
Imt he- said iw was alnud it was wl■on,i,^ an.l h.- would
tigure on his old course just the same, hut w(.uld keep a
course from this laud Miira,<ve. and with the two he couUl
not ^fo wron<r.

"=nn

CIIAI'TKIJ IV.

Tllltoriill I'lIK STIt.MTS III' MACKM.AN. — A IH'.SKIjrKD

SIIKKI'-KANCH. — DICK SMn(»TIN(i IN A Sll: ANIiK

I, AND. — \\K SKK (INArlKKS AND KXI'I.OIJK

A l'ArA<;nMAN .irM;l,K. — (Hit

KlUST NKWS I'lJoM lld.MK.

I will MOW iiu'iilioii suiiic lit my own tioulilcs, so the
reiuler iiiiiy I'liUv iinderstaiKl uImhU liow I luiiml iiiyscll'
sitiiiiUMJ (III hoard tlu; Diver. It wa.s iiovi'l to me and
.somi'tiiiics comical, for I was si<;iu'd iiiasterot the schooner ;
soiiictimes I was mate and all hands, and there were
times I liad no jttace at all. The men did not understand
tlieditt'erenee hetween u ma-teraiid a iMiatswain'smate. Mr.
Hooper and Rounds were maUino' the iniseliiet'. Hel'ore we
left Lynn, I spoke to .Mr. Hooper ahoiit a naviiration kit,
tellinj^ liim I had none of my own. •> ( )h," said lie, " (hm't
hotiier any more ahout that, for I will hny one fortiie ves-
sel and for you to use." I felt .safe and llioii<rlit no more
ahoiil it, for I kneW'the vessel could not yet aloiiL; without
one, hut I found, afUir we iiad odt to sea, thai lioiiiids had
the only oiitlit, charts and all. and he was so close with
them that I eouhl not even look at a chart. As he owned
it all, what could I .say '. NVhy, say that Captain \Vinche.s-
ter was takint; a voyai^e around the Horn, from I»ryer*s
Island to San Kranei.seo, Cal., witiioiit navigation hook,
.sextant or chart. He did have a compass and eould look
at that as often as he liked, — (|uite a privilejre, I am sure.
What a parajfraph for the San Francisco newspajiers !

1 kei)t dead reekonin<r on a piece of paper that Hounds

(71)

TO THE ALASKAN ()(H,I» KIKLD8.

Itiinu'd ii|) on llit* Hide of llu; nihiii \vlit>iu>v(!v lio felt in
hiiiiior to do so, lint it was iiard for nif to find out wlicru
till' vt'sst'l WHS ; ovciytliini.' was \ni[)\ sinit nji in liis room,
out of si<;lit, and lie i)i!j;au t»» sliow tlie aulliority of mas-
ter of tlio vessi-i, for ho liiunv lie iiad nit! witli my liands
ticil. lie had, in an indirect wuy, captunid tlu; Diver ami
nil liands, with tht' material that Mr. Hooper had placed
in his hands, Imt now Mr. Hooper Itejfiiii to show sijfiis of
jealousy ; aUliouf,di they had heeii such fast friends when
they loft home the friendship had (tooled down, and as I
was the one ho had watched previously, like a lion jealous
of his domain, he now lH'<ran to look on me with more
fav«)r. What Mr. Hooper had planned with Kouiids
eould'not lie undone, for he held the position and Mr.
Hooper knew it. It was only throu<,di me he could niaeh
Hounds, and as I would not uphold Mr. Hooper in his
ehaniriiiK nioods, he tried to worry me aj,niin.

INIr. lloo|>er was losiiij^ j^'round with the men, so he felt,
but could not determine which they took to most, KouikIh
or himself, while I remained a mystery to him. He had
liis favorites anions; the men, whom he would in\u' with
him to Alaska, and leave the hoodlums out. That was the
way he was carryiii;; sail, while every day he j^rew more
suspicions of l{ounds, as he listened to the murmurinj^s of
the crew a^jainst liinis(df for what he had i,'iven them to eat
and to drink durin«f that voyap;. Hounds sympathized
with the crew and their wroii<,'s. and added more fuel to
the tlame when he admiittid that Mr. Hooper was not a
fit president for the company. I a<i;reed with him there, —
he was not a lit president, for was not the eompany split
already, — and I knew that in San Francisco it wouM end
Mr. Hooper and all his designs. Mr. Hooper had not kept
faith with the men, — in the very first, after failing to have
our last meeting in Lynn, he agreed to give us a strict ac-
eouut of expenditures as soon as he got his papei-s and

THUOUOH THK .STUAITS OK MACJKLI.AN.

ilct'ouiitH tiled; this lie would ilu wlu'ii we yfnt t(i sou, liilt lio
failctl to kff|) liis inoiiiisc and knew the men did not liku
it. Ilo Hiiid to nif one diiv it was none of their hastiness
what he did; ho was the only one thitt had the power and
they would find out when we f,'()t to San Franciseo. lie
said many things like tliis to draw nie nut, hut I knew my
man and kept silent.

The Diver sailed on and one tint! day we made the
Faidkland Islands whi>-h we sailed hy ahoiit t'oiir miles
from shore. It was a roek like Fernando Noromah, all hut
the lonj; shaft pointinj,' to the sky ; there were j^ood ehances
for lishin^r hoats to sail through its numerous inlets and
passa^'es. This island is controlled hy the Kn^disli govern-
ment, and on the si<le away from us there was a harhor
and quite a town, where ships ^roiniriU'oiiud the Horn stoi>
for water. The Faulklands soon fatled in mist and wo
to(»k our departurt! lor the Straits of .Ma<^ellan. with a host
of alhatross and cape pii^eon in our wake. The alhatross
can he euuj^ht with a eonunon lish hook and line, halted
with a i>ieee of salt junk, — some of our hoys tried the ex-
periment hut failed, for althoUfi[h the hirds ate the hait,
they were very careful not to take the hook with it, so we
thou,i,dit they must have seen a hook and line before. Their
presence seemed to he an ill omen, tor we had had a head
wind ever since we fell in with them. 1 don't remember
the date we made the Faidklands or the Straits of Magel-
lan, for I am writinir from memoiy and liave no notes to
etu'rect me, l)Ut it was a week iiefore \\v arrived at the
straits and anchoretl on the south point, as there was a
strong current running out and a head wind.

I don't know the distance across the mouth of the straits
hut we could jjlaiidy see the land which was very low and
looked like a stretch of level mai'sh, as far as the eye could
reach. It .seeme<l to he eovered with a coarse sedge grass.
\Ve got under way when tin; llood tide made, with no

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD KIKLDS.

wind, and drifted until liit^li tide. wIkmi wo found ourstdves
ill Starvation Hav. Ileif we lot jro anchor (uitil tlu' next
Hood tide. Tiiis Ixiy is on the l*ata<,'onian side and took
its name from the lir-'i eolony of S|ianish ei"!iiu<^ to the
straits. Tliev loeated in this desolate spot with their fauj-
ilies and stock, out of fear t)f the Indians. Thii'e yeai-s af-
terwards a ship called theiv and found that the colony was
no more ; there was a sli<,d)t suspicion that the Indians had
nnirdered tlieni all. carrvin<j away their cattle and provis-
ions, l»ut on a closer iuvestig-ation it was U-lieved that the
I.idians had stolen all tlieir stock and that they l:.id starved
to death. So this anchoi-.iire was named Sbnvalion i5ay.
Wiiat a sad endin<f for this colony : they had partcil from
friends and home to .seek a f<utune in this new wtu"ld. sci
lately discovered, and j erishe«I thei-e by starvation. — hut
such is the restlessness of spirit that similar fat«'S f^efall the
many every year.

IJut now the Diver is nmler way ajjain ; the ti<le was in
our favor, tlioui,di the wind was not, hut we made sonic
<rood work until the ti<le turned aj^ain. when we found an
anchorage and let drop our hook to wait for tiie next turn.
Hoiimls now wanteil to pilot the vessel throuijh, and I
tlioiiffht it hest to concetle to his wishes, for there was
considerahle dany:er tliiou«,'h this four liiindi-cd miles
stretch of channel, and we jrnve the Imivs warnintf on their
anchor watch nit^ht.s, for we were in tn'achcrous waters.
The land for .seventy-live miles was iiothiiij,' hut low mai'sh
with no simis of trees, hill or hai.iiiioek. hut further alou>;

we liegau to see some nionn

tains with tives

in a

hund;

nice

and n few habitations alonj; tlie shore. We coiihl see also
large flocks of sheep feeiliiiir on the plain and hillside, and
we came to the conclusion that these were sheep ranches.

Ill the afternoon the wintl hseezed up, and the sky
looked very much like a storm from what we couhl see of
it, as we were shut in on !(oth siiles hv the hills and moun-

THROUGH THK STUAIT3 *)F MAOKLLAX.

tains of 'IVrm del Kue<r<> on our port liaiid aiul l*iita<roiiiii
on our starlxmnl. We fnniul a goixl sheltereil place i-allt'd
(iroirorv itay, and there (hoj>|ieil aiuhor: tiie wind contiii-
lu'd t4» l)l(i\v hard, and next day lK*in<r Sunday we ixMuaine<l
at onr anchorage.

\Ve coidd see on sliore a lar<» • 'leep raneli. where they
carried on linsiness on a large scale, for there wciv numer-
ous flocks feeding on the sides of tiiegrecii mountains, nud
<lo\vn near a long stretch of sandy lieacli was a large
Itiiilding usee! as we thought, for storing, and a nunilN-r
of oiithonses, she<ls and fences, l>esides ciittagi'S ftir tlie
workmen. So far w«> had not seen a huinai. l>eing. ami we
In 'Sill to get ready for a trip on shon- to wake them up,
and see if we comM purchase a g<MMl fat lami>. NVe cai-
ried oiu revolvers with ns, iu ea.se we iiiet an eneaiy,
launi'iied one of the doles, ami HtK>ii were stamiing on a
foreign sliore at the other end of tlie world. There weix'
six of Us. and we were a wild Iookiii<; cr«'W. with In'anls

unshaven, hollow (

iH*ek

s and eves.

There was no one at home when we got up to the cot-
tiges. ahout twelve o'ch)ik, ami tiudiug there n»» i«igns of
liospitalitv, we proi-eeded to the superintendent's house.
W'l had to vviAs over a hridge that s|Niuiied a narrow inlet
making in f oni the xea, with a very high liaiik on each
Hide, and as we w<»re asceiiduii; the oiMiosite Imnk we came

hlenl

v on

on with It >

to a mill with a hunrlle on Iuh hack, laxlied
strand of ttvi cordage, and l»y liii* ap|M*araiice,

jud'/in/ from «•, /se gentry we

>ft

en see

iiMue.

slioiiUI sav *ve

I
lia'f uiip^rtheil a *^r»mp xway ilown in Patji-
gonia. What he imagined we were I ean only gi*e(i8. for
he started witU m lo )k of fear in Win t<ye^. and gUnce<l l»e-
hiiid him to sim' if th>' way wai clear for a giHid run. hut
changing his mind, he st"'>d still. prahiMy Wiiinug f.»r the
eiHiiiiiiind of " u|) hands." We tried to itii inth Iiimi. l.ut
he " iK> savvy ;" theti we tried t ■ nmiie him It-el naff with

TO THK ALASKAN OOLl) I'lKI.DS.

IIS. I siiu lu' was iiiietisy and niistniHtl'ul in (lurconiiniiiyr
liut \vi' (■liiiij; to liiiii ; it was our only hope that he talked
l-iiij,'lisli, whicli I knew lie undorstood, and aftera wliilc lie
heeaine inoie reeiMuuled and hnj^an to talk more Kiij^lish,
and we learned that the ranch l)elonged to an Knglish syn-
dicate, hut nil of a suchlon they quit husiness and deseiUul
the ranch ; tlic slicep we saw on tlic mouiitjiiii l)eh)ii^fed
to some other ranch.

That was the j>;ist ol' what wc h'anied, and our hopes of
a j^ood dinner on sliore were sliattered, hut wc went on to
the house, wiiich we t'oiind open, and went in ; everythinj;
was lyiiij; tlu'ie just as they left it, - even the tahh' set,
an I the remnants of what they liad for that meal ; it
htoked just as thouj:h tiiey liad j^one out on the raiicii to
return in the evciiiiiif. In the sittinj^ room was a lieaiitiful
iian^Mii^r lamp, and a line Imrometiu' liiin<; on the wall, and
a set of the international co<le siifjial lia>j;s : the room was
cosy and neat, and tliroii<;h the windows we could view
the watei-s of the straits, with the Diver lyinj; [M'acefiilly
at her moorin;r. Some nieiis wearinj; apparel was han|i,'in<^
on the wall in dirt'erent parts of the iiouse,- iiiid a dmihle-
harrellcd shiili,nin stood lichind the jamh : one room in the
house was used for a store; there were four rooms ii|h
stairs> three of them used lor sleepinj.'' rooms, and the
fourth for revolver practice and feiiciii;u: with the foil ;
there were a pair of tlu;se weapons, with ^rlovcs. mask, and
ammunition for the revolver. On the lirst lloor helow was
also a sleepin;r apartment, well furnished, and here also
was more wearing' apparel.

We wandered over the ranch until we thoui,dit it lime
to L^o on hoard : in the meantime the tramp had slipjicd
awav, and I thoiitrlil to mvscif that this man was not what

he seeme(
Id'come o

I.- 1

ml whal was

he doin^r here alone '. whal had

f (he occupants of the house/ had there Iteeii a
ranehmaiis wm. iuid these people killed or driven from

TIIRorOH THK STKAITS OK >IA(5KM,AN.

'\\

llK'ii" possessMMis '. Tlies*' were my tlious^lits as we sanii-
teivd aloiiji,' the sandy iK'aeli towanl our iHiat, i^»tlieriii«; up
some cni'ious sliells. tliiiikiii;^ liow tlie folks at lioiiie would
value them. N\ e lauiu-heil our Ixiat and rowed for the
scIk ;)ner, and when part of the di.stan«-e was •raine«l saw
three raiicheros on their ponies coniing down the lieni-h as
fast m they eoidd ronie, with an arsenal of |>istols and
knives han<,'in<; at their iM'lts. 'I'liey slmok their lon<r. Imny
arms in tiireateiiinj,' LTestinvs at us, as thoutrii defvini: ns
to hind a<j:ain. 1 did not ivlish the idea, and e\|H'eted at
any moment to hear the l>idlets come sin<rint; around us,
so \\v rowed and rowd hard, until we j;ot on lioard the
Diver, tiien we felt we w«'i\* ahle t»» stand them off. if
they came around to trouble us.

1 think, hy the sudden disap|itMrance of the tramp, that
he iia<l informed the ninchmen of our presence. proU-dily
<rivin<^ an exai,'ijeiaied accoinit of what we wen> doiuij,
an*I our ap|M'ani<n i- as well : this provokiuij their iiv,
they felt it their duty to resist the intrusion, and drive the
i<rnoi»Ie invaders from their shores.

We were soon to leave, however, for next day. with a
fair win»l, we hove up anchor and «iailed out of (Jreijory
hay. shapini; our course for I'onteiincs. or Samly I'oint,
and early that afternoon we anchored. The consul came
on lioanl ami wanted to know \\\\\ we did not tly our tlaj.'.
The reason was we had no |M*unant iiallianls. for what we
iiad used was some old cord line that Mr. lltM^jH'r lind
picked up aliout ilrver's Islanil. lie insisted, and Mr.
Hooper told him that we woidd seit it sihiu. and jum|H'(l
into the Koat and went on shore. I stayed on iMiard. an<l
let Mr. I loo|H>r<;et her throu<rh without a tlai; set, ami after
ahout two hours he returned, and this was the last chance of
j^ettiiiL' provisions until we ivached San Kn»ncisco. What
he lirouifht consisted of half a hu>hel of onions, thive
hushels of potatoes, ami a Iwff of ri«-e. lie hmuirhi the

TO THK ALASKAN (iOLI) KIICLDS.

Iiill of lit-altli with liiin. How lit; iniiiia<;e(l to get it I
iloiit i<ii()\v, liiit lio liiul it, ami we p)t undcM- way with a
fair wind and sailed lor a little river, the name of which 1
have foijL'otten, fiiither alonj^ the coast, where we were to
fill up oMi' water casks ajj^ain.

Some of the men now were almost in open mutiny.
Mr. Hooper a<,'recd to let them have the dory after he
<ume ltack,l»nt instead, the l>oat was hoisted on hoard, and
away we went, liut the men were very an<;ry. We ^ot to
the month of the river that niijht and anchored. The moun-
tains and woodland here were heantiful and <,'reen : lyinjf
alonir the shore, at the month of the riv(!r, wt-re the trunks
<if irrt^at trees, all stripped of their foliatfe, limljs and
iiark, and the siekenini;- white ai)pcaranee of these kin<;8
of the for»'st forced one to ima<,Mne they wore the hleuched
iMtues of some <rreal Icsiathans of the deep, washed up
from the sea. until their numhers tormed this mannuoth
catiicomh. It was shallow water here, and we lay some
distance from the mouth of the livcr; we could only carry
three liarrcis in the boat, so we had to make many trips
to the river liefore we had a sutlicieut supply.

The iirst trip I made ! .saw a thx k of liirds, resemhliufr
the cape pi^'con, on a point of the river, and as the tide
was ciihinif, they waded into ihc water and pecked at
Homethinjr in the sand : I went down to see what it was,
and they all arose on tlie winir, as I thoULdit, to lly away,
lint insteail. tuiiicd and ciicled arnuiid my head with a
whirl that was dcafenin;^', and 1 was afraid ihey woidd at-
tack me, hut they ke|»t out of the reach of my arm, and I
satistied myself they were tishinj,' lor clams. I turned up
the lieach, jjot in oni' Itoat, and rowed up the river to .see
what sights there were up there. 'I'hc rivt-r was fidl of
Kuags that made it diilicnlt U. uavii,'ate- h'.Te was lejrion
of duck, younjf and olil, so tnme, lMnn<r unused to nan,
that we coidd almost catch them with o;ir hands ; the

THHOLMill TIIK STKAITS OK MAGKI.I.AN.

Itovs (lid iiiak<' sitiiic l)rilli;iiit I'lTorts t<» faptiirti a few of
tlu'S(> Itinls, nf wliifli I liail licanl so iiiiicli, Imt never liad
eaUMi, l)Ut jiisl as tliev tliniijifht they litvd tlieiii. ilnwii tliey
would ;;(• : some struck at tlieui witli the oaix, hut the
wiry duek was watcliinif, and tlie oar aud the ihi(di never
met.

When we j^mt tired oi" ehasintj ducks we rowed I'artlier
U|i tlie river, in fact as far as we could yo : all alonjf
its liank was a dense forest. Many iiolile trees were ready
to slide down the liaid< in the j.ext freshet. I>ut I saw none
so large as those lying stretihed on the sand across tlio

I.IIINO (>' I UK KI\KK lOK WATKH.

river's mouth, wiiich h'd me to lielicve that these trees had
IttHMi lying there scores of years. After going up the river
as far as we could, we landed ind crawled up ;he liaid;,
and soon were sitting in the shaoe of the forest, where not
a sound of hird oi- U'ast was heard, and the great silence
seemed unliearalile. Mvown voice sounded strange and
unnatural, ami I missed the fr(>shiu*ss of our own gn^eii
woiwls, — no little w lid (lowers greeted oui sight, nothing
hut these great soudue trees, standing there like silent
witnesses, reciuding every act. those tlwf hriu;; peace and
those that c(»iid«mii. j felt siicll a h«»TTur <d these woods.

TO 'J'JIK ALASKAN (!(»M) KIKI.DS,

that \vc SHOD slid down tlu> liaiik, ^mt into our dorv. tillrd
up our wiitcr liaircls, and licadcd dow n tlic rivi-r.

W'v soon ivaclird llicspot wlit'ii' tlir Divci' was aiitliou'd.
and t'ound the iia\ i^nitor loadiiiir liis sliol cartiidirrH for
next day's sport. Mr. Hooper liati a slioiirun lH'lon{:in<f to
Mr. Stewart tliat lie was j^'ettini; ready, and we expected
soon to l»e l('edin<f on roasted wild durk. Next nmrnini,'
earlv. they went on shore and lie<,'an a slan<,diter aniohLT the
dueks. (It eourse Mr. lloop(>r tried lo oiit^lo .Mr. Ii'nnnds,
hut the navi<fal(U' was well e(| nipped, and liein;,' a Lfood
shot. Mr. Hooper stood no chanci'. as it afterward proved,
fnr when the\ came on iioard they lir<Mi<,diI seventeen
ducks with them, ol which .Mr. lloo{H-r had shot lonr. We
set our piekurs nt work, anri the I'eathei-s wciv flying over
everything lor a while, makini.' it nncond'ortalile Icm the
lookcT-on, hut the savory smell that cann- up I'lom the
i-ook's room dispersed all disay'recahle rcclini.''s, and we
eared hut little how nnich of the down ticw in our nmulh
or nose, when wc thought of the roast duck soon tn In-
oiiix. Diiuier was called, and wc icspoudetl to a man. and
I felt that L'ood tiinos were comin<ray;ain. I took m\ plai-c
at the tahle. hut when I l)e<.MU to eat I was disap|)iiinted.
It that duck luid muIv tasted as ;rood as the savury smdl
from the cook nmixu, I would In' ahle to <;i\c my readers a
lou^ft^r iiccounr ot thut dinner, Imt wc continued catiiii;,
not dariuir to look at one another. 1 said it was very i,'ood.
We wanted to sto|i ealiiijf, at h-ast I di<l, hnt didn't dare,
U-cause I had said it was very <;ood. Why did i say that '.
If I <ould liut recall those words uf untruth ! W(nild
tliex nevei i at up that duck .' There seeuu'd to he nnne
(III (lit* plate now that when wc U-ijan. My eounij,'e at
last ixserled itsell, and I arose and went on deck, a ili-ap-
|Niint«ti man, and 1 uotiicd tlie rest all followed uiy exain-
|iU- : soUH' lit their pipes, hni ootliiu^ was said ahout duck.

Wv jfot our watt'r ca-sks tilled that ilay, and the next wc

TllUnl'Cill THK STRAITS OK MA<iKIJ.AN.

wci<rlic'(l iiiiclior anil saili'tl awiiy. witli fair tific, l>iit licail
winds. I was j,'la<l t<» leiive tliis ancliornj^c to {jfct awav
tVoni tlic sij,'lit (if (luck, liiit wlicii 1 tlioniflit we liad left
tiicin forever, lliev appeared on tlie talile aifain at dinner.
'I'lie lioys were talkini,' tlie matter over and ajrreed tliev
liked dnek,— ^(if ( mirse 1 liad to eat some, Init fonnd it
hard to swallow, — so we had duck for dinner everv day
that week, until the cook one day told ns that was the last
of the duck, and wc would have to eat liakcd heans iind
peas. I did not care what it was he fed us on, so lon^ as
it was nut duck.

Wc were now reacliiiijf out amonj,' the Rocky monn-
lains: the liist hitjli peak 1 saw had what 1 took to lie a
patch of snow near its summit, imt 1 think it was water
fallini( from the jut of a rock intn i <!e;'{i ( Imsm that iiid
it Ironi our siuhl, for siicii is the foiniatinn of these mmni-
tjiins, where the peaks are i<i the st(nni clouds, that there
are ^•reat reservoirs of watev froi i\li>''h How cataracts and
even rivers. ,\s we sailed fiirthev on we heti'an to <H'\
views of >n(iw-ila(l mountains, llioiisands of feet hij,di.
Wc coidd sec the caseade of water leapiuL;- down their
sides, dashintf the white foam in mist no the valley heiow ;
these cascades lookeil like snow, lint the <^hiss showeil us
it was fallinir water, followiujf aloni,' over sleep clills,
down in tin dark cliasms, appearing a^raiu on a slope and
rushin^f to the hrink of its termination, then leaping
wildlv in mid-air, and landine' in an ahyss id' foam in the
\;'llcy liclow, where it, found its lex el as it t,didi;d in s-m-
pentine track to the waters of the straits.

I stood and looked in wonder and awe at these stU|)en-
dons works of nature. We could see the top of .Mt. lUaiic
with its snowy (test, a loiiif distance ahead, and so we
sadeil on, wonderiuir what would ho the noxt wonder to
jxreet our vision, when the ;flacier came into view, and this
was something dilTerent from anything we had yet seen.

TO Till", ALAHKAN (JOI-D KIKI.DS.

Ilt'ic was ji yipiiitic IcoIhtj,' l.viii^ on tlie side of tlic iikhiii-
tiiin, — I slimild jiiilijf this ict- (<> lie fiv« liiiiulnMl I'eet
tliifk,- iiiiil tlirmi>fli tin- iflass we (Miiild st-c tlic! layt'is of
ice tliiit liail lit'fii made cvfiv winter. Makiii;.'' a mii^di
;j:iit'ss. I slioidd say tlit it' were two Imiidicd laytTs, witii-
oiit t'xay:j,'t'i!itioii. Tiiis ifivat luastcrpii'tc of nature iiad
erected itself on tlie top of the inniintain uliere the snows
i)f all tiiese winters had stmnied on its sunnnit, until it
had lieconie of siieli enormous dimensions that its founda-
tion was no lonvf«'r al)le to sustain its wt'ii,dit,aiid tlie earth
yave way and down it slid, — not as one mii.dit imagine
with liijhtninu' speed, ovei' idcks and trees, and tinally
niassini;' itself in the rocky nulch hetwcen the two moun-
tains, hut with an imperceptihle movement downward,
like some i;ieat mammoth en-epiuif liovard its prey, crush-
ing e\< rythinir iu the path, like the wheels of the jui;yer-
naul. No life exists where it has passed over and year
after year this yreat. inanimate destroyer moves dow nward
toW'irds its end in the rodcy \ale that lies lielow. like Iwn
fj'rcat open jaws, e\ CI', ready, ever waitinL^ to receive (his
icy monster that sits perched on the Nlippcry peaks o|' the
cliH's ahoNc. When the eml will • ome, I kimw not. li
will he one of the sij^rlits I shall never see.

We sailed on and after passini: this >;reat wonder. Iie-
L,Mii tol'Mik for others. After makinj;- fast for the nieht
in a snue ancliora<;t^ in seven fathoms of wat4'r. we fmind
another wonder, and that "vas keljK My reinh-rs may have
seen a sea-plant on the h. ach, ahout six m' ei<fht inches in
width with milled ed^'es and a louir round stock; it i^rows
in oiu" waU rs aluiiit twelve feet lon<,^ hut the.se wi-re cuie
hundred and lifty feet, if not lon^i-r. 'I'lie hoys went to
slee|i satislied with w hat they had seen that (hiy. While
our little craft lay in the shadows of darkness, ensiirouded
hy the lofty mountains. I looked down in the still waters
and could see their nut;hty peaks, like louyiies of sea ser-

THROUdM TIIK STKAIT8 OV MAGKM.AN.

K.\

pcnts diirtiii^', (liirtinj^ ddwiiward, hh if tostiiijf. As some
coniinotion was inatUi in tlic wattT, our craft Inokcd like a
ininiatiirc playlxtat anioii^fst tlicso iui<rlity dilVs. tiiat now
rosu oil every siiU'. Soiuetiint's we aiiiiosl scciiumI to Itc
l<M'ke(l ill, lull as we proceedeil on our course, an o|K(iiiii;^
would appear and so we picked oiir way, day after day.

Ah we left our aiicliorajfe next iiiorniii},' and stood out of
tlio liarlior, we noticed another sclinoner coiniiiif our way,
l»ut we were not near eiioii^'li to speak. Wo soon came
up to Mt. IMaiic, tlie lii<,diest peak in the straits,- risiiifr
to forty-three hundred feet : liere on its summit was per-
petual snow and over it liunjr the storm (loud of winter, —
storms without end, ever smiwin^', ev(!r i>iowiii<,'. Looking,'
throii<.di the ffjaas we could see the fri_t>;idness of a cold
winter's day. while down in the valley was the hot sultri-
ness of summer, in rohes of ^ficeii foliaLjeand heauliful wild
flowers. Ihen; seemed to he no hirds in these woods, the
only thintr wearing' feathers that seemed to cliii<;tous now
was the peii;;uin, remindiii<r me of the loon ; it had no
win<;s to lly with and could not walk on the land, its home
lieinjf in the sea. When close to our vessel's side it would
swim, with only its heail out of water, and dive at the
least cause of alarm.

W'e w(;re niakiii;^ our way now for an aiu'lionirje, the
name of which I have foiirottcii. hut all of the vessels that
passed throu^di tin; straits stopped there for water. W'c
were not suic of rcachiiin' there lieforc night, and it was
daujferous to run into an aiichoiaLrc after dark. W'c had
all our canvas spread and the Diver was hcadiiii; along
with excellent speed, hut as wc drew near it iiecame so
dark that we could not see the little island that was oiii-
landmark, so made a miss and had to iiii! out, iait headed
her in again, and this time having a Iteticr lay of the land,
anchored all right. This was risky work in these sliange
watei's ; althoui.di the shores were Ixdd, we did not know

TO TIIK ALASKAN (i()I.I» KIKI.DS.

where llit'ic mi^'lit lie .some (slmrp |>nnii,' iit' a rock liiddcii
lieneatli the water, iva<l\ to |(ierre our vessels side. W'e
saw wreeks of vessels on our wav throu<,'h, and were eare-
I'ul to a Fault for fear we niijrhl share their fate.

We lay again in the shathtwy gloom of mountains, and
setting our unelior wateli, turned in until liriglit morning
appeared, and tlie gloomy shadows I'adeil awaiy. We found
ourselves in a harhor witli a little island or the peak of u
roctk protruding altove the surface of the waters; it had
gathered its verdui'e from the main land and with »)n(! or
two trees in its center, might lie called an island. I could
see pieeeH of board nailed across these trees at all angles,
reminding one of the guith- hoards on a country road.

'I'he wind was blowing (piite strong that UKMiiiug so we
(lid not land, hut I could see in hack of tlie island a large
sheet of water, an<l uj) through the valley was a glacier of
(|uite large dimensions, from which ran a stream of fresh
water, aiwl on a point that maile out toward us was a ftMice.
I looked and pondered over that fence, wondering who huilt
it or what it was huilt for, hut could find no solution. That
day the arrival of another schooner at the anehorage with
two (piarters of fresh heef triced up in her forerigging,
awoke in us a kind of friendly feeling, and we felt a visit
to that stranger might work mira<'les, so we sat on hoard
of our own salted ciiift, gazing wistfidly over the rail at
the toothsome morsel strung up so temptingly before our
eyes; we realized plaiidy that it was not ours but wondered
if we could get any. The next day, the wind and weather
permitting, Mr. Hooper took four or live of the men and
armed with ritles, they landed with the intention of as-
eending the mountain as hir as the glacier. The navigator
went on board the newcomer and I began to look around
for some place to speiiil the day, so the Admiral, lioytt
and I planned to take a stroll on shore after dinner. The
dory came back from the other schooner with the naviga-

'rHI{<)l(ill TIIK HIKAITH OK M A(ir.l,I,AN.

toi', wild iiit'oriiu'd iiu^ llmt wt- cnuld L'xchaiijfi' some nlOiir
suit muatfnr I'liwlj. I rciulily asHciilcd ami lie liuanU'd tlic
straiii.'tM' a;,f«iii, wliicli, out <»!' lici' aliiiiiilaiirc, scut iis a
liiiid (|Uartt'r of lit'td' lor a IVw |Miiiiids ot salt incut. 'Ihis
liccf was soon triced up in nur fore rii,'jfini,', ready lor the
(iook'w l)ij( knife \vhen»'vcr desired, and we sat down to
dinn«'r to a <;(tod lieef stew.

After dinner I ordercil tlie dory ulon<rsid((, und taking'
my rille, jnm|ied in witli .\dmirul and lloytt, the dory wuh
CUHt off, and the hoys pnlltMl tor the shore. We |)assod liy
tiie little ishuKl und lunded on the muin shore to take a
stroll throuifh the woods across the peninsular to the inlet
on tlu- opposite side, and after taking' onr hearinj^s, we
(dii.'hed the hank and plunged into the dense forest of
inider^Mowth, of which I almost despuir of <;ivintf my
readeix u true deHcription. When we had cmerj^ed from a
tunirled mass of reeds and thorns. \vv seemed to have
found hetter tnivellinjf ; with the exception of a few fallen
trees, the way uppeared easy, when the Admirul, who |ire-
ceded nie a few feet, ull of a sudden tlLsappeured. lie
was a tall six-footer, ami the last I saw of him was his
hand, holdinj^ the ritle hi^di up in the air, while with his
other hand Im clutclu'd wildly at nothinj;, for there was
nothinj; to sustain him, and wtiut down out of si<;ht.

" Poor Adnnral I ** I thoujjfht. *• lie wasn't a had fellow
after ull, what sad ncnvs for Lynn," and I ere[)t carefully
on toward the place where I lust saw him, und peered
down through u mass of hroken limits und moss, und there
was tlu^ Admirul mukinjr un etVort to tind his wuy out
throuffh an underirround [)ussu|(e. The meuns of his sud-
den exit wus caused l»y the (tld windfulls, yearn u^o, lo(l<r-
ing t'()'\r or Hvc; feet uhove the <rround, and formin<r a re<:-
ilar 1.1 iwork, over which vines and the thick moss of that
t >'iiitrv , with other shruhbery, had jifrown ; the fallen trees
hud In^'onie so decuyed that they would crund)le away at

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

'/..

1.0

I.I

1.25

■4^128

u£ 1^ nil
t 1^

1.8

U il.6

<?:

Photographic

Sdences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(7U j 872-4503

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

the touch, ami we were deceived l)v this tieaclierous
crust, takinjj it for tlie irround ]»r(»per, and the consecjuence
was poor Admiral broke tlu(iu<,'h, Imt we could travel in
this uiiderjifrouml tnuk until we readied the otlier side,
and there was no danger of irettinir hurt, for the moss
covered evervthing ami was as soft as featliers. An olil
stump wouM fall into dust if you guxe it a kick, i)eautiful
wild floweis were growing on long, cree})ing vines, and
l)erries that weiv strange t<» me. so I did not eat.

We came out of this Patagonian jungle on to a clear
l)lain, and l)efoi-e us w:»n the iniet of bright water 1\ ing
along the foot of the mountJiin. like some great mirror,
reflecting all ti»at came liefoi-e its surface, iind tliere, some
distance to our right, was tiie i»oint and fence. We
walked around the head of this inlet, and found a deep
running stream crmfronting us, which we followed along the
bank to find a place to fonl. l»ut after an hour's crawling
and eliml)ing through the vine-covered bushes that lined
its I)ank. we gave up our search and letraced our way to
the siiore of the iidet. where we found tliree of our men
in the <lory g-atheriug mussels, of which they had tilled a
flour barrel. We saw Mr. H<ioper and his men across on
tlie point, where the fence was built, so we got into the
dory and crossed over, and found them enjoying them-
selves eating roasted mussels. They were lying in an old
shed built of ynAes ami Inush, the roof covered with
lioughs and dirt, making a goiMl shelter. 1 was invited to
partake, and fouml tlie mussels <|uite a luxuiy.

I told Mr. llo«n»er about the tleal we had made that
morning, after lie left, and a sulky scowl clouded his
face as he steadied his voice and asked who made the trade,
I or Mr. Hoiimls. I told him Mr. Kounds ; then he flew
into a passion, ami siii«l Hounds was trying to undermine
him. he was going to leave the vessel and get work on a
ranch, and so he ranibletl on. The dory had gone oft' to

THROUGH THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN.

tlie schooner with one load, aiid had now returned for us.
Mr. Hooper, in his mad jealousy, Avas really undermining
iiiinself, for when tiie boys saw liow displeased he became
I)ecause we had got fresh meat, even refusing to eat it at
supper tliat nigiit, tliey felt disgusted, and I could not help
but feel tiiat he was carrying it a little too far, so I did
not really care whether he left or not. That evening he
asked me to call all hands aft in the cai)in, for lie wanted
to hear from their own lips whether they wanted him any
lo'iger or not. I did as requested, and a few of the boys
responded. I turned in, because I felt ashamed for him,
when he stood up and said that there was a party trying
to run his part of the company, and it looked as though
this party was trying to run him out, and he wanted to
know if they wished him to stay or not, for he would
leave tlie vessel if they so desired. ]Mr. Stewart replied
that he thought it wisest for Mr. Hooper to stay with us,
as this was rather a rocky looking country to go ranching
in, and he thought the rest of the boys were of his senti-
ments. This speech let Mr. Hooper out of a small place,
for he did not intend to leave, but he was quieting down
and wanted an excuse for h's tantrums. The boys went
back to their bunks, and I slept, and I guess Mr. Hooi»er
did.

Next day was Sunday, and there was another surprise
for us, for there lying near us was the steamer New Eng-
land, a fine iron boat from Boston, that had come to the
anchorage sometime during the night. We hailed this
vision with delight, for we knew we would get the latest
news from home. About ten o'clock that day ^Ir. Hooper
came on deck dressed in his best togs and invited me to
go on board the New England with him. I had just at
that moment brought up from the cook room a dish of
steamed mussels, and its pleasing aroma created in me a
strong desire to stay. Although I should have visited the

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

steamer out of courtesy, I could not go with Mr. Hooper
and listen to his decei)tive liarangue to the stranger, so he
went without me, accompanied by a few of the men.

As this was to he our last da}' here, I got two of the
men and the dory, put in two Avater barrels, and went on
siiore to tiike a good look around. We landiHl at the
fence, for there was a stream running down through a
dee[) ravine from the foot of the glacier, and the fence
was l)uilt from where the deep gorge ended down to the
water. On the njiland it was built of l)rusli so thick that
no beast of any size could penetrate it, and from there out
on the point split rails were used ; the camp I mentioned
was on the bank, and a few feet further in was an open-
ing. ]\Iy theory about this fence was that it was built to
trap deer, for when they came down from the mountain to
drink, the gorge being too steep for them, thej' would
come down on the level, and there was the fence which
they would follow along until they came to the opening
and go t)u'ouo:h. Then the watchful hunter saw his
game, and made his onslaught with spears or clubs, — I do
not suggest a gun, for it pr()bal)ly was tlie work of Indians,
as no whites lived within hundreds of miles, and with high
rocky mountiiins to climb they were not likely to come so
far hunting.

It was getting daik, and I told the l)oys to push the
dory well uj) in the stream and fill our barrels ; while this
was l)eing done, I took my rifle and walked down on the
point, and was just opposite the oi)ening when I heard a
sudden crash in the woods, at the same time one of the
men called my name. I had turned around and raised my
rifle to my shoulder at the first ilarn;, watching the open-
ing, not knowing what would come through, man or beast.
The men in the boat, like myself, were somewhat excited,
and I bade them hurry, while I held my rifle ready to use at
a moment's warning. It seemed as if they never would get

THROUGH THK STKAIT8 OF MAGKLLAN. S&

those biinels Hlled. In the gloomy sha(h)ws of the trees I
could fancy some wild beast ready to sjjring on the men in
the dory, wiio were throwinj; water now like a hand-tub
at a firemen's picnic. 1 fancied I saw forms of men
stealthily moving toward us, and could hardly refrain
from shooting my rifle at an old dead tree that I took for
a Patagonian Indian in all his war featiiei's. I had watched
this old tree so long that my imagination got the better of
my eyesight, and I could see his tierce, bloodshot eyes
glaring at me through the thick brusii with canuibalistic
fury, but when the boys shoved the dory down stream the
spell was broken, and I saw an old tree, with the top
broken off, stripped of its limbs and bark ; it might
well be called a mirage or optical illusion, whichever you
choose. I got into the dor>' with my rifle pointed over the
stern, for I could not give up the idea that there was dan-
ger in the woods, and the boys rowed hard for the vessel,
but we always thought that it was some living thing that
we had heard in those woods.

We got on board the Diver and found the Captain o
the New England there, spinning some good yarns to Mr.
Hooper and Rounds and one or two of the men, while his
boat's crew, with our men standing around them on deck,
told of the latest news from home ; they told to eager lis-
teneis of the clouds of war gathering over our land, and
the quick response of our citizens at the call for troops;
how the Maine and her crew Avere lost through the treach-
ery of hot-headed Si)ain, and now we were going to fight, —
yes, Spain would have to suffer for this dastardly, coward-
ly act, — that was all thej could tell and I longed for the
evening papers at home to read the news that night.

INTO TIIK PACIFIC. — \VK MAKK Oil! SLKKl'IXO HA(iS,

AM) KI>'I) THIOM TOO SMALL. — PRACTICAL ,)OKKS

(»N liOAIilt. — Koon AM) WATKIi (iKT S("AKCK. —

COLLISION NAHKOWLV AVOlDKD. — Al!-

KIVAL AT SAN KKANCISCO.

The New Knirland went out bomul for San Francisco,
and the next day we got under way, in company with the
other schoonei", and kept togetiier all that day. 1 learned
from her captain that she was an old English yacht with
her canvas reduced to that of a coaster, and she sailed
well ; she was owned by the British Minister of the Faulk-
land Islands, and they traded through the straits, and in
the season for seals went poaching and made a great deal
of money ; the captain was a German and had lived in
this country fifteen years ; there was a large inland sea
where most of the ranching and farming was done and
that was where he traded mostly.

The narrow entrance led in from the straits witli steep
walls of gray rocky mountains on each side, on whicii there
was no soil, conse<|uently nothing grew there, but down in
the gulches was the regular foliage of that country. As
we neared the Pacific, the mountains became a sombre
gray and the weather was (!old and chilly, and as we came to
Tuesday Bay, the last anchorage in the straits on the Terra
del Fuego coast, we had a dread of the old Pacific. We
anchored at Tuesday Bay, a little round place scooped out
of the solid rock, so it ^\'as pof)r holding ground, and we

(90)

INTO TlIK PACIFIC.

(lid not feel siife tliere ; this place was full of wild duck
and tliere was another slaugliter by Kounds and Hooper.
These ducks were very lar<fe, l)Ut when we came to
eat them, they were so rank that it was useless to try.

