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 STARVING ON A 
 BED OF GOLD 
 
 OR 
 
 LONGEST FAST 
 
 By JAMES A. HALL 
 

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 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
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Starving on a Bed of Gold 
 
 OR 
 
 The World's Longest Fast 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES A. HALL 
 WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA 
 
 Press of the 
 
 Sentinel, Santa Cruz, California 
 1909 
 

 COPYRIGHT, 19a9, 
 BY JAMES A. HALL. 
 (All Rights Reserved .) 
 

 JAMES A. HALL ON JULY 17TH, 1900 
 

 PREFACE. 
 
 All of this book, except Chapter VI, was written while I was 
 imprisoned in bleak Alaska. Time hung heavily on my hands 
 and dnring the long sunless days of winter it was a great relief 
 to me to have something to occupy my time. It was generally 
 known among the miners that I was writing the story of my 
 experience and I had hundreds of applications for the little 
 volume, even before I left the country. On my arrival in 
 California, some of the largest dailies on the Pacific Coast made 
 full page Sunday stories of the matter, and incidentally men- 
 tioned that I had written a book on the subject. 
 
 ^ veral ministers have used the facts to illustrate their 
 sermons. All this publicity has caused many applications to 
 be made to me for the book when published. This constant 
 demand is my excuse for giving it to the public. 
 
 .TAMES A- HALL. 
 
 Watsonville, California, Feb. 22nd, 1909. 
 
 143 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 I would be ungrateful if I did not dedicate this little volume 
 to Judge Charles Udell, formerly of Los Angeles, California, the 
 man who more than all others, rendered me aid and assistance, 
 after I was rescued, though I had never met him until I went 
 to Alaska. 
 
 May God, in his mercy and justice, bless and prosper him. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE START 
 
 I was sitting in iny law office in San Francisco, one afternoon 
 in the early part of March, 1900, when ray clerk brought me in 
 the card of one of the surgeons connected with the City Receiv- 
 ing Hospital. 
 
 The doctor was a frequent caller, and after some conversa- 
 tion on commonplace subjects, informed me he had the gold 
 fever, was going to Alaska, and wanted me to go along. I 
 told him I could not go, that I did not think I could stand the 
 hardships of that kind of life. Finally, after some days of 
 consideration, I agreed to take the trip. 
 
 We engaged passage on the Thrasher, one of the many vessels 
 
 belonging to the Pacific Steam Whaling Company. It was 
 
 advertised to sail on the 21st of April. I then invited the 
 
 >r to spend a week or so with me at Rose Hill, my father's 
 
 ranch near Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, California. 
 
 After a pleasant visit we returned to San Francisco, and 
 began active preparations for the long, dangerous journey. I 
 had never been outside of California in my life, had never even 
 been in a half inch of suow. and was now preparing to start 
 to one of the bleakest, coldest and most barren countries in the 
 world. 
 
 Finally the sailing day of the Thrasher came. She was about 
 the first steamboat to start for the gold fields in the spring of 
 1900. and was a converted whaler. Like the fish after which 
 she was named, she had killed many whales in her day. The 
 boat had one great advantage over the ordinary passenger 
 vessel she was an i; ice bucker"; her prow was ten or twelve 
 feet thick and sheathed on the outside, so she could safely ram 
 the ice. A new deck had been built on forward and the 'tween 
 decks was filled with tiers of bunks, leaving just room for the 
 dining table. Over two hundred souls were to be transported on 
 a ship that would not comfortably carry-half that number. But 
 
S STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 as every additional passenger meant one hundred and twenty- 
 five dollars to her owners, the old saying, "There is always 
 room for one more, ' ' was applied with vigor. 
 
 Promptly at three o'clock in the afternoon the warning 
 whistle sounded, and then many sad partings were witnessed 
 between relatives and friends. "Au Revoir," (till we meet 
 again), are hard words to say under these circumstances, but 
 with many a poor unfortunate the Saxon words, "Goodbye," 
 were more appropriate. It has been said that a metallic casket 
 is a necessary part of every well selected outfit if you do not 
 need it yourself, you can always sell it for a good price. There 
 was certainly a great demand for them the winter I spent hi 
 Alaska. Very few relatives or friends will allow the bones of 
 their loved ones to rest in the bleak mountains of a country 
 like this, if they can help it. 
 
 At last the starting whistle blew, the gang plank was drawn 
 in, and we were under way to the celebrated gold fields. 
 
 The thoughts and feelings that possess the average passenger 
 starting on a dangerous trip as he looks, perhaps, for the last 
 time, upon the faces of loved relatives and friends, can never 
 be told in words. If the reader has ever had the experience, 
 the sentiment will be fully understood. 
 
 As we passed through the beautiful Golden Gate into the 
 arms of the grim old ocean, a flood of thoughts came over me. 
 I realized that my dangers would be many, but fully intended 
 to return in the fall and not brave the terrors of an Arctic 
 winter. But "man proposes and God disposes." I was com- 
 pelled, much against my will, to remain for a year and a half 
 in the land of the Eskimo. 
 
 Old Neptune was in a bad humor the day we started and we 
 glided out of the comparatively smooth waters of San Francisco 
 Bay into a terrific storm. In less than half an hour every 
 passenger on board, except about six of us, was in his bunk, 
 groaning from seasickness. The attendance at the dining 
 table was, for several days, very slight. 
 
 Every shipload of people, like every town or city, contains 
 its "characters". We were no exception to the rule. The 
 most noted person on board was, probably, Sergeant Wright, 
 the color officer of the regiment of Rough Riders who fought so 
 "bravely at San Juan and other battlefields, in the late Spanish 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 9 
 
 War. The Sergeant planted Old Glory on San Juan Hill. I 
 chanced to have, among my books, a magazine that contained 
 his picture and a full history of his many acts of bravery. He 
 was easily the lion of the voyage. Tall, slim and wiry, with 
 dark hair and eyes, he looked the typical Eough Eider that he 
 was. The Sergeant was a good conversationalist, and after his 
 seasickness wore off, used to interest us by the hour with tales 
 of the war. He was very sparing in the use of the capital "I," 
 but could not sing the praises of Colonel Eoosevelt and his 
 gallant band too loudly. 
 
 The comical character of the boat was "Ike," a young Jewish 
 gold hunter. Ike was always in some trouble. He knew the 
 location of every whisky bottle on board, and, although not a 
 heavy drinker, was never at a loss for a taste when he wanted 
 it. He was one of a party of six from Tacoma, Washington. 
 "Deep Creek Jones," the head of the little company, was him- 
 self a man with a State reputation. He had been for some 
 years the chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee 
 of that State, and was a fluent talker and polished gentleman. 
 He was one of the favorites of the ship. 
 
 ** Murphy" was among the fun makers of the voyage. He 
 was a son of the late Judge Murphy of Del Xorte County, Cali- 
 fornia, a big, raw-boned boy, good natured and good hearted; 
 his pranks served to while away many weary hours for us. 
 
 "Dad" Trenchel was another of the ship's wits. He had in 
 his company two young men. If "Dad" had not been partic- 
 ularly good natured, life would have been a burden because of 
 the numerous pranks they played on him, but he generally paid 
 them back in their own coin, much to our amusement. 
 
 A young San Franciscan named McGimiiss was one of 
 the greatest fun makers on board. His innocent pranks helped 
 horten many hours of the long, dreary trip. At an enter- 
 tainment of ours, one evening, McGinniss was called upon to do 
 something for our amusement. He said he would try to relate 
 a little incident that happened to him and his friend, Murphy. 
 It occurred a week or so ago before he started on this trip. 
 Murphy lived on top of Telegraph Hill, in San Francisco. 
 They had been spending Saturday evening together, and Mc- 
 Minniss had gone home with him to stay all night. The next 
 morning at eleven o'clock they were having a late breakfast to- 
 
10 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 gether, when a rap came at the dining room door. Murphy 
 said "come in/' and in walked an Italian fish peddler with a 
 big basket of fish on his shoulders. "You likee buy fish, 
 Mister; nicea fresha fish; he no dead yet, just catcha him; heapa 
 cheap. ' ' Murphy was not feeling very well that morning, and 
 he told the fishman, in very plain terms, not to bother them 
 with his fish, but the fellow was so persistent that Murphy had 
 to almost throw him out. The day was a hot one, and the grade 
 of the hill was very steep. After the Italian had been gone for 
 a few moments a happy thought struck Murphy; going out on 
 the porch he put his hand to the side of his mouth and yelling 
 as loud as he could, succeeded in attracting the attention of the 
 fishmonger; he then beckoned him to come back. The fellow, 
 no doubt, had visions of a big sale, and toiled up the hill again 
 with his heavy basket on his shoulders, large drops of perspira- 
 tion rolling off him; finally nearly tired out, he arrived at 
 Murphy's. Murphy, shaking his index finger at him, said: 
 "And see here, you Dago, we don't want any fish next Sunday; 
 do you understand? " McGinniss said he had all he could do 
 to keep the fellow from braining Murphy then and there. 
 
 The heavy storm that was awaiting us as we passed out of 
 the Golden Gat > continued to increase, and you can safely sur- 
 mise that this change was not at all welcome to those poor souls 
 who were suffering with "mal de mer." Night came on and 
 the staunch old boat was tossed about like a straw. Tons of 
 water came down the hatchways, and through the seams of the 
 boat, and was a foot deep, in some places, under our bunks. 
 The lights had been turned out, and dismal darkness reigned 
 supreme. About three o'clock in the morning, one of the life 
 boats washed away, and, as it fell from the davits, one end of 
 it struck the side of the ship, making a noise that sounded like 
 the crack of doom. A poor fellow on the port side of the ship, 
 just under where the boat struck, imagined that the judgment 
 day had come, and yelled at the top of his voice, "Come over 
 to this side, all you fellows ; the ship 's going over. ' ' Word was 
 passed from bunk to bunk that the vessel had sprung a bad 
 leak, and that we were trying to make port again; this turned 
 out to be a false rumor. When daylight came, we found a 
 rough sea and a laboring ship, but were assured by the captain 
 that there was little or no danger. This was a great relief to 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 11 
 
 most of us. We had already learned to have a great deal ol 
 faith in noble Tom Ellis, the acting captain; he was the 
 favorite of the whole shipload of passengers. 
 
 We who had left loved ones at home, were afraid that the 
 life boat would be washed ashore and found, thus causing our 
 friends and relatives to think we were lost at sea. Our fears 
 were not unfounded for when we got to Dutch Harbor we 
 learned that we had been reported wrecked. The storm finally 
 calmed, but we were buffeted by adverse winds, and driven in 
 the opposite direction to our true course. 
 
 A few nights afterward another storm struck us, and we lost 
 a second life boat. When, at last, fair weather did put in an 
 appearance those who had been so seasick gradually recovered, 
 and we all began to get better acquainted. I will never forget 
 the first general assembly of passengers on the after-deck in 
 the evening. A male quartette got together and the first song 
 they sang brought back to me a flood of recollections. It was 
 i i The Old Oaken Bucket, ' ' a song that my mother had sung to 
 me when a child, and also one of the last songs some friends of 
 mine had sung before I left "the States." 
 
 After the storms were over, and the passengers had recovered 
 from their seasickness, we spent most of the day and early 
 evening on the after-deck telling stories, planning our mining 
 future, and entertaining ourselves generally. Long before we 
 reached Dutch Harbor, the first and only stopping point ere we 
 arrived at Xonie, bets were being made among the passengers 
 on the time it would take us to get there ; one lost three hundred 
 dollars on the ship's sailing time to that point. Finally, on 
 Hay 17th, we arrived at that port. It was my first experience 
 in the snow. I had lived nearly all my life in Santa Cruz and 
 Monterey Counties in California, and had never been, as before 
 said, in a half inch of snow. 
 
 There is an old Eussian settlement at Dutch Harbor, and it 
 is principally populated by Aleut Indians and their . dogs. 
 There are a few white men in business there, but half breeds 
 and full blooded Aleuts are in the majority. This was the first 
 of Indian semi-civilization that many of us had seen. They 
 gave a squaw dance the night we were -there, but I did not 
 attend. I was told that it was conducted very much like a 
 leap-year party in "the States." The women chose their 
 partners. 
 
12 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 The Barabaras, or native Aleut house is nothing but a rock 
 or wooden frame with some kind of hide, generally walrus, 
 stretched over it; every well built house has a bath attachment. 
 The bath house contains a pool of water, a kind of fireplace and 
 some rocks. They heat the rocks red hot, and throw them into 
 the pool ; a dense steam is thus generated. When the bather is 
 well heated up and thoroughly steamed he plunges into the near- 
 est ice water for a few moments. They claim this will cure most 
 diseases, and it certainly seems very effective in some cases. 
 His northern neighbor, the Eskimo, never takes a bath unless 
 he falls in while after the festive walrus or seal. 
 
 We were told at Dutch Harbor that we would find the ice 
 about five hundred miles out and we did. We struck it in 
 the night time. Next morning when we arose nothing but snow- 
 covered fields of ice were visible as far as the eye could reach. It 
 was a pleasant change for a time but soon became very monoto- 
 nous. I was almost asleep when we ' 'bucked the first ice, ' ' and 
 had a half formed idea in my mind that we had run aground, 
 but when we began backing off, and then taking a rapid pace 
 ahead I realized our position. The Thrasher is said to be the 
 best "ice bucker" on the coast; she will back a quarter of a 
 mile or so, then, with full speed ahead, strike the solid ice 
 cracking it in twain, and going as far as her impetus will carry 
 her. Then she will repeat the operation until a passage is 
 made. The "ice captain, " in this case our acting captain, is 
 located in the "crow's nest" near the top of the foremast. 
 He can see from his elevation the best path to pursue, and 
 gives his commands to one of the mates, who is situated in the 
 front of the wheel house ; the mate repeats the command to the 
 man at the wheel. About one-third of the thickness- of the ice 
 is above the water line and two-thirds below, so the captain 
 easily estimates how heavy the ice is ahead of him. There 
 were very few people on the boat who had ever seen "ice 
 bucking ' ' before, and it was an interesting experience to us all, 
 at first, but soon became very tiresome. We met with a some- 
 what stirring incident after we had been in the ice fields a few 
 days. The ice ahead of us seemed to be unusually heavy, and 
 Captain Ellis decided to tie up to some * l ground ice ' ' near where 
 we were, and wait until prospects were better. l i Ground ice. ' ' as 
 the name implies, extends down to the ground. The piece we 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 13 
 
 tied to was several acres in extent, and in places was forty or 
 fifty feet high, an ice island as it were. Two heavy hawsers were 
 thrown out, and tied to immense pillars of ice. There were a 
 couple of acres of level ice, and as soon as the boat was made 
 fast we all climbed out, glad of the chance to exercise a little, 
 after weeks of confinement. AVe had "tugs of war," played 
 "prisoner's base," and in fact, behaved like a lot of school 
 children just turned out for recess. "We all got back on the boat 
 before dark and retired, feeling much better for our exercise. 
 When we awoke in the morning quite a heavy wind was blow- 
 ing; several passengers, although cautioned by Captain Ellis, 
 went off on the island again. The wind increased in fury, and 
 the ice mountains began to break and slide, with a noise like 
 thunder, into the sea. All but two of the passengers got back 
 into the boat as soon as they saw the ice beginning to break. 
 These two had taken their guns in the hope of shooting a 
 walrus or seal, and had wandered to the opposite side of the 
 island. We all beckoned to them to return at once, and the 
 captain blew a number of warning blasts. They ran for the 
 ship, and by throwing them ropes we managed to get them 
 aboard, frightened half to death. The wind became a hurri- 
 cane and mountains of ice were breaking off all around us, and 
 lashed by the fury of the sea, were making every moment more 
 dangerous. One of the hawsers had parted, but still the cap- 
 tain dreaded to undertake the run for the clear water we could 
 see about half a mile off, on the side of the island that the wind 
 was blowing toward. Finally, it became apparent that to stay 
 in this position any longer, meant that our ship would be 
 crushed like an egg shell. All was excitement aboard; passen- 
 gers were rushing hither and thither; some ten or fifteen had 
 gotten hold of a large spar, and were attempting to push away 
 the icebergs that came near us. Twenty Samsons would not 
 have moved one of them. Captain Humphries, and acting 
 Captain Ellis were on the bridge, and we could plainly see that 
 both were very nervous. In a few moments we beheld two 
 immense icebergs approaching, one on each side of tne 
 Thrasher the one on the lee side of the ship having broken 
 from the island within a few feet of us it was plain that if they 
 both struck us at once we were gone. Just then Captain Ellis, 
 liis voice sounding above the roar of the storm, yelled. "Cut 
 
14 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 away that rope. ' ' The first mate seized an ax and cut the rope ; 
 the wheels began to turn and, in a few moments, we were 
 threading our way among the icebergs for clear water. For- 
 tune favored us, and in a short time we were out of danger, 
 with no damage but the loss of about a hundred dollars ' worth 
 of rope. 
 
 One of the passengers, when the excitement was at its height, 
 rushed on deck with a six-shooter in one hand and his grip in 
 the other, while his face was the color of marble. We asked him 
 afterward what he had intended to do; he said he knew there 
 were not half enough life boats to go around, and he proposed 
 to have a seat in one. He did not stop to think that a life boat 
 would not have lived a minute in that sea of icebergs. The 
 poor fellow did not hear the last of it during the rest of the 
 trip. We had some good artists aboard, and his picture, with 
 a gun in one hand and the grip in the other, adorned several 
 bunks. 
 
 The rest of the trip was uneventful, and on May 28th we 
 dropped anchor in Nome harbor, and the much talked of Mecca 
 of the gold seeker was before us. A feeling akin to awe came 
 over me as I gazed at this tented city through the gloaming of 
 the evening. I was reminded of that ancient city whose name 
 rhymes with this one, and which, from her seven hills, ruled the 
 world, and I wondered if people were as greedy after gold in 
 those days as they are today. I also wondered which was con- 
 ducive of the more sorrow the greed for power possessed by 
 the Romans or the greed for gold which seems to possess us 
 modern mortals. The world will never know the extent of the 
 pain, sorrow and suffering that has been caused by that mystic 
 word "Nome," during its existence. In one week, during the 
 summer of 1900, twenty-five bodies were washed up on the 
 beach between Nome and Topkok, a mining camp sixty miles 
 down the coast. Undoubtedly, only a small proportion of the 
 bodies were washed ashore there. In the winter of 1900-1, 
 between the same two points, and in about the same length of 
 time, nearly as many were frozen to death, not counting those 
 who had arms and legs frozen off. Were the seven or eight 
 millions of dollars taken out in the past two years enough to 
 balance the suffering, pain and sorrow endured by these poor 
 men, and incidentally, their families, remembering that this 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 
 
 15 
 
 does not include the suffering of those who did not die, and 
 further remembering that those who died on that short coast 
 line were a very, very small moiety of the total number during 
 the entire two years, in all of Alaska ? This means hundreds of 
 families left without their bread-winner, and carrying a load of 
 grief instead of gold. Can anybody say that eight millions, or 
 even fifty millions would offset all this ? 
 
 While I was standing at the rail contemplating the metropolis 
 of the gold fields, most of the passengers had gone ashore in the 
 numerous small boats that swarmed around the ship's sides as 
 soon as we dropped anchor; as my destination was Port 
 Clarence, about sixty miles further northward, and the 
 Thrasher was to remain here a week before going on up, I de- 
 cided to stay on board at night, and inspect Xome and vicinity 
 in the davtime. 
 
16 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 THE GOLD SEEKERS. 
 
 The panting steamer slowly drops 
 Away from the crowded pier; 
 
 The blackened deck recedes from view, 
 And leaves me musing here. 
 
 Away where the gold so warm and red, 
 Lies hid in the dark earth's breast; 
 
 Little they reck of danger or cold, 
 Aglow with the golden quest. 
 
 The rosy youth with kindling eye, 
 In his manhood's early dawn; 
 
 The pale man with the student's stoop, 
 The stalwart man of brawn. 
 
 All, each and all, with fevered gaze, 
 
 Fixed on the fields of gold; 
 Ah, well-a-day ! for a faith that 's firm, 
 
 And a heart that is brave and bold. 
 
 For those there be who will come again, 
 All broken and worn and wan; 
 
 While others left in the Arctic snows, 
 Will slumber forever on. 
 
 And some will empty-handed come, 
 Who have missed the golden goal, 
 
 And some with gold, too dear, alas ! 
 The price of a sinless soul. 
 
 And those at home will sit at night 
 
 While the wind sweeps where it wills 
 
 With heart away in a shambling shack 
 In the wild Alaskan hills. 
 
 'Tis thus I muse on the lonely quay, 
 
 Whence the hurrying crowd is gone 
 Whilst far away for the frozen north 
 A line of smoke trains go on. 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 AN EXCITING TRIP THROUGH THE ICE. 
 
 On June 5th, 1900, the good ship Thrasher weighed anchor, 
 and we left Xoine for Cape York and way stations. As before 
 said, I wanted to go to Port Clarence Bay, between Nome and 
 York, but it was understood that the ship would go to the latter 
 place first. Just before we steamed out of Xome Harbor, the 
 bark Alaska sailed around the stern of our boat and 
 dropped anchor immediately off our starboard side. It proved 
 to be the last time her hook ever fell. She was a total wreck 
 the second morning afterwards, and had one or two other ships 
 for company. Little did we think, as our steamer gave the 
 customary three toots the nautical goodbye and was 
 answered by three dips of the flag, that ere a second sun had 
 risen, her bones would lie bleaching on that cheerless, barren, 
 inhospitable shore. I have forgotten how many lives were lost 
 that night, but there were a number. For several hours we 
 sailed along towards our destination very smoothly. About 
 dark, something of a storm came on; as the ice was very thick, 
 Captain Ellis decided to stand well out at sea; when morning 
 arrived we found we were many miles off shore, and almost 
 opposite Cape York. As the captain had mail for Missionary 
 Lopp at Cape Prince of Wales, which by the way, was in sight, 
 he determined to go to that place first. When we came shore- 
 ward we could see two boats lying at York, one a steamer, the 
 other a sailing vessel. We soon dropped anchor in Bering 
 Straits, off Cape Prince of Wales. The sea was rather rough 
 and some wind blowing, and it was an hour or so before any 
 of the natives ventured to come out to us. Finally several 
 boatloads came, bringing the missionary with them. It was 
 my first meeting with the Eskimo in his native wilds. As they 
 came through the water in their skin boats, and climbed over 
 the ship's sides, in their peculiar dress, thoughts of my school 
 days and the pictures so interesting to me in the old geog- 
 raphies flashed through my mind. I have since become so 
 accustomed to them that they do not seem anything out of the 
 ordinary; in fact, are very commonplace individuals. We did 
 some trading with them; I remember paying one of them 
 twenty dollars for a skin boat, and it proved to be one of the 
 
18 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 most useful purchases I made in Alaska. The skin boat is 
 nothing more nor less than a light frame, made something in the 
 shape of our small boats, and covered with walrus skin. They 
 are of all sizes, very light, and if properly handled and cared 
 for, are durable; they should never be left with water in them 
 as the skin soon softens. You are obliged to step very care- 
 fully, and only on the frame work, or you may have a hole 
 through the bottom the size of your foot. If carefully bal- 
 anced a big load may be carried in them. 
 
 There are few if any whites at this village except the mis- 
 sionary and his wife. Mr. Lopp, who has been in charge here 
 for years, is well spoken of by the natives and whites; in fact, 
 I have met some of the natives who thought him almost infal- 
 lible. He was formerly a teacher here, and afterwards given 
 charge of the mission. I am reminded of a story told by some 
 sacrilegious people in this country; they say that those who 
 preach the gospel here have to describe Hades as a very cold 
 place instead of a very hot one, as the poor native is much 
 inclined to favor a warmer climate. 
 
 After spending a few hours at anchor, we started for Cape 
 York, with thirty or forty natives and the missionary aboard, 
 their skin boats trailing behind the ship. In a short time we 
 arrived there; passengers who expected to get off were on 
 deck, their luggage and blankets at hand, all ready to be set 
 ashore, and everybody was waiting for the anchor chain to 
 rattle. Suddenly Captain Ellis, who was on the bridge called 
 in stentorian tones to those in charge below, lt Don't drop that 
 anchor." We heard him immediately ring for "full speed 
 ahead". Astonished, we all looked seaward, and, in the dis- 
 tance could be seen a long white line, so well known to every ice 
 captain. A storm was coming, driving the icebergs before it. 
 One ship, the steamer that we had seen on our way up, was well 
 outside the ice line. The sailing vessel had also seen the 
 danger, but was powerless to get out of it. We did not wait 
 to land natives or anybody else, but started for the open sea 
 as fast as steam and sail could carry us. The poor vessel that 
 was left fired lier gun, and turned her flag upside down, signals 
 of distress, but it was our ship and the lives of her passengers 
 against the others, and we had not a moment to spare. The 
 natives, well used to aquatic exercises, climbed over the stern 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 19 
 
 of the boat while we were under full speed, reminding ine of 
 frogs jumping into a mill pond; the squaws seemed even more 
 expert than the bucks. Soon the storm struck us, but. we had 
 rounded the ice and were no longer in danger of being driven 
 ashore by it. When we reached clear water, the captain turned 
 the ship 's stern to the gale and we scudded before the wind ; on, 
 on we flew, faster than we had ever traveled on the Thrasher be- 
 fore. Night dropped her sable curtain over the scene, but the 
 frightful howling of the wind through the rigging told us, as we 
 lay in our bunks, of the condition of affairs around us. Mari- 
 ners say that though the Bering Sea is shallow, it can generate a 
 more dangerous storm than the main ocean; the waves are short, 
 choppy and irregular. We were driven through the Bering 
 Strait and a hundred miles into the Arctic before the storm 
 abated; we then took the back track, and, that night, hove- 
 to in the lee of a bluff on the Siberian coast. Bright and early 
 next morning we passed back through the straits and finally 
 arrived again at Cape York. We found that all hands had 
 abandoned the vessel we left in distress, and she had been 
 driven about by the ice, but strange to say, was uninjured. 
 
 Just before we got there, the captain and some of his men 
 had gone aboard again; if we had found her still drifting we 
 would have had a rich prize, as the salvage in such cases is 
 very liberal. 
 
 This time our York passengers managed to get off without 
 any mishap. We then steamed on down the coast to Port 
 Clarence Bay; #s the ice had not yet gone out, we were landed 
 on the "Spit," a narrow, fifteen-mile stretch of sand, sepa- 
 rating Bering Sea from the Bay. This country abounds in 
 "spits"; as you will soon hear, one of them came very nearly 
 causing my death by starvation. About a dozen of the 
 Thrasher party remained, camped together on the Spit, for 
 nearly two weeks; when the ice went out of the bay, 
 four of us crossed over to the old Eeindeer Station, a govern- 
 ment building put up some years ago as a headquarters for 
 keepers of the reindeer, and for other purposes. My mining 
 partner and myself were persuaded by the recorder of the 
 mining district to stop over here for a time. There was no 
 particular excitement, but we liked the looks of the country, 
 and subsequent developments proved we were right in that 
 respect. After we had camped at the station a week or two, 
 
20 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 a little town began to spring up, three miles above, on the bay. 
 The projectors of the tented city invited us up, and we went, 
 locating a couple of lots. Dr. Sheldon Jackson, the govern- 
 ment agent, who came in one of the boats about this time, sug- 
 gested that the new town be called Teller; a little mass meeting 
 was assembled as soon as we took this suggestion up, and the 
 place was given that name the name the Reindeer Station had 
 borne on the maps. "Wilson Brothers" were just erecting 
 a store building, up to that time, the only one in the city of 
 tents. The members of the firm on the ground were Thomas 
 G. and William M. Wilson; I mention their names, as they 
 come more or less into the subsequent parts of this story. 
 There was no particular life in this little mining camp of 
 about sixty tents; at that time of the year it was daylight 
 substantially all night, We went to bed at any hour, and got 
 up the same way, just as our fancy dictated; there was nothing 
 to do except to watch dog fights, and do a little fighting our- 
 selves with swarms of tantalizing mosquitoes as our opponents. 
 Like Dickens' celebrated character, we were "waiting for 
 something to turn up, ' ' and, so far as the writer is concerned, 
 it did. I went out on a trip that came very, very nearly cost- 
 ing me my life, and the equal of which is said never to have 
 occurred in Alaska, the country where hardships and pri- 
 vation are the portion of every man. Before starting to give 
 a detailed description of my journeying for sixty-seven days, 
 lost and without food, through the roughest, wildest mountains 
 of this wild, rough country, I realize that words can not begin 
 to describe the suffering I passed through from the time I 
 started, to the 22nd day of September, 1900, when I was found 
 dying. 
 
 At this writing, a few months subsequent to the time I was 
 discovered, I am still an invalid, imprisoned, as it might be 
 termed, in the towm of Teller, Alaska, in the midst of the worst 
 winter that the country has seen for a quarter of a century, if 
 the statements of the Indians and some kt old timers" 
 can be relied upon. I further realize that a great many 
 people in "the States" will not believe that any person could 
 have gone through what I describe. I have procured the 
 affidavits of government officials and others who will vouch 
 for the truthfulness of all, except those facts that are known 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 21 
 
 only to God and myself. For I was not seen by, and did not 
 see a human being or bear a human voice (except my own) 
 from the time I was lost until I was found dying. These 
 affidavits will be found at the end of this book. 
 
 BERING SEA. 
 
 By W. H. Harrison. 
 
 Oh, Bering Sea! Oh, Bering Sea! 
 
 What fury hath awakened thee ? 
 To lash thy sounding, sullen shore, 
 
 And with hoarse, tumultuous roar 
 Proclaim thy anger long and loud? 
 
 Art thou bellowing to the cloud 
 From whence the cold and slanting rain 
 
 Is driven by the wind amain .' 
 Do the ships that at anchor ride 
 
 Upon thy dark and swelling tide, 
 Until chains creak and anchors drag. 
 
 And half-mast floats a signal flag- 
 Do they annoy and harry thee. 
 
 Oh, fitful, tempestuous sea .' 
 Or is this sport and do you play 
 
 With sail and life and destiny? 
 Do you kick up these foam-flecked waves 
 
 In wanton fun, and laugh at graves, 
 Unmarked in ooze and sea weed rank, 
 
 Where luckless sailors, clammy, dank, 
 "With eyeless eyes that need no light, 
 
 Lie and rot ^reird, grisly sight ? 
 Yet, still I love you, Bering Sea, 
 
 Oh, water waste of mystery! 
 
 I love you in calm, peaceful mood, 
 
 When by the zephyrs you are wooed, 
 
 When sunlight glints your pulse beats faint 
 With tints that mortals could not paint: 
 
 But I love you most when you rage, 
 
22 STARVING 'ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 And roar and surge, and when you wage 
 The battle like the war of life; 
 
 This thrills and fills my soul with strife, 
 Until it beats its prison door 
 
 As the waves beat a rocky shore. 
 I love you, oh sea, tempest tossed; 
 
 The story you tell and is lost 
 
 By the winds in the silent hills 
 
 Of Nome, is always one that thrills 
 The heart a tale of "hair-breadth 'scapes," 
 
 Where the water stretches, yawns and gapes; 
 ' l Of moving accidents by flood, 
 
 The imminent deadly breach," blood 
 Incarnardining world. You win 
 
 Me, Bering Sea, ere you begin, 
 Without "wit or words" of your life, 
 The tale that won the Moor a wife. 
 My heart is thine, I bend my knee, 
 
 Oh, restless, roaring, raging sea. 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 LOST 
 
 Little did I think when I retired to rest in my tent at Teller, 
 on the night of July 14, 1900, that on the following day I would 
 start on a trip that would change me from a physically perfect 
 man, six feet one inch and a half in height, weighing a shade 
 over two hundred and twenty-five pounds, to a living 
 skeleton, weighing one hundred and twenty-five pounds, and 
 all within the space of sixty-seven days. 
 
 On July the 15th, 1900, about half -past ten o'clock in the 
 morning, "Billy" Wilson, of the firm of Wilson Brothers, 
 storekeepers at the tented town of Teller, opened the flap of 
 my tent and said, ' ' Come down to the store ; there 's some busi- 
 ness for you. ' ' Being an attorney, I naturally concluded that 
 there were some legal matters to attend to there. At that 
 time of the year the dark part of the day, or what we usually 
 

 
 JAMES A. HALL IN ALASKAN GARB 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 25 
 
 call "night," was of very short duration. I had gone to bed 
 late, and as a consequence woke up late. At the time he ap- 
 peared I was lying in bed reading a magazine. I got up. 
 dressed and went down to the store. He informed me that his 
 brother Tom, who was out in front of the store, wanted to 
 speak to me. I went out and saw Tom and was informed that 
 he had brought two men up from Xome on a gasoline launch 
 he had purchased down there a couple of days before. These 
 men, it seems, claimed they had information, derived from the 
 deathbed statement of some old friend of one of them in 
 Florida, concerning the location of a very rich quartz prospect 
 at some point a few miles back in the mountains north of 
 Teller. It was asserted that this man was one of the first party 
 of surveyors sent into Alaska by the United States govern- 
 ment, many years ago. He had discovered this rich lode, but 
 had no opportunity to prospect it. He had kept the informa- 
 tion to himself, hoping at some time to come out and locate it. 
 but one thing or another detained him until he found himself 
 near the top of the "Great Divide" that we must all cross, 
 sooner or later. He then communicated the information to 
 others, and it fell into the hands of one of these two men. 
 
