A YUKON OUTFIT
WHAT THE GOLD HUNTER
SHOULD TAKE.
Sound Arivlct. for Those Who Contem
plate Seeking Their Fortune fn the
New Gold I'lell of AIunUh anil the
Korthwent Territory
Special Correspondence.
The most practical and vital question
to bo decided by the man who intends
to go to the Yukon next year is the
composition and quantity of his outfit.
What should hu take and how much of
it. This is far more important a ques
tion than that of tbo route he shall se
lect, since by any regular route he
would probably reach his destination,
while should he not have a proper out
fit, he would be likely to find his labor
to have been all in vain, with failure
and possible starvation staring hiin in
the face.
Whatever a man would require to
eat, to wear or to work with he should
take with biro. To go into that coun
try depending upon .being able to pur
chase any of the necessaries of life or
nnocessf.il work is to run the risk of
utte? failure and calamity. Again and
again was this asserted by experienced
Yukoncrs when the excitement broko
out in July. Publicly through the
press and privately on all occasions
they advised gold seekers to take with
them a complete equipment for 18
months, certainly not less than a year,
and to place no dependence whatever
upon being able to purchase what they
might need from trading posts. This
advice was bussed upon the well-known
conditions of work and transportation
in that region. The minor might be
located several hundred miles byn trail
impassable in winter from the nearest
trading post, while the post itself, even
if accessible, might fail to secure a
stock of goods.
The soundness of this advice has
been amply demonstrated the present
season. Hundreds who did not give it
sufficient weight, have rushed into
Dawson City with not enough food to
last them through the winter, only to
find thut not a pound of food is to be
purchased there, and that they are but
adding to the distress of those already
threatened with starvation. They
have not done this in ignorance, but in
dofianoe of the advice of men ot experi
ence. The golden mirage of their im
aginations has blinded them to the
practioul, and they have rushed head
long to needless hardships, if not de
struction. Yet the majority of them
took this advice seriously at first, and
equipped themselves well for the jour
ney. Very few, indeed, of thoso who
have reached Dawson with almost noth
ing for their support thiii winter, land
ed at Dyea or Hkagway with less than
a thousand pounds of supplies each.
The secret of their present shortness is
the difficulties of the trail and their in
tense eagerness to reach their destina
tion. They have disposed of or aban
doned the bulk of their outfits, trusting
to luok, or the deity supposed to have
fools in his special charge, to get
through the wintor somehow. They
would have done better to have euniped
at the lakes till spring, than to have
Kone on to Dawson short of supplies.
They would have done still better, when
they found they could not get through
this fall in good shape, to have returned
to the coast and waited until spring for
another attempt fully equipped. Those
who followed this course are intlnetly
better off than those who sacrificed
everything to their insane eagerness to
got through, and are now at Dawson
with nothing to do and threatened with
being overwhelmed by a calamity of
their own creation.
The value of the advice given to those
who started last tall has been demon
Ktrated by their experiences. The same
advice is as valuable to those who will
go in the spring. Take everything
with you that yon anticipate to need
for a year for any purpose, and do not
depend upon being able to buv anything
whatever. It is folly to take for grant
ed that there will be so many new
steamers on the river next year that the
country will he amply supplied with
food and other necessaries. Assuming
that transportation facilities will be in
creased ten times, this will be offset
by the undoubted fact that more than
ten times as many persons will go in as
are there now, and that the added trans
portation facilities will be used to carry
them and their outfits. To the thou
Bands who are already there and must
depend entirely upon supplier brought
in for sale, must be added the other
thousands who will not heed the voice
of prudence and will rush in lightly
equipped, depending upon purchasing
what they need for the winter. It is
extremely doubtful whether enough
goods for sale can be taken in lieU
summer to supply this demand. In
deed, in view of the experiences of this
year, it is almost certain that they can
not
Kven if it were not for this uncer
tainty, the conditionsof successful work
there require that the miner take In a
full equipment ami have it with him
wherever he goes. The Yukon gold
fields cover a great area of country,
whllo the trading posts are few and at
present only along the Yukon river.
Other posts will doubtless be estnb
Huhed next vear, near such new dis
tricts as may become populous, yet even
these will bo only iu points ucccraibie
to steamers. Those going to the gold
fields must not expect to find claims
near the present centers of population.
They will be compelled to prospect dis
tant stream and gulches, and if suc
cessful, they may locate several hun
dred unlet from the nearest store. To
lie compelled to mako a journey after
BtiuplioK might ranse the loss of the eu
tire season's prospecting, even assuming
that the things needed could be pur
chased at all. Every prospootingjiarty
should be fully equipeped to subsist
itself for a year. Otherwise it can not
carry on its work under the conditions
necessary for success. This is made
clear when one understands the method
of mining and the difficulties of travel
in the winter season, in a mountainous
region without trails, the ground cov
ered with snow and tho thermometer
almost continuously below zero.