We kept a sharp lookout that nif,dit and very early next
morning got under way ; the wind came fair and hehl us
until we had made a good otling and we hade farewell to
the snow-capped mountains and cool springs of fresh water
and wild diu'k. We were now heading for Frisco and as
the high grey coast line melted away in an atmosphere of the
same somi)re color, the sun sank into a hank of hlack clouds
rising up out of the west, and the wind died down to a
calm.

The navigator worried over an imaginary panorama of
storms and tornadoes, with the Diver on the treacherous
reefs and the boys all struggling for a foothold on slippery
rocks; our strength would fail us and we would hope-
lessly fall back into the angry surf, to be ground to
death on the sharp, hard rocks, — no one would live to tell
the fate of the Diver and her crew. This is the way our
navigator rambled on, and I thought it imprudent of him
to talk so before a crew of landsmen.

That night the black bank became broken clouds drift-
ing away southward, while we got a fresh breeze from the
north that brought the old schooner's bow up to it again,
and she began her old business nodding and we began to
realize that we would soon be biking our usual bath out
on the end of the long bowsprit, tying up the jib. After
a few days of this head wind, we got the wind from the
northeast which freshened up into a gale ; we went through
the preliminaries of shortening sail, took our bath like
men who believed it a part of their destiny, and hove the
schooner to imder stormtrysail and f(H'esail, but she did
not lay close enough, so we payed out fifteen fathoms of
hemp hawser on our weather bow. This did not have the

TO THK ALASKAN OOl.D B'IKI-DS.

desired ett'ectt so we took it on l)oai(l iiguiii iind rode the
storm out as i)est we could, tiie {jjale finally fio'mg down
to a Ciilni and a liea<l wind coming' in its stead.

With all sails set, we headed up for Frisco as near as
we couhl. Kicker ha<l <rone to hed again, after we came
out of the straits, to die it out the rest of the voyage.
We were on an allowance of one ([uart of water per (hiy
and had begun to ligure on our eatables ; the black sugar
was gone and we weie drawing heavily on the molasses;
our oil barrel was nearly empty ; our pork, beans and tlour
were getting h)w ; we had a few barrels of rotten beef to
count on and some rice ; our potatoes and bhick coffee were
gone, and the crew did not hesitate to denounce lloojjer,
whenever they met at the table, in terms that were not
Hattering and not pleasant to listen to. Hounds joined the
men in denouncing Hooper, as they were now the bitterest
enemies. Hooper had a spy among the men who carried
the news to him, — the boys knew there was a traitor in
eami) but coukl not locate him. We found out in Frisco
that Mclvenna was the man and a good mate for Hooper.
There was no harmony now on board the Diver.

We had the southeast trades but they were very light
indeed, and we couhl count but a few miles on the log each
day. While we were having this fine weather, we worked
on our sleeping bags Until they were finished, and the fun
came when we tried them on, for they were not long enough
to cover us projjcrly and the Admiral's, especially, fell very
short of his length ; he could not coil his six feet inside of
the bag, let him double up in any way he could think of,
and when standing it came even with his shoulders.

Admiral looked disgusted, and after making a desperate
effort to utilize the bag and failing, spoke his little piece,
not using very choice language as he rolled it up and put
it away for an indefinite period, when he would unroll it
again and think of the day he tried it on with all our

INTO THK PACIFIC.

lim<,'liiiig faces ai-ouiul liiin, and wonder what part of the
World wo were in, little knowiiij; tliiMi that we would he
scattered like sheep on our arrival in San I'^rancisco. We
cannot see the future, and it is well for our peace of mind.

I hegan to feel we nnist do some work on hoard of the
Diver to make her presentahle when we arrived in Frisco,
so Dalton and 1 serapeil and slushed her simus and painted
aloft, and that was all the work 1 could get out of him.
II o o p e r
p a i n t e d
deck, and
well, all
rigging,
hardly a
tling on it ;
had to
alone, and
weeks o f
working,

One of
ful sights I
aloft was
porpoise
toward us ;
was very
porpo ise
jump their

above the surface, throwing the water high in ripples and
foam as they splashed in again ; the guns were got ready
for a shot at them, for we were now after everything wo
thought we could eat, hut they became suspicious of the
Diver and turned off to starboard. These porpoise were
marked different from any I had ever seen, — some were
striped white and black, and some white and black spots, —
they were a pretty sight. We were infested witli molly
hawks, a large sea bird, nearly the size of the albatross,

THE AllMlRAL TKYINd ON HIS SLEEl'lNG-DAG.

a n d I
alxjut the
she looked
but her
which had
whole rat-
this job I
work out
after some
d i lige n t
linislKid.
the iteauti-
saw from
a school of
c o m i n g
the water
smooth, the
w o u 1 d
full length

TO TIIK ALASKAN (i(>M> KIKLDS.

wliicli cuutiiiiiiilh' t'nlldWiMl US iiiid would liitc our liook.s
and Ik' |)ulh'd on ImkihI as often as \vc let tliein out aj,'ain.
Tlicrc \v«T»' schools of lionita, oi Spanish inackcM'cl, s\\ ini-
niiny; arouml ns, hnt \v»' only hooked (Uic which weij^dicd
ahout ten jjonnds an<l was a welcome nnirsel to our men,
who needed some fivsh fo<Ml, Itul the rest of the tish were
shy and wouhl not Ik* enuj,dit.

Some of the iniys lia<I their heds under the dories, a
very cool place, irettiny; the fresh hreeze to lull them to
sleep, and from \ie\v they could watch the tlyinj^ tish as
they came on Inranl nii^hts, and when they heard the tlap-
pinj; of the little fish «m ileck, there would i)tf a rfen(M'al
rush, and the man {jetiinif the body of the tish, e"'en if the
winirs were torn of!" was considered lucky, for it was very
tender and tfoo»l eatinj;, and iielped us out with our allow-
ance of htavy hread and sour molasses for our breakfast.

The men had i-efuseil to do anything more than the
necessary work of sailiMg the sciiooner, and they pnt tlniir
time into playing tricks on each other. Hooper was in this
game, as it suited his disposition to see others in trou-
ble. He carried it on with a high hand, and I expected to
see him caught in some of his own tricks and get a good
thmshing. ( )ne of the tricks was taking a man's clothes
when he was asleep. stutHng then) to make a dunnny man
and then put it alongside of the sleeper, who, when he
awoke, generally kicke«l it out of his berth, but felt more
like kicking the man who played the trick, when he dis-
(M)vered it was his ftwn clothes he was maltieating in such
a manner. One day, when McKeinia was tiiking his fore-
noon watch lH?neath the dory, IIooi)er got his oil clothes
and made a dununy and put it to bed with him ; when
seven bells rang out for the watch below to turn out to din-
ner, all eyes were turned' towards the dory; perhaps they
expected to see the dories rise up and break their lashings,
and McKenna and his dummy put in their appearance like

INTO TIIK I'ACII'IC.

a iiiiidiiuiii, Itiit us it liiippciHMl llic (liiiiiiiiy ciiiiio (Hit liist
t'lom niitler till! (loi'v iiiid 11 imiiiltiT ol' tlic men stuiMl liy
and iravc it si kick, ulii;ii McKt'iiiiii criiwlt'd mit very ivaI
in tin; tact;, t'nr altlioii,t>li lie liked to play tricks, lie did not
care to have tlieiii playc*! on him ; when ho saw the
l)oys kicking and bnttinir the poor duiniiiy, lit; joined in
the niorrinu'iil and seized on the tlmnniy to throw it over-
hoard, tliinkiii"^' tilt; clothes were Ryan's, l)iit when ini'inined
that they w.iv his own, he l»e<j:aii to show tt;nipei' antl
saiil he would lick the man il' he knew who it was.

MAI S UIMMV HED-KKr.I.dW,

" Why," said he, " I came near throwing my own oil clothes
overboartl."

Some of the hoys kept him hot all that day, and when he
learned that Hooper was the man he could say no moi'e, —
his great friend IIt)i>per hatl played this trick that nearly
cost him a suit of oil clothes, lie never could overlook
it. Hooper thought that McKenna ought to take a joke
tlmt he played with lietter humor, so their friendshi[), being
strained to this pitch, Hooper had to look art)untl for a
new confidant, and as I was the only neutral just then, he
began to tell his troubles tti nie, anil wanted rae to take
the navigating kit from Rounds, so he could turn him for-

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

ward. He said he would do it if I would naviiriite the
siliooner the rest of the voyajje. I made but one answer
and that was, '* Rounds is a good naviirator," hut he said
that I{o»inds was not sailing the vessel on the right track
and had got her in liglit trade winds, when, if he had gone
right, we would have had good fresh trades ; " besides," he
said, "• Rounds is trying to get the Ijest of nie Avith the
men, he wants to be president of the coniitany wh'en we
get in Frisco." »• You may rest assured that Rounds will
never be president of this company." was my answer, for
I knew there would be no company for a i)resident, when
we arrived, though I did not tell him so, but let him feel
that ho was safe and there was no danger from a usurper.

The Diver moved sluggishly along, with a light wind
directly over our stern, with only the mainsail doing any
good ; our foresail was jil)ing from port to stari)oard, and
consequently helped very little: our jibs were hauled down
and hanging loose on the bowsprit. We were racing with
the sun, for it was approaching the line, and so were we,
and our desire was to cross first and get tlie l)eneHt of the
good l)ree7,e which would die out if the sun crossed ahead
of us. We were still mile.s away to the south and our
provisions were running out: the cook wms feetling us on
fritters, the batter being mixed with salt water, and the
sour molasses went very well when they were placed on
the tal)le for l)reakfast or su[>j)er, there l>eing nothing on
our bill of fare for dinner. Tiie lioys would ask Imw many
and the answer would genenilly be six, or sometimes as
high as nine, then eacii would take his allowance and i)er-
haps save one for noon time, when we could get a cup of
hot tea, of wliich we had a plenty, and call it a scpiare meal.

There was a great cry for water, for we were down on a
pint allowance ; some would drink theirs up in the morn-
ing, while others went without until noon, then a drop on
our parched tongues and throats only crealc<l a desire for

INTO THE PACIFIC. 97

iiioiv, ''lit we kept some for the night also, and this was
tlie Wiiy we passed the days and nights. Tiie hot sun all
day ln'i.t down ui)on us its tiercest ia3's, scorching our poor
half-starved hfidies, tormenting our fevered flesh, until we
felt we could drink the ocean dry, if it was only fresh wa-
ter. Poor Mr. Stewart stood it like a hero, not murmur-
ing, i)!it accepting thankfully what he could get, until one
night some one drank his allowance of water ; then he said
if he knew the man wiio did it, he would put a bullet
through him, for his ire was aroused to a high pitch. All
hands were mustered together and Hooper gave them a
pointer in law that claimed it to be a serious affair to steal
a man's allowance. .Mr. Stewart's bottle was filled again
and lie claimed it would be serious for the man if he was
caught stealing his water again, and carried a loaded re-
volver to bed with him every night. I had my suspicions
of a certii'u man who, although he could read the law, was
none too good to take it himself, for he wouhl drink up
his own allowance and then go around i)egging of the men
for a drink.

We were getting up near the line, and the Diver was
almost becalmed, the water around us was dotted with
molly hawks, which seemed to follow in our wake, like
l)inls of ill-omon, and as 1 looked at them I wished they
would leave us, for our destiny seemed ominous. As the
days passed their numbei's increased ; at night they would
leave us, dropping silently away, always swimming, l)ut the
early morning l)roiight them in our wake again, — the
Diver could not get away from them, but flapped her sails
and rattled the booms, as now and then a stray block
shea .e got weary of its perch, left its shell, and darted
down on our heads, or halliards parting let the peak drop,
or the throat to run down, peaking it up like a lateen sail :
l)ut the birds did not scare, and we scarcely had the strength
to go aloft an«l repair damages. For some reason or other

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

the bovs refrained from shootinsj; these birds. Hooper
fired at a shark and hit him in the head, so he dro[>ped
astern, and we saw no uioi-e of him.

So the days and nights wore ou drearilj-. I was tired
of watching the Southern Cross, and longed to see the
North Star ap{>ear aliove tiie horizon, but the Diver fanned
along with light winds that tarried us across the line,
where we got a head wind, and hannnered away at it again
for a few days, when the wind clianged and we got a good
breeze from the s«iuthwaitl. We headed on our coui-se
again, keeping a good lookout day and night for a sail, in
hopes of getting .<ouie relief.

Ever since Carliff wjis warned of St. Paul's rocks, he
had kept watching incessantly for any new danger that
might present itself, suid one day, after looking over the
bow for some new discovery, he called the navigator's at-
tention to the fact that one of the planks had sprung off
from the Diver's liow. Rounds looked and saw the thick
piece of sheet iron that covei-s a portion of her bow to
keei> the anchor stack fnmi chafing the wood, lie exi)lained
to Carliff. who wished to have his ignorance excused, say-
ing, *• 1 never Sijw it there Itefore : I am one of the kind
that, when I see anytliing that I don't undei-stand, I want
to report it to somelxxly. I ho[)e you will excuse me. I
<lon't know much about vessels, but I am willing to learn,"
and [)oor Carliff rambled on in this way until Hounds
made his escaj»e down lielow.

We were not burning our side lights now, our oil l)eing
nearly used up, liut they were all ready to light and put
up in case of a sail Ijeing sighted. Hooper ran his watch
with two men on the lookout, one on each bow, and as he
was a great hand t*> sleep himself, iiis watch on fine nights
foUowedhis example, with no one Itutthe man attlie wheel
dozing away hLs limiteil time, while now and then he would
look down the com|>anionway at the clock to call out the

THERE CAME NEAR BEING A COI LISION.

INTO THE PACIFIC.

liells iis they came along — the only thing to keep him
awake. One fine night, a.s Ryan and Caiiift" were on the
lookout, — I don't know how it happened, for they Itoth
claimed to have lieen awake, — Mr. Stewart came on
deck and happened to see a green light on our port how,
close ahoard. lie notified Carliff, who rushed down into
the forecastle, got the port light, and hegan to clind) up
the starhoard rigging, with Mr. Stewart holding him on to
the rigging, while Ryan held on to Stewart. Hooper
awoke and kei)t the vessel off to cross our niglit visitor's
bow, which proved to he a large three-master, with star-
l)oard tacks ahoard, and had the right of way, for we were
running with tlie wind free. Hooper got Carliff riglited
after we were out of danger, but he insisted on putting
the light u[), because he had undertaken the job; he want-
ed to see it through. Carliff was peculiar in his ideas of
seamanshi[), and had to be humored, so he set the light up
in tlie port rigging, and then said he was ready to take it
down if Hooper said so. Carliff could never luiderstiind
the discii)line of our craft. We had a narrow escape from
collision, one of the dangers of tlie sea, wdiich can mc.st
always be avoided if the officer of the watch is awake
and attending to his duty, then tlie lookout would kee)) on
his feet and attend to his.

Our fair wind ran out, and after a day of variables we
got the nortlieast trades, which brouglit tlie old Diver un-
dei taut bowline, and as it blew pretty strong v,e iiad quite
a chop of a .sea. and she began to waslk in lier old manner.
We could Ti./t carry liglit sails, and it was just as well, for
the old gatt' topsail was a mass of rags, and our balloon
jil» was not much better. We had run down the Soutiiern
Cross, but not the molly hawks, and had raised the Gicat
Dipper. I began to feel a little more encouraged, for we
were nearing tlie bottom of the last barrel of flour, whicii
was graliam, and so bad that the cook gave up cooking

100

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

fritters, and iiiacle it into a loaf that had a good crust over
it, but inside a mass of dougli ; the loaf was cut up in pieces
about four inches scpiarc, — this was each man's whack to
last him all day. We had opened the good cask of water,
and as the weather was cooler, got along very well on our
pint. We met at the table at the usniil time of eating,
and eiich man unfolded fi'oni a piece of white cloth his
luncheon of raw dough, cutting it in thin slices, and laying
it on top of the stove to burn a crust, then, Avith sour mo-
lasses and a cup of tea, we made ourselves believe that
we were satisfied with our meal. Sometimes, in spite of
this sad sttate, we laughed and joked as we rolled up what
we had left for the next meal, and placing it in our pistol
pocket for safe keeping, turned in, or went on deck, if our
duty called us there. Poor Ricker had to come out of his
bed and walk after his portion, and I saw he was not afraid
of the sea in a case of something to eat.

I told Hooper to carry all the f.ail she would bear in his
watch, for we must drive her into Frisco before the famine
came, that I saw was inevitable. Our raw dough was
gone, and we were feeding on part of a barrel of hard bis-
cuit, over which the cook had spilled some kerosene oil,
and even these would not last long, and our molasses, too,
was gone. We had run out of the trades and were getting
a very good slant along towards i)ort, now under the stars
of our own northern clime, that seemed to twinkle softly
down on us ; probably it was through our sad condition
that they did not appear as bright as when we last saw
them on the broad Atlantic. We were now nearing the
land, and the breeze we got was fair, and the Direr was
bowling along, with everything drawing free.

The order was passed to keep a sharp lookout for the
Golden Gate light. The wind freshened, and dark gloomy
clouds enveloped the sky, the sea was toppling on board,
and Rounds wanted to heave her to, after a big sea boarded

INTO THK PACIFIC.

101

lis over the stern, sliakiiijr tilings np in that (pmrter gener-
ally ; but no, wo wanted to make that light, and kept on
running. Soon the cry of " Light, ho ! " eanie from the
lookout, and we knew we would soon enter the Clolden
(Jate, where some of our dreams of delitaous feasts would
he realized. We ran up to the entrance and were sig-
nalled by a pilot, who Hashed a light on us as we lay Itart-
ly becalmed under the eliffs, but we did not answer, for
Hounds couhl take her in, and with a light morning air
we sailed up the hay and cast anchor in the Custom House
roads, furled our sails neatly for the last time, and l»egan
to look around at the sights of the harbor. I <lid not care
about eating the two or three crackers I had left out of
the fourteen 1 got as my share, two or three days before,
when we divided u[) the last barrel, for we were now in
the land of i)lenty.

We arrived on the seventeenth of April, making the
passage in live months and seven days. After this lengthy
voyage we were ready for most anything.

There was no need of our being short of provisions on
the voyage, for there were nine humU'ed dollars that Hooper
had left at home with his wife. The trij) to Hryer's Island,
where we lay two weeks, eating up the stores, hurt us
sadly on the voyage, and this was the fault of Hooper and
Rounds, for they phmned this extra trip, because they
lived there. Then again, the men were unmanageable in
this line. I could not get a system for dealing the food
out properly to cook ; the cook was green as regards the
system on shipboard, and conseciuently cooked whatever
the men told him to ; there was also a waste of provis-
ions that we could not check, for, as I have been told since,
many a loaf of bread went into the sea because it was
a little heavy, — no unusual thing at sea, — and because the
men growled. The cook, being a good-natured fellow,
tried to please everybody. He was cooking for his i)assage

Pacific N. W. History DepJ.

PROVINCIAL LIBRARY
VICTORIA. B. C.

102

TO THK ALASKAN (lOLD FIKLDS.

to Alaska, so tfu^y kept liiiu in hot wiitiT about all the
tiiiui. We hud no storeroom to keep our provisions in,
evervthinj^ stood out open and could he dipped into hy
any one as otk-n as desired. Hooper had the raisins and
dried fruit looked up aft, and he ate these up himself, with
lloiuids' help. After readiufj; this, you ran judfjfe for
yourself the eause of o\ir starvation.

.McKenna had heen sick in his bed for a week with a
slight fever, caused, 1 suppose, from lack of nourislnnent,
but he came on deck when the doctor's Itoat came along-
side, and passed among the rest all right, and so did Hicker.
The dory was put over, and a load of our men went on
shore, — Mr. Stewart and I remained, — the two liartletts
got rooms, and so did ^IcKenna, IIoo])er and Kyan. Hooper
came back to go with me to the ('ustom Ilcuise ; I got the
vessel's papers from him, and went up to be (juestioned
about our stops on the voyage, and here a bad blunder had
been made. When the doctor came on board Hooper and
Rounds answered his questions when I was not i)resent,
and my answers in the Custom House did not coincide
with theiis, so, of course, there was trouble. The* officer
said it n)ight cost him his position, for the doctor was
looking for just such chances to catch them making mis-
takes, and I was advised to get a (Custom House broker,
who could probably get me out of it. I procured a broker,
and went through all right.

This ended all business with the vessel in that line, and
I was free from ilooper and Rounds, both of whom showed
authority which they did not have, for they were both
signed on the articles as seamen ; this was a little secret
of theirs that they had kept very close, for Hooper had
signed ihe ci'ew, acting as my agent, and I had never read
the crew list, as he kept the papers. I never knew his
rightful station on board, although I gave him charge of a
watch, and I never knew until I gave him his discharge
what he and Rounds had fc'gned.

!i :.

INTO THK PACIFIC.

108

Hooper came on board one day and wanted the men to
get up the hvunch, the hows of which we had sawed off in
order to get iier heh)W, and repair her at once, hut the men
on hoard could not he induced to to\ich it, hecause tlie
rest were on shore, and they were not willing to do it, so
nothing was done. Hooper's reason for this hurry was
that he liad met Hcenum and Rowley, who had been wait^
ing in Frisco two or three weeks for the vessel to arrive.
Beeinan was the one who had bought this launch for the
company, and Hooper claimed tiiat he was not authorized
to buy it, and intended to throw her on Heeman's hands.
When they met they had some hard words, but the launch
did not get repaired.

(•IIAI'TKR VI.

ON SIIOIIK AT LAST. — rNsl'CCKSSIM I. ATTICMI'TS "( t sy.LL

TIIK lUVKK. — ll«Nil>KI('s KASCAMTV I»I.S«'L()SKI). —

THE VKSSKI. AT I,KN»;TII DISI'dSKli oK AXn

FIVK <>K IS EMIIAI.'K ON TIIK IMA-

TILLA K<tl{ SKATTLK.

The fn-st day on slioi-e 1 jrot a jrood iiieixl, and 1 can say
for Frisco i-estaunints tliat they are most exceUcnt, and it
does not take one's hust nickel to hny a meal. We went to
the market and oiileivd meat and <rr()cerics for the schoon-
er, and every one ir«»t all the fresh stulf he wanted and was
happy.

After I left Hooper. I went np to see IJeeman. I had
to stay all nijrht to cat<li him, l)ut I wanted to hear from
onr side, what they weiv <rt)in^ to do; he siir[)rised me
by telling me that there was a lien Hied on the Diver, hy
the engineer, for the amount of n)oney he paid in. Hee-
man did not want to talk to me at Hrst, because some of
the men had come on shoi-e and said 1 was a Hooper man,
but when I assured him that it was not the case, he began
to talk. It seemed that he and Rowley had been some
time in Seattle, sizing things \\\), as he i)Ut it, before he
came to Frisco, but he would not tell nnich about Seattle,
and I saw plainly his reason afterwards. The engineer
had come direct to Frisco and placed the records of all
meetings held by the company in the hands of Lawyer
Abbott, Ix^sides giving him power of attorney to act as sec-
retary in his place, after tiling a lien for his money, for

('04)

ON SHOKK AT FiAST. 106

(Jiey knew all iilHiut Hooper iiiid snid he wiis not to lit!
tnistod iiiul ill' would not <ro to Aliiska uiider liini. He
wiiH nuiniiij,' ii locomotive on some sliort line ontsi le of
Frisco, so we never met him.

lieeman got np a paper, to l)e sijrned l)y the men and
presented to Hooper, asking him to c(mie to a settlement;
this paper was sijjned hy all except McKeiina and he re-
fused l»y sneaking' (»nt and sayinjr he would see him aj^ain
us he wanted time to consider, so they let him ju'o at that.
Tlie paper was handed to Hooper, and a meetinjr called to
he held iu the lawyer's otlice the next afternoon. We met
prom|)tly and placed the Admiral in the chair as president
])ro tem, as Hooper was the man on trial ami our husiness
was all with him. Hooper stated that his papers were not
ready for a settlement yet, and wanted further time, which
was frraiited. We found the Admiral could till the chair
in f^ood shai)e, and it was voted that I procure a tug and
dn(dc the schooner ; this was all that could he done at this
meetin<r, so we a<l,iourned with the [)ros[u!ct of soon meet-
ing a"ain. I went on shore next moriiinjr to tind a herth
of some sort, where we could Vw, nndisturhed, and I found
one just astern of lUa(d<lmrn's vessel, the Hattie L. Phil-
li|)s. I got a tug and soon had the Diver moored to a
wharf. The next day another meeting was held, and a
conunittee appointed to tind out where we could sell or the
names of i)arties who would be liable to bny the schooner.
We did not have the authority to sell. The Admiral, my-
self, Hounds, Hartlett and Beeman were on this conunittee
and the meeting adjourned with the agreement that any
one of us, who so desired, had the power to call a meeting
and the call would be respected.

Admiral and Dulton asked me if I intended to leave. I
answered that I did. This was before the meeting, and
.Admiral said they wanted me to take the vessel np to
Alaska for them ; they held out some flattering induce-

100

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

nients and said after we got rid of a cei lain member of our
company evervthing would l)e moi-e |)leasant. I told them
no, I would not sail on the Diver again or any otiier ves-
sel that carried Hooper and Rounds. They said Hooper
would have nothing to do with nie, and almost insisted on
my going; then I knew that Rounds was the one they in-
tendfd to drop, but I thought of all Hooper's meanness
and told them it was no iise, for the same old trouijle
would come up again and [)robably end in murder, and I
believe to-day it was better for that c<jinpany to scatter, as
they did. I knew that it would take more money than
we had to take the schooner out of port, for it would cost
four hundred doUai-s or more to make her seaworthy, and
we had the lien to pay off Ijesides lawyers' fees and ex-
penses, and then Ht her out with provisions. Where was
our money coming from '. They evidently knew nothing
of the lien as yet.

The conuuittee met in front of the Call building, a great
towering structure, eight or ten stories high, every Hoor
fitted for otlices, with the elevator landing on each floor,
besides a wide, convenient stairway : it was new and had
not l)een occui»ied very long: it took its name, I think,
from the San Fnmcisco Call, a daily paper of wide-s[)read
fame and notoriety, which was printed in the lower part
of the building. Up three flights was Lawyer Abl)ott's
oftice. I saw plainly enough that he held our destiny, he
could sweep the schooner from us and we would not realize
a nickel out of all we had, and as the (H»inmittec divided
in pail's to execute their duty as directed by the company,
I wcmdered if we would have the pleasure of selling our
own vessel.

Judge Abbott was a kind, good-hearted man, but he was
a lawyer, and I felt doubtful of his leniency ; at times, it
is true, he invited ns to use his oflice without reiinl)urse-
meut, though Hooixjr and his friends said that we would

ON 8H0KE AT LAST. 107

have to jja}^ if we used it Hooper wanted to hold meet-
ings in his room, where he could have full sway, I)ut we
understood him and stayed with the lawyer.

The committee went all over the water front with poor
resul.'-'. We couhl not do business with any \y.ivty we
met, because we isad not the power to sell, and after wast-
ing a day in tliis useless hunt, we met and notified the
company of another meeting to be held next day at which
they voted us power to sell the vessel at the best of our
ability. Then Hooper, in order to handicap us, claimed
we ought to get five thousand dollars for her, when I
knew that three thousand cash would be a large sum at
that time of year. I underst<iod there was no demand for
vessels, as it was late, and tliere was no call for one of our
size for they had no trade to put her in and the season
was too far advanced to get a summer's work out of her ;
however, tlie committee met next morning and talked over
what had passed in the meeting, and Rounds whimperetl
because he could not do as Hooper had suggested, but we
made uj) our minds to jjlease no particular one l)ut sell to
the higiiest bidder, and started off with a determination to
find a buyer, agreeing to meet at noon and report. Fred
Hartlett and I visited the office of a large Alaska fishing
firm, and Captain Harriraan, a former acquaintance, l)eing
a junior member of the firm, met us there, and we sat in
the office and tiilked of the Diver's great qualities. Her
h)ng voyage through the sti-aits was a recommendation
tliat they co\dd not denv, but they claimed she was too
small foi' their business. I saw we could not sell to tliera
at our price, for they were waituig for her to be sold at
auction and would try their luck tliere. I was suriirised
when they told me this ; thev knew all about the tijjht
straits we were in, and although I put on a bold front,
they seemed to know all our business and I think could
have told how many coins I had in my pocket and the date
of each one.

108

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIEI DS.

We left them feeling tlisgiisted with oui-selves, and as
it was near noi»n entered a restaurant and got dinner, then
were soon at the phice wliere tlie eonnnittee was to meet.
We tohl our s<ul tale of woe. and then Hounds said lie
knew a tirm. the Ahiska Kxph (ration Company, that would
take the Diver in exihange for our passage up to Alaska,
and he thought our only show of getting there was to sell
tlie Diver to tliem. The trade would amount to about
three thous4ind dollars and he thought if we were wise we
woidd accept this oflFer. He had told the firm that he
wouhl ap|)> ar with the committee about two o'clock, so we
decided lO go with him and hear what they had *xi say. I
could not understand what kind of an otter had heen made,
as Rounds ke|»t dn)ppiug a wcudnow and again, and Itegan
to tiiink that lie diil not want to tell us all he knew, hut
kept urging us to sell, for we would not be al)le to do any-
thing with the vessel if they did not take her, and I
noticed a little anxiety in his speech as he said there was
no demanil for vessels, and that these people would take
her to accommixlate us.

Their ottice wsis in a large grey stone front buildinj;
with wide marble stiiirways, and after asceiuling one tiiglit
and turning one or two cornei-s. we were ushered into their
otiice, which w;i.s furnished with all the elaborate taste of
steaml^oat men. There were pictures and models of l)oats
and drafts with full «lescrii»tion of capacity for carrying
lii-st-class |)assengei>> : i»esides, their river boats were numer-
ous anil elegant, always on time to take passengei-s from
the other l»Oiits when they arrived at St. Michaels, — their
system was jierfect : great maps showing from San Fran-
cisco to St. Michaels, the great route ; these i)oats sailed in
a blue line. — iu fact, everything was there in their ottice but
the steandniat itself.

We luid to wait some time, so we saw all there was Im>-
fore a sujieniunian" apjjeared and took us out through

ON SHORE AT LAST. 109

another door and into the presence of the liard man
of business. I hioked liini over and made up my mind not
to expect much from liini. We were introduced hy Rounds
and he began business by inquiring what we expected to
get for tlie vessel. Tiie Admiral answered, being chair-
man of the conunittee, that our price for the schooner was
five thousand dollars. At this he hooted. " AVhy, gentle-
men." said he, "if you keep her nuich longer you can't
give her away." " Well," replied the Admiral, "you have
heard our side, now what do you offer '. Perhaps we can
make a bargain." " Well," said lie, " we tlon't know whi\t
we could do with the schooner, — now, you men are strand-
ed iier6 and to help you out of a bad scrape we will take
the vessel off your hands in this way. We will give four-
teen of yoti a first-cla;;s ])assage on our best boat up to
Dawst)n, with one hundred and fifty pounds of bagirage,
free ; all freight you will have to pay for. They may need
your labor on our boats going up the Yukon, and you will
be paid for it, and we will give you the preference for all
lal)or that we need outside of Dur own liel[), and will pay
you the wages that are paid in the place where you work.
We charge three hundred dollars first-class, and to take
fourteen of you would amount to something over four
thousantl dollars. You are getting a good price through
ni}' offering, far better than you can get anywhere in the
city."

' The connnittee all turned and looked toward me, to see
liow this offer struck me. " How will the other six men
get their money ( " I (juestioned. " They have got to be
paid, and where is the money coming from '. " "I don't
know anything about the other six men," he said, sarcasti-
cally. " I am telling you," turning and confronting me,
" what I can do for fourteen of you ; the others 1 care
nothing about. I don't know them, so why should I careT'
"\Ve don't get any money out of this," said I. " N^o," he

110

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

replied, " I think I give you enough." " Wiiat will we do
when we get to Dawson," queried I, " without money and
nothing to eat i " " You will find plenty of work," said
he, " you say yon are willing to work and we give you the
preference; we have large storehouses there and may need
your help discharging tiie boat. You deal with us when
you work for us."

In my own mind I did not intend to accept their offer
for it was robbing six men of their money, so I said
to him, " I don't see what we Avill do for mone}' to pay off
the other six men." He must have thought I was pretty
thick, the way he looked me in the eye and said, " What
need you care whethe^' they get anything out of it or not (
It is not likely they wonld care if they were in your place;
anyhow, it is not business to consider them. You can go
to Alaska, if }'ou choose, so don't let these men stop you,
as they are already doing." " But," sa.d I, " if we don't
sell, we can go up there in our own vessel." "How are
you going to take the vessel tiiere ? I know your case,
you have got to sell if you are not able to pay off the lien,
and you can't pay these six men. How are you going to
' pay the liens i Now, be reasonable, and do business."
" But this is not a square way to do business," said I. " It
is the way all business is done, it is the way we do busi-
ness. ^Ve go for the money, not asking permission to get
it, but have them bring it to us. If any one is hurt by
the transaction, why, that has nothing to do with us, we"
keep on doing business and getting money. Others have
the same privilege, let them look out for themselves."

I arose to my feet to go. " I can't agree to take the
mone}' that belongs to those men," said I. " You had bet-
ter reconsider and let us hear from you again," said he, as
he bade us good afternoon, and we were soon in the street,
making for our (juartei-s, — mine on board the Diver with
Rounds and Admiral, while Bartlett went to liis room.

ON SHORE AT LAST. HI

We were very silent on the way down and I saw that
Rounds was sadly disappointed. Was he to have a per-
centage if we had sold i There seemed to be something,
for a man who had travelled over the world two or three
times would never agree to he landed in Dawson, without
food or shelter or tools to work with, or money to procure
them. I had a slight suspicion that Hooper was mixed
up in the matter. We decided to wait until the next
morning before going to look for another purchaser, and
agreed to meet at the post office.

When we got to the schooner, we found they had landed
the dories on the wharf and were talking about getting the
steam launches out ; they thought it would be a good idea
to get the launches up on the wharf for repairs and paint,
and we might get a good price for them. I went below
and saw that the best thing we could do was to sell the
coal first and get it out of the way, then there would be
more room to work in getting the launches up ; so we
tidked it over, but tliex'e was no one to sell it. I suggest-
ed having a meeting called on board in the morning to ap-
point a committee, to which they agreed, and Rounds
hurried away to write and mail tlie notices ; the meeting
was to be held at half past nine o'clock sharp.

Then we committee men got together and talked of the
probabilities of our next day's hunt; we would visit some
of the brokers and see what they had to say. We heard
that Captain Blackburn was having trouble with his men,
— they simply went to him and told him that they did not
want him, and he said if they would give him his money
he would go, so they gave it to him, and chose one of their
company, I)y the name of (Jrant, for president. They sold
the Hattie L. Phillips for a grub stake of two yeare, and
she was to land them at St. Michaels with their steam
launch and outfit, — a wise trade.

We were up bright and early the next morning, waiting

112

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

for the time when the meeting was to be held, after having
breakfast and a sniok?, for 1 used tlie weed then ; the time
soon arrived, but not ail tlie nienil)ers. We waited until
ten o'clock and witli Admiral for ciiairman, a cojnmittee
of three was a[)pointed to sell the coal, the committee con-
sisting of Hooper, Rounds and myself.

Before wo had time to adjourn, Beeman, Ryan, IJartlett
and Rowleys came sliding down tlie companion way and
Beeman imjuired for the names of the conmuttee which the
secretary read. Beeman said that Ids notice read, " the
committee," and nothing Avas said about a new connnittee.
This new committee could not stand, and he took excep-
tion on the whole lu'occediugs of the meeting, through
tlie error in the notice, — the notice shoidd have been
worded, " a committee," instead, it was " the committee,"
and of course he supposed it to be the old stiinding com-
mittee.

1 saw that Rounds had made a blunder and felt a little
2)iqued, but there was a motive; it was to make these men
feel secure, as the old committee was all right, — and it
woi-ked, for they did not iiurry about getting out of bed
in the morning and were not particular whether they were
late or not ; they stopjied to see the lawyer, for tiiey felt
a little timid in facing the lion in Ids den. They were ad-
vised to take their iieelers along with them, in case of a
warm time, little thinking it was at a lieat tlieii.

When Beeman made a motion that all former proceed-
ings be abolisiied and we begin again under a new role,
the Admiral arose in his diair, [)ale from excitement, and
put the question. It was voted on and carried, 1 casting
the deciding vote. The chair glared at me, as he had
counted me on the opposition, and declared it a vote. Then
he stepped down from his seat, stating that he would not
preside under such complications.

Suddenly all who were seated arose to their feet with

4fs

ON SHORE AT LAST. 113

fire in their eyes : each one selectin<r his advei-sary, ad-
vanced on him, gesticulating in a threatening manner, midst
mingled curses and uproar. Iloytt had selected Heeman
and brought his Inawny Hst into close proximity to Hee-
man's nose. BeenuiU put his hand <m his hip, a motion
that seemed to have a cooling effect, and Mr. Hoytt stepped
back, as nuich as to say, " don't shoot, I don't relish it,"
so there were no blows struck. Wlien the melee began, I
got on my feet as soon as I could aiul tried to connuand
order. If I could have got out 1 should have had a police
othcer there, but it was impossilde to get through that
wrathful crowd and I stood alone, as no one seemed in-
clined to attack me, a silent spectator of this disgraceful
proceeding and I wondered how it would end. I saw
yt)ung IJartlett glaring very wickedly at Rounds, who had
been our secretary pro tern, and luul refused to read the
minutes of the meeting. Our navigator did not relish the
young man's fierce gaze and stepped into his room, — under
cover of its recesses he w-as safe from an attack. Dalton
chose Ryan for his opponent, and was ready to give him a
sound thrashing and followed him up on deck: Ryan evad-
ed him by making his escape up the main rigging and on-
to the dock. Rowley, a little sickly chap, stood with a
revolver in one hand and glared fiercely at Hooper and
Admiral. Tlie sight of this weapon cooled the fighting
spirit of Hooper's men and they dropped out of the fray
as suddenly as they had appeared in it.

After all this troul)le there was no one appointed to sell
the coal and I got at Rounds after the battle and gave him
a pretty plain talking to, laying the blame all on him. He
felt that he was guilty, although he did not wish to ac-
knowledge it, and proposed that we notify the Ijoys again
and meet at the lawyer's ofiice that afternoon. I consented
and notices were written, this time not mentioning the
business, and we all met again at the onl}- place where

114

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

our fighting men could Ije kept in subjection, luul with sul-
len looks and a strong smell of (,\'vlifornia port, they stood
around like lambs, and it was voted that tiie old standing
committee be authorized to sell everything there was to sell.

In the meantime, Mr. Rowley's brother had arrived from
across the continent with Mr. May of Vermont, a friend
of Mr. Stewart's, — a Hue stalwart man was this son of Ver-
mont, with the look of honest labor in his face, and I was
pleased with this new addition. Mr. May and Rowley's
brother took sides with Hooper ; he had met them and
given them his side of the trouble, so they naturally held
to him, believing that Beeman was trying to get control
of the company, and of course, acted accordingly.

The meeting over, the committee went to sell the coal,
and after a good afternoon's tramp, we found a coal dealer,
Mr. Channeller, who wanted our coal, and we received a
good price for it. The Admiral found men who wanted
our dories and paid us a good price cash and took them
away, but no one wanted the launches, — though if they
had been naptha we could have sold them. Our day's
work being done, we got back to our quartei's, and the
money for the dories was paid over to me, for I was still
the financial secretary.

The dories were sold to a company of men froiu Lowell,
Mass., who had bought a barque and were going up to
Kotzebue Sound. All the old whaling vessels of the port,
— those on the water or under, — w^ere made to float and fit-
ted out to carry passengei-s to Alaska. Some of them be-
ing very autitjue, I considered them unsafe, but the great
rush for Alaska was at fever-iieat, and people, blinded l)y
the lust for gold, could not see their danger, although
over forty passengers were lost, by the sinking of one of
tliese crafts just outside of the Golden Gate. Still they
fitted out and found i)lenty to take passage, but what l)e-
came of them all, none but thu Almighty knows.

]

ON SHORE AT LAST. 115

We saw one of these crafts leaving dock that afternoon,
a "vhite painted bar(|ue, and on her deck were steam
liiunciies and dories, besides a crowd of fjold seekei's, hang-
ing in the rigging and np in the tojjs to get their hist view
of the groups of weeping women and children they were
leaving behind.

Kotzebue Sound was the place that was boomed in
Frisco. Captain Harriman took me on board of one of
their fishing crafts, <iuite a large vessel, barkentine-
rigged, that they were fitting out for Kotzebue ; it could
carry two hiuidred passengers quite conveniently and two
hundred and fifty dollars gave you your passage with a ton
of freight. Some of the sailing crafts were considerably
cheaper, but it was too soon for me to consider any of
these chances, for our business was not yet settled, so I
amused myself with half a dozen oranges, looking over the
fleet of vessels. Among this number was a large iron ship
that, on its way from China, was caught in a typhoon and
lost all its spars, coming the rest of the passage under
jury sails and masts, making it in sixty days ; besides three
and five masted schooners, there was the monitor Monte-
ray, changing her color from white to black, for our coun-
try was at war with Spain, and everybody w^as anxious to
hear from Dewey at Manila.

A number of troops were in the city and the boys, with
their neat uniforms, could ije seen about the city, taking a
farewell promenade with their friends before they were
tiiken away to that far off isle across the wide Pacific, per-
haps never to enter the (lolden Crate again.

The next morning I went down to Mr. Channeller's and
saw the coal weighed, and received the money for it in
gold, that being the color of the money in Frisco ; the
lowest coin used there is a nickel. I met the rest of the
committee in the afternoon and they thought they were on
the track of a purchaser; our Custom House broker knew

lie

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIKLDS.

of a mail wlio wanted to buy. 'I'lie porrentafre for liiidiii;;
this man was two linndrcMl (hdlars, Imt he felt sure lie
conld irv\ llircc tliousaiitl dolliirs for tlie scliooncr, so as
we were to liave anotlier meetin<j: that afternoon to take
into eoiisideration tlie (piestion of tlie steam hmnclies, wo
met at the hiwver's olliee, onr new uv.iu, Mr. May, and
Rowley's Itrother, not heinj; jtresent. The (juestion came
np aliont tiie steam hinneh that Heeman had hoii^iit and
paid one hnndred and lift}' dollars for, Hooper denying;
havintj t^iven his consent to the transaction. iJeeman
claimed that he did, hut there was no one present at the
time, so there was no proof ; he could ofl'er only the word
and honor of a man.