 Tom Wilson, on his way up from Xome on the launch, had 
 made up his mind to send, as his representative, along with 
 these men, an old miner who was clerking in his store, but 
 when he arrived at Teller he found the old gentleman absent 
 for a few days. He and his brother William then talked the 
 matter over, and concluded to ask me to go. It was under- 
 stood that the trip would not take over three or four days, so 
 I consented. We were to start at noon, and this gave me less 
 than an hour and a half to get my blankets ready. Wilson 
 Brothers told me to come down to the store and get what 
 provisions I needed. So I went to my tent, rolled i\p a double 
 and single blanket in some canvas, threw a big plug of pipe 
 smoking tobacco, a good sized bunch of matches, and some 
 other small things into a United States haversack I had pur- 
 chased in San Francisco for such emergencies. With my 
 blankets strapped to my shoulders (their weight was about 
 twenty-four pounds), my haversack leather over one shoulder, 
 and a granite cup and sheath knife at my belt, I went down to 
 the store. In the hurry, I forgot to put in a compass I had in 
 the tent. 
 
26 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 When I got to the store, Billy Wilson asked me what pro- 
 visions he should put up. * ' Oh, ' ' said I, ' ' put in some bacon, 
 some crackers, some salt and some coffee. I do not want to 
 take much, as I am a light eater and too soft yet to carry any 
 more load than I can help. ' ' He stepped over to where the bacon 
 was hanging, and putting a big knife up on the "side" said, 
 "about that much!" I said, "No, Billy, that would make too 
 much of a load about half that." He cut it as indicated, 
 about three pounds, then he put in some crackers to corre- 
 spond, a little salt and a half-pound can of coffee. This is all 
 I took on the trip, and would have been enough for the time I 
 expected to be gone. 
 
 Promptly at noon we started, Tom Wilson taking us in the 
 launch down the bay to the old Eeindeer Station three miles 
 below. From here we "mushed" (localism for tramped) 
 over the tundra, westerly eight miles, to a stream known 
 as Eureka Creek. 
 
 "Tundra," described elsewhere in this book, is the decayed 
 vegetation of ages, covered by a kind of moss, and thickly 
 studded with pools of stagnant water. It is from a foot tc 
 three feet in depth, and is frequently dotted with "nigger- 
 heads ' '. As a walking medium it is of course, abominable. 
 
 At Eureka Creek we turned and paralleled the stream 
 northerly until late in the evening, when we camped on what 
 is called Mystic River. When camp was reached, my com- 
 panions suggested that we use my provisions first, as theirs 
 was in tablet form and lighter to carry. I agreed, so we had 
 supper and breakfast off my bacon, and they had some fresh 
 bread which we used. At five o 'clock in the morning we were 
 off again in a dense fog. We traveled at a rapid gait until 
 the middle of the afternoon, when we stopped for rest and 
 luncheon. * One of the party made a fire and they dissolved 
 some of their tablets in hot water, which, with a portion of 
 my crackers, made a fairly good meal. We laid down and 
 slept for a time in the sun. On rolling up my blankets I forg^ 
 to put in a small army frying pan I carried; one of the party 
 offered to take it, so late that evening when I was lost, they 
 had the only cooking utensil I carried. 
 
 We traveled rapidly the rest of the day, they with chart an' 1 
 compass in hand, guiding the way. About six o'clock in the 
 evening we crossed a snow glacier that had not even yet been. 
 
OH, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 27 
 
 melted by the summer sun, and began the ascent of a high, slate- 
 covered mountain. I was much fatigued when we came to this 
 climb, and as it was very steep, and I very tired, the slate rocks 
 frequently giving way under my feet as I ascended, sending 
 me crawfish-like backward quite a distance, I made very slow 
 headway; they soon got some ways ahead of me. When 
 I had proceeded about two-thirds up the mountain 
 a heavy fog struck us. They were very nearly up, but 
 I noted their location, and finally reached the top just at the 
 point where I saw them disappear. Fully expecting to find 
 them waiting for me, I called in a loud voice, but received no 
 answer. There were fifteen or twenty acres of rough table 
 land on top. I went directly across this, thinking perhaps 
 they had gone down the opposite side. In the darkness I 
 could see the outlines of an almost perpendicular cliff, and a 
 steep ravine below me filled with a glacier. There being so 
 many other directions they could take to get off this table 
 mountain, I concluded it would be folly to attempt to follow in 
 the darkness and heavy fog, so I unrolled my blankets, took 
 a few niouthfuls to eat, and went to bed. I did not feel 
 frightened, but badly disappointed at losing them. 
 
 The fog soon turned into a rain, and I had a sample of what 
 I afterwards got for weeks in succession. Morning finally 
 came, and with it one of those beautiful Indian summer days 
 that sometimes occur here at that time of the year. On such 
 a day the distance one can see, especially from such a high 
 elevation as this, almost surpasses belief. We had made so 
 many turns that I did not remember the points of the compass. 
 I had laid my bed under the lee of a small cliff a little over the 
 edge of the mountain so as to protect myself as much as possible 
 from the wind and fog. Getting something to eat and rolling 
 up my blankets I went to the highest part of the plateau to 
 determine what I would do. "When I reached the elevation 
 I could very plainly see what I took to be Port Clarence Bay 
 and the sand spit that separates it from Bering Sea. I argued 
 to myself that there was no use trying to retrace the round- 
 about trip we had made when I could cut across and get home 
 so much easier. Oh, fatal mistake! How small a thing 
 sometimes changes the whole current of our lives. This one 
 caused me indescribable suffering, loss of health and money, 
 caused my family and friends all the pangs suffered for the 
 
28 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 death of a loved one, and left me a skeleton to battle with the 
 hardest winter Alaska has seen in many years. If the day 
 had been foggy or even an ordinarily clear one, I would not 
 have seen this distant bay and spit, and would have tried to 
 retrace my steps, or at the worst would have reached some 
 point on the Bering Sea, in a day or so, where I would have 
 found plenty of natives, and been perfectly safe. There had 
 not been over three such days during the summer, and that I 
 should catch this one just at this time, seems almost as queer 
 a freak of the wheel of fate, as my rescue nine weeks later, 
 when dying from starvation. 
 
 I stood for a few minutes on an immense boulder, pondering 
 over the matter, and finally when my mind was made up, I 
 tightened my pack straps, and started for my objective point, 
 which was a high bald mountain, apparently near the shore of 
 this bay. It seemed very near like a mountain I had seen back 
 of Teller. Down I went over rocks and small glaciers, where 
 the sun never struck, until, after a precipitous trip of prob- 
 ably a mile, I came to the bed of a stream of considerable 
 size that seemed to run in the direction I wished to go. I 
 followed this stream many miles, but as night drew nigh I 
 seemed little closer to my landmark than when I started. 
 
 On the way down this little river, while mushing over the 
 tundra alongside, I caught a young bird. It was the only one 
 I had seen during the day and was some company to me as I sat 
 on the bank fondling it. The temptation to kill and eat it was 
 strong within me. I realized that my food was almost gone, 
 and that even if I could reach Teller the next day, I would be 
 glad enough to find some of my friends at dinner. ' Still, the 
 poor little fellow seemed, like myself, lost, and as I had not, 
 up to this time, felt the pangs of hunger, I let the poor thing 
 go, and it flew off with a chirp that seemed to say " Thank 
 you." 
 
 With the evening came another heavy fog, and I found a 
 place on the stream where there were some dead willows, and 
 camped. I made a fire and broiled a piece of bacon on the 
 tines of a fork I had in my haversack; this was the last meat 
 I ever cooked on the trip. The balance of the small piece 
 of bacon I had left I ate raw, as there was too much waste in 
 broiling it in this way. The portion that remained of this 
 article was less in size than the palm of my hand. I had four 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 29 
 
 or five crackers and some salt. There was probably three- 
 fourths of a half-pound can of coffee left. 
 
 I awoke early next morning, and rolling up my wet blankets, 
 (it had rained again the previous night) took a few niouthfuls 
 and started. A half mile or so below my camp the creek 
 turned off my course, so I was obliged to cross the divides over 
 the wet and miry tundra. 
 
 During this second day I was downhearted most of the 
 time. I could see my distant landmark, but could not see the 
 bay or spit. 
 
 My sheath knife was an eight-inch surgeon's amputating 
 implement, given me by a dear medical friend. I had had a 
 fine buckhorn handle put on before I -left San Francisco, and 
 the blade was as sharp as a razor. It stood me in good stead 
 many a time during the trip, but was a sorry looking weapon; 
 when I was finally found the point was broken off, the 
 shaft was broken and an old willow handle the sixth 
 I had put on during the trip had taken the place of the buck- 
 horn. At one place where I stopped to rest, I took my little 
 piece of bacon from my haversack, and with my knife drew 
 fourteen lines across the rind equal distances apart, each por- 
 tion being about the thickness of a case knife blade. I made up 
 my mind to take one of these morning and evening. It was 
 merely a mouthful, but I was determined to make my supply go 
 as far as possible. 
 
 I was full of uncertainty; at times I was sure I was right, 
 and then again a strong feeling that I was wrong -would take 
 possession of me. At one time I took a half day to climb a 
 high elevation, that I might see the bay and spit. An 
 idea had come over me that I might have seen a mirage. 
 "When I got to the top of the mountain there it was, in dim 
 outline before me, but apparently still a long way off, although 
 I had then been traveling four days. I went back down the 
 mountain to where I had left my blankets and camped in some 
 ><Tiib willows on a stream; a bite of bacon, a quarter of a 
 cracker, a smoke for a few minutes, and I was ready to wrap up 
 in my blankets. 
 
 This was about the routine for the time it took me to get 
 out of the mountains. I had been following a stream nearly 
 all of the last day. Late in the afternoon of this day I had 
 arrived verv nearlv to mv landmark. The stream I was on 
 
30 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 diverged, and I concluded to cross the low foothills that 
 seemed directly on my course. I turned from the river, and 
 climbed the first one; being now quite weak from want of food, 
 it was a hard climb for me to get up this brushy ascent. 
 When I did get to the top my heart was filled with joy. The sun 
 was just setting and it threw long streaks of golden sheen 
 across the water that appeared to be very close by. I knew, 
 from hearsay, that there was a large lake back of Teller, 
 although I had never seen it. I also knew that between Teller 
 and this lake there was a sandy elevation. Here they were, 
 two or three miles ahead of me, as plain as day. I was happy. 
 I had nothing to do but ' ' mush ' ' over a few miles of swampy 
 tundra and I would be at Teller. I was tired and weak from 
 hunger and, furthermore, I felt I would rather go in early next 
 morning and surprise them all asleep, than to get in at night 
 and be joked about being lost, even had I been physically 
 able to get there. I wrapped myself in my blankets and lay 
 down to sleep on a dry piece of tundra I found on top of the 
 hill, intending to rise early and go to town. It was the first 
 good .night's rest I had had since I was lost. There was 
 nothing on my mind to worry me, as there had been for 
 several days and nights past. 
 
 Morning came none too soon for me; with a cheerful heart, 
 I rolled up my blankets in that neat, compact shape that a 
 miner and "nrnsher" soon learns in this country, and started. 
 My course took me through the low, boggy tundra bordering 
 the lake. I found it much farther to this lake than it had 
 seemed from the hilltop, and I sank to my knees at every step. 
 Here I felt my first thirst. "While in the mountains I had 
 plenty of fine, pure snow water in the creeks, but while there 
 was an abundance of water here it was not fit to drink. No 
 one in this country thinks of drinking tundra water without 
 first boiling it. 
 
 Finally, after many hours, I got to the lake. I found it was 
 fed principally by a mountain stream, and seemed reasonably 
 clear and pure, so I drank several cupfuls of it. While on the 
 border of the lake I discovered that I had lost my sheath 
 knife. I remembered using it a few hundred yards back to 
 cut some tobacco, so I retraced my steps and luckily found it. 
 The lak? had a kind of low wall or dyke all around it, except 
 where the stream entered. It looked almost as though it had 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 31 
 
 been done by human hands. I saw a great many of these after- 
 ward, and figured out to my own satisfaction, at least, the 
 cause. High winds prevail, especially at certain seasons of 
 the year. The lake, having an area of several acres, generates 
 quite heavy swells or waves ; this would pile up the soft dirt 
 and the debris until, in a few years, a heavy dyke would be 
 built by nature. The rapid rise and fall of the lake, owing to 
 the melting snows which feed the rivers, serve to keep the 
 banks in good repair. 
 
 After resting on the lake shore for some time, I again shoul- 
 dered my pack and started along the edge of the water toward 
 the elevation now only about half a mile away, and from which 
 I was sure I could see Teller. As the distance decreased the 
 beating of my heart increased. I began to consider what it 
 meant to me, if perchance, I should be wrong. At last I 
 arrived at the foot of the low divide. To climb to the top 
 was the work of but a few minutes. AVith eager eyes I 
 scanned the landscape. My spirits sank as I realized there 
 was nothing but a barren waste before me. I was on a little 
 sandy hillock and the front of it was covered with scrub 
 willows and streaked with little ravines filled with compact 
 snow, which, slowly melting, fed a small lake at the foot. I 
 was in despair, but I had one hope left. Port Clarence Bay 
 is the largest of a chain of three inland seas, Grantley Harbor 
 emptying into it from a narrow strait formed by a spit, and 
 being itself the recipient of a still smaller body of water, 
 known as Great Salt Lake. I might be approaching Great 
 Salt Lake instead of Grantley Harbor. A body of water 
 several miles in extent lay before me; now the next question in 
 my mind was whether or not it was salty. If so, 1 still had a 
 chance to be right. If not, I had been following a will-o'-the- 
 wisp, and had come to some big fresh water lake. I could 
 see, from where I stood, that the nearer bank of this body 
 of water curved in a semi-circle until it almost touched the 
 spit that seemed to form its opposite boundary, and which I 
 had seen from afar. A heavy lake-covered tundra lay be- 
 tween me and the shore, but filling with ice my coffee can, 
 from which I had emptied the coffee into a salt sack, I started. 
 Those two or three miles were as bad as ten on the creeks. I 
 sank above my knees at every step. Exercise, weakness and 
 the heat of the burning sun, made me very thirsty. There was 
 
32 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 nothing but stagnant, typhus breeding tundra water within 
 reach; this I did not dare drink without boiling, and there 
 was no wood. To make matters worse there were mosquitoes 
 by the million. 
 
 After several hours I reached the shore. Here I found 
 plenty of drift wood. Going down to the water's edge I dipped 
 up a cupful. It was salty. Making a fire from the drift wood, 
 I melted some of the snow found under the bank, and satisfied 
 my thirst. I boiled some leaves I had gathered and drank the 
 extract. After a smoke, I threw some more w^ood on the fire, 
 and being very tired, lay down and slept an hour or so. After 
 this rest, I started down the shore of the bay, hoping that 
 when I reached the lower end of the body of water I would 
 find Port Clarence and Teller on the other side of the little 
 divide that appeared in the distance. The walking along the 
 shore was comparatively good for the balance of the day. 
 There is little, if any, tide on this coast, and no sandy beach. 
 
 Toward evening I came to an arm of the bay extending a 
 couple of miles back into the tundra. This, of course, I had 
 to go around. I decided to camp, and try this hard trip in 
 the early morning. The sun was still an hour or so high, and 
 the mosquitoes as thick as the hair on a Malamoot dog's back. 
 I found some dry tundra, and unrolling my blankets, went to 
 bed. I was unable at this place to find even grass roots to 
 eat. I searched all the little ponds to see if I could find some 
 frogs. There are no frogs in this country. I dug for worms. 
 There are no worms in this part of Alaska. 
 
 This was on July 23rd, and I desire to digress, with the 
 reader's permission, for a few minutes. A most startling 
 instance in mental telepathy happened in connection with the 
 following day. This book, as before said, is being written at 
 Teller, Alaska, during the terrible winter of 1900-1. In the 
 second mail to reach here from "the States," after navigation 
 closed, I 'received a long letter from one of my sisters, Mrs. 
 Adelia H. Taffinder, of San Francisco. My relatives had all be- 
 lieved me dead, but on September 27th, the day I was brought in 
 in a dying condition, I had caused postals to be sent informing 
 my relatives that I had just been found and hoped to live. 
 Xo particulars were given. Imagine my surprise at the fol- 
 lowing sentences in my sister's letter, in reply: 
 
 "I dreamed not long ago that I was hunting for you in an 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 33 
 
 unknown land; at last I met you for an instant only. You 
 looked so sad and troubled and did not speak, but handed me 
 a piece of paper with only these words written thereon, 
 'July 24th'. I do not know what happened to you that day 
 unless you felt utter despair. ' ' 
 
 Xext morning I got up early, and following the winding of 
 this inlet, finally got around to the bay again. I rounded 
 another, much shorter, an hour or so afterward, and then had 
 comparatively good walking until the early part of the after- 
 noon when I came to a wide marsh, covered with the worst 
 kind of tundra, and thickly dotted with lakes. Wading 
 through this for a couple of hours, sinking nearly to the top 
 of my hip boots at every step, and finding very few places where 
 I could even stop for a breathing spell, I came to a big river. 
 (I have since learned that this was the now celebrated Ser- 
 pentine). Luckily for me the river formed a delta, there 
 being two branches. The gravel from the mountains had 
 washed down and the bed was comparatively firm. By select- 
 ing a wide place I was able to cross each branch, the water 
 coming to within an inch or so of the top of my hip boots, 
 except in one place where a little water ran into them, but as 
 the weather was then warm I did not mind this. 
 
 After crossing this stream it was only a short distance to 
 good walking on the bay shore again. Besting every few min- 
 utes, I kept going until almost dark. As I walked along the 
 edge of the water, I saw in the distance something that appeared 
 to be the frame of a small building, and also beheld with joy 
 what I took to be a man coming in my direction. Before getting 
 to the frame, I came across some old moss-covered chips, such 
 as would be made by sharpening pickets. As I drew 
 near what I had thought, in the uncertain light of the evening, 
 to be a man, I found a heavy piece of drift wood set in the 
 ground. It had the appearance of having been there for 
 years, as did the several pieces of frame work I had taken to 
 be the ruins of a native eglow or house. It must have been 
 something used by whaling vessels in years agone. 
 
 I went on a hundred yards or so, and as it was getting dusk, 
 and I was very tired, even with the numerous and long rests 
 I had taken, I concluded to camp. I threw my blanket roll 
 down at the water's edge and ascended the high embankment 
 to see what could be seen. This was done hurriedly, as dark- 
 
34 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 ness was fast approaching. Going a hundred yards or so back 
 from the bank my heart almost ceased beating at the sight. 
 In the limited horizon I could see an ocean, and immediately 
 before me was another bay. Inland and in the edge of the low 
 foothills I could distinguish two or three large lakes, such as 
 I knew were not anywhere about Teller. Hope was now 
 almost gone. I returned to my camping place and sat down 
 upon my bedding, saying aloud, "I guess the jig's up." I am 
 not given to using slang, and know not why I did then, but 
 the words will ring in my ears to my dying day. I was now 
 perfectly convinced that I was at the Arctic Ocean, with- 
 out food, or the prospect of food I was almost a living 
 skeleton even then and knew, if it was the Arctic, I must be 
 at least a hundred and fifty miles from Teller, as I remembered 
 it on the maps. 
 
 I unrolled my blankets and lay down, but not to sleep. 
 Carefully I considered what was best to be done in the morn- 
 ing. The great question in my mind was whether to attempt 
 to follow the shore of the ocean or try to retrace my steps. 
 From the hurried view I got on the hilltop the shore looked 
 barren and desolate indeed. I realized that if I got into the 
 mountains again I could have pure fresh water, and plenty of 
 dead willows for a fire. Besides there was still a little grass 
 and a few weeds and plants. This I knew, but what was on 
 the shore was an unknown quantity to me. 
 
 I have been told many times since my rescue that I would 
 probably have found shell fish or something of that kind on 
 the rocky beach of the ocean when I got to it. Be 
 this as it may, I carefully weighed every point for and against 
 taking to the coast, well knowing that my life probably hung 
 on my judgment in the matter. 
 
 Along towards morning I concluded to again go back to 
 the knoll where I was the evening before, and if a clearer view 
 should confirm my opinion of the looks of the shore, attempt 
 to retrace my long journey. I dropped into a doze and upon 
 awaking found that the usual morning fog had cleared away, 
 and the sun was shining brightly. 
 
 Boiling up my blankets, I ran my arms through the shoulder 
 straps and climbed the bank and knoll. In the clear morning 
 light I could plainly see the barren, desolate shore of the grim 
 old Arctic. It appeared even worse than it did the night 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 35 
 
 before. The die was cast. I must attempt to retrace my 
 tracks. 
 
 I concluded that instead of following the bay shore back, I 
 would cut across the tundra to the place where I came off the 
 mountains and thus avoid the long "mush" around the arms 
 of the bay. Taking a landmark as near as possible in line 
 with this point, I started, traveling all day and at night 
 camped, or rather slept, on a dry piece of tundra. I well 
 remembered climbing over a small hillock on the ocean side of 
 which there was some brush and melting snow, with a lake 
 at the bottom, as heretofore described. My endeavor was to 
 find such a place. I found a dozen that answered the descrip- 
 tion almost perfectly, but could not find the right one. I spent 
 several days looking for it, tramping over this terrible tundra. 
 
 At last I gave it up in despair, and concluded to try to get 
 to the low foot hills, and parallel the high mountain range 
 until I could, if possible, get my bearings. AYhi'le on the marsh 
 I found a kind of rush that had a little nutriment in it. If I 
 caught it firmly near the root I pulled up what very much re- 
 sembled a young onion sprout. The outside of this was spongy 
 and absolutely without nourishment, but the center, the young- 
 est leaf (if that is the proper term, botanically speaking), con- 
 tained a little nutriment. It was not as large as a shingle nail, 
 but by collecting a great number of them they helped me 
 some. 
 
 On this wet lowland, and in fact along the edge of the 
 streams in the mountains, I found a weed that in childhood I 
 had known as "sour dock".' It has two elongated leaves and 
 between them sends up a stem that we used to chew. This 
 stem is sour to the taste and perhaps has a little nutriment 
 in it. I used it whenever I found it. I had never tried the 
 root of this plant, and one evening while on the lowlands', con- 
 cluded I would try to cook some of it. It is yellowish in color 
 and has quite a large bulb. It softened in the boiling and 
 before I tasted it I thought I had found something that would 
 serve me in good stead. When I came to eat it I found it as 
 bitter as gall and a few minutes afterwards my stomach 
 ejected it. 
 
 After an exhausting trip of a day, I got back to the foot- 
 hills once more and started in to parallel the higher range. 
 V] > to this time I had never been able to see a clear sunrise 
 
36 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 or sunset on account of fogs and because during all of the 
 first week I was down in the ravines. I knew approximately 
 the number of days I had been lost and could therefore tell 
 very nearly what day of the month -it was. I also knew, of 
 .course, that on September 21st the sun would rise due east 
 and set in exactly the opposite direction. 
 
 After being in the low hills for two or three nights I finally 
 got a clear sunset and that same night saw the north star, 
 the evening being clear and cold. As soon as I had located 
 the points of the compass I felt a little more hope. I knew 
 that going south would take me to the Bering Sea. The 
 trouble was that I found myself too weak to scale the high 
 mountains ,that were to the south of me, and was obliged to 
 continue in the same direction I was going, and which I now 
 knew to be easterly, hoping that I would find some low place 
 through the divide. 
 
 About this 'time I came across a small water course that 
 did not contain running water but had a number of pools in 
 its bed. As I was passing one of these I saw a small fish dart 
 in under the tundra-covered bank. I dropped my pack and 
 taking off my sou '-wester baled the hole dry after an hour 
 or so of work, being rewarded by the possession of a minnow 
 the length, probably, of an average finger. I did not stop to 
 cook it but ate it raw in two bites. In this same little creek 
 I caught three more during that day and the next, all about the 
 same size. After. this for two or three days, before the heavy 
 rains began, I kept a sharp lookout for these dry water 
 courses. I would even go out of my way for miles if I saw 
 any indication. I found only one 'more, but a couple of hours 
 before I reached it a heavy rain began and as soon as I 
 came across a likely looking hole I cached my blankets under 
 the brush and worked in the cold storm for hours, 
 baling with my hat. I finally got it dry and was rewarded 
 with three little fish somewhat smaller than the ones I got 
 on the other creek. I caught two more a day or so after- 
 wards in a manner that certainly seemed providential. 
 
 The latter part of the day had been warm but the evening 
 was cold. I conceived the idea of sleeping in the rocky bed 
 of the creek I was on and of building a big fire on the rocks 
 and when they got hot, sweeping them off and making my bed. 
 I tried it and made a dismal failure; the rocks were too hot 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 37 
 
 to be comfortable at first but along toward morning got very 
 cold. I had always heard that rocks held heat for a long 
 time, but I do not believe it now. Another thing that kept 
 me very uneasy was the thought that perhaps I had not swept 
 all the coals out of the crevices and would set my blankets 
 afire. 
 
 Next morning I arose early from my cold, hard bed, and 
 "mushed" on up the creek. I was suffering even more than 
 usual from hunger that morning; there being no running water 
 in the course and the tundra coming right down to the bank 
 there were absolutely no weeds or grass at all. I had gone 
 about half a mile when in a little shallow pool I discovered two 
 of my small finny friends. It was only necessary to stoop down 
 and pick them up. These, nine in all, completed my fish diet, 
 as the heavy rains became almost continuous about this time, 
 and started all the streams running. 
 
 I desire to explain the reason I use the word "mush" so 
 frequently. While the word is a localism of this northern 
 country it is not slang. It is used always by everybody who has 
 been here any length of time and is very expressive. Travel- 
 ing over the heavy, soft tundra we have could not be 
 as well described by any other word. It is also used syn- 
 onymously with the words "get out," especially when applied 
 to clogs and persons. 
 
 They tell a story about a fellow who had lived in this 
 country for several years. He went out to "the States" a year 
 or so ago. The boat getting in late at night he did not 
 land until morning. Of course the first thing he did was to 
 hunt up the best restaurant he could find. Most Alaskans 
 do this when they get out. He went in and sat down; not 
 having had time to get shaved or change his . old mining 
 clothes, he fully realized that he had very much the appear- 
 ance of a tramp. A neat lady waiter came to his side and said, 
 'Mush. sir!". He got .right up and went out, leaving the 
 waitress gazing at his departing figure, speechless and full of 
 wonder at the man's actions. 
 
 For some days after the fish episode nothing of particular 
 interest happened. It would generally rain hard all night 
 and clear up in the morning. I was very weak and emaciated 
 and could rarely "mush" more than a couple of miles in a 
 day and could never go to sleep before four or five o'clock 
 
38 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 in the morning; if it was still raining when I awoke I often 
 lay in my blankets all day wittf an oil coat (known here as 
 a "slicker") over the npper part of my body and the piece 
 of canvas in which I wrapped my blankets over the lower por- 
 tion. With the blanket rope I would tie my blankets around me 
 when I went to bed, and thus be warmer and at the same time 
 keep the edges of the blanket from getting out into the rain. If 
 it was not raining when I stopped to camp 1 always made 
 a big fire, wood and water being two things that were always 
 plentiful. I would boil some water in the half-pound coffee 
 can and drink it, thus warming myself, it being almost im- 
 possible, as any old "sour dough" will tell you, to keep warm 
 by an open fire. 
 
 I counted my matches over and over again, and during the 
 last two-thirds of my trip could have told you at any time 
 how many matches I had. I remember having sixty-five 
 left the day I was found dying. In attempting to make a 
 fire once after a heavy rain I used eight matches and then did 
 not succeed. I decided not to try further and got into my wet 
 b]ankets very cold and was almost frozen all night long. You can 
 hardly imagine how much the wasting of these eight matches 
 worried me. If they had been twenty dollar gold pieces and 
 the last I had in the, world, I assure you it would have troubled 
 me less. The principal reason for the loss of matches this 
 time was the absence of any suitable piece of ^wood to get 
 shavings from. I became very expert in making fires and 
 rarely used more than one or two matches, even after a heavy 
 rain. I would find a limb of dead, barkless willow (willows 
 were the only wood I saw on the trip) and taking my sheath 
 knife, trim off the wet outside down to the dry part. Then I 
 would cut some shavings from this stick after which I took 
 the smallest branch tips to be found on a dead willow (of which 
 there were always plenty, the heavy winds that prevail playing 
 sad havoc with the scrub Yvdllows that line the stream banks), 
 then I would put on larger and larger tips until finally the pile 
 would burn easily. I was always in great fear that my 
 matches would get wet. In order to guard against this, I 
 left them in the paper in which they were bought; around 
 this I kept a piece of oil paper in which most Alaskan goods 
 are packed for import. This in turn was surrounded with 
 a heavy piece of cloth and the whole package was kept in a 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 39 
 
 large rubber tobacco pouch I had in my pocket. To guard 
 against the setting on fire of the whole bunch, in breaking off 
 one, I separated it into several parts. I knew that the loss of 
 my matches was sure, death to me and I guarded them as I 
 did my life. My blankets were nearly always wet until I dried 
 them at bedtime, and the hot water to keep me warm was 
 indispensable. 
 
 Seeing no low places in the rough mountains to the south 
 of me I kept on easterly at my snail-like gait. After about 
 three weeks, during which time the weather grew worse and 
 worse, I saw, a few miles ahead of me, a high mountain which 
 looked quite accessible, and from which I thought I might be 
 able to better determine what I should do. Toward evening on 
 the third day after this I arrived at the top. The mountain 
 itself was quite high, but on the side I went up the ascent was 
 so gradual that by taking a rest every few feet I got to the 
 top without much difficulty, where there was a rectangular 
 ledge of rocks four or five acres in extent and of an almost 
 uniform height of perhaps twenty-five feet. On the westerly 
 end of this rocky crown was an old, partially tumbled-down 
 stone house. It must have been the work of natives in former 
 years. Before examining this I eagerly surveyed the sur- 
 rounding country. My heart rose within me as I beheld in 
 the south a low pass through the mountains. While the ele- 
 vation of this pass appeared even higher than the one I was 
 on, still it was much lower than the rough, steep mountains 
 on either side of it. After all I was afraid that I would not 
 be able to scale even these lower mountains in my then 
 physical condition, still having in mind the plan of follow- 
 ing the Arctic shore. After calm deliberation and observation 
 of perhaps half an hour, I came to the conclusion that I 
 would try to reach another and still higher elevation about 
 ten miles easterly. I favored the mountain route, but realized 
 what a mistake would cost me. I could see a glacier on the 
 side of this distant elevation and running down from it was 
 apparently quite a large stream. Beneath the crown of this 
 distant mountain top was the head of the largest and widest 
 valley I had seen on the whole trip. There seemed to be a 
 gradual slope of about .five miles with very high precipitous 
 mountains on either side of the little river that flowed down 
 this valley and finally emptied, some miles below, into the 
 
40 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 stream that ran easterly past the mountain I was then on. It 
 appeared to me that it would not be a very hard trip down 
 the latter stream and up the very gradual ascent of the former. 
 It turned out to be the worst ten miles of my whole trip, not 
 on account of the "mushing," for that was comparatively 
 good, but because of the weather and other things. I was ten 
 days making this ten miles. 
 
 When I had finished my observation and arrived at this 
 conclusion, I went back to the easterly end of the cliff where 
 I had left my blankets. .At the base of this end was a low, 
 marshy piece of ground. It seemed to me there should 
 surely be worms here. In California, where I was raised, 
 there would have been thousands of angle worms in such a 
 pl^ace. I took my case knife from the haversack and dug 
 over several feet of ground but there were no worms of any 
 kind. I had thought of camping at this spot and getting some 
 protection from the lee side of the cliff, if it rained, but there 
 being no pure water and no wood, I decided to go down the 
 mountain side to the stream heretofore spoken of. The way 
 down was marshy and covered with scrub willows near the 
 foot. 
 
 I had gotten well down the mountain and within, probably, 
 two hundred yards of the stream when I beheld right in front 
 of me, and just across the stream, what at first sight I took 
 to be a prospector's horse. I stopped short and said aloud, 
 "Thank God," well knowing that a prospector there meant 
 food and life to me. A moment later my joy was turned to 
 dark despair when on closer observation I saw that the sup- 
 posed horse was really an immense brown bear. He had 
 evidently not seen me. The reader may not believe me, but 
 as God is my judge, I coolly deliberated for several minutes 
 whether or not I should go on down to the stream and if the 
 animal attacked me give him battle with my sharp knife. I 
 was starving and bear steaks would have been much more 
 welcome to me than pure gold; on the other hand I knew I 
 was so weak I could hardly stand, let alone fight a bear, which 
 would probably kill me outright or wound me badly and leave 
 me for dead. I had become desperate, feeling certain that I was 
 destined to die of starvation and reasoned that if the bear 
 should kill me it would be a much easier death than the slow 
 torture of starvation. My better judgment however prevailed 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 41 
 
 and I watched the bear wander slowly down the stream in the 
 very direction I expected to go. 
 
 I made a big fire, drank some hot water, smoked some willow 
 leaves and rolled up in my blankets on some branches I laid 
 .arn>s> the forked boughs of a willow that had been blown down 
 almost flat to the ground by the wind. I frequently had an 
 opportunity to get a comparatively good bed in this way. 
 Toward midnight the rain began to pour 'down and did not 
 cease during the night or the next day. T did not get out of 
 my blankets until the morning of the second day after I saw 
 the bear. I then "mushed" down to the stream, and the day 
 being clear and cold, attempted to make a fire. Everything 
 w,as wet and the proper kind of wood being unavailable I did 
 not succeed. AVeak and cold, I had to keep moving or almost 
 freeze. A half mile or so down the stream I found the ruins 
 of an old eglow; it had been made by sticking willow poles 
 five or six feet in length into the ground in circular form and 
 bringing all the tops of the poles as near together as possible. 
 Some brush had then been thrown over these and this in turn 
 covered with sod. Time had partially wrecked this shelter, but 
 by cutting a little fresh sod with my case knife and putting 
 it on I succeeded in getting considerable protection the rest 
 of that day and night. I also managed to build a little fire 
 inside. It seemed unusually cold that night, considering the 
 shelter I had, but when I got up next morning the reason was 
 apparent. It had snowed heavily during the night. This 
 must have been as early as the middle of August. It did not 
 begin to snow regularly until about the first of September. 
 
