Rensselaer Journal, Volume 12, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 October 1902 — ALONG THE YUKON. [ARTICLE]

ALONG THE YUKON.

A Rose Lawn Boy Describes His Experience In the Klondyke. WORKING ON JONAH CRBKK. After staking our claims we decided to begin work on No. 5. We hauled on sleds our blankets, grub, axes, etc., about a mile up the guloh where we set up a 20x20 tent near a shoulder of the mountain on the north side of the guloh. The tent was up the first day. Munger and Armstrong deoided to stay while the rest of us went back for another load of supplies. It was 44 degrees below zero and Munger was lightly dressed and had light blankets. When under their blankets

trying to sleep Munger became ohilled so he couldn’t sleep and did a lot of kicking to Armstrong. Finally towards morning Armstrong came to the conclusion that Munger was in danger of freezing, so built a fire in the stove, but it couldn’t do much in the way of heating so large a tent In that temperature. Munger sat by the stove and growled. Armstrong pushed wood into the stove and “cussed.” He wanted to sleep. As soon as it became light Munger headed for town five miles away, arriving there early with one heel frozen. He said he had had all the prospecting he wanted in that climate. In telling about It afterwards Armstrong said: “All night long I was afraid he’d freeze, but by morning I was wishing he would. Then I cussed him, thinking I’d make him hot, but it didn’t phase him.” Getting enough, or a little more of the cold side of Alaska climate is usually termed “getting cold feet.” While we were building the cabin the three of us slept in the tent. As the mercury stayed near 40 degrees below we made haste, for we didn’t sleep any too well under blankets, and we had no fur robes, the proper winter bed.

One morning about three the intense stillness was broken by a low rumbling sound which became a roar, then shook the earth like an earthquake. I was awake. The sound wakened the other two boys, and we set about trying to account for it. It sonnded to me much like the discharge of a heavy blast of powder or dynamite. Ohas. and Frank thought it must be an earthquake and so did I for we knew of no large amount of powder In the country. Finally we gave it up and went to sleep again. Next morning a hundred yards from the tent we came aoross the explanation. There had been a landslide, bringing down a good many cords of wood besides many tons of rock and

gravel. Some of the trees were splintered as if by lightning, where they had come to a stop against the frozen ground and rocks. Had we been a hundred yards farther up the stream we probably would have been lying there now. Our cabin 9x13 in size was built in three days, and we moved in. We were more comfortable at nights tho’ I conld see the stars when I looked up through the roof. Being short of bank room one of us used to sleep on the table, a shelf about fourteen inches wide. One night Oharles in his sleep, kicked the sour dough and a bag of flour off the end he wasn’t using. Fortunately the dough was too frozen to spill.

Down along the Yukon we knew whfere there was some good long moss. Frank packed up a big bundle of it and we chinked the cracks besides covering the pole roof. This was a great improvement and made the cabin fairly comfortable. Our stove was a patent oontraption with a telescope pipe which had a habit of ooming down every few days. Several times it set the cabin on fire. The door was a piece of a blanket nailed at the top and on one side- We need blocks of wood for chairs, or stood up. One bunk was tirade on the frozen ground. Cook and Armstrong slept there and complained a great deal

slept above them on a bunk of poles. The poles were not very olose together. The longer I Blept there the wider an opening under me became till I was sleeping on one Dole, wedged in between two others. Frank oalled. it sleeping on a rail. One day Oook and I went down stream to start a hole. Armstrong went up Spruce creek to Bee where it came from and Frank went up Jonab oreek to explore. About 1 p. m. we oame baok for dinner and found the cabin a blazing heap. The only thing we saved was a thermometer whioh rested in a snow bank near by. All four of us reached the cabin at about the same time. Oook set up a shout as soon as he was near enough, saying, “Boys, I*ll bet that bed of mine 1* warm for once, hurrah!'*. The stove pipe probably telesooped, and the moss cacthing Are soon spread the flames. I felt the loss of my camera and diary more than anything else for they could not be replaced. Frank and I went to our cabin on the the rest went to town. Some days later Frank concluded to go prospecting farther up the oreek. He took a 7x7 tent and some supplies and went. One day I went up to see how he was getting along. He had the tent up with a “summer bitohen’ , of poles at one end. In this was a stove.-He slept on a bed of poles. In going up his beans and flour became mixed. He separated them by sifting the flour thro’ a sieve made of a baking powder can, punohed full of holes. When asked if it wasn’t slow work he said that It was a pleasing reoreation with whioh to pass the time away before going to bed. After a time Charles went up and worked with him.

In prospecting we selected a place as near the bottom of the gulch as was convenient and built a Are over the ground where we wished to dig. This would thaw the ground down a couple of inohas. Then another fire was built, after digging away the thawed ground. The second fire usually thawed down six or eight inches, after which each fire would thaw a foot or more. We put down four holes at a time. When the hole was too deep to throw the dirt from conveniently a windlass wss set over it and the gravel hauled up in a wooden bnoket. This digging was continued till we came to solid rock, or “bed rock.” All the way down after striking gravel the dirt was panned to see if itcontained any gold. On this gulch we struck bed rook at from eight to twelve feet. Thawing the ground in this way is called “burning.” Around Rampart everything is frozen solid tobed rock. In the Birch creek distriot back of Circle the ground is usually not frozen in summer and only six or about the cold. Frank and I usually eight feet deep in winter. One day as I was cutting a tree back ot the cabin

I heard two war whoops from inside. Frank and Ohas. were panning. They bad struck colors so they said I thought they had salted the dirt but after panning a pan and getting colors I knew we had gold. Then we dug harder than ever. The colors came from a stratum of gravel about eight feet down. We “cross cut” the creek and worked till in February when the cabin burned, but finding no pay soon after abandoned the creek entirely. Frank and Ohas. made the last trip up the gulch and wrote on each claim stake, “This creek is a Jonah,” and that’s how the creek got its name. There may be pay there, but if so it is reserved for some one more fortunate than we were. A Prospector.

Judge Thompson last week sustained bhe demurrer of the defendant in the J. R. Davis'Newton county court house injunction suit, and Mr. Davis has withdrawn the suit. This decision wipes the case from the court docket and if further proceedings are desired by opponents of removal, a new suit will be necessary. The matter of letting the contract for the court house at Goodland will come before the commissioners next week, bidß having been advertised for.