McKeiuia claimed that he never understood that the
launch l)elonj>ed to the company, that there were others
that believed as he did. I said I had asked the (|uestion
before we took the launch on board and never received
any delinite answer, but when I saw her lashed on deck, I
came to the conclusion that she belonfjjed to us, for they
had accepted the launch by takinj; it on board and lashinj^
it there, and wben they sawed the bows off, I felt still
more convinced, for they would not darc'do this to another
man's pro[)erty. I thought Mr. Beeman should be paid
his money iov the launch.

One or two othei-s spoke in favor of lieeman, while the
fig'htino' men said nothiui; but looked sullen; tlie case
really stood in the minds of the men that if they must take
a man's word for it, they would take the one's that had
been the most honorable. This was the way I looked
at it, and 1 would not vote for Hooper, for I knew him
to be a fabricator, and I had never yet caught Beeman.
The fighting men looked at it diltorently ; they wanted
Hooper men because they were on his side, and prejudiced
against the other party, let it be right or wrong. It was
put to a vote and decided that Beeman should receive the
money he had paid, and the meeting adjourned.

ON 8HORIC AT LAST. 117

Rowley was f(ettin<r uiieiisy iilxnit liis luortj^^iif^e on tlio
laniu'li, in spite of all tlie lawver could say, for there \va»
a forgery to he considered in tlie case, 'i'iiis inoit^airc
was supposed to be Hijjfued hy each man of the company
and eacli man's name was there, lint three or four clainutd
tliat they had never si^nied, their names wore spelled wronjf.
The lawyer told Rowley lie was safe and wanted to keep
the mortt>a,n(! ; make him pay it and take a receipt, this
was law. Rowh'y asked me to ir<) with iiim and sec Mr.
Hooper that evcnin<f. We were admitted into Hooper's
ai)artments and ivowley told him his business. Hooper at
once asked for the mortirajre and ivowley i»rou,<,dit forth
the receipt, at which Hooper, Hyin<r into a passion, struck
the tai)le with iiis list and swore that he would not pay
the money without the mort(fa,>,'e. " I have gut it all ready
for you," he said, " brintj^ me the niortfrajre and you can
have it." Rowley softened and said he wouhl see what
he could do, so we took our leave and went to see the
lawjer, who told Rowley that of course he could not keep
it from iiim if lie wanted it, but advised him to gat it
photographed first, then he could ha\e it and get his
money.

So the mortgage was photographed, and Rowley went
to see Hooper, who i)aid him his money and tore the mort-
gage all into little l)its, then turning to Rowley said:
" Now you can tell Mr. Ryan I shall sue him for definition
of character," meaning, of course, defamation of character.
" Hold on I " said Rowley, " don't i)ring more trouble upon
yourself ; there is a photograph of the mortgage up to the
lawyer's ollice." Hooper said no more and Rowley left
him, feeling that his last shot told and so matters stood.

Hooper must have felt pleasant with this accusation at
his door, knowing that he was guilty and that his just
deserts would put him behind the prison bars. He was
depending upon his adversary's leniency. If I had said,

118

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIKLD8.

"Have FI<M»nt'r arrested," lie would have heeii arrested at
once, or if anv of the others had called for his arrest it
would iiave lieeii done, hut we kept our uiouths closed, as
we thought «>f Ills youui; wife at home, — we could not hut
respect her ami her feeliii«js as a wife, S(» we remained
silent. Did he I'ealize that these men he had called liol)oes
when on Ixvanl the Diver now stood hetweeu him and
stiites prison '. So. I think not. At any rate, when we
met he was as full of venom as ever, tlioujifh he nnisthave
felt he was lieaten.

Hooj)er was to make a settlement at the meeting called
for the next afteniocm. and I wondered what new piece of
mischief would l»e transacted. In the morning the com-
mittee were to meet the party s[)oken of hy the hroker. I
felt that I would soon have a rest, whi(!h I needed very
nnich, for I had l*en iiusy ever since I arrived, traveling
over the city to find a purchaser for our general outfit, —
now I knew that we had succeeded, and we arrived at the
broker's in gotnl tin>e and were soon standing before Cap-
tain Johnson to hear his offer, which was twenty-eight hun-
dred dollars. We refused. Ho()i)er was there, trying to
get a woixl in a.s though he was one of the connnittee. I
would not accept the offer and left the office, but they
came after me, and I asked if Hooper was there, if he was
I would not return, so they put him out of the way some-
whei-e, and I faced Captdi. Johnson again and refused his
twenty-eight hundnjd doliai' offer. I again left the office,
with the hroker at my 1' ■ -'s, telling me that Johnson would
pay the three thousar.d <iollai-s, and he, the broker, would
give in one hun«lred of his [)ercentage, and we would re-
ceive twenty-nine hundi-ed dollars for the Diver, clear of
the brokerage. This I agreed to and next morning the
papers were to lie made out and the money paid.

That nioniing we sold the navigator's kit, receiving nine-
ty dollars for it, this Iteing the kit that Kounds had claimed

ox fiHOUR AT LAST. lli»

as his own, but when we got into [)()i*t I found that it be-
hinged to tlio company and we had to take our (chances on
selling it, !)Ut it brought a good priee.

This is the way things had been going on, — a little
seheine in evorytliing there was to sell. Dalton aj)propri-
ated our old junk, j)robably fifteen or twenty dollars'
worth, and never paid anything into the company.

'I'hat afternoon we were all at the meeting, which came
to order with the A(hniral in the chair; the secretary read
the minutes of the last meeting and we turned to new busi-
ness. " Is there any new business ? " the chairman asked,
and iNIclvenna arose, trembling, to his feet and claimed he
was delegated to take Hooper's [)lace in the settlement, as
he was the party who had arranged the papers. He was
better acciuainted with the fding. This was objected to,
as Mj". Hooper was present and he was the man avc were
settling with and not Mr. Mclvenna, so Mr. Hooper came
sulkily forward, took the papers and handed them over to
the chair. It was voted to a[)point an auditing connnittee
to audit the bills, which were cai'efuUy arranged and filed
to deceive, but they were sifted out with a few rejected
and some murmuring in the Hooper faction.

I will mention one article on an itemized account, so
this trickery of Hooper's can be better understood. This
was a sailor's pahn that Hooper would never let any one
use, claiming it was his, but here it was put down in
the list of small articles for the company to pay for. It
was Hooper's imlm and he had it in his own possession.
I said to Mr. Hooper, " You always claimed that i)alm was
yours, and here you have it chai'ged to us." His stanmier-
ing reply was that he was afraid the boys would lose it if
they knew it belonged to the schooner.

I let the palm question drop, and they went on reading
the accounts, which proved to be a rascally made up lot,
but we got them straiglitenad out at last and adjourned

120

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

the meeting until the Diver's Inisiness was .settled. I
started for my qiiartei-s with Mr. Stewart and Mr. May,
who roomed in tlie same iiouse. He did not tidk mucli
for lie knew I was not a Hooper man, bnt he mu-it have
had liis eyes opened at the meeting, althongh he never
mentioned it. He had secured work in a ship yard where
there were four or Kve river steaniei's on the docks and re-
ceived two dollars and Hfty cents a day. He «lid not know
how long he siiould stay there, or whether he should go to
Alaska or not,

]Mr. Stew'irt insisted that I should stay over niglit with
him, as he had a fine comfortalile room, and I accepted his
invitation. He did not know mucli al»out the business
tliat we IumI transacted and that night I gave him an ac-
count of all proceedings u[» to date. Mr. Stewart heing
lame in Itoth legs, could not get around as often as he
wished and Mr. .May wanted to send him home, but he
was stuliborn and determined to go to Alaska. I kiio"" we
could not take him, for he was quite a care on us already,
Imt I sai I nothing, intending to wait until we were ready
to Ici've, and then to put the situation I)efore him, think-
ing that jirol'ably he would decide to go home. We were
\er\ careful what was said, and discouraged him all we
could, but he was a man who wou'd not give up easily and
I often wished he could have gone with us.

The next morning we had to get our liaggage out of the
Diver, as she woidd be taken away as soon as she was
transferred to the new owner. Mr. Stewart wished me to
share his (juarters, to which I agreeci, and tiiat morning
we walked down to the Diver and packed up. All of the
rest had rooms except the cook and Hounds. Poor Carliff
was mourning around over the lo.ss of ten dollars that some
one had taken out of his clothes on board the schooner.

The launches wpre still down in the hold of the vessel
anil would go with her. It was a case of cutting off tlie

ox SHOKK AT LAST.

121

nose to spite the face. Some of the men would not turn
a hand to save them, thinking they wouhl hnitsome othei-s,
and so the launclies were lost ; they might have hionjrht us
two or tluee hundred doUai's, now they were given away
wi.;h the vessel.

Mr. Stewart and I procured a team and went with our
baggage to the house, then I hurried hack to meet the rest
of the connuittee, and we proceeded at once to the i)roker's.
Here we had to wait and heard that Hooper was going to
collect the mone}" fioni the chronome*er man for the navi-
gation kit ; as we had not Iteen paid for it, we paid him a
visit, hut not finding him in, left orders that he should not
pay the money to anybody else, nnd returned t») attend the
settlement. We found Captain Johnson at the broker's
an<l when our agreement was made secure, he took us to
his l)roker"s and paid us the money in gold, twenty-nine
hundred dollare.

We proceeded at once to the bank and had it put in the
safe, then after we had talked matters over, decided to di-
vide the money at the evening's meeting, and see if we
could get it all settled that night, so we had to draw our
money again as the banks closed early. The lawyer gave
us the use of his safe, and we took turns in watching un-
til evening, when the meeting opened in due lorm, the Ad-
miral in the chair. The secretary arose and stateil that
there was a deficiency of one hinidred <lollai-s in Hooper's
account; everybody saw it except Ho >per and Mclvenna,
and the chair suggested that each mm arise and give his
opinion. Some of them spoko what they thought or claimed
to, but there were a few on the fence who did not dare to
say it.

The lawyer (juestioned Mclvenna, who declared he could
not see it, but the lawyer told him it was because he did
not want to. The majority clamored for their money, —
figures told and there were the figures.

122

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

Hoojjer ari>se and said lie was not satisfied with the ac-
eour<ts. as the Liwver had reokoned them, and asked per-
mission to take the papera and get a huvyer of his own to
figure them up. He tlaimed tiiat some of the people pres-
ent wantetl to sknder him. Here the chair rapped onler,
hut we granted Mr. Hooper's request, as everything else
was aqiuire on tlie accounts, to tjike the papers and return
them next «lay to our lawyer; then it was voted to divide
the money we had on hand. I went to the safe and hrought
it out and emptied it on the desk in front of the secretary;
Hoojier hrouarht in his reserve, I don't rememher how
much, and we divided it. gi sing each man square share,
and the meeting adjourned for the last time, for Hooper
never put in an apj>earance with the papers and was never
seen l>y any of iis agair.. The lawyer had a cop}' of all
the pa|)ers. however, and as Hooper was not forthcoming,
we let it jKiss. until one of the hoys got a list of our names,
agreeing to give our part to the lawyer, if he ever got it,
and I turned my mind to otiier husiness.

( )ne thing was to get Mr. Stewart home. He was sick
and stuhlx>m. and as we were ready to leave Frisco at a
moment's warning, I thought it time to ask him what he
intendetl to do. •• Weil, the vessel is sold," said I, " and I
wonder what I will do next : I am going to leave Frisco
and I may get a chance to shij) on some craft going up to
Alaska. What do you think of tloing, Mr. Stewart i "
" I don't know." he answereil, " I iiave not thought.''
" Vou liad Ijetter go home with liahady," said I, "li goes
at once or as soon as he can get ready. You can get home
very chesip. now. He has ordered a ticket ai\d pays thirty-
five dollars for it to ride in the tourists' car over the
Canadian Pacific route." " That is cheap," he said, " hut
I am not tlje man to give up easy, I want to go to Alaska
"Hut, Mr. Stewart." said I, "yon are not well enougli ;
y«tur legs will never carry you there." " They will laugh

ON SHORB AT LAST. 123

at me at lionie because I turned back," replied he. " How
can they laugh at you when you go home a sick man i If
I was "^ sick as you, I should claim I had excuse enough
to carry me home, but you see I am well and have got to
go ahead, until, probably, I may be sick like you, then I
shall turn back and think it is all right. I should like to
be going home with you." " Well, perhaps Peter won't
want an}' company." " Oh, yes, he will. He said he
wished some one of us was going home with him and I
told him perhaps you might go." " Well, I will go down
to the ticket office in the morning, and then make up my
mind."

After breakfa>L we went down to the ticket oHice and
met Petei', and took Mr. Stewart in and bought his ticket
and booked him for the next morning at ten o'clock. I
was pleased, Mr. Stewart seemed pleased, and I am sure
all the boys were [jleased. Mr. Stewart saitl that night he
was sorry to leave, i)ut I told him that before the week
ended there would not be one of the boys left in the city.
" Now, what would you do here all alone, for we have not
much money and we have got to go where we can earn
some.'' He thought it liest after all and the foolish notions
were put out of his head.

I saw Ltpage that night and arranged *^o stop with him
the rest of our stay in the citj', and next morning we went
to see Peter and Stewart on the train. We told them
what to say if they saw any of our friends and I admit I
felt a little homesick. Mr. Stewart was smiling and ap-
peared liappy, and Peter was in ecstacies, so delighted was
he to return home, i did not wondev, for his past expe-
rience, like ours, had been one of r-iisery.

We left the depot as the trui!> jfjirted and I got an ex-
pressman to carry my baggage to Lepage's rooms, and af-
ter supper we went up to see lieeinan. W^e were going to
have a meeting and hear what the boys had to say about

124

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

the next proceedings, 'i'he Bartlett brothers were there
witli l{ic'ker and CarlitT, Rowley was in the liallway sky-
larkiiig with some girls, and we waited for Beenian who
oanie in and (.-alU'd the meeting to order.

'I'he men who had i)een ronnd the city reported no
chance for lis to get u\) north from t'risco that would come
within the limit of onr means. Heeman said he had a let-
ter from Seattle which we could all read: that was all he
won > i'v and there wasn't much information or encourage-
ment 1) ','tter.

1 saw III Heeman was displeased because Carliff was
present, for he was not in with us in the Uglit, and I knew
he didn't want iiim. I asked Heeman what he thought of
doing. '• Well," said he, " I am going to Seattle, you can
come with me, if yon choose. I am not going to persuade
any of you but you must use your own judgment. I know
nothing, no more than yon have read. I am going any-
how.'' He said no more and Carlilf suggested that he and
I visit some lirm lie knew of and see if we could get a
chance with tliem ; if he could get a chance to talk with
them he felt he could make it all right for all of us, and I
agreed to meet him next morning at nine o'clock at the
Call building.

The meeting adjourned and I learned that Hooper, Hoytt
and May, Dalton, Admiral ami the Rowley brothei-s, had
a grul) stiike to go up to Cook's Inlet for sixty-live dollars
a man. The Hartletts told me that they were after Hooper
and had l)cen to his lodging place i)ut could not Hud him;
they wante<l to make him settle the one hundred dollars,
but the last I knew of the case he had succeeded in evad-
ing them. They knew the schooner he was going on, how-
ever, and took turns in watching. That was the last I
heard of Hooper for which 1 felt thankful.

Lepage and I went to our lodging and were scjon sleep-
ing our cares away when 1 was awakened by hearing a

ON SHOKE AT LAST.

125

noise outside of our door. I thought at first it w.as some
late lodger, who had made a mistake and taken our room
for his, so I turned over for another nai), hut the knocking
was repeated. Lepage took his revolver from under his
pillow and sprang out of hed, inquiring who was there.
It was Kyan and Rowley, who told us to pack up and he
ready to take the ten o'clock hoat, the " Umatilla,"' for
Seattle. They could tell us nothing, except that if we
were going with iieeman to take that hoat, so tliey hurried
awaj' and we turned in to have an hour or two of sleep as
it was ahout two o'clock when they called.

The first thing we did next morning was to secure our
tickets, then look after i r !)aggage and afterwards to get
some hreakfast. As nine o'clock came I thouglit of poor
Carliff standing on the curhstone in front of the Call
huilding, waiting for nie. He may he waiting there yet,
for I never saw him afterwards. We joined the rest of
the i)arty on l)oard the Umatilla and saw the Hartlett l)oys
on the wharf waving their adieus as the hig steamer swung
out from the jiier and steamed away for Seattle.

By paying a dollar and fifty cents extra we got a room
for ourselves. The l^matilla was a new hoat, huilt sea-
steamer model, with all the modern improvements, hut I
heard there was a (lisap[»()intment in regard to her sail-
ing qualities, thougli she was a good sea hoat. We sat
and watched the view of the harhor which had very high
hills for a hackground, and a few islands, — Mare Island
heing most prominent, for there Uncle Sam huilt his war-
ships.

X strong, disagreeahle wind was hlowing, and we had
to keep in shelter, it was so cold when we reached the
oiien sea ; there was also a roll from the ocean coming in,
and the l)oat l)egan to show us what she could do on that
kind of water. Some of the passengers hegan to get stirred
up a hit, and as she went snoiting and plunging out hy

126

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

the (iolden (iate most of the passengers went inside, not
caiinj; to remain on deck, for as a comber would wash her
side a dash of spray wonhl reacli for U8 on tlie hurricane
deck, although we tried to hide hehind tlie smokestack,
and we liad to go below or get wet. Tiiis kind of weather
lield out until we arrived at Seattle. Some of (uir boys
were seasick l)Ut it soon wore off.

Kicker was with us, liaving followed without an invita-
tion. Five of us had formed a company and Uicker was
not one of that number, but here he was, and we should
be obliged to tell iiiin some day that we did not want him,
—an un[)leasant duty.

The weather was hazy and as the steamer ran from Cape
to ('a[)c, 1 noticed hundieds of seals on the black rocks
along the coast.

\Ve were travelling second-class, and though there was
plenty to eat we were crowded on the benches l)y a rough-
looking lot of men, prol)al)ly most of them laliorcrs : their
clotlics h\uig on tiiem as on a clothes hanger, l)ut tiiey
had sharp ell)ows as 1 found out when I tried to push my
way into ilic cabin to dinner and got a blow under the ribs
from one of these tall, gaunt individuals; for a while I
thought the cattle pen had broken loose and I was being
g(tred by the horns of a big buck steer ; after that I always
ke[)t shy of the t<dl fellow and never got under foot again.

Heeman thought he woidd like to see the iirst-class
cal)in, but they did not allow second-class peoi)le to intrude.
He said, however, that he would see it, so one night about
eleven o'clock, he woke me up out of a good comfortable
nap, and asked if I wanted something to eat. I replied
that I did. "Then get up," lie said, "and follow me." 1
attired myself as best I could and followed him, and he
took me along until we came to a pantry, through which we
passed. A [)antry-man wanted to check us, but we walked
by him, and having reached the dining rooms, sat down at

TIIK STKAMEK I \! ATM.l.A l« INU H'K SF.ATTl.E.

ON SHORE AT LAST.

127

a tal)le, with the paiitry-nian at our lieels. ♦'Wliat liave
you got for lunch '{ " inquired Heeuian, with the air of a
millionaire, as lie looked the man straight in the eyes.
" I can give you hot coft'ee, apple or peaoh i)ie, or hread,
butter and cheese. Hut," said the man, as his voice quav-
ered, "do you gentlemen hehmg in the first-class '< "
" Bnng along our lunch," said IJeeman, while I looked up
from a papei' I was reading with a look that made him feel
he was cjuito impertinent. Meeman asked him what busi-
ness it was of his, our money was [)aid, so bring along the
lunch, and it was brought.

Another flunkey, evidently a Spaniard, then put in an
appearance and Biv;man claimed that he was a spy and we
wanted him, for we were detectives. The first man pleaded
for him, telling what a kind fellow he was, but we followed
the Spaniard up to the saloon cabin, which was elegantly
furnished, and watched him until he was through with his
Avork, when we went down into the dining-room again. It
Avas getting on near to eight i)olls and I heard some of the
oflicers coming below, so thought I would get out, and
that was the last T saw of the Spanish spy.

1 felt a great relief after leaving San Francisco and in
getting away from the Hooper gang, and now we were go-
ing to do something towards getting up to Alaska, — in
fact, we were on our way, three days towards Seattle. The
boat stopped at Victoria, Vancouver, — at a large pier, i)ut
the town was two or three miles away, so I only saw it as
we sailed away, — a few church spires among the trees.

cnAi»Ti-:i{ vrr.

AIMMVAI, AT ITCiiyP Sl>lM». — SKCl'ltK I'ASSACK I'OU

ALASKA, AM) ITIMM ASK (HI! Ol'TKlTS. — SII(>UTA(iK

Ol" I'KOVISIONS ON l!oAI!l> THK llAVDN

lll!(»\VN. — l'i;( II,IAI!ITIKS OK SOMK

OF TIIK I'ASSKNOKUS.

We soon iinived in I'uget Sound and saw Seattle on
the left. It is built on the side of a hill, the streets run-
ninjr parallel with the hill; it does not look very prepossess-
ing from the water, so many old, weatlier-ljeaten cabins
greet the eye as yon enter the harbor. A large brick
structure was on the highest hill, which I understood was
a hotel. l)Ut they had susi)ended work on it on account of
falling short in their finances. The most prominent vessel
in the harbor was the cutter Rear, — painted mouse color ;
that seemed to be an interesting object to landsmen, for it
was war time.

The Umatilla landed us at the company's wharf, and we
went in search of a lodging place which, after a few hours'
hunting, we found on Union street. It was run by a man
named Brown who kept lodgers in his own house also, but
this was an f)ld store that he had fitted up with stalls, and
although they were nothing but the hard wood, Ave found
them comfortable and clean. Seattle was overflowing with
gold seekers ou their way to Alaska, so it was hard to get a
lodging. We had a spare room in back where we kept
our baggage and used it as a smoking-room. Having paid
our week in advance, we went out to look for supper, and

(128)

AKKlVAIi AT I'UGKT SOUND.

12!)

later took a stroll to see the eity. In tlie business part
the streets were throii^'efl with people: there were hunly
^nrdies and street venders, and the patent medicine man,
— the •,'reat doetor from tlie west who had traveled all over
Russia at the risk of his life or trans[)ortation to Silieria
for a Nihilist, to gather the herhs that formed tiiis <;reat
medicine that would cure everyhotly ; plenty of pick])ocketH
also mingled in amongst the crowd, and hesides, nuiii were
held up at the point of the [)istol and forced tt) deliver up
all their hard-earned cash.

We got tired of the crowd antl went home, for the next
day we must tiud out how we were going to get to Alaska.
In the morning we went down to the water front, and it
was a great sight: it seemed as if everything that floated
had u|» its banner, like the boy elimbing the Alpine heights,
but not bearing that strange device, " Excelsior," but one
stranger still, " Alaska." We were stopped every little
while by a man witli a good scheme for us to get up north,
— a ticket on some of the many crafts lying ahmg the
water front, — but we would not tiilk business for we want-
ed to get better ac(juainted and find the right party to talk
with.

We strolled down to Morand's ship yard where there
were fourteen river steamers launciied, and lying side by
side, getting ready to go up to St. Michaels. Beenian was
acquainted with the boss painter, a very intelligent young
man, and we learned a good many points from him concern-
ing the way to get up north. We could get a chance on
the Morand boats, but he did not consider them s''fe, and
neither did 1, for they were open at both ends t' .i ferry
boat. He told us that one of these boats broke her hog
chain when she was launched: if this had happened at sea
she would have broken in two.

We gave u[i all thoughts of going in them and came
back to the wharf and looked the vessels over. I saw one

130

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD KIKLDS.

or t\v«) al)le liMikiii<r tnies loiKtinj; for St. Miflmuls, l)ut tliov
had siieh jjreat <leck loads tliiit I know tliev iiiiist Im too
lieavy ami unsafe, tliou<rli ci'owds of people wore trusting;
their lives mi inaiiy such as these, Ixicause they were i<r-
iiontnt i»f the sea and thouj.dit they eonhl [)ile onto a ves-
sel half-mast lii<rh the same as they could their hay carts
at home. I di«l not eare to risk my Hie on one of them so
we went up town and looked over the outfits that Idled the
store windows.

Tiieiv were many articles we could not conceive any us(?
for i)ut they turned out to l»e all rifrht in Alaska; this
dothinjr apiH-ared to us so <i;roU!S(iue and antique that we
ecndd not ivali/.e that some day we would need it hadly.
Here was everythinsr that could he worn in a country like
Alaska. — outlits of every descrii)tion, — and as we j^ot tir'-
of hiokinir throuifh the jrlass, we retired to our room >
L'nion street and tidked the matter over. We had not
found out wiiat it would cost us to t^et »ip north, hut felt
it would Ik* wiliun the limit of our means. A week passed
and we had no ohanee to get away.

IJeenmn tohl Iticker that we had all in our party we de-
siivd. and lie had U-tter look out for himself. 'I'his he did
not like very well, l)Ut took his trunk and ehest of tools
and left the lodging and I saw him Imt once afterwards,
on the street. He found a partner and was going to Kot/e-
Ime Sound, getting four dollars a day from the time he
left Seattle.

There wiis a large ship titting out for St. Michaels, the
Henry Villiaixl of New York, and we went on l)oard i»ut
eould leani notliing. as the charter had not yet l)een signed ;
they were to take for a cargo part coal and some lumher.
Then we went on lK)ard the hanpie Haydn Brown, a large
old-fashioned ve.ssel. safe enough to go to any part of the
world in, and here we met the owner, Mr. Humid) rey, on
the quaiter, who greeted us with smiles, saying, " lioys,

ARItlVAL AT rt'GKT SOUND.

181

peddle oiil your inoiiev now, licro is your host cliaiict' lor
Alaska." " How niiicli For the |nissiij,'t« '. " " Kilty dolliirs
lirst-elass and ten dollars n ton I'or l'rei<,'lit. Voncan't beat
that anywheres," and he rattled on like a side show man
at a eircns. We told him we wanted time to eonsiderand
alter looking- over the hanpie went on shore ajjain.

We had passed a littler otlice a <rreat many times and
were tempted to go in and learn what kind of a selu^ino
they had. Their runner had heeii after us s(!venil times
hut had never eaiight us and now the time had come whi'ii
we must visit them. We found out that the ship Henry
Villiard was eharttned hy this lirm, so we loitered down
on the wharf and there met tlieii' at^ent, who asked us if
we were lookin<r for a chanee tc ^o north. We told him
we were, and he said that he could give us a good lay. if
we wanted to go with them ; they eonid put us up to Daw-
son for (me hundred and twenty-live dollars, and as he
talked he was leading us into the oilice, saying "This is
the place where you will learn all particulars."

There were three clerks at as many desks and they
seemed to be very busy seribbling, in fact it .seemed to be
a place that was doing a large amount of business. Mr.
Chase was the liead of the firm, a young, good-looking
man with very ))leasing address. We learned here that
t'ha.se had what they called a knockdown steamer to send
lip on hoard of the Henry \'illiard, that is, the material to
buihl a boat, cut in proper lengths, and all it is lu^cessarv
to do when yon get it where you want it, is to })ut it to-
gether with bolts and nails, caulk and paint, and yoursteam-
boat is ready to laiuich ; thus Chase had a river boat for
passengers and freight on the Yukon.

After we learned all we could there we walked out, but
the agent was waiting for ns outside and soon had us lis
tening to him as he unfolded to us the company's private
concerns to win our confidence. We asked him if they

132

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

dill not Miint men to work on their boat. He answered
that tiiey di<l. Well, we would work as we Avere short of
money and wanted to iret to Dawson as cheapas we could.
He askeil us our trades : 1 was a ship eariienter, the rest
were steam fitters, and Rowley was a waiter. They wanted
steam fitters very l)ad hut he could not tell how nuich we
would have to pay for tl.is privilej^e of workinjj our pas-
saire, 1)U* invited us hack into the ofiice to see Mr. Chase
an(' he would fix it for us. We found t.tatxVlr. Chase ha«l
gone out hut they thoujrht in the ottice it would he about
eiffiitv <lollars a man, we giviujj them an estimation of how
much freiirht we would have. Mr. Chase would not l)e in
for the rest of the <lay so we '.eft and puslied onr way
tluouorh tlie crowd on tlie water front, — elbowed and with
<orns crushed : some burly fellow would catch ua l)y tlie
shoulder and 1) -ing us to a standstill, although the crowd
tried to pass over us t)r push us along: a handful f)f Alaska
tacks thrust in our faces, and a "conie up to the office
with me," was the last we could hear as we broke away
with our hand on our money pursr; and a peep to see that
otir watch was all right, only to 1)6 nabbed by another
hanler still to get away from.

The gold fever was raging and everyl)ody seemed to l)e
rusiiing into the fire to l)e suffocated l)y the smoke of their
flaming desires. I met men from every stivte in the Union,
the man \v!io is honest and walks into the gilded trap, and
the miMi who t'links he is shi'ew<l enough not to l)e caught,
and so boldly ilays with the bait and finally irets hooked
and liauled ir. whei^e he can flop and flounder among the
rest of his kind; be dies hard but the fisher ex[tects tiiat
and has his liook baited for tiie next victim.

We were in witli a crowd of gohl seekei-s, and although
we tried to Ihj careful, yet we must trust some one. — why
not Chased He had this large vessel chartered, there
could l)e no itunco tliere. We made up our minds to .see

ARltlVAL AT PUGKT SOUND.

hiin in the iiiornin<r and get our fare down a little olieaper.
We went home that nii,dit and talked the Alaska Imsiness
all over. We knew the Haydn Hrown was a good lay, l>ut
it was onl.- as far as St. Miohaels : Chase, for a little more
money, would put us up to Dawson, and we ai^reed to ac-
cept Chase's plan, if we could make arranj^ements within
the limits of our cash, which was dwindlinir away every
day, let us !«> as earefid as we mijrht, so the next morning
we saw the ajrent and told him that we couhl give him
seventy doUai-s a man and do the work on their river boat.
He referred us to Chase, who said it was impossihle. as
eighty dollars was the lowest Hgure he could accept. As
we went out we were met hy the agent, and bartered witii
him until he gave in and accepte<l our otter, so hack we
went into the office and got our tickets, paying our cash.
Accoi-ding to the ticket they held themselves responsible
for nothing, yet we felt relieved to think we had made our
way out clear t<t Dawson, and held the paper that woulil
take us there.

Now, to go ahead and get our outfits I Some of tiie
outfitters had printed lists of what a man needed for
wearing aj)parel, and what he ought to take to eat. We
got figures on some of these thiiiirs, and ft)und thev ran
\ty our limit, and we must curtail a little. We found a
grocery store kej)t by a man named Healy, who had a list
that hit us about right ; we got his figures, but found we
must look over the list and leave out everything that we
could possildy do without, and then we accepted his list,
and the goods were socm l)eing pack 'd up in l)o.\es and
bags, and were ready for shijtping bciore wo were.

A change had been made as regarded our passage. The
Henry Villiard had thrown up her charter, as Chase
could not find a full freight for her, and we were trans-
ferred to the Haydn Brown. We hurried down to see
Chase, for we were suspicious and watchful at every turu

134

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

of affairs. Chase was not in and I felt very utieasy, fear-
ing that it would slump somewhere. At last we met the
agent, who told us all about it : it seemed the engine and
lH>ilers for the new hoat had not got here from Chicago,
where they were l»eing eonstructed ; they were expecting
them every day. hut the Henry Villiard folks would not
wait, ami so threw up the charter. The Haydn Hrown
wouM take all their freight and passengers, the machinery
would l»e shipjtetl <»n one of the steam l)oats, and Mr.
Cha.M? would Wring the engineer with him on the same
Ixiat. Out tickets, he said, were all right for the Haydn
HrowD.

We went on lK>ard the banpie and showed our tickets
to numphrey. who said they were all right, l)ut he
would give us one of his tickets, and we could choose our
l^erths lietween decks. They were putting up more
rooms, with six l>erths in each, and we went down and
found one aUiut ami<lships, as desirable a room as there
was on iHKird. We got our bagirage out of the ship and
put it on iKiard the banpie, so that we could hold our
rtjoni. for jjeople were c()ming on hoard fast and claiming
that they had the jireference, being the first passengers,
but we held our ground, although they came with written
onlers from Humi)hrey. We said we were passen-
gers, to«». and claime<l our rights and held it. We found
that we were calle<l the Chase gang.

As the l«r«|ue wjis to sail on the fifteenth of May we
hadn't much time to get the rest of our outfit. Hyau
ami I were sent to liuy the hardware and camping «)utfit,
so we travelleil all over the city, but found that the
st«»re men were ver\ high, until at last we found a place
in the sul»url»s where we purchased all of our hardware
and cooking utensils : then we had to l)uy tools to build
a iMKit. and nails, besides a whipsaw to saw out Itoards, an
axe and hatchet, and one hundred [>ounds of nails, dmir

ARRIVAL AT PUOKT SOUND.

135

hiiifres, and i)a(llocks, and a Klondike stove, a simple con-
structed thin<r, ol>lf>ng-shai)e, with drnm-oven on toj), and
these were packed at once to l)c sliii)ped at a moment's
notice. Then we came i)ack and met the other three and
went to see about a new tent that we could have made and
be ready next day. We ordered two tents, ten by
twelve, with three-feet wall.

We spent the eveninir in tiiruriuiron what we wanted most
to wear, and the next day, Itrijrht and early, started out
to buy our clothes; after jroinjrin many stores we boujrht
our !)lankets, and Kyan and I were after a i)air of pants.

We found the stores full of out of towners iroinir to
Alaska, and one man especially, who had fallen into a
trap, was now <roin<r to have thinirs come strai<.dit or know
the reason why. lie was a tall, lank, country-lired look-
ing chap, with a cartridge belt around his waist, which I
saw as he parted his coat and drew a large Colt's revolver,
laying it on the showcase l)ofore the proprietor : he
said, '"• I want to liuy some clothes : now I am not hard
to suit, l)ut I want you to give nic what is right," and
looking the pro^)rietor straigli i the eye, and clenching
his revolver tightly in his hand, hv .naid, "• If you cheat I
will make trouble for you. " The proinietor said he
would use him right, and I saw that his lace ^^as ;i shade
paler. This man had Iteen buncoed, there was not the
least doubt in my mind, and the poor fellow took this
method to get what was right. There were j)lenty of men
from the middle states, green from the farm, good, ' on-
est, warm-hearted fellows, who had fallen into the trap
and lost all the nioney they had to take them to Alaska.

Ryan and I got out of that store, as we did not care to
be where there was any shooting. We found a place i.i
get our pants and tweiity yards of nH)S(piito netting, be-
sides hip rubber i)oots and moccasins, aiul a number of
(►ther things that we would lind useful up north.

186

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

That was about all we did that day, and in the evening
si)ent a few minutes in watehing tlie styles. There were
men. in all kinds of garh, from a Sioux Indian to a million-
aire. We iieard that Dewey had captured Ahinila, and
rejoiced witii the crowd as we turned home to read our
papers, the wonderful Post Intelligencer, or V. I. as it was
commonly called, tiiattold the glittering story of gold; how
a man could go up to Alaska and get all the gold he wanted*
wages were from ten to lifteen dollars per day, and even
more in some i)laces.

We read these glowujg accounts of gold, and our fever
went up twenty-five degrees, and we felt our nerves twitch
and twang, "hurry, hurry, and get there I" We smiled at
each otlicr. as if to say, '• Hoys, we are all right, we are
in it,*" and we spoke of those we had left l)ehind, what tliey
had missed, Itui it served them right. We figured over
our outfit, to sec if we iiad all we needed, — there were
gold scales, gold pans for washing out tlie grains of gold,
l)icks and shovels to i)e got in the morning, and wlien
morning came we were out atten<liiig to husiness.

We ordered our goods down to the wharf and saw them
measured, hut the Haydn lirown did not sail, — it was put
ort' until the eighteenth, so we had a chance to look around
us. We went on hoard to sec the people we were to sail
with. There was the tall, lank lloosier, on whom every-
thing seemed to grow long; he had the unfailahle long
hair and long ca|p, sonn thing of the Kh)ndike pattern,
yellow in color, and called the " hlizzard caj) ;" his clothes
were long, and his feet also, which were encased in a pair
of nmtlocks ; lie wore horsehiile pants, a good kind iur
Klondike weatiier.

I also noticed, coming on board, two small men who
looked like twins, dressed (juite natty; they wore Klondike
hats and their heads kept going niddle, noddle, as though
tiiere was a loose pulley in their neci^s somewhere or their

AKRIVAL AT PUGET SOUND.

137

heads were so heavy with knowledge that they couUl not
balance : the}' reminded nie of an (»ld hat on a pole that
the farmera ei'ect to scare crows, rocking and nodding in
the wind. We named these men the knowledge l)oxes,
and their record on the trip proved that they were well
chosen.

There was the Argonant party of Chicago, headed In* a
woman, and they had the tip, knew just where to go to find
the gold ; they had a knock-down steamer. The l-.ynn and
Alaska Mining C'om))any also had a steamer : there was the
AN'illiams party from Texas who brought their boat with
them, a scow with some new kind of propeller for the
river. The head of the party was worth a million and his
boat's name was Lalla Kookh Collins, with old Captain
Whalen for her navigator ; she was already on the whai-f
and was to be placed on top of the deckload, and one or
two steam launches with her.

'inhere were thiee hundred passengei-s, tinkci-s and tailors,
barbers and sailors, farmei's and cowitoys and langeis, all
ready now to move on, but the old barque hung very close
to the pier ; she was slow in getting away and slow in get-
ting there, for the day was put off for sailing until the
twenty-fifth of May ; they kept piling on freight nearly up
to her tops, and there alway>> seemed to be room for more.

We had settled for our rooms and now slept on board
the banpie. There was nothing more of interest to us in
Seattle; we went on sh(n'e but little, and wiien tlie day
came for us to sail, we felt delighted with the prospects
before us. There were four lady passengers, l)esides the
mate's wife, and the steward trying hard to get his on
board.

We left the wharf with an immense throng cheering us
from tlie ))iers, and made fast to the channel liuoy, and it
was here the steward played a shrewd game to get his wife
on board. He told the captain he would not go without

18$

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

her and the captain referred him to Mr. liuniplirey. So
the steward packed up and went on shore and saw Mr.
Humphrey, tellin<( him there was no provision made for
the extra i>assen<;crs that he had taken from tlie Henry
Villiard, and that tlie stores would he iised ui) hefore we
got to Dutch IIarl)or: that lie would see the proper oiHcers
and enter a complaint. This was the truth, for the (Jhase
ganjjf had not heen provided for, so Humphrey <rave the
steward a ttiu dollar 1)111 an<l told him to take his wife with
him if he wished. The steward told me he threw the ten
dollar hill back at him, he was not to l)e bribed by money,
but the price of his silence was j)ermitting his wife to join
the bariiue. He said if he stayed on shore it would not
feed the iiasscngcis any better, so he sent his wife on board
and soon came himself.

The passengers felt joyful in leaving port, not knowing
that they were short of provisions, and the tug boat came
and took our hawser ahead about sixty fathoms out, and
we were soon cutting the jaunty waves out toward the old
ocean. Everybody seemed to be pre[)aring for the usual
ceremonies for the annisement of old Neptune, and as we
began to feel the swell that came rolling in, some looked
pale and kcj)t on deck while others went to their rooms
and turned in.

'I'he tow boat left us outside of the ("ai)e and luider all
sail the Haydn IJrown began to roll the foam away from
her blunt l)ows. I went below, as it was getting near sup-
per time, and the long deal table was already set with tin
cups and plates, and the second cook had his provender
all ready to place on the table : we stood up along each
side of the table in a row to take our seats, as he rattled
an old tin pan,— this was done at live-thirty o'clock, — and
the rush was made, elbowing and jamming to get to the
first tiible, there being two set after that. We sat down
to eat and the waiters came along, calling out each coui'se

ARRIVAL AT PUGET SOUND.

139

they carried. I saw we were not getting fed in the same
way as they were in the cal)in, tlioujjh we were entitled to
tlie same bill of fai^-, hut imtiiing was said, for we were
just out and did not feel like finding fault with what we
got to eat.

I went on deck to smoke and have a look at the weather,
and I saw a large ship in the otling, that they told me was
the Henry Villiard, loaded with coal for some coaling sta-
tion on the other side of the Pacific. It was cold on deck,
so I went below for awhile, where a few of the passengers
were engaged in playing cards, anil soon went to my room.
In the next one to oui-s a man was seasick, as bad a case
as I ever saw, for he kept it up to the end of the passage.
I turned in for a nap and the old l>iir<|ue soon rocked me
to sleep.

Next morning there were very few passengers at break-
fast ; the cooks and waiters felt jubilant for it was little
work for them, and they hoped it would continue to the
end of the passage, but they were doomed to disapi)oint-
ment, for fine weather set in and the passengei'S flocked
out on deck where the pure sea breeze fanned their pale
faces, and sad looks were changed into smiles ; when
they sat up to the table how they did eat, and the cooks
and waiters worked hanl to satisfy their appetites.

The ladies came out in pleasant weather to promenade
the (juarter deck, and the dogs were let loose to wander at
will about the ship, all but poor Bruno, a large Xewiound-
laiid; he was kejjt under strict discipline by his master,
who, as I understood, was a schoolmaster and had with
him, in addition, his wife and boy ; they all seemed to live
under this rigid disvi[)line, for you could hear his voice
above the roar of the sea, commaniiing either the boy or
liruno. Everybod}- was remarking that they would never
forget that dog's name.

One day I saw the mate and two sailoi-s pass along aft

140

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

with a lantern, and bring forth two stowaways, who were
taken before the captain ; he had some words with them,
and sent them up to the main top for the rest of tlie day,
and afterwards made them serve as waitei-s. They after-
wards fished out another who was j)ut to work in tlie
galley.