 The night I slept in this old eglow I thought of a plan by 
 which I might get a few mouthfuls to eat and wondered that 
 the idea had not entered my mind before. I had noticed at 
 this and several other places where I had camped in the brush 
 that the little birds were very gentle or rather had great curios- 
 ity. They would sometimes even alight on my blankets before 
 I got up in the morning; the slicker being entirely over my 
 head they could not tell that there was any living object 
 under the blankets. At the first move I made, however, they 
 were off like a shot. I imagined that I might be able to kill 
 some of them with rocks. I was anxious for morning to 
 come that I might try it. My mind was stronger than my 
 body. When I tried the experiment I found I had not force 
 
42 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 enough to kill one even if I did hit it. This same over-estima- 
 tion of my strength frequently happened in regard to "mush- 
 ing". I would -wake up in the morning feeling, before I 
 moved, strong enough to travel several miles that day. When 
 I began to move about, however, I found my renewed strength 
 had existed in my mind only. 
 
 After my night in the old eglow I started on down the 
 stream not knowing what minute I would run against Mr. 
 Bruin, and to tell the truth, this matter was not bothering me 
 a great deal. I did not meet him again, however, but saw his 
 tracks once more on this stream, and once on another stream 
 several miles from there. As I hobbled along down the creek, 
 a cold rain set in. Finally I found a high, perpendicular, 
 rocky cliff near the river bank. In the rain I cut with my 
 sheath knife as many small poles as I could and making a 
 ' ' lean-to ' ' against the lee side of the rock, covered it with 
 tundra sod. I succeeded in making a fire under cover of 
 this shed. At this place on the creek, nearly in front of my 
 eglow, I found a small quantity of the rush plant which I had 
 found over at the Arctic. I noticed at my last camping 
 place there was some bird, undoubtedly of 'the snipe 
 species, that followed along the stream at night and turned the 
 smaller rocks over with its bill, seeking grubs or some kind 
 of water bugs. I never saw any of them, but could hear them 
 plainly and conceived the idea of making a trap to catch 
 them. I spent most of the following day cutting the 
 straightest willows I could find. At last I got the trap made, 
 including the figure four trigger so often used in "the States". 
 I had no bait, but in searching my pockets found a piece of 
 red flannel. I set the trap and placed thereon a rock for 
 weight. Tired and famished, I struggled back to my 
 blankets and crawled in, anxious for morning to come and 
 with it the bird feast I anticipated. I arose early and made 
 my way down to my trap in the creek bed. When I reached 
 the bank I was highly elated at the sight before me. There 
 was my trap down and the rock still on top. I hurried to it. 
 As usual, fate was against me. The trap was empty. I sat 
 down on the bank in despair at my disappointment. 
 
 In a short time another cold rain started in. I went back 
 to my shack and tried to make a fire but could not do it; by 
 this time the rain had soaked through the sod and my "lean- 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 43 
 
 to" was leaking like a sieve. My blankets, yet unrolled, were 
 getting quite wet. This was one of my darkest hours. I 
 realized that if I stayed there without being able to drink any 
 hot water to warm myself I would get pneumonia or perish 
 from exposure and I felt too weak to mush that day. I pro- 
 tected myself as well as I could and shivered in the rain. 
 Finally when the downpour stopped for a few moments I 
 grabbed my blankets and hurriedly packing them together 
 some way, threw them over my shoulders and started down 
 the stream. I was in the habit of rolling my blankets in a 
 neat, compact bundle, not for the looks, but to make them 
 easier to carry. There is a great knack in doing up blankets. 
 Spreading them out flat with about a foot of one end turned 
 down, fold both sides to the middle; then tightly roll them, 
 beginning at the end not turned down and upon reaching the 
 turned down portion of the blanket, you will find this caplike 
 end will fit over the roll. 
 
 I staggered along for a few hundred yards and concluded 
 to cut across a low " divide " toward my objective point. I 
 managed to get across this hill but could get no further. I 
 was warmed up a little on account of the exercise, although it 
 was still raining and sleeting. I got into some brush on a 
 little stream and pulled my blankets over me and the canvas 
 and slicker over them. In a few hours it cleared and began 
 to turn warm. In the morning I was able to make a fire and 
 get some hot water and could also dry my blankets. 
 
 Weak' from my experience of the day before I did not feel 
 strong enough to travel. I stayed by the fire, drank hot water, 
 smoked willow leaves and passed the time until late in the 
 afternoon, then moved my bed to a more comfortable place a 
 few feet from where it had been deposited in the hurry of 
 the night before. In front of me was a high, tundra-covered 
 hill I knew I must scale before reaching the stream that would 
 carry me to my elevated destination. I lay down on the bed 
 and gazed, in the gloaming, at the hard climb before me. As 
 you will shortly see, this much dreaded hill proved a lucky 
 one for me. 
 
 I got up in the morning and tried to catch some of the small 
 fish swimming in the creek. I used a little net that I had 
 stayed up all night to make, about a week before, cutting a 
 off the end of my canvas and unraveling the twine 
 
44 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 from it. I tried many times, but never caught a single fish; 
 it was too diminutive and the water too plentiful. 
 
 One day early in August I was crossing over a high divide 
 and ran almost over a ptarmigan hen with four little chicks, 
 evidently hatched a day or two before; as weak as I was, 
 I managed to catch the four little ones. Each was only a 
 mouthful but I made four meals of them. The second day 
 after this I found one, a shade larger, of which I made a 
 couple of mouthfuls. The ptarmigan is a bird about the size 
 of a young pullet, and in fact, looks very much like one. It is 
 brown in summer, but the color changes to pure white in 
 winter. It is fully as good eating as any chicken; in truth 
 I think it is better. I may be a little biased in its favor, be- 
 cause, as you will learn hereafter, it indirectly saved my life 
 twice. Nature especially protects it, for as winter approaches 
 feathers come out on its legs all the way down, but in the 
 summer they are like those of any ordinary farm-yard 
 chicken. Their white color prevents their being seen so easily 
 in the snow by animals and hunters. Their color in summer 
 is much the same as the tundra; some of the other animals 
 also change color in the same way. 
 
 Well, about ten o'clock I shouldered my blankets and 
 started over the divide. By resting every ten feet or so, I 
 finally climbed about two-thirds of the way up this tundra- 
 covered mountain when, at my feet, I beheld what I took to 
 be a beautiful red flower. I was pleased and surprised to 
 find this so late in the season, and stooped over to pluck it. 
 Imagine my astonishment to find that it was a berry. I 
 dropped my pack from my back saying aloud, "Thank God; 
 if I can find enough of these they may pull me through"; I 
 began to hunt for more, only finding a few at this spot but in a 
 little wet hollow running down the side of the hill fifty yards 
 away, I got thousands of them; in fact the ground was yellow 
 with them. I crawled about on my hands and knees and ate 
 until I was full. I have since learned that these are called 
 salmon berries; they are red when ripe and yellow when 
 over-ripe. It was so late in the season that all I found were 
 yellow except on some high, dry spots. They are nearly all 
 water and seeds and contain very little nourishment. After 
 eating all I could I filled the coffee can and went back to my 
 camp of the night before. I boiled those in the can in their 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 45 
 
 own juice; there is enough sugar in them to make them 
 palatable. I thought I could keep this jelly to eat if I found 
 no more berries but got so hungry, however, during the night 
 that I ate it all up, knowing I could refill the can in the 
 morning. 
 
 Xext day I felt a little stronger and started out early, 
 because I knew I would spend a couple of hours after berries. 
 This time I began at the foot of the little hollow and worked 
 up, making another discovery right at the start. I saw a 
 number of little reddish colored plants growing out of the 
 tundra and on them I found a small berry, bluish in color, 
 when ripe. I have learned that these are called blueberries: 
 in flavor they very much resemble our currant. The blue- 
 berry bush does not come more than from six to ten inches 
 above the sod and the salmonberry does not grow on a bush 
 at all, but comes right up out of the ground on a little stem. 
 I may have walked over some of these berries bel'ore and not 
 noticed them, as I had always been used to seeing berries grow 
 on taller bushes and plants. I did not pay much attention 
 to the blueberry then, as it was much more scarce and harder 
 to pick than the other. I hated to leave the spot, but when I 
 had eaten all I could and refilled my can, I concluded to go 
 on, having been so much delayed in the past few days and 
 everything indicated the approach of winter. On the top of 
 the divide I walked over a few salmon berries, but I assure 
 you I never stepped on them when I could help it; I was so glad 
 to find them that it seemed to me, in my then frame of mind, 
 almost sinful to crush them with my feet. On the other slope 
 of the mountain I found even more than on the westerly side. 
 The ptarmigan seemed to know a good thing when they sa^ 
 it because here they were thick; I never wanted a gun so 
 badly in my life. 
 
 AVhen well down on the easterly side I stopped to rest and 
 make up my mind what to do. A startling panorama was 
 before me; at the foot of the mountain lay the widest valley 
 I had seen in my whole trip, being probably a quarter of a 
 mile in width. Heretofore, most of the mountains formed an 
 acute angle at their bases; the lower part of this mountain was 
 covered with a dense thicket of dwarf willows. Directly in 
 front of me was an immense glacier, acres in extent and of 
 the width of the valley. A big, wide stream of water ran 
 
46 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 through a natural tunnel cut in the ice and fed by this glacier 
 and others like it which I could see further up the valley; this 
 was the slope that was to lead me, by gradual ascent, to the 
 elevation I spoke of some pages back. I concluded to camp 
 before reaching the bottom because I wanted to be near the 
 berries without too- much of a climb, so finding a place where 
 dead willows were thick I took off my blankets and made a big 
 fire, then emptying my berries out of the coffee can into my 
 hat, went down to the stream for water; about the first thing 
 I came across at the creek was fresh bear tracks undoubtedly 
 my friend of a few days before. He did not make his appear- 
 ance again, however, but from the freshness of the sign I am 
 satisfied he was in the thicket somewhere. 
 
 I came back to where my fire was burning, boiled some 
 salmon berries, dried my blankets and made my bed on one 
 of the horizontal willow forks heretofore described. I had 
 become an expert weather prophet and had in my mind pre- 
 dicted rain that night. It soon began to pour down and kept 
 it up continuously until late in the afternoon of the next day; 
 when it stopped I got out of my wet blankets and 
 went up on the hillside after some berries; I found 
 that the heavy rain had almost ruined them but 
 picked enough to fill my can and a few to eat. 
 The grass and bushes were dripping with water and not 
 being able to make a fire I was very cold. Before I got back 
 to my blankets it began to rain again and did not stop until 
 the next morning. I went to bed at once but not to sleep. 
 How the rain did pour down during the night! It was frigid 
 and I almost froze in my blankets. Toward morning the rain 
 stopped a little and I concluded that the best thing I could 
 do, not being able to build a fire, was to "mush" along as 
 fast as I could and try to get some animal heat into my poor, 
 cold body. Eating a few berries, I rolled my blankets and 
 started. Getting around the big glacier I found the most 
 interesting creek I had been on during the trip. On either 
 side of me were rough, rugged mountains, their almost perpen- 
 dicular sides forming the boundary of this valley. 
 
 Below each glacier, along the banks of the stream, I found 
 a substance that at first I thought was good to eat, but I got 
 badly fooled. It was white and of about the consistency and 
 appearance of soft taffy candy, but when I tasted it I became 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 47 
 
 satisfied it was some combination of linie, and therefore not 
 nutritious. As I went on up this little valley cold showers 
 of rain frequently impeded my progress. Finally, an im- 
 mense ledge of rock came into view near the center of the 
 valley. I got on the lee side of this until the showers had 
 .-topped coming so frequently. There was a temptation to 
 camp there, but I could not find any dry wood to make a fire 
 and my blankets being very wet I soon "folded my tent like 
 the Arabs and as silently stole away. ' ' 
 
 Late that evening I found a good camping place with plenty 
 of wood and still having a few of the salmon berries left, 
 ate them, and tied myself up in my blankets. The weather 
 had cleared but as usual it became frosty. I woke up during 
 the night and found myself groaning with the cold; next day 
 I was too weak to travel, although the weather was beautiful 
 clear, bright and cold. After resting up a day I felt 
 a little stronger and succeeded in reaching the high elevation 
 mentioned some pages back. About the time I got to the 
 top a heavy driving mist began to come in. I could see 
 nothing and hurried to the lee of a big ledge of rocks to make 
 my bed. I found I was not yet on the highest part of the 
 mountain, but concluded to wait until morning where I was/ 
 hoping the weather would clear. I awoke early but it was 
 still blowing and raining; I managed to roll my blankets and 
 carry them up the rocky mountain to a kind of cave in the 
 cliff of rocks, still several hundred yards from the top. 
 Although it rained hard during the night, I slept quite snugly. 
 In the morning the weather cleared a little, but not enough 
 to allow me to get a view of my surroundings. There was 
 absolutely no plant or grass of any kind that I could eat on this 
 rocky height. The water up here was only such as is con- 
 tained in the tundra pools and I could not go down to the 
 creek at the foot, as the trip back would be more than I could 
 stand. 
 
 While sitting under the projecting and protecting end of 
 a large rock, meditating, I spied on the ground near me, a small 
 snail or periwinkle; to fall over and grab it was the work of 
 but a few seconds. Looking around I found a few more in 
 that immediate vicinity, but hobbling over to a low, damp, 
 rocky swale near by, I found hundreds of them. I dropped 
 down on my hand and knees and followed up this damp place 
 
48 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 cracking periwinkles with my teeth as I would hazelnuts, and 
 swallowing the tiny morsel therein contained. Although the 
 meat in the shell was no larger than a quail shot, by eating a 
 great many of them, I felt a little strengthened. I was at this 
 place four days before the fog and mist cleared sufficiently 
 for me to get a view. I hated the delay, knowing it was get- 
 ting late in the season and that the terrors of an Arctic 
 winter would soon begin in earnest, but, on the other hand, it 
 was all-important that I should acquire the information I could 
 only get here. 
 
 The fourth morning broke clear and bright; leaving my 
 blankets where they were, I ascended the balance of the climb 
 to the mountain top. Sure enough, I could see the low place 
 through the mountains distinctly, and the desolate looking Arc- 
 tic Ocean in the near distance, a marshy lake-covered tundra, 
 miles in extent, lying between it and me. The pass through 
 the mountains to the south looked better; it had the appear- 
 ance of low hills and far, far in the distance I could see, appar- 
 ently near the end of this mountain pass, two tall peaks, almost 
 exactly alike in appearance. My mind was at once made up. 
 I would head for those twins. Returning to camp I ate a few 
 snails and started. I noticed one peculiarity about these 
 snails; one hour there would be an abundance, the next there 
 would not be one in sight. I suppose this must have been 
 on account of the changes in the temperature; I can think of 
 no other reason. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 STRUGGLING HOMEWARD. 
 
 I could see from my position that it would be necessary for 
 me to go toward the southwest for awhile, although the pass lay 
 directly to the south of me. There were a couple of high, bald 
 mountains directly in the way. 
 
 The wind and sleet had come again, but not heavily as yet, 
 so making a neat roll of my blankets, I started. For several 
 miles I tramped over the worst of upland tundra. It was a 
 rocky, wet plateau immediately overlooking the glacier valley 
 up which I had come. I could, if I had had my usual strength, 
 
OR, THE. WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 49 
 
 have- thrown a rock down the perpendicular side to the stream 
 on which I had camped several times. 
 
 As the time passed on, the cold easterly wind blew the 
 sleet in cutting gusts; I was wet and shivering with cold. 
 The top of this mountain was very rocky; indeed, at places 
 there were immense cliffs. During one of the worst showers 
 I got in between two enormous boulders to protect myself. I 
 was sitting there, damp, disheartened and full of meditation, 
 when a moving object passed before my retina and I was con- 
 scious of sqme animal before me. I did not realize its size 
 at first, but when I got a good look at it, I saw it was a large, 
 black fox. AY hen I first saw it, it was coining directly toward 
 my rock, in a dog trot. Presently it saw me, stopped a 
 moment, threw its pretty head to one side, and made a semi- 
 circle around me. Oh, how often after that I wished that it 
 had had a ptarmigan or other bird in its mouth! I am sure 
 it would have dropped it from fright. 
 
 After the heavy shower was over I mushed along, an hour r 
 so later coming to the largest cliff I had seen on the mountain. 
 Although it was beginning to grow dark I could still plainly see 
 my starting point. In this huge mass of rocks I found the 
 best protected sleeping place of the trip. I was cold, thirsty 
 and hungry; there was no running water and no wood. With- 
 out a mouthful of anything, I get into my blankets. It rained 
 almost incessantly, but not a drop could strike me. . As usual, 
 1 dreamed of food all night, after I got to sleep. This is one 
 of the peculiarities of starvation. My every thought, almost, 
 while lying awake was of something to eat. It is astonishing 
 how your memory will run back clearly and distinctly to the 
 minute details of meals you had years before, and which in 
 your normal condition you had entirely forgotten. You will 
 even remember what position you occupied at the table; 
 whether the meat was well done or rare, and which dish you 
 liked best. For weeks, after the first few days, it is safe 
 to say I never had a dream that did not contain a meal. I 
 ate, in my imagination, all varieties of meals from the finest 
 French dinner to. the most humble "kow-kow" I ever had in 
 Alaska. I .would see great stacks of all kinds of canned 
 goods; the label on each can was plain to me. Meats seemed 
 to predominate, but the numerous other canned stuffs that we 
 have in this countrv were much in evidence. 
 
50 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 During my trip on the Thrasher I was very much interested 
 in a story I read of a man who was lost in the Alps and who 
 was finally rescued by some monks and their St. Bernard 
 dogs from a monastery in the wildest and roughest part of 
 that country. Twice during my terrible trip I dreamed I 
 came to a monastery, where I was well fed and attended 
 medically and when I recovered, was sent, accompanied by 
 a guide, to my destination. 
 
 The odd thing about these dreams was that I seemed to 
 enjoy the meal in reality. Unlike Tantalus, the food was 
 always within my reach; many a nice, thick, juicy beefsteak 
 did I devour in my sleeping moments. But, oh, the awaken- 
 ing was awful! I seemed to feel the pangs of hunger much 
 more than if I had never had the dream. 
 
 Next morning after the camp on the mountain top, I 
 crawled out of my little cave and looked about for snails. I 
 could find none, although I was not more than a mile and a 
 half from where I had found many of them. The weather 
 had cleared, but was still threatening. In the distance I could 
 see a stream running past the foot of this mountain. There 
 appeared to be plenty of wood on it, and in the Alaskan slang, 
 4 'it looked good to me". Slowly I climbed over the rocky, 
 wet tundra of the mountain side, resting at frequent intervals. 
 Near the bottom were a number of scattered scrub willows. 
 I lay down by one of these to rest for a few minutes. While 
 reclining on my elbow on the wet ground, my slicker protect- 
 ing me from the dampness, I saw near me a snail. I ardently 
 seized it, ate it and hunted for more. I found quite a number. 
 It was strange I should find them in this unlikely place and not 
 on the top of the divide among the rocks. After eating all the 
 snails I could find I went on down to the creek. At the foot 
 of the mountain, on the bank of a stream, I found a fine 
 mineral spring. There are a large number of these in this 
 part of Alaska and some of them rival the most noted springs 
 of "the States". There are two very fine ones near Teller. 
 
 Leaving the spring I staggered on down the creek through 
 the brush, looking for a good camping place. I was always 
 glad to follow a creek; it was so much better walking than 
 on the rough tundra. Unless the stream is too large, you 
 can nearly always take advantage of the gravel bars and in 
 some places the walking is as good as on a sidewalk. I finally 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 51 
 
 found a place with plenty of dry wood and dropped my 
 blankets. The wind was blowing quite briskly, so I brought 
 some rocks up from the river bed and made a wind-break for 
 the fire, to the lee of some thick brush. I tried to cook some 
 leaves I found on the bank of the stream but could not eat 
 them. 
 
 I made my usual bough bed and after a smoke of willow 
 leaves went to my couch. It rained during the night but cleared 
 in the morning. I arose early and going up on the bank among 
 the bushes, found a few snails. I could not make a fire 
 so rolled up my blankets and started on down the stream but 
 was not able to go more than half a mile. 
 
 My next camp was about a third of the way up a divide T 
 had to cross to get to my point of destination. There was the 
 usual routine at this place. The following morning, a few 
 hundred feet higher up on the hillside, I found some more 
 snails near a small cliff. I made the best "mush" that day 
 I had made during the latter part of my trip. The snails 
 seemed to have strengthened me somewhat. Late that even- 
 ing I reached a likely looking stream about eight feet wide 
 and apparently running due east, past the low place in the 
 mountains for which I was aiming. I came to a halt in some 
 thick brush on the bank of this creek. To my surprise the 
 morning dawned clear, cold and sunny. This stream was full 
 of trout of all sizes. Oh, how they used to annoy me! They 
 would sport about in the water, seeming to know that I, a 
 poor starving mortal, was watching them. I happened to 
 have a supply of white thread in my pocket. I took a piece 
 of this about twenty-eight feet long and twisting and rolling- 
 it together, made a kind of a fish line. I had nothing to make 
 a fish hook out of except a large safety pin. I bent this as 
 nearly in shape as possible and cutting a little rod, tried niy 
 luck, having for bait the same piece of red flannel with which 
 I had tried to catch the birds some days before. Patiently I 
 waited for a bite. Carefully I slipped up to the foot of the 
 ripples. Not a bite did I get. Then I got down below a 
 small waterfall and tried to build a rock dam, thinking I might 
 catch what fish there were in the enclosure. I managed to 
 get a few rocks together but found that in my feeble con- 
 dition it would take me a week to finish it and then perhaps 
 not be able to catch a fish. 
 
52 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 Next morning bright and early I started down this com- 
 paratively small brook, not dreaming I was destined to follow 
 it week after week until it became a mighty river and a month 
 later be found dying on its banks. During the day I gathered 
 a small cupful of blueberries in a spot on the stream, but they 
 were so scarce that it took me several hours to get even so 
 many. By the time I finished picking them it was dark, but 
 I was in a convenient place to stop for the night. 
 
 My next camp was unimportant, but the following day was 
 a serious one to me. I felt particularly weak; a short 
 time after I had started one of those cold, snow-charged 
 rains that I dreaded so much began; I could find no 
 place to camp. It seemed as if there was nothing to do but 
 to spread my blankets in the cold, drenching rain, without 
 shelter. The little river had made a complete semi-circle 
 around a high, lone mountain. It did seem to me I should 
 freeze if I had to stop, under the existing conditions. Finally 
 I came to some brush, just where the river took a segment 
 off the circle at the base of the mountain, but it was still 
 raining nor did it stop for a single minute, so I kept on. 
 I thought I saw a protecting cave in the mountain side. Trying 
 it I found that it was too shallow and was in slate rock, which 
 being wet, was as dirty as if covered with soot. I gave this 
 up in despair, finally seeking the wet scrub willows on the 
 bank. They kept very little rain off; in fact I do not know 
 but their constant dripping made it more unpleasant. I slung 
 my blankets off my back in a hurry and throwing them down on 
 the wet ground, crawled into them ; I had no time to cut boughs 
 this night and was very much afraid that in my weak con- 
 dition I would get the dread pneumonia. This was indeed 
 another of my darkest hours, but as the dawn succeeds the 
 darkness of the night, so I found a little ray of light next 
 morning. 
 
 It had stopped raining and I got up early, and leaving my 
 blankets hurried across the creek to where I could see a 
 prospect for berries. I was mistaken; there were none, but I 
 found something that gave me great comfort. Within ten 
 yards of where I slept there were the tracks of two men. 
 evidently made about two weeks before. The brush they had 
 cut was not dry yet. When I crossed the creek I found then- 
 dead camp fire. Looking around I saw a thick piece of bacon 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 53 
 
 rind; I staggered to this and grabbing it, placed it to my 
 mouth, then hesitated. I had been about receiving hospitals 
 a great deal and knew the danger of ptomaine poisoning. 
 This bacon was partly decayed and I dared not eat it. A 
 second time I put it to my mouth thinking I would take a bite 
 of the part that seemed the least decayed. Again I hesitated. 
 If I desired to kill myself I still had my sharp surgeon's knife 
 and need not die by slow poison, a death of terrible suffering. 
 The thickness of the rind attracted my attention. I thought 
 what a generous fellow the cook must have been. "Well, the 
 result was I did not eat the toothsome morsel. I could not 
 find anything else around but a piece of baling rope that after- 
 wards stood me in good stead. These fellows had taken what 
 few dead willows there were, so I could not make a fire. I saw 
 nothing to do but "mush" on, and this I did. 
 
 As I went along I found that the two men had gone down 
 the stream also; in fact they were the most entertaining com- 
 pany I had all the rest of my terrible trip; they never left 
 the stream. The reader can not realize how much company 
 those footprints were for me. I knew that in all probability 
 these men were headed for civilization; if so, I was on the right 
 track. For the next couple of days nothing outside the regular, 
 simple routine of my camp life occurred. 
 
 Xear noon, on the third day, I saw I was approaching the 
 IQW line through the mountains. I came very nearly turning 
 off in the same direction once or twice before I arrived there. 
 I then found the pass was only low hills and I came to a 
 couple of big forks flowing into nay stream from that side. 
 I figured that such large streams must draw from an extensive 
 watershed and by taking one of these branches I might thus 
 save considerable distance. Fate favored me this time and 
 I went on down the main river. If I had turned off, weak as 
 I was, I would surely have perished. When I finally got within 
 a few hundred yards of the pass I could see that either this 
 main river turned almost at right angles and ran through it 
 or a stream was running out of it into the river I was on. 
 Notwithstanding these good indications I could follow with my 
 eye a line of green willows for miles toward the Arctic that 
 seemed to be a continuation of those along the bank where 
 I was. Imagine my joy upon reaching the all-important spot- 
 to find that the river I had been following for many days. 
 
54 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 turned almost at right angles and ran due south, through this 
 low place in the mountains, the very direction I wanted to go. 
 Another large stream, coming from the direction of the Arctic, 
 emptied into it just where it turned. Hope, which at this 
 time was at a very low ebb, began to revive. I soon found, 
 however, that traveling on this now wide, rushing body of 
 water was not what it had been; up to the last few miles I 
 could cross and recross, and taking advantage of the gravel 
 bars, have very good walking. Now for several hundred yards 
 on either side of the river there was a low, marshy tundra 
 into which I would sink above the knees at every step. Some- 
 times dense groves of willows lined the immediate vicinity 
 of the banks and these generally grew out of pools of stagnant 
 water. I found really better " mushing' 7 just above the outer 
 edge of this marsh at the foot of the mountain, but even this 
 was abominable. 
 
 A couple of miles below the bend of the river, I came to a 
 point where it had cut away a precipitous side of the mountain, 
 leaving an almost inaccessible cliff. I was in a dilemma. I 
 could not ford the stream and, skeleton that I was, did not 
 believe I could scale the cliff, yet I tried it. I failed, but found 
 several acres of blueberries. Being the westerly slope, rain 
 and heavy winds could not strike it so well, hence they were 
 very plentiful. It was the only place I ever found these 
 berries in their prime; there were a few green ones. I kept 
 these and ate all the ripe ones I could. I was more anxious 
 for the green ones because they would keep and not mash in 
 my pockets. I had nothing to put the ripe ones in but the 
 little half-pound coffee can. After picking what berries I 
 could, I concluded to camp and try the cliff in the morning 
 ^when I was fresh. It was impossible to find a good place to 
 spread my blankets the low land was so wet and the moun- 
 tain side so steep. I finally bent some willows over and putting 
 plenty of boughs on these, managed to keep out of the water. 
 
 During the night the usual cold rain set in and lasted until 
 about nine next morning; shortly after it stopped I arose, ate 
 what ripe berries I had in the can and rolled up my 
 blankets. Once in a while I could hear a big fish jump out of 
 the deep water after a fly, so I resolved to try my school-boy fish 
 line, which I still had with me, but with my usual success- 
 nil. Rolling up my thread and safety pin hook I ran my arms 
 
OR, THE> WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 55 
 
 through the blanket pack straps and made a desperate effort 
 to scale the cliff, finally succeeding. On top 'I found a fresh 
 supply of blueberries, but no green ones. I ate a few more 
 and began to fill the can. With one exception, this was the 
 last I ever found. 
 
 Within the next day or so winter set in in dead earnest; the 
 high mountains and even the low hills on either side of me, 
 were covered with snow all the time. In the daytime the cold 
 wind blowing over this cut right through iny clothes. My 
 face and hands almost froze as I had little blood left to keep 
 me warm. At night my suffering was even still more intense. 
 This reminds me of a story that a friend of mine from Cal- 
 ifornia, John J. 'Leary, tells. 
 
 While personally I do not feel in the humor for joking, 
 especially over a matter that was at one time so serious to me, 
 still I realize that my readers may enjoy the yarn. It seems 
 that a man who had been in Alaska for several years always 
 expressed a desire to be cremated; he froze to death a year or 
 so ago. His friends took his body out on a boat to, one of 
 the large cities; it arrived at its destination and was taken 
 directly to the crematory from the ship; the body was pre- 
 pared and placed in the metallic box used in these places. The 
 furnace was heated to that terrific heat necessary for incin- 
 eration; they slid the box in and left it for several hours. At 
 the usual time they opened the furnace doors expecting to 
 see but a few cups of ashes left. The fellow rose up in the box 
 and said, "Shut that door. This is the first time I have been 
 comfortably warm since I started to Alaska five years ago." 
 
 Nothing of unusual importance happened during the next 
 few days; I was on the lookout all the time for berries, but 
 it was too late in the season; at one place I found a cupful of 
 them, but even they were almost decayed. The time of year 
 had arrived when there was absolutely nothing edible grow- 
 ing. What few plants that came with the summer sun had 
 gone with the winter blasts. I had frequently looked for more 
 periwinkles but never found them. Day after day never a 
 morsel of anything but hot water passed my lips. 
 
 One day I came to a place where the river ran through a 
 deep cut in the mountains; it was simply impossible to travel 
 along the cliff, but by wading along the edge of the river I 
 could just get by. At one spot where there was a little turn in 
 
56 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 the stream I discovered a set of footprints going up and a set 
 coming down. T wanted to see if these were made by two 
 different men, or the same man ascending the river and then 
 descending. If made by different men the fellow who went 
 up might be coming back in time to pick me up. The tracks 
 looked to be the same size but I concluded to measure them, 
 and reaching over to the bank and pulling a twig from a bush, 
 stooped over to make the measurement. I found them the 
 same length and evidently made by the same man. I rose 
 slowly and just as I stood straight everything turned black 
 before my eyes. I heard, but did not feel, a dull thud. I had 
 fainted. I do not know how long I lay there, but distinctly 
 remember, either in going into or coming out of the faint, 
 saying aloud, "My God! Is this death?" I had been expect- 
 ing death for many days and suppose it was on my mind 
 at this moment. Slowly, consciousness came back. My first 
 rational thought was, "I am lost"; then everything was clear 
 to me again. When I examined myself, I found no mud on 
 my clothes, but quite a little on the blankets. I had evidently 
 fallen squarely on my back. I found a piece of the bush that 
 was growing on the bank, in my hand. Many times when I 
 had stooped over, hunting for berries or plants, I had felt on 
 the verge of fainting, but found if I raised up slowly, the 
 feeling would pass away. I never fainted before in my life, 
 and never since. 
 
 I felt no ill effect from the fainting spell and "mushed" 
 along slowly down the stream. I tried dozens of times to 
 cross the river but never succeeded. I had many narrow 
 escapes from falling on the slippery rocks.. I would probably 
 have drowned if I had, for besides being so weak, I had my 
 twenty-five pound pack of blankets strapped to my back. The 
 side I was on seemed much worse for "mushing" than the 
 opposite one. 
 
 Finally, late in the afternoon of one day about this time, 
 1 came to an island in the river containing several acres; the 
 stream adjacent thereto was broad and apparently shallower 
 than I had before seen it; after considerable effort I managed 
 to cross to the island; here I rested and attempted the other 
 branch. It was too deep and too swift for me to cross. I 
 felt very tired and as there were some nice, large willows on 
 the island, concluded to camp. While I was making a fire 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 57 
 
 to heat some water it began to rain. Luckily there were some 
 large clumps of willows which had caught a great deal of 
 driftwood and brush at high water. By getting to the lee of 
 one of these I had pretty good protection. I hurriedly cut my 
 boughs for a bed before the rain had wet them badly. After 
 sitting around the fire and drinking hot water for a time, I 
 got into my blankets. It rained all night and when morning 
 came I found the river had risen considerably and I was ' a 
 prisoner. There was nothing serious about this except the 
 delay, for the rain had stopped and the weather had turned 
 cold again. After a few hours I was able to re-cross to the 
 mainland but there was trouble ahead. A high cliff faced the 
 stream as far as the eye could see. It took me all the rest of 
 the day to go about a quarter of a mile. In getting even that 
 far I had to crawl along, inch by inch, over the immense boul- 
 ders, some of which projected several feet into the stream. 
 The crevices and open places between the rocks were filled 
 with a dense growth of brush, making " them well nigh im- 
 passable. I had a very bad place to camp that night but for- 
 tunately it did not rain. 
 