The ground is frozen from surface to
bedrock, a distance varying in mining
claims from 20 to 40 feet. Even in
summer it thaws out less than a foot
from the surface. The best pay dirt or
gravel is just above the bed rock, and
to sink a shaft down to this requires a
great deal of fuel, and it takes many
weeks of hard work in the open season
to gather fuel enough to last through
the; winter for heating and working
purposes. W.ater for washing out the
dirt and extracting the gold can be had
only in the summer and early fall. , In
some districts water flows only a few
weeks each year. All the dirt taken
out of the shaft is piled up near it till
the following summer, and until then
the miner can not tell what will be the
result of hiB year's labor.
This is the ordinary programme of
the Yukon miner. He roaches the gold
fields in June or July. He spends the
next few weeks in prospecting and
finally locates a claim. There is then
but a short time left in which to gather
fire wood and prcpuro for work. Dur
ing the winter he sinks his shaft and
piles up the dirt to be run through
sluice boxes the next summer. When
he can get water he begins washing,
and by the time he has completed it
more than a year has passed from the
time he first arrived in the gold fields,
and it mav then be too late for him to
get out ot the country that season. If
ho went in supplied for 18 months and
lias kept his supplies he is all right. If
not, he may be in the position of those
Klondike miners this winter, who have
not supplies to carry them through till
spring and can not buy them at any
price.
So much for the necessity of an
ample equipment. Now a few words
about tho nature of it. Some things
are absolute necessititcB, and one of
these is quicksilver for saving the gold.
Take five pounds. To be without it
would be like a soldier without ammu
nition. It should be in a metal flask
of some kind, something that will not
break, and care should bo taken not to
spill it. A pick and long-handled
shovel are necessary tools, also a gold
pan. You will want a kit of tools for
making a boat, as well as for building
a cabin, flumes, eto. It should consist
of whipsaw, handsaw, jack plane,
draw-knife, axo, claw hatchet, ham
mer, square, chisel, files, whetstone,
chalk line and wire ami galvanized
nails, also oakum, pitch, oars, row
locks, calking iron, boat cotton, twine,
sail needles, wooden block and mauila
cotton rope.
The necessary camping outfit con
sists of a tent, a Yukon stove, a nest of
three oainp kettles, fry pan, bake pan,
water bucket, plates, cup and suueer,
coffee pot, knives, forks, spoons, two
largo spoons and a butcher knife. Tho
best materials for utensils are alumi
num', graniteware and Btoel in the or
der named. No tin, china or glass is
desirable. Thero is no economy in not
g.'t'ting the best and a full equipment.
Food must be good ami properly cooked
if one would retain health ami be in
condition to work. Insufficient or
poorly cooked food, with little variety,
is the chief cause of scurvy. Too much
care cannot be exorcised in this par
ticular.
Ab for food, an adequate supply for
18 months weighs about a ton. The
chief items are CUO pounds of flour, 800
pounds of bacon, 160 pounds each of
beans and sugar, 75 pounds each of
rolled oats or other mush material and
corn meal, GO pounds of rico, six dozen
cans of condensed milk, !15 pounds of
butter in sealed cans, 150 pounds of
evaporated vegetables, 100 pounds of
evaporated fruit, 50 pounds of prunes
and raisins, 110 pounds of dried fish, 40
pounds of coffee, with baking powder,
soda, salt, pepper, ginger, mustard,
yeast cakes, tea, soap, matches, lime
juice (very important), dried beef, ex
tract of beef, soups in tins, sausage, to
bacco, etc., as desired, bearing in mind
always that variety of food promotes
health. There has more or less been
said in the papers about various con
centrated foods, but with the exception
of evaporated vegetables and fruit,
condensed preserves, condensed milk
and beef extract there is nothing yet
been brought forward which has been
proved desirable. One can not afford
to experiment with hla stomaoh in
Alaska.
All supplies should be carefully
packed in canvas sacks of a total weight
of 50 pounds each as nearly as possible.
Canvas of superior quality should be
used, the object being to preserve the
food from loss by dampness as well as
by breaking or tearing of tho packages.
Fifty pound packages are the most con
venient for handling, and this is often
as great a weight hb one man can carry.
It is better to have these canvas sacks
paraffined, to resist dampness. Do not
use oiled canvas, as the extreme cold
ness causes it to crack, with consequent
loss of the contents of the sack. This
is true also of oiled clothing, sleeping
bags, eto, Plain canvas is better than
oiled, and paraffined better than plain.