There was trouble brewing among the i>assengers, trou-
ble for all concerned. I will explain the sitiiation as near
as I understood it. In the tii-st place it was agreed that
we were to lie fed alike, without any distinction, from the
master down, but this they failed to do; the big beef that
hung under the niainstaj' was all gone, and we had had
but little of it ; the long boat on top of the forward house
was full of cabbages, carrots, beets and turnips : these were
fast being used up, and we got l)Ut little of them, and
as we came down to the canned goods tliere was a short-
age, so much so that we only got but very little of them.
These canned stores were what Humphrey failed to supply
for the extra passengers, so of coui'se the drain came on
the flour.

Vou may ask us what we did eat. Well, we got stewed
white beans and pork, — these beans were onh* half cooked,
and the pork was too raw to relish, — we got some sliced
salt beef, black coffee, and the tea tasted like decayed
vegetables, with a light dash of whiskey. Of course the
whiskey could not lie helped !)}• the cooks, as our water
was filled in old whiskey barrels, and the longer it stjiyed
in them the stronger it got, but what coidd we do ( It was
all we had to drink, and we would pinch our noses as we
swallowed to get rid of the taste, but it stayed in the
stomach, and we all liegan to get tlie look and smell of old
topers. One thing I shall never forget, for it was served
every meal, was a sticky paste, oat-meal and water, that
the cook, who was a (ierman, called muss. Whether it
was the right name or an error in the pronunciation I can-

ARRIVAL AT I'UGET SOUND.

141

not say, but all the waiters culled out " muss " as they
went down the line, and we called it nnisfi, and nniss stuck
to us like glue; we used a little molasses on it to make it
more palatable, and choked and gasped until it was down,
when a good drink of l)lack cotYee washed tlie way clear
for another mouthful.

The two knowledge boxes would talk fair with us and
then carry the news to the captain of all the grumbling
that was done, and when he would come down to walk by
us while we ate, he would ask iiow we were getting along,
and was always answered In' our two men of knowledge,
" All right, all right, captain," and the captain would hurry
along out of our dining room as fast as he could, so no
one could get a chance to tell him the trutii. He was
made to understand that the Chase gang was making all
of the mischief, and these were the men to watch.

One day the knowledge l)oxe8 suggested to the crowd
tliat we live on two meals a day, and we would get more
variety and be better satisKed ; well, we thought, we will
try it for a wiiile, but no change came in the bill of fare.
This suggestion of theirs was i)ut the command from the
captiiin, for we were short of provisions, and lie did not
want to let the passengers know, so took this method to
get our consent, and the scheme worked. It woidd have
been better to have told the passengei"s the circumstances
as they were than to keep them in the dark and liave them
grumi)ling because they were not fed better, not knowing
tlie cause, and of course blaming the steward or cooks.

The captain thought to find a way to interest them, so
appointed every man a watclunan, each one to take iiis
turn in watching, to guard against fire and any depreda-
tions that might be committed. I think some of the pas-
sengers felt a bit nervous as they saw the younger ones
skylarking around between decks and singing out " nuiss "
to the Cook and steward. The guard against fire was a

142

TO TIIK ALASKAN GOLD FIKLD8.

good idea, for idtliougli smoking was fuibiddoii between
<lecks, the men smoked just the same, tliere ijeiiig no one
to check tliem. The yoiuig men ('((inmitUHl some (leincda-
tion every night, and it was charged to tiic Chase men,
and at hist we were called the chain gang, and the Kot-
zehue Sound men tried to lay the l)lame ol everything on
the Chase gang, but it was a lew of the young men of
both parties.

("aptiiin McCiure remained in his caijin entertaining the
ladies and grew fat, while discontent was brewing among
Ills passengers that might lead to serious results, for there
were arms and anununition in plenty, and whiskey could
be had. J think it was this that tired the youths iij) to
such a heat that they felt that they nnist do something in
the way of retaliation for what they were eniluring.

One night tiiey broke into the cook's stores, whicii was
a beef barrel with a padlock on it, and got some of the
cook's private stores ; this, of course, made a row, and it
was Liid on to the Chase gang. The cook said he would
cook no more, and the cai)tiun passed through, looking
quite serious, but said nothing, and hurried back to his
lady friends in the cal)in, and things remained just the
same. The old cook was good as his word and would
cook no more for us, but we did not wait long, for a man
by the name of Harry Campltell, a tidl, good-natured fel-
low from the Keystone State, accepted the position, and
went to work. There were bread and beans left out for a
lunch, the bread what you might call raw dough. >»ow it
was the baker who caught it, but he chumed he did not
have an oven big enougli for the number of loaves he had
to bake, so some set too long before he could put them in,
and besides, he had many pies and cakes to cook. This
work he did in the lught, when the cook did not use the
stove, so we toasted his bread, and with l)utter saved
from dinner, and molasses, made (juite a feed, when the
Chase gang was hungry in the night.

AURIVAI, AT PUGKT SOUND.

148

W'v liad 11 dense fo^' for two days, and sonu! one icportecl
that tlie captiiin had lost leckonint,' and did in)t know
where he was. A saloon was opened up in one of tlie
steam lannches, the man 1)U\ ini.' the rij^ht to sell. 1 think
it WHS twenty-live cents a ylass. lint he did not sell much,
for most everyhody had a little store of his own. The
Miatii's and slinvard's wives ha<l a fallinj,'' out, and after-
wnd the steward threw ni) his hillet, und il was taken liy
liw iiata who sold the whiskey, hut this elian<;e did not
afft-et UK any, for everythint^' went on the same.

We i^it upon tlie forward house between the lioats and
at<t tofkw cabhajre and turnips out of the hint;- hoat, and
sratAjrhl, then went helow to see what tiie eook Jiad for
suj^jwrr, and stood in a row as usual, and spotted ourseat
witlu ihe tin eu]) turned top down on tlie tuhle, iKM'Vously
w»^Mi<; for the sound of the gontr- After the rush those
tlii;<t vM're the (juiekest <fot seatjs, and in some eases those
tlirtl were stronsjjest ; after the struggle the vancjuished
slunk ,tway until the next table was set.

'I'iiis was the way we enjoyed ourselves day afti r (hiy.
1 iiad to laugh at a little .lew who claimed to he ,i >arber;
he had tried the lii-st rush until he was tired ; bein a very
'"Hiuall man, he was jinshed on one side every time, -o now
*!e patiently waited and watehed the others, and lat,..;hiiig-
ingly said, "Dey like .so many fire horses when dey scmnd
zee alarm."

Ryan got aetjuainted in the forecastle and ate witu the
sailors. Ifowley was sick with some kind of internal
trouble, Leimge played arountl nights but was very .sly,
while Jleeman swelled among the nabobs to get points, as
he said, but I am afraid it was whiskey he was after. I
strolled on deck for my .smoke and generally met Mr. Fair-
ehilds of the Lynn i\: .Vlaska .Mining Company, — a very
pleasant man to talk with, but given to l»orrowing trouble
when there was none to be had any other vrny, — and Mr.

144

TO THK ALASKAN (iOU) KIKI.DS.

Gi)o<l\viii. Iiis iHirtnor. iilwayn patient and ciidtiriii^. I
8|>t'iit stmie verv jiK'usant lioiii's in conversation with tliuni.
We woiiltl get under the lee of Noiue of the hiuiielieH ami
look (Hit III! tlie \vat«T to seo if there were any ships in
sight, and tohl stones of onr past experiences. Fairchilds
was a forty-niner an<l iia<l traveled considtMaltly on the sea,
and thus we wliiled away the time, with notliinjif to inter-
rupt us but tlie schoolmaster putting poor Hruno through
hjs (laily exercise. This caused some loud and threaten-
ing abuse on |Kior Kruno's head, and of course the boy
was in for a sliare of the same. I was. told that when he
went l>el<»w, he finished up by blaming his poor wife forthe
whole busine&.s. The trouble was, the dog did not like so
much whi-nkey in his water, and would not drink, so |X)or
Hruno g«»t sick : wiiiskey was the trouble in that family,
not excesosive drinking but refusing to drink, — yes, whiskey
is an awful niischief maker, any wa>' you have a mind t«>
take it.

The stewanrs wife was waiting on the table in tlie cabin
and the stewanl was lying it <nit in his room, — some one
reported that they were not married, but 1 <lid not listen
to these flying ruuioi-s a.s I found no one who could say it
was true.

My turn came to serve on police duty, the badge of au-
thority l*ing a star ])in worn on the left breast. I took
my jM>st at midnight and was to l)e relieved at eight o'clock
next morning. I found a man burning a light in the after
end of the vessel. All lights out at ten o'clock, was the
rule for every night, so I went to investigate. He heard
me coming, put the light down on deck and jumped into
his liertli. but I had him spotted and asked him if he was
burning that light. He proved to be a (ierman and under
the ciix-umsUinees could not understand what I said as the
Ixtrque was rolling (juite heavily, so I took the light on
deck and cautioned him against a lepetition of the act.

■

AKRIVAr. AT IMKIKT SOUND.

145

[If jrrowled at iiu! in Geniiaii ami wanted the li^rlit, which
I refused to give liiin. lie h)oke(l very wiekedly at me,
!)Ut I took it away and pnt it t)nt. The watehnian i)et'()re
me liad allowed him to have it. There was stowed near
the (Jerman a lot of straw mattresses and dry pine hnnher,
Itnt tills was the way the watch was kept i)y many men who
did not realize or think what a ship on (ire was like, with
only two hoats to take three hundred passengtns away.

A few days after I had served, the bad^'e was stolen and
was never found, so they made one out of a piece of tin
which answered the purpose just as well. We were near-
ing the Aleutian Islands and a shari) lookout was kept for
the land. Sailing on a wild (ioast like this, with no light-
house to guide you, is very dangerous, for you must Hud
the i)ass in the darkest night ur thickest fog.

The welc(»nie cry reached our ears as they made the land,
sometime in the night. I went on deck and saw high
cliffs frowning down on us, dark and grim, and I looked
ahead and saw the pass through which we must go, with '
the foam and spray dashing over the rocks that showed
their black heads out of the water at each receding wave.
The wind was puft'y and we had our topgallant sails in,
and the old baniue was cutting a great ligiue in getting
througli this pass, for the current was with us and we soon
got through.

( ii\i'Ti:i{ vm.

lltiiM Din II IIAI!l!i»|; T<» sr. MK IIAI.I.s. - A TKAMI' <.Vi:u
Tin: MnlNTAINS. — l>(ilN<;SnN l:i )A lilt Til K liAIM/lK. —

Ti;<t( lii.i: y i: riii: <iiasi; (.anc. — I'.kkman

DKCIhKS TO <;it lloMK. — TIIK (OMTANV

i:i^iir< i:i> in Tiii;i:r..

We weiv now on ihe l>«'iiiiifSoa. sixty miles from Diitih
Ilarlior. wlieif we exite-* teil to arrive tiiat day it tiie wiml
held. We lind set our topjijallauts aj,'aiii and were making
a <4ooi| lay tor jiort.

I'liese Aleutian Islands are very moiintainoiis. tii-red

'alon!,f;ind makiiiLT a cliain that nearly crosses the I'aeilii-.

There are no trees, l»ut the !,n~ass irrow around the sides

of tiie nionntains and in the valleys. Init the seaeoast,^uIeh

and LTnlly. was a line of lihiek rlilfs.

We soon maile the entrance to Dutch llarltor ami had
to anchor on the outside on account of the wind dyin<;out.
As sooi| as the .inilior was down, a d<»/.eii or more <_'"t their
hooks aixl lines and cauiriit some line cod. Diiti h llarlHtr
w;is well |troteete<l from liiirh wii!<ls and storms: hii,di
mountains <,'ave us a shelter and tiiore was ji dry iKiracross
the mouth, with a j,'ood channel to jiass in, which hmke
oil' the sea eomiiiir in from " •riii;.'.

Ahout four miles fiiftlier up we could see I'nalaska,
with its old Russian church, now a Catholic mission. I n-
alaska was considered the leading town, iiiv.rhoats were
lieiiM.r linilt there.

i)ulch llariior iiad a store, and .six or seven dwelling

(146)

PKOM DUTCH HARBOR TO ST. MICHAKLS.

147

houses and a hotel. We got under way and brought the
barque inside of the bar, where they tried Hsiiing again,
catching many that were not fit to eat. We were tohl tliat
all the fish inside of the bar were diseased and not fit to eat,
so no more fish were caught. Here we found tliat the
captain was trying to raise money on sliip and cargo U^
buy provisions, but the merchants would not accept the
bond and the captain was hard pushed. He was trying
to hear from the owner, but could not, and there we lay,
eating up what little we did have.

One day three of us went on siiore for a tramp over the
mountains, taking a lunch with us. We walked around
the seashore for a short distance, finding some places hard
to pass as the watv.r came up under the clifi", and finally
had to leave tiie shore and get npon the cliffs, where wc
found a cosy place tfj sit and view the mountiiin scenery.
After we had eaten our lunch, we felt tired, for we hail
been on the bar<iue sixteen days without exercise, l)Ut
we stiirted for the highest peak, and it was to me a
weary climb. We readied the top and liad a most pleasing
view of the country ; not a tree was to be seen, l)Ut there
was some very good grazing for cows, of which I saw half
a dozen. iMountain upon moinitafn arose l)efore us and
one couhl easily get lost if he did not watch his way very
ch)sely. A few similar accidents had happened, one just
l)efore we arrived. I could st^e from the top of these
niountiiins that tlie water trailed in and al)out tiicir liases,
making a very pictuies(|ue scene. Wc saw some scald's
lying under shelter of some of these nooks.

After we got faiily rested we began the descent, which
was dangerous in some places, and 1 was glad to get to the
bottom. On our descent we saw an eagle and as I had
my rifle, I gave him a shot but he flew away, and just then
1 saw a man's head bolt up fmm among the rocks, very
close to the eagle and he would have shot him l>ut for my
interference.

148

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

AVe ofiiiie down to tlic pior wliere the haniue's bdiit
lauded to take on a siij)i)ly of watrr. AI)OUt this time of
day, just lict'oro the supper gouo- iau<f, many of the passen-
gevs wautt'fl to 1,^0 on hoard, and the ca})taiu t,'runil)led, as
did the saih)rs, as we tuiultleil into the lioat auioui,' the
water hairels and eveiy otlier ('ouceivaI)h> place where a
man eould stand, and tlie l>oat was iruuwaled to tlic water.
It was a ease of sink or swim with tlie erowd, or no supper
afterwar(h

I'asseuoers owuiuir l>oats. hiunclied tliem and went iu(k'-
pendent of the hanjue's boat. Some irot jol)s on steamers
tliat weic huildiuir, when they I'ouud that we would not
leave for siune time, receiviiiy; two dollaiN per day and
fouiul : wlien the week was up they liad to jro to the stcue
and taUe trade, for there was no money in Dutch ihiriior.
I went on shore to see how the hoys were makinji; out. for
I knew some of them knew uothint;' of the trade. ( )ue let
himself as a caulker, and was workin^f under the bottom ;
the way he drove oakum was a caution, for that was all
he was doinu-, tiUiuur the seams full of oakum and drivinif
it in. If thiit boat didn't leak I will lose my t^uess.

I will state here, for the l)enelit of my readei-s who don't
unch'rstaiid what caulkinof is, that it is a trade in itself,
and a man who has not had a little experience is not lit to
meddle with it. Two of our men were very i^ood caulkers.

\Vc will now turn to the doings on board of the barcpie.
The captain iiad raised tlie money he recpiired from some
of tiie passeuirers, and boujrht his stores and was haviii}^
tiieni put on lioard. Tlie men workint,' on shore were no-
tified to tpiit work ami come on board, for we would sail
the next morninjj, haviufif laiil in port eleven days. The
captain claimed as the reason for our delay tiiat he was
waitinif for the ice to leave St. Michaels, hut my experi-
ence since then sh()we<l me that the ice wa.s (»ut of St.
Michaels before we left Seattle. He was [)inched for

FROM DUTCH HAKBOU TO ST. MICHAELS.

149

money which, of course, was not the captain's fault, but
the owner's. This causoil the debiy, niid if the i)assenireis
had not had tlie necessary anioinit on han«l, wc would
never have f^ot out of that port on board the liaydu
Hrown.

The win<llass was manned and the slack chain hove in,
then the top sails were l()ose<l and sheeted home, then the
jibs and foresail, and as the mate sanjf (uit, " The anchor
is a-weijrh," she went astern on a quarter circle, the fore
toj)sail was filled, tlie jibs set to pay her head oft", the main
yard braced up with the fore-yard, and siie jjathered head-
way and passed out into Herinir Sea. The rest of the
sails were set and with a fair wind the old l)ar(iue carried
a bone in her moutli all that nijrht and next day. She
seemed to enjoy frettinj^ away from Dutch Harbor as nuich
as we did, but the third day she dropped the bone and lay
becalnie<l all that day and night. The captain sounded
and <rot thirty fathoms.

Some of the ijassengei-s who had some brass filinirs sifted
some on the armour of the lead and caused a great excite-
ment throughout the barque when it was reported that
gold came up on the lead. Yes, there it was on the ar-
mour, plain and glittering. What a gold country wc were
getting into, and our prospects looked l)righter still. I'er-
liaps some of our readeis who don't undei-stand sea phrases
would like to liave the armour explained. At the heavy
end of the lead is a hole al)out an inch and a half in diam-
eter and an inch deep. Tiiis is tilled with hard soaj) and
is called the armour, for that heavy end reaches Itdttoin
Hi-st and whatever is there it will bring up, unless there
are i»ig rocks, in which case ibe soap brings up an im|)res-
sion of them. With tiiis the ca/tdn goes to the chart,
finds the depth t)f water there, and with a book of direc-
tions, linds he is correct if the bottom tallies with the
depth. This is a sure method to navigate iiy in thick

loO

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIKLD8.

weather. Many a ship has been h)st hy nen^lectiiig to
soiiiul, and many lives also.

Well, wo arrived al)out the last of June at St. Michaels.
1 was disappointed, for I thouffht St. Michaels was a larger
town, whereas in reality it could hardly he called a town,
there heinj^ but few hoiises there and conseciuently a small
number of residents. Hut there is as much money passed
throujifh St. Michaels as tliroujifh New York city. We ar-
rived on Sunday and it was a very wet day. We kept
snutf in our rooms, not venturinji; on deck when the mate
came through between decks shoutini; at the top of his
voice, for the Chase gang to get in the l)oat at once and go
ashore with their l)aggage — captiiin's orders. This put
many of our men out in the rain without shelter or food.
We had freight on board and refused to go, although we
were threatened witii the cutter's crew. I laughed at the
idea of Uncle Sam putting men on shore with notliing to
eat. We said, jtut on shore our provisions and tents and
we will be glad to go, i)ut the big comi)auies that had tlieir
steamers and machinery and l)oiler on board were the lirst
to be waited on, and our goods laid there, to be taken out
whenever they got ready, so we remained on l)oard.

ihe captain came on board one night and said he had
got a letter from Ilum[)hrey, ordering him to seize and hoUl
everything on board in Ciiase's name, for Chase's i)usines8
iiad fallen through and he had closed iiis ollice and skipped,
with al)out one hundred and ninety men, who had paid him

assaire moncv t«) Alaska, aftt'r bin

'I'liis was the last

we heard of Chase,

•V part of the chain gang had remained on board in
s|)ite of the captain's threats, and now they felt them-

selves at his mercy.

There were Chases master builder.

the ski[>per, mate, and quite a numl)er of car[)enters, with-
out any i»rovision whatever, for Chase was sui)pose<l to
have everything there for them to live on, l)Ut now, of
course, tiiere was nothing.

FROM DUTCH HAKBOR TO ST. MICHAKLS.

151

The mate came down l>2twt'en decks next morning with
the euptiiin's orders for all of the Chase men to go on
shore, or ho would send some one after them. The men
thought it was their only coui-se, and although it was rain-
ing very heavily, they went down tiie ladder into the lioat.
There was one old man — a siiip carijenter — that I felt very
sorry for. I found him almost in teai-s, and asked him the
cause. lie said he was all alone, and the Chase bunoo was
a loss to him and his family, which he had left at Fort
iilakeney, where he had formerly worked on Ciiase's i)oat,
the material for her construction having been taken
from that ^ard. Chase had called for a certain nund>er of
carpentei-s to go to St. Michaels to Imild the craft, and he
had volunteei-e*!, with good pay, of which he had not re-
ceived a cent, and* was now alH)Ut to he put ashoie in the
rain. " Have you no tent/ " I askcil. lie replied that he
had, l»ut it was down among tlie freigiit, and no one would
bother to get it for him ; neither would they allow him to
find it tor himself. " Have you any outfit/" I next asked,
and he said that he liad alntut thive months" provisions,
but even that was foritidden him. " Then what are yon
going on shore for — they can't force you on shore without
sending your provisions with you. I am staying on board
now. Vou stay on board, an«l don't g<» on sliore in this
rain, for it rains every day here tiiis time of year, excei)t-
ing days when it is too cold, and then it freezes." !5nt
the old man would not heed nie, and when the mate yelled
down the hatchway for tiie men to push along, the old man
started up the ladder. I followe<l close to him. and was
alongside of the captain when the old man passed tliro\igh
the gangway. As the ca[itain saw me standing tiiere, he
said, " 1 shall have to get the cutter's crew to get this
Chase gang out of the shi|)." If he looked in my face
and saw the frown I gave him just then, he would know
there was one who did not care for his threat, l)ut as I did

162

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

not get into the l)oat, the old man went(ht'vn the l)arque's
sidi', got into the boat, and wiis rowed ashore.

.My eonii)any fXot togetlier and talked matters over. As
matters stood it was a iianl i)lo\v on us as well as the rest.
('ha.se had all of our nione}, and what could we do '. We
decided we M'ould go on shore every day and see what the
cliances were. I did not feel down-spirited — we liad a
year's supply with us and two fjood tt'nts, and i didn't
think Umde Sam would drive us oft" the earth.

I heard no more threats from the captain, when he
found out that none of the men's stores were in Mr.
C'iiase's name. Here was where he wasexi>ectinji; to make
a l»i«r haul, and he was disappointed. That nif^ht, when
the last hoat came off, the second mate saw the oUl man
standinj; at the corner of a Ijuilding trying to get shelter
from the rain. He reported him to the captain, and the
captain told the mate to bring him on board, which was
done. He was drenched to the skin, and was glad to get
back i)etween decks and get on some dry clothes. He re-
mained with us until his freiglit was put on shore, and
then he went along with it Witli the exception of my
company, he was the last of the chain gang.

IJeeman and liyan had been on shore at different times
looking for a chance to get up to Dawson. IJeeman came
on board one evenin;>; sick and weary. He had seen a
dead man brought down from Dawson, and got cold feet
at once. That evening he came to me and said that when
he began to look matters over he thought he had l)ettergo
back. He had a very bad cough, and besides, his lungs
were weak. Jle had grown worse ever since leaving Se-
attle. This I knew to be a fact, and I advised him to go
home, for he would never come out of the mouth of that
river alive.

I learned later that I spoke tiie truth, for Heeman was
a very sick man. There was a large English steamer lying

FKOM DUTCH HARBOR TO ST. MICHAELS.

153

in the offing that would take him down to Victoria for
tliirty doUars. This was very cheap, and he made up his
iniiid that night to sell liis outfit on the Haydn Brown,
take the money, and go home. So lie opened up a sales-
room the next day and .sold all he liad — for his outfit was
a fine one. lie was pleased at this, and going on shore
he engaged his bertii, the baker's boat carrying his bag-
gage on board the steamer Garone.

Ryan went over to see iiim off, and on his return told
me that he tliought there was a chance for us to get up
the river. The (iarone was discharging her cargo into a
river boat to go up to Dawson and lie tliought we could
get a chance to go on her. liiit I had no liopes in that
direction. My idea was to buy a Klondike boat large
enough to carry our outfits and go up the river on her,
though I had never told the othei-s of my plan or that I
thought it feasible. I wanted to get our freight out first
and then proceed with my i)lans. .Mr. Ryan was disap-
pointed and began to li)ok about for himself. Since Bee-
man left the comijan}- it had broken uj). Rowle}- had
drawn out and thought of going up to Kotzeiiue sound,
leaving only three of us to go up the Yukon out of the
twenty that left Lynn nine months previous. It was a
fearful falling off, but we were determinetl to carry out
our scheme,.anil although we had no money I saw my way
clear to get up the river, so did not feel uneasy, but kept
my thoughts to myself. The first steward and his wife
were ordered on shore by the captain.

The mate accused the steward of stealing a tuli of but-
ler and an officer came on board with a warrant and
searched poor Jack's room but found nothing. Then Jack
said to the constable: " You search the banpie and you
will find many cases of beer and whiskey stowed awa^- in
boxes marked groceries for McAlastei-. This information
was taken tishore and brought a boat's crew from the cut-

154

TO THE ALAHKAN GOLD F1KLD8.

ter. Tliey seized a lai'f,'e lot of wot fjroroiics, l)\it as tliiTO
had been no attempt nuide to land it tlicv placed it in the
half-deck and pnt a seal on the lock.

Tiiat ni<rlit I woke np and heaxl (|inle a rnnii>ns ; some
were sin^inj^, some tellinj; sioiies, and as I lookcil ont of
the door T saw what 1 am soiry to write that all were
intoxicated ; yes, some were injastly drnnk and lay on the
tal)le and iKMiches, and even on the deck. As it was dark,
I don't know how many there were, hnt i|uit«) a !,'ronp
Of course I wondered who had lieen ti'catin^f so freely, foi-
I knew that the majority could never hii\c l)<»ui,dit it, for
they had no money, and it ost two dollars a pint on shore.
I went hack to Ited and ai ist fell asleep.

Next niorninL,'' the usual liustle of I'emovini,'' the cai<,n)
was Ji'ninj,' on, when the cutter's boat came alonj^side a<j;ain
for the olliceix to look at the seal and they found it broken,
with a five-gallon keg of whiskey gone, so, of course, here
was more troid)le. 'i'liey returned to the cutter to report
and came back with an armed crew to search the barque.
After hunting for an hour they found the keg, but no
whiskey. Then the oihcer investigated and decided that
the culprit was Harry Canipl)ell, who, I thiid<, had been
censured by some of the j)assengers because he had a strong
desire for <lrink and would get inlnxicated whenever he
eimld. He was now found in that condition, so as he was
sui)[)osed to have drank the most, they arrested him and
put on the irons, he going with them like a lamb to
slaughter. After a hearing, he was locked u|i in a sort of
a (.'age they had for that j)urpose. 1 thought it too bad.
for there wasn't any doubt in my mind that the guilty
[tarty was still at large, and so it proved, for I was lold,
long afterward, that Harry was not the one who broke the
seal.

Harry's trial came off, and as nothing was [troved against
him they brought him on board again. He was adopted

KKOM DrT(m HAKHOU TO ST. MKIHAICLS.

155

Ity II mail imiiu'd Dixitii wlio, with his son, was f^oiiijf as
far an Cape Noiiu'. This was lucky for Harry, for he had
no money and liardly knew what ho would do. The cook-
ing lie had done paid his passaj,'c, hut afttu' ihe paNsen{,n'is
left lu! had no position on hoanl the hanpie.

On Sunday the sailors got leave to take the hanpie's
hoat and go on hoard tlu; (iarone, Ryan having a chance
to g(» with iIkmm to see licemaii. There was an open har
on hoard of the (iaront; and 1 think that is what drew
the sailors. When they returned that night Uyan .said he
had seen tlie eaptain of the Kock Island, the hoat that was
taking the (Jaronc's freight up the river to Dawson, and
if I would aj^ree to it he could tret us a chance on her
with our freiglit. I was suspicious of everyhody hy this
time and was afraid there might he some scheme to steal
our freight, hut at last I consented ami we |ilanned to get
a l)oat and go on hoard early the next morning hefort; the
captiun went on shore. Lepage and l{yan went on Ixiard
and I remained on the harque.

There was one more that helouged to the chain gang,
and that was Mrs. Dewey. Although not accpiainted with
lier I often was near enough to overhear her conversation
with other men, and as she spoke very loud, everyhody
eouhl hear if they were int«rest<'<l to listiui. She was a
hvrge woman and despised men for some reason known to
herself. Perhajis it was hecause she had no attractions,
for if she had depended on her heauty to reacdi Klondike
she coidd never have got outside of her garden fence, hut
she could talk and scold in good sluipe. She had a mania
for talking against our President and senators and claimed
to have lost a plantation in Mexico through them. The
Mexiean president, Diaz, she called an assassin : and in
fact, they were all assassins.

I made up my nund that she was a little gone, as she
would never have started for Klondike aUme with the

io»;

TO Tin: ALASKAN OOLD KIICLDS.

hirjje aiiKiiiiit <»f fn-ij^lil she took jiIoiilt with licr. Slir ha<l
jKiiil Chasf «.'»<Mi, f'iL'i«:lit iiioiit'v, lit'si(h-s «!';")(► for liiT pas-
Mifsv, and us he had Itrokcn t'liith with Uvv I did not woii-
tler at her bating nu'ii— and vet she liked to talk with
them. Shf lia<l more nioiii'V to hisc and sh(> wanted some
one to Hml her a ciiance to lose it.

Uyan and Lepaire letnrned with the joyful news that
the Koek Island wonhl tid\e ns and our frei^dit n\> as tar
a» tlie mouth of the !vo\ uknk river, which we had decided
U|Min a.s our destination. We wtMC to work onr passaj^e,
and the eapuiin wanted us to com*! on hoard the next day,
for thev were short of help. This was <;ood news, so we
got lesive to pick out our frei<rht that night nnd have it
where it could be put in the hanpie's hoat in the niorninir.

Mrs. Dewev called |{yan and in(|nired ahout the chance
he liad <;<)t. iuskinir him lo intercede for her. K\an t4ild
lier he did not think there was any chance for her, and at
that slie was terrihly i)nt out with him, and added him on
her list «»f jussiuisins. as she was wont to do with those who
refn.sed to do her hiilding.

We dill not lose any slcej) over it, however, and that
ni<rht we went ilown nit<i the lower hold, with a j^'entleman
to »ee fair play, and divided up with Rowley. We had
onr stores piled near the side port, where it could lie easily
hamiled. and turned in. Kowlcy had made up his luind
tiuit h** wouKl i^o to Kot/ehue Sound.

Next nioniin<r we put our freight on the ship's lM>at, and
I>e|»ajje an«l I went on shore to l>uy a Ixiat to take along
with us. It was the lirsl time I had landed, so I went
along to see the si<flits. 'I'lierc was iiut one street, that Ite-
g:tn in mud and endcil in mud, passing through a iiunch of
hoiLses : the |M»st otiice, a hotel, and the military Uirraeks
were the notable buildings. 1 believe there was also a
church. We went along among the tents where some of
the chain giing lived, and saw (juite a lot of boats for sale

PUOM I)UT(!ir MAHIMIH TO fIT. MUMFAKLS.

1 " **

tliat liixl jiiHt roinc down llic ^'iikoii ; lnit tlicrc Wiis ii(>ii(>
t<> Niiit iiH, HO we (lid imt Inn . Some uf oiir i

iit'li were ill

pretty <l('s|p('nitc (•irciiinstiiiKi'M, liviii;,' on tlic cliiirity ol"
tlioso Unit liiul Itiit little, and a crisis must come verv soon.
What were tliey to do '. Tiiere was no work there for
tliem, iiotwitlistandiiiir tlie rejiort in Seattle that tliey
could find [lieiity to do at ten dollars pur day.

It was (piite a joli to lind fuel to eook with, tor then^
was no drit'l-wdod lyiiiL,' aloi;;,' the shore. I never learned
wlieiv they jfot their fuel. We went idon^r hack thidnt;h
the Haine avenue, and followed aloiii( up to where some
Indians lived, hut they had nothing hut skin boats, so wu
could not trade with them.

We eaiiie hack to our own boat and found the sliip's
haker there waitinjf for us. We rowed alonj,' the shore
and saw iiu-n wm'kiii;,' on the " knock down " steamers,
putting,' them to;i[ether. One oy two were iron boats. We
saw the Lalla Kookh Collins and Captain Whalen busy
buildiuif to ,1,'et up the river. I'liUiiij,' off to the banpie
the baker put his jii) and mainsail on the boat, and we bade
j(ood-liy to Uowley and steered for the Ilock Island.

Wlieii we jrot to the Hock Island we found the captain
of the banpie there with Mrs. Dewey, lie had broujfht
her over in the steam launch and took her to the captain
to get her a passage up the river. The ca[)tuin of the
Uoek Island declined to take her, as he had no room for
her freight, so she gave him quite a dressing down and
said he would take a lot of lazy hoodlums (meaning us),

le captain

but would not assist

a i)oor. lone woman.

claimed he wanted us for our work, but he could not take
her, so she mved in her disappointment and eon.sidered him
the worst assassin she had met yel. Captain MeClure
dragged her away to the launch, which was soon juilling
its way back to the baniue, and so we got rid of Mih, Dewey
forever.

ciiAi'T!:i{ r\.

I I' TI!K YIKON. - \VK \V(ii:K oil; I'ASSAfiK To TIIK

Mol Til OK TIM; KoVrKl'K. — I.ANh AM> I'KoriKK

A lloAI. — tMN A «;ArNTI,KT oK .Mos<.irnoKS. -

l>IKKirri/nKS IN NA> KIATIoN. — coN-

vI"Ki;ki> itv i; A Pins.

Oiir f\it from the ItiiniUf was \vi\ sikMcii. :im<1 wc l«'lt
no trail iM'liimI us. Our many accjuaintniici-s matlt- ini|ui-
ik's. Iiiit IK) one ( oiild t<-Il ilit-m alutiit lis. Our ilepartiiit-
was a mystfiy. Now tliis was tlir ciiiKlitiiiii lliat was
a<rr«'c<| til (III tiii- Itoi-k Island. Itvaii liad si-en tlif i-a|ttaiii
and had aski'd him tm- a i-haiii'(> tm thivf of iis. trlliiiir
liim itiir (•iifiimstanct's and wlicu' wt- waiitid t'> irn. Il<-
Msktd it we had aiivthinif id \aliu' lirsiiU's niii |irii\ i«.iiiii>.
iiyaii tiild him that in- had :■ violin liiat he wiiiiid n\ illiiiirly
Uivc it till- ra|itain wmiid taki' it, Iml the iatti-i' s.iid In*
would not taki- thr last thinu a man owned, so li*' went !<•
st'f til*- |MM'si-r, taking' Uyan vvith him. and atlrr talking;
the mattei o\iT, thi-y a«;n'»-d to taki- iis, wi- a;;iveiiij; to
pay >':'.lHl a|ii»'re it wi- i'nniid any ,t,'iild.

W'lun I sti-|i|K-d ID: lit-rk I loiind |{y»ii at work liaiid-
lin;.,' tiriixhl. < Mir oinlils weiv all on lioaid and -wnvi-d.
so J ir|iort<-d til the matt-. Mr. llardail, who >i-t iid' to
work. Wt- had Imm-ii mo Ioii^ w ithoiit work it i-aini- liMrd
on us. W'r wt-if <;i\i'ii a room aiiioni; tin- iist of the
passe I ly^- IN, fi'i-iiiij,' tliat we had Ikm ii hi-l|M-d liy th.it ;;reat
( hnniiiiitent who moves in I'lVstt^rv, and thankful for His
timely uid.

058)

Tllr lliKk ISIJt:<l> 1H«USI. >.l. Mil II \K IS I OR nil \IK...S.

UP THE YUKON.

159

Heeinaii, who caiiu' on lioanl to set; us after wc liad
stoppod work, felt joyful to tliiiik that he was .1,'oiiig honit'.
lie hade us <.roo<l-l»y that nii^ht, for next iiioriiiuij; wc were
to sail for tlie Yukon, (icttinj,' underway on a steanicr
vas a siuiill joli ; eastin^^ oil' the hreast lines and hackiuij
on the sheer line swin<,'s her hea«l ort", ami then, as sho
steams ahead, the lines are hauled in and the Itoat is away.
.\s we drew away from the (iaroiu; the (•row<l on deck
cheereii us lustily, and soon wc lost si^dit of St. .Michaels
as we |»lun<fed into a fot^ hank. The fo<f whistle was kejit
l)l()win;;, makinir its disinal music, and tin* dark fo<;. al-
most a rain, made thiuiis appear iniseraldc.

I t'oinid th.'it the iriate. Mr. IIard:ill, had taken a dislike
to me ; in fact, he diil not love any of us. lie kept us
earryiuii; coal to tiie lire-room, the coal heini; put up in
sacks weiL'hiui.' ahout one hundred an<l lil'ty pounds each,
and was piled alon^r the outsitle iruard of the hoat that lay
next to lln' Carone. .\ll the tilth from hci- was empfit'd
on these sjicks. and we musl ctiiiy one t)l" these sacks
alone, w itii all the slime and j.'r«'ase liesides. I iioiicetl
that none of the re<rular deck han<ls touched this coal <m'
any other heavy wei<;ht, i»ut the mate never knocked us
oil from our work, and kept us humming' all day, and all
ni<.'hl. too. We finally stole away to oui- ipiarters, how-
ever, and weri! allowed to renniin there till .">.;'>"• o'clock
next mornin;.'. Lepajre wiu-ked in the lire-room, assislinjx
the firemen, and so esca|H>d old llardall, who nicknamed
ni(; the old < ierr.ian.

\N'e had a liirhter alon<jside full of freight that we were
towinjr up to Dawson, and as she h>aked eonsideraidy we
were ol)li<red to keep her pumped out w itii a tin pump.
We had «>ne uuin with us out of the ( iarone, a little .*^wedo
l>y tlu" nanu' of ( )oly. II»' had Itcen p:intrynnin »m that
itoaf, and said he never had a ^jfood meals \ictiials while
on hoard, as no provision whatever was made for the

100

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

pantryman, and liu mine on lioard the Rock Island ulxxit
starved. Ooly jrenerally lielju'd Kyan. We were kept
niirvin;: heavy Itoxes f rom one side to the otiier. Ilardall
was riijfht after lis, |»iisirin<r an<l najrjxinfT lit our clothes.
His watchword was hurry up, and I felt thai if i had to
•.fo to Dawson with him 1 would l»e a corpse or he would,
one or the «>ther. As it was we had to jro seven hundred
miles w i .1 him. ami then wo would be left to ourselves,
so I concliiiled I iiuist have patience. Hut it was hard to
.stand the uliiisc Inmi that man.

We arrived at the mouth of the Viikoii and made a miss
111' tiiidiiiir llic cliamicl, ^ettiii<r airrouiid on a saiid-l»ar,
where we laid until the tide went out and came in ajfaiu.
Here wc were visitetl hy two ciUKics, an Indian in each
one with litis III trade. This was (piitc; a curiosity I'or the
MiiLrlish clciiiciit mI nm passeiipTs to look on, so they j^ot
(low II on tlic laiiMi'li and asked (|iicstions, which the poor
Indian did not iindei-stand, until finally one yoiiiiir tVHow,
wild seemed to lie over-stockcci with conceit and poor jiid>f-
mcnt. induced tiie Indian, who was a little sliy. t<i let him
'^r\ in one of the eaiioes. T eaiioc was inatlc of seal-
skin, all (leckeil over, with just a hole in the centre for one
oeellpallt.

The Indian i^ot out and stood on the iaiinch, watching
jiidceedinuf> will' that stolid coniilcnaiiee peculiar to the
race, ami the yoiiii;.; man '^t>\ into the canoe, with a
man holdinir it iipri<rht, whicii reiniiided me of one leain-
injjr to tide a liicxcle. The new naviufator j,'avc the word
to let Lfo, ami as thev did so, over she went. The vouiitr
man was under, with the canoe on top, and a shout of
laujfhter went up that could have lieen heard in St. Mi-
chaels. The [lasseUf^ers elappeil tlici; hands aii<l shouted
at the misforlune of th>'ir countryman, whose hroad
brimmed hat had just then made its ap[iear:'Jice on the
Hurfaee, with his huatl in it. Spluttering and spittin<; out

Tim I \N()E I ArM/EU.

UP THE YUKON.

161

the muddy water of tlie Yukon, ho <;riis[>ed the bottom of
the eanoe as a man hauled it in uhmjrside of the hiuiieh,
wliiK; the unfortunate man was frrajipU'd onto ami pulled
on hoard — a sorry lookinjr ohject, after his hath in the ice
cold water «)f the Vukon. I think a little of his conceit
was washed out, and a little euution took its place, for ho
never swelled around airain as much as hefcu-e, and ho
seenu'd rather more social.

Kllorts were made to jret a pliotoirrapli of the Indian,
hut he would not all(»w it, and paddled away as fast as ho
could to <ret out of ranire of the kodak, of which ho
seemed to have a superstitious dread.

The captain had l»een out in the yawl tryin<r to locate
the ciiannel, and had succeeded in nii.kin^ up a slake for
a beacon. When the steamer tlualca I v.as duly thankful,
for Ooly and I had been kept l»usy pumpin<r with that tin
piunp — the steamer's pump- Iteinir useless temporarily,
as shv was tlitt bottomed and t.i. -is the mud. We were
iiv)u/i (Ji S{ir v)vM)i>fi .iivl sleainiuir ni> the river. I thou^'ht
lo myself, c(»(dd there l>e any ;^old in that heap of delu'is
and mud i What a dismal |»lace I l'erha|is it was liecause
1 was not feelinir well tiiat the surroundinjrs looked so
horrible to me. .Nothinjr but stunted willows ^new alonjf
the l)anl\s, and larire junks of ««artli kept slumpin;.' into
the liver as the current swept it away from inideineat li.
(ireat beds of willows wtndd lueak away from the brink
and dropdown into the water. For a while they \\oul<l
liend their strenjj-th against the tide. I>ut it was only for a
little while, and then they would be driftini: amonir the
other deliris that floated down to llerinjr sea.