 Next day the traveling was a little easier and along toward 
 evening I arrived at what seemed to be a place where two 
 men had camped sometime before. The double set of tracks 
 that I had frequently seen on gravel bars further up the 
 stream were plain; remains of a dead camp fire were near the 
 bank. My heart jumped for joy when, on looking into the 
 bushes a few feet away, I beheld a salmon of large size. I 
 staggered to it as rapidly as my legs would carry me, but 
 horror! it was rotten; the roe and maggots ran out in a stream 
 together. Notwithstanding all this, I would have eaten it 
 with a relish, except for the reason heretofore given in the 
 case of the bacon rind. I could hardly resist taking the chance 
 anyway. After I was rescued, my mining partner, formerly 
 a surgeon at the San Francisco Eeceiving Hospital, informed 
 me that ptomaine poisoning was only generated at the tune 
 the decay took place, but not after it was completed. 
 
 Eeluctantly I started on down the stream. At this period of 
 my trip I was compelled to rest every few feet. While sit- 
 ting' resting I would pick out some object a little way ahead 
 and endeavor to reach it next time, without stopping before 
 I got to it. 
 
58 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 An hour or so later I arrived at what seemed to be a general 
 camping place for all the "mashers" who had passed during 
 the season and found nearly a dozen dead fires, and for the 
 first time found a camp where there were any tin cans; here 
 there were quite a number. I searched each one thinking 
 there might be a morsel left. I finally came to a small glass 
 pickle bottle. "Thank God!" I said, "here is something in 
 this". I took out the cork which was loosely in the neck and 
 tasted the liquid. It was the strongest vinegar, but only about 
 a wineglassful. In it I found about a third of a small cucum- 
 ber pickle and a piece of cauliflower about the size of 
 my thumb to the first joint. I also found about a dozen little 
 black peppers. Gentle reader, you do not know how I en- 
 joyed each of these ingredients. The vinegar was just what 
 I craved; the taste of the pickle was like nectar; the peppers 
 warmed up my stomach and I could taste them for hours 
 afterward. You can hardly imagine how the labels on the 
 cans tantalized me. My imagination ran wild at the sight. I 
 concluded to be fashionable and camp here. I did not have 
 to cut any brush; it was already cut and dried. 
 
 I felt elated over the outlook. It assured me I was nearing 
 civilization, but I noticed frequently during this long trip 
 that if things looked bright one hour, they looked correspond- 
 ingly dark the next. Shortly after I went to bed a cold rain 
 set in. It poured all night long; I had no shelter of any 
 kind; in fact the place was very much exposed to wind and 
 rain and it surprised me that so many campers stopped here. 
 It was still raining when I woke in the morning, but getting 
 up between showers I started, having first gathered up 
 nearly all the best cans and the bottle and placed them 
 in my pack; these made additional weight and a very 
 unwieldy package to carry. I was determined, however, 
 if I found any more berries to have something to carry them in. 
 
 A few hundred yards down the river I found a very wide 
 place and after several attempts succeeded in crossing. The 
 cold sleet which had been beating me in the face from the 
 time I left camp was now pouring down and becoming unbear- 
 able. Of all the cold and exposure I had had on this awful trip, 
 this was the worst. I began to feel that I could stand it no 
 longer. Still, knowing that to stop was almost sure death, I 
 kept going. I finally got into a clump of willows and tried 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 59 
 
 to make a fire. The willows were dripping with water and 
 I could get no dry tips so I had to give it up after wasting- 
 three matches. To stop was to freeze, so I stumbled along. 
 This was another of my darkest hours. I came to 
 a grove of quite large willows. They were in a kind of 
 marsh where the water was several inches deep, but finding one 
 that the wind had blown over I put some boughs across the 
 forks as heretofore described. In desperation I got into 
 my blankets. I could not sleep for many hours but it soon 
 turned a little warmer and stopped raining and sleeting. 
 Sleep finally came and when I awoke the sun was shining 
 brightly; it was morning; bright sunshine was something I 
 had not enjoyed for many days. I took my things out to a 
 sand bar near the river bank, spread my blankets on some 
 bushes to dry and made a fire. After eating a hearty break- 
 fast of hot water and imagination, I basked in the sun, and 
 smoked willow leaves for an hour or so. I would probably 
 have rested considerably longer if 1 had not seen signs of an 
 approaching wind or rain storm. Experience had made me 
 quite a weather prophet. I knew that if I desired to make 
 any headway that day I would have to be moving along in 
 a hurry; besides, I was anxious to find a more protected camp- 
 ing place. I did not start any too soon, for I had not gone 
 more than a quarter of a mile before one of those cold, sleet- 
 ing rains began; it was not quite so bad as the one of the pre- 
 vious day, but was very weakening to me. 
 
 After a time I (tone to a fairly good camping location and 
 was soon in my blankets again. I had frequent regrets for 
 crossing the river; so far, I had found no berries or roots. I 
 imagined several times I could see protected spots across the 
 stream where I was almost sure there were a few left. 
 
 1 slept unusually well that night and as the morning dawned 
 clear and warmer, I felt my hope thermometer rise a little. 
 The last taste of food I had was the little nibble of pickle I 
 had found several days before. After making a fire and 
 heating some water I rolled up my blankets and was soon on 
 my way, being fortunate enough to find several long gravel 
 bars ahead of me, but even on these I found I had to take a 
 long rest every twenty or thirty feet. 
 
 After some hours the good walking gave out and the river 
 bank became thickly lined with dense, wild, well nigh impass- 
 
60 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 able willow groves. The wind as usual had played sad havoc, 
 and there were as many dead as live ones. "Mushing" 
 through this tangled mass would have been slow work for a 
 strong man, but I traveled at a snail's pace; many a bad fall 
 I received, being too weak to catch myself when I stumbled. 
 Early in the afternoon I came to an old channel of the river. 
 The stream had evidently in former years made a semi- 
 circular bend in towards the foothills, on the side on which I 
 then was. In some manner it had straightened itself and now 
 ran its direct course. At first I thought I had come to a dry 
 creek from the mountains, but this seemed impossible at this 
 time of the year, and I soon came to the right conclusion. I 
 at once determined to follow the old river bed, noticing a 
 number of foot tracks in the damp gravel, and among them 
 those of the two men I had been following for weeks. By 
 the time I had completed the semi-circle I was very tired. In 
 front of me on the bank was a large clump of willows. I strug- 
 gled through them for awhile, until I came to a little 
 knoll, where I concluded to camp. I noticed that 
 between the river and the foothills there was a very 
 bad looking marsh of several hundred acres, but thought, 
 in the morning, I would continue down the bank and avoid 
 this. Dropping my pack from my back, I began collecting 
 wood for a fire. There was more nice, dry wood here than I 
 had found at any other place on my entire trip. Within a 
 space of ten feet I was able to collect wood enough for a big 
 camp fire. My blankets needed drying badly and I was glad 
 to have so good an opportunity to dry them. 
 
 At one side of this elevation was a little "nigger-head" 
 swale, it being about fifteen feet, I should judge, from the 
 top down to the water in this sluggish stream, which, by the 
 way, seemed to empty into the main river. The knoll upon 
 which I was camped was between this nigger-head swale 
 and the dry channel which I had come down. I cut some 
 boughs for my bed, and laid them sloping down hill; this still 
 left probably eight or ten feet between the foot of my bed and 
 the shallow water below me. I made a big fire, dried by bed- 
 clothes and got into them; being very tired I went to sleep 
 much sooner than usual. About eleven o'clock in the night 
 I was awakened by rain, but this was nothing new to me. 
 Besides, the weather seemed unusually warm, so pulling in the 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 61 
 
 outside edges of niy blankets as much as possible to keep 
 tliein dry, I dozed off to sleep again. 
 
 In the morning it was still raining and I did not get up that 
 day. About twelve on the second night I had a sensation that 
 felt as though my feet were in water; when I came to think 
 of the distance down to the "nigger-heads" I was sure I must 
 be mistaken. Lying there, half awake, for some moments, I 
 still had that peculiar feeling; and though as usual, I had 
 tied myself in my blankets, I managed to reach my hands down 
 to my feet. To my horror the water was up to my ankles. 
 I then realized that the warm rain must have melted the 
 snow on the low hills and that I was in a rushing, roaring 
 flood. As I listened I could hear that peculiar rumble so well 
 known to every one who has ever been in a flood. Dark as 
 it was I could see by the glinting on the water that the old 
 channel, along which I had come into this place, was also lull 
 to overflowing. Untying my blanket rope I managed, in the 
 rain and wet, to push some of the boughs a couple of feet fur- 
 ther up the knoll and pull myself on to them, never dreaming 
 the water could get any higher. I dozed off again shortly, 
 (for some reason I felt unusually drowsy) but in an hour or 
 so I was again awakened and putting my hand down found 
 the water a little above my knees; the rain was still pouring 
 down. Jumping up as quickly as my physical condition would 
 permit me, I reached for my rubber boots where I remembered 
 having left them. I found them in the water; one sock had 
 washed away. Pouring the water out of my boots I pulled 
 them on. I had hung my haversack on a limb; this I easily 
 got. All my cans except a couple, had washed away. The 
 lower part of my blankets were of course soaked with water. 
 In the dark I pulled them and my other things to the very 
 top of the knoll and throwing the single blanket down against 
 a small willow tree, sat down on it with my back against the 
 shrub and drew the dryer part of my double blanket over me. 
 The drowsy spell overpowered me again in a few minutes, 
 and a half hour or so afterward my shoulder slipped on the 
 tree and instinctively I threw out my hand to the ground to 
 catch myself. I was suddenly awakened by clapping un- 
 hand into several inches of water. Here was a terrible sit- 
 uation. I knew this was the highest point. It was still pitch 
 dark, except that I could see a little glimmering on the water 
 
STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 62 
 
 all around me. I could hear the maddening rush and roar 
 of the angry waters on all sides, and knew not what to do or 
 which way to turn. It was evident that the freshet was 
 growing in force and volume every moment. I knew I could 
 not get out through the swamp for that was probably now a 
 deep lake. Neither could I retrace my steps, for as I said 
 before, I could see that the channel was overflowing its banks; 
 there was one possible chance; I might keep along the high 
 edge of the river. With my haversack over my shoulder and 
 dragging my blankets, I tried this. After a few yards' travel 
 I found there was no hope in this direction. I could not have 
 done it even if I had been strong, for there was no spot so high 
 as the knoll I was on. Every step took me deeper and deeper 
 until in a few yards I was to the top of my rubber boots in 
 water. Daylight began to break by this time and in the dawn 
 I could see an unusually large scrub willow standing in the 
 rushing water. Its forks were several feet above the surface. 
 I threw my smaller blanket into the crotch of another tree and 
 still dragging my double blanket, struggled to this one. With 
 strength born of desperation I managed to get between its pro- 
 tecting limbs; my weight, poor as I was, pulled it down until 
 I began to fear it would be no higher than the knoll. How- 
 ever, when I got quiet I found I was at the highest accessible 
 point. I held tightly to the top fork to keep it from splitting, 
 as this wood splits very easily and I knew that to fall on my 
 back in that water was to drown. With one hand I managed 
 to get the blanket over me and this broke the rain to some 
 extent. I did not dare allow myself to doze now. 
 
 Dawn soon turned to broad daylight. I watched the trunk 
 of that tree as a cat watches a mouse. By the limb marks I 
 could see that the water was still rapidly rising. I would no- 
 tice a spot on the trunk an inch or so above the water line and 
 in a few minutes it was covered. Finally the water came 
 up to within, probably, a foot of me. I saw death at my side. 
 My dear reader, I speak truly when I say I prayed, of the 
 two manner of deaths now before me, if I had to go by either 
 one, that I be given death by drowning. For weeks I had cal- 
 culated that the chances of starvation were as a hundred to 
 one. All at once the water stopped rising and remained 
 stationary for several minutes. Then it began to recede. 
 
 I watched it going down as rapidly as it came up. Soon I 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 63 
 
 became drowsy again and putting some more boughs across 
 the limb I was on, fell into a deep sleep. When I awoke some 
 hours afterward, the water had run off and the ground under 
 me was comparatively dry; the rain had stopped and a heavy 
 drying wind was blowing. I was shivering with cold. "\Vhat 
 could be done ? I did not like this drowsiness that had taken 
 possession of me and deemed it a bad sign, as my senses had 
 all been so acute before. I knew if I had some hot water I 
 could soon warm myself, but did not think there was any 
 chance to make a fire with everything so wet. I tried it, how- 
 ever, and luckily was successful at the second match. The wind 
 had dried the willow tips. I could not make a big one as I did 
 the first night though, but still had plenty of hot water and dried 
 my blankets some. They were so wet I could not get them 
 entirely dry. I do not know what I should have done if I had 
 not gotten the hot water, because in my weak condition I 
 would very likely have died of pneumonia that night. I could 
 not warm up by k k mushing" as I did once or twice before under 
 similar circumstances. I cut some dry boughs and went to 
 bed early, feeling 'too weak to try to get out of the swamp 
 that day; in fact my dreadful experience of the night before 
 had taken almost every particle of strength I had left. It 
 was the beginning of the end. Drinking some more hot 
 water, and with no taste of grass or anything else, I went to 
 bed and to sleep. 
 
 The sun came up clear and bright next morning and I man- 
 aged to arise from my blankets, but staggering, fell against 
 a tree, not fainting, however. I rolled my blankets after a 
 great effort, and shouldering them tottered through the 
 willows down the stream. After traveling about a quarter of 
 a mile I came to an unexpected obstacle in the shape of a 
 deep creek, the result of the flood, emptying into the main 
 river. Oh, how I did hate to retrace my steps over that rough 
 ground and through the tangled brush, but it had to be done 
 and I did it. To cross the swamp was then my only recourse, 
 as the old channel was still full of water. I started but could 
 not take over ten steps without, stopping. I could neither sit 
 nor lie down on account of the deep morass, but had to rest 
 standing. I fell in the muck a number of times, but by sheer 
 will power, struggled on, as I did not want to die in this mire. 
 
64 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 About sundown I arrived at the outer bank and exhausted, 
 crawled into my blankets. 
 
 The next day was not a bad one ; still I did not have sufficient 
 strength to get up and "mush" along, although I knew that 
 every day of delay was now reducing what little chance of 
 rescue I might have. I slept all day. Toward evening it 
 began to snow, and kept it up. at intervals all night. I had 
 arrived at that stage where I seldom dreamed of good things 
 to eat. As I have already said, in the earlier stages every 
 dream was of the dining table. When morning came I found a 
 sleeting, cold, windy day. I determined to make at least one 
 more effort, so, near the middle of the forenoon, I staggered to 
 my feet, made a fire and boiled some tundra water. This 
 warmed me a little. Every half hour or so a heavy snowstorm 
 would pass over. During the couple of warm days, while I 
 was having my experience in the swamp, most of the snow on 
 the lower foothills had melted off, but now again they were 
 white, and the wind that blew over them was piercing. I had 
 a hard time rolling my blankets that morning. There were 
 very few sparks of vital energy left in my poor frame. To 
 make matters worse, another dismal swamp was to be crossed; 
 otherwise I would have had to take what seemed an even 
 worse trip around it. It was not quite so wide as the last one, 
 but I had a dread of dying like a poor old farmyard cow in 
 a pasture bog. With my pack on my back, I couM hardly 
 stand up straight, let alone accomplish the fearful task before 
 me. Something had to be done I must either give up and 
 lie down never to rise again, or make an effort to proceed. 
 With a dogged perseverance I did not know was in me, I 
 started. A cold shiver ran through me, as I staggered through 
 the tundra of the hillside, into the morass; it began snowing 
 again just as I started. Slowly, step by step, for hours I 
 writhed and struggled through this slime, falling a 1 number 
 of times, fearing each time that I would not be able to rise 
 again. 
 
 On a little dry spot about half way across, I found an old 
 ptarmigan nest, and saw that it contained one egg about the 
 size of a pullet's. With a haste you can well imagine, I broke 
 it; there was nothing left but sulphurated hydrogen. A few 
 minutes afterward I was taken deathly sick at my stomach., 
 and sorely wrenched myself in a vain effort to relieve this 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 65 
 
 nausea, not knowing whether it was caused by the bad egg 
 or weakness, but hoping it was from the former, not liking the 
 symptoms if it was the latter. I finally reached the bank again, 
 and assure you I felt like getting into my blankets, but had 
 lost so much time lately, and the weather was becoming so 
 terribly cold that, weak and chilled as I was, I resolved to 
 struggle on. In front of me, when I had climbed the bank, 
 was a comparatively level tundra of several hundred acres 
 that had been all burned over, probably during the summer 
 season. By crossing this I would save a big bend in the river 
 and arrive again shortly at the old river bank. By the term 
 "old bank" frequently used heretofore, is meant the one next 
 to the foothills. The stream, in its endeavor to carry off the 
 water, caused by a sudden thaw in the spring, cuts -a bed as 
 wide as the foothills happen to be apart; during lower water, 
 the actual bank of the river at the edge of the stream may be 
 a half-mile away from the old bank. 
 
 I headed for my objective point. As I moved along through 
 the burned ground, I picked up dozens of empty snail shells, 
 but no live ones. On the way across this burned tundra, I 
 came to a creek running down from the mountains, and empty- 
 ing into the main river near by. Here again I saw several 
 beautiful salmon trout sporting about in the water. 
 
 This little stream had cut a deep gully, and one of the heavy 
 snowstorms being then at its height, I rested here nearly an 
 hour, fairly well protected from the driving sleet. Deter- 
 mined to go as far as possible in order to make up for the loss 
 of the previous day, I soon shouldered my blankets and again 
 struggled on. Although the burned tundra was comparatively 
 easy walking, I could barely drag one foot after the other. 
 A number of times, when I had stumbled and fallen, it was 
 almost impossible for me to rise again. I was determined, if 
 possible, though, to get to the old bank of the river, which I 
 now saw before me, feeling sure I would have better protec- 
 tion from the storm and wind, as the bluff at this place ran 
 easterly and westerly, and the chilling blasts came from the 
 north. Within about a hundred yards of my destination I 
 fell, and this time could not rise. I was still on the flat, 
 burned tundra, fully exposed to the weather. I crawled on 
 my hands and knees to the edge of the embankment, and must 
 have been a horrible sight, struggling over the burned hill- 
 
66 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 side. My hands, and, I presume, my face, were as black as a 
 negro; I was as near a living skeleton as a man ever gets to 
 be; tall, gaunt, bony, and black, I surely was a weird looking 
 object. A few feet below me on the steep slope, grew some 
 small willows, almost in a row, and about the length of my 
 body. I knew that to lie on the wet ground was to accelerate 
 death, so being unable to cut boughs as heretofore, I managed 
 to crawl down the bank to this brush. Near my feet, a little 
 rill of dark germ-infected water trickled down the slope. I 
 managed to get my pack unrolled, and tied myself in my 
 blankets. Then I rolled over on these bushes, and was 
 thus off the wee sod. My head was lower than my feet, 
 making a very uncomfortable position, but little did such a 
 thing as that bother me now. Pulling my blankets up over 
 my head, I lay there panting and pondering. I was sure I 
 should feel stronger in the morning. Had I not often been 
 compelled to stop from weakness, even weeks before? Was 
 I not always able to go some distance at least, the next time 
 I started? 
 
 In an hour or so I was again attacked by nausea. There 
 being nothing to emit, the wrenching was terrible. Lying on 
 my back, my feet 'higher than my head, tied in my blankets, 
 and unable to get an easier position, I thought my farewell to 
 this world of care and sorrow was at hand. If mortal man 
 ever wishes for the ministering hands of loved ones, it is in 
 an extremity like this. The sickness at my stomach passed 
 away shortly, but recurred a couple of times during the night. 
 I dropped off to sleep near morning, and slept until the sun 
 was well up; the day was clear and cold, as were, in fact, the 
 remaining days until I was found. 
 
 When I awoke, and before I moved at all, I felt I was much 
 stronger and was sure I would be able to go quite a little dis- 
 tance that day. Poor, deluded mortal! When I endeavored 
 to rise I found the end had come at last. Struggle as I would, 
 I could not get to my feet. My last spark of hope was gone. 
 I knew that nothing short of a miracle could save me now. It 
 was too late in the season to expect prospectors, and besides 
 I was half a mile from the river in the brush, and if a late 
 miner should pass he would go up or down the stream. For 
 weeks I had known I had very little chance for life; now I 
 was sure of death. Yet, strange to say, I did not have the 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 67 
 
 fear of death that I had always thought I would have. I 
 hated to be cut off in the prime of life, but what did worry me 
 much more than the dying, was the fact that my bones should 
 he torn apart by the wild animals and Malamoot dogs, and 
 scattered to the four winds of the earth an arm here and a 
 thigh bone there; that my relatives would never know where 
 1 had died, nor where my remains were. While this is mere 
 sentiment, and would never be thought of by some people, I 
 plead guilty to being brimful of that feeling, and am glad of it. 
 I thought over my past life, and found that my conscience was 
 clear that while I had been by no. means a saint, my sins were 
 largely errors of the head and not of the heart. I have 
 always been a firm believer in a Supreme Being and a here- 
 after. I have ever hated hypocrisy, and would never attach 
 myself to any creed unless I thought I could live up to its 
 teachings. I remember well lying there, thinking, "Now 
 within five days I will know what the Great Hereafter is." 
 1 do not know why 1 put the limit at five days, for, as a matter 
 of fact, I would not have lived half that long. 
 
 Sometime during the forenoon, on the second day, as I lay 
 there waiting for death, my head under the blankets, I thought 
 1 heard a shot. I had been fooled so often before that I had 
 little faith in the correctness of my supposition, but pulled the 
 cover down and called, "Help! Help!" as loudly as my feeble, 
 child-like voice would permit. I received no answer, but after- 
 wards learned from the boys who found me that they did fire 
 
 line birds over on the river, on their way up the stream. 
 During the first day I managed to crawl out on my hands and 
 knees, and pluck a handful of grass that was growing in a 
 protected spot on the bank near me, get a little water from the 
 rill at my feet, make a small fire and boil the grass in the 
 water. I drank a portion of this a teacupful perhaps, but 
 had nothing more until found, nor did I again get out of my 
 blankets during the balance of the four days I lay there. I 
 had the same drowsy feeling I experienced in the swamp. 
 Nausea troubled me no more, but late in the evening of the 
 day before I was found I experienced a most peculiar sensa- 
 tion, and one, I am told, not a person in thousands ever goes 
 through. Beginning at my pelvis I could distinctly feel my 
 stomach fall against my spine, gradually, as though a heavy 
 flat iron had been placed at that point on my flesh, and "run up 
 
68 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 the medial line; when this took place I knew my hours were 
 numbered. I had read of the feeling in medical works. Med- 
 ical men tell me that one of the most singular facts connected 
 with my case is that I retained my mind to the last moment. 
 The boys who found me say I was perfectly rational, and I, 
 myself, know I was. Several cases have happened here in 
 Alaska, since I was rescued, in which starving men have lost 
 their minds in from three to seven days. If I had not retained 
 mine, my life would have gone out like a candle. 
 
 When I crawled back into my blankets on the second day, 
 I was unable for lack of strength to make my position any more 
 comfortable. My head was still lower than my feet. 
 
 Toward noon on September 22nd, as I was lying in my 
 blankets with my head covered and a peculiar, drowsy 
 feeling on me, I thought I heard voices. I was perfectly con- 
 scious, but came very nearly not trying to call because I had 
 been so often disappointed before. There is a kind of bird in 
 these mountains that, at night, makes .a sound very much like 
 a human being. It had fooled me many times. Still, without 
 expecting any reply, I pulled the blankets off my head and 
 called, "Hello, Hello! Help! Help!" 
 
 My heart almost stopped beating when in return I heard, 
 "Hello there, what do you want!" I answered, "Come here, 
 please ' ' ; then I could hear one say to the other, * 1 1 guess there 's 
 some fellow in trouble over there. ' ' At this time they could not 
 see me on account of the brush, and I could not turn my head, 
 much less raise myself up. They were down in the old river 
 bed, and I was, as you already know, on the slope of the bank. 
 Dear reader, I have told you in the previous chapter that there 
 were portions of my experience that words were inadequate to 
 describe; this is one of them. I had wandered for sixty-seven 
 days over the roughest part of wild Alaska without food, with- 
 out hearing a human voice, literally almost without hope. I had 
 now resigned myself to death, and, silently, awaited the ap- 
 proach of the grim monster; he was but a few short hours 
 behind his prey ; I could feel the chill of his clammy claws ; his 
 enveloping saliva, such as a snake is said to emit over the 
 body of the frog before it swallows it, was fast covering me; I 
 could indistinctly hear the muffled oars of his boatman, Charon, 
 as he made ready to effect a landing and take another solitary 
 passenger to the side of the Great Majority. Then to know 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 69 
 
 that help was at hand, and life once more before me was cer- 
 tainly an indescribable feeling. 
 
 I have read, in the old school books, of a man being pardoned 
 while standing on the trap of the gallows; I could never fully 
 appreciate his feelings before. 
 
 As the two young men approached me, leading their pack 
 horse, one of them called out as soon as he saw me, "What's 
 the matter:" In my feeble voice I replied, "I have had 
 nothing to eat for over two months. " He afterward told me 
 that he thought, at the time, I was some poor fellow who had 
 been without food for four or five days, and was out of my 
 mind, but when he got to me, saw the condition of my body 
 and talked with me, he changed his opinion. The two good- 
 hearted young 'miners who found me were John L. 'Brien, 
 known among his friends as "Jack" O'Brien, and Frank Hen- 
 son, both of Nome. They had been camped for two weeks with 
 a couple of companions, William Clinton and Frank Henry, 
 seven miles from where they found me. 
 
 After the boys talked to me a few moments, Frank grabbed 
 his gun and started out to kill a ptarmigan to make me some 
 broth. Both being old timers in the country, knew it would 
 never do to give me solid food, though I begged for it as only 
 a starving man can. Jack, after raising me to a more com- 
 fortable position, went to his pack and, cutting a very thin 
 piece of bacon, parboiled and fried it, cooked a potato until 
 it was mushy and passed them to me together with a small 
 pancake, on a tin plate. Here again the vocabulary contains 
 no words that will convey to the reader, who has never been 
 starved, the gratification of these few niouthfuls. I have 
 heard of "nectar for the gods"; this was what the food seemed 
 to me. 
 
 I had eaten a few niouthfuls and Jack had turned around 
 to the rill to wash his hands, when I was seized with a pain 
 that I thought meant my end. He looked around and saw my 
 face, and immediately jumped to me and asked what was the 
 matter. By this time I began to feel a little better. I ex- 
 plained to him that I had had a feeling as though melted lead 
 was being poured down my throat. It was no doubt the irri- 
 tation caused by food going into a stomach that was "caved 
 in". 
 
 I had never shed a tear on the trip, but when I was asked by 
 
70 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 Jack who I was, and where I came from, tears rolled down my 
 cheeks as I told of leaving a dear old father of over eighty, and 
 relatives and friends in California the April before, and coming 
 to Alaska to seek my fortune in the gold mines. 
 
 I begged Jack not to leave me alone, as it really seemed I 
 must be in a dream, of which I had had so many. I call the 
 boys by their given names, because I have since learned to 
 know them well, and love them for their noble, generous treat- 
 ment of me. 
 
 And right here I want to say a word of the "sour dough'' 
 miner of Alaska, and the same holds good of those who have 
 followed the business of mining any length of time whereso- 
 ever dispersed around the globe ; but I wish it distinctly under- 
 stood that, with some exceptions, the rule does not apply to 
 the "cheechako". The former are generally noble, true- 
 hearted men, used to the many hardships of such a life, used 
 to being poor one year and perhaps millionaires the next. 
 They are liberal to a fault. They will take the coat off their 
 backs to protect from the driving storm a fellow being in dis- 
 tress, having themselves often received the same treatment. 
 Ready to fight a man who jumps a friend's claim or otherwise 
 abuses him, as quickly as if they were themselves oppressed, 
 yet slow to anger and willing to give and take if the right 
 spirit is shown by the other. This is the true miner. 
 
 Frank returned, after a couple of hours' hard hunting, with- 
 out a bird, but the boys resolved to get up at daylight and 
 kill one at all hazards and they did. Being determined I 
 should have no more solid food while in their care, they picked 
 me up and carried me about a hundred yards to a better camp- 
 ing place on the flat, threw a robe over me, depriving them- 
 selves of its comfort for the night, made a rousing big brush 
 fire and scantily covered, went to bed. It was one of the cold- 
 est nights of the season; I did not close my eyes in sleep during 
 this or the two following nights, and looking out from under 
 my oil coat in the early morning, I could almost see the dew 
 crystallize into frost. During the night, I traveled, in my 
 mind, over the whole dreadful trip, step by step. 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 71 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 IN THE HANDS OF FRIENDS. 
 
 My kind-hearted rescuers arose at four o'clock, cold as it 
 was, and taking their guns, started out after ptarmigan for 
 the purpose of making broth for me. After a couple of hours 
 they returned with one; making a huge fire near my feet they 
 warmed themselves, and, when it had burned down to coals, 
 cooked breakfast. The broth they gave me was delicious, 
 but I craved something more substantial; of course, I was not 
 allowed to have it. I begged most piteously, but that did no 
 good; the boys did not propose I should kill myself after they 
 had rescued me. After breakfast, the pack saddle was put 
 onto the horse, and I was tied on. The boys had to leave 
 their picks, pans, shovels and several other things, as there was 
 no room on the poor horse. We soon started aver the rough 
 tundra for the tent, seven miles away. Frank led the animal, 
 and Jack, with 'the gun on his shoulder, kept a look-out for 
 ptarmigan. The sun came up brightly, and, except for the 
 terrible jolting I received as the horse struggled across the 
 morass, the ride was not a hard one. When we finally arrived 
 at our destination I was gently lowered from my position and 
 carried to a bed in the tent. I was more comfortable during 
 the two days and three nights I was there than I had been in 
 nine weeks before, and the many months that have passed from 
 that time to the present writing. The only thing that both- 
 ered me was my inordinate appetite. The boys killed many 
 ptarmigan during these two days, but I only got the broth. 
 How I did implore them to let me have some solid food! I 
 would have eaten it had I known it would almost kill me. 
 Here again, dear reader, words fail to convey the sentiment. 
 No person, except one who has been at the verge of death from 
 starvation, can realize the almost insane craving for food under 
 these circumstances. The desire to eat is as strong as it wa- 
 before you had anything at all, and oh, the taste of what you 
 do eat! ! I would forfeit many months of my life if I could 
 enjoy my food all the balance of my days as I did for the first 
 two weeks after I was found. To see the boys eating solid 
 food, and not be able to join them was torture. The meals 
 were eaten as the boys reclined on their blankets, on the floor. 
 
72 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 Bill Clinton, who, by the way, was a great big good-hearted 
 fellow, fair, fat, but not forty, always lay next to me. When 
 the other boys were not looking, I would quietly beg Bill to 
 give me a mouthful of solid food beans, potatoes, ptarmigan 
 or bread. He could not resist, and in this way I got many 
 a toothsome morsel unknown to the other three. They caught 
 him in the act once, and scolded him roundly. If all the boys 
 went out they hid everything that was edible. I had a par- 
 ticular desire for "bannocks" or "punk", a kind of bread 
 made of flour, baking powder and water and used in mining 
 camps from pole to pole, and from Portland, Oregon, to Port- 
 land, Maine. The boys used to say they could not eat it them- 
 selves without being greatly distressed, and it would be sure 
 death to me, but many a little piece found its way to my mouth 
 through BilPs generosity. 
 
 It began sleeting and snowing the day after we got to the 
 tent; my rescuers had counted on starting to Teller with me 
 at daylight next morning; but, when day dawned, the weather 
 was so severe that they concluded to wait twenty-four hours 
 longer. Their provisions were getting very low, and they were 
 also very anxious to get me to a physician. I heard one of their 
 private conversations when they thought I was asleep, as I was 
 lying with my eyes closed. They were very much afraid they 
 could not get me to town alive. 
 
 When we awoke on the third morning, the outlook was even 
 worse than at any previous time. Things were getting des- 
 perate, so the boys decided to start anyway. I had remarked 
 to my companions on the evening before that I felt very much 
 as a man must feel who is to be executed next morning at day- 
 light. I knew that even in good weather this thirty-three miles 
 trip would be a terrible one for me, and I was satisfied that 
 the storm would not abate during the night. I lay awake 
 listening to the howling of the wind and BilPs snoring until 
 nearly daylight, but, not having been able to sleep any since 
 I was found, finally dropped off into a doze. A few minutes 
 after dawn. Jack's sonorous voice awakened the camp. Eub- 
 bing their eyes, they all arose and Frank Henson cooked a 
 hurried breakfast. As soon as this was through, the work of 
 breaking camp began in earnest. Each one had his allotted 
 work to do, and soon we were ready to start on the terrible 
 journey. They had decided to leave the tent, Yukon stove, 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 73 
 
 picks, shovels, gold pans and many other similar objects be- 
 cause there was no room for them with me on the pack horse. 
 Some poor prospector undoubtedly made a rich find. When 
 all was ready, they carried me forth and tied me to the pack 
 saddle. My heavy blanket the single one had been left 
 where I was found was thrown over my shoulders, and the 
 oil coat over that. We started. If I should live to be a hun- 
 dred years old, I shall never forget this trip. As soon as 
 things were packed, two of the boys started ahead. Frank 
 Henson led the horse, and the other, (Bill Clinton, I think it- 
 was) brought up the rear. It was about two miles over the 
 worst kind of a morass before we came to the mountains. 
 That poor horse would plunge and struggle along until I 
 thought I would have to give up, and lose my feeble grip on 
 the front cross bars of the pack saddle, in which event I 
 would have fallen over the side of the horse. My two days 
 of comparative comfort in the tent had made my feelings very 
 acute. The sleet was falling so fast we could only see a short 
 distance ahead, but the double set of footprints in the snow 
 could be easily followed. At last we came to the mountains; 
 everything was covered; if the lowland had been bad, this 
 was doubly so. At many places we had to ascend and de- 
 scend over sheer precipices at an angle of almost forty-five 
 degrees. The loose rocks on these places were covered with 
 many inches of snow, and how that horse ever kept its feet is 
 more than I can tell. I thought every minute I would have a 
 broken limb or two to add to my other calamities. Finally, 
 after we had traveled many miles over the mountains and 
 caught up with the other two boys, we all got lost in a blinding 
 snowstorm. My friends had been heading for a couple of 
 peaks that were side by side, and looked exactly alike. When 
 they came to the place where they thought they ought to see 
 them there were none visible. Here indeed was a fearful 
 dilemma. The boys were complaining that they thought 
 their feet were frozen. Be it remembered that they were full 
 of health and life; had come out in winter dress and were 
 exercising. I was almost a corpse from starvation; was 
 dressed in my summer clothes, was not exercising, and had on 
 rubber boots with only one pair of socks. Any "sour dough" 
 knows your feet will freeze in rubber quicker' than in anything 
 else. 
 