A canvas tarpaulin is necessary us an
outfit cover, and this may also be fitted
up and used for a sail. The canvas
sacks should be numbered and a list ot
the contents or each kept. Tho owner's
name should be plainly marked on
each. Such necessaries as niatohes,
candles, etc., should Vie distributed
throughout the sacks, so that a loss of
a portion of the outfit will not deprive
the owner of these things. Put
matches in tin boxes. The camper
will require a tent, 8x10 or 10x13
being the usual sites taken. Each
man should have a ounvas sleepiug hag,
preferably paraffined, with a hood to
draw over his head, lie can have an
other heavy woolen sleeping bag to go
inside this, or use blankets, as ho may
prefer, though there is more warmth
to the same weight in the sleeping bag.
As for clothing, the essentials are
maokinaw suits, heavy woolen under
wear and overshirts, heavy woolen
socks, woolen mitts and fleece lined
leather mitts, heavy leather boots, gum
boots, overalls, woolen cap, Boft felt
hat and a waterproof clothing.sack. To
this equipment one may add whatever
he may think desirable, but these at
least are necessary. The question of
footwear is an important one. Gum
boots are worn only while at work in
the water, either in a claim or along
the trail. Leather boots crack and are
easily ruined in the snow and cold.
The Indians make a moccasin boot,
called "muckluck," which is the usual
footwear along the Yukon, but it will
of course be impossible for them to sup
ply the demand for them next year.
This renders it advisable for the gold
seeker to take at least one extra pair of
boots with him. Tho most desirable is
the style of boot worn by lumbermen.
There are numerous little thingHthat
are a necessary part of an equipment.
Every man should have a small kit of
shoemaker's tools and supplies, also a
complete mending outfit for clothing,
toilet articles, etc., all in a case with
pockets, one that can be rolled up and
tied. A few yards of mosquito netting
are necessary, for mosquitoes are a pest.
Goggles to protect the eyes from snow
blindness are necessary. Pens, ink,
pencils, paper and government stamped
envelopes, both Canadian and United
States, should be taken. A few books
are worth their weight. Fishing
tackle and shot guns are likely to
prove of service, as the streams teem
with fish and water-fowl are extremely
abundant in summer. Traps are use
less, us all taking of animals for their
fur is done by Indians. A compass is
desirable, also snow calks for the feet.
For travel on the snow a Yukon sled is
needed. No matter by what route one
travels or how he expects to transport
his outfit, there will be times either on
the journey in or later when he will
have to pack supplies on his own back,
and he should be equipped for it. The
ordinary packing straps cut and gall the
shoulders and let the load lie like a
dead weight on the small of the back
and the kindoys. There are various
devices for, overcoming these troubles.
The best of them are the Merriam
pack, by which the weight is thrown
upon the hips, and the Yukon packing
frame, which places the weight on the
shoulders. Either is worth far more
than it costs to the man who has to
pack his outfit. In packing it is a
great mistake to overdo oneself or to
carry a load too far. The best plan is
to move the entire outfit along by short
stages, and then to stop work before
completely exhausted. One should bo
especially careful not to sit around
without a coat when heated or to wear
wet clothing when not at work.
Every man going to Alaska should
take a small supply of medicines
and surgical necessaries. These out
fits, both regular and homeopathic, may
be prooured in specially prepared oases,
and cost about $10. He should also
understand the use of the remedies aud
appliances.
Finally, the best advice of all is to
take only the best quality of every
thing, whether clothing, proivsions or
utensils, and to procure them from ex
perienced outfitters, who know just
what is wanted and how to pack it. It
is poor economy to save a cent or two a
pound on provisions and theh pay a
dollar a pound to get this cheap food to
its destination.
These things can all be bought cheap
er and to better advantage at the outfit
ting points from which the steamers
sail than at any other place. It is both
economy and widsom to wait until the
final starting point is reached before
outfitting, as a perfect equipment, se
lected under the advice of reliable out
fitters and properly packed, is half the
battle for success.
Girl I'lheri in a Church.
Because the members of his church
were negligent in attending Sunday
services and still more so in contribut
ing to the support of himself and the
church, Uev. Maurice Peiifield Fikes,
pastor of the First Baptist church at
Trenton, N. J., decided to try an inno
vation to attraot people to hear him
preach and their nickles and dimes
from their unwilling pockets. He in
troduced pretty girls as ushers, and is
more than pleased with tho results of
the first experiment. Mr. Fikes had
the sagacity to make announcement
of tho fact that the young women
would show folks to their sents and
take up the collection. He was care
ful, too, to pick out six of the prettiest
girls in his flock, so the church had
more young men in its pews than had
ever before been seen there. Every
seat in the church was filled long bo
fore services were begun, and it wa9
necessary to get chairs in the aisles
As ushers the girls were a grand sue
cess, but their best services weio given
when the tune came to take up the col
lection. The innovation doesn't meet
with the approval of the other preaoh
ers, who say that when people are
drawn to a church simplv for the privi
lege of looking upon a bevy of pretty
girls there is no lasting good to bo ex
pected from it. ""But Mr. Fikes says
that he believes in getting people into
his church ami he doesn't care how he
does it so long as the means are legiti
mate and honest. It took a long time
to take up the collection, but when it
was over and tho money counted there
was nearlv $1100 to add to the treasury
of the ohurcli.