The Indian Hhacks jjere were built of willow woven to-
gether and covered over w ith sail. There is one thinir I
may jis well explain now. as it will be mentioned often
throuirli the ren>aiider of my writintrs, and that is the
slough (pront)unv'ed slew ). The slough is a side channel

VV2

TO Tin: ALASKAN GOLD FIKLDS.

mado liy the overlldw of water. Wlioii there is an ieo
jam the water opens a new way for niih's, riinnin;; paral-
lel with the river Itefore tindini; its way out to the stream
airain. In time the water washes out this new ehainiel,
which always all'ords a very convenient slu'lter for men in
a li')at or canoe, wln-n the wind is hi;.di on the river, and
it is always easy to lind one of these sloii<;hs, for they are
plenty alonir the hanks of the riv<'i'.

Aftei' two days on the Ynkon I was awakened in tlie
niuht liy the cry of •• Wood pile, wood pile." and the
mate (li;:<rinir me in the ril»s, as was his usual manner
when he could <ret near enon<rh. lie was shout in<r, "(iet
lip. Iioys, and hel|t carry the wood on hoard."" The
steamer i»lew hei' whistle the siirnal for wood tothenu'n
(Ml shore, and the steamer was irroimded on some kind
of a mud and sand lieach. I'lie plank was run on shore,
with the mates hnrrvin<r thinirs up, and two men landed
with our liowdine and made it fast. 'I'lie line was drawn
taut on l»oard Ity oiii' steam capstan, and the captain went
on shore to tr.ade with these indi.ans for tlxii' wood, pay-
inix tlu'm in dry j^oods and some tlour.

The word wasjjiven us to hustle that wood on i>oaril,
and away we went with a rush, lo lie met on the i»anks liy
mxiiads of niosipiitoes that seemed to he w.-iitiuir foi- us,
and charged on u> like mad l>ees. When we opened up
the woodpile they sw irmed arouiul us, and the lilood ran
dow n our faces from th«^ l)itcs of these little torments.
We had no protection from them, and had live cords of
wood to take in, so wo had to st;(nd it.

I was taken Ity surprise, ftn- I had never heard it men-
tioned that there were mosquitoes in .Vlaska I mean such
swarms of them, and so well educated to thcii' woik. .V
few of the passen<:ers ventured on shoic w iUi nuisipiito
netlinL; (>\ er their faces. Inoliceij that the Indians sat
in the snnike of some dry lojrs, and were not troul)led hv

1 \KIN). IN \V<K)h lis TIIK ^IKON.

ri' Till-. YUKON.

it;8

tlu'iii. W (> i^ot dill' wood (III lidiinl, and \m>i'(' soon stctiiii-
iii;.' it|) the river ii<:iiiii.

A few of lln' loniiciils lotik imssiitfc with lis, iiiiil we
saw liiit little sleep after tiiat. ()iieila\ we landed tociit
wood, and were provided with axes. 'I'liere weren't iiiaiiv
professional wood-e hoppers in our crov^d. so we ;.'ol IhiI
little, hikI the steamer wt'iit on iier way ayain. I'oor Kyan
cut his foot, throiiirh old llardall piiiiehini: him in the
lilts to iiiiriy him up. Kyaii's hoots were new ones and
eoHt four dollars, hut what did llartlall care for that '. lie
kept on w(irl<in<r us just the same, ami I hej^aii to feel
alioiit ready to hreak down.

.Vfter woodin^f up and rimnini.'' the gauntlet of inostpii-
toes as usual, \\v landed at the Holy ('ios.s .Mi.ssiou to let
a lady passeno;L'r olT who was >;oin;,' to assist in t*'iiehin^r

the

Ind

laiis.

e saw the yoiiny

Ind

laii schnjars come

<lo\vn on the heaeh in pink eiilico dresses and hliio
(•aps with ".'old hainls around them. They looked cleaii
iind neat. This little town set at the foot of a hi^di moun-
tain, iiiid had a heaiitifiil sand Iteaeh. There wius <;ieeii
«;rii.s.s j^rowiiitf, and, I understood, sonic other vej^etation.
I think it the most |)leasant place I .saw in .Vlaska.

W'e left that place and steametl aloiij,' U|> the river. I
was taken sick and went to see the doctor, who j,'ave me
some of his medicine, and the captitin told nic to ^n to
my room and not to come out of it for any hody. I oheyed

soon cnjoyiiitr the rest tiiat I

nis eommaiK

ami was

needed so much, aIthoiiji,di llardall j^ave me a diir in th

l)S wl

u'liever he came to our room to call the hovs.

( )ne day Kyan came and asked me wlu-re I wanted to he
liUiled, as we were iieariii}^ the mouth of the Koyiikuk.
I tol.l him where we could iret wood to liiiild our hoat.
Tlieve was a place calleil Pickett's Landiny, and they
wr.idd land us ahoiit a mile helow. Soon after, the steamer

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

'71.*^ «72>503

164

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIKLUS.

were liiiulin<r our t'rei<rlit and to qet ready to qo asliore.
I "ot out of inv berth and "oiny down on tlie freitiiit deck
found Ilardall there. He tohl nie to hiok over tiie Itoat
and see that we left notliinff behind. I found that everv-
tiling was landed and shook hands with Ilardall and the
eapfciin, who advised me to y-et up the Koyukuk as soon
as I eould.

I ran ujt the plank onto the bank and found half a dozen
men there looking for letteis and trying to sell the wood,
i)Ut the priee being •'t'l *> per cord the captain woidd iiot
buy and pushing off from the l)aiik steamed up tlie river.

I found that we were among swarms ol' m()S(jnitoes, and
as it bega.i to rain we raised our tent and placeii under it
all ])erishable articles. It was a warm, sultry day, and the
moscjuitoes bit freely — in a sort of bewildere<l state. I
tried to think what was the next l)est move to make to get
away from there, fo'' we would be devoured by tiiese [)ests.
We had to build a l)oat. foi' we could not l)uy one. The
price np there was thirty dollars for a small poling boat,
and it would take three or four of the.se to carry our freiglit.
On the other hand it would take nearly three weeks to
saw out the lumlier and build a i)oat. Hyaii cooked our
sujjper and we tried to lie down to sleep.

I shall never forget my exi)erience tiiat night. It was
not dark, for it was in July, and the day and night were
all one. I took a heavy l»ed quilt, and wrai)piug it aroinid
my hea<l trii'd to sleep. It was hard to breathe, but any-
thing was preferalde to being eaten up. Poor Ryan could
not stand them. lie ran and danced like a niachnan —
sliouting and blaspiieming luitii I was afraid he had lost
his mind. Lepage appeared to slee|). tiiey didn't seem to
l)other him, or else he kept his composure. >• Well," ho

sai

d to

nie next mormnL

let us <xo up IMekett's wav

and see if we can l»uy a boat." I did not know where it
was cominir from, but I felt that we could get something,

UP THE YUKON.

166

for liCi)a.ire Imcl the money, thoiiifh I did not know how
much.

AVc met a few of the tenters, as there was l)iit one log
l)iiildin<r, and that wass Pickett's store. This ))lace was
worked l)_v a steamboat ('omi)an>- wliifh i)aid men to cut
wood for them. What they did not want themselves they
would sell at a hiirh price — even as hiirh as twenty dollars
a cord. When a boat was short of wood they would
l)inch them, of course, so we asked if there was a chance
to l)uy a Ixvit.

The prices ran from forty to sixty dollars, and we did
not have that amount, l)ut when we were returning 1 saw
an old l)()at lying under the l)ank. it looked i)retty well
used up, hi't I stoi)})ed to interrogate one of Pickett's men
who said he did not know who it belonged to — the Indians
used it to go lishing in sometimes. I went down the bank
to look at it and saw tiiat it was just what we wanted —
witii a few repairs. She could carr}- all of our freight
and I wanted to l)uy. He said he would sell it to us.
We told him we had iiut little mtniev. and he asked if we
had ten dollars. Lepage nodded, and the man said he
would sell for that. We closed t.ie bargain and got into
our boat, to drop her down to our tent, where I com-
menced re])airs at (mce.

Lepage iiad to make a i)air of oars and we went at it
with a will. I felt that we were favored again and was
thankful. There was a steam launch at Pickett's belong-
ing to the -Vlaska L'nion ('(mii)any : their regular boat
was on its way up the Kovukuk and this I)()at was wait-
ing for some steamer that would l»ring them letters.
There were eighty men in this cam|) and the South Forks
was where they were heading : yet there were men of the
cam]) in a numl)er of ditlerent places, prosjjecting.

South Forks was where they would l)uild a city, and
we were invited n\> to the South Forks Union City. As

106

T(J TFIE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

\vc had not (lecided wlicri! to locato, we tliou^dit that uc
would iro tliero ; so we hustled to irot our Itoat ready, for
we were <rettin<r no sleep and wanted to get away from
w here we were,

Sunday ni()rnini>' came and we were all ready. I di<l not
care about startinir out on Sunday, I)Ut the mos(]uitoes were
hitiuir just the same as they did any other day, and I asked
the hoys what they thouiil't. 'I'hey were all ready to iro,
so we loaded njt our lioat and with Lepajje ahead with the
tow rope — for the current was swift and hanks steep — we
warped her alonn" toward the mouth of the Koyuknk.
Some men hailed us, claiming we would never get up the
river with that load on our hoat, hut we did not answer,
for we felt sure we could and were not to l)e discouraged.

After we got around the hend we could row. Ahead
of us was a high, rocky bluff that gave lis a little trouble
to get around. After that we could row, and we got to
the month of the river sometime in the night, where we
were told that on. hoat was too deep and that we never
could get up the river with that load. We heeded not
their warning, but pushing along we were told to keep to
the right l)ank and we would go along all right. We did
so as soon as practicable, hut the trouble was we g()t no
sleep.

After we had l»een thr<;e nights without sleep, we landed
on the bank where there was a breeze i)lowing, and had a
sort of restless slee[). We had been so long witiiout it
that we were troubled with nervousness, and I could not
close my eyes S(j long as F heard the moscjuitoes' bugle.
We did not stop long, but wen; up and away again and
soon began to feel the need of sleep. Wc tied our boat
to an old stump that was off in mid-stream while we were
getting our dinner, — if you could call it such. We had
not taken time to cook and our meals consisted of hard
liread and condensed milk — a very weak diet for the work
we had before us.

r,ETTIN<; READV TO ASCEND THE KOVrKlK.

UP THK YUKON.

167

I had iiiiule a iiios(iuito net and had it over my luit ;
when I went to liglit my pipe it caught tire, and by tJie
time I got it away from my face it was comitletely des-
troyed. The Ahuska Union hiunch passed up by and hailed
us, asking where we wanted to go. We answered " up tlie
Ivoyukuk," and they rei)Hed we were on tlie wrong river —
we wouhl have to go back.

This worried us a little, for we had no charts and it was
hard to feel just contident unless we saw some landmark,
"k'et I did not intend to turn back, and why that maa
should lie I could not tell.

There was another little steam hiunch on the river and
we found out tliat it behmged to the Kelly party from
New York. She was trying to take two heavy boats up
the river, loaded with stores, l)y relayin«r. We had made
a sail, and with a fair wind we were stennning the current
all right.

We saw a large boat laying on the side of the bank, so
we landed, and found three men of the Kelly party cut-
ting wood. They were one of the relays and were wait-
ing tlieir turn to I)e towed further up. They told us that
we were oi, the Koyukuk and that this Alaska Union
Company was a set of vagabonds. They did not wonder
at their trying to send us down the river again. It was
one oi their tricks.

I saw that two of this party were disgusted with Alas-
ka and were willing to go back. We bade them good-bye
and sailed away with nun-e coniidence in ourselves, for we
knew that men would lie to make mischief and we would
be on our guard hereafter.

We made a landing on the point of an island where
there was a good breeze blowing, thinking to cheat the
mos(iuitoes and get some rest. But after we landed and
cooked something to eat the wind died out and they
swarmed down on us.

168

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD KIKLDS.

Hyan and I walked the l)ea('li until I tliouglit I slioidd
drop, We tlien woke Lepage up, <rot in our boats and
rowed up stream again. If we had known enough to iiave
made a smoke we might have got rid of some of the nios-
(juitoes, hut it never entered our minds, and we had to
stand and take it. I saw that there was a coolness between
Kyan and liepage, and their sulky, glnm visages made it
very unpleasant for me, as it was a case that needed har-
mony.

We had seven hundred miles of river to get over and
M'hat there was ahead of us to overcome we did not know.
AN'e were told that when we got to Treat's Island we were
h<alf way up, hut we had no way to determine how many
miles we made in a day, and the river was nothing hut
crooks and tiuiis. We did not set our tent nights, but
slept out on the banks in our sleeping-bags, not knowing
but that some wild animal would come along and eat our
heads off. We cared little, so long as we could sleep.

Some nights Ave would wake up and find it had been
raining and we were soaked. Our pillows sounded like a
bee's nest when the bees are fighting mad and trying to
get out. These mosquitoes were a torment to us ; oiir
hands were swollen to twice their natural size and our
faces were a iiitif ul sight. Although we wore netting over
lis, they could get through and piuiish us for trying tt»
keep them out. The river was low and we had quite an
easy time of it, for the current was not swift and there
were sand-bars all bare that broke the force of the stream,
making dead water for us. All this helped and we figured
we were making about fifteen miles per day, but I think-
now that ten miles was about all that we could do.

The shores all along were muddy, and when we landed
we would sink nearly to our knees. The first fierce strug-
gle we had was with a sand bar. There was a shoal chan-
nel between it and the shore, but not deep enough for us

IP THK YUKON.

169

to get through. On tlie otlier side of tlie Imr was our only
hope and we had a struggle to get there, tor the har
was uneven, full of gully holes and then shoaled up again.
We dared nr)t get overboard for fear of getting into one
of these holes and the eurrent was racing over this point.
We eoiKiuered at last and sent Kyan on the liar with the
rope while we towed her along, hut siie took a sheer that
Ryan could not manage, and after iieing draggetl off int«»
the water he let go the rope and f^epage and I went down
the river like a race horse, leaving Ryan standing on the
bar. We got to our oai^s and i-eaohed the I tank after a
hard row, where Ryan joined us.

After getting off the har we thought we would try the
other side of the river, hut found we could do nothing
there. Our only hojK; was this sand liar, so we came liack
again to the place we had left, and after a hard time of it
we got hy. We found that the river was rising l)y the
junks of froth that came floating down. The wind was
against us about all of the time and we could not use our
sail. After this we had to use new tactics, for the river
had changed. The crooks were more elbow .style and we
would cross the river to where the current was easy and
there was good sand l)ottom ; for as the current came rush-
ing around a point it would cross over to the other bank,
where it would gully out and the trees would slide in,
making a mass of fallen trees that was impossible to jwiss,
while on the other side there was easy water, with a good
chance to tow our boat along until we came to the point
that we would have to rope around until we could get a
chance to cross over.

There were some difficulties also on the opposite side of
the river. Some trees and limbs stood upright, iis they
had grown, while some leaned over our boat as if threat-
ening to fall and swamp us. At other places the bank
hollowed out ready to dump another lot of trees. This is

170

TO TIIK ALASKAN (i()M> KIKhUS.

tlic way uc i^ot iiroiiiid tliat point. Ii('jia<.'i' was llie most
surc-t'ootfd, and lie took tlic rope, passiiii; il outside of all
tilt' trcHJs. W'lit'ii lie t^dt all the ropt; \vc woidd sliovc olV
uiid pidl until we tTdt to tiic end and then pass it a<;ain.
This was dauijfcrons work for l.t'piinc, tor he had to iro
out on Uvv.s that wcro lyinjjf in tlu' rivt-r and hy tho crooks
of the hank. We little knew wlu-n tlm hank would nive
wa\, hut in this niaiuu-i- we iiiauajicd to work the rivei'.

One (lay we tried a slouyh for a rest and risked the ehanee
of i>-ettinn' out at the other end. We made a jfood eul-oll',
hut found a h:ir aeross the other end and the water pour-
ing- in. We worked some time to jjet throuj^h hut found
it im[)o.ssihle, so we had In tui'n haek. We had then i)een
on the river three weeks and tin- Ixiys were doinn' jiretty
well for men who never hail worked a liont he hire and had
taken their hrsl lesson on the Koynkuk. Hut one trouiile
was that after tliey had learncid so niueh they tiiouirlit they
knew it all, and sometimes conflieted with my orders,
which made had work for me. Still this is natural to all
lieginners ami I had to overlook it.

IiO|)aii:e was very (luick to learn, and used j^ood jndii;-
ment on workinir the river. He was very active in his
movements, and that is a i>o(id feature in hoatiuLf ; hut lie
was |i^rowin<>' anihitious, and had to he called down, llo
a as sulky, which he ehiinied was Ryan's hiult. and so the
harmony that ouirht to have existed was wi[ied out, and
jeahmsy and <rlooin ruled in its phux*. lycpage had a jeal-
ous nature, that showed itself every little while, when he
could not keep himself from ids dark thoughts, — but it
was Ryan"s fault. He said he could get along with me all
right if it was not for Kyun.

'J'he mosquitoes were thinning out, the gnats taking
their places, and these little pests were ten times worse
than the uiosciuitoes, though they would let you rest
nights. They would stop their work at seven, hut about

IHKI1«1'LIIKS \\h. Mhl iiN llli. M\KK.

I! I' THK Yl'KON.

171

live ill llic iiiiiniiii^ wniild st4irt in apiiii at lull lilasl. 'i'lu>
iiiiisi|iiit() lu'l was 1)1' iKi use, lor tlicv \v(»iil(l Hilt tliruii;^rli
it, uikI alter lliev ir''t in wonM liujil to <.'('t out. Tlicy
swarmed altoiit lis all day, lilliii^ oiir eais, eyes, inoiilliand
nostrils; they woiil<l iairy tiieniselves in oiir liair and
l)nrrow into the llesli, iMiii;riii<r the hlood.

We iiad not met a human hein^' for tiiice weeks, and
we felt there was noiiod\ on tlie river iait lis. ( )ne iiiyht,
after \vv iiad piteiied our tent, 1 was eookiiiir supper, and
Hyaii and Lei)a,n(' were soeurin<r tlie hoat for the iii^dit,
wiieii suddenly i heard the commaiid of •' llamls 'i| I "
and looking' u[). I saw tiiret; men standing; with rev(d\(',r.s
[>ointed at us. IJefore 1 could say anythiiiff they hunt
into a hiiij>ii ami came forward. I had not seen U ;ni l»<
fore, Iwit 1 ^hail luner forget the feeling of welcome as I
grasi)ed their hands for ii friendly shake. They had mis-
Liikeii IIS for anotlierj)arty, hut were glad to meet us. They
helonged to the launch Serene, formerly of the Kelly party,
that hroke uj) down the river, and four of them took what
provisions they wanted and eanie alonj;. The rest went
back to Nulato with the remainder of the stores to sell them
out. We were out of tohaeeo, and begged a smoke of
them, and they went to the bout and brought us a pouud,^
for which we were very grateful.

I'liey were going dp to Anrtic City', and we spent a
pleasant evening tiilking together, and when they left us
we were alone onco more to fight our way along. I^epage
grew sulky and would not talk, because they addressed their
eonversatiou mostly to Ityan ; he did not like the Serenes
and hated Ryan the more. At last Uyaii said he would
tell me what the trouble was between them, but as it was
a personal matter I will not repeat it. I considered
Lepage unreasonable, and no blame attached to Ryan.
Lepage knew that he told ine, and he was very wrathful
with him.

172

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

I was (lolijrlited with my new acqnaintiinoes, and felt
R'vivt'd after tlieir visit, for I was about half sick hel'ore.

We shouldered tlie t<tw line once more and started up
the river, l()okin<>' for 'I'reat's Island, and th()U>>'li we did
not know what the island was like, supposed that we
would find tiie mouth of the i)assa,<;e easily. We followed
the trail of some i)oats ahead, seeing their tent stakes
where they had tented nit,dits : sometimes a jiiece of sawed
wood from some steamer was a si<rn that we were on the
riirht river: then there would he a place wheve wood had
l)ei'n cut. 'I'his is the way I navigated without chart or
compass, and was conlident I was ii<;lit.

One morniii<r we passed the steamer Luella, wooding'
n\). We did not speak hei; as we were on the opposite
side of tlie river. Aft<'r irettiui;' about a mile further up
we came to some rapids on the ])oint of a sand bar, the
first we had seen, and we tried hard to j.'et the lioat ovei'
them, i)nt the current would catch one side of her bmv
!in<l wrench iier out of our grasp, swinj'injf her like a top.
then she would briui; up sideways on a hummock, of which
the bar was full, and nearly capsize. We always jumijed
in when v/e found she was ufoiiiir, and this fri<rhteiied Le-
pai^e and be would scold, while Iv^'an always knew euou^li
to keep bis tonyue still. I knew there was no danixcr, for
the water was shallow. Lepai^e, after one or two trials to
t>et the boat over, with the sanu^ result, thouirht we ccndd
row her over further out from tlu; shore. I could see the
water Imbbliui: up theic and boiling', showini"' that there
was a rou<rh bottcnn near the surface, but Lepa<re took it
for back water. Off there was where the dan<rer lay, for
if we had struck a bununo(d\ we would have been thrown
in so (juick that we would never have known what did it.
Yet I said nothincf and agreed to veiituic to yive him a
little experience.

We rowed out into the stream, y^ot into the back water,

UP THE YUKON,

173

and rowed up to the rapids. We found we rowed bot-
tom, and sometimes the hnmuKHk was there. I told tliem
to try poling her, which they did, and trained a little, but
a whirl in the tide caujj^ht one side of our l)ow, she spun
around so quick that she threw them down on one side,
and the l)oilinjj^ current keeled her over gunwale to, and
away we went down stream. I held my l)reath until she
passed over the hununocks, for 1 knew the real danger,
while the Ixns were afraid of a little water that splashed
over her side.

They took their oai-s to row, and I steered for the other
side, trying to land above the Luellti. but this was a nar-
row reach, and the tide was rushing through with great
force, sf) we landed belo\\- the steamer.

These were the lii-st ra]tids we had met and we were
coiKjuered. We had a hard looking show, but must pass
up this reach somehow. The Luella liad quite a number
of boats that she was towing up and a few passengers, in-
cluding one woman — I think the cajitain's wife. We went
on board and inquired iov letters, but there were none for
us, and we pushed on up the river. \\'c saw the Luella
drop in mid-stream and attempt to stem the tide ; she
just held her own for fifteen miiuites, and we thought she
would not do it, when she began to get ahead, and under
full steam turned around the l)eud out of sight, while we
were holding on to the branches, hauling our boat along
the bank. This was slow progress, but we won. and were
soon on a sand beach with the tow ro])e and pole, pushing
up stream.

When we stiirted out in the morning we little knew
what we had to go through before we camped for the
night. We passed what they call an Indian village, con-
sisting of a cache", a tent, a shed, a row of drying poles for
drying tish, ii;id a lot' shack. I called it a summer resort.
The sheu »«.■? what they u.sed before they got tents to live

174

TO THK ALA^iKAN GOLD KIKI.US.

under in Uie summer, when it is fishing time. Tlie cache
is used lor winter fishing, when the fish is frozen as soon
as caught and i)nt in the cache, where it remains frozen the

year round.

Tlie summer tish consist of sahnon, wliich are split and
hung over tlie holes to dry : sometimes a little smoke is
used to drive off the insects, wliicli, when tliey have notli-
ing else, live on raw salmon. The place we passed was a
line location and the Indians seemed contented.

f ■>'}-•*..

■J ,\ ,i ij-ff-

■«■ ■■

CIIAPTKU X.

ON THE WAV T(t AliCTIC CITY. — Hl'NTlN(i FOK TI!KAT"s

ISLAND. — TI{ADIN(i W ITH THK INDIANS. — THK MAKV

ANN MKETS WITH AN ACCIDENT. — MISHAPS IN

n»WIN(i. — WE liEACH Hl'OHES' ItAK AND

SEE OUI! KIJtHT (iOLD.

We got [)rettv well u\) tlie river and were looking for
Treat's Island, when about six o'clock we saw a large
opening turning oft' to the right, and thought it worth our
wliile to cam}) here and investigate. We landed on the
[)oint, wliich was quite high land with a low, swampy sort
of meadow, and a creek running into it. ( )n the other
side was what we took for a wide river, but which I did
not feel was the one we Avere looking for.

We pitched our tent, cooked and ate our supper, after
which we were surprised hy the Serenes coming u[) to the
same point and making fast. They talked with us about
this river, believing it to be the one they were looking for
so we planned to try it next morning.

Tiiere was a fair wind blowing in, and we set sail and
went ploughing up through it like a steamer. I did not
feel sure then of wliat we were doing and would never
liave ventured but for the confident way in which the
Serenes spoke. Aiiev sailing all the forenoon I began to
see that we were wrong, and that it was a slough, l)ut I
knew that we would come out somewhere. About two
o'clock we passed thnmgh a little creek and there we were,
back at our old camping ground.

(X75)

176

TO THK ALASKAN GoM) KlKl.DS.

Well, we ^ot out of tliiit and crossed the mouth of the
8louj>;h, iiiul as we rowed up alou^ shore we came Ix) another
slough, but there seemed to be some eurreiit there so we
rowed in. It was dead water on our rif,'ht, but inside was
another narrow entrance with a lon<r sand bar across its
mouth from one side, while on the otlier the bank was
washed out, twelve or lifteen feet, leaving the sod on top
thickly covered with trees leady to drop any moment.
This we noticed as we were coming back, when we struck
on a current from this slough. I made up my n)ind to go
in there, for it seemed as if the current was too swift for
a slough.

It was about time to (iim|), so we ventured in and found
a good i)lace to set up the tent. There wc held council.
Was this the little river or not ^ All signs pointed that
way. so we decided to go ahead and turn in for the night.
Wc heard the stcaiucrs us they ])uffed and rattled, going
up ilic main river. Hyan tried to hail them, but they citluir
didn't hear or didn't want to, so he came back to the tent
wishing some one woidil give ns a tow next morning.

'I'lie more I thought of it, tlic more I felt convinced we
wert: right, for I could see a stiong cnrnint. The ri\('r
was very nari'ow l»nt we staited along and were pleased to
lind that it was easy to work: it was very crooked but
this is the salvation of the hauling boat, for there are sand
beaches to work on, and as the river was low we made
good time.

We saw our usual landmaiks oi tent stakes iind steam-
boat wood, and on the third morning we met the steamer
Kyle cruising after breakdowns, or, in fact, for anything
that they could stiueeze an exorbitant price out of, for
there was no limit to what tliey asked, and if there was
no money no help need be expected from them. They
belonged to Arctic City and were the founders of New
Arctic City. They hailed us but we had notliing for them

TH I fRSI IM'IAN TK.MEK-.

ON Till', WAY TO AIICTIC (MTV.

177

SO they pu.ssiMl on down tin* river, U'lliiij; lis we wore alioiit
ten miles I'l-o III tlu- inaiii river. ( )ii the foiirth day we
eiiine into that stream and had a \*>n^ strai<i[lit reaeii to ^o
tiiron<;li : the hanks on eitiier side did not atTord lis any
tloatiiig, so we pushed with our oars and rowed until we
got Ity and were favoured with litllo iietter towing. We
passed th(> mouth of the llogatiakaUai.

One day we iiad a good strong iiree/.e, so wo set our
stpiare sail and were sailing along up the shore in good
shape, when we met an Indian and his two sons, in a
poling l)oat. lie seemed to he very intelligent and wanU^d
to trade for cartridges, lloui', tea and siigai'. We saw a
eaiioe coming down on lis with a sipiaw |)ropelliiig it against
the wind and the wattsr was flying. The Indian pointed
toward iier and said, '• She cra/y."" She came alongside
with two young .Maska pups in the canoe for sale, hut as
we had no use for dogs just then we could not niakt; a
trade. Just aioiiiul the point was his shed and cache and
two or three canoes. The canoes were evidently owned
by the s(|iiaws as they seemed to he the main ones to use
them.

As we rounded the point the wind was aiiead and we
took in our sail, using the tow rope again. The Indian
landed with his hoys and the s(|uaw with her pups, for
which she asked one hundred dollars each, the Indian
saying she could get it any time.

A team of these dogs is very valuable in winter and
almost indispensable, l)Ut a team can be got from some In-
dians for one hundred dollars. These dogs have to lie fed
and the whites eook up liacoii for tiiein ; the Indians some-
times have split fish and sometimes nothing, so he likes the
white man. When he can't feed his team he is always
ready to sell for what he can get, but is very independent
when lie has [jlenty.

One night we eamiied near what I called a large brook.

178

TO Ilir, ALASKAN COM) I'lKLDS.

Wlu'ii \\v stiirlt'd uiil ill tlif iiKiiiiiiiH' Li'iHij^e Id'okr liisuar
iiimI sve liiid tu qo Ittick to the place wv, liiid Utfl uihI ^o to
work iiiakiii<;aii our. I liiiiL.dit liiiii liow to liiuM>nt> out and
111' was vi'i'v miicli pleased. While lie was iiiakiiij,' it Hyuii
and I set up tlie tent and cooked the meals. It took all
day and we stayed that ui<«;ht.

.\ liver steamer visited us at tiiis place, sayin^r they were
told that there was j>old in this hrook, and they wcMe pros-
J)ectiii<;. I think they had heeii watchiiii,'' lis and seeing-
us stop iiiiairined that we were pidspectiii_i>' for tlu-y did not
stay loii^ when they saw tlu' real cause. They could not
tow us up as it was their intention to prospect aloii^' the
river as they ascended.

Next iiiorniiit^' we were away a^'ain with a new oar to
help. As tliis was ill August, tiie rainy season was ahiiut
setting' ill and evciythiiii.'- now was wet. W'c had to tent
ill the wet and our Hour was ijfetlinL; wet. lor we iiad no
tarpaulin to hiy over ji and the ri\cr was risini;-.

( )ne day we were lioardcd hy two s(|iiaws in a canoe to
tradt;: they wanted Hour Imt we could not spare it as we
did not know how iiiiicli of wiial wc had was dama^'ed.
i.epaire had some trinkets lie wanted to trade for a iish,
l)Ut no, they were not \ain : a pair of shears, however.
l)rou<rlit the lisli. She hrld a silver dollar in her hand
wlijcli she olTered for some Hour, hut we could not part
with any, so they [luslied off and paddled up to a salmon
trap that they had set and commenced to take it up, for
there was goiii<>' to he a Hood.

One ov two days after we pitched our tent at the month
of a slough. It was rainiujj; veiy hard and we landed for
the night. We had pulled our boat that day ahout three
miles, hy nieaiij of the i)riiiiehes of trees and the little wil-
lows that grew on the side of the hank. The river was
rising and we could Hoat amongst them, but the rush ot
water that surijed dowii nnule it diHicult for tis to make

■t

-)-f.

•^r^'

..■«■ . w ^m iii ni l n li llfff"W»»<|

lAHIM 11 I^V sill \\\ IK.MMU'

OS THE WAY TO ARCTIC CITY.

179

Jiuicli liciidwiiy, so we i)itclied our tent until the waters
subsideil.

The ground was sw.unpy, but we laid spruce limbs to
hold us u[) ort of the wet and that made it quite comfort-
able. The river had swollen even with the liank, l)ut so
long as it did not come over we were all right. Wo met
a man going down alore. He did not encourage us much,
l)ut lie was after provisions, he said, and passed on.

The rain came down in torrentvS and I felt that we would
lose all of our Hour. I was not very well and needed a
rest of three or fovir days, so was not sorry at being de-
layed. While l^epage busied himself in enlarging the sail
and making new spars, I got ([uite a rest, and as soon as
the river fell enough we started up the slough, which was
not very long and had a rapid across its entrance.

We had to cross the rapids from the island to the main
l)ank. It was shoal water on the bar, but below us were
stumps of trees [)ri)truding out of the water that wasseeth-
hig and foaming around tliem, plaiidy showing the danger
we must encounter if we missed the bank. 1 knew that
we would reach the bank if the current did not throw the
boat's head down stream. The boys were excited and liable
to make a l)lunder. 1 had the stern pole, as usual, and they
the oars ; so wlun we were ready we let her go. She fairly
flew acr(3ss and down with the frothing water, but I kept
my pole going with all my strength, and as she struck the
bank with her bow the shock nearly threw us overboard,
and I.^')page with the tow rope jumped on shore and got a
turn around a stum[) that iield her fast.

f^epage never gave me any credit in tliis exploit. It
was too risky — these stumps sticking out of the water. I
always said I did not see any stumps, so no more could be
said about it, for we had been in just as great danger
before, that was hidden under the water and nothing
was thought of it. We could have dropped back out of

180

TO TKK ALASKAN GOLD FIKLDS.

the slough but I could see no chance on the other side of
tins island, and if tiiere had been, we would have had to
cross the i'a])ids just the same. We got along on that
shore for a while very well. I'^very mile counted and we
kept pulling them in. Tiie river was loweiing very rap-
idly, tiie weather was tine again, and we had passed the
twenty-five mile reach.

Ilei'C we had some hard work to find footing, as this
was a long straight piece of river, but we liad managed as
the river was Ic ,v and we could get l)ottom along the shel-
tering banks lor oui' poles. In some places we could find
a shelf that we could walk on and tow ; wiiile ahead with
the rope Hyan walked off one of these into the river. This
accident might have proved serious if he had been caught
by the current, but he got a hold on the bank and saved
himself. The shelf he was walking on was a foot or more
under water, and as it was rily he could not see the bot-
ti ni and walked in. We laughed at Ryan for tlu; wetting
iie got, but he took up the vn\)e and paddled ii again.

One night when we landed to camj), the bank was thick-
ly wooded with whitewood and alders. Tlie trees had
been flooded when small and thei'c was a complete net-
work of them, the sauie as tall grass when it has been
Iteaten down by a heavy rain. With our axes we cut out
a place for our tent. On the river we could nf)t always
choose a good place to tent, lait we always tried to cam[)
among the spruce. Occasionally Ave would land where
the bank looked all right, only to find a swamp on the top
or perhaj)s a long low reach where nothing but willows
grew.

We would sometimes find the banks wet and soft, so
that we would sink down nearly to our knees, but we
would have to cami) there in lieu of a better pl.'ice, and
cut plenty of young wilk)ws to floor over our tent, these
in most cases being wet. Still tliis floor would hold us up

ON THE WAY TO AHCTIC CITY.

181

out of the mud. Our boat was one mass of mud, that we
had carried in on our lioots, although we tried to wash it
off. An Indian landed near us once, claiming that he was
a pilot taking a boat up tlie river to Arctic Citj-. He said
there were tive steamers on sand bars l)etween us and Arc-
tic City. When asked how many miles we were from that
city — a (|Uestion tiiat had Iteen asked so mai y times — he
tried to explain 'n crooking his clltow in and out. 'i'liis
meant the crooks in the river and signitied that in making
one mile of progress it was necessary to travel six or seven.

These Indians could never deline our mile. So many
crooks of the elbow, and one steamer stop, soniany crooks,
and another .steamer stop, was the way tliey exi)ressed
themselves: while this particidar Indian kept count on his
tingei's of the number (»f steamers aground on sand banks.
He predicted that we could never get up there. " Hv and
by plenty ice, you stop." We did not like the Indian's
l)redietions. for we felt that we could get tliere. He left
us, passing down the river. A boat came down the river
and hailed us. There were two men and a boy in this
boat, one of them an old man. wearing an army oveicoat.
lie was a (i. A. H. man and asked us where we were iro-
ing. We told him to South Forks, for that was wl.ere we
intended to go. as it was the only place within the gold
limit that we knew of. He advised us to go back, saying
there was no gold uji there, it was all a boom. — but look-
ing at his pick and shovel. I noticed that they had never
been used, and thought to myself iiow could he know
whether there was gold or not, as he had never dug for it.

While he was coiivei-sing with us the Serenes landed
astern of U!= a little distjuice, and our visitors dropped
down to them and told them what news there was up the
river — that the ice had formed and was quite thick in
j)laces. This was not encouraging, but I said, " Go we
will until the ice freezes us in, and then we w ill have to

182

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

stop," l)ut the Serenes said that tliey lia<l a secret of ;:rohI
tiehls and were willing to tell us, for they thought we
could never get up to where we intended to go.

If all reports were true, this secret had cost them
money. They would tow us, but we would have to go
back down the river to the llogatiakakat and up that
river. They knew where to Hud the spot. They had
passed the river, not seeing the entrance as they came by,
but they knew it was below them now. They were turn-
ing back to find it, and we told them we would i-onsider
the matti'r. They said they did not want to intluence
us any. but simply made known t<i us the secret through
feelings of friendship, so wlien we went back to camp we
talked over the situation, and 1 said that as we had im
particular place where we expected to lind gold, I thought
the prospects up that I'iver were as good as on any other
river, and we had the tij), why not go with chem '. 'I'hey
would tow us, and there would be no trouble. Uvan
thought as I did, but Le[)age wanted to be contrary. How-
ever, we notified them next morning that we would go
with them. It being Sunday, we had intended to rest
all that day, \n\t as we had entered a new scheme we mtist
be uj) and going ; so we dropped down on to the Serenes
and made fast.-

"At the t4)ot of the whistle we started down the river,
feeling that it was pleasant to have a tow, as we laid
back, steered our boat, and enjoyed the idea of being near
our journey's end. At last, about fifty miles below, we
stopped to wood up, and while we were getting wood we
saw a steamer coming up the river. Two of the men
jumped into the boat to board her for letters. She proved
to be the Florence, bound up to Arctic City from the llo-
gatiakakat They had men up there prospecting, but they
reported nothing there, so kei)t on for Arctic City.

This discouraged the Serenes, and t!iey asked for a t<»w,.

ox THE WAY TO AHCTIC CITY.

183

williuLr tn pay any ivasonahle lute for their freijrht and the
launch. I'hey asketl two Imndred and fifty dfdhirs. which
was accepted. Meanwhile they had spoken for ns, sayinir
it was their fanlt in Ljettinir ns down the river airain, and
so it was agreed tu tow ns u]) fifty or sixty miles. We
acconlintjly hitched on ontside of the launch, and were
soon plousrhing u|> the river again.

We wei-e supposed to cut wood and help do the work
generally. I.epage and Kyan s\)\h wood all that night. I,
being the cook, was advised to stay on our own boat. Next
day we lande<l for wood. Our boat was on the side tliat
came next to the Ijank. I tried to drop her astern as we
sheered into the bank, but other ropes were hitched over
our bow-line, so that we could not clear them in time, and
having no knife to cut it, we were jammed into the bank
by the Floi"enoe — our old boat closing up like a book, and
our thwarts protruding through the plank.

I tlnmght it was the last of the old ^lary Ann, as we
called her. The water rushed in from most everywhere,
and all I could do was to bail it out as fast as I could.
After the fii-st shock the steamer swung off a little —
enough to free us, and we got our boat out and dropped
astern. The captjun was a jolly, good-natured man, and
stood by us. but his brother, who was president of the
compan\ , was not like him a bit, and seemed to have a
dislike for us. The rest of the company did not want to
tow us up the river, I)eing a selfish lot^ but no worse than
the rest of the steamboat men on the river. They were
extending the iiel(-ing hanil oidy in cases where there were
dollars.

The captain told me to drop our boat^alongside of their
lighter and take out part of our cai'go, for the Mary Ann
was leaking. This I did. The accident insured us a tow
up to AiTtic City, some of the ci.mpany speaking very
feelingly alM)ut the matter. We were two days here get-

184

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIKLDS.

tiiiff \v()(i(l, iiinl tlieii stiirtcd from tlie \nii\k in tlie mori iiii;
tor 11]) sti'i'iiin. Tlie Floivncx' was a n'ctod lioat, with idciity
oi' ])()wer, and we did some |.i'etty j^ood work lluit day.
Tliere were two [)il()t.s on hoard. Tiie ohler man's name
was Magratli. They had l)eeii (h)wn to N'iihit(» for provis-
ions, heiiic:, as tliey chiimed, ohl timers on tiie river; and
I <;'iiess they were on the Imioiii. 'I'iiey enyaired to run
tills steamer up to Airtic (Jity, and had kept elear of a.ll
sand l)aiiks so i'ar, the captain said, and they had heeii
riinniiii:' niyht and day.

I)iit as the days l)ei>an to slioilen the iiiyiits were (|iiito
dark, and it was risky to iim. 'I'lie eaptain told me that
he and ids hrother owned the hoat. She was Imill in San
Fraiieisco, and sailed 11]) to St. Michaels schooner-riyt^'ed.
lie had uot alon<>- lirst-rate tliere with his company. 'J'lieii,
when they chaiij^ed her into a steamer and had n'ot land
on each side of them on the rivi-r, they hroke up all dis-
ciiiline and hccamc iiiimanayeahle — his hrother as had as
the rest. " IJut," said he, '•lam skipper of tills iioat,
and 1 will never cast yoii off."

< hie niii'ht, as we warv lookiii";; for a [)lace to anchor, it
was netting' ([uite darU, an<l the jiilots thouifht it best to
follow the channel across to the other hanl< and iret an
aiiehoraufe there. There was (|iiite a lii<:h mouiitaiii. and
land loomed up deceivinoly, so they misjudired the land-
mark and plunked the hoat on to a sand liar, where she
lay across the current, and the harder we worked her the
farther she iiot on.

We worked all night, Imt it was no use. The captain
said he would li<>hten her, and hy the time he got ready
the river had lowered so that they could wade aroiiml the
hoat. She was hard and fast, and they could not get the
weight off (|uick enough to tloat her. We rowed on shore
with the old Mary Ann, where I stayed all day and did the
<M)oking. There were ]ilenty of gnats, hut I kept up a

THE FLnKKNCE ON A SAN1>-I;AU.

ON THK WAY To ARCTIC CITY.

18')

smoke that drove them away, anil after the lM)y.s had
worked three days helpiiijr to discharge the Kloreiice, I
saw tiiat sli« would not Moat a^'ain tnr some time.