74 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 Frank dropped his leading rope, leaving the horse stand- 
 ing, and all four set out in different directions to hunt up 
 their landmark the twin peaks. After an hour or so of 
 search up and down the creeks, a glad shout from one of the 
 boys announced that we could again get under headway. 
 
 My rescuers afterwards told me they dreaded to return to 
 the horse for fear I had already crossed the Higher Divide 
 where no one ever loses his way. At this time it was agreed 
 that Frank Henson, who had been leading the horse should go 
 ahead to the bay on the opposite side from Teller and see if a 
 man, who had been camped there hunting ptarmigan two 
 weeks before, was still there with his boat. If so, it would 
 save many miles around to the spit where a kind of ferry had 
 been established. Eight here I must tell the reader that the 
 great mining excitement about the Bluestone, Gold Kun and 
 Krougarock mining districts had changed the town of Teller, 
 which I had left, to another place of the same name seven 
 miles away, across the bay. The new camp had many sub- 
 stantial two-story buildings, and I was told, contained a popu- 
 lation at that time of nearly one thousand. I could hardly 
 believe that the town, of which I was a trustee when I left, had 
 been wiped off the face of the earth, and this new city had 
 sprung up, all while I was without a meal. Even worse than 
 that, the new place was not started until a month after I was 
 lost. 
 
 Shortly after we passed the "twins", Grantley Harbor and 
 Port Clarence Bay came into view. It was a welcome sight 
 to me, I assure you. There, before us, lying at anchor in front 
 of Teller, were eight large ships; we had not had two ships a 
 month at old Teller. 
 
 A mile or so from the bay shore we met Frank coming to 
 inform us that the hunter had gone, but there was a man with 
 an old boat collecting wood for his camp some distance below. 
 He called our attention to the fact that our dog had lost its 
 pack; all the cooking utensils had been strapped on the little 
 beast, and he had trotted contentedly along behind the horse 
 most of the way. 
 
 Finally we arrived at the coast line. The boys hurriedly lifted 
 me from the horse to a blanket spread on the ground; they had 
 not realized before how nearly gone I was; in fact, I myself 
 did not. For some time it was a struggle between life and 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 75 
 
 death. The owner of the old boat was there, and when asked 
 for its loan to carry a sick man across, he hesitated and said 
 he would have to see his partner who was hunting nearby, 
 first. The. man had good security; the boat was not worth ten 
 dollars, and the horse, which could not be taken over at that 
 point, was worth many times that amount. As the fellow 
 walked back to see his partner, my companions agreed among 
 themselves to take the boat by force if he showed the least hesi- 
 tancy when he returned. Luckily, he came back and reported 
 that he could not find his partner, but that we could take the 
 boat. The boys carried me to it, and laid me in the bottom 
 on some blankets. They then began the pull for Teller. 
 
 Xothing eventful happened on the way over. In about an 
 hour we reached our landing place. I was hurriedly taken 
 from the boat to Wilson Brothers' store, and deposited in a 
 chair until a place could be prepared for me. There was not 
 a vacant room that could be heated in the town, so through 
 the kindness of Mr. A. McLean and Mr. W. J. Morse, I was 
 taken to a cot in the rear of their saloon; within a few feet of 
 me was a large stove, and although the weather was cold, I 
 felt comfortable. 
 
 I was allowed no solid food for several days; as soon as I 
 was given some my stomach began to misbehave; for over two 
 months I never ate a meal but what I paid the penalty. My 
 feet began to swell the next day after my arrival and con- 
 tinued in this condition all the long, dark, dreary winter. 
 
 I had visitors by the score; it seems to me that almost 
 every soul of the several hundred people in town at that time 
 came to see me. Some out of sympathy, and some out of 
 curiosity; a number of newspaper reporters called. A special 
 representative of the San Francisco Examiner had photo- 
 graphs taken of myself, my rescuers, and the horse that so 
 safely brought me in; even the dog had his place in one of the 
 pictures. Speaking of this horse, I must say my heart was 
 full of gratitude to the poor animal. The boys had no hay or 
 grain left for him while we were in camp, so they fed him 
 bread and beans. If I had had the power I would have made 
 as inuch of him as Caligula, Xero, and others did of their fa- 
 vorite horses. 
 
 We arrived at Teller a few days before the last boat went 
 out, but my physical condition \vas such that my friends 
 
76 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 thought I would be very foolish to attempt such a long trip 
 when storms were so frequent. Besides, I had seen but little 
 of mining life in Alaska, and hated to go back without this 
 experience; I did not then know that I was about to face the 
 worst winter that this country had witnessed in over a decade. 
 Dozens upon dozens were frozen to death in the vicinity of 
 Nome and Teller. Many a man had his face, fingers, or toes 
 frozen within five minutes after he stepped outside his door, 
 even though warmly dressed for winter. If possible, I suffered 
 more during this dreadful winter than I did while lost. 
 
 I will conclude this chapter by quoting from one local paper 
 and one outside paper in regard to my trip and rescue. The 
 papers of Alaska and of every State in the Union had quite 
 long accounts at the time. 
 
 The Nome Weekly News, a leading paper of Alaska, con- 
 tained the following in its issue of October 6th, 1900: 
 
 SAVED FROM STARVATION ATTORNEY HALL'S 
 AWFUL EXPERIENCE LOST IN MOUNTAINS. 
 
 His Only Food for Sixty-Seven Days Was a Pound of Bacon, 
 a Few Crackers, and What Berries and Roots He 
 Could Gather. 
 
 (From a Staff Correspondent.) 
 
 TELLER, Oct. 2. An event in the life of an argonaut in 
 search of the elusive gold has happened in this vicinity, which 
 seems as strange and unusual as the tales of the Arabian 
 Nights. It is the experience of a lost man who has almost 
 crossed the portals of death and has returned to life after the 
 pangs of starvation and hardship have turned his robust frame 
 into an emaciated skeleton. It is the story of man's inhu- 
 manity to man, of base ingratitude, for the love of gold which 
 resulted in an attorney's battle for life on the verge of star- 
 vation for the long period of sixty-seven days. 
 
 Attorney James A. Hall is lying on a cot in the Teller Saloon 
 building, slowly recovering from the effects of living on 
 berries and roots while lost in the mountains and on the low- 
 lands to the north and west of Teller city. 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 77 
 
 On Sept. 22nd, upon the banks of American River, about 30 
 miles from here, Jack O'Brien and Frank Hensen found Hall 
 lying on a bunch of willows, wrapped in his blankets, weak 
 and exhausted in the last throes of starvation. He had sub- 
 sisted on a pound of bacon, and a few crackers, and what berries 
 and roots he could find for sixty-seven days. Nothing like 
 such vitality and dogged perseverance in a fight for life has 
 been chronicled in the history of this country 's privations. 
 
 Hall told your correspondent the story of his pilgrimage in 
 the shadow of death in such a simple and straightforward 
 manner that one could hardly believe he could have passed 
 through so great a struggle and still retain so gentle a disposi- 
 tion and kindly address. He was not embittered with life. 
 
 On July 17th, Attorney Hall, in company with Dr. Vincent 
 and G. P. Hall, formerly of the A. C. Company, was sent out by 
 Tom and Will Wilson from old Teller to locate a quartz ledge 
 known to Dr. Vincent to be situated about fifty miles back of 
 old Teller. Dr. Vincent had the dying statement of a prospector 
 who claimed he had found all kinds of gold some years ago. 
 On the second day out, Hall and Vincent left Attorney Hall 
 on the top of a mountain, not waiting for him to catch up, and 
 descended to a stream to the north. Attorney Hall reached 
 the top about fifteen minutes later, and, not finding his com- 
 panions, spread out his blankets and passed the night on the 
 peak. He never saw his companions again. 
 
 Hall and Vincent returned to old Teller two days later and 
 told how they had lost Attorney Hall in the mountains. Tom 
 and Will Wilson formed two rescuing parties and searched all 
 over the country in vain for Attorney Hall, and finally gave 
 him up as lost. Hall and Dr. Vincent did not join the rescn ing- 
 party, saying they were too tired to go. 
 
 Attorney Hall, with about a pound of bacon and five crack- 
 ers, traveled for one week, a lost man wandering among the 
 mountains and in the soft and swampy tundra off Kotzebue 
 Sound. He tried to retrace his steps, and struggled along sub- 
 sisting on berries, roots and grasses until he reached a branch 
 of the American River. At last he became exhausted and lay 
 down to die on Sept. 18th. He could no longer drag or crawl 
 along in search of help. On the night of Sept. 21st he felt his 
 stomach collapse and sink back against his spine. His suffer- 
 ings were excruciating. Dazed, and ready to die, he heard a 
 
78 STARVING ON A BED OP GOLD 
 
 shot and made one more effort for sweet life. Henson was fol- 
 lowing a flock of ptarmigans, and had missed a bird. He heard 
 the call for help and approached. Hall raised his head feebly 
 and begged for something to eat. He said he was starving. 
 For the first time he wept at the joy of his delivery. 'Brien 
 gave him a small piece of bacon and some potatoes warmed by 
 a fire. Henson rushed out on the hills in search of a bird to 
 make broth, but was unsuccessful. O'Brien and Henson then 
 strapped Hall to their horse and took him to their camp and 
 tent seven miles away where Frank Henry and William 
 Clinton, partners of O'Brien and Henson, were located. They 
 left their camp, the second day, after Hall had gained more 
 strength. He begged piteously for solid food, but his new 
 companions only fed him broth and liquids in order to save 
 his life. He was taken to the coast on the horse, and brought 
 here by boat. The Wilson Brothers have done all they can for 
 his welfare and care, and he is now rapidly recovering his 
 health and strength. 
 
 Attorney Hall came to Nome on the Thrasher, and two weeks 
 later went to Port Clarence, being one of the first residents of 
 old Teller. He practiced law in San Francisco and was for- 
 merly associated with Attorneys C. W. Cross, Tirey L. Ford 
 and Frank P. Kelly. He was born in Monterey County, Cal- 
 ifornia, November 9, 1857, served in the California Legislature 
 of 1889-90, and was District Attorney for Santa Cruz County 
 in 1883-4. The people of Teller will see that he is looked 
 after and when he opens a law office he will be engaged by 
 many clients who wish to show their interest in his prosperity. 
 The most pathetic part of his story was that pertaining to his 
 matches, which he carefully counted each day, hoping that 
 they would last to build fires as long as the spark of life could 
 be maintained in his emaciated body. Attorney Hall is 6 feet 
 l l /2 inches in height, and weighed 225 pounds before his ex- 
 perience, losing fully 100 pounds in his sixty-seven days' fast. 
 The only implement he had was a surgeon's knife, and with a 
 safety pin he made a hook and tried to catch fish, but with- 
 out success." 
 
 The reader will notice that this paper uses the name 
 American Eiver, while I call it the Agiapuk. Since I was 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 79 
 
 found the name has been changed from the former to the 
 latter, by order of the U. S. District Court. 
 
 The San Francisco Examiner, the largest daily on the Pa- 
 cific Coast, contained the following in its issue of Oct. 25th, 
 1900: 
 
 "SAVED FROM DEATH ON AN ARCTIC TRAIL- 
 ATTORNEY JAMES A. HALL OF THIS CITY RES- 
 CUED WHEN HIS LIFE WAS PASSING IN A 
 STORM SWEEPING NOME. 
 
 For Over Two Months He Wandered Through the Snow and 
 
 Subsisted on Bacon, Crackers and Roots Rescuers 
 
 Find Him After He Had Given Up Hope of Escaping 
 
 From the Perils of the Snow-bound Country. 
 
 (Special Dispatch to the tk Examiner.") 
 
 SEATTLE, Wash., Oct. 25. James A. Hall, an attorney who 
 lived at San Francisco, was rescued from death by Frank 
 Henson and "Jack" O'Brien, two big-hearted Nome nnners. 
 
 These men found Hall wrapped in his blankets and lying in 
 a bunch of willows on the banks of the American River, in the 
 Teller City district. For sixty-seven days he had wandered 
 in the mountains back of Xome, lost and bewildered. His 
 grub stake consisted of a pound of bacon and a few dozen 
 crackers. With these articles of food, and such berries and 
 roots as he could find, he subsisted for over two months. 
 
 The rescuers found him Sept. 22nd, and they assert that such 
 dogged perseverance and vitality in a fight for life have never 
 been equalled in the history of the thousands who have 
 searched for fortune in the northland. 
 
 Hall's pilgrimage in the shadow of death commenced July 
 17th. He was out with Dr. Vincent and G. P. Hall (not a re- 
 lation), in an endeavor to locate a quartz ledge fifty miles back 
 of Teller. On the second day out, Vincent and G. P. Hall left 
 the attorney on top of a mountain, not waiting for him to 
 <-at<-h up. and descended in a northerly direction. G. P. Hall 
 returned to Teller two days later and told how they had lost 
 Attorney Hall in the mountains. Tom and Will Wilson organ- 
 
80 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 ized two rescuing parties and searched all over the country in 
 vain for the lost man. 
 
 For weeks the lost man traveled about the mountains and in 
 the soft and swampy tundra of Kotzebue sound on the Arctic. 
 He tried to retrace his steps and finally reached a branch of 
 the American Eiver where on September 18th he threw him- 
 self on the ground to die. 
 
 The men who found him took him to Teller, where he was 
 being cared for with chances of recovery, when the San Pedro 
 sailed. Hall had been professionally associated with Senator 
 C. W. Cross, Tirey L. Ford, the present Attorney General, and 
 Frank P. Kelly. 
 
 * * * * * ***** ***** 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 A TERRIBLE WINTER. 
 
 For one month I lay on my back in my bunk, near a hot stove. 
 At the end of that time I was able to walk across the floor by 
 holding on to the wall. 
 
 I will never forget the first solid meal I was allowed to eat. 
 It consisted of reindeer steak and potatoes. To describe the 
 enjoyment of that meal is beyond my power. It was "as 
 nectar fit for the gods ' '. I could not eat often enough. Meals 
 were one dollar each and my appetite soon knocked a big hole 
 in what little money I had left. A few days after I had been 
 brought in, I noticed that my feet were badly swollen. They 
 had been frozen on that terrible trip through the snow, over 
 the mountains, tied to a pack horse. The swelling did not 
 abate during the long, long winter. In about a month, large 
 sores began to break out all over the frozen portion of my 
 lower extremities, from the knees down. I frequently had as 
 many as twenty-five large running ulcers on my legs at one 
 time. Dr. Bates, my physician, kept burning them out with 
 nitrate of silver pencils to heal them. The pain of this was 
 excruciating, in my feeble condition, and often I would 
 send a friend to get morphine tricherates for me when I ex- 
 pected the doctor. Luckily, I did not contract the " habit ". 
 The cause of these sores was explained by my medical attend- 
 
JAMES A. HALL, ON OCT. IST, 1900, AFTER THE LONGEST FAST ON RECORD 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 83 
 
 ant. He said that the freezing destroyed all the little blood 
 vessels that carried the blood to the surface of the skin. This 
 lack of nourishment caused the skin to rot. There was very 
 little nutriment in the frozen, canned goods, which was about 
 the only food we could get in this rough mining camp. Con- 
 sequently I had no chance to build up my system, so was not 
 relieved from these sores until I reached the "States," about 
 a year after I was found dying. The scars left by this experi- 
 ence will probably go with me to the grave. 
 
 The first legal case I had after I was able to hobble around 
 was one in which a man was arrested for locating a lot in the 
 middle of a street and moving a house on it. It was disputed 
 that the street had been regularly laid out, but the resident 
 Deputy United States Marshal swore to a complaint against 
 him. He was arrested and placed in the U. S. jail, which, by 
 the way, did service also as a morgue and hospital. The camp 
 was equally divided on the question. Finally we secured a 
 jury, and after considerable conflicting evidence, the case was 
 ready for argument. It was the first and only time in my 
 twenty years of law practice that I ever addressed the jury, 
 sitting. We got a verdict of "not guilty" and the partisans 
 of the defendant picked up the chair on which I was seated 
 and carried me downstairs and up the street. 
 
 About this time the largest building in the town was finished. 
 I moved into one of the rooms and thereafter occupied it as 
 law office and bed room. I was still so weak I could only 
 hobble along with the assistance of a cane. 
 
 The snow was from ten to twenty feet deep around us and 
 for months it was dark most of the twenty-four hours. I 
 never dreamed that it was possible for time to pass so slowly. 
 The building was a two-story one and contained a large saloon 
 and gambling house. These saloons were headquarters for all 
 the miners, as there was always a large fire in them, although 
 coal was a hundred dollars a ton that winter. Those that were 
 not playing at some of the numerous gambling games, sat 
 around the fire and discussed the various mining prospects of 
 the country and other matters of interest. 
 
 These persons that habitually sat around the fire were known 
 as "chair- warmers". Through the floor I could hear their 
 various discussions all day long. 
 
 I will never forget one old gentleman I met that lonelv 
 
84 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 winter. He was known as ' ' Captain. ' ' Nearly all the men in 
 this country were nnder fifty years of age, but the Captain was 
 over three score. He was a walking encyclopedia and could 
 give you accurate information on almost any subject. I 
 noticed that the old Captain had the asthma very badly and as 
 the dreary winter wore along he grew worse and worse. 
 Finally, as some signs of spring began to approach, we missed 
 the grizzled face from his accustomed chair around the stove 
 for several days at a time. Upon his return he would tell us 
 how near to death's door he had been. One day along about 
 the last of May, 1901, a friend of the Captain's fell danger- 
 ously sick and he volunteered to sit up with him. The patient 
 was almost unconscious and unable to move and it was neces- 
 sary to give him his medicine at stated intervals. Those that 
 called at the shack the next morning found the Captain stiff 
 in death on the floor and the patient about to breathe his last. 
 
 We had all become very much attached to the old man 
 and his funeral was indeed a sad one. The ceremonies were 
 held in a room adjoining a saloon, but as a matter of respect 
 the door between the two was securely locked. 
 
 A carpenter had made a coffin from some pine boards and 
 it was covered with the most suitable cloth that could be found 
 in the camp a kind of polka dot, if I remember correctly. 
 
 Around that bier stood the little crowd of us that had passed 
 the long, long winter together. It must be remembered that 
 from the time the last boat left, early in November, we had 
 been in prison, as it were. Nobody could get out of Alaska 
 and nobody could get in. There we stood, the coffin in the 
 center of the room, and the motley throng of mourners press- 
 ing close upon it. At the head of the coffin a miner-preacher 
 gave us a short sermon. His audience was certainly a cos- 
 mopolitan one merchants, miners, gamblers, two or three 
 respectable wives and two or three wives that were not respect- 
 able, saloonkeepers, Government officials and a half dozen 
 curious Eskimos. 
 
 When the services were finished, willing hands lifted the 
 coffin to a sled just outside the door, on the snow, and eight 
 dogs slid the poor old Captain into his frozen grave, far from 
 the home of his younger manhood and thousands of miles from 
 a loving wife and family. 
 
 Such scenes as this were particularly sad for me because 
 
DR. U. C. BATES AND CHARLES WILSON 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 87 
 
 on a number of occasions I had overheard remarks made by 
 one miner to another, as I hobbled by, that "that man can not 
 possibly live the winter through. " 
 
 As feeble as I was, I managed to assist my physician in two 
 capital and many minor surgical operations. The first of these 
 was on a young man named Charlie Wilson. He had been out 
 prospecting and when he returned to within a mile of his 
 shack felt himself freezing. It was snowing heavily, but he 
 could see the smoke curling up from his stove pipe and tried 
 his best to get home. He became so weak and dazed that he 
 fell down on his knees and crawled to within a number of yards 
 of his abode. Here he was found by friends, who took him 
 at once to Dr. Bates, the physician who was attending me. 
 It chanced that he was placed in a room next to mine. The 
 doctor discovered that all of his extremities were frozen, his 
 feet were in such a bad condition that it was found necessary 
 to amputate both of them immediately. I had had consider- 
 able experience in hospital work and was requested to assist 
 in the operation; a capital amputation, even of a single limb, 
 is very dangerous at any time and particularly so in a rough 
 mining camp, where nothing is aceptic and the apparatus very 
 crude. 
 
 There was no fire or place for a fire in this rough room and 
 the thermometer was toying with the zero mark. 
 
 The operating table consisted of some old boards, fastened 
 together. In fact, the surgeon was handicapped in every way. 
 Charlie was game, though, and ten minutes before he began 
 to take the chloroform, was chatting pleasantly with us. As 
 soon as he was sufficiently under, the first cut was made. 1 
 had seen hundreds of operations, but never one in which I 
 hated to see the first incision as much as I did here. The sur- 
 rounding circumstances, the affable nature of the young man, 
 the distance from relatives and old friends, all made it a pit- 
 eous sight. It took nearly three hours to take off both legs, 
 just below the knees. He rallied from the shock and in about 
 two months was lifting himself along with his arms and stubs. 
 
 A few weeks afterward we cut off both hands of another 
 man. He had been out with his dog team, twenty miles, to 
 what was called the "Spit" (the place where I landed off the 
 Thrasher), after drift wood. The mercury showed twenty-five 
 
88 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 below, but lie was well prepared and had returned safely back 
 to within a couple of miles of Teller. 
 
 His hands becoming a little numb, he took off his "mits" 
 to rub them together. The very moment he took off the gloves, 
 his fists clenched, automatically, and he could not open them 
 again. 
 
 He managed to kick the dogs loose and their wonderful 
 sagacity is told of in another part of this book. 
 
 Though a large, strong man, this fellow soon began to stagger 
 like a drunkard as he struggled homeward. At the edge of the 
 camp several persons saw him, but thought he was under the 
 influence of liquor. His mind seemed to wander and he was 
 not able to tell them his troubles. 
 
 A few days afterwards we took off both hands, near the 
 wrists. This man did not have the genial, affable temper that 
 Charlie Wilson had. 
 
 As sick as I was, myself, I sat up with him, in his cold shack, 
 through three long winter nights. The snow was deep, the 
 thermometer low and the patient "cranky". Nobody could 
 please him, although our services were gratis. I never saw 
 men so different in dispositions as were these two patients. 
 
 Slowly, oh so slowly, signs of spring began to appear! We 
 were waiting for the ice to go out in order that communication 
 might be again opened up with the outside world. The long 
 looked for event happened on July 2d. For weeks the ice 
 had been rotting, which caused many unfortunate accidents. 
 
 One man was driving a fine large team of horses, attached 
 to a sled, over the ice, a few days before the grand breakup. 
 He struck a particularly rotten place and down went team and 
 sled, the owner barely escaping, by falling backward out of 
 the sled. As these animals were the only ones in that part of 
 Alaska, and had been brought in at great expense, his loss was 
 very heavy. 
 
 When at last the ice had gone out and the "cheechako" 
 (new arrival) had come in, "there was something doing every 
 minute ' ', as the slang has it. 
 
 The visitor was after gold dust, and so was the * l sour dough ' ' 
 
 (a man who has seen the ice go out of the Bering Sea for two 
 
 successive seasons). The sour dough had "staked" almost 
 
 every square foot of ground in that part of the country. The 
 
 cheechako, whenever he .saw a good looking piece of mineral 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 89 
 
 land, would jump it. Only about one-half of these disputes 
 were ever carried as far as the courts. The shotgun or Win- 
 chester generally settled the trouble. The same rule held good 
 on town lots. 
 
 Teller, as I have said before, was located or rather moved to 
 its present site, about a month after I started on my fearful 
 trip from old Teller. 
 
 The place was laid out on a gravelly beach and the scramble 
 for lots began. Some secured a half dozen and .some were un- 
 able to get any. The fellow that had several lots had to get 
 a tenant for each lot, because possession was not only "nine 
 points of the law*' but ten. 
 
 This state of affairs existed during the whole nine months 
 of winter. There were many fights, legal and fistic, over lots. 
 My partner had been one of the original locators of the town, 
 having moved over from old Teller with the rush. 
 
 He had located a lot the value of which, in the open market, 
 was several hundred dollars. One-half of this was, of course, 
 mine. He went out on the last boat, leaving the lot with me 
 and expecting to return in the spring. I was too feeble to 
 erect a shack on it, consequently it was not held possessio 
 pedis. 
 
 Everybody in the camp knew the terrible experience I had 
 had, so through sympathy my lot was left unmolested for 
 many months. 
 
 Finally, one fellow, a man who had a lot adjoining mine, 
 allowed his greed to get the better of his sympathy and my lot 
 was jumped. Many of my friends tried to shame him out of 
 it, but, although I think he was really ashamed of himself, he 
 still kept it. 
 
 I had one satisfaction, however, for when spring opened 
 and the mines did not turn out as well as expected, the bottom 
 dropped out of the market and lots that had been held at many 
 hundreds of dollars, sold for twenty-five or thirty. He had 
 kept this, expecting a big price, but received nothing. 
 
 AVhen the spring sun began to melt the snow, many bodies 
 of people who had been lost, were found. In this country 
 everybody is a stranger to everybody else. If a man starts out 
 to go from Teller to Nome, "over the trail", and is lost in the 
 snow, there is nobody to inquire whether he arrives safely 
 at his destination or not. 
 
90 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 During the winter, the whole country, as said heretofore, 
 was staked. They drove the stakes down into the snow, 
 regardless of the law that a discovery of gpld must be made on 
 a claim before it can be legally located. Several of these pros- 
 pectors were kind enough to stake claims for me, some in very 
 promising localities. Although I had been in bed a good 
 portion of the winter, I had about fourteen claims when spring 
 came. 
 
 After the first boats arrived there was considerable activity 
 and I had hopes of selling my mining interests, but like the 
 ignus fatuus, the sale was always just ahead of me. Finally, as 
 the summer passed along, I determined to leave everything and 
 get back to the "States". I sailed from Teller on the good 
 ship Centennial, August 26th, 1901, for Seattle, arriving there 
 safely after a stormy trip of nine days. 
 
 At last I was able to get fresh meats and vegetables and in 
 the week spent there, before sailing for my old home in Cali- 
 fornia, I gained many pounds. The terrible sores that had 
 covered my frozen legs and feet began to disappear and I 
 commenced to feel like my old self again. 
 
 After I had been home a few months I learned that one of 
 the mines that had been staked for me during the winter and 
 which I had abandoned when I left there, was afterward sold 
 for several thousand dollars. 
 
 One of my greatest regrets is that my dear old father died 
 at the age of eighty-two years, while I was gone and I would 
 have given much to have seen him and let him see me after he 
 had mourned me for dead many months. 
 
 One day I had been sitting, for several hours, hearing the 
 trial of a lot case in which I had been chosen arbitrator, when 
 the news came that the mail had arrived. As we only got mail 
 about once a month, Court was immediately adjourned and we 
 all proceeded to the Postoffice. Here I found the letter that 
 told me the sad news, and, strangest of all, it gave me the sec- 
 ond verification of mental telepathy I had received while in 
 Alaska. The letter informed me that my father had died on 
 February 4th, 1901, about six o'clock in the morning. On that 
 very date, as I lay in my bunk, I was awakened at three in the 
 morning, by what seemed to be the voice of my younger sister 
 saying to me, "Father is dying, father is dying." It made a 
 very deep impression and I could not get over the feeling for 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 91 
 
 several days. The difference in time between the two places 
 is three hours. My sister afterwards told me that when she 
 saw father was dying she thought of me, in that distant land. 
 
 I now feel no evil effects from my strenuous ordeal, except 
 that my feet sometimes get very feverish after a long walk. My 
 doctor warned me that this would last for years. 
 
 Upon my return to San Francisco the Examiner published a 
 full page Sunday story of^my experience. 
 
 In that article there was an interview with Dr. Edwin Bun- 
 nell, who was then the Chief Surgeon of the City Receiving 
 Hospital of that place. Dr. Bunnell stands at the head of his 
 profession. In closing this chapter I will quote his language: 
 
 "MOST EXTRAORDINARY CASE I EVER HEARD OF." 
 
 By Edwin Bunnell, M. D., Chief Surgeon of the Receiving 
 
 Hospital. 
 
 The survival of Mr. Hall is not only the most extraordinary 
 case that has come under my observation it is the most extra- 
 ordinary I ever heard of. Undoubtedly the secret of his com- 
 ing through such an experience alive is the strength of his 
 nervous system. He possessed will power to an extraordinary 
 degree and used rare judgment in conserving his physical 
 force, but then, Hall is an educated man, and brought his in- 
 tellect to bear upon the situation. I should say that two things 
 saved him will' power and water. Physicians recognize the 
 aid to them that mental force and a firm will can give. Place 
 two patients side by side, suffering with the same disease, their 
 chances for recovery equal, and the patient possessing the will 
 to live recovers, while the other dies. 
 
 There have been numerous instances of remarkable fasting, 
 but none like this. The case of Tanner and other so-called 
 starvers are not a parallel at all. Hall was exposed to the 
 elements in their worst form and he was in a perilous predica- 
 ment at all times while they had every comfort they wanted 
 but solid food. To me the physical aspect of Hall 's case is not 
 so amazing as his mental soundness after what he had gone 
 through. Most men go crazy after a few days of hunger and 
 exposure. Hall retained his mental poise perfectly after 
 sixty-seven days of wandering in an icy desert/' 
 
92 
 
 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 (Dedicated to my friend, James A. Hall, who made the 
 longest fast ever recorded.) 
 
 1 'TOMBSTONE BILL" PASSES THE BUCK." 
 
 I'm an Arizona bad man, 
 
 My name is Tombstone Bill, 
 
 I'm right there in a show-down 
 And I alwuz shoot to kill. 
 
 Go ask Long Pete of Bisbee 
 Who filled him full of lead, 
 
 And why Pichaco Charley 
 Is numbered with the dead. 
 
 In Final and Maricopa, 
 
 Quite broadcast is my fame, 
 
 And many a heap that's cross-crowned 
 Commemorates my name. 
 
 Once in the Harqua Halla, 
 Close by the Granite Hill, 
 
 Eight Apaches 'round me gathered, 
 Fur to scalp your Uncle Bill. 
 
 With a quick manipulation, 
 
 My guns I did unstrap 
 Not one of them wuz missin' 
 
 At the finish of the scrap. 
 
 In many a noted instance 
 I've been up against it hard, 
 
 But a feller down from Teller 
 Holds a somewhat stiffer card. - 
 
 And though I've tagged a burro 
 
 From Yuma to the rim, 
 I pass the buck with plezhur 
 
 To my friend, Alaska Jim. 
 
 I claim him as no fighter, 
 
 Nor that he got his man; 
 He wuz only a prospector, 
 
 With his horn-spoon and his pan. 
 
 He blind-trailed in the ice-fields, 
 Where the sky-fires flash and glow 
 
 And great white b'ars in hunger 
 Prowled hunting thro' the snow. 
 
 Nigh three straight months he fasted 
 With no liquor in his hide, 
 
 Had it a'been your uncle, 
 I shorely would a'died. 
 
 I've eaten chip-broiled mule meat 
 And partook of jerked coyot', 
 
 Chawed the pulp of borel-cactus 
 That would kill a Pima goat. 
 
 I have chased the Chuckawalla 
 When my grub was gettin' slim, 
 
 But I pass the buck for trouble 
 To my friend, Alaska Jim. 
 
 Oh, I've hit the silent desert, 
 Where the Colorado flows, 
 
 Where the Needles raise their turrets 
 And the thorny Yucca grows. 
 
 Where the burning Chimehuevis 
 Hide their stores of wealth untold, 
 
 Full patiently I've wandered 
 In lone pursuit of gold. 
 
 Through rock-strewn Coconino 
 My weary feet have strayed, 
 
 And with the grim side-winder 
 I oft in sleep have laid. 
 
 I sartin am a tough one, 
 
 Where such like plenty grow, 
 
 And a noted individual 
 Wherever I may go. 
 
 But 'till Satan forks your Uncle, 
 
 Across the fiery brim, 
 I'll pass the buck, by thunder, 
 
 To my friend, Alaska Jim. 
 
 Frank V. Gaffey, in Overland 
 Monthly. 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 93 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE OF THREE PROSPECTORS, 
 
 On or about June 15th, 1901, a year after my awful experi- 
 ence, three men, Georg Dean, Jack Huston and Joseph C. 
 Thierry, started from their mining camp on Clara Creek, a 
 tributary of the celebrated Quartz Rock in the Good Hope min- 
 ing district, near the Arctic coast, to return to Nome via the 
 way of Teller. It will be remembered that this is the same 
 section of country in which I had come so near dying as de- 
 tailed in former chapters though then there were few 
 prospectors in that section and the district had not been organ- 
 ized. The high waters of the various streams necessary to be 
 crossed on their way to Teller delayed the party until the 
 small supply of food on hand finally gave out. They were then 
 compelled to eke out an existence on grass, roots, snails and 
 wild goose eggs containing half formed birds, and finally the 
 survivors were brought face to face with cannibalism. Joseph 
 C. Thierry, who seems to have been the strongest of the three, 
 made the following statement a few hours after they were 
 found : 
 
 "We would travel for twenty hours at a stretch, and 
 after a few hours' rest, get up and go at it again. When we 
 saw Salt Lake, we headed for that, but when we thought we 
 were nearly there, we came to deep marshes or sloughs, ten to 
 three hundred feet wide and from, ten to twenty miles long. 
 Being unable to cross these, we started back for the Agiapuk 
 River, expecting to strike it farther up and continue down the 
 river to the lake. In our trip back to the river we came to 
 a slough that extended back from the lake, bench upon bench, 
 for at least twenty miles to the mountains. 
 
