She wears what she pleases en route to Juneau or St. Michael, and when she makes her start for the diggings she lays aside every civilized traveling garb, including shoes and stays, until she comes out. Instead of carrying the fur robe, fur coat and rubber boots along, she can get them on entering Alaska, but the experienced ones say, take them along. Leggings and shoes are not so safe nor desirable as the moccasins. A trunk is not the thing to transport baggage in. It is much better in a pack, with the oilskin cover well tied on. The things to add that are useful, but not absolutely necessary, are chocolate, coffee and the smaller light luxuries.
Beds are made on a platform raised a few feet from the floor, and about seven feet wide. Often consists of a reindeer skin with the hair on and one end sewn up so as to make a sort of bag to put the feet in. A pillow of wild goose feathers, and a pair of blankets. Sheets, which have been unknown heretofore, may become essential, but such a conventionality as a counterpane would better be left behind.
Provisions.—There was a report that Canadian mounted police would guard the passes during the latter part of the summer of 1897 and refuse admission to anyone who did not bring a year's provisions with him. This has been estimated as weighing 1,800 pounds. Whether this is true or not, it is certain that no one should go into the Yukon country without taking a large supply of food, and taking it from his starting-point. Whatever is the most condensed and nutritious is the cheapest, and this should be collected with great care. There is well-grounded fear that famine may overtake all the camps there before the opening of navigation in the spring. Newspapers on August 2nd reported agents of the Alaska Commercial Company as saying:
"We shall refuse to take passengers at all in our next steamer. We could sell every berth at the price we have been asking—$250, as against $120 last spring—but we shall not sell one. We shall fill up with provisions, and I have no doubt the Pacific Coast Company will do the same. We are afraid. Those who are mad to get to the diggings will probably be able to get transportation by chartering tramp steamers, and there is a serious risk that there will not be food enough for them at Juneau or on the Yukon. After the season closes it will be next to impossible to get supplies into the Yukon country, and a large proportion of the gold seekers may starve to death. That would be an ominous beginning for the new camp. Alaska is not like California or Australia or South Africa. It produces nothing. When the supplies from outside are exhausted, famine must follow—to what degree no one can tell."
It was further understood at this date that there are 2,000 tons of food at St. Michael, and the Alaska Company has three large and three small steamers to carry it up river. It is hard to ascertain how much there is at Juneau; it is vaguely stated that there are 5,000 tons. At a pinch steamers might work their way for several months to come through the ice to that port from Seattle, which is only three days distant. But it may be nip and tuck if there is any rush of gold seekers from the East.
Alaskan Mails.—Between Seattle and Sitka the mail steamers ply regularly. On the City of Topeka there has been established a regular sea post-office service. W. R. Curtis is the clerk in charge. Between Sitka and Juneau there is a closed pouch steamboat service. Seattle makes up closed pouches for Douglas, Fort Wrangel, Juneau, Killisnoo, Ketchikan, Mary Island, Sitka, and Metlakatlah. Connecting at Sitka is other sea service between that point and Unalaska, 1,400 miles to the west. This service consists of one trip a month between Sitka and Unalaska from April to October and leaves Sitka immediately upon arrival of the mails from Seattle. Captain J. E. Hanson is acting clerk. From Unalaska the mails are dispatched to St. Michael and thence to points on the Yukon.
The Postoffice department has perfected not only a summer but a winter star route service between Juneau and Circle City. The route is overland and by boats and rafts over the lakes and down the Yukon, and is 900 miles long. A Chicago man named Beddoe carries the summer mail, making five trips between June and November, and is paid $500 a trip. Two Juneau men, Frank Corwin and Albert Hayes, operate the winter service and draw for each round trip $1,700 in gold. About 1,200 letters are carried on each trip. The cost of forwarding letters from Circle City to Dawson City is one dollar for each letter and two for each paper, the mails being sent over once a month. The Chilkoot Pass is crossed with the mail by means of Indian carriers. On the previous trips the carriers, after finishing the pass, built their boats, but they now have their own to pass the lakes and the Lewes River.
In the winter transportation is carried on by means of dogsleds, and it is hoped that under the present contracts there will be no stoppage, no matter how low the temperature may go. The contractor has reported that he was sending a boat, in sections, by way of St. Michael, up the Yukon River, to be used on the waterway of the route, and it is thought much time will be saved by this, as formerly it was necessary for the carriers to stop and build boats or rafts to pass the lakes.