.Ma^nath told me that the river miglit not rise ennugli
that tall to thiat her, and tiiey were titling out tiieir lannth,
jHitting a boiler and engine on her, in ca.se tlie Fiorenee
did not tloat. So I called the boys in and told them I
thought they had done wnrk enough t«i pay fur our tow,
and we hauled in the ohi Mary .\nn. gave her a good
rtashing out, packed our goods in again, an<l im the next
morning early crossed the river uiuler the stern of the Flor-
ence, and soon hud the tow-rope again in operation, drag-
ging our boat up the river. Magrath told us that we had
one himdred and eighty miles to go. that when we got to
Hughes' bar — a eertiiin hmdmark — we would Ik* sixty-five
miles from Arutii- City, true measurement.

Hughes was u hermit and lived down there in his shack
alone. Me always had gold, and it was supposed he got
it out of that bar, i)Ut after a time he went insane, and
was taken to Dawson, where he was cared for. Many
prospectore tried this l)ar in vain, l)ut no gold to amount
to anything was found there.

Red Mountain, just above, was another landmark on the
river. We figured how long it would take us to get up
to Hughes" bar, and felt encouraged ag:iin. One day we
saw a little steamer coming up the river, which landed
just below us, and we heard some guns. We sent Kyan
down to the bank to ask for a tow. but he was refused
under some pretence or other, and came back (|uite disap-
pointed, but I saiil if we got up the river we had no one
to thank, for they had all passed and left us ])y the way-
side.

We found, on account of the river l)eing low. we had
good poling and footing. Magrath had told us we would
have a good bank all the rest of the wa\ . w ith very few

I8t;

TO Till", ALASKAN (■»)!, 1) KIKM)S.

('X(V|)(ioiis. We siiw 11 roii|)l(f nC slioct iron Itoiits alifiid,
tliL' nc'L'iipaiits of \vlii<'li were rnokiiii;'. We caiiK' up to
tlieiii iukI t'oiiud (licy IicIoii^cmI to the Alaska I'liioii ( 'oin-
jiauy, n'oiiii,' out to tlic Slatrs to sell shares in some <,nvat
;l^o1(1 liiid. 'I'licv IukI laiilt a city and t-allcil it I'nioii Cily,
and advised us to ^o np to Sontii Folks.

\\\' left tlicMi, tliiid<inii- liow liappy tliey nnist lie. Here
tliey were ufoiiiu' l)aek lo llie States witii i^ood news, and
we were jnst eoniini;' in. Anyhow, we wonid see the
States ai;'ain some day, and so we kept on rowiiiLj a,inl
pushing'. I lielieve it was on that same (hiy that 1 walked
oil' of a siu'lf and ^dt a n'ood dnekinn'. as yood as the old
Diver j^ave us. 'I'lic hoys shouted !ind lauii'hed, lint I. like
K'yan. took up my rope and plodded (MI aii'ain. 'I'hey
wanted nie to put on dry clothes aLjain, hut I windd not
stop, so we went on.

The next afternoon we iiad to cross the river to an island
where we (duld ii'et n'ood footing'. 'I'lierc was ipiilea iiiiih
mountain there, with the main (diamu'l close to it. and a
loUiT har crossed from the island nearly to tiie main liank :
a fearfiU current was rushini,' across it. I'his bar was not
smooth bottom, hut very uucei'taiu, full of irullies and
hummocks. It was a wicked lookinir place, hut we would
have to get over it : it was our only hope.

We sent l{yan out ahead with tlu; I'ope, and j)ushe<l and
pulled, sometimes the itoat was alloat, then .as (|ui(d< as
thought it wouhl he ajjfrouiid on a hiuiunoek. I was wor-
ried and tired out, hnt I ordered all overhoiird to push.
We could hardly stand in the water it was so swil't, irully-
in<r the sand and stones from under our feet. We would
soon be down to our boot tops. I called Ryan in witli the
rope ; he could do l»nt little, as lie was afraid of walking
into some of tlie gullies, and he knew that would be tlie
last of him, so he came in, and we handled the boat much
better, and got her over the har. 'I'his was really our tirst

WOUKINIi HIE': KAl'lDS.

ON THK WAY T<> AKCTIC CITY.

lH"i

rapiil. iiiul it was ii )»it'tty swill (tiic Wi- wcif (lom- iij)
and fiiiinpcd.

Ah Honii as we <;«»t to the land we had Nitppcrand ajroiid
nij,'lit's rest. I f(ir<ro( Id niftition tliat tlu' Sncncs put
tlit'ir frciylit on the steamer Kvle al'lcr st'ttlin^f v itli tlie
Klcirenee people, and started (itT witli tlieir empty laiinelies
utter biddiniT ns yood-ln-, saving they woidd meet ns in
Arctic City.

Wo kept |)lod(liiii.' alf)n«>' slowly, with few mishaps.
The morninfrs were irettinir <<>ld and t'losty, and the ice
coidd he seen on the liml)s and spiiirs that hun^r in the
water. My hands and arms were chilled away up to my
shoulders from handlinjf a wet pole, and our toes he<;an to
le(il the frosty moriunjfs. We landed at noontime now and
laiilt a lire to eat onr dinner. Some moriiin<;s were ([uite
chilly when there was any wind.

One niornini>' we passed an Indian villa<>e, and were sur-
prised to see all the little Indians, with iiothinj; to cover
their nid<edness except a short deerskin Mouse (h)wn to
their waists. I was chilled with the cli»thes I had on : in
fact I wore all I could work under, with hip ruhher Ixxtts.
There were none of the male Indians to he seen now, for
they were all away on the hunt for deer, whose hides were
indispensable for clothes, which the Indians said were
warm in winter and cool in sunnner. The squaws were
fishinjj and tendinp^ the papi)ooses. The Indian would
start out with his <run and (h>g, without any provisions, it
heinjr too much like a .s(juaw to take any, and he and his
d()f>' would i)e some days without food, iiut when he shot a
deer then he had a feast.

One day, in rounding the point of a sand bar, Lepage
and Kyan, by not following up my instructions, both
walked off the gidlied side of the bar, and were lucky
enough to cling to the side of the boat, which went drift-
ing down the river again. I helped them into the boat,

188

T(» THK ALASKAN GOLD FIKLDS.

and when tliey got up to the har ajruiii they were more
careful to do the riylit thing.

There were no more ini.shai)s, and one day we fountl
ourselves treadiuff llu<>hes' l)ar. We saw his old luml)le-
down shaek. which was in a tine location, and I thoutfht
how lonely the time must have been with hini. — so far
from .any other inhaliitant. Vet here was the bar he had
dug over every year, and here was the shack when; he had
hoar(le<l his goh'. Hadn't his wakeful niglits hecn tor-
mented with thoughts of rol)l)ers f lladiTt he started at
the sound of every leaf that rustled in the wind '. Hark I
it was tiic approach of those who would kill him for his
gold, and he would hasten to the dooi', draw the hars and
close; tht^ windows. 'I'lieie was no one in I luglics" shack.
No wonder he went insane, l)Ut now lie is well cared for.
We did not stop to try a pan here, iait kept right on. as
we wei'c making good time and the wind was i)lo\>int>-

C(.ld.

One noontime we landed on a rocky liar under a high
mountain that came down into the river, and all the wasii
of this mountain from the \erv sunnnit was precij)itatcd
int'i the river. 'I'here W(!re large boulders half way dow n
that looked ready to start any Miome"t. I was sitting in
the i)ow, with my legs over the sides, eating my cold lunch
of panciikes and fried bacon, when I saw something glitter-
ing in the water, and reaching down 1 j)ulled out a |iei)bl(i
with the mark of gold across it. Ves, it was gold ; and I
found another which looked as though it had been forced
over a lumi) of gold by the current, and having been
pressed hard on to it by tlie weight of the other [)elil)les
hfid got this nia>'k — a (juavter of an inch wide and an ineli
and a half long.

I showed it to the boys. They saw it was gold but
wanted to go on, now we were so near Arctic Cit This
was l{ed Mountain and the vicinity was called die Red

ON THiO WAY TO AKCTU" CITY.

.18»

Laiitls. We went on until we met the steam launch Mitcli-
ell, whose crew was tenting, and we joined tliem. There
was an island in tlie centre of tlie river and the main clian-
nel was on the other side of this isUiiid.

The Mitoiell crew claimed we were ahout t« n miles From
Arctic City, which was jfood news to iis. Tliey wore sur-
prised when we told them we came all of the way iqi in
oni' l)oat, unaided hy anyone ; for we cousidercil the Flor-
ence had only towed us (ifty miles in suiiimiui>- up the time
we were with her. The Mitchell saw th ■ Floicncc upon
the har, l.ijrh and dry, and tl>cy were [)Uttiu!4 astern wheel
on their launch. I ilid not wonder at tlicir misiiaps. tor
they were a very jtrofiuic set of men and I didn't iielicve
that they would ever irct up the river.

There was another stcauiltoat anchdrcd liclow us. which
proved to he the I.uella. She prohalily had hecii a<:rouud
since we saw her last and had [lassed her ^ouk' of these
boats were handled (pieer -orders were nivcn iiut none
heeded them. I saw an Indian for a [)ilot wno could not
talk Kuirlish, and as he could not understand what was
said hy the crowd he had his own way. lie couhl not steer,
l)ut i)ointed out the channel like an old-fashioned compass,
[)()intin<f from one side to the other and tiually n'ot on a
sand hank which he claimed wasn't there the year hefiae.
That explanation saved liini from an exasperated set of
men who wanted to put him and his dogs overboard while
they turned their attention to the work of ire tiuij- their
boat aHoat.

It was believed by the new comer.< that tiie sand bars
would change in a year, but such was not the case — the
pilot making use of that loophole to ^^ave his reputation.
There is no doubt but that the bars change in time- always
doiuir so as the current washes awav the side of the chan-
nel, but nt)t to the extent of shutting you out from the
same channel you navigated the year l)efoi"e.

190.

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIKLDS.

Tlie .Mitchell got ofr aliead of us iiiul crossed to the other
side. We Ijeard them ixjuiidiiii;' on some iron, hut what
the tr()iil)le was we did not know. As we were packing our
tent in the hoat tiie l^uella came in siglit and got to tlie
point of the island. 1 heard a great smash on hoard of
her, like a ton «)f iron crashing through her timhers.
Everyhody seemed to turn out and they were trying to
clear tiieii' anchor, hut did not get it o* er; so they went
drifting down the river, i)lowing their signals of distress.
I could do uotiiing t*) help them witii a row hoat, and the
Mitchell did not attempt to, so \vc went on up the river,
p.assing the Mitcliell, whicli had .sent a hoat out prospect-
ing and to find a place where they could get wood.

CIIAPTEI5 XI.

A WlNTKl: IN I'.KAVKl: < ITY. — 11' TIIK ALLKNKAKAT To

'MIKl-l' MK .lACK." — STAKK A CLAIM <)N MC AI.l'lNE

CltKKK. — IJllLO «tLI: SHArlv. — AN ATTACK <)I'

THK ScritVV AND A STKLUiGLK WITH

DICATH. — MANY TALES <»1" WOE.

I expeotfcl to arrive in Arctic City the next day,
and so the next niornintj we started out with lijrht
hearts. Noon came and no Arctic City. Had we been
deceived f Hut no: there came the sound of a steam
saw-mill on the wind, and we trndired along brisker. We
heard no more of the mill and I hegan to tliiuk it was <ome
steamer up some sloujifh sawinjr wood, when I looked up
and saw on two hii,di poles, "Arctic City." "Here we
are, boys!" I cried, and we hauled our boats up amoujj:
the others that lined the l»anks.

The Serenes came to meet us and took us into th'ir tent,
and a hot c\ip of l)eef tea, with irrannlated potatoes, bread,
lt\itter and coffee were very refreshin«ir. They were mov-
ing their goods up tc the new shack they liad built, having
1 rived throe weeks in advance of us. They liad their
launch hauled up in winter (juavL^rs and had built a shack.
We were to go up the AUenkakat ')ne hundrerl and twenty
rjiles, and after that thirty miles ui- tiie '• I'.'lp Me Jack"
if there was water enough.

Mr. Cox, president of tlu \yle party, had men up there
prospecting, and from lliem we could get all the informa-
tion that we wanted. Tiiis party nundiered twenty-six and

{•9')

192

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

was a very l)iisy lot. Tliev founded New Aietic City, lia<l
a saw luill and were all litted ont to snpply any party that
came there. They had men in dill'erent seetions pros|)eetr
ing and were willintr to <;ive ns the tiji uj) the " Help .Me
Jack." I had intended to rest a week here, l)nt was told
that tlie sooner we started up the river the iietter. as the
AUenkakat was very htw. They advised ns to litfjiten our
hoat ; we ■ 'odd store our goods in with the Serenes", and
two days \i r ■' ' couhl have- lor rest. In that time we
lightened out .0 al)out ten inehes draught, and the

Serenes had loaded two little sheet iron hoats tiiat they
liad.

As we were ail ready we struck tents and started tor
the Allenkakal — eighteen miles above Arctic City. The
Serenes went along witii tlieir hoats like a lot of young
colts. \Ve were like old army horses — not fresh, hut knew
our husiuess vheu we came to it. We made the mouth
of the AUenkakat and turned U|) that stream, seeing on
the way die steamer Kclipse iiauled up in winter (piarters.
This hrought the Hlackhurn party from (iloucester. Tiiey
iiad gone up the river in dories hefoiv we left .\rctic City.
I was cliosen captain of the party ami I i)lew my whistle
on starting in the morning, on stopping and starting up
again at noon, and on stop[)iug at nigiit. So I kept them
going, just the same as I did wiien 1 was alone with our
own boat.

In the party was a young Swede- -a smart young man
with all the knowledge of I'ivers an<l farms and ships. He
thought tliat I worked them a little hard. I said notiiing
hut went ahead. We soon heard a great roaring, as if
Niagara had lirokcn loose. This was a warning of what
there was ahead for ns to hattle witii. They were the
first rapids on this river, and they were a lieree-looking
sight when we came in view of them. I looked for a way
to get cleiir of tliem and found water eiiougii to draw our

A WINTEK iX BKAVEU CITY.

103

l»oatB over where it was nut so rocky. We entered smooth
water again after crossing these rapids.

I saw that this rixer reiiuircd a different method of nav-
iiT'iting and made new phms from the tu-st rapids. It was
always woim* on the side where the channel rnn. Imt we
couhl tind a hole through ou the other side. I liked this
river, for all of us were walking right on the river bottom,
and when we got over the rapids we had dee|i water and
smooth sailing. The liottom was of small white [»el)liles —
some of them very l)eautiftd. One day I picked up two
moss ag-ates larger than my tlnuul). One was a hcanty.
If I had had time to look I might have foinul many more,
hut in towing <me mnldn't see w . was nnder his tei-t.

Lepage Itegan to disohey my orde> ; and wanted to show
what he knew, hut the Serenes took no notice of him. for
he was not generally liked among tlie men. 1 liad l)Utone
row with him. and that was when he tried to get the mm
to take his way, which would have swung the Ixtat acnjs>
the rajtids and proliahly have capsi/ed her, with the inci-
dental result of hurting two or three of the men. After
letting them know that she should go ahead further, they
did as I hade them, ami we got through all right. Then
I explained to them, that although I was a little rough on
them l)ecause they got over their hoot-to[is, 1 was standing
in tlie stern and could see the trouhle. We had their
bojits in tow ami hadn't got througii the pass yet. Had
Lei>age attempted to swing the head of our l)oat across the
stream, it wuuhl have thrown us down across the ra[»ids.
for as soon as the current caught the other Ijow nothing
could have held her.

After this I heard no more from Lepage, hut he was
jealous t«t hear another [iniised. lie was a good man in a
lK>at, so long as the hoat was going all right, l>ut would
get excited and throw up evervthing if there was danger.
This is wkit I did not like in him. I saw a little of this

TO TIIK ALASKAN (iol.l* KIKLDS.

on tilt' river wliuii In; was steering- mid tlit' waves wiislied
ill lis we t'uU'iL'il ii ri|). Ife dropiicd tlic stcorino' and ran
t'orwiiid. as tiial part was ncan'sl tlir slioic, ifady to jump
as the boat hroaclied to. I soized tlii' ludni and steered iier
out of tlie rip, and could but feel a little distrusted witli this
act, yt't lie was trying to make i)eople believe he was a
i^'i'eat lioatiuan.

There was no more trouble alter that and we went up
the river in n'reat shape. These rapids that we ascended
had H fall of as much as six feet, and some were very dil'li-
cult to climb. There were many Indian villaires alonii' the
AUenkakal, for there was Lfood lisliiii<;-. We saw two ca-
noes with sipiaws setting a net, and in live or ten minutes
it was taken up and landed full of tisli. They hail a heap
of tisli on shore which froze as soon as landed and were
sorted out — some for the dogs and others jait in the cache.
An old Indian sat on the shore' .smoking his [lipe and watch-
ing the s(piaws catch the fiisli.

Ice was making fast along tiie shore and was <[uite tlii(d<
in dead water. The river was getting lower and some of
the rapids wi had to launch our boat over. We passed
many boats in their winter ipiarters. The .leiiny M.,
which was on a sand bai', was considered .sixty miles below
the "Help Me .lack.'' We passed by her, and next we met
a tall Indian standing on a ro(d\ with a long yellow blan-
ket over his shoulders and a pi^je made of a hra.ss cartridge
in bis mouth — a noi)le specimen of the Red Man. I lis
hand was extended for toll and one of the Serenes pre-
sented him with a hand of tobacco which seemed to please
him very much.

Aground on the bar were his three logs, pinned together
by pieces running across them. One end of tiie logs was
close together, while the other end was s[)read a[)art, form-
ing a wedge, and across the center was iiis seat. He
smiled on us as we passed him. We got over these rapids

A WINTER IN BEAVKR CITY.

196

iind passed on up tlie river. The iiionniijpi were now <|nite
cold and the ice was so thiek in phices that our hoat was
almost (lit throiit^li and was leakinij.

I low lieaiititul the mountains hooked in the shmting
rays of the h)w sun, for it was jrettinj^ towards the end of
Septeml)er and we had ([uite L>n<r iiiirhts now. Tliese nioun-
tiiiiis I tlioiif^ht wouhl liave made a most lieantiful picture
— so iiiany shades and rich colois. We fell in company
with anotiier hoat Jjoin;^ up to IJeaver City — a name I had
never heard mentioned until we were on the AUenkakat.
It was at the numth of tlie "Help .Me Jack" and was
founded by a company of l»eavei"s from whom it took its
name. We were told tliat in another day we would see
Heaver City ; and sure enoii<rli as another day dawne<l we
could sec the smoke of the city and iiear the Uoaring l>ull
ra[)ids — the last rapids we luul to tackle.

-\s it was nijrht we thoufrht we would camp and go in
next morning; so next morning we weif on our way to-
ward the Roaring Hull, which roaivfl the louder the nearer
we came, and frothed and foanuMl. Hut I saw how to get
through and did so with, very little troul)le. We passed
right on to the *' Help Me Jack," and as we went around
tlie l)end we saw tlie stiury Itanner flying fntm a high pole.
Tliis was Heaver City. We liad moix- nipids to climb,
but there Wivs siioal water and we had hanl s(iueezing to
get the boats over, taking them one at a time.

The salmon were so plenty going up this river that we
kicked them from under our feet. They were considered
no good to eat after spawning, but they keep on going up
the river until they sicken and die. never turning back.
W^e landed and pitciied our tent, and I was glad to get
those rubber lioots oft" my feet and lie down to rest. It
was the second day of ()ctol)er, and the river wa.s begin-
ning to freeze over. We must build a shack for winter
quarters.

196

TO THK ALASKAN (iOI,l) FIKI.DS.

Tlu- McAl[>iiur l)r()tli('i',s met lis and took some ol' our
imiiilii'is oti' to stiikt' on a creek (•iille<l liv tlieir iiiiine.
Tlicrc vveri' tlie liesl sii^ns of nold tliere tliiit tliey Innl
yet seen, so we liml eluinis sl!ike<l on tlie best ereek in (lie
vicinily. l-veryltody was trvini;' to n'ot a claim there ;
wliiie some of tiie iioys were stakiiij;-, we went to look for
11 place to hiiild onr sliaek, wliicli we located on tlie Allen-
kakut, where the ".leiiiiy M." i)eo|ile were laiildinu:. 'I'lie
SiTciies chose a site there likewise, so we iiad to iiiiil up
stakes and move hack around the point where we set our
tent, ami comiiience(l putliiiL;' U|> the Sertmcs" shack lirst.

As I was not very well 1 cookiMl for the Ixiys and kept
house, iicfore the ice made they crossed liu' ri\ci' and
s^'ot two or liii'ce lioal loails of moss, which they cut out
in S(|uares like stone paviiiii'. After they considered they
had moss enough we haiileil our hoat up to the hank and
turned her over for the winter: yes, the winter. Little
did 1 know what thai wind meant to me. The shai'k's
sills were laid on four corner posts and the logs notched
at the ('(M'ners to let them down on one another. They
were then caulked with moss. The roof was made of
smaller [)oles, covered with a thick layiut,' of moss and
about six inches of -dirt spread over it, makin<>' a «>'ood
warm roof. If the shack had been built on the <fround it
would have been a irreat deal warmer. When all caulked
U[) with moss and heated with a good stove, one can
keej) warm in iiny weather.

We eoiumeneed to i)uild oui's as soon as the Serenes'
was finished. It was ten by twelve, with three berths and
a table, which left good floor room. We made two long
benches and three stools. F^epage and Kyaii got a log and
horsed it up on some cross pieces for the purpose and
whii)ped out some l)oards — this job made fun for every one
that came around where they were at work. Neither had
ever wliip-sawed before, and as Lepage bossed the job, he

A WINTKIt IN UKAVKK (!ITV.

197

kept Kviin in liot water nil tliu time. I don't know how
nuiny times lie ciinie down troni liis top |K'reli to wliij)
F>e|)a<;e. Von conld hear thcin sweaiinif all over the lot.

They sawed ten hoards and then (piit. These were Uikun
to make the door and shelves, liepaire pnt his door to-
^etiier with i^reen stock for a linish, and soon one eoidd
pnt his tinjifers throuj^h the crac^ks. This I had to patch
over, lie never hra^'oed any ahont that door, whieh let
in lots of cold thron<fii the winter. W'e had no j^lass for
a window, so we cut a hole in the door and covered it with
a thin piece of cotton cloth.

We moved into onr new house and set our stove one foot
above the Hoor on account of short funnel: and as every-
thing was irreen and frosty the place was rather cold, more
especially the floor. However, we could make a <,'ood hot
tire and keep warm from our knees up. When we .sat
down we placed our feet uixm a stool but we soon found
that we nnist lower our stove to make it warmer.

'I'here was trouble brewin<>' between Kyan and me. 1
(h)n't deny that I was a little irritable, being sick, but
what his motive was I could not exactly define, for he gen-
erally started the ([uarrel. As he was right at home with
a tongue lashing, he roasted me pretty badly sometimes.
1 believe he was put up to it by May, one of the Serenes,
for he had, as near as I could find out, joined the Kyles
through the iidluence of May, and of course had told his
tale of woe. Whether or not he ha<l some grudge against
me antl wanted t<^) give me a thrashing, I could not tell, for
there was nothing I could remember. I had always stood
for him against Lepage, luit one night as 1 was cooking
supjier I had the door partly open for light to do my woi''
when' he came in and wanted to close it as he was cold.

I told him I could not see with the door closed ; if he
was cold he could put on his coat. I le gave me a great
abusing and afterwards I began to think the only way to

1!>8

TO THK AI-ASKAN OOIJi I'IKMJS.

slop it was to liirlit it out. IJut, as it liaii|»L'ii('(l, llioiv was
no moi'e (|iiani'liii;4' iu'twecii us.

I was over at tlic ScM'eiics ouc uijflit uiwl icceivcd a votf
ol thanks for uiy services as leailerou tlic .Mlcukakiit. Wi*
had licatcu the icconl I'or a hia<lt>(l lutat, inakiiiir the trip
in ('i<;l>t davs. 'I'iii'v rcali/cd that my hurry aloiii;' ha<l i^dt
us up jusf lu'forc tlie ice closed in, and tVit j^iatrl'iU. Tiu'
Ixiys wciv alter wood and t'onud ph'iity ol' dry trees stand-
inir which made excellent lirewood.

We were called up to lU-aver proper to or^'aui/e the
city. 'I'lie lueetin^Mvas held in a lar^<' doidile shack, and
Ihere we made the miiieis" laws tor the city and for slak-
inji- out claims. A claim was to cover lisc hundred sipun'c
feet, and a man could take only one claim <m a cieek.
Stiikini: hy power of iittornev was proiiihited. .May ifot
up and said that power of atloru<'y was not rii^lit, ytd Ik;
h.'id slaked l)y jjower of attorney on the hest creek. I
know tiiat the recorder could not help knowiiii; this. i)ut
he was allowed to pass on ; so \\v had one simier in this
crowd. The town was to he laid out in house lots, and
each man that was located at the j)rcsenl time would share
in an eipial division of these lots. I helieve there wero
uhoiit forty lots apiece. Dr. ('unninsjfham was elected
marshal, and iiad the power of choosing his aids. 'I'here
was also a president, .secietary and treasurer— and there
we had our city.

The hoys went out with the rest pi'osiwctiiiir, and we
at hist had altoiit six claims ajjiece. The snow had fallen
some, and the river could he crossed in places. Kvery-
hody was talking ahout <r()iuu" down the river over the
ice to bring iij) provisions, nearly everyluxly hiivin<r more
or less .stores to hrinir up from their steamboats. Ours
was in Arctic City, and Lepaire and Ryan were making
sleighs to go down with the Serenes after stores. I was
also makiiitr a slei<rh whenever 1 <rot a chance to work at

UUEAklM. TJIK TKAJI..

A WINTER IX BKAVER CITY.

19&

it. Ryan had got out a few pieces, when the time come
for them to start. Lepairc had his done and I had mine,
so I <ravc it to liyan, and they paeked up for the trail.
Bacon, htians and hard tack was their fare, witii a irood
tent and stove.

I was left behind this turn, as we e.xpected to make
another turn when they came hack. I attended a meet-
inir one ni<rht in Heaver, when it was reported that one of
the bk'lipse party was lost. lie was up the " Help Me
Jack,"' with his partners, and was on the trail home when
he walked away from his companion. Thtit was the last
they saw of him. The weather was cold — fifteen and
twenty dcirrees helow xei'o — and they were afraid ho
would frce/e. lie had his pack of eataltles wi'h him,
but his disappearance was so straiiire that they l»ciran to
fear the worst. They wanted volunteers to <:() and hunt
for him, and (piite a numl)er volunteered. I had frozen
one of my toes and was unable to join this ))arty, which
was to start tiext inornin<r-

They had for a ouide an old hunter and Khmdiker by
the name of Sly — a man of good judonient in such cases.
The place where they were to separate was thi' cy miles
above. 'I'lie river was sliallow and wide, with many little
islands and sloughs. Dead .Man"s slough was where they
expected to find him, — f-r it was easy to I)raiicli off on
this slough, mistaking it for the main river, with which it
ran parallel.

The second day on the hunt they fomid him away up a
ravine, at the beginning of the ascent of a ni uitain. lie
had travelled out i)ey()nd the timber line, nul as he began
his ascent he fell, and was found there dead, lie had been
tracked close by the Kyle shacks, where he had passed back
and forward over their claim. There was no place on his
trail that showed he had ever stopjied to rest or cook any-
thing to eat, although he carried provisions with him. He

200

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIKLDS.

had tlirowii away liis l)laiiki't and all of liis pack hut an
old fryiiiif-lian and bottle of iiiatclies. Evidently he had
chilled while walkiii<r u[t this ravine, then frozen and fell.
It was a sad affair. Ih' was a (Jloncestcr skijiper, and
hclonuvd to the Kniirhts of Pythias in that city.

This affair seemed to cast a <rloom over the inhabitants
of lU'aver. 'riie deceased was brouirht down the river and
hnried in an icy tomb one hnndred miles north of the Arc-
tic circle.

Dv. Cliambers stayed witli me, as his men had y'one
down to their boat, the ".lenny M.,'" for stores, lie sat
n|) to iiavc a smoke with mc, and later turned in with his
boots and all his elotlics on. I h' was a very oild man,
«(Ood-heaited and n'cncioMs, but i never tlionqht be cared
nnich for bis pn-fession. lie belono'cd in IMdladelphia,
and bad considerable wealth. 1 kept a hot lire iroiiiir all
nii^ht, and as be never complained 1 tlioiiLibt it was all
ri_<,''ht. 1 was busy making' a slciirh and worked very late
nights. I was not very well, and my let;s beiran to ixive
out. but I kc])t upon my feet, thinkin*,' it would help my
It'H's.

One UKuniuL;'. after the doctor had left, the shack caut^bt
hie around the stove-pipe. I threw water on. as I had six
pails full. i)Ut bmnd that I would have to <^et upon the
roof. 1 tbcicupon took an old line I iiad and fastened it
to the pail which ((lUlained all the water there was left,
I took tin; end in my hand and climbed up on the
roof. When the pail was half wjiy up the line lirokc.
Von may iiucss the rest. Just then one of the Serene
j)artv came alont; and oave me his assistance. 'I'he tiro
W(Mdil jret in the moss, and it was almost impossible to
put it out, l)Ut we <rot tiling's under control after havinir
quite a little li_<,dit in the cold — (iftei'ii de<rrees below zi-ro.
I was "lad to buihl a lire and j,'et my breakfast.

The doctor remarked that I would burn it all down

^■■^M

I: .:-^

SAM MALUM' K)T TKADIM,.

A WINTER IN KKAVER CITY.

201

some <Uv by the hot tires tliat I kept. He stayed no lonjfer
with me after that, ami I \\a.s alone and i^ettinyf woi-se.
Every day the eords of my lejrs were <rettin<f more and
more stiff: still I went «)Ut and cnt m}- day's wood and
carrieil it in, hut I knew it would not l»e lor lontj.

Indian Sam Mallimoot, as he was called, came alon<.nine
morninsr when I was cuttinsr wood. He was the chief i>f
a small trilie of Indians down the river called the .Malli-
nioots. He stojiped to talk, and 1 asked liini altout tiit-
wintertime. He said. " Plenty cold t)ime by, too cold."
and that was all he would tell, ior you must take these
Indians in ami feed them if you want to n'ct any informa-
tion from tiiem. They "plenty eat, plenty tiilk : no tat.
nt> talk." Sam was a crafty Indian, and was well vti-scd
in all the crooked ways of the white man, hut lie could
not l>e tleiK'Ufled on.

EvervlMid\ now was up in the creeks puttin«,' up shaek-s
and gettinij i-eady to work their claims, which could not l>e
done initil the jrromid froze down to bed rock, s.> that
when they came to diif, the hole wouhl not till up with
water. In oixler to sink a shaft it was necessary to buihl
a tii-e and thaw the frround. Then there would Ik? about
three inches to work over after every thawinjf. This pro-
cess was continue<l until bed rock was found, and there
the iroUl was supposed to lie. The boys liad left for Arc-
tic City on tiie tenth of November, and had been <rone a
week, when I attempted to arise one morning and l\mnd I
was hanl and fast, I lay there and thought what I had
K'st do.

I decided I would crawl over to the Serenes an<l ask
them to get my wood for me, and probably I could get
others to help. So I put on all of my warm clothes and
got a long stiiff. With this I hobbled over to the Serenes.
1 was jwssing the " .Fenny M." shack when they a.skcd me
where I was going. I told them, and they told me that

Pacific N. W. History Dept.

PROVINCIAL LIBRARY
VIOTORIA. B. O.

202

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

tlie Serenes had gone iij) on the creek tliat morning. They
invited nie in to warm myself, and I informed them how
I was sitnated. I asked little Frank, as we called him, to
ciit me some wood. Me came ovei- with me and went
into the wood-pile, and soon had a lot of wood cnt.

I asked him if lie knew of any Knights of Pythias, as I
belonged to that order myself. He rei)lie<l in the allirma-
tive, and I rec] nested him to notify them at once, which
he did and hronght three or four to see me. I had moved
the benches together i)y the stove to make me a bed, and
I could put wood in the stove and cook from tliese lienches.
I had i)lenty of bread baked, which I soaked and ate with
condensed milk. My legs were so bad that it was impos-
sible to straighten them o\it, and I moved about on the
stools. .My teeth were loose and gums sore.

The doctor made a friendly call and I asked him what
he thought of the case. He called it inflannnakny rheu-
matism. 1 had a high fever and was drinking water a
(juart at a time. He advised me to take a drink of citric
acid once in a while. This was something we had plenty
of, it being called a scurvy preventative. I had used but
little of it, and I liked the drink, but I thought acid was
not good for rheumatism.

I was alone night and day. In the morning some one
came and cut my wood, brought it in and left me alone
until next morning, although I told them I knew that
I ougiit not to be left alone nights. Still no one offered
to stay, and finally the Swede who cooked for nie told me
tiiat he woidd have to go >ipon the creek, so, of course, I
was left alone. Afttn- rising to wood the stove my head
would swim, a blindness come over me and I wo\dd almost
fall to the floor. But I would cuawl back to the hard
benches and turn from one side to the other to rest until
morning.

The sun had set for the winter, the last rays shining on

A WINTER IX BEAVKR CITY.

203

the twenty-sixth of November. We used candles day and
niijfht. I never knew when it was (hiy, exee[)t by my
watch, and we Avere having it forty-five and tifty degrees .
l)elow zero. Tlie wliite frost glistened on onr walls in de-
fiance of ni}- heating the stove as hot as I conhl make it.
From the bottom of onr stove down to the floor was an
atmosphere that chilled my legs and froze my toes, and I
had to hold my feet high to save them. The cold Arctic
winter had set in.

As long as there was a spark of life in me I managed
to keep my fire in the stove going, as they had left me
considerable wood. I think that they were afmid of some
scourge for they had fled and left me in a living tomb. I
kept my candle burning and the time went slow. I was
getting in a state where 1 did not care whether I lived or
died. I had given up all hopes of recovery and was waitr
ing patiently for the end. I had become reconciled to mj-
fate and felt ready to meet my maker.

Some times 1 could hear a stranger passing. Wouhl
he step in ( No, their hearts were filled with the greed of
gold and what was a dying man compared to that ': His
cries, his groans could not reach their ears, for their hearts
were cold; every tender feeling warmed in their breasts
by the charitable fires of humanity, had disapp«'ared and
gold, gold, gohl, had taken its place. How much like the
brute the human family can be I Can they think to escape
punishment i

I lay on the 1 tenches and ate imt little. I did not care
for it. There was nothing left, — tiie honey the Sunflower
had sent me, and bread from the lOclipse, were gone ; the
wood was all gone, and 1 felt unless relief .soon came 1, too,
would not last long. That night I draggc' my blankets
to my l)erth an<l witii my knife ripped down the side of
my sleeping I)ag so I could get in, and with all the fixings
I iiad piled on me to keep out the cold, I lay down to die,
for I felt that it was my last night on eartli.

204

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD KIKLUS.

Soinetiiiic ill the niirlit, with the ciukIIo l»uniiii<; (liinly,
enshroinh'd in nii iitiiKispiicro (if Irost, I heard lodtsteps
outside III' (lie (hxir, and as it niu'iied, K'vaii entered, cov-
ertid witli I'lost. Il(; sai<l, '■('a|)taiii, hiiw are y(»ii ^ "' His
voice revived ine and I answered, "I am pretty siek."
" Haven't yon i^ot any wood, no lire '. " " No," I said, " I
jnsi hnrned the last." Lepajje said hut little, said that lie
had met tlu^ ]iri\si(UMit ol the .leiiiiy M. who tolii him I
only had a little rheumatisin and il' I would oc't np and
walk around, 1 would he all rii^lii. I knew in a inoiiieiit
wliy he told this story — he was ashaiiie(l I'or never ealling
on me. He let iiimscll' down easy.

Iiyaii soon had a j^ood lire hnrniiiif and supper eookiiiy.
I^epai^e cut liie wood, a joh ju! always elaiined, and I l)ej,'an
to t'eel liriu'liter. He cooked prunes that I craved and they
did me u'ood. 1 was not alone iio\v, I niiiiht ilie hut not
t'ree/.e to (h-ath. 1 was hetter for a day or so and then
urew worse. .My nioiith was swollen and sore and I could
not eat, I'or my teeth were loose. Hyan asked me if I
would iiave a doctor tuul I told him to do as he thonjfht
hest, so he sent tor Dr. ('uiiniii<i:hain of the IJeaver, who came
and looked into my mouth and said I had scurvy. " Well,
doctor, what can you (h) I'or it^' I asked. "I can help
you," he replied, "hut can't cure unhiss you can getahout
twenty-eight pounds of potatoes. Von can get them at
IJiirgiimont, one hundred miles from here, and tliey will
co.st twenty-five cents a pound." How was I to get tlieni
without money ' Ryan called on the iieighliors and got
vegetalile son}) i)repared in cans and I began to feel as
though I had taken a new lease of life.

In the meanwhile Lepage had gone (h)wii tlie river again
as 1 had chosen Ryan to stay with me. I Iiegan to leel
IxHter s[)irited and could sit u^) a little while at a time.
We sold some of our candles and sent the money down
the river to buy potatoes by the Kyle which ran a dog
express between Beaver and Arctic City.

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A WINTlClt IN HEAVKR CITY.

Kvaii told lue that the Serene parties wliovvore upon tlie
(Meek l>uil(lin<r a slmc^k eanie down tlie trail to meet tliem
and to liel[>tlieni with their loiid. Mav and Dane saw them
coniinj,' and May said, "Those I'eliows have l>een doing
nothinj; and we have l)oen tntf<,Mn},f it on the trail," and he
kept it jioinjf until llinekley slapped his face, then he got
a clui) and then; was a hot tinu' in general, hut the rest of
the men parted them and thev came home two very hitter
enemies, ,M iv came over to se(( me and it was all he
coidd talk aiUmil. He wanted to light a duel with revol-
vei-s, he was um) warm lilooded to take an insult and not
resent it, he wouM nol let it pass. I laui;he<l and said,
*' What a heaMlilii, sight it will he for two intelligent nu>n
in their right e^tids to htand up and pop at each other
with i-evolvei-fv^ Now, don't you think yourself that it
would he a riWi'-nlous sight ' " lie admitted tiiatit would
ftiid I heani nv^ more ahout duels.

Three mork« in-\\ nuMi came to ns, two helonging to a
New York coinjmiiy and one of the same state went with
the sU'amer Niagara, t )ne day lirady of the New York
ounu' crawling into my shack ; iiis legs had given out and
he eouhl n«»t walk. I told him he had the scurvy, lie
thouirlit it w:is rheumatism, Imi I knew he was wrouii.
Jle laid iu until Ryan eame and carried him over to the
Serenes'. wl»ere they were stopping, as Hinckley and the
Swede ImmI gone down to Arctic City. \Vhcn I was taken
sielt, tlwy said nohody hut la/y men got the scurvy, hut
litre was a smart young man who had Ix'cn working hard
oiii the trail and had given in near my shack. Tom Mc-
Arthur, his mate, hegan to get needful eatahles for him
and citric acid for him to drink. The Doctor ordered me
to drink no water without it, and I was getting along
nicely.

The eai>tain of the North Stjir, who was W(uking down
on Cliarles ("reek, called. They had heen down sixty feet,

S06

TO THK ALASKAN OOLD PIKLDS.

down to Ited rock, and had not Heeii a paitichi of jjold. He
had started in ajj^ain, for exorcise tiiis time, he said. We
did not Iwlieve there wasanyptld there, and lie felt rather
gloomy over thei)rosiie(;ls, lie liiid laid out a frood deal of
money, owninjr the steamer, which would not sell in St.
Michaels for old jinik. This was a sample of the hitter
complaints that I heard from some (»ne every day.

Mr. Donohue, of the steamer Sunflower, and president
of the company, calle(l and told me his tale of woe. lie
WHS an cii;rinecr, had hijrh wa<;cs and si steady job on the
Cannon hall railroiid, and had sacrificed c very thin^r to come
to Alaska, and now it was a dead loss. .1. .McAlpine's
brother wa.s stricken down with the scurvy, lie believed
it to ht! rheumatism, and called Dr. Chamhers, who ex-
tracted two of hi.s teeth, and the case went on under that
name, until Dr. Cniniin^rliam was sent for, and told him
he had a bad case of the scurvy. His mouth was terribh;
from the teeth he had had extracted. I was surprised at
Dr. Chamhers, who nevt^r j^ave in but what it was iheuma-
tism that we all had. It was jfettinj; to be a serious thinjr
around throuj^h Heaver, and many were stricken. They had
been up on the creeks and worked their claims, but would
have to ^'ive u[) and come home.

Tom McArthur was working J. .McAlpine's claim on
some khid of a lay, for Mc Alpine had to attend to his
sick brother, and the "Jenny M.'s " were doing consider-
able work. Ryan brought me the news every day of what
was going on uj) the creeks. Some could not l)e worked
on account of water, and there were all kinds of tiying
ruraoi-s. Some days our courage would go way up, and
the next day drop down to zero. May and Dane, of the
Serenes, went np to try their claims on McAl[)ine (;reek,
which was looked upon as the Eldorado of Alaska. Those
who did not hold a stake there were trying hard to get
one, and it was the boom of lieaver City. People were

A WINTKH IN HKAVKK l.'ITV.

207

('Oiiiiiijir over from KdtzclMK! Sdiind, over a rniifrh trail,
leaving most of tlu^ir niittits li(;liiu<l, or tliruwiiij^ tht'in
iiwny, til nisli t(» tlu! Ixiom ol' Hciivi r.

NVliat won't moii <lo for ^'old I lien; tliey were expost'd
Ui weather Hixty and .seventy dejireen Inflow zero, liviiij; in
t(!nts, and relaying; tlieir packs, — for they nin.st liave all
the provisions they needed, it iieini,' too far to ^ro iiaekaiid
f^et what they had left liehind. 'I'here were miners coniinjf
over from the Vnkon who had a trail tlironjrh the moun-
tains eijjhty miles lonj^; — this trail was ronjfh and the marks
nneertainso that some ^ot lostliy wanderinif away from it
and never tindin^ it ajrain. 1 knew one of a party who
got lost — .lack, the first steward of the Haydn lirown, —
and had to eat their dojrs and the rawhide lacings on
their moccasins. When found they were in a <lyiiig con-
dition, and were liroutfht out by the Kyle. Jack afterward
called to see me at my shack, and his experience, as he
told it, was somethinjr awful.