 "Huston, who up to this time had held on bravely, gave out 
 and asked Dean and I to leave him to either get assistance or 
 save ourselves. I left Dean there and walked to the top of 
 the divide about five miles distant from which I could see the 
 Agiapuk. I then returned and helping up Huston, whose legs 
 had become partially paralyzed, continued our tramp. Dean, 
 by this time, had become so weak that he could not carry the 
 gun, and every time that we stopped he would pitch forward 
 upon his face, or while walking would fall asleep and drop. 
 
94 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 "In my condition it would take a mighty effort to get him to 
 walking. Then the hallucination seemed to take possession of 
 him that he was a drag upon the party, and he repeatedly 
 asked to be left behind. 
 
 "We came to another slough about fifteen feet wide. The 
 boys had not strength enough left to attempt to go around it, 
 so I built a bridge of willows and our six pack straps, and 
 one at a time I got them over. 
 
 "After following down the Agiapuk for thirty or forty mile^, 
 we arrived opposite the lower village. I left the boys here 
 and went down the river two miles where I came to a slough 
 that I knew could not be crossed, but I found a little igloo 
 about six feet in diameter, where I brought the boys and made 
 camp. 
 
 "While at this igloo we could hear shots every night, but 
 could not locate the direction from which the sounds came. 
 I found a rope of three strands ten feet long, and with this and 
 several logs made a raft with which I intended to cross the 
 river and procure help from the village. After building my 
 raft I found that it would not sustain my weight, so I had to 
 give up the idea of crossing. Later I found an Indian corpse 
 rolled in a light canvas about fifteen by twenty feet in size 
 from which I made a boat eight feet in length by four in 
 width. It was too rotten to hold me up, and I was nearly 
 drowned trying to row it. But the boat subsequently saved 
 our lives as it was that which attracted the attention of our 
 rescuers. 
 
 "About five days before we were found, Dean asked me to 
 write a statement which he wished to dictate and which I did. 
 Dean had seemed to be reviving physically, with rest, but he 
 was still laboring under the delusion that he was in the way, 
 and begged me to shoot him and put him out of his misery. 
 He said that every bone in his body ached and he was suffer- 
 ing untold agony. He suggested to us that with his flesh we 
 might sustain life until some one found us. 
 
 ' ' The following day I found a partly decomposed ptarmigan, 
 of which I made soup and a stew, dividing it equally among 
 us. This was the last we had to eat until we were found, and 
 the following day I almost broke down myself. 
 
 "The night of the 19th Huston and I talked the matter over, 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 95 
 
 and decided that unless we were rescued the next day we would 
 act upon Dean 's suggestion. 
 
 "He died at three o'clock the next morning and, (here 
 Thierry's voice broke down and he wept) at eight I cut a 
 piece from his thigh about three inches long and to the bone, 
 and after removing the skin and outer flesh I placed it in the 
 pot to boil. AVe decided to let it cook at least two hours, and 
 while we were waiting we heard a voice. I immediately said 
 to Huston that Dean was not dead and was talking to us. He 
 said that it could not be, and I looked out and saw two men 
 with a canoe, whom I called and we were saved. I then threw 
 the pot and its contents into the river and I thank God that I 
 was saved from this last extreme." 
 
 Thierry, so his living companion claims, displayed very 
 heroic qualities in the treatment of his weaker companions. 
 They both begged him to go on and leave them and try to save 
 himself. This he refused to do, saying that he would stay with 
 them till death, if necessary. 
 
 They, dying and dead, were found on the morning of July 
 20th, 1901, on the Agiapuk River, about ten miles up from 
 where it empties into Great Salt Lake, by two miners, Louis 
 Reich and George Woods. Strange to say, it was on this 
 river, and near this very spot, where I was found dying nearly 
 a year before, by Jack 'Brien and Frank Henson, two young 
 prospectors. 
 
 Reich and AVood were rowing up the Agiapuk River and on 
 a sand bar at one side saw a peculiar looking boat. They 
 stopped to examine it and heard a faint cry of "For God's sake 
 don't leave us, we are starving!" 
 
 Upon investigation they found the two living skeletons and 
 the corpse. 
 
 On the fire near at hand was a stew of human flesh, the 
 pieces being about the size of those in ordinary beef stew. 
 Thiefrry at once emptied the can when he saw help at hand, 
 and asked the rescuers if they had any food. They were given 
 something light to eat, and then conveyed by boat to Teller. 
 Dr. U. C. Bates was summoned by the L^nited States Com- 
 missioner, who is ex-officio coroner, to accompany him to the 
 scene of death. The doctor says that though the men of the 
 coroner's party were used to rough scenes, there were few dry 
 eyes when the corpse was inspected. There lay an emaciated 
 
96 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 human body, partly denuded of flesh to save the lives of other 
 humans. 
 
 The body, hair, beard and sunken eyes were covered with 
 vermin. On the body of the deceased was found the following 
 documents. As appears from the statement of Thierry, these 
 documents were written by him at the dictation of the de- 
 ceased. It also appears that the date should have been July 
 15th, instead of July 20th, 1901. 
 
 "July 20th, 1901. 
 
 "Finder will recognize by this paper the body of Georg 
 Dean of Canton, Ohio, U. S. A., who with his two companions, 
 Jack Huston of Nome and Jos. C. Thierry of Davenport, Iowa, 
 left their camp on Clara Creek, a tributary to Quartz Creek, in 
 the Good Hope District, with the intention of returning to 
 Nome for new supplies. Being without sufficient food and 
 unable to find anybody, nor could we cross the river, we were 
 compelled to starve. We are at present twenty-two days 
 away from camp. 
 
 "Georg Dean is a Free Mason and his sincere wish is to have 
 his death reported to the lodge at Nome. Proof of his being a 
 member can be found at the Hiram Lodge, No. 26, Canton, Ohio. 
 Also like to have my family notified of my death and proof sent 
 home of my being deceased. 
 
 "Address of my wife, Anna Louise Dean, 1000 Lafayette 
 Street, Canton, Ohio. 
 
 ' * I also wish the Masons to take charge of my body and act 
 as they think best with it to dispose of. 
 
 Fraternally, 
 
 GEOKG DEAN, 
 Canton, Ohio." 
 
 This was found in his pocket, written with an indelible pencil. 
 In the same pocket in common black pencil was found a short 
 will: 
 
 "I, Georg Dean, born in London, England, 25th day of 
 January, 1850. I pray the Masonic order will take charge of 
 my effects that 'may be found on my body or in Nome with 
 the exception of all clothing that my companion, Joseph 
 Thierry, may need for his benefit, he being the one that has 
 rendered us the most assistance in trying to save our lives 
 by building a boat out of canvas and willows which he found 
 in the swamps, as I feel that I am near the end of this life, 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 97 
 
 I pray that you will tell my wife that I die a Christian, and that 
 my last prayer is for her and dear family. Goodbye, friends. 
 
 GEORG DEAN. 
 
 God's will be done. Amen." 
 
 I was one of the pall bearers at the funeral of Georg Dean. 
 The remains were at the U. S. Jail in Teller. The two sur- 
 vivors were quartered at the same place. The stronger one of 
 the two requested to be allowed to see the remains. The coffin 
 was placed near the outside door of the jail and after those 
 who wished to view the remains had passed, the wish of the 
 survivor was gratified. He was supported to the side of the 
 body and stood in deep meditation for a few moments. His 
 feelings overcame him, and he fell back into the arms of his 
 supporters in a dead faint. The recollection of the terrible 
 experience they had been through together was more than he 
 could bear. 
 
 AYe buried Dean in the little lonely graveyard on the 
 hillside near Teller, and, dear reader, I assure you there were 
 few dry eyes in that crowd of rough, but good-hearted miners. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE ESKIMO. 
 
 The Eskimo is low and squatty in stature, and very fre- 
 quently bow-legged. It is a -common theory of the old white 
 residents of this country that these people are an off-shoot of 
 the Japanese race, changed a little in color by climatic con- 
 ditions. In former years, so the old traditions say, Bering 
 Straits were frozen over almost every year. In these times, it 
 only happens about once in a decade; the winter of 1900-1 was 
 the first time in years that this lias been the case. 
 
 The natives of the eastern Siberian coast are even more like 
 the Japs than those of Northwestern Alaska. We had Jap- 
 anese waiters on board the Thrasher, and one day at Cape 
 Prince of Wales, a number of natives came aboard, and we all 
 noticed the similarity at once. Some of the Eskimos could 
 talk a few words of English. I asked one of them if he knew 
 Avho those fellows were; quick as a Hash he answered, "Japs". 
 There really seemed t-> he a kind of fellow feeling between, 
 them. 
 
98 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 The natives of Alaska, like all other peoples, iiave their good 
 and bad traits of character; yon very rarely find one who will 
 lie or steal; it is said that before the advent of the whites they 
 were absolutely perfect in this respect. Again they are gen- 
 erons; many a miner owes his life to the few mouthful s of 
 "chow-chow" (pronounced cow-cow) which some poor native 
 had given him, retaining less for himself than he gave. 
 Shortly prior to this writing, a U. S. Commissioner told me that 
 an old native who, by the way, was along with me in Teller 
 at the time had a few days before gone thirty-five miles 
 through the most terrible storm Alaska has seen in* years to 
 get food to keep the former from starving. 
 
 The parents are good to their children, and will deprive 
 themselves of food that a child may eat; on the other hand, 
 the native, as a rule, is a great beggar. His plaintive whine 
 for "cow-cow" is generally granted by the "sour dough" (old 
 resident of the country) and refused by the "cheechako" (new 
 comer.) The former perhaps well remembers the time when 
 some native divided his last mess with him; the latter has not 
 had that experience yet. 
 
 The native does not know the meaning of the word cleanliness; 
 they rarely bathe, and "gray backs" are as thick on them as 
 fleas on a California mongrel. Their eglows (native houses) 
 are no cleaner. Eancid seal oil seems to permeate everything 
 a native owns or has anything to do with, lie, himself, reeks 
 with it. It seems to come through his skin like beads of per- 
 spiration. They never carry a handkerchief, and most of 
 them are afflicted with a catarrhal affection; you can imagine 
 how disgusting they must be in this respect. Virtue is un- 
 known to them. Fear of a beating from her buck or her squaw- 
 man sometimes makes a native woman appear virtuous. They 
 are a very lazy race; the men never work; the women never, 
 when they can help it; the bucks make them do all the work 
 that is done, however. Sometimes the men do a little fishing 
 or hunting, but the women really do most of that, especially 
 fishing. If whisky is the curse of some white men, it is doubly 
 so with all the natives. A half-pint bottle of the stuff they 
 get for whisky will convert a quiet, peaceable, inoffensive 
 native into a demon; he has to be beaten into insensibility 
 before he can be arrested. There are stringent laws against 
 selling liquor to natives, but juries rarely convict for it; the 
 
AN ESKIMO BELLE 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 101 
 
 probabilities are that half the jury have done the same thing 
 themselves; whatever the reason may be, the fact is, he gets 
 whisky whenever he has ' ' the price ' '. 
 
 The natives saw their first ship many years ago. I was told 
 by an old fellow who speaks good English, that when they first 
 saw it they thought it was some kind of a water animal that 
 had made its way to this part of the country; but when they 
 saw the white men getting out of it they rushed for the hills; 
 in a short time they sent several of their bravest men to in- 
 vestigate; the men came back and reported that the strangers 
 were evidently white Eskimos from the interior of the 
 country somewhere. They further reported that these white 
 Eskimos had many strange and beautiful articles that they 
 seemed to want to exchange for furs and ivory. AYhen the 
 natives found that the new comers were not dangerous they 
 came down from the hills to the boat. They saw the gaudy 
 calico and bright jewelry; they liked the effect of the fire- 
 water; they were willing even anxious to trade furs and ivory 
 for these things. The ship also had a number of old guns. 
 The natives did not understand these at first, but, when taught 
 their use, they were considered very valuable. The whites 
 of course, at first, evinced great reluctance to part with them, 
 but when the Eskimo saw how easily the white men could kill 
 the walrus and seal he was willing to pay any price in furs. 
 The result was that in a week or so the ship was loaded with 
 valuable furs and ivory and the poor native had a little cheap 
 whisky, some tobacco, a few bolts of calico and some old rusty 
 guns. This thing has been repeated with more or less profit 
 to the white man ever since. 
 
 The Eskimo is of a migratory nature ; in the winter he stays 
 on the coast where he can cut through the ice and get fish, and 
 where the seal and walrus are plentiful; in the summer he goes 
 inland and catches salmon and other game. Eskimos live in 
 eglows, which are peculiarly constructed sod houses, during 
 their sojourn on the coast; inland, they generally inhabit tents. 
 The time is likely to come soon when there will be few Eskimos 
 in Northwestern Alaska. A plague, in the nature of our la 
 grippe, is taking them off by the hundred every year. 
 
 About fifteen or twenty years ago, Captain Gilley left the 
 Sandwich Islands in a schooner to trade with the natives of 
 Port Clarence and Cape Prince of Wales villages. He dropped 
 
102 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 anchor at the latter place very near the spot where a naval 
 engagement of the late Civil War was fought between a Con- 
 federate privateer, the Shenandoah, and some armed whaling 
 vessels, in which fight the whaling vessels were destroyed". 
 About sixty natives came aboard and demanded whisky, which 
 lie refused to trade to them. They then undertook to take 
 the liquor by force. A fight ensued in which eighteen of them 
 were killed outright, and a number v drowned in getting 
 off the boat. This is the biggest fight that has ever 
 taken place in this part of the country between the 
 natives and whites; three or four years later, at 
 the same place, they again became very threatening 
 toward the whalers, and Capt. M. J. Healy of a United States 
 revenue cutter shelled three villages, but it is not known how 
 many, if any, were killed. Since that time Capt. Healy has 
 been held in awe by them. Whenever any serious trouble arose 
 between natives and whites, Capt. Healy would hold a prelimi- 
 nary examination, and if the facts warranted, the culprit was 
 taken to St. Michaels to be tried; if not, he was turned loose. 
 A few years ago, while Capt. Healy had charge of the revenue 
 cutter Bear, a native named Posier beat out the brains of 
 his own child. A council of three captains and the missionary 
 at Herschel Island decreed that he have one hundred and forty 
 lashes, which they gave him. Then they took him from the 
 island to the mainland and ordered him to leave the country. 
 He came down into Northwestern Alaska and murdered a 
 native family of eight persons; robbed them of their canoes, 
 dogs and other valuables and came to Point Barrow. In the 
 family that he left for dead, a little girl revived, and was 
 picked up by some hunters that were passing. She described 
 the murderer and pointed him out. The natives notified Cap- 
 tain Healy of what had been done and he ordered them to 
 arrest the murderer and have him at Point Barrow when he 
 returned next year. Capt. Healy was relieved from duty 
 before the next season, but the natives had the dead body of 
 Posier there awaiting his return, and it still remains, frozen, 
 in an ice house at that place, the natives confidently expecting 
 Capt. Healy to return. 
 
 A group of about fifteen Eskimos was taken from near the 
 old reindeer station on Port Clarence Bay, my first landing 
 place in this section of the country, to the World's Fair at 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 103 
 
 Chicago by Minor Bruce, a trader for the Seattle Hardware 
 Company. He had permission to do so from the Government 
 Agent, Dr. Sheldon Jackson, and took them on his schooner 
 to Seattle, from which place they went overland to Chicago. 
 He represented that they were of the royal family, and called 
 one of them the Duke, and another the Princess. They were 
 here when I arrived, and I talked with them frequently. They 
 are still known by these cognomens; it is interesting to hear 
 them tell of their experiences in Chicago. In speaking of all 
 the great men they had met back there, they told of Grover 
 Cleveland, the Great Chief of the white man, and who, in their 
 minds, still occupies that position, and of United States Sena- 
 tor Mason of Illinois, the "ahbiba ahmudluktuk, " (which, 
 translated means "great talker"); they could not remember 
 the name of the Senator at first, but imitated his walk (he 
 being lame) and said "all same Captain of 'Jeanie' ", whose 
 name is Mason. On being asked who was the greatest white 
 man they had met they would say "Him, Mr. Healy". He was 
 even a greater man with them than Grover Cleveland. 
 The natives call the "Bear" the "Healy," and are sadly dis- 
 appointed every year when the ship appears without that cap- 
 tain on board. He always distributed the food sent them by 
 the V. S. (ioverimient, but the natives claim that some of the 
 revenue cutters have not always done so since. 
 
 There is a very rich Eskimo near Teller on the Siberian 
 Coast. He is a millionaire, the richest man, white or black, 
 who resides in this northern country. He has large store- 
 houses full of bone, furs and other like commodities. Hun- 
 dreds of natives work for him, getting their pay in trade at 
 Alaska prices. I am told he sells an immense amount of 
 whisky to the natives; if he sells a shipload of ivory and furs, 
 the space is soon rilled again. His trading station is well 
 known by most of the whaling captains. 
 
 The native women on the Siberian side dress differently 
 from those on our side; they wear the old fashioned pantalets 
 of our grandmothers' time. As you go up the Alaskan shore 
 on the An-tic. you find the native in his more primitive state; 
 lie has seen fewer white men, and does not know the value of 
 money: his great desire is to trade. At Point Hope, well 
 toward the northern extremity of Alaska, is situated two 
 Protestant missions: the Eskimo there is well-to-do, has plenty 
 
104 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 of furs, whalebone and other trading material; is generous, 
 peaceable, and for their race, industrious; there is a whaling 
 station here, and he has become skilled in this business. There 
 are very few native settlements between Point Hope and Point 
 Barrow, the most northern piece of land in America, lying- 
 in about latitude 71 degrees 22 minutes north. The natives 
 around Point Barrow seem to be particularly bright fellows. 
 They have heard from the whalers so much about the north 
 pole that it would not be surprising, as well equipped as they 
 are for traveling over ice and snow, and as accustomed as they 
 are to this work, that some of them should find that much 
 sought object before the white man does; it is said they have 
 talked of making an effort in this direction. Would it not be 
 poetic justice that the real inhabitants of the bleak northland 
 should get the credit of this discovery? True, it might not be 
 of any scientific benefit -to the world, but there is really not 
 much science connected with it after all. From what I have 
 seen in the mining districts of Northwestern Alaska, I am in- 
 clined to believe that the only thing that will prevent the 
 dusky native from being the first to discover the pole, if he 
 sees fit to make the effort, will be the circulation of a report in 
 this country that there is undoubtedly a rich deposit of gold 
 there. There would surely be an immediate stampede for that 
 quarter, and some "sour dough" would reach it. Mr. Eskimo, 
 standing on that imaginary spot, would indeed be able to say 
 what no other human being ever has said. Time would be 
 wiped out so far as it related to him, for time is reckoned by 
 noon and he could have no noon while he remained on that 
 spot; his compass would not work; three of its main points 
 would be entirely useless north, east and west. He would 
 not need a compass though, as he could only go south; if he 
 should lie down on his side across the pole and sleep for 
 twelve hours, his head and heels would be just reversed when 
 he woke up. If he should camp on the spot for a year he would 
 only have two days, both of equal length one of darkness and 
 the other of light. On March the 21st the sun would rise for 
 him; at first he would get only a glimpse of it; next day it 
 would make a complete circle around him, following the line 
 of the horizon. The next, it would describe a little higher 
 circle and so on, like a spiral staircase until June 21st follow- 
 ing, when it would begin to retrace its steps downstairs again 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 105 
 
 until September 21st, when it would disappear altogether until 
 the 21st of the succeeding March. The Xorth Star would be 
 right over the fellow's head as he stood on that mystic spot, 
 and all of the other stars within the line of his vision during 
 that six months of night would circle on a horizontal plane 
 around him. 
 
 But the Eskimo need not go so far north to see curious 
 astronomical phenomena. I, myself, have seen the sun rise 
 and set almost directly in the north on June 21st, and the 
 length of time it was down did not exceed a few minutes. I 
 was camped on a low spot at Port Clarence Bay. If I had gone 
 to the top of any nearby mountain it would not have set at 
 all to me. On December 21st the converse was true. 
 
 Five miles west of Point Barrow at Cape Smith, is the second 
 largest settlement on the Arctic coast; the inhabitants live 
 mostly in "'knock down" houses brought in by the whalers, 
 burn coal, and have the ordinary cooking utensils of the 
 whites; they live well, have plenty of flour, " black skin" 
 (whale meat), walrus, seal, ducks, geese and such other edibles 
 as tickle the native palate; they keep all these things in "dug 
 outs ' ' or ice houses, thereby having them frozen and fresh the 
 year round. You must travel fully three hundred and sixty- 
 five miles east of these before you find any more natives. Then 
 you come across a race called the Nunatamas, who are fine 
 looking Eskimos, fully six feet in height, and in fine propor- 
 tion. It is said that the name of this tribe is from Nuna (land) 
 and tama (inward), though they live on the coast; it is thought 
 that they take this manner of distinguishing themselves from 
 the island natives. This tribe is not so large as it used to be; 
 before the advent of the missionary, they are said to have 
 been accustomed to kill all their children except the oldest boy; 
 in fact, I have it on the best authority that it is practiced more 
 or less today. These people are particularly peaceable and 
 hard working fellows; they are about the best looking natives 
 on the Arctic coast. About one hundred and fifty miles east 
 of Herschel is Kichards Island; here is found the Cogniulic 
 tribe, the largest settlement on the coast, and the most eastern; 
 Cogmulic means Eastern native in their language; unlike 
 the other tribes of the coast, they practice polygamy. Game 
 is very abundant in this section. 
 
 If a white man kills one of these natives, they return the com- 
 
106 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 pliment; if an old one is the victim, then an old white man 
 "bites the dust" sooner or later; if a young one, then a young 
 white man pays the penalty. 
 
 These fellows are skillful workers in brass, which they get 
 from the whalers. Inland, up the McKenzie Eiver about two 
 hundred and fifty miles, we find the Ithilic, or Slavey native; 
 they are particularly noted for their hunting and trapping; 
 they trap a great deal for the Hudson Bay Company; these 
 fellows are very small in size, but wiry and full of life and 
 vigor; the nearest neighbors of this tribe are what is called 
 the "Dogribbed natives, " and inhabit the Great Bear Lake 
 country and what is known as the Barren Lands ; in fact, very 
 little is known of any of these natives not living immediately 
 on the coast. 
 
 The traditions, superstitions, habits and customs of the 
 northern native are most interesting; like their brothers of 
 more southern climes, they have their l i medicine men ' ' ; these 
 fellows adopt all manner of methods to compel the others to 
 look upon them with awe. I knew of one at Cape York, who 
 went out hunting seal one day; he was being watched from the 
 shore by the whole population of the native village. Sud- 
 denly, they saw the smoke of his gun, and shortly heard the 
 report ; the doctor fell over as if shot ; they all ran toward him, 
 but just before they reached him, he arose, and waving his 
 hands in the air and dancing in a demoniacal manner, informed 
 them that he had been shot, but had healed himself; in proof 
 of this he showed them that he was covered with fresh blood, 
 which he said had come from the wound before he healed it. 
 The truth was he had taken a quantity of blood with him when 
 he went out. 
 
 The natives near the white settlements are fast learning that 
 the medicine of the pale face is superior to the fantastic gyra- 
 tions of the medicine man. When an Eskimo dies in an eglow 
 or tent, it will never be inhabited by people of that race again 
 unless the body is taken out through a hole in the roof; they 
 are frequently taken outside on the ground or snow to breathe 
 their last; they bury their dead on poles about eight feet above 
 the ground; the corpse is well wrapped in canvas and other 
 covering, and generally deposited in a rough box or coffin; 
 every article belonging to the deceased is buried with the body; 
 I have seen their gun, kayak, (canoe) oomiak, (big boat) and 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAS'i 109 
 
 other similar articles lying alongside the box that contained 
 the remains. The native will never sell or even use, if he 
 knows it, any article so consecrated. Sometimes the wily 
 white man confiscates these things for his own use, but he can 
 neither sell nor even give any of them to another native if the 
 latter is aware of the theft. I once saw two white men dis- 
 puting over the name of some small native relic; they could 
 not agree, and, calling up a native who stood near, referred the 
 matter to him; he took it in his hand and examined it closely, 
 then asked where they got it. On being told that it was from 
 a native grave he dropped it to the floor as if it had been red 
 hot. 
 
 The Eskimo has no method of measuring the time of day; he 
 reckons the month by the moon. Six months with him is ' ' six 
 moons "; distance is computed by "sleeps"; a "sleep" is a 
 day's travel, but if the traveler takes sick or is otherwise de- 
 layed on the way no allowance is made and the "sleeps" are 
 counted from the tune he starts until he arrives at his desti- 
 nation. If the fellow does not understand enough English to 
 say k ' sleeps ' ' then he will make an appropriate gesture. 
 
 Their story of how day and night originated is interesting. 
 They will tell you that centuries ago all this northern country, 
 except some mountain highlands in the section now known as 
 the Kotzebue Sound region, was under water. One great chief 
 ruled over all the northern Eskimos. He had a grand eglow 
 on the top of a high table mountain, which sloped gradually 
 toward the Arctic Ocean. On the side of this mountain were 
 hundreds of snow-covered eglows wherein lived most of 
 his subjects. Guards patrolled the regal plateau night and 
 day, for it seems that even in those early times the head that 
 wore a crown did not rest easily. From time immemorial 
 there had hung in the eglow palace of the successive chiefs 
 two large golden balls several feet in diameter, but light as 
 air. No one knew what they contained, but tradition informed 
 them that if they should be broken the people would be scat- 
 tered and the ruler would lose his authority; to guard these 
 was a part of the duty of the sentinels. One day while the 
 chief was down on the shore watching a great walrus hunt, 
 two children of the tribe passed the sleeping sentinels, and in 
 their childish curiosity entered the royal dwelling; in the dim 
 twilight that then pervaded the country, they saw these beau- 
 
110 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 tiful globes hanging from the ceiling; it was the work of but 
 a few minutes to get them loose; they rolled them around in 
 the snow near the building for some time without awakening 
 the oil-scented guardians. Finally the spheres escaped from 
 their control and started down the mountain side; the natives 
 saw them bounding by, but could not stop them; a wild scene 
 of commotion ensued. When near the bottom of the moun- 
 tain the long cherished spheres broke into a thousand pieces, 
 and night and day were given forth to the world. At the same 
 time a noise like the crack of doom was heard, and the sea 
 receding, left all this northern country exposed. The new 
 arrivals struggled and fought for many * * sleeps, ' ' each, claim- 
 ing the right to rule the country. During all this time the 
 elements were badly disturbed; lightning flashed, thunder 
 roared, and the waters rolled high ; at last, the terrific struggle 
 ended in a compromise; it was agreed that each should rule for 
 six " moons " beginning with day. Then quiet reigned. The 
 natives soon scattered to the new lands, and the old chief lost 
 his power. 
 
 Another tradition on the same subject is that while semi- 
 darkness covered the country there appeared one day a bird 
 resembling our crow; the natives had heard that in some land 
 far to the southward there was bright daylight; they asked 
 this strange bird if this was true and received an affirmative 
 answer; they then implored it to go back to this country and 
 supplicate the Great Spirit of that region to grant them the 
 same blessing. The crow finally consented, and after many 
 "moons" returned with the information that their request was 
 partially granted; that henceforth they should have daylight 
 at least half the time. 
 
 There is a rugged, dark looking mountain near Kotzebue 
 Sound that the natives think is haunted ; they will go miles out 
 of their way to avoid it; no native has ever been known to 
 scale this elevation. I did not learn what particular kind of an 
 evil spirit is supposed to dwell there. At another place in the 
 same locality, there is a rough mountain pass which the na- 
 tives will tell you is guarded by an immense bird unlike any 
 other ever seen in this country. No Eskimo is allowed to pass 
 this winged sentinel. 
 
 An article on the Eskimo would be incomplete without some 
 mention of the native dog; this creature is to them what the 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 111 
 
 horse is to the outside world; in fact, the white miner of 
 Alaska today could scarcely get along without this animal. 
 He might get along without the Eskimo himself, but not his 
 canine. Since the great influx from the outside world, many 
 foreign dogs have been brought in, but they do not take the 
 place of the Malamoot or Siwash; they can not stand the rigors 
 of winter very well, and this is the particular time of the year 
 they are needed. The foreigner has to be fed even in summer, 
 while the other will " rustle" for himself if necessary. I have 
 found this out to my sorrow. My first few months here were 
 spent in a tent; when my things were landed from the boat I 
 did not get them all under cover the first night. Among the 
 articles left out was a box of bacon well bound with iron 
 hoops; next morning the thick boards had been gnawed 
 through between the bands, and some dog had had a good feed. 
 After I got my tent up I used to miss any article of food that 
 was left out of the heavy iron bound grub box. One morning 
 1 hung a side of bacon to the ridge pole which was very high 
 in my tent, and stepped out for a bucket of water, having fas- 
 tened the door flap of the tent securely and boarded it up with 
 a knock-down rocker I had convenient. When I came back 
 the bacon vras gone. Being a "cheechako" and not knowing 
 the shrewdness of the Malamoot, I laid the theft to some 
 human being; it did not seem possible that any animal could 
 get the meat, firmly tied and fully seven feet from the ground. 
 I hung up another side of bacon, and cut off enough for break- 
 fast and dinner. I was about the tent all day, but next morn- 
 ing went off a few hundred yards after water again, having 
 fastened the tent door this time so well that I was sure no two- 
 legged thief in the country could get in short of five minutes 
 without cutting the heavy canvas. Imagine my surprise on 
 returning with the water to see a contemptible Malamoot dog- 
 disappearing across the tundra a hundred yards away with my 
 bacon; you can rest assured I never hung any more meat there. 
 In winter almost all the hauling is done by dog teams; there 
 are quite a large number of reindeer here, but they do not seem 
 to be half as satisfactory as the former; they will not travel 
 when tired, but stand and sulk, and are much trouble to feed 
 and care for. The sagacity of the Eskimo dog is wonderful. 
 He both loves and fears his master. Two cases came under 
 my immediate notice during the winter I spent in Teller that 
 
112 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 were the talk of the camp for some time. Dr. Tarn and his 
 brother, residents of the town, had gone to the Spit, eighteen 
 miles away, with their dog team after wood. The thermometer 
 was only about 15 degrees below zero, but a heavy wind was 
 blowing. When within a mile or so of home the doctor gave 
 out; his brother covered him up as warm as he could, turned 
 the dogs loose from the sled and hurried to town for help. A 
 rescuing party soon started out, and after a struggle through 
 the rapidly increasing storm, found the lost one unconscious 
 but still alive. Beside his body cuddled up as closely as pos- 
 sible as if to keep him warm, was one of the faithful dogs ; the 
 animal at first refused to allow the party to touch his master, 
 and only did so after much persuasion. The physician was so 
 badly frozen he died the next morning. The dog seemed dis- 
 consolate for many days. The other case was even more 
 startling. In this the man had also been after wood with a 
 team of two dogs; on the way back he felt his fingers getting 
 numb and took off his ' * mits ' ' to rub his hands together. The 
 weather was so cold that his hands involuntarily clinched, and 
 he could not get them covered again. He managed, however, 
 to unloose the team from the sled, and staggered on toward his 
 destination. The dogs, fastened together, left their master 
 and ran to Teller. They went to a house where the man had 
 frequently visited, and scratched at the door until it was 
 opened ; then they turned and started back toward the freezing 
 man as much as to say, " Follow me," The people did not 
 comprehend, and did not follow. The dogs went all the way 
 out until they met the object of their solicitation, and jumping 
 up on him, seemed by their actions to try to tell him what they 
 had done. Then they started off for help again, rapping at 
 two other houses, as they had at the first one, and each time 
 returning to meet the man. He finually got to town and 
 secured aid but was badly frozen. I helped the surgeons to 
 amputate both his hands a couple o weeks afterward. 
 
 An ordinary dog on a fair trail will pull one hundred and 
 fifty pounds on -a sled. The Eskimos are generally kind to 
 their animals. I have seen some white men abuse their dogs 
 so badly that they would have been arrested on the spot in 
 any of the large cities of "the States," for the same acts. 
 
 A great many dogs go mad in this climate, but they generally 
 seem to want to bite other dogs, and do not often molest human 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 113 
 
 b^ngs. I have known a Malamoot dog to cause a loss of many 
 hundreds of dollars, as each good work dog is worth from one 
 hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars in the winter time. 
 Some "leaders" are worth even more than the latter amount. 
 The "leader," as the name indicates, is a dog who leads all 
 the others; he minds the words of command well, and will 
 1 i gee ' ' and ' l haw ' ' as neatly as an ox. 
 