I'he Kclipse had a man die, the one who took Hlaek-
hiu'n's place, lie helonjjjed in San Francisco, hut we knew
nothing of his i'riends, so he was hinied in a prospector's
hole, this heinif the most convenient grave we couhl give
him.

l^eople began to fear the scourge, and many left Beaver,
only to find it jjrevailing in other places, jonfrontingthenj
wherever they went, until stricken down themselves. They
Avandered from place to place. South Korks was worse
than Heaver. Tlare were no raw potatoes there, and they
did not know that they were the only remedy, so the peo-
l>\e died and were i)ut under the snow. The engineer of
the Anawando, Tom Mc Arthur's friend, both of them New
York firemen, died with the seurvy, unattended, and poor
Tom was overcome with grief, thinking if he had lieen
there he could have saved him, but he was one hundred
miles awav and could not leave Hrady, who was also a

208

TO THK ALASKAN GOLi- FIKLD8.

very sick iiiiiii, tlyiiifr witli scurvy. It was soiuetliinji; tliat
tlie people were uiiac<iuainte(l with, and a great many
doctors were puzzled, for with the scurvy a man appears
very dull and stupid, and sleeps a jrreat deal. Ileisdyinij,
and uoltody kiun's it. His heart Iteats slow and his hlood
ceases to circulale, and he drops dead, wiion, perhaps, live
minutes l)ofore, he lias walked from his chair to liis l»ed.
Then they are surprised. Why, I tliti not know tiiat he
was as sick as that: h 't he is dead, and who is to I)laine
for the netiflect for not watchinjjf him closer '

The doctor lold Kyan that I 'lad l)een the sickest num
of the lot, for lie was not certain that he could fetcli nie
out of it, i)Ut I lielped him witli my will an<l was now
getting; well fast. l*oor .Mc.Vlpine got on his feet and
went to sec the neighl)ors too soon ; ho had a relapse, and
was now sicker thitn before, with inMatnniati<»n of the kid-
nevs, and couhl not move out of his bed, sntl'eriny: tturi-
hie pain.

( )ne niglit the doctor paid me a visit in company with
Mrs. Urcwster and Josie ('ampliell, as we called her, it
being' her married sister's name. Mi-s. Campbell and .losie
have the record of putting: on male attire and helping Mv.
('ampbell draw his boat u}! the .\llenkakat river. These
women wcc medium size and of robust health, .losie
shouldered her axe and drove her stakes on tbrct' or iour
creeks, yet she was a relineil woman, and something of a
mandolin player. This is the style of our westtM'u woman,
with the streng-tli of a man and his endurance, while she
pos.ses.ses the modest refinement of a huly. .Mix. Ilrewster
was a great conversationalist, ad talked me almost well
again. They did not stop long, and that was the last time
I saw Mi's. Ilrewster, but .Mr. and Mi's, (.amjjbell called
otice or twice during the day.

Thf-se iM3ople belonged in Minneaiiolis, as near as I
could lind out, and the steamer they came up on was of

A WINTER IN REAVER CITY.

209

the Siiine name. Josie had a lover hy the name of Lane,
who brought me some vegetables ont of their cache. He
said his i)artners were very snug in that line, and held a
meeting to .see what they could give, i)nt he went out to
the cache, took these cans of vegetid)les, and brought them
to me. lie felt disgusted. .Ktsie afterwards found that
he had a wife, so she gave him the sack, and lie packed
down the river.

As she helped Campbell saw the tire-wood, she always
managed to have her end of the saw when a new lover
appeared. Of coui-se he took her place, ami she went into
the house ; if she wanted the wood all carried in, she
would go out to get an arndoad, when there would be a
rush of three or four aspirants, and they wnultl manage to
bring it in. They were standing iinnuid the gate flay and
night. ( )ne they called IJrush had so much hair on his
head he could not wear a liat. I have seen him in the
coldest weather without one. Aiinthcr man played the
harmonica, and was always tooting on that, liut Harry
Hounce, an .Alabama chait, i»layed a guitar, so lie iiad the
inside track, as he often got an invitation to come in. I'oor
Harry wa.s (piite smitten. The other lovei-s packed down
the river, one after another, and left him amusing .losie
with his guitar, and helping .saw wood. .\s .btsic had a
party of four who played on ditfcrcut pieces, Marry was
not witlumt a rival, and the boys woidd say, as siie dis-
carded one and accejtted another, ••('anipbcli lias got a
new wood-chopper, where is the other ^ ' "Oh. gone
down the river," or, '* She has sent so and so down Uie
river.'" Josie was the only attraetion, for there was no
gold up in the creeks, and there must be some excitement.
INIy i)otat()es had come. I got but sevent^»'n pounds
and three pounds of onions, and I felt that these were do-
ii\g me good, Imt I did not have cuougii. Tlicse potjitoes
were frozen and so were the tmions, l)ut thev were deli-

210

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

cious. I could only have four ,a <la,v. The doctf)!- made
his last visit, siiyinjf there was nothing more that he could
do, I was •jfettiiig alonir all right. " Eat plenty of vegeta-
hles," was his order, and I paid strict attention to it.

May and Dane had sj)lit. INhiy wanted to thrash Dane.
lie was dancing around the shaft upon McAlpine creek in
his anger and fell into a fire which they had to thaw and
got scorched, for which he hlamed Dane, and swore he
would shoot him.

I helieve May was a little affected in the head hy his
actions for he got furious with Ryan, hecause he claimed
that liyan had told Kyle about this claim he was holding
illegally, and Kyle went to the recorder and found it and
traded it with May for one on another creek. Kyle would
not tell who told him, so May hlamed it on l{yan, as he
was tlu' only one that knew, and came over one morning
to give him a thrashing. Ryan swore he had never men-
tioned it to any (»ne, so May cooled down and Ryan did not
get the thrashing. It was learned afterward that the re-
corder had told him as Kyle wanted a (ilaini on McAlpine
creek. The scurvyitcs were all doing well, for they had
sent for the potatoes and were getting along all right, ex-
cept McAlpine, who was very sick. There was a shooting
accident down at l{c(l Mountain, where a niimher of little
steamers had met the ice and become frozen in for the
winter. The crew had staked on the Red i^ands. One
man's feet were frozen, so that it was ne<'essary to send
to Arctic City for a doctor — a distance of sixty miles — to
have his feet amputated. There were (piite a number of
deaths in an Hnglish camp down at Hughes bar, where the
Argonaut^s were located. This was the secret they had on
the Ilaydn Hrown, so there they drove their stakes.

The sun had not risen and it was Christmas day. I had
not seen outside of the shack as yet. Theie was to be a
feast over to the .lennv M.'s that night. I could not

A WINTKK IN BKAVKK CITY.

211

gi), so tht'V sent over my part and it was not to l)e laughed
at. I enjoyed it Imt tliere '.vas no roast goose. On New
Years Eve, al»i>ut niidniirht, 1 heard a tiring of guns all
around Heaver. Kyan wa.s asleep and I tiiought hiui lazy
for a young man. so I ivached uj) over my lierth and took
down my rifle. IJyan saw this an<l stared at nie as I lilled
tiie magazine full of eartridges. lie jumped out on the
Hoor with just Ids |iants and stockings on, and wantcfl to
know if I was going to tire tiiat gun. *' ( Jet out of the way,"
said I, as lie made for the «loor. I jumped out of my herth
and never .shall forget how my legs hurt me as I strtiggled
to stand on them, l»ut I was mad. Ryan got out of that
door. I o[»ened it and commenced tiring as I heard the
Jenny .M.'s saluting. Hyan came hack and after emptying
my riHe he came in.

riiat was my liist attempt to stand on my feet and it
was wiiat frightened Kyan. It was my first look out of
(htors. .losie and her hand weiv giving entertainments in
the ditlereiit siiacks and were making quite a lively time
for lieaver.

There was tmuhle in the IJrewster family. It .seems
some evil-toniriii'd man had said i)ad things aitout Mrs.
Hrewster; and for fear Mr. Hrewst^'r would iicar of it she
thongiit it hest to tell him first, so the explosion came and
Brewster was soon packing down the river. His wife .said
she was innocent of tins .scandal and called for a miners*
meeting to get their decision, as Hrewster had hrought the
man who reported these stories hack to Heaver with him.
Accordingly tiiey sto<Ml i»eforc the great triliunal of Heaver
City, charged with making false reports to hlemish a
woman's character. The man admitted none of the charges,
ftiul no testimony was given that proved them. So the case
was thrown out and tlie Hivwstt'rs lived iiappicr ever after.

Uyan hrought me all the news of the town ; he was now
complaining of lame legs and thought he had the hlack leg,

•21 2

TO THIO ALASKAN GOLD FIKLDS.

as sciirvv wiis ciilled. 1 uhviiys tliouglit tliat Uyan didn't
{•arc iimcli il' lie did fiet it, so tliat lie miiriit sliare in the
synijmtliy that scurvyites got from those that were all riglit.
I could not help l»elievin<r that l{yan was ])layini; a liluff.
lie claimed that every <lay his lci:s were ircttinjr worse
and he conld hanlly tret in and ont of lied.

One night he went to lu'd and left the cantlle liurning
in a wooden candlestick tliat had a piece of tin to set the
candle in, the lutle going down through the hottom. so
that when the candle l)nnicd down it wonld drop ont in a
dish underneath, put there for tiiat purpose. l{yan had
never kept this candlestick cleaned out as he shoidd, so
when the candle hurned down it woidd not pass through,
and set the candlestick on tire. It was on the wall over
the taltle at ilie tin)e and the wall caugiit lin-. I was
awakened hy the snapping and cracking and h»oking out
from inider my hlanket, saw the tlanic going up to the ceil-
ing. I called to Ryan that the house was on tire. He
made a spring from his top l)Uid<, and landing on tlie Hoor
among tlic stools, went dancing up and ilown in front of
the lire hke an Indian l)rav(( at a war dance. I told him
to take the candlestick down and throw it out of (h)ors.
which he did. That stitpped the hlaze hut we had to dig
out the moss that was on lire.

Kyan did not show any signs of lameness all through
the lire and afterwards went to lied as spry as a kitten.
'I'his caused nu* to douht his illness. He was (piitea foxy
chap and no douht had a motive. Next morning he was
lame and went on his usual trip witii Tom for firewood.
He stayed in the other shacks and left me alone ahout all
the time. < >n(! day he said he had it for certain, as them
was a hlaek spot on the hack of his leg ahove his knee.
He showed it to me and I saw where some one had |)ainted
him with hlack ink, tliree linger marks iis plain tus u iiieturc.
1 think it was ilone hy some of the hoys for a joke. I{yan

A WINTER IX HEAVKR CITY.

•213

nut sus|(t'i-tin<r, I never let liini know what I lia<l discov-
eit?tl l>nt allowe<l liini to think as lie pleased ahout it. I
toUl liini 1 tlioujrht that he onjfht to have a jjood warm
jKiir of nnM'easins. lie had previously hnuijht a pair of
Sam Mallinioot. jrivinir hini a hiuilinir knife for them, and
wore a hole throMi,di them the lirst day. I admit that his
feet were very poorly proteeted.

< )ne day two or tliree Indians stopped at the shaek and
I tradeil some slahs of pork for a niee pair of nuithM-ks.
Tiiis was the name of a iiioteasin with a lonj; h-^ to it.
Kvan was proud of his present, and soon asserted that his
le«^ felt Itetter. Some one must have reminded him that
lie was ne«rle«-tinif me. for lie stayed at home eveiiiiiirs now
and reail to me from the hooks he could iret out of tiie
Ueaver lilmiry. Thus the time passed pleasantly with ns.
I often :rot a pieee of pumpkin pie or some <loii<^hnuts fnnn
Dane of the Seivnes, who was a verv <,'ood eook.

ClIAPTi:!! XII.

LIGHT MKCilNS To DAWN. — A (iKXKKAL RXODl'S ANI»

KKl'ACK AM) I AUK LKFT ALONK. — VISITS I'liOM TIIK

INDIANS. — (ilLDKD DKLUSIONS. — THE ICK IN

TIIK KIVKH HKKAKS VV AND \VK, TOO, (iKT

IJKADV TO STAKT.

Tlie sun was now l)eginiiin<j to rise, and as we had
picked u[) some biokou pieces ol' glass we managed to
make a window for tlie door of our sliaek, wliicli vastly
improved the interior. The first streak of stnishine that
.shone in our caliin was glorious to me. The sun rose
higher and higher, the dark gloom of night was dispelled
and we began to feel like human heings again. All of the
creeks were given up but Me Alpine's. Thev had not got
down to bed rock yet. Little Frank of the Jenny M. was
the main operator on their claim and felt conlident, as he
had found some gold part way down. When Frank got
down to bed rock and found nothing there, they woidd all
pack down the river to their boat. This was in response
to the order from their president, Mr. Hill. I could not
hoi)e for any, for my claims were among tiiose that wore
being worked.

The Eclipse men were to come in the twenty-fifth of
February and dissolve partnership, giving each man a
chance to look out for iiimself. Mr. (rrant, their leader,
had gone prospecting when they were building their boat
in St. Michaels, and they had never heard from him since.
They were unlucky in losing men in this way, though tiiey

(214)

LIGHT BEGINS TO DAWN.

216

never luul hut the one man sick. They hail a good cook
and range and lived as well as they could at home.

Lepage had not returned and I was not expecting him
as the trail was rather uncerbiin and the water was fiver
the ice in some places, making a slush that was sometimes
hij) deej). May hade us good-hye and went down the
river with a numher of others. J^ittle Frank found no
gold and tiie .Fenn^' M.'s packed down the river to their
hoat — sixty miles ht'h»w. The New York party, with Dane,
moved in the Jenny M."s cal)in, as it was larger than their
own, and intended to enjoy themselves until they were
ready to go down the river, — a new party taking the shack
they had deserted.

Dr. Dyer had heen all of the sununer and winter getting
up to Heaver. The doctor was slow hut sure. He never
rushed headlong into a venture, hut took his time and
U«»ked the ground over, moving very carefully when he
went ahead, lie had Iteen all this time in getting to Hea-
ver, so now he intended to look over the ground that was
just deserted Ity the rest of Heaver. He had a i inining
little device of his own he called a mineral rod, which would
turn in his hands and point the place where the gold was
to l»e found, lie would linger some time in Heaver City
inifore going up to the creeks and wanted to iigure just
how to proceed, lie l)elievcd that he could lind the natu-
ral source of all the gold that was lying in those creeks
without having to dig for it. Dr. Dyer wouUl never dig
for it — it was too much work ; hut he could tind it on the
surface or close to it, so he played cards and snuiked for a
month and was no nearer starting than on the fii-st tlay he
came. However Dr. Dyer remained with us as long as
everything was pleasant and agreeahle, then went up to
the deserted claims.

One day we were surprised hy the Indians, who were
going up the river to hunt the carihou, witli their squaws

210

TO TlIK ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

and fiiiiiilies. They rainjied near iind ciuiie vinitiiij,' us.
Tlie oftcMier we fed them tlie ofteiier tlioy came. I hiu<j;lied
at one Indian wlio seemed piettv hun;:ry. I jrave him a
pfood plate t)f lieans and lie ettvered them with condensed
milk, vinenar, pejjper and a little sujifar. The most inter-
estinif sijuaw was ohi Tom's wife, who rcmin(h>d me very
nnuh itf some of the white women. She could talk very
j^ood Enirlish and she did love to talk. I gave her, as well
as the others, eonsideralile to eat. She said she woidd
iniiii; UK', a piece of carihou when they came hack from
their h\nit. We were overrun with Indians and dogs and
the like during their stay. When we stopped feeding
them they pulled up stakes and went on up the river.
With the hallooing of Indians and yelping of dogs they
passed our shack out of sight and hearing. I was now
getting so I could walk over to our next neighbor's to
spend the evening, hear them sing and otherwise enjoy
themselves, with a glass of lemonade and piece of pie to
end the (ivening's entertiiinirieiit. I was gaining strength
rapidly, ami as the hoys were talking of going down the
river soon I was in hopes to be well enough to go with
them.

One night we had Josie and her hand to entertiiin us
and «iuite a delegation of followers. They played well and
Harry sang some of his scmthern pieces with guitar for ac-
companiment. He sang some love songs in a very melan-
choly tone (»f voice, giving a great deal of feeling to the
piece. To i»lea.se the crowd he had to sing it twice. I
suppose it was because he was so near his dej)arture down
the river and l)ecause .losie was favoring another young
man that his sadness gave feeling to the song. The crowd
seemed to think so too, for they cheered him on until
Harry began to take a hint and declined to sing any more.

There was a good piece of pumpkin pie and a glass of
lemonade for all when the comi)any broke up and seim-

LIGHT ItKGINS T(» DAWN.

:»17

mtt'd for the iiij^lit. Soim- of tlie |Mirty I never saw agiiij).
Poor llarrv alone with liis sU'iirli wmt «h»\\n the river, —
Ilarrv, who was quite an amateur aeroliat and claimed that
he eonhl stretch his sj»ine six inches. He tlion<;ht litthj
Krank wanted to light liecanse he ihineed ahuie one niglit

up at their soeiai)le: hut now, | r llarrv, with a sad

lieart, was tliinkingof tlie woo«l he liad sawed for Josie whiU*
he was phxkling his way over the ti-iil towaixl Ked .Moun-
tain, only to Ik- missed in Heaver when it came wood saw-
injr time at Campljell's eahin. He could remember how
many times the hoys <rot around and g-ave him the hoi-se
lanjfh now it was all over. He wsi.-* a .sjuhler and, it is to
he hoped, a wiser man after this.

There was great preparation made for the genei-al exo
dus l)efore the iee hroke up. Our neighi>oi-s, the Serenes,
were getting ready ami Kyau and I had made up our minds
if Lepage came hack, to join tiie crowd and go down to
Arctic City. We als<» felt like moving. I thought the
ehange of scene would help me.

We had not heard from the States, ami I had received
no lettei"s from lutme since I left San Knmcisco ; neither
had they received any from me. There weiv no mails
from l»eaver, although we tried unsuccessfully to have a
mail carrying lettei-s at fifty cents apiece. If lettei-s had
heen mailed to me they weiv .strewn all over Alaska. We
waited until the fii-st of April for Lepage, an<l then, as he
had not come, I made up my mind to stay Itehind and
luing the boat down the river. I{yan said he would stay
with me. I urged him not t«), liecause I knew he wanted
to go with the rest, liut he was linn, so we settled «h)\vn to
stay, when one fine day Lepage ••anie. He had no load with
him, (»nly enough to live on while he came up the river.
I was surprised and disap|H>inte<l. for there were not
enough provisions for three of u>. and he i'-.tught none
Avith him. He got a «'ool reception f«ir using such poor

218

TO THE ALASKAN flOI.D KIKI.OS,

jiulj^iiu'iit. Ill' tVlt it, too; HO Uyiiii siiitl lie would gi.
down with the St'ieiins, iiiid I was t<» ;;o with him.

We culled torn division of all our [jrovisions and caiiiii-
ini,' outfit. This, of couisc, took sonie little time, and I
was ylad when it was liiiished. When the time came for
us to leave Heaver City, Ryan triecl (o pik' iioth our out-
titM on one slei<;h, and he .started with u\o liehind holding
the ^'ee-pole. The snow was soft on each sidit of tlu' tniil.
and when the sleigh sU-wed olV over it would go. We
took olV some heavy clothes i)ags, and leaving tiiem on
the side of the trail, went on. We had ti|)|)ed over so
many times that the rest of the .sleighs were mostly out
of sight. I was tii'cd out. and had to give up and tuiii
hack.

IJyan left wiiat lu'loiiged to me on tiie side of the trail
and went on. I got i)aid< to the old sliaek again, and
Lepage went after my i)aggage and soon returned with it.
I was lying on my l)ack, a pretty sick man. Lepage was
very kind and tidy, lie cleaned our shack and set things
in order. I low disappointed I was in not getting down
the riverl 1 found that it would not do to lie there sick,
so 1 got up and did the cooking, Lepage doing all the rest
of the work.

I felt lonely, for all of my kind friends were gone, and
strangers had moved into their shacks, 'who were not soci-
ahle, hut kept to them.selves. Dr. Dyer had gone uj) on
McAlpine creek, and with his rod expected to do some
pretty good wtuk. Two of his former party, having
moved into the .leiujy M. eahin, intended to build a iK)at to
go down to St. .Michaels when the river hroke u[), which
would happen alwHit the "iltth of May.

The Heavers had moved d(»wn to their boats. The
Eclip.se and Sunflower had gone, as had also the North
Star people and Minneapolis. This latter was the boat
that Josie and Campbell were in and no one was left be-

MfiHT MKfilNH TO DAWN.

219

liiiid Ixit u fuw iiit'ii to liriiijL; down the siimll l)(»at> : so \vu
)ia(1 IK) ('oinpiiiiy iiixl iiotliinir to do Ixit lie iiixl wait fttr
the river to hreak up.

A party of the KyU' that had ltei<n workinj^ up tin-
" Help Me .lack " came chiwii and took ii|i tlieir (|uart«'i-s
ill the Serenes' caltin. Tliey had l»oalN to bike down to
Antic City, so tliey joined the waitinj^ party. They liad
Hunk shafts sixty leet and found notiiin^, so now they were
waitiut,' with tiie rest of us.

Doreross, tlic l)ooni(>r of tiie Koyukuk, was a sipiaw
man. He made his living hy ^oinj.^ down to the moutli of
tlie Koyukuk. and inducing the peoph) he met tlierc j;oin<r
up tlic Yukon to ijo up the Koyukuk instead, liy tellinp;
them st(uies of I lie faliulous wealth that lay within the
gold hult of the Koyukuk. lie himself had a claim that
he would not take twenty thou.sand for. The Kyle party
had fallen into his trap. They enpi^ed him to run their
steainlioat up and down the river, besides <rivint; him a
year's irrid) stake tor himself and family, and payinir
him for his services on the hoat. They had worked ac-
eordiu!.' to his dietation, and here they were, ready to <,'o
down the river without an ounce of <;old. Doreross hinted
to the liowell's peo|)l(! that he could tell them somethinj;
that they would like to know, hut they must tra<le foi' it,
so they Itnill him a line shat^k and dance hall and ,<,^ave him
a yruli stidie. Then they ffot the .secret and worketl upon
that creek with all conlidence, hut found nothinj,'.

Other men were operatinj^ on tlit! different trihutaries.
the same as Dorcntss. I wondered if some were not in the
employ of the steamhoat eomitanies, who were carrvinif on
a nefarious business hy indueinj,' men to leave their fiimi-
lies, and mortL'iijrinir their little heloujrings to pay their
passaife up to Dawson. .Many families were left destitute,
for the craze of <rol<l had seized their natural protectoi-s.
und thev rushed otV to Klondike.

220

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD KIKLDK.

I h.'ivo seen llir yniiiiir iiiiUi w lin stood ImljIi amoiii:' tlio
elitx? (>r Ills town, now a triiinii, ilcpcndiiii:' on n iVw scuiity

im>

mis for wliiit he ii^ot to cat.

lo IS to lilanic

lor

ill

tliis '. 'I'liu .stcjiiiiliout (•oiii|)a..ii's aiv.

lev

aptiiK

papers that ailvcrtisc for llieiu; tlicv pay some iiiisrriipii-
loiis scamp to (•(jiiic to the States and reiioil wliatcvcr tlicy
dictate. 1 saw tlicse men wlieii I came out and wlicii we
siflcd tliciii found tliei'c was no tnitli in llicm. ( )nc man

was aci|iiainted with was iiiowin^ how lie had striicU it

rich, his [lockels were hlh'<l wilii t;old. lint he lioirowed

iK'\ of a few, foruettiiiii' to

|ia\ 1

1 1

papers irave linn and his l''ohI a i;rcat |
ill

lacK

iiitr.

i he Seattle

iirow a lew dollars on ihe streii m ol H.

and
'I'l

lie collKI

lese arc

props that hold up this ^jreat dclnsioii helore the world.
It is straiii^-e that men can degrade themselves so, lint there
are |ileiity that will, 'ihroiigh l)orero.ss, iiundn-ds of men
came up the KoynkiiU.

was Wilis

pi'ied to us that the Alleiikakat was wl

icre

'1 (ill rah, lio\ s I we're

we oii;.dit to i^o, and we would he told where to stake, so
we ^vciil. 'i'liis whisperinii' made one feed thai he was
reall' i^oini^' where i^old was to he found in plenty, and
having' ast'crel nave one conlid. !■:••
ill it, don't gi\e it away ! "

The hooiii from IJeaver City was made'hy Dorcross. Ft
hroiiyht men at the risk of their lives from all parts of
Alaska, only to liiid everytiiiii},' sLiiki'd. Money would huy

il, hut tl

ese men W(

re not jroiiiii; to liii\, instead. talk<'«l

loiidiif eid'oreiiijif Uiiiteil Sl.ttt-s law and jniiipiii<r claims. So
it was, ■> Have your <ruiis ready, hoys for they caii'l come
here and hreak throiii^h our laws." W'v, were prepared to
lii^ht for our (laiiiis. if need he, for we were ri<;ht and they

were wroiiji;.

There was a houndarv line that took it

tiie eoast of .Vhiska, g«)iiiji[ in'jo the inleri<ir hut a little
ways, that comes under the law oi th? I'liited States, and
the iiiililia are there to enfurce it, hut away in the inte-

LKJHT ItKCINS TO HAWN.

. 221

rim- (lie niiiicrs nmke tlicir own laws so loiii; ii>^ it docs not
(ontlict witli Unit of tilt' riiit4'(l Stiit(!s. At the time I was
tluTf nil coiiiminiitics were nilcfl in this wiiv witli tlio
( nitril Stiitcs ill tiit'ii- WiicU. 'riif miners I sau were not
the crowd of ron«>hs that the newspiipers speak of, hut
rill her a retined lo| of men, as i>;ood , ..i-how as the aNcriij^e
in (he States. We iiad men who, when at home lived at
their (>ase on their incomes, and men who did a \riMH\ inisi-
ncss when in ;he St/itcs. Theie was a hank cashier, hacked
hy millions, -little l"'iaid< of the .lenn\ M.. who has !)eeii
miMitionc(| hcforc, ;ind (|nite a nnnd^-r of doctors. There
were Imt few hohoes, for it was too far for that clement to
come Old the climate did not suit them.

It was irettinir alon;:; aiiont tiie midiMc ..t April and we
had a monlli to wait yei. I wiMit ilown one niyflit to the
river for :i pail of water, w'.ieh we got throuirh a hole in
tht^ i( e. riie m<ion was shininij hri'.(ht and the niirht was
fiansfovmed into dav. As I looked alonj; down the jrreat
white rivi'i'. now with li\»- feet thickness of ice. onr only
retreat oul <if these wihU. I >hnddcrcd as I thouirht ol' the
tiiiH- we had to wait. I ilreaded the [lassauc do\\ ii. \ei |
loii^'ed for the time to come.

What iKaiitifnl scenes in these surronndiiiifs I 'The
dark shadows of the ti'«es on the snow, and it is so (piiet,

iiothin<^' hnt the ye||i of a .Maliiinool don can he hcaid. as
he sits alone in some open spot \\ here the moon tan siiine
oil him. lie raisex ^ris It^^^fl towards the moon and iittei's
those lerrililc cries rtiat we hear, so iiiimaii that it reminds
one of the ancient vronthippeii* oj fhaf planet, hiil the
(loir is callinj; the rest of the j»a< k aroiinil him. and ihey
are all soon imitating/ him with tiieir chorus of yelps. I'liis
is k«'pt lip for half an h^Mir, wlicn suddenly, i don't know
what ciiiiscs it, whi'ther o.ie doj/ can \elp l*ett/'r than the
others, hnt there is one of the <rtvi»test iipi'<«»'» rHiaffiiw-
liic ihe\ arc haviiiii a general tijidt. That w twi-kiJtK

222

TO TMK ALASKAN COLD KIKI-DS.

noise we hear is niatle by the owner of tiie iIojj: u ith liis
cluh, hreiikintr them ii)). Miiny jrood dojrs are ruined in
thes(i llylits, for they l)ile one anotiujr with .savajre ferocity,
thouirli they are not considered cross to men.

The Ahiska sky is Hoinethinir beautiful and wonderful,
it seems so clear, this winter sky I speak of, each star
tryinj; to outshine every oth(;r. and the Aurora IJorealis —
who can tell what causes this wonderful vision '. It is in
the siuithcm part of tiie sky, and the North Star is o\cr
our heads. Ixit the A mora, thishiiiir and llaniiiin' ai-ross the
Hky, diirtiui; hither and thither, reminds one of the reflec-
tion of some <>:rcat tire tiiat is not on this tjarth, hut

aMu<

1st rl

le snow aiK

1 frost of a fro/.cu at

UKispnerc

I went home with my pail of wati-r, and thoutrhl liow
wcmderful Nature was, showing' her works e\en hore.
There is a iiot spring or fjeyser up between the head waters
i)fthe Kowak and Kovuknk. The Kowak enters into Ivot/e-

)ue Sound, and has its irold

belt

on a trail near

iws((n.

1 was told liy one who saw it that tiiere was a sand sprin<^-.
He could see it bubbliiitr U|) like a i»oiliii«r spring' of \\at<;r,
ami when soiiu- wood was thrown on it, it instantly caiiiiht
fire. There were spring's of water where we were that
never froze, even on the coldest days, but kept ruiiniiijr
down the mouiitnin and fi'ee:dni>; on the run, makiii;j: a
Iwautifnl vii'W for ph()to<rni|>liei's. We iiad a hw of these
individuals with us. and thev were vcrv i)usv y:ettin<' these

views.

The mountains tiial I'oulil be seen north of us were
barren rock, crumblinjr away and washin;r down into the
valleyK, formin<; the laud we liveil on, washcil tlieit! by
the rivers. Nature was doiiiir her work of destruction
amoii^f these mountains ; ^■icat en.'vices and jfullies were

all washed out by Uie ruiinui<j^ rivers in tiie sprin^r, aiK
hard frosts in wiiit«'r. We felt seciure with a fro/.cii foun-
dation of ice and siiow under us, but in the sunniier it

LIGHT BKGIMS TO DAWN.

223

sepincd to inc that \ was sUin<liiif:f on an uiicortuintv, sonie-
tliin;,' that was liahle to leave any inninent.

When Lepajj*' ranie in that niirlit lie told nw that the
two men of tiie Dyer party were niakinjr iea<ly to huild a
lioatt eighteen feet and four feet heani. This wa.s to he
one of our aniusenienis luitil (hme, iov we prediete*! <lisas-
ter to that hoat. whiU- they said it was all rii^ht, they
knew whiil they were doinj;.

The <lufks and wild geese were <|iiite plenty, iait there
was only one gun in Heaver, and that was getting them.
One line day an Indian «-anie to our shack, ,i tall, lithe
fellow, with the frame of an athlete, hut he was hlack,
although he had gmid features and talked very pleasantly.
I wauteti to learn who he was and where he eanie from, so
I liroiight out a new pot of Ihmiis, all conked, and let him
go at them, lie laughed and ate, ate and laughed, until I
saw the hottoui of the pot, then he ijuit, and facing us.

salt I

lere

have voii iieen

I askeil.

ly up river: me h.int carihoii.

Did

voii <ret aiiv

'• No. nie III) eat«"h 'em. — no >now. iio carihoii. .Me come
two da.s, two nights, no eat, no sleep, plenty water," and
he mea.suivd on his legs how deep the water was over the

lee.

lie .said that he was a liiinttM' for the trihe. ami 1

was going over the divide, a niiige of moimtjiins that

divided the Allenkakat fioiii the Kowak river, lie

would

get wooilcliuek and mink, deer and mountain siieep.

These sheep have a thece more like the goat, hut it
resemldes wool to some degree. They take to the moun-
tains when mos(|uitoes aie pleiit\ . like the (leer, and get
al»o\e the frost line. When they see a smoke they come
to feed, and the eraftv Indian is there and <rets his

<|own

game,

He told how nianv moons hefore the river

would

iiivak up, and after looking over my ritle ami wishing it
was his. left us to \\;\M' a long sleep, so lie said.

Next dav loin's wife came in with a |Mece of carihou

)12-i

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD KIKMiS.

iiu'iit ill lifi' liaiitl and nlVcn-d it to inc. I askcil Imw miicli,
iiiiil slit' siiifl, " Me no sell, iiu- ,i,'ivt'." I cnukt'd soiir' of
tlii.s stciiiv and callt'd it fxcfllcnt, - it was ti'iidci', and liad
mn tlic wild taste tliat I was i'X|»'('tilij; to lind. Slic caiiit'
next day witli three cliildreii, and I intrudiiceil tliein tu
tlie never failiiiir lieaii pot and a i^ciod eii|> nl' tea. wliicii.
alter drinlvinjr. slie scraped out tiic sii<,rar witli the Uiiiiekle
(it" lici- foretiiiLfer ami lappcil it witli lier tniiyiie. 'I'iiis, I
iititiccd. was I iian ctiijiietlc. they all had tlie same trick.
She wanted U> a|)|iear vei\ nice, and talki-d all the Knjf-
lish that she knew, and sonic that she didn't. Her thii-
drcii kept stariiiL'' at inc with their little, headdikc eyes,
like kittens. I otTcrcd thi'iii a jiicce of liread covered
with lieaiis, which tlie\ woiihl <;ral) mit <d' my hand, and
when they had it up to their inoiiths would look at nu;
deliantly, as iniich as to sa\. ■* ^ On cant yet it Iroin lis
now. She said she had a hard time eoinin<| down the
river and had hick on the hunt, no siiow. 'I'heie was
al)ont three h'ct ol siiow that winter. :ind it takes livi- feet
to make a sncccssl'iil hunt for carihoii.

The snow is liuht. not like the snow in oiir climate,
damp and heavy, luit like ;;;rannlaled sii^ar, only not as
heavy. It docs not pack under the feet, hut will let one
thioimh oil to the L;ioiind. I have seen it simw when the
.sky was dear, not a < htiid to he seen, and I think iT was
the frozen atmosphere, not many feel al>o\e tlu jfioiind,
i'alliii;; like little grains of siiyai, Imt so cold I I lia\e
•seiMi llio snow siiiialls coNcrinj' the face of tlic nioiiiit^iiiis.

M
while alio\<' it all was clear. *' T

oo colli (o SIloW ,

I I

ia\e

• tteii

lu>ar(l said

the old folk."

it must moderate

first: " hut with us it was so cold that it passed the limit
and snowed. The colil, di\ atmospliei',' was what caused
the scurvy, which was a distviipiM' of the lold, ami tlio
hody siitTei'ed for the w.int of that uioistuic we wt-re used
to, like lisli out of water. The llyiiii,' lisl) must 'eep its

LIGHT IlKGINS TO DAWX.

22a

willies <ltiiii|> to fly, iin<1 man. out of his natural t*lt'ni«>iit.
must snrtVr witlioiit moist me. The doctor told mr that
ill some of th*' uiiddlc states scurvy was |uvvalciit, and lie
hml atteiide<l plenty ot cases. Potatoes were always iiwd
to euiv it, aii<l always proved a success.

Itut I must return to Mrs. 'I'oni, who eaine in and
l>n»u>f|ii her iiusliand. A;ter a iVed of Uans and pam-aJies
they ii-lated to us iiow to eateh carilmu, wiieii tliey liad
plenty of snow. Wiiy they went in the spriiii; was U'laiise
the sun liad melted the suox*. and it packed enon<;li to Itear
them up with snow shoes.

When they found a ijronp of these animals they atiacke<l
them with s|H-ars an<i they could not run away in the deep
8IIOW, so a irn-at many were ireneraliy siauLditered. A fea.st
\vn.>4 made of the tii-st one killed and they had pleiitx <;o«mI
time, hut the\ had no trood time this hunt and they were
most starved. llu'\ and tlu'ir doi;s. .Vs Mrs. Tom said,
.she was so tin-d, doy ;r<» litth' way, lay down. It is the
Mjiiiiw's dut\ to hold the 1,1'e-pole aiid steer the sleigh and
Mhip the dot's aloui;, while the Indian marches ahead,
jiickiui; the trail with his ifuu in his hand: Mrs. S|uaw.
with a host of little pappooses trviui; to keep up, all on
snoiv shoes followiu",^ dose to their ma, does have a pit*tty
lively time on the tniil. Iletwecn the do>.'s and |iap|MMiMes
she wa.s tiivd, and now they were takin*,' a ivst in Hea»ver
U'foiv i;4iin<; home, which was only sixty miles away.

When they i^o on the hunt, every memU-r of tlieir fam-
ily, sick or well, must lifo too. .\n old 'ndiaii woman, a
widow, who wa.s very sick, had two sons with lier. and she
like the rest, was wrap|K>d up in her rohe of ln'ar skin and
was 1\ injr without shelter on the ice of the river. >omf
td the nu-n li\ in;; handy li\ erected a tent oxer her and
pultin«r a stove in it, luiiit a tire and said t' hei son$i.
*♦ Now. yon cut \V(mmI and keep a tire." They replied, " No,
ine no eiit wihmI." This was not harddiearte«»»M-*s hut a

22(!

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD KIKLUS.

duty, tlii'uii«j;li a sii|K!niiilural Ix'liL'f tliat thuie was ii l»a<l
spirit ill |»oss('ssinii of her, and if tliey i)uiU a lire; tlitfy
woiilil \)v ki'cpiiiir liiiii warm, wliidi hv. liked very iiiiich,
and tlin only way was to fn-c/.c him out l»y keeping' the
old lady on ice.

TheHe Indians stayed with us as loiiij as tiiey ^ot ted.
liOpajje took aecoiint of stock one day, and li<rured that
we iiad only cnontjh provisions to carry us throii<:h and
none to j,'ive away, so when the Indians came in to see us
aj^aiii we did not ask llicm to eat. Then; was a plate of
Yukon pancakes on the tahle. Irom which they never took
their eyes for as niiich as live lionis. then they l»e<,nin U)
leave us and the last one said as he passe(l out of the door,
" Me so hiinirry I " It scemeil wicked to do this, hut we
had to have over two months* provisions to take us down
to St. Miciiuels. \Vc could not make the Indians uiider-
stiind this so they went away with hard thoughts of us.

Shortly afti'rwards on a lirii,dil morninir I heard them
callini; in their doirs. which had lieeii roaniin<( all over
Heaver. an<l like their masters picked up whatever they
ctuild lind to cat. < )nc dav I caiiirht one stealinj^ a side
of liacoii out of a lic>\ \M' hail on the <aclie : it was too
heavy for him so 1 took il away. IIi> master would not
have dared du t)ll^s, for si^'aliiiir was an iiii|iardoiialilc of-
feiiee. in fa<-t, a iriiiie Hit in the miniiiir flislricts of Alaskn.
It came al)out in this way. When the lirst tush lor Daw-
son \Mi.s made, the |K'opl(! were t,dad to meet these Indians
to irct information, ami. of course, fed them. I'hey soon
found, hnwever. that the Indians knew hut little ahout
gold, so they had no further use for them and tried to

f t!u' la/.v ones hiiiu>: around

freeze them out, l»ut .s«

line o

and pickeil up a meal here and there aiiiong th<^ miners.
KiimIIv the\ l>ct,Mii to miss provisions from tlieir cache and

set wat« 11. < >iie mall win

^UK

1 a Kodak saw the Indian

luxNiking into the cache, *iu.\ when he got his load, tlie

l-KillT HKGINS TO HAWN.

Kndiik iiiaii |)till(>(l tlu; string, iiikI the Iixliiiii liiul a tiiiu
|)lioti><r|-ii|)li taken ri<r|it in tlie ad of steiiliiig. lie waH ar-
n'stt'd and tried liy tlit- nnnois' triltunal, found <;iiiity and
sentt-nt'Cfl to l)e inni}^. \Viu;n tin- iian^dnj; fanii- ofl In;
was pliotoirraplifd a<^ain. dan^din;; from llic end of tlic rope.
Some days after tliis tlie old cliief cd" tlie lrii)e eanie into
camp, niakin*; in(|uiries and was siiown tiie piioto of tlie
man witii liis load from tiie caclie. The old ciiief ]au<.died
l»nt when lie saw tin- otiier side, where ihe Indian was
hau'^inir. his eountenanee ehanged aii<I lie Iteeame sulky and
tletiant. . They told him iliat was wliat they did t() any
man who took what did not iieloUi; to him, white man as
well as Indian, and he went away satisfied. The Indians
had never st<ileii from the whites since. I have seen pro-
visions eatdied along the river hank, miles av.ay from any
proteetioii, yet they were lu-ver distiirlted ;.\ ;he Indians,
let them Im- evei so hungry.

They called in their dogs prepinabirv t<» liieaking
eaiiip and soon I heard theii shont.s a>i<i li.iots, and the
yelps of the dogs, as th-y left Heaver for tiic next mining
eanip, ami all Heaver was thankful for theit exodus.

The hoat liuilding was going mi hriskly. and I saw that
oui' neighi)ors had one or two wild geese picked and
cleaned, hanging to the poles. My vcgetidiles were all
gone, ill fact, they had liet'ii for some weeks. I had leached
the point where I couhl just get aioiind and we were r«!-
pairingon the olil .Mary Ann. The snow was ineliing fast
under the rays of a hot sun. and when' there had iiecii three
feet of snow, was now hare groiiml, dr\ and sandy. Ica\ ing
no mud. W'c were expecting \h\ Dyer down, liefore the
river laokc up, to go t.o .\rctic (ity with iis. The water
was running over the ice and things looked tierce along the
river hack.

We gotonr iioat tinned over and afloat, waiting for the
general lin'ak up which casiu' with a rush, and the juiii oc-

22M

TO THE ALASKAN (iOM> KlKI-ItS.