 I deem it proper in this chapter to say something 6f the 
 "squaw man". I did think of writing a separate one on this 
 subject, but it being so closely allied to the matter in hand, and 
 hardly of enough importance for a separate heading, I changed 
 my mind. I approach it with some hesitancy, as I am well 
 acquainted with quite a number of these men, some of whom 
 are really good fellows, as the term is generally understood, 
 but I propose to "hew to the line, let the chips fall where they 
 may." It is not my intention to be personal, and I am satis- 
 fied it will not be so taken. They are found in almost every 
 Indian settlement from Point Barrow on the north to the most 
 southern extremity of Alaska. Nearly all the whalers 7 officers 
 are in the same boat, and if not called "squaw-men" should 
 be so termed. If they do not live with the native women on 
 the land they take them with them on the ships during the 
 trip and keep them on board during the long winter while the 
 vessel is frozen in in the ice. Within a very few miles of the 
 town of Teller, where this book is being written, there are at 
 least six half-breeds, some of them nearly grown, who claim 
 sea captains, married men with white children in "the States" 
 as their fathers. As was said in a former chapter, there is no 
 such word in the Eskimo language of this country as virtue. 
 They have no need of the word as they do not know what it 
 means. The sea captains and the regular squaw men generally 
 feed the squaw a little better than the buck does, and give her 
 a little brighter material for her parka or other wearing ap- 
 parel. In return she gets the squaw man's wood and water 
 and cooks the little "cow-cow" for him. I suppose they, like 
 Tennyson's love-sick swain in Locksley Hall, think, "There 
 the passions cramped no longer shall have scope and breathing 
 space; I will take some savage woman; she shall rear my dusky 
 race. ' ' 
 
 When he returns to his oil-scented cabin or native eglow after 
 his day's work at the mine, he finds this dusky face at the 
 
114 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 door and perhaps two or three half-breeds, blood relatives of 
 his white children at home, hanging by their dirty black hands 
 to their mother's parka. "Iron-jointed, supple-sinewed, they 
 shall dive and they shall run; catch the wild goat by the hair, 
 and hurl their lances in the sun. ' ' 
 
 How proud he must feel of his offspring here! How he must 
 love those at home! 
 
 It is a well known fact that nine-tenths of the half-breeds 
 die of consumption or like diseases before they are grown. 
 God thus seems to put the brand of Cain upon them. 
 
 Most of these men talk the native jargon well. There are 
 only about eight hundred words in the tongue as spoken in 
 this part of Alaska. There is no alphabet or written language. 
 Few, if any white men, understand the simon-pure spoken 
 language. What they do talk is a corrupt conglomeration of 
 Eskimo and English. The first white men who came to Alaska 
 were to some extent excusable for leading such a life. The 
 natives would not so readily give them food or other neces- 
 saries unless they were one of the tribe, so to speak. I know 
 it to be a fact, even today, that the squaw man has much more 
 influence over them than anybody else. 
 
 I never heard of any marriage ceremony between these 
 people. In fact, so far as I know, the natives have no such 
 thing, except that those near missions, who have listened to 
 the teaching of the missionary, follow our ceremony. 
 
 It sometimes happens that the " better-half " really loves 
 her lover; then, when the time for his return to the south 
 comes, and he is perhaps about to go to the other woman, who 
 has been, during the years of his absence after a fortune, a 
 good, pure, faithful wife to him, there are heartaches and wail- 
 ing in the smoke-begrimed eglow, for the poor native woman 
 has a heart as well as her white sister. I have known of one 
 or two such scenes myself. But the hand of Fate is upon her. 
 She, with her numerous progeny, has to return to her tribe 
 or relatives, and the squaw-man never sees his quondam wife 
 or beloved children again. As a rule, the squaw-man feels in 
 his own heart that he has degraded himself. He seeks the 
 company of natives more than he does that of his fellow white 
 men. He usually lives at the native' village, and is apparently 
 in all but color, one of them. 
 
OR, THtf WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 115 
 
 THE LAMENT OF THE OLD SOUR DOUGH. 
 
 By Sam. C. Dunham. 
 
 I've trudged and I've starved and I've frozen 
 
 All over this white barren land, 
 Where the sea stretches straight, white and silent, 
 
 Where the timberless white mountains stand, 
 From the white peaks that gleam in the moonlight, 
 
 Like a garment that graces a soul, 
 To the last white sweep of the prairies, 
 
 Where the black shadows brood round the pole. 
 
 (Now, pray don't presume from this prelude 
 
 That a flame of poetical fire 
 Is to burst from my brain like a beacon, 
 
 For I've only been tuning my lyre 
 To the low sad voice of a singer 
 
 Who's inspired to sing you some facts 
 About the improvements in staking 
 
 And the men who mine with an ax.) 
 
 I Ve panned from Peru to Point Barrow, 
 
 But I never located a claim 
 Till I 'd fully persuaded my conscience 
 
 That pay dirt^pervaded the same; 
 And this is the source of my sorrow, 
 
 As you will be forced to agree 
 When you learn how relentless Misfortune 
 
 Has dumped all her tailings on me. 
 
 I worked with my partner all summer, 
 
 Cross-cutting a cussed old creek, 
 Which we never once thought of locating 
 
 Unless we located the streak ; 
 And when at the close of the season 
 
 We discovered the creek was a fake 
 We also discovered the region 
 
 Had nothing left in it to stake. 
 
116 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 \Ye traversed the toe-twisting tundra, 
 
 Where reindeer root round for their feed, 
 And the hungry Laplanders who herd them 
 
 Devour them before they can breed. 
 Here it seems that good claims might be plenty, 
 
 And we thought we would stake one perhaps; 
 But we found to our grief that the gulches 
 
 Were staked in the name of the Lapps. 
 
 A hundred long leagues to the northward, 
 
 O'er the untrodden, sun-burnished snow, 
 We struggled, half blinded and half famished, 
 
 To the sea where the staunch whalers go. 
 We found there broad beaches of ruby 
 
 And mountains with placers and leads, 
 But all, save the sky, was pre-empted 
 
 By salt-water sailors and Swedes. 
 
 Then we climbed the cold creeks near a mission 
 
 That is run by the agents of God, 
 AYJio trade Bibles and prayer-books to heathen 
 
 For ivory, sealskins and cod. 
 At last we were sure we had struck it, 
 
 But alas! for our hope of reward, 
 The landscape from sea-beach to sky-line 
 
 Was staked in the name of the Lord! 
 
 We 're too slow for the new breed isf miners, 
 
 Embracing all classes of men, 
 Who locate by power of attorney 
 
 And prospect their claims with a pen, 
 Who do all their fine work through agents 
 
 And loaf around town with the sports, 
 On intimate terms with the lawyers, 
 
 On similar terms with the courts. 
 
 We're scared to submission and silence 
 By the men the Government sends 
 
 To force us to keep law and order, 
 
 While they keep claims for their friends, 
 
 And collect in an indirect manner 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 11? 
 
 An exceedingly burdensome tax, 
 Assumed for a time by the traders 
 
 And then transferred to our backs. 
 
 We had some hard knocks on the Klondike 
 
 From the cub-lion's unpadded paws, 
 And suffered some shocks from high license 
 
 And other immutable laws; 
 But they robbed us by regular schedule, 
 
 So we knew just what to expect, 
 While at Xome we're scheduled to struggle 
 
 Until we're financially wrecked. 
 
 I'm sick of the screams of the eagle 
 
 And laws of dishonest design, 
 And I 'm going in quest of a country 
 
 Where a miner can locate a mine; 
 So when I've rustled an outfit 
 
 These places will know me no more, 
 For I'll try my luck with the Kussians 
 
 On the bleak Siberian shore. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 ALASKAN SENSE AND NONSENSE. 
 
 It would hardly be expected that there could be any humor 
 where there are so many hardships and trials and troubles as 
 there are in this northland, but there is considerable of it. 
 The average man does not feel like joking or making fun when 
 dangers beset him on every hand, but he is very ready to enjoy 
 it if somebody else makes it. Like everything else that is 
 scarce it is unusually enjoyable when he does come across it. 
 
 This chapter will necessarily be more or less disconnected; 
 it is my intention to make it a kind of "pot-pourri" of different 
 scenes, incidents and customs that go to make up a miner's 
 life on this bleak shore. 
 
 One of the most laughable incidents I have heard of occurred 
 in one of the little mining towns near here. A friend of mine, 
 "Dick" Tracy, who had been spending the evening with his 
 
118 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 mining friends, found himself, late at night, some distance from 
 home, so he thought he would stop at one of the numerous 
 "bunk houses" in the camp; the clerk told him to go upstairs 
 and take the first room on the right, at the head of the stairs ; 
 there were several turns in these stairs, and the hour being 
 late Dick's mind was not so clear as when he awoke in the 
 morning. The result was that he took the first room on the 
 left. When he entered the room he saw there was no lamp or 
 candle, and he had no matches ; this made no difference to him, 
 however. He could see, in the dim moonlight, that somebody 
 had gone to bed ahead of him. It very frequently happens 
 that entire strangers are compelled to bunk together in this 
 country. Dick undressed and retired, noticing as he crawled 
 into bed, that the other fellow was right in the middle of the 
 couch. After he had located himself on the outer edge 
 he gave the fellow a little nudge in the side to remind 
 him that he had taken his half out of the middle, but the 
 stranger did not budge. Dick gave him another punch in the 
 ribs, but this did not awake him. Getting out of patience, lie 
 waited a few moments, then landed a pugilistic upper cut on 
 the short ribs; the fellow did not move. Just at this moment 
 the door opened, and a man and woman came in ; they sat down 
 on the sofa in the room, and began a low conversation; Dick 
 was at once all attention. Suddenly the lady said, "It's a 
 shame for us to sit here talking nonsense when that poor man 
 that was frozen to death yesterday lies there in bed." Dick, 
 upon hearing this, gave one jump and landed in the center of 
 the floor; the couple thinking the dead had come to life, 
 made a rush for the door, closely followed by our mining 
 friend. They all tried to get down the narrow staircase at 
 once; the result was a broken shoulder for Tracy, and various 
 bruises and contusions for the other parties. 
 
 The^ summer after the rich "diggings" were found on the 
 world-renowned Anvil and other creeks, the newly appointed 
 district judge incurred the displeasure of the mining public 
 by ordering a receiver in almost every case where a valuable 
 mine was in controversy. Two Irishmen had been at work for 
 some time, sinking a shaft on a claim they had located. One 
 day the fellow at the windlass felt a jerk on the rope, evidently 
 given to attract his attention. Upon looking down the hole, 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 119 
 
 lie heard the voice of his partner from out of the darkness call 
 out, "Say, Pat, send down a receiver; I've struck gold." 
 
 Speaking- of courts, reminds me that it would indeed be 
 interesting to the person who is used to living in a country 
 where trials are conducted with strict formality to know how 
 these matters are frequently carried on in a mining camp. The 
 following from the Klondike Nugget will serve as an illustra- 
 tion; the story is absolutely true and not overdrawn. I have 
 talked with several of the parties who took part in it: 
 
 THE TRIAL OF A POLAR BEARSKIN. 
 
 A Rare Contribution to the Unique in Yukon Literature- 
 Graphic Description of the Efforts Made to Prove the 
 Ownership of a Robe The Jury Unable to Reach 
 a Determination. 
 
 The following description of a court scene occurring recently 
 at Circle City was handed in for publication by a recent arrival 
 from that place. The truth of its statements is not vouched for 
 by us, though it is by the contributor, and it is published only 
 as a contribution to the unique Yukon literature. 
 
 Scene Court-room; present about fifty residents of Circle. 
 Enter U. S. Deputy Marshal; walks up to desk and takes off 
 his hat, and everybody else does the same. The Marshal has 
 tears in his eyes, and presents the appearance of a man who 
 has just lost his grandmother. 
 
 Mar. (in a cracked voice) " Well, I guess we'll go on with 
 this thing now. ' ' 
 
 And thus was the now famous Polar Bearskin trial opened. 
 
 Mar. " Mr. Montifield, call the jury." 
 
 Mr. Montifield reads "Messrs. Wadleigh, Levante, Hock, 
 Durand, Morency and Shropshire. " 
 
 The first five answer to their names and take the seats of 
 honor to the left of the acting judge. 
 
 Mar. Where 's Shropshire 1 ' ' 
 
 Mont. "He'll be here in a minute." 
 
 Mar. Xcver mind him, we'll go ahead without him." 
 
 apt. St<rcy "If it pleases the court, that's only five 
 jurors. ' ' 
 
120 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 Mar. ' * Never you mind ; five 's just as good as six ; it 's none 
 of your business anyhow." 
 
 Mar. "Now, Captain, how about that bear skin?" 
 
 Storey "What bear skin?" 
 
 Mar. "The one I took from your cabin?" 
 
 Storey "I don't know anything about it; you took it from 
 the Columbia Navigation Company; it was' freight in transit 
 to Dawson." 
 
 Mar. "Never mind that; what I want to know is, who owns 
 it?" 
 
 Storey "Look here, Marshal, what am I in this case any- 
 how? Am I the plaintiff, the defendant, or a witness; and I'd 
 like to know by what right you, a Deputy U. S. Marshal, or 
 anyone else has to go to my cabin and take anything out with- 
 out any legal measures being taken?" 
 
 Mar. "I knew you'd kick. You're always kicking; you're 
 a regular calamity howler anyway. ' ' 
 
 Storey "That's just what I'm here for; I get paid for 
 that." ' 
 
 Mar. "When we take anything we take it, and that's all 
 all there is to it. " 
 
 Storey "I know you do; that's just where my kick comes 
 in." 
 
 Mar. "Well, shut up now and tell us who this robe be- 
 longs to.". 
 
 Storey "I don't know what robe you're talking about." 
 
 Mar. (getting hot) "I'll damn soon show you." 
 
 Marshal goes to his office and comes back with a Polar bear 
 skin rolled and tied with a rope. 
 
 Mar. "There's the robe; now who owns it? That's the 
 question. ' ' 
 
 Voice from the Audience "Open 'er up, Frank, and let's 
 have a look at it. ' ' 
 
 Note The Marshal at this moment took a notion to inform 
 the jury as to the reason they were in court, so he explained it 
 as follows: "This case or suit is brought to prove that that 
 man French owns this robe. You see lie owes the N. A. T. & 
 T. Co. $40 or $50 for rent or something and they have a claim 
 against him for that amount. I seized the robe for that claim, 
 and French now claims that it is not his. Judge Crance wants 
 
OR, THE, WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 121 
 
 to act fair in the matter, so lie is letting me decide this thing, 
 as he is an interested party." 
 
 "Mr. Alontifield, what do you know about this rol 
 
 Montifield "I'm sure I can't recognize it to be the robe." 
 
 Alar. '"Didn't you ever see it before.'" 
 
 Montifield "I can't say for sure. I'm supposed to be under 
 oath, ain't I!" 
 
 Mar. "Well, 'er yes; you're supposed to be, but then it 
 ain't necessary to swear you in a case like this. It'll be over 
 in a minute." 
 
 Montifield "I can't swear to that one; I can't say that I 
 have ever seen it before." 
 
 Mar. "French tried to sell you a robe, didn't he! Tell us 
 all about it." 
 
 Montifield "I went to his cabin and saw a robe there, and 
 he asked me if I wanted to buy it, but I can't say that this 
 is the robe." 
 
 Storey "That robe belongs to Scates, and when he went 
 to Dawson he gave it to Captain Seigass who entered it as 
 freight in transit to Dawson for the Col. Nav. Co." 
 
 Alar. Never mind all that; have you got a receipt from 
 Scates?" 
 
 Storey "No, I don't need one till I land the bearskin in 
 Dawson. ' ' 
 
 Alar. "Here, French, what do you know about this robe?" 
 
 French walks out from the audience and eyes the robe 
 critically. 
 
 French "I don't know anything about it." 
 
 Alar. ' i Didn 't you ever see it before ? ' ' 
 
 French' ' I don 't know. ' ' 
 
 Here the jailor and his prisoners poke their heads out of the 
 cooler, and the Alarshal turns to them with the query of: 
 
 "How's everything in there, Jake?" (Then turning to 
 French) : "What do you know ? ' ' 
 
 French " Nothing. " 
 
 Alar. "Don't you own it?" 
 
 French "No, sir." 
 
 Alar. "I think it's yours anyhow." 
 
 French "That's your privilege, sir." 
 
 Alar. 'What do you know about this robe?" 
 
 French (with a long face) "I know nothing." 
 
122 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 Mar. "Well, gentlemen of the jury, you have all the evi- 
 dence; now we await your decision; who owns this bearskin ?" 
 
 Wadleigh (a juror) "Nobody seems to own it; it don't be- 
 long to Scates or Storey or French or you. I'll take it; give 
 it to me." 
 
 Levante (another juror) "Hold on there; we've all got a 
 finger in this skin. Let 's play skiff for it. ' ' 
 
 Just about this time the whole court spectators, acting 
 judge and all were in danger of going into convulsions from 
 continued laughter. 
 
 Mar. "Well, you must decide. You can go into my office 
 and deliberate." 
 
 Storey "I suppose you're through with me, and as I've got 
 work to do, I ask to be excused." 
 
 Mar. "You can just stay where you are for a few minutes." 
 
 Storey (hot) "What am I in this case, anyhow?" 
 
 Mar." You 're the defendant." 
 
 Storey "Then as the defendant I move that the case be 
 dismissed and the bearskin be returned to where it was taken 
 from. ' ' 
 
 Mar. "We return nothing." 
 
 Storey "You're right; I never knew you to return anything 
 you once laid your hands on." 
 
 The jury files out. During the time the jury is out every- 
 body, Marshal, and all, indulge in a smoke. Big Theodore 
 Whollers tries to impose on the Marshal's good nature by put- 
 ting on his hat, but the Marshal cut him short with the order 
 to l i Take off your hat ; take off that hat, or give me a cigar. ' ' 
 
 The hat comes off. At this time the Marshal must see his 
 prisoners in the cooler so he tries to open the door, but find- 
 ing it locked, he pushed in vain. Then he tried to tear off the 
 cheesecloth covering; when it was half off the jailer opened the 
 door and the voice of the Marshal was heard asking the same 
 old question, "How's things in there, Jake?" To reassure 
 himself he went to look, and while he was in there the jury 
 returned with their verdict. 
 
 Wadleigh (with a sheet of paper in his hands) "Whar's 
 the judge?" 
 
 Just then the judge returns. 
 
 ' ' What 's your verdict, gentlemen ? ' ' 
 
 Wadleigh "There it is on that paper on the desk." 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 123 
 
 Mar. (examining paper on lx)tli sides) "Where is it?" 
 
 Wadleigh "Here; I'll read it." 
 
 Wadleigh, as foreman "of the jury, then reads: "Circle, May 
 4th, 'W, we the undersigned jurors in the trial of a polar bear 
 skin find that it belongs to nobody in particular; so we'll keep 
 it for ten days and give the owner a chance to prove his prop- 
 erty. If it is still unsettled at the end of that time we will 
 play sluff and see who gets it for keeps. Signed, F. Wadleigh, 
 (Charles Levante, A! Morency, Teddy Hock, Joe Durand." 
 
 The man who succeeds in Alaska is the fellow commonly 
 known as a "hustler". He has a finger in every pie that is 
 cut, and grabs as large a piece as possible; on the other hand, 
 the man who sits still with his thumb in his mouth will either 
 spend the balance of his days here or go out poor. The first 
 mayor of the town of Teller belonged to the former class, and 
 the following written for an entertainment in this mining camp 
 by Judge diaries Udell, is true in fact as well as amusing: 
 
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF TELLER. 
 
 Dedicated to the Founder of the Teller Masonic Club. 
 
 A year ago this icebound coast 
 Was solitude and ice and frost, 
 Lone mountains in chill snowpeaks lost, 
 White plains by human foot uncrossed, 
 Unconscious of the coming host. 
 
 But the Anglo-Saxon was seeking gold 
 
 The days of the Esquimaux were being told 
 
 A human tide toward the northland rolled, 
 
 Undaunted by storm, or famine, or cold, 
 
 For had they not Wilson, Tom Wilson, the bold? 
 
 A city was planned in which to allot 
 
 Space for a home to each brave Argonaut, 
 
 Then, like true Saxons they staked, jumped and fought. 
 
 'Twas ruled that each could stake but one spot, 
 
 And Wilson, well, Tom Wilson, he got a lot! 
 
124 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 A Council was formed to raise revenue, 
 The townlet to care for, its future to hew, 
 And seven were chosen, our acts to review- 
 Seven wise Solons, all good men and true, 
 Tom Wilson, of course, was one of these few. 
 
 Then a mayor was needed to govern the town, 
 To levy our taxes and do things up brown, 
 And as only one could have that renown, 
 All of the others stepped quietly down, 
 And Tom Wilson donned the mayoralty crown. 
 
 Uncle Sam had provided a judge for the place, 
 Forgetting that Wilson was in every race. 
 The certain result was, of judges, a brace.; 
 For Tom opened a court with infinite grace, 
 And presided o 'er many a lot jumping case. 
 
 But Uncle Sam grew wise from that little fight, 
 And knowing three postmasters wouldn't look right, 
 Messrs. Brevig and Morse made haste to alight 
 From the Postoffice chairs they were holding down tight, 
 And the government asked pardon for its brief oversight. 
 
 But time is short, the subject great, 
 The rest but briefly I'll relate; 
 How groceries started, large and new, 
 And Thomas Wilson started one too; 
 Stores for clothing and cap and shoe; 
 
 How each found Wilson a rival too; 
 How saloons were opened for mountain dew, 
 And how Tom Wilson was right there too; 
 How restaurants came where all could chew; 
 And Wilson promptly opened one too; 
 
 Hotels and lodgings not a few; 
 
 But both found Wilson in the business too. 
 
 Stables on alley and avenue, 
 
 And Wilson at once built stables, too; 
 
 'Gene Allen his news plant to Teller drew, 
 
OR, THE, WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 125 
 
 But found Wilson and Rickey with a paper too. 
 Kief, Bogers and Stephens did real estate too ; 
 Which caused Wilson to start in real estate too; 
 The lawyers arrived, but they all felt blue 
 When they found Wilson practiced and won cases too ; 
 
 How the Koogrock tiger came into view, 
 But found Tom with a limit of one and two; 
 How Meacham came our souls to subdue, 
 .But Tom, not content with engaging a pew, 
 Started sacred concerts at his place, too. 
 
 Good people of Teller, when you bid life adieu, 
 In a large corner of heaven you'll find Wilson too; 
 Yet the poets of Teller when their crimes they rue, 
 Condemned for bad verses to an eternal stew, 
 Will not be all lonely with no one they knew, 
 For Tom wouldn't be happy unless there too. 
 
 Every miner knows that he can stake twenty acres of un- 
 appropriated Government land in Alaska for placer mining 
 purposes. The boundaries must be properly marked and also 
 'the exact location of the claim given on the notice posted on 
 the ground, and a copy of which must be filed within ninety 
 days with the recorder of the local mining district. In the 
 spring of 1901 a native approached the recorder of the Good 
 Hope District on the Arctic, with the following for record: 
 "I claim Little River; maybe money; maybe not. Octuk, 
 Alaska." Another by a white man filed in the Nome country 
 was almost as bad. It read as follows: "I locate this (descrip- 
 tion of ground) for Ole and me." There was no name signed. 
 Some of the natives, however, are much brighter and better 
 educated than the one who wrote the location notice just quoted. 
 The following letter written by an Eskimo is in my possession; 
 the handwriting is fair as good in fact as that of the average 
 white man. 
 
 "Penny, July 24, 1900. 
 
 Mr. Billee Langdon: For you buy some of little rubber 
 boots; will come see you soon, Billie, and tell you my mamma 
 dead, Sunday, July 22, 1900. Very truly, 
 
 EDDIE KORBLE." 
 
126 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 The local courts are kept busy in the winter time with dog 
 cases. In the summer these animals are not used frequently 
 and are therefore not so much of a "casus belli". The con- 
 verse is true of mining suits, six or eight feet of snow puts a 
 damper on this class of cases, but the summer crop is numerous. 
 There are probably more dogs stolen in winter in Alaska than 
 in all the balance of Uncle Sam's dominions. I was very much 
 amused at a case which came under my notice a short time 
 since. A tall, gaunt-looking fellow was driving a beautiful 
 team of five dogs through the main street of Teller, when 
 another fellow about equally matched in size came rushing 
 out from a store, and grabbing the front dog, said to the 
 driver, "See here, you are the fellow that stole -my leader, are- 
 you ? " He at once began to unhitch the animal from the sled ; 
 we all looked for one of the customary rough and tumble fights. 
 But no! The driver assumed a broad grin, and as the dog was 
 being led away, sang in plaintive melody to the tune of a popu- 
 lar ballad, ""Well, I guess I'll have to get a leader of my own." 
 A short description of winter life in an Arctic mining camp 
 may not be uninteresting to the reader. As before stated 1 spent 
 that season of the year during 1900-1 at the celebrated town of 
 Teller. The natives say it w^as the most terrible winter that 
 has been known for many years. The thermometer frequently 
 went as low as 45 degrees to 50 degrees below zero. This tem- 
 perature is as dangerous to life here as 80 degrees below would 
 be at Dawson, or any other place where the wind does not 
 blow; the snow was from ten to fifteen feet in some parts of 
 the camp, thus entirely covering up many of the cabins or 
 "shacks" of the miners. The place had sprung up mushroom- 
 like late in the preceding fall, and there being no wood nearer 
 than eighteen miles, and coal being a very scarce and high- 
 priced article, the illy-prepared sojourner suffered terribly. 
 Not a day passed that from one to a dozen persons were not 
 more or less seriously frozen. Four were frozen to death in 
 the immediate vicinity of the town. One man froze his hands 
 while locking his cabin door. Two or three saloons kept a 
 hot fire going all the time, although coal was one hundred 
 dollars a ton, and thus furnished places where the freezing 
 miner could be somewhat comfortable. They each lost several 
 hundred dollars by this kindness, for there was little or no 
 money in the pockets of their guests to pay for drinks. The 
 
OR, THR WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 127 
 
 men who spent the winter around these public stoves were 
 called "chair warmers" stool warmers would be more appro- 
 priate, as chairs are almost an unknown luxury in a mining 
 camp. These men hugged the fire through the long, dark, 
 winter days, and cussed and discussed the country and its 
 hardships. Many a man had nothing but frozen canned beans 
 and hard tack all winter. He had no wood or coal some- 
 times, even to warm up the former article of diet. The 
 "meals" at the restaurants were from a dollar and a half up. 
 A meal consisted of reindeer meat, potatoes, onions and 
 canned fruit all in a frozen state before being cooked; nothing 
 fresh except the breeze that entered every time some muffled 
 figure opened the double doors; then a cloud of vapor would 
 fill the end of the room, the result of the meeting of the low 
 tempered outside air with that of the room. The ice on the 
 windows inside would frequently be two or three inches thick. 
 The salutation that the new arrival from outdoors frequently 
 received was, " Hello, there! Your nose is frozen." This was 
 indicated by its marble whiteness. He would rush out, and 
 rub some snow over it, thus thawing it out. Sometimes the 
 whole face would be as white as a ghost caused in coming a 
 distance of a block perhaps in the freezing cold. The dread 
 of the chair warmer was the hour when hunger or the closing 
 of the saloon drove him to his ice-lined shack. It seems 
 almost impossible that human endurance could withstand the 
 cold that these men nightly passed through in their cabins 
 some with few blankets and no robes. 
 
 ( )ne of the regular chair warmers came in one morning and 
 astounded all those sitting around the stove by announcing 
 that he had eggs for breakfast. Beans were the regulation 
 diet, so all were anxious to know about how he happened to 
 irct the eggs. k> Well," said he, "I will tell you how it wa>: 
 I was in a store yesterday, and the clerk told me that they had 
 a few unfrozen eggs. I sold an interest in a claim a few days 
 ago, .and as I had not tasted eggs for so long I bought half a 
 dozen for a dollar. I only had a little wood in the shack, but 
 1 put it all in my Yukon stove this morning and broke the 
 whole half dozen eggs into my frying pan; the wood burned 
 out about the time they were cooked on one side; when I 
 started to eat them I found they were frozen on the other side. 
 li.y cabin was not any colder than usual, either." 
 
128 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 A few days after this another man, a real estate agent named 
 Stephens, came into the saloon, his fur cap and parka covered 
 with ice, and after standing before the fire a few minutes, re- 
 marked, "Well, boys, I opened a can of beans for a change, 
 this morning/' he got no further; the continued roars of 
 laughter that broke forth drowned all explanations that he 
 attempted. 
 
 This same gentleman, at another time, told us that when he 
 was in an outfitting store, laying in his supplies preparatory 
 to coming to Nome, the clerk asked him what kind of shoe 
 wear he wanted at the same time handing him a pair of 
 moccasins to examine. He looked them over a few moments, 
 and finally asked whether these were warmer than snowshoes. 
 He knows better now. 
 
 Ananias would have held up his hands in horror if he could 
 have heard a full-fledged Alaskan liar. I do not know whether 
 it is the climate or because of the great latitude here (71 de- 
 grees), but the fact is there are more liars to the square mile 
 in this country than in any other place on earth of an equal 
 population. Mrs. Kose H. Leech, an Alaska correspondent of 
 the Chicago Inter Ocean, once read an interesting essay on the 
 subject at a winter entertainment in Teller; it was as follows. 
 
 THE ALASKAN ANANIAS. 
 
 Some wise man has said that there are three classes of liars 
 plain liars, liars and Yukoners. The plain liar is the man 
 who lies to protect himself, to please his friends, or to advance 
 his interests. The liar lies through spite, malice and envy; 
 to work injury upon some luckless individual who has been so 
 unfortunate as to incur his displeasure; the amount of harm 
 he does in the world is incalculable. His long suit is his ability 
 to take the truth, and by a few simple twists of the tongue, so 
 distort and change it that its own maternal relative would 
 not recognize it when brought face to face with it. 
 
 But the Yukoner! Ah, who can do justice to the skill, the 
 grace, the enthusiasm, and the unbounded industry, which he 
 displays in this, his chosen vocation. By this, of course, it is 
 not meant that all Yukoners are liars; far from it. But when 
 a man is a Yukoner and a liar the combination is one that is 
 a world beater. This Yukon liar is, as a rule, a lazy mortal; 
 he believes in always putting off until tomorrow what should 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 129 
 
 foe done today. But when opportunity offers he can be aroused 
 to an effort, which, if otherwise applied, would have elevated 
 him to the pinnacle of fame and fortune long ere this. Some- 
 where in the dim and distant past, he has heard that the devil 
 is the father of lies, and he has a laudable ambition to add to 
 Mephisto's large and interesting family. He has also been 
 told to "tell the truth and shame the devil," but with a zeal 
 incomparable the Yukoner has thus far managed to avoid 
 bringing the blush of shame to the countenance of that ruler of 
 the under world. 
 
 He is a genial liar, this Yukoner, and for the ordinary lies 
 of life he needs make no effort; they roll from his lips as reg- 
 ularly and as smoothly as do compliments from the lips of a 
 sour dough man in conversation with a cheechako girl. 
 
 It is only when brought into conjunction with another sour 
 dough liar that the Yukoner is at his best. Then indeed are his 
 flights of fancy as high as Mount Olympus, and his fluency of 
 language unequalled by any save that possessed by the silver- 
 tongued W. J. Bryan. It has always been thought that no 
 cheechako could compete with him in the arena of prevarica- 
 tion but it now develops that a certain Alaska judge has a 
 friend from the outside the cheechako lady in the sour dough 
 camp of Nome whom he is willing to back against the 
 Yukoner any day, feeling confident that the Yukoner would 
 be humbled down to the tundra. 
 
 To the Yukoner lies are as beer and skittles, cakes and ale. 
 If 'twere possible to condemn him to pass three weeks with- 
 out indulging in Munchausen-like narratives, he would pine 
 away and soon be put up on sticks. He doubtless sometimes 
 soliloquizes after the following fashion: 
 
 "To lie or not to lie; that is the question. Whether it is 
 easier far to bear the lies and taunts of other sour doughs, or 
 to take arms against a score of lies, and by some bigger lying 
 end them." He always decides in the affirmative of course, 
 and after siich soliloquy mounts his Pegasus with renewed 
 ambition. 
 
 Have you been on a hunting trip and killed 100 ptarmigan! 
 The Yukoner has many times killed three hundred in a few 
 moments. Have you caught forty torn cod in two hours? 
 The Yukoner makes you feel that as a disciple of Isaak Walton 
 you are a failure when he assures you lie has caught 400 in 
 
130 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 the same time. Have you been out mushing and walked from 
 Shea's road house to Teller in a day? The Yukoner makes 
 you feel what a poor worm of a cheechako you are by telling 
 you that he made the trip from Mary's Eglow to Teller and 
 from there to Nome in one day. Have you found one and one- 
 half cents to the pan on a prospecting trip ? The Yukoner has 
 found one and one-half dollars. Have you heard that three 
 hundred people are on the way from Dawson to Teller! The 
 Yukoner tells you that there are three thousand. I have heard 
 recently an expression which appears to me to be very appli- 
 cable to this propensity of the Yukoner; where it came from 
 I do not know. It may be a recent arrival from the Bowery, 
 or it may have originated in the fertile brain of the young man 
 whom I heard use it. It is called, "Peddling the bull." I 
 think this expression fills a long felt want, as it were. Instead 
 of saying, "Sir, you are a liar; you are lying to me!" one can 
 say softly, sweetly, like the whispering of the spring winds 
 through the boughs of a pine tree, "Sir, you are a Yukoner! 
 You are peddling to me." 
 
 It is not expected that every Tellerite will understand this 
 dissertation; those who have lived in Dawson and Nome will 
 of course do so, but as yet the Yukoner does not dwell within 
 our gates, and it is possible that for that reason some may fail 
 to appreciate it. But as "all things come to him who waits" 
 we may yet point with pride to our progress, and Teller need 
 no longer rest under the ban of being the only Alaskan town 
 of any size without its own bright, particular Yukoner. ' ' 
 
 There is a phase of life in the northland to which I intended 
 to devote a whole chapter. It is the moral, or rather the im- 
 moral side. I have changed my mind, however, and will take 
 it up briefly at this time. Morality in nearly all mining camps 
 the world over is almost an unknown quantity. The reasons 
 for this are manifold. Mining communities are generally made 
 up of young or middle-aged men of bold, adventurous spirit, 
 who, while generous and good-hearted, were not, even at home, 
 particularly scrupulous about their morals. There is always 
 more or less of a sprinkling of the real desperado present. The 
 conditions are all favorable to him. The law is not as strict 
 as it is in the older communities. 
 
 Again, he has more or less of a desire to make a good ap- 
 pearance before his relatives and friends, but in a mining 
 
OR, THE> WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 131 
 
 camp, especially one so far away as Alaska, lie is a stranger 
 among strangers. A miner's money comes easily, and is apt 
 to go in the same way. There are five saloons to any other 
 one class of business. Almost every saloon has from one to a 
 dozen gambling games open night and day. With all restraint 
 off, the temptation to drink and gamble is almost irresistible 
 as long as the "poke" (purse) holds out. The man who 
 comes to the dreary northland stakes his life against a fortune, 
 and very frequently loses. 
 
 Probably the most potent reason for the laxity of morals in 
 a far-away mining camp is the absence of the refining influence 
 of good women. I do not desire to be understood that there 
 are not good women in Alaska, but the ratio of women to men 
 is very, very small and the ratio of good women to immoral 
 ones is still smaller. 
 
 If a mining claim is of any value at all it is probably worth 
 a fortune. The miner who is in possession and thinks his title 
 is good will be apt to guard it with his life, after having under- 
 gone so many hardships to get it. The laws are loose and 
 there is no dearth of excuses for claim "jumping". During 
 the mining season, shooting scrapes are of almost daily occur- 
 rence. Frequently there are a number of men engaged on 
 each side, and a small but deadly battle is the result. 
 
 The sight of a drunken miner with a fat "poke" is more 
 than the cupidity of the desperado can stand, and murders are 
 by no means uncommon in the northland. There are compara- 
 tively few churches in the country saloons, dance halls and 
 gambling houses are far more plentiful. 
 
 Gentle reader, in conclusion it is just this way: 
 
 WHEN A MAN'S IN ALASKA. 
 
 Of all the insidious, 
 
 Temptations invidious 
 
 Contrived by the devil for making men bold, 
 
 There's none more delusive, 
 
 Seductive, obtrusive, 
 
 Than the snare to a man in that land of coarse gold. 
 
 He feels such delightfulness, 
 
 Stay-out-all-nightfulness 
 
 Sure-to-get-tight-fulness ? 
 
 I own it with pain, 
 
132 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 A bachelor rakishness, 
 
 What-will-you-take-ishness 
 
 None can explain. 
 
 His wife may be beautiful, 
 
 Tender and dutiful, 
 
 'Tis not that her absence 
 
 Would cause him delight: 
 
 But the cursed opportunity, 
 
 Baleful immunity, 
 
 Scatters his scruples as day scatters night. 
 
 The spirit of sportfulness, 
 
 Full-as-a-goatfulness, 
 
 Upset-the-boat-fulness, 
 
 Goes with the gold seeker wherever he be, 
 
 A dare-devil jokefulness, 
 
 Bet the whole pokefulness, 
 
 So sad to see. 
 
 The girls may be plentiful, 
 
 Social and ventureful, 
 
 He 's sure that his family 
 
 Think 's him a saint. 
 
 But the wicked community, 
 
 Gives opportunity, 
 
 To the fellow whose habits are not under restraint. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 THE DISTRICTS ADJACENT TO NOME AND TELLER. 
 
 When California was acquired by the United States as one 
 of the trophies of the war with Mexico, the calamity howlers 
 sat on their hind legs and wailed more dolefully than a dis- 
 consolate Malamoot dog. They said it was a barren waste of 
 rugged mountains and arid plains, the home of sage brush 
 and cacti, and the habitat of coyotes and grizzly bears. But 
 the discovery of gold in California worked a transformation. 
 The gold hunters found the most equable climate in North 
 America, and a soil of unexcelled fertility. Now grain fields 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 133 
 
 and vast orchards cover those arid plains, and on the slopes 
 of those rugged mountains one can see the largest vineyards 
 in the world. California is the home of fifteen hundred 
 thousand people, and her exports reach every principal port 
 of the world. 
 
 When William H. Seward completed the negotiations for 
 the purchase of Alaska, the same doleful dirge was chanted 
 by those who saw nothing in Alaska but icebergs and Polar 
 bears. Eventually, fur seals attracted the attention of capi- 
 talists and increased their riches. The salmon canners found 
 Alaska a profitable field to exploit, but they did not advertise 
 their discovery, because competition would lessen their profits. 
 It remained for the miner, the true pioneer of civilization, to 
 tell the people who paid $7,500,000 for this territory, of its 
 great wealth; that it was habitable, that the opportunities for 
 making money and acquiring that competence we all hope 
 and strive for, are better here than in any other part of Uncle 
 Sam 's domain. Gold is not the only mineral in Alaska. There 
 are veins of coal of good quality ; there are quartz ledges show- 
 ing copper in profitable quantity; there are deposits of the 
 finest graphite; platinum, some pieces weighing an ounce or 
 more, have been found. There is an old silver mine between 
 Golovin Bay and Norton Sound that was worked by the Kus- 
 sians many years ago. There are great belts of good timber 
 in Southern Alaska, and better agricultural land in South- 
 eastern Alaska than there is in some of the New England 
 States, and a climate in many places not more severe; plenty 
 of game, and fish galore. 
 
 The discovery of gold in California and its subsequent de- 
 velopment, will be paralleled in Alaska. That great range of 
 mountains which extends in an almost continuous chain from 
 Cape Horn to the Arctic Ocean has proved to be an immense 
 mineral zone. The mysterious laws of nature that have de- 
 posited more wealth in some sections of this great zone than 
 others, have been lavish with Northwestern Alaska. Except 
 in some of the great belts of granite, there is gold everywhere, 
 not always in paying quantities, but sometimes in fabulously 
 rich deposits. The country has only been partially prospected, 
 and nothing beyond assays has been done to determine the 
 value of the numerous quartz ledges that have been located. 
 There are thousands of claims that have never been prospected, 
 
134 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 and rich strikes are frequently heard of near at hand on ground 
 that had been traveled over, and perhaps partially prospected. 
 The remote unexplored territory is extensive, and the unpros- 
 pected claims are in the ratio of 100 to 1. 
 
 What are the inevitable deductions of these facts ? There is 
 a field here for men of good health, strength and industry; 
 there are opportunities for capital, opportunities for invest- 
 ments that will enrich the owner and help develop the country, 
 and possibly, chances to loan money and get as much interest 
 in a month as could be obtained in a year in some localities. 
 But the man who comes here takes his life in his hands, or, 
 in other words, stakes his life against a fair chance to make 
 a fortune. 
 
 . North latitude 64 degrees and 32 minutes, west longtitude 
 165 degrees and 30 minutes, on the northern shore of Bering 
 Sea, is Nome. A few years ago these treeless shores looked 
 bleak and cheerless enough. It was not a place where "every 
 prospect pleases," but by chance, gold was discovered, and 
 during the summer of 1900 there were fifteen thousand people 
 in Nome. The town has some fine buildings, telephone lines, 
 a railroad to the mines of Anvil Greek, a water system that 
 brings the water five miles from the mountains, and many 
 other improvements that belong to a modern city. 
 
 Nome is situated at the mouth of Snake Eiver. No one can 
 realize how appropriate the name of this river is until he has 
 stood upon some of the mountains overlooking it and viewed 
 its sinuous course to the sea. The principal part of Nome is 
 east of the river. On the west side is a sandy spit or point, 
 covered with tents, dwelling houses, a number of small stores, 
 lumber and coal yards. The beach at Nome is 100 feet wide, 
 and very high water is 20 feet above mean low water. The 
 greatest altitude is the tundra, or flat land, that lies between 
 the sea and the mountains. The tundra is a moss-covered 
 marsh, full of pools and lagoons. In the dryest part of the 
 summer time, one can walk over it dry shod by avoiding the low 
 wet spots, but when it rains the ' i rocky road to Dublin ' ' is pref- 
 erable. Long hip boots and a courage that does not fear 
 violent exercise are indispensable. 
 
 The tundra extends back to the mountains, a distance of 
 four or five miles. These mountains are not more than 600 or 
 700 feet high, and are covered with the same kind of mossy 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 135 
 
 vegetation that grows on the lowlands. The only evidence 
 of timber are thickets of small willows, perhaps waist high, 
 near the creeks. The country rock is a mica schist, and the 
 croppings are very conspicuous. If it is an evidence of age 
 to be gray and bald, then the hills of Nome belong to the 
 Paleozoic age. The greatest altitude of these mountains is 
 reached in the Sawtooth range, forty miles to the north. It 
 was in this range I had my dreadful experience. This side of 
 the range the water flows into Bering Sea, and numerous 
 streams with their feeders flowing from every compass point 
 cut these mountains into queer shapes, so that if one attempts 
 to follow a water course to the sea he would have a mazy road. 
 
 The theory has been advanced that in a comparatively recent 
 geological period, the earth's axis has been changed by a 
 cataclysm. The shifting of the poles converted a warm or 
 temperate zone into a frigid region, and made a complete 
 change in the forms of vegetable and animal life. In support 
 of this theory are found the remains of the mastodon im- 
 bedded in fields of Alaskan ice, traces of other animals in- 
 digenous to a milder climate, in addition to the geological evi- 
 dence in some of the substratas of the earth. The United 
 States Geological Survey, we are informed, states that North- 
 western Alaska belongs to a much earlier period than any other 
 part of the western section of the United States. It possibly 
 may be classified as belonging to the lower stratas of the 
 Paleozoic age. The tundra has probably been made by the 
 receding waters of the ocean. It is known that the waters of 
 the Pacific, on the west coast of America, are receding so that 
 in the course of a century several feet are added to the shore 
 line. In the tundra are found evidences of this in the form 
 of driftwood, remains of sea life and the sand stratas of the 
 ocean shore. 
 
 In Northwestern Alaska, and particularly in the territory 
 contiguous to Nome, the mountains are not precipitous, but 
 are cut up by numerous streams into a heterogenous mass of 
 varying altitudes, the ridges trending in the direction of the 
 principal streams. The highest point is thirty-five miles north 
 of Nome, Mt. Osborn, in the Sawtooth range, 4800 feet. Geol- 
 ogists assert that there is no evidence of glacial disturbance 
 in this country, but the sharp edges of float show that the 
 action of water has not been the principal agency in depositing 
 
136 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 this kind of rock where it is found, and the twisted, contorted 
 condition of the bedrock and frequent displacement indicate a 
 disturbing force that can not be attributed to the numerous 
 slides. 
 
 Nome and Teller are situated in one of the greatest mineral 
 zones of Northwest Alaska. The country rock, mica schist, 
 is frequently found as bedrock, decomposed so that a pick and 
 shovel easily removes it. The entire surface of this part of 
 the earth, except in the river beds and where rock crops, is 
 covered with moss, beneath which there is a very scant alluvial 
 deposit. The superstratas of bedrock, which is of varying 
 depth, but seldom very deep, are clay and sand. Many quartz 
 ledges doubtless exist in this formation but they are covered 
 with moss and difficult to find. Those that have been discov- 
 ered lay exposed by streams or the sea. 
 
 Between the mineral zones are belts of coarse granite, their 
 dark dykes cropping in rugged outline and sharp contrast to 
 the light shale of the mineralized part of the country. 
 
 One of the most agreeable surprises to the Nome or Teller 
 summer visitor is the climate. He expects to find cold, rainy, 
 disagreeable weather, and prepares for it with heavy woolen 
 underwear, and outer garments of oilskin and rubber. But he 
 finds the ordinary clothing worn in San Francisco and Seattle 
 more comfortable. The days are bright and warm and the 
 early summer is dry, too dry to please the miners. 
 
 The greatest variation of temperature is probably from 50 
 degrees below in winter to 70 degrees above in summer. For 
 these places of recent settlement an accurate meteorological 
 record can not be given. Such a record would not convey a 
 complete idea of the temperature and meteorological condi- 
 tions. It is possible for conditions to exist where 50 degrees 
 below zero is more comfortable than 30 below in some other 
 locality. Besides, simple figures do not tell the story of the 
 facts they record; so, if the reader will follow us through the 
 seasons we will endeavor to impart the knowledge of experi- 
 ence. "All's well that ends well"; so we will begin with 
 autumn and end with summer. 
 
 September, and shorter days and colder nights are on picket 
 duty for winter; some mornings there are frost and thin ice, 
 while back in the mountains heavy snows fall. The wind 
 blows, sometimes furiously. The southeast gales sweep over 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 137 
 
 Bering Sea, and make the destructive storms of Nome. Teller, 
 luring on a small bay, does not suffer so much. These gales 
 usually last two or three days, and are succeeded by a few 
 days of fair weather. The wind is unsteady, shifting to all 
 points of the compass. The atmosphere is laden with moisture 
 and frequent precipitations result. There are squalls and 
 drizzles, but there are calms and sunshine. October differs 
 only in temperature, but frequently, the natives tell, there 
 have been weeks of splendid weather during these months. 
 
 During the month of November the snow falls thick and 
 fast. There is muchice in Bering Sea, and quietly the ice floats 
 downward from the north. Some mornings the people of these 
 towns awaken and behold this restless sea a silent field of ice. 
 Winter is here; the snow blows and drifts and the north wind 
 " is a nipping and an eager air. ' ' But so gradual has been his 
 approach, and so well prepared is everybody that business is 
 not suspended nor work impeded to any great extent, except in 
 bad winters like the one of 1900-1. The days are short and the 
 nights long, but the great white robe of the cold earth pre- 
 vents the darkness that otherwise would make the nights 
 dreary. Houses are made tight and comfortable. Men with 
 dog teams travel over the country, and the ordinary affairs of 
 life pursue the even tenor of their way, very 'much the same 
 as in New England or Canada. Some days are very cold, but the 
 thermometer in an ordinary winter is frequently and for days 
 above zero. And thus the winter passes. 
 
 Spring is heralded by chinooks or warm winds, and, as 
 gradually as he approaches, winter departs. The longer and 
 warmer days are loosening the icy grip that clasps the earth 
 and holds the waters imperceptibly as seen from day to day, 
 but surely, as the weeks pass. The ice breaks, forms again, 
 and breaks until some fine day in May or June it floats away, 
 and the rytlimical pulsebeats of Bering Sea are heard again. 
 The people wait anxiously and look longingly for the first 
 steamer that will restore commercial relations with the out- 
 side world. They had watched the last outgoing vessel with 
 a feeling of isolation, and as the desire for a nearer touch of 
 the great human family is soon to be realized there is pleasure 
 in its contemplation. The spring has passed. 
 
 The summer begins with fine weather. The sun is bright and 
 warm and the earth responds to his genial rays by sending 
 
138 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 up grass where the moss has not protected the frost, and wild 
 flowers in astonishing variety and of the most beautiful and 
 delicate colors. During the month of June ' ' there is no night ; 
 what seems so is transition" from twilight to dawn. From 
 June until August, Nome and Teller might be seaside resorts. 
 The waves of the sea idly lap the shore. Women wear white 
 shirt waists and screen their faces from the sun with parasols. 
 The hills back of these towns are a delightful place for a ramble 
 if one loves pretty flowers. The atmosphere is invigorating. 
 
 This is a treeless country. For many miles back into the 
 mountains the only evidence of timber is willow thickets on 
 the creeks and gulches. These willows attain a height of 
 three or four feet. They burn quickly, but make good fuel, 
 and are utilized by miners and prospectors. It is probably 
 fifty miles from Nome in the direction of Council City to the 
 timber line. The timber one finds here is spruce, big enough 
 for cabin logs, but not an inviting field for the lumber industry. 
 
 The great reach of bare hills and mountains does not make 
 the most charming ^perspective, but an agreeable surprise 
 awaits anyone who travels over this country during the month 
 of July. He will forget all about the perspective in contem- 
 plation of the "beauty of his immediate surroundings. The 
 moss is a carpet in all shades of brown, and verdant spots 
 adorn many places where there are soil and sunshine. The 
 flowers are beautiful ; little ones that belong to the daisy family 
 are everywhere; forget-me-nots with the richest fragrance, 
 adorn the benches and in moist spots the stately fleur de lis 
 as they bend with the breeze, greet the passerby; buttercups 
 make one think of the Mikado air "The flowers that bloom 
 in the spring;" but the most beautiful flower of them all is the 
 pansy, a wee, delicate thing, hiding its rare beauty near the 
 earth and beneath the greater effulgence of its more gorgeous 
 sisters. The writer has never seen this little beauty, with its 
 delicate blending tints, except in the Santa Cruz mountains, 
 California. It grows there, but not to greater perfection than 
 it does in the hills of Nome and Teller. These are a few of 
 the old favorites you can find in this part of Alaska, but there 
 are many varieties. In a space of ten feet square twenty 
 varieties of wild flowers have been gathered. They are not 
 of such luxuriant growth as the same varieties in a more tern- 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 139 
 
 perate clime, but the loss in luxuriance is more than balanced 
 l>y the gain in delicate coloring and refinement. 
 
 Later in the season the moss is plentifully sprinkled with 
 salmon berries, and blueberries are abundant. 
 
 The story of the discovery of gold in this section of North- 
 western Alaska has been often told and need not be repeated 
 here. In 1898, when the first "prospects" were found, it was 
 not dreamed that a gold bearing area of country extending from 
 Norton Bay to the Arctic Ocean and for one hundred miles 
 inland from the coast of Bering Sea ever existed. Yet such 
 was the case; the developments since that time have amply 
 demonstrated the fact that here in this bleak country are 
 deposits of gold which for richness and extent have never been 
 equalled in the history of gold discoveries. And these do not 
 only include placer, but quartz as well. Prospecting for 
 quartz may be said to have only been begun, but enough work 
 has been accomplished to show the existence of both gold and 
 copper ledges, some of which promise to be exceedingly rich 
 and valuable. Galena mines in the Fish River country were 
 worked years ago, but these have long since been abandoned, 
 not because the ledges were exhausted, but because of the 
 "slump" in the price of silver and the cost of working these 
 mines under the difficult conditions existing at that time. 
 
 As has been stated the placer prospects extend from Norton 
 Bay over all Northwestern Alaska. The mining district which 
 has hitherto commanded the greatest amount of attention, by 
 reason of its discovery and development work, is Cape Nome. 
 The fame of Anvil, Snow, Glacier and Dexter Creeks has gone 
 abroad. Dozens of others have been added to the list of actual 
 producers, besides a large area of rich bench claims in the 
 neighborhood of Anvil and Dexter Creeks, and many of which 
 have proved phenomenally rich. 
 
 Very little work has been done in the Norton Bay country. 
 This section is well watered and wooded, and will undoubtedly 
 be added to the list of gold producers. Extensive quartz 
 ledges have also been found here, as well as a fine quality of 
 coal. 
 
 In the Council City, or Golvin Bay country, a great deal of 
 work has been done. There are many promising creeks in this 
 section, actual producers, among which may be mentioned 
 Ophir, Crooked, Sweetcake, Elkhorn, besides scores of others 
 
140 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 upon wiich sufficient development work has been done to 
 establish the fact that they contain pay. Ophir is a rich creek 
 and has already produced hundreds of thousands of dollars in 
 dust. 
 
 Tributary to Council City, Teller and Nome is the great 
 Casa de poga country, embracing thousands of creeks and 
 river benches. A good deal of prospecting has been done, but 
 little actual mining work has been accomplished. 
 
 The origin of the name Nome has never been discussed in 
 print. People have speculated about it, and wondered if there 
 were natives here who believed in elfs and fairies and gnomes 
 and other sprites, and if this particular part of the peninsula 
 was the habitat of the gnomes. But the natives are not so 
 poetical and imaginative. The gnomes of fairyland are 
 strangers to the Eskimo. He is not as sublime as the "Poor 
 Indian who sees God in the cloud and hears Him in the wind. ' ' 
 His deities inhabit beavers and wolves. 
 
 The Eskimo equivalent for "No" is "no me"; for "I don't 
 know", "Ka no me." 
 
 In the earlier days, when there were but few white men on 
 the peninsula, a whaler or trader on landing would inquire of 
 the natives about something or someone. The answer was 
 almost invariably, "no me" or "Ka no me", and these terms 
 have been abbreviated into the monosyllable Nome. Hence 
 the name. 
 
 Probably, if a California miner had named Nome, following 
 the example of those who named Hangtown, Jimtown, Big Oak 
 Flat, and other places according to the Indian custom, he 
 might have called it Stringtown, because it is strung along the 
 beach for several miles. Nome town lots have been staked on 
 the shores of the Bering Sea for three miles, and Teller is 
 almost as long. During the summer of 1900 there were tents 
 five times that distance, and occasional stores, and saloons for 
 the accommodation of the miners. At one time, there were 
 fifteen thousand people in Nome and all day long the crowd on 
 the main street equalled any seen on the principal thorough- 
 fare of a metropolis. 
 
 When navigation closes the town is confined to an area of 
 three square miles, and consists of a population of probably 
 5000. Considering its age, it is substantially constructed. 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 141 
 
 The buildings liave been put up for winter use, and are pro- 
 vided with double floors, ceilings and storm doors. 
 
 Nome has two principal streets, First and Second, running 
 parallel to the beach. Most of the business is conducted on 
 First street. The principal cross street is Steadman Avenue. 
 Nearly every important business is represented at Nome. The 
 number of business houses and offices is not less than 400. 
 There is a telephone system connecting the leading business 
 houses and the town with the mines on Anvil and Dexter 
 creeks. The Nome water company has a pipe line from Anvil 
 mountain to Nome, and supplies the town with pure spring 
 water. 
 
 One of the most novel features of Nome, because one would 
 hardly expect to find such a thing in this remote region is the 
 wild goose railroad. This road is five miles long connecting 
 Nome with the Anvil mines. The cheerful whistle of the 
 little engine is heard with a feeling of pride and pleasure, as 
 a railroad indicates one of the most important steps in the 
 development of a country. The growth of Nome from a popu- 
 lation of 2500 in the winter of 1899, to 15,000 in 1900, is remark- 
 able. Nome has incorporated, being the only incorporated 
 town in Alaska. About 300 regular soldiers are stationed 
 there, and before incorporation, they afforded police protection. 
 But, at no time, has the camp been riotous or unruly. Con- 
 sidering the fact that a new mining camp is generally the 
 Mecca of many disreputable and hard-case adventurers, the 
 town has been remarkably quiet and orderly. 
 
 Nome has four churches, the Catholic, Episcopal, Congrega- 
 tional and Presbyterian, and a weekly meeting of Theosophists 
 and people interested in that line of thought, is held. There 
 is a school and good postal facilities. A large and commodious 
 court house has been built for the accommodation of the dis- 
 trict court. Considering all circumstances, Nome is an up- 
 to-date city, and an illustration of the wonderful enterprise 
 and capability of the progressive American. 
 
 A railroad to Teller, which is one of the probabilities of the 
 near future, will connect Nome with one of the best harbors, 
 on the coast, and open up one of the finest mineral countries of 
 the world. 
 
 The facts unquestioned by those who know anything about 
 
142 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 the country, that there are the most extensive gold fields on 
 this peninsula ever discovered, and that the country contiguous 
 to Nome and Teller is rich with the precious mineral, and will 
 not be worked out for many years, presage a future bright 
 from a commercial standpoint, and full of promise to all who 
 have been fortunate enough to secure interests here. 
 
 Teller is named after United States Senator Teller, the man 
 who has done so much for the miners of Alaska in particular, 
 and the other member of that craft, wheresoever dispersed 
 around the United States. It has the distinction of being the 
 most northern town on the American continent. 
 
 Within a month after the first tent was put up, there was a 
 population of fully one thousand souls, the result of the wonder- 
 ful discoveries on the Bluestone, Krougarock, and other adjoin- 
 ing districts. 
 
 Unlike Nome, Teller is founded on a gravel bed. There is 
 little or no tundra on the town site. It has a most excellent 
 harbor. In fact, there is what might be called an outer and 
 an inner harbor, as the town faces both Port Clarence Bay, 
 itself well protected, and Grant ley Harbor, a smaller body of 
 water, tributary to the Bay and a typical haven. Though a 
 year younger, Teller bids fair to rival and even outdo Nome 
 in growth. It has two wide business streets and is very neatly 
 laid out. There were six or eight stores, four hotels and 
 seventeen saloons in full blast before the camp was a month 
 old. Steps are being taken to incorporate, and no doubt before 
 this book goes to press this will have become an accomplished 
 fact. 
 
 There had not been a single death from disease in Teller 
 up to the time I left. This shows that the location is a healthy 
 one. It is the key city to the newly discovered gold fields, and 
 if they turn out as well as the prospects indicate, the future 
 of the camp will be a bright one. 
 
 When a person makes up his mind to go to Alaska, the first 
 question that presents itself is what to take along in the way 
 of provisions, clothing, etc. All the pamphlets on Alaska con- 
 tain a list of the things one should have. Some of these writers 
 have never been in Alaska, and the "cheechako" upon his 
 arrival here, finds himself provided with a lot of useless truck, 
 and unprovided' with many things that are necessary. 
 
 The best way to obviate this is to bring only such articles as 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 143 
 
 are necessary, and buy what yon need after arriving here. If 
 one comes to prospect and mine there is a splendid opportunity 
 to get a second service out of old clothes. If one lives in town, 
 he should dress as he would in any other civilized and respect- 
 able community. But these are matters that can be easily 
 settled after he gets here. 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 By Sam C. Dunham. 
 
 I am out upon the ocean, 
 
 Sailing southward to the Sound 
 With six hundred busted brothers, 
 
 Kicking hard, but homeward bound. 
 There are sixty in the staterooms 
 
 And some eighty souls or so 
 Sleeping on the floors and tables, 
 
 While the rest seek sleep below. 
 
 Of the sixty in the cabin 
 
 Only thirty had the stuff, 
 While the others came on passes 
 
 Or some other sort of bluff. 
 How the hundreds in the steerage 
 
 Got the gold to get them home, 
 Always will remain the greatest 
 
 Of the mvsteries of Nome. 
 
 There 's a siren from Seattle 
 
 Who is traveling in style, 
 Basking in the brilliant sunshine 
 
 Of the purser's dazzling smile, 
 She has jumped a first-class stateroom 
 
 That is simply out of sight. 
 And has oranges and apples 
 
 With her champagne every night. 
 
 There's a widow with two children 
 Who is trying to get home, 
 
144 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 Having given up the struggle 
 
 When her husband died at Nome. 
 Both her kids exhibit cravings 
 
 For all kinds of fruit and things, 
 But they can't get 'nough of either 
 
 To distend their little strings. 
 
 There's a smooth absconding lawyer, 
 
 Wearing diamonds like a sport, 
 Who spends all his lucid moments 
 
 Praising Nome 's imported court. 
 He has beefsteaks in his stateroom, 
 
 Purloined by the pantryman, 
 While his clients in the steerage 
 
 Eat cold corn-beef from a. can. 
 
 There's a Topkuk sub-receiver 
 
 Who is smuggling like a thief 
 All the gold the gang could gobble 
 
 For their late transported chief. 
 He indulges in fresh oysters, 
 
 Fine cigars and foreign wines, 
 While the man who first staked Topkuk 
 
 Tells us how they robbed his mines. 
 
 * 
 
 There are counts galore from Paris 
 
 And a few of them from Spain, 
 Who invaded Nome to traffic; 
 
 But they'll not do so again, 
 For they found their debts so heavy 
 
 That they had to leave them there, 
 While their unpaid dago valets 
 
 Had to come out on the Bear. 
 
 Late last night they gave a banquet, 
 And imposed some heavy fines 
 
 To defray the steward's charges 
 
 For his bummest brands of wines. 
 
 All the guests stood the assessment 
 Without making any kick, 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 145 
 
 But as soon as they get sober 
 They'll appreciate the trick. 
 
 I shall not recount the horrors 
 
 And the terrors of the trip, 
 For the same may be imagined 
 
 By all those who know the ship; 
 But I'll simply say in closing 
 
 That the most distressing fact 
 That has come to my attention 
 
 Is the way the ladies act. 
 
 THE END. 
 
146 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 AFFIDAVIT OF G. P. HALL. 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) 
 
 District of Alaska, f ss * 
 
 G. P. Hall, being first duly sworn, deposes and says: 
 
 "I know James A. Hall. I first met him on or about July 
 12th, 1900, and on July 15th, 1900, he started in company with 
 Dr. W. T. S Vincent and myself on a three days' trip into the 
 mountains near the coast of the Arctic Ocean in search of a 
 quartz prospect that Dr. Vincent and I had information about. 
 On the evening of July 17th, 1900, we were separated from Mr. 
 Hall, on the top of a high, rough mountain, in a dense fog. 
 We expected to be back at Teller again within three days after 
 we started, so only took provision for that length of time. 
 
 "I know that Mr. Hall did not have as much as three pounds 
 of food left when we were separated, and had no compass, 
 gun or fishing apparatus. Shortly after we were parted from 
 liiu we were ourselves lost for some time. 
 
 "The day after our separation was a clear, bright one, and 
 from the top of that high mountain he could easily have seen 
 and mistaken a spit on the Arctic Ocean for one on the Bering 
 Sea. 
 
 "Distances are very deceptive in the atmosphere of this 
 country. Heavy, cold rain storms began about August 1st, 
 
 1900, and lasted until about the 1st of September, when it 
 began snowing. 
 
 "During August, there was one of the heaviest rain storms 
 I have ever seen in my several years in this country. 
 "Mr. Hall was clad in summer clothing." 
 
 G. P. HALL. 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 24th day of July, 
 
 1901. T. G. WILSON, 
 Notary Public in and for the District of Alaska. 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 147 
 
 CERTIFICATE OF ERNEST G. ROGNON, EX-U. S. 
 
 COMMISSIONER. 
 
 Teller, Alaska, Aug. 20, 1901. 
 To Whom It May Concern: 
 
 The experience of Janies A. Hall, as related in Ms book, 
 'Starving on a Bed of Gold," is so remarkable that many 
 people will no doubt find it difficult to believe that anyone 
 could survive such suffering and hardships and be able to tell 
 the story. On August 28th, 1900, Dr. W. B. Deas brought to 
 my office, when I was the U. S. Commissioner at Teller, the 
 valise and other personal effects of Mr. Hall, with the request 
 that I forward them to his relatives, since there was no doubt 
 that Mr. Hall had perished. I was here when he was brought 
 to Teller, and know that the main facts as narrated by him are 
 true. ERNEST GL EOGNON, 
 
 Ex.-TJ. S. Commissioner. 
 
148 STARVING ON A BED OF GOLD 
 
 AFFIDAVIT OF WILLIAM M. WILSON, OF THE FIRM OF 
 " WILSON BROS." 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
 District of Alaska, 
 
 William M. Wilson, being duly sworn, says: 
 
 "I know James A. Hall and have known him since about 
 the middle of June, 1900. 
 
 "On July 15th, 1900, he started from the then town of Teller, 
 on Port Clarence Bay, Alaska, with two other men, to go on 
 a three or four days' prospecting trip in the mountains near 
 the Arctic Ocean. I put up the provisions for him myself. 
 He took about three pounds of bacon, a few crackers, a little 
 salt and a half-pound can of coffee. He had no firearms nor 
 fishing apparatus with him. He was brought directly to our 
 house by his rescuers. I did not know him at first, though I 
 was so well acquainted with him at old Teller. He was a com- 
 plete skeleton, although he had weighed fully 225 pounds when 
 he left our store on July 15th. 
 
 "Mr. HalPs reputation for truthfulness is first-class and 
 there can be no doubt that he states all the facts just as they 
 occurred. It is not doubted in this community, in fact there 
 are dozens of witnesses as to the length of time he was lost, 
 the amount of food he had with him, the condition of the 
 weather he experienced and his physical condition when found. 
 
 W. M. WILSON. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this llth day of October, 
 1901. EOBEET M. PEICE, 
 
 Notary Public for the District of Alaska. 
 
OR, THE WORLD'S LONGEST FAST 149 
 
 AFFIDAVIT OF THE MAYOR AND POSTMASTER OF 
 TELLER, ALASKA. 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMEKICA, 
 
 District of Alaska, 
 
 Thomas G. Wilson, being first duly sworn, says: 
 
 1 i I know James A. Hall and have known him since about the 
 middle of June, 1900. 
 
 On July 15th 1900, he left the then town of Teller, on Port 
 Clarence Bay, Alaska, with two other men, to go on a three- 
 days ' prospecting trip in the mountains, near the Arctic Ocean. 
 He took his provisions for the trip from the store of * Wilson 
 Bros. 7 , of which I was one of the proprietors. He took some 
 bacon, crackers, coffee and salt there not being over three 
 pounds of bacon and a very small quantity of crackers. I took 
 him and the two men who accompanied him down to what is 
 known as the Government Eeindeer Station in my launch, and 
 I know he had no firearms or fishing tackle. 
 
 "We had all given him up for dead many weeks before he 
 was finally brought in to our hotel, in the present town of 
 Teller (about seven miles from the town he left) on or about 
 September 26th, 1900. He was a strong, healthy man, of about 
 225 pounds in weight, and six feet and an inch and a half tall, 
 when he started, and when brought into our place on a 
 stretcher, was as near a skeleton as it seems possible for a 
 living human being to be. Though I had known him inti- 
 mately before he went on the trip, it was some time before I 
 recognized him when brought in. It was about a month before 
 he could walk across the floor. He stayed at our hotel all the 
 terrible winter just passed, and it was predicted by a large 
 number of the residents of this town that he would not li e 
 until spring. The last winter is reported to be the worst one 
 that has occurred in this part of Alaska for twenty years. 
 
 T. G. WILSON, 
 
 Subscribed ana sworn to before me this llth day of 
 October, A. D. 1901. 
 
 EOBEET M. PEICE, 
 Notary Public in and for the District of Alaska. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 LIBRARY 
 
 This is the date on which this 
 book was charged out. 
 
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 JAN 2 7 1995 
 
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