(Mirrcd just »m tlio point. TIutc was a "jfivat ^rindiii^' ami
crasliiiii; of ict-, and down l)V tlu- iioiii'iii;^' ISull was a coni-
pli'tc dam, from one side of tlin riviT to tlic otlicr, tiic wa-
ter risiiit.' even witii the top of tiie Itank. and in some
places innninif over and lillinjr the liollowaiid dry shiut>-lis.
When it finally irave way there was a ;,M-eat rush id'
water and ice, erushinir and seourinir the lianks, eanyin;r
everythintr liei'ore il within its reach, linally el)l)ini,' away,
leavin;; ".'real masses of ice on the sand liars and on tlm
slioal places aloni; the lianU.

Next day there was another jam that raised the \\at«'r
hii,dier. We yoi onr hoat (tver the hank, in anionjj; tlio
trees where she was safe, and I went np to the point to
see the ice c(mie down the river, whicli was Mocked from
the Uoarimr Hidl np to this point. Ilerfwere whirlpools
that wonlil take in an ice cake and it wcndd disappear l)e-
neatli the snrface, to appear aj,'aiii down anionj; the ict?
near the Roarini,' Hidl. 'I"he river looke<l wild and would
jam away ahove ns : when it hroke ilown it came on
the l!oarin<r Mull rapids and <rronn<l in some places. Wher-
ever this jam liappened, ii would tlnw nvci' the hank away
into the low lands, and the? trees were killed, died and
rotted on the root. What desolalinn I ha\r seen in these
places I

We were ail rcaiiy pa(d<cd tn starl when the ice i^ol out
of the river. W'c thought of ihc .lenny M.. which lay

rozen in near the center of the rivci',

low <

lid tl

lev nian-

aj^fe when this tidal wave came down on to them '. I'erhaps
it was worse farther <lowii the river than we lia<l it, for
old .Arctic City was swept away from a twelve fool hank
anil they said that the water was hiuitcen feet ahove that
hank, it was measured on the trees after the tlood.

The new hoat was launched hut would not stand up on
her hottom, so the hnilder was afraid to ^o down the river
in it. The Kyles hail an extra hoat the_) hd them have to

LIGHT HK(JISS TO DAWN.

229

mnv tlit'ir Imi^^ratff dnwii itml the day ranie for the crowd
to h'uvt', as tlu'v now foii.Hiden'd the river safe from ire
Hows. 'V\\i' watri «as falliiii; fast and wi- waiit4-<l to j,'et
(h>wii Ix-forf il was tot» Inw, on acroiiiit of tin- rapids. We
eoiiid ii*-ar nothing; of tlic Koariii;^ Hull now. the watttr
eov»'i('d it too dfs'|>. and we could Moat an\ wiieiv over the
hai-s and roiks. j was not ready to j;o with tlie rest. I
waiiU'd to ilo roiikiuir ••nonj^h to stand us down to Aretie
("rty, for I n aii/.t-d that I was to leave a ;:ood warm shack
to ;ro (lilt on tiic colli river, and as I was not fully ovt'r
my sickness I c\|K'eted to sutTer a little. I did dread
Icavinj,' the shack.

W'c were now the only ones left in Heaver City. Dr.
Dyer liad not (mumc and we could not wait longer for him.
Me iiad no lioat Iml we knew he W(»uld j:et <lown the river
hy some means, for tlie d«M'tor s»'eme«l to like str.ife<;y, and
no donlit woulil enjoy the situation when he came to know
lie was left itt li<,riire out some way t4» <n't down w ithoul a
hoat. I'eriiaps he could tind somethinj,' with his mineral
rod that would serve the purpose. We did not feel much
eonceriUMl ahout the doctor, and when the clay came, Le-
pa^'e loa(le<I nnr !)ai.',L'ay^> intt» the Mary Ann. and we were
ready lor our lonir journey of sixteeii hundred miles to St.
Michaels.

CHAITKIJ XIII.

\VK KMItAltK (»N oil! I,(»N(; .!( u; ItNKV. — I I'AliT Willi

M:I'.\(JK at ST. MHIIAKLS. — I'AKK l'ASSA(iK ON TIIK

l;oAN(»KK.- A lUI.'lAI, AT SKA. AI!I!IVK. AT

.SKATTI-K. ArltnSS TIIK ruNIINKNT. —

llnMK ACAIN.

After I h'I't the old shark I never tunieil Imek to lake
a last look, lor there was iiotliiiitf to see or nMiieinlter ahout
it itiit siilVeriiifT. I jrot on the l)oat an<l we pnshed away
from the hank an«i were soon shootiiiy; ilown tlie river at
jifieat speed. Lepaj^e rowed while I steered. I t'onnd it
fpiite dillicnlt to keep elear of the heavy ice that was cauirht
on the sand hars : with a mad eiirrent dasliin*;, whirling
and t'oamin<; aronnd them, it was hard work to keep our
boat from heing drawn under this ice. We kept going all
that day and I was crumped and cold, so we landccl and
pitched our tent. I c(»oke(l supper and we turned in to
rest, hut the s<|uawking of the wild geese and ducks that
seemed to he in stimc ol' the lakes or ponds kejit nn' l'r<nn
sleeping and I was glad t() get up early next morning and
start down tiie river.

That day we came out on the Koyukuk, making the
passage in seventeen running hours. We had no tronliie
coming down as the river was high enough to carry us

over the rapids without danger,

and

we camped that niglit

on the site of old .Arctic City. ICverytliing looked dilYer-
ent from what it did when we went up. The Koyukuk
was clear of ice and we hroke camp and proceeded down

(230)

Wr. KMUAI:K on OI'H LONO .lorUNKY.

231

the riviT to N»'\v Arctic Citv. W'c |»!iHsi'«l Ucr«:niiiii niiil
saw ii lew of llic stciimcrs still iayiii}; tlii'ic. l»iit jrniiijr
tlirou;;h a course of repairs. I foi^rot to iiieiitioii
tliat we saw the .leiiiiv M. steaiiiiiij.' ii|> tlie river, the
Eclipse was thrown upon the hank a total wreck, and
alon<r the river hank in ililTercnt localities were the Kot/.e-
hiie men hnililin<r hoat>i U> >!>> down to St. Michaels.

Ah we neiired New Arctic City we coidd see the hcacli
liiKid with lioats j.'eltin<r icady to jljo down the river. My
two days in tin; lioat had wcaktMUMl ine consideralily and
when I ;.'ot on the shore 1 could not st^md. Menry of the
Sorone's. a partner of I'inckley, canu' to my assistance, and
witii Lepa<:c helped me np t() the Serene's shack, where I
coid<) sit down and have a (|uiet rest.

.\rctic City had <.'rown to ijuitc a town since I saw it
last. They even had electric li<i;hts. The Kylcs owned the
plant and tiie town folks kept it in lircwood to pay for the
litrhl. Dorcross had a danct> hall here and ran dances
and sold honchc a sort of Indian rum. 'IMie women who
atU'uded the dance were thiee s(|uaws and a white woman
who was \\ashin<>- for the na-ii to <fet money to pay her wny
out, while lu-r hushand would come alon*^' as soon as he
could and the hest way that he could. I'hese dancei's made
a j,'rotes(|ne appearance in their Klondike attire, with lonj,',
hnshy hair and lieards. walt/.in;; the scpiaws around over

a roii<rh and uneven tlooi

CM Who would

lie msu

ted

nt the otVer of such a drink at home, turned the houche
down with a relish, aftei- treatiny- the stpiaw, as thoujjh it

was the hest.

ow custom wi

in<rc people in thout;ht and action.

Some of these men were used to the ijla.s.sy waxed tloiu' of

the '1

n hallrooiii, and with some irav iielle on his arm.

dressed in 'ler thuinces and furhelows, tripjied the li<rht
fanti -;tii' ti some of Mozart's sweet strains. Now he was
coiiteiiv wiih a s(juaw dressed with her loose hlouse made

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

:/-

<^s

.fi

:/.

Wj,

1.0

I.I

1.25

M 12.5

— 6"

I "- Ilia

1.8

U i 1.6

■c'l

^;;

Photograptec

Sciences

Corporation

A\r

iS^

<^..

■<^>.

23 W«ST MAIN STREET

WSBSTER.N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

,<i"^*

s^^O

232

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIKLIJS.

of flour sacks, with deerskin legj^ins und inoooasins, trip-
ping over the knots of a rougli floor up to the deal bar
where they sohl houche and paid their score. I believe it
cost fifty cents to dance and the same for a drink or cigar.

Some of tliose who could not dance stood up by the bar
and drank this Indian rum until they became crazed, and
were ready to pick up a word or act that tliey counted as
an insult to themselves or somebody else and fight. This
was Dorcross's dance liall. There was plenty of whiskey uii
there all through the winter, al)ont every boat liaving a
barrel or so. .V custom house ollicer was there likew ise,
and when he spotted one of these l)oats tliey generalh-
Hlled him up and sent him rolling home over the ice: no
seizures were made that I ever licard of. I don't know
what tiiey did with all of the whiskey that they had up
there for but few men got intoxicated.

The Anawanda men were in the city getting their boat
ready for St. Micliaels. I siiw Tom McArthui' and IJrady
whose legs were quite Aveak, liut otherwise he was all right,
and IJyan was with them. Tiiey iiad a net and fished
niglits, catching ([uite a lot of nice fish, — 1 don't know
what kind, but there were a few greylings among them, —
some of wliich they brouglit over to the Serene shack.
Dane of tlie Serene's was staying witli two of tiie Jenny
M. men who were going home, one of whom was an as-
sayer and belonged in Philadelphia. His grievance was
President Hill had ignored him and his office and as the
Jenny M. was to stay in another year he left and Iniilc a
scow about fifteen feet lon<r 'I'ld nine feet beam, putting a
cover over lier like a milk wagon, and was going to take
comfort drifting down the rivei- to St. Michaels. May
stayed at the Serene shack and was going down with
another party in a row boat. Pinckle3'and Harry and two
others, one being a doctor, had Ijought a ship's life-boat
from some of the little steamers up there, fitted her out
with a sail and were going dovn in her.

WE EMBARK OS OUR LOXG JOURNEY.

233

I was very sick at Arctic City and aiiionjr all of tiie
steamers of my acquainbince none offered to tow us down
or give nie a passage, but Lepage stood i)y me and was
willing to take me down in tiie boat. We ought to have
had .another man to help, but there didn't seem to l)e any
one to join us and 1 made up my mind tliat I must go to
St. Michaels in my own boat, with but one man to take
her there. Here was a stretch of about eight hruidred
miles, ninety of which were sea coast. I dreaded tiie ))as-
^age but it had to l)e done. If I had l)een in good health
it would have been quite an undertjikiug, but now I was
uncertain whether I should live to get there or not. The
Swede who was with the Serenes was preparing to stay
another year. He Avas to occupy the same shack and liad
built himself a nice boat for prospecting the creeks
They said lie was " gone " on Dorcross's wife's sister, a
thrifty young squaw, and he would probably go into busi-
ness with Dorcross. The T.iOwell party were trying to boom
some place up the Koyukuk, claiming that they were pan-
ning six cents a pan, but as the river was too low for steam-
ers to get over the bar, there was no way of ascertiiining
the trutii of this stateinen*^. This was for the new comer,
liowevei', not for us, for we knew too much about such
things.

It was like the case of the Jenny M., — the rich com-
pany at home that was backing that outfit was kee})ing
her in there to sell stock on, — some of the worthless
claims they owned uj) the AUenkakat and Ilogatiakakat
rivers, — and would not be j^leased at the return home of
their assayer. This was why they did not like a man to
return and tell the truth, but would stop him if they
could by setting the newspapers on him. The poor, de-
luded wretch Avho had faced the hardships of the Arctic
winter, would get a great roasting, and, of course, jieople
in general would believe what the [lapers said, and so he

234

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

was ridiculed as a hobo. Thus was the rascally deception
practised by these steamboat companies, which should
not be allowed to entice peo])le with their gilded delusions
to pay them a big price for a passage in, a liig price at
their wareliouses for provisions, and the United States
government pay that same company a big price to take
them back to the States, broken in health as well as
])ocket.

Well, we were about through with Arctic City, a place
soon to be deserted. We embarked on the Alary Ann
one fine morning, and started on our long journey. I saw
that Ryan had put a few fresh fish in our boat that night,
which 1 was thankful to get. It was about the first of
June, and the weather was (juite fair, so we made a good
long stretcli the first day, and camped for the night. Tiie
work of putting up the tent and carrying the cooking
utensils upon the bank was work Lepage had to do, as I
was luiable to do anything but cook. It was a good deal
of ./ork for him, and I began to think up a scheme for
fixing up imr stove in the boat and sleeping in her. One
night, after setting up tlie tent, we found that the moscjui-
toes were as thick as ever ; we tried to sleep, but could
not — it was a repetition of the last sununer, and I asked
Lepage if it wouldn't be better to sleep in tiie boat out on
the river. He thought it would, so we struck our tent
and got out in the stream, where we found it a little bet-
ter. We drifted and lowed all night, and thought it a
good plan to keep going, night and day.

It did not look like the same river that we came up on,
the water was higher, and the shores were covered part
way down. We had a Strong breeze against us, and had
to tent on a sand beach, where we stayed two days, wind-
bound. Here we were joined by a man who came down
from Kotzebue Sound and the Kowak river, and he gave the
country up tiiere a terrible name. He came from Tennes-

\VK KMBARK ON OUK LONG JOURNEY.

235

see, and was an old miner, and said there was no gold
on the Kowak, there never had l)een, and never would
be; that ttio formation was not there for it; that the
Koyukuk was a better lookin<; country. He was going
down on the Tanana river before lie went to the States.

There were plenty of mosquitoes to keep us awake, and
I undertook to smoke them out of the tent. I set a fire
of spruce boughs, and soon had the tent so full of smoke
that I came near suffocating myself. I started to go to
my bed after making the smoke, and strangled and fell to
tiie ground, where I could get a breath ; after the smoke
cleared away I came to, but. said nothing about it. I asked
our Tennessee friend what he thought of the experience.
He said he thought of the two pests he would rather have
mos(iuitoes. They came in again worse than ever, and
next morning we embarked for down stream.

We saw plenty of ducks, which Lepage shot at, but did
not get any, althongli he wounded a few, for we liad noth-
ing but rifles to shoot with. We chased the wounded
ducks down stream, but found that they could swim faster
than vfo. could row, and when they got out of our sight
tiiey would swim in to the bank and hidfl among the brush,
and we could not find them.

I could remeniljer some of the landmarks. There were
quite a number of boats on the river going out, many of
which passed us. We were overhauled by Pinckley in his
lifeboat going down to Nulato, where he was interested in
a store. We saw the steamer Aurora dredging for gold
on a sand bar. Twelve men had worked there a week
and found ten dollars worth of gold, so they were going
to quit. I heard that the Minneapolis was aground on a
bar up the river. We boarded the Jenny M. and got a
gallon of syrup, and in a few days we drifted out on the
Yukon and headed down for Nulato, where we arrived the
next morning, passing two large river steamei-s bound up
to Dawson loaded with freight for the warehouses.

286

TO THB ALASKAN GOLD FIELDS.

We liindefl at Nnlato and found the banks lined
with hoiits ol' all kinds, (jiiite a nnniher of small river
steamers, and Piuckley's lifehoat. Dane was there sellino-
hoar meat, one they had shot coming down. There was a
post-oflioe at Nnlato and a few shacks, with a larire num-
ber of Indian tents, where the Indians, who were pilots on
the Yukon, kept their scpiaws and pappooses. We ft)und
that the Jenny AI. had i)een there ami {^fot letters that sent
her back uj) the Koyidvidv. I'inckley was to stay, and so
was Henry, their business concerning a store. I never
saw the lifeboat afterward, so I think she must have
stopped there.

We left Nnlato the same day we arrived. The winds
■we were gettin<r on the river were not good for our square
sail, so one day we landed and transformed it into a sprit
sail, and after that we could do considerable sailing. One
day we met an Indian with whom we traded an iron bucket
for a large salmon. It was ratliei- dillicult to keep the
regular channel, the river was so wide, with many islands
and sloughs. One day we got on the sand where the water
was so low that our boat w'ould not float ; there were miles
of this shoal water, and we did not know how to find our
way out of it, i)ut we finally got out of the scrape i>'ith
our usual good luck.

I sat up and steered when I could, but I was getting
very weak and liad to lie down most of the time. We
were i)assing Holy Cross, and the sun was so hot it
burned my hands to the bone, and I thought my head
would split from the heat; with no j)rolection over our
heads, the heat was almost unbearable. We had this for
two days, and then we drifted inti> the coast weather, —
overcast sky and rain, with considerable wind. On the
lower part of the Yukon everything was changed ; the banks
looked marshy, and tlie land in general was boggy. Willows
and alders covered the banks and we depended on drift-

WE KMBAHIC ON OUll LONG .JOUKNKY.

237

wood to cook with. The singing of birds had ceased. The
mountains touched the river on certiiin points, otherwise
they were to he seen over this boggy level miles inland.
The Indians here used boats made of the sealskin. His
shack was built of the logs he picked uj) along the shore.
The weather was colder, and I suifered a great deal.

We saw the Reaver steamer pass us one day. It rained
so hard that we hauled in a slough and stopped two days.
We got down l)y Andreafski and had to put into the moidh
of a slough, where there was an Indian village. This I
tried to avoid, for the Indians were regular pests, — they
wanted everything that they saw, and they saw every-
thing you had, — so I ran pretty well up the slough, but
they came after us in their canoes and hung on to our
boat, lauyrhing at everything. They handled everything
wo had and looked into everything. I did not like this
familiarity very much. I had my shaving outfit in a
large tobacco can, with a l)lue lal)el, and as thev had
asked for tobacco and we said we had none, they did not
believe us, for they recognized this can as a tobacco can.
They were determined to look into it, but 1 forbade them,
and had to take it from them. This they did not like and
grew sulky, and tried to annoy us in different ways.

A white man came in there alone in his boat, and it
always seemed to me that he had stolen it and run
away from some place. He had nothing to eat but some
salmon, yet he would not acknowledge it. He took our
scraps of bacon and I gave him some pancakes. He
claimed to have come from Dawson. One morning he
rowed out and did not return, so we came to the conclu-
sion that the weather was better outside, and we cast off
and rowed out, and, although the .wind blew pretty hard,
wo found better weather after getting around a headland.
We went on for some days, until we found that we did
not have so much current. We were nearing the mouth

238

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD FIKLDS.

of tlic Yukon, uiul what troiihled ii.s wus — wero \vc in Iho
rijrlit channel, for the mouth of the river is a deila.

We landed at an Indian camp, traded for a salmon, and
were told that we were on tlie rlgiit track. So we soon
found ourselves steerinj^; out iiy the iieacons on IJerinjf Sea.
We had to keep in the ciiannel until we were (juite a way
off from the shore, which was a higli muddy l)ank,-eovered
witli a low jrrowth of willows. We found that the cu -
rent was running in the direction that we wanted to go
and the wind favored us, so we sailed along the same as
we had on the Yukon, watching for whatever might turn
up that would direct us to St. Michaels. We sailed all of
tiiat tide and met the ehb, then putting in to tlie bank made
fast.

I had no more idea of the way into St. Michaels, than
a man that had never been there. Tiieie was an inland
passage that all boats took, but our ma|) gave us an idea
that it was a wide channel, and this is wliat 1 looked for.
After another day and night's sail, we sighted a long
stretch of land protruding out into the sea, while a few
miles away was another stretch of high laud that I took
fur an island. We made up our minds that it must be St.
Michaels, and decided to slia[)e our course for it. As we
had a line day and fair wind we were soon on the shores
of tl)e island.

licpage climl)ed to the top of a mountain and saw notli-
ingof St. Michaels. He said that it was an island. He
saw some tents and in one ])lace some seals, so we talked
the situation over. He said be thougiit we had passetl
the channel into St. Michaels when I was asleep. He
thought it best to go back to this place, and as be saw
some tents there we could inquire the way in. I agreed,
and we again headed our boat for the coast that was some
miles away. The sky looked dark and heavy and 1 felt
that we might have a storm, for which our boat was not

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WK KMUAKK ON OUR LON(i JOUHNKY.

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fit. W(! must, tliereCore, find a place to get in m soon as
we eould. We <;ot pretty near the place wlierc we ex-
pected to (ind sluilttjr, wiuMi I noticed tlie land was gettinjf
away from iis very rapidly.

Then I thought oF the flood tide cominir in, against
which it was no use to try to sail, so we sipiared away up
the coast, and as I lay down exhausted, I told Lepage to
run in the first opening and tie up for the night. There
was (jnite a ehop[»y sea, that I did not like, and it was
getting along into the night. I went to sleep, hut was
soon awakened hy the boat pounding on rocks. I could
hear the roar of the sea and knew hy the wet covering
over mo that water was washing in, so I got up, and what
a dismal place ve wore in I I asked licpage why he put
in there, and he replied that it was so dark he took it for
the mouth of a slmigh.

I told him we must get out of it, but he did not believe
that he could row out against the wind. •' Then you will
have no boat here in the morning," I said, " she can't stand
tyds thumping much longer." This frightened him and he
turned to, got the boat out and rowed and sailed up the
coast. He told me to lie down again.

I took a look at that long blue point of land that we
were nearing and feared to venture aroiuul — for we did
not want to miss St. JNIichaels — and get away up in Nor-
ton Bay, for I began to realize more than ever that our
boat was not fit for the open sea. She woidd duck under
forward, and I knew that she would swamp in a very bad
time ; but I lay down to inspire Lepage with confidence.
The next time I awoke he had turned a point, the sea was
running high and the wind was blowing almost a gale.
There was no slough here, as we expected, but a good
sand beach. The point sheltered us from the wind but
not from the sea, and it rained as hard as it could pour.
I dressed in my oil skins and we anchored our boat, which

'J40

TO TIIK ALASKAN (i()M» KIKI.DS.

rode V(MV well. We Imilcd out tlic water lliiit she liiid
taken in and Hal down and wailed.

SoDn we saw annllier Ijoat, witli t'our men in liei', eonio
around liie point and land. 'I'liey ]>ulled tlie Itoat up oul
of the I'cacli of the surf. I felt so iniseral)le I eoidd not sit
iij) any lonj^er; my hed was wot tlirou<;li and it mined so
I eould not lie down. I told Lepaj,'e we liad l)ettei'
land, for I couldn't stand this any longer; so lie j»ulle(l up
(ho unehor and drop|)ed in. We found the hoat would
till on the beacOi, so liepage thre"/ out the tent and stovo
und I jumped on the lieach, jfoing down in u heap. He
pushed ofl' to anchor ajfain and the men that had landed
before eanie aloni,' and set up my tent and stove. I soon
had u hot lire g'oin<f and laid down (tn the wet ground to
re.st.

'I'hese other men were of the wrecked steamer Klsie W.,
and like us had missed the inland passage and were caught
in the storm. They said that we must go aiouiul that
point, the one we feared so, to get to St. .Michaels. Ilow-
eyer, the weather cleared up, i..e[tage got on shore, and we
took our Ijeds up around the stove and dried them out.
This was the best can^) ground that wt' ever had. There
were but lew mos(|uitoes und we could enjoy a good rest.
Some Indians came along and told us that St. .Miehai-ls
was nine miles over there — pointing across the isthmus.

We were well pleased now, and after two days' i-est and
fine weather, we embarked again, for we found that St.
IMichaels was thirty miles away. We had a good current
with us, setting us around the dreaded Cape. We could
hear the steamboat's whistle (piite plainly, and the wind
being fair, we soon came up on St. ^Michaels. We saw the
ships laying off in the harbor, next a [)()int of land and a
little island on the end of it, and behind this point was St.
Michaels.

I found that the island we had stopped on was Stewart

WE EMUAUK ON OUR LONG JOURNEY. 241

Island. Before us was the orjjp I)etween the point and lit-
tle island, and for this gap we steered. We found a i-eef
of rooks across it, harring our way, but tliere was a place
where we could push through, and we were soon around
the corner and in St. Michaels, whei-e we jiitt-hed our tent
on the sand beach. This was the fourth of Julv and I was
as happy as a schoolboy, to know that my boating was
over. There were plenty of Klondikers' JKtats on the
beach with no owners — they having either got a {jassage
or gone up to Cape Nome.

In fact, the first thing I heard was, " Go up to Cape
Nome ; they have struck it up there." The N. A. F. com-
pany was reaping a harvest, carrying more victims up
there. All inducements were held out to excite people
who had come down the river to get the last dollar they
had to go rp there. I know l)etter than to think of going,
feeling sure it was only a l)oom. You could get ten dol-
lar's a day, we were told, and perhaps you eouUl when you
got a job; but what wa** there to do when you got there '.
Why, nothing. Men gencniUy did their t)wn work and
could not afford to hire unless there was a mine panning
out enough to pay to hire help ; but that would not furnish
help for one thousand men, so what chance was there to
hire (jut ( It was no good, although the papei's had l»een
blowing about it for two yeai's ; l)ut pa[>ers work for money
as well as the rest of us.

I learned that Ryan had been down and ship|)ed on a
Dawson steamer, Imt I never saw any oi the l»oys of my
acquaintance. St. Michaels had changed since I rti>t saw
it. There were great warehouses with steamei's huxling
the freight. The pay for helf) was fifty cents an hour and
find yourself. I tohl I^epage the second day after we landed
to go and see what my chances were for getting to Seattle,
for the longer it was put off tlie woi-se I was getting. lie
went to see the army surgeon, who told him to bring me

242

TO THK ALASKAN GOT^D FIELDS.

over. Mis (luarters were in old St. Michaels, — a long dis-
tiince from where we camped ; so he oaiue back and took
me in the boat.

That was my last ride in the Mary Ann, for when the
surgeon saw me he knew my trouble and took me before
the captain, saying that I o\ight to be sent home and he,
tlie captain, agreed with him. Lepage went after my bag-
gage, and as the steamer Roanoke was about to sail he
put me on board ox her, They had quite a time getting
me up over the liigh side of this boat. I shook hands with
l^epage, who ff:lt badly disappointed to think that he was
left behind. He had been so kind and faithful to me,
In-inging mo down sixteen hundred miles of river, that I
felt sad tc part with him. It was the last 1 saw of him.

1 found myself in the steerage among a lot of sick min-
ers — sorae from Cape Nome, and who had been up there
all winter. One young fellow had a lame foot. He was
very sick with it, sufi'ering pain all of the time. Out of a
party of fourteen but eight of them were left. There were
no trees up there — oidy the driftwood to build the shacks
and to keep warm with. Nothing l)nt a low growth of
willows grew on the marshy soil. Sickness and death were
the outlook for the winter. " Is there any gold up there '. "
I asked. " No," he said, " there is none. I have a
friend on this boat," he continued, "■ whom we found frozen
nearly to death on the tndl, but we worked on him and
brought him around all right, without his losing leg or
lind). There is no gold there."

This young man I felt sorry for. He feared that he
would lose his foot. There was another man with his
fingers gone from both hands. His name was Smith and he
came from Dawson. Then there were a number of very sick
men in the berths between decks — one of whom they had
never expected to land in Seattle. The young man lent
me one of his crutches and I coidd get around the boat to

TlIK lUKlAL AT -.EA.

WE EMBARK ON OUR LONG JOURNEY. 243

look her over. She was a fine iron craft of modern build
and fit-out and was lyinpf here waiting for a steamer from
up the river. When the latter boat came down we weighed
anchor and left St. Michaels for Dutch Harbor, where we
were to coal up. Tliere was a tliick fog and we moved
along very slowly, feelinji; every incii of the way. The
boat was crowded at meal time at the table, and it was
necessary to set three tal)les. We had everytliing fresh
and plent} of pofcitoes.

We liad one dead man on board from away up the Koy-
uknk, and another poor fellow wlio was about breathing
his last. We were out of port only three or four days
when he died. I'hey sewed him up in his canvas l)ag, and
at twelve o'clock that niglit the steamer stopped wliile he
lay on the plank. The burial services were read over iiim,
the last " amen " was suid, and lie was launched into the
deep. This was the most impressive burial that I had ever
witnessed. The night was dark !ind gloomy as we lay in
a fog baidv that spread over us like a great pall. All was
still and the purser's voice sounded weird and strange as
he read the service for the dead. Now and then the wash
of a wave against the dark iron sides of the vessel was all
we couhl hear. " Amen." Then the splash as he sank
beneath to the sailor's grave. The i)ell rang to go ahead
and we soon felt the throb of the great engines as they
spun the propeller around, si)eeding us away on our coui-se
again as though nothing of any note had taken place.
Mad he friends who would ever know where his body lay i

I saw a titll young man called Ilarr}- who always seemed
to be pretty well filled up with the Roanoke's bad whiskey.
He was booming Cape Nome for all he was worth, and it
was reported that he had struck it up there and sold out
for seven thousand dollars. I felt that I had seen this
man before, but was unable to recall any cinnimstances or
place whore I had seen him. He was the man that the

244

TO THE ALASKAN GOLD PIKLDS.

young Cape Nome fellow had picked up so hiidly frozen,
but he looked pretty healthy now and kept things lively
whei'ever lie appeared. He claimed that there was ])lenty
of gold up to Cape Nome, while the young lame fellow
said there was none. The latter told the trutii — there was
none.

The former man was evidently paid by the steamboat
company to tell this story and he was telling it. I liad no
conversation with him for 1 did not believe in him. The
fourtli day from St. Michaels we came out of the fog and
entered Dutch Harbor. Yes, tiiis was the place where I
had stopped on the Jiaydn IJrown one year ago. It was
not as lively now as then. There were no steamboats
building now, and tlie place had the ajipearance of being
very dull. We went into the wharf and began to take in
coal. I did not land, for there was nothing there to interest
me. We took in five hundred tons and left for Seattle.

We had four head of live beeves for tlie use of the pas-
sengers, and at intervals the butcher would bring out one
of these steei-s and dress him for the table. We had boiled
potatoes, fresli salmon, salt salmon and a dish tliey called
Mulligan. I was under tlie care of the sliip's surgeon and
was getting along j)retty well.

One tine morning as I was sitting on a coil of rope for-
ward, smoking, Harry came up to me and asked — " Ain't
you Cai)t. Winchester? '* I said " Yes," and then it came
to nie who he was — tlie second cook on tlie Haydn Brown.
He was grub staked in' a man named Dixon, who was
working in tlie interest of Humphrey at (lorofnin bay,
near Cape Nome. He told me he left Dixon and started
out for (Jape Nome without any provisions and, with tears
in his eyes, he said, " I know what it is to live on seal
blubber, and would have frozen to death but for the time-
ly arrival of a party of men that took me in and did for
me. Now I am going home and ho[)e never to go back
to that God-forsaken place again."'

WE EMBARK ON OUK LONG JOURNEY. 245

I did not ask him about this strike he liad made, for I
was i)leased to see the old cook, and did not want to mar
this meeting with what I thouglit would cause embarass-
ment, so the question remained unasked. Me was sober
now tor he could not raise the money to get any more
whiskey, as it cost pretty high on board of the Roanoke..

We had a passenger l»y the name of Bradford on board,
who carao from Michigan, and was always talking about
the groat resources of his state. I liked to listen to hira.
Every day we would get between decks, smoke, and lis-
ten to the tales of woe told by ditferent sick passengers.
We had Smith, who had lost both hands, and who had no
money to get home with. Bradford got two or three
others interested and took up a collection,'raising enough
to carry him home. The poor fellow had intended to walk
to Minnesota. Bradford wanted to keep the money for
Smith, but this caused a distrust among the others, and
they made him give the money over. Bradford was mad
clean through to think that his honesty was (juestioned.
Poor Bradford was a little wrong in the head, for he
would tell one story one day and contradict it the next.

We had another star appear in our midst, who, when
I first saw him, was dancing a jig, and doing it well for an
old man of over sixty years. He began to blow his horn
about some place up Norton bay, where he had got twen-
ty-five dollars' worth of gold out of two half pans. "Why
didn't you pan out one or two more, Mr. Kelly i " was
asked him. He replied, " It was too cold, and I
was afraid that I should freeze my hands. " " Why didn't
you build a tire and keep them warm ? " "I didn't
have any provisions and 1 was most starved.'" Say-
ing which, he pulled out his bag of gold and rattled it
before the crowd. "I'll show ye after we get in that
there is gold uj) there ; I am going to tit out a schooner
and go back. You fellows had better come with me, ''

246

TO THK ALASKAN GOLD F1KLD8.

and so Kelly Hpouled. When he first came on board ho
said there was no gold in Alaska. Now he knew where
there were fortunes, and this was kept up until we arrived
at Seattle.

Marry was quiet after he met me and kept sober. We
had a fine run down to (^ape Mattery, and were all on
deck when we entered the Straits of Juan DeFuca. We
saw the Olympia mountains, covered with snow, and old
Mount llainer loom up in the distiinee, with its white cap
above the clouds. It was a very pleasant sail up to Puget
Sound, where we arrived in the first part of the evening.
A floating fiance hall, with a band on board, came to meet
us. It was all lit up with Japanese lanterns, and the mu-
sic sounded grand on the water, as they played " There'll
be a hot time in the old town to-night."

We went in to the pier, which was jammed and crowded
with people. The whole city was there, some looking for
absent friends, while others were looking for news from
the gold legions. I sta}e(l on board, as 1 was not able to
•go on shore. I felt that morning would be the time for
me to venture forth and find a boarding-jilace. f tried to
sleep, but could not, so as soon as it was light I went on
shore. There were no restaurants t)i)en, but I saw a
large building with " AT mors' Hotel " in large letters, and
as the location suited me, I went in and engaged my room»
paying in advance.

The proprietor was a Minneapolis man. I got my bag-
gage from tlie boat and ate a good breakfast, and lay down
to rest. I was very weak, but with a crutch got around
very well. I concluded to stay in Seattle vnitil I was well
enough to stand a ride across the continent. One of the
men who came down on the boat with me was stopping at
the hotel. He was a good, honest felloes and came from
Dawson. He generally kept company with me whenever
I went down town.

WK KMHAHK ON OUR LONG .lOUHNKY. 247

There had been j^reat improvements in the city, the wild
rush on the water front had passed away, and Seattle was
dninjr l)nsine8s now on the hrolcen-down wret-hes who had
retnrned. Tiiere were nnmcrous rohberies and not a tow
mnrders — all for Klondike <jr,)ld. 'l'l,ey said that the l{oa-
noke had on hoard for the mint in Seattle three millions of
gold, hut I tliink it was like the seven millions reported
in Arctic City, when the iujom was on. There were rail-
road ajfcnts selling' tickets at reduced rates, besides scalp-
ers and scavenjrers — all t^d<in<r yon by the hand if they
thought there was any money in it. Then tlieie was the
stock-broker with his mining stock, quoted at high rates,
which lie would exchange for your old clitini, but C(mld
pay no money until it was sold. , They would accost the
stranger something like this: " Leave us the number of
your claim and we will look it up. Who is the next?"
" I believe J have got your number : yes, that will do,"
That would be the answer he woidd get for on( hundred
years, if he lived so long. Tliei'c were sharpers and ras-
cals in that business, as well as every other. Different
ones tried me for a mark, lait I trusted nobody, so I o-ot
m no scrapes. My crutch and myself were not to be
worsted this time.

The troojjs were congregating at Seattle to crowd the
transports that were making ready to take them and their
horses. There was a great call for men to care for the
horses, and some out of our house were joining the ranks.
Things were pretty lively in this diiection. There were
the Garone, an English steamer chartered by our gov-
ernment, a large ocean liner, and another equally as large
bound for Manila. Some of the men wanted me to sign,
but I had no notion of doing so. I was enjoying the beau-
tiful cool breeze of Fuget Sound, and did not care to
<'hange to a warmer region.

1 enjoyed the first thunder-storm that I had known for

248

TO THK ALASKAN (lOM) F1KLD8.

H year, and it wuk (lcli<rlitt'iil to iiie. They don't often
lifippen in Seattle, where the climate is cool and (|iiite dry
through tlie snnnner niontiis. Tlic view of tlie huiiior was
beautiful, and the Olyinpia mountains were a <rrand sij^ht.
There were a j^reat many tisiiing vessels in, unloadiuff
their catdi of halil)nt, while further uj) the sound were
ships lyinj; at tlie coal })iers loadin<r with coal for rlitler-
ent ports in the I'acilic.

And theii there was the last boom of Seattle for Alaska
lying at the wharf — a schooner that had prohahly been
l)uilt for a (isherman and chartered by Kelly f(»r the gold
regions. lie had his sign in the rigging, and his coloi-s
flying every day, while he walked the streets with four
thousand dollars in his pocket. How had he done it ^
The same as the rest. Jt was not the moneyed man that
he was buncoing, but the poor man who listened to his
brilliant lie, and in spite of all you would say to him of
the i)lace up there, he would go ; he had tlie fever, and
nothing would make him change his mind while old Kelly
was shaking his bag of gold in his face. There is no doubt
this Kelly scheme was hatched iij) on the Uoanokeby men
who had money and saw an easy way for making more.

The whole thing was a lie, but what was my word
against these men of money '. 'fhe paiiers called me and
my advocates hoboes, liecause we said that there was no
gold up there. To please the [iress and people we must
say — yes, there is [ilenty of it. Then you are a good
fellow.

I concluded to go home, and after vising the dift'erent
offices, found that the (ireat Northern would suit me as
well as any line. I was surrounded by agents and scalp-
ers, but after a determined fight 1 came out of it, and
bought my ticket on the (ireat Northern. So one fine
morning I took my seat, bade my friend good-bye, and left
Seattle for a long ride across the continent. That night

WK KMHAKK ON OUIl LONO JOUHNEY. 24!>

we HHcentled tlic Cascade MouiitaiiiH in a thiiiHUir istorui.
It looked wild and daiijj;erous down the steep sides of that
niountnin. I di<l noteiijoy it at all, i»ein<i: siek and nervous.

I was dreading the Rocky Mountains, as we had some
very dangei-ons passages along their sides. We were
miming over a wooded plain, tliat seemed to lie between
the two ranges of mountains, and stopjjcd at Spokane, a
mining city, with a husiness of getting out luiid)er. It
was called a smart little city, and there was a river run-
ning to the sea. We made a qhort stay there, us we diil
at all of our stopi)ing places.

We ascended the Rocikies, and were soon speeding along
on the brink of a bluff hundreds t)f feet high. I saw a
freight train lying wreciked below on the jagged rocks.
Rivera, lakes, woodlands and plains filled in the landscape.
I WHS glad when we got down on the 'level and the land
opened out i.: one vast i)rairie. Along the road could be
seen the little cot of the employees of the road, and in
some out-of-the-Wiay place were many " jump holes."
These " jump holes " are places along the track where the
train slows down for the employes of the road to jump off
and go to their homes. That is how they get their names.
The employes all live in tents at the jump holes. Then
there were cattle ranches, vvhere cow-boys could be seen
rounding up the cattle to a fenced-in j)lace.

When it came night it was a desolate looking locality.
I would not live out there for a farm. There were Indians
with their [)onies feeding on the prairie, and they had some
hay cut and stacked. We came to a liiirned bridge, and
there we were transferred to another train. Across the
gulch men were repairing the iiridge.

One feature of this ride was the dining-room. I went
there to get my meals, and was served most unsatisfacto-
rily by impertinent waiters. As I would have two hours
in Minneapolis, I conchuhjd to fill a luuch-basket. We

250

TO TIIK AliAHKAN (iOLl) KIKM)H.

Haw the Vellowstono at. intorviilH, hh it woiiml Uh way to
tho Missouri. Wo oiilfrwl tlie " hiul IuikIh " in Dakota,
and I c'oiisidi'iiul them woll naiiicMl. It was coininj; on
ni<rlit, and I roiild not see outside very woll, as the li<;lits
in the cars were lit. ^^'e were tliree hours itehind time
on aecount of the burned l)rid<re, l»ut I saw a <re_vser, or
hot sprinjr, and it was (|uite a novel si«rht to nie.

We eanie down into Minnesota and rode I'or days
through fields of wheat. It was stupendous almost in-
eredil)le. As far as I eould see, on eaeh side of the train,
were wheat fields. Wo steamed l)y the lar<;est flour mills
in the w(U'ld and entered the depot. ! was soon travollinf;
the streets of Minnea|)olis, looking for a •rroeery store
to put u|) a huieli to stand me the rest of the way home.
I <;«)t my sU})i)or, filled my liasket, went hack to the depot,
found my train, and was soon rolliiif; away for Chiuairo,
where I ehanired ears, and was off for Hulhilo.

This time we wont over tlie line into Canada, erossinj;
Xiajrara bridjre in the nitrht for Hutfalo, so I did not see
this wonderful place. We were passincr throuoh New
York state next, and its scenery reminded me of home.
We were transferred to the Filchburji:, and then wei'e on
our way to Hoston, stoppin<r at (Jrcenfield lony' enouj^h to
get our dinner.

1 felt that I was in the land of the livinjLr <'»i'i' more
when I got out at the new Tnion depot and found a train
for Beverly. I was soon in the |)resence of my family,
and rested that night at home, after my long journey
from Lynn to San Francisco, followed by a winter in
Alaska, and then a long ride home, having been absent a
year and tvin months.

AITKNDIX.

Althouj^li ju'coi'dinn' lo my cxpoficiico I doscrilted Ibo
iicts of our iiieu as tlicy ciiiue uiulor my oliservation, so
I write this ii|)|)i'iKli.v to ('xom-niti' miiny of flii'in frnm
l>liimt', iis it WHS tryiiiir on new mon lo stand tiu^ priva-
tion and starvation of a lonir voya<r<'. imd I lay tiic l)lamo
on our k-adiii', who was tiii' (^ausc of all their siiU'ci'inj^.
The readci" nniy think liopaye a very domon in chai-ncter,
l)iit take him in every day life he was fifentle and kind. I
admit he had a hii,di, sensitive nature, that was tried to
its utmost in the struir^le we iniido to nain the Alaskan
•rold lields, liut when I bi-eanie sick and. helpless, he
piovcd himself a hero, and brouojit me out safe to St.
Michaels, althouijh 1 was warned, wiiile uj) in Meaver,
that he had desifrns on my life. I came (hnvn the river
with him alone, and felt ashamed of those who had re-
jiorted this falsehood, and to-ilay 1 feel under the deepest
ol»ligations to him. and he will always he remembered as
one of my nearest friends, foi' such he proved himself.

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