Miss Maud Parks of Lock Raven,
Baltimore county, Md., was sitting near
a stove when a celluloid comb in her
hair caught fire. Somebody present
got a bucket ot water and emptied it
over her.
California claims the largest boy tn
! toe woriii ot ins nge. ilia name is
John Bardiu. He is 15 years old, f ix
feet five inches bill, aud weighs 330
pounds.
DUTY OF THE D0CTOH
QUESTION AS TO WHAT
OWES TO THE PUBLIC.
HE
No Doubt that Physicians Are Greatly
inputted Upon by Unscrupulous Peo
pleSay from 25 to GO Per Cent, of
Their Work Is Douuted.
Night Calls Often Needless.
A question of considerable interest
to the medical profession Is coming up
lu the large cities as to the rules that
should govern miscellaneous night
calls. Some physicians, while not up
holding a doctor lu heartlessly weigh
ing his fee In the balance with a hu
man life, declare that doctors are Im
posed upon so often day and night by
those able to pay for his services, but
failing to do so, that he Is justified In
HIjnr.IKS out in tub stok'm.
consulting his personal desires and
comfort before answering a call. So
much of a physician's work is prac
tically charity, they say, that he is at
liberty to use the same prudence about
undertaking the work offered him by
strangers that any other professional
man Is. Other physicians assert
vehemently that every reputable doc
tor will answer any call, that It Is part
of his religion to be ever ready to suc
cor the afflicted owing to the peculiar
nature of his profession, and that It Is
not comparable to the stand that might
be taken for a fee by an attorney or a
man in any other business whose ser
vices might be sought by a stranger,
'iney say that the emergency which
usually exists when a doctor Is called
In the night should be sufficient incen
tive to him to respond to the call and
take his chance of being paid later;
that a case of life and death cannot
wait until the morrow, as a lawsuit or
any other business might
Physicians of years of experience In
general practice In Chicago make the
startling statement that from ' to (10
per cent, of a doctor's work Is donated.
Some physicians say about one-third of
their time and experience goes for
nothing, others place It at a quarter,
and two declare that fully tiO per cent.
was never paid for. Some of this
work, of course, they know will not be
paid for, that done nt hospitals and for
people who frankly confess their in
ability to meet the bill. But It Is trie
other part that rubs. It Is the bills of
people who can and will not pay that
make doctors shy about golug out on
night calls and Increasing the annual
percentage of cnnrlty work. It' Is well
known tint doctors donate a far great
er peicentage of their work than other
professlr nal men do. The medical
ehniltle of a great city like Chicago,
says the Chronicle, are enormous In
the aggregrato. The time that Is do
nated by hundreds of doctors to hos
pitals and dispensaries Is worth many
thousands of dollars, and by mauy In
the profession the claim Is made that
the doctors are far too liberal In this
regard since the free dispensaries aud
hospitals are taken advantage of by
people well able to pay for medical at
tendance, and thus the profession Is
cheated out of thousands of dollars ev
ery year.
In very many of the cases whore doc
tors are called upon at night and urged
to hasten to the bedsldo of a dying
child such action would not be neces
sary had the pareuts of the child taken
precaution to visit a dispensary the
day before and secure what was nec
essary for the suffering little one.
CoropUUnU of a serious nature do not
"ISC
. - -
fife Mmmiiy
if Wl
often originate at 2 o'clock In the morn
iug. Very often when a doctor Is thus
called upon at night to render Immedi
ate aid with no fee in Bight when he
asks for the history of the case he
learns the child has been 111 for two or
three days, but "It did not look Berious
and we didn't think we would need a
doctor until to-night" Then at an
early hour in the morning, after hav
ing had a few days in which to seek
the free aid that Is at their disposal,
they call upon a professional man to
leave his bed, with no prospect of re
muneration, and attend the case of the
child.
A favorite, trick of panic-stricken
families in an emergency, the doc,tors
say, is to call up half a dozen doctors
at once In order to be sure and have
enough of them on hand. If a mem
ber of the family awakes the house
hold with agonizing groans and a bad
ease of cholera morbus everyone de
cides he is going to die In half un hour,
and someone rushes to the nearest tele
phone and calls up all the doctors In a
radius of a mile. Neither knows the
others have been called, but, anxious
to save a. life and with the appeal of
the frenzied one still ringing in his
ears, hastens to dress. Then he goes
to a dark and cheerless barn and
hitches a tired horse by the light of a
lantern, and with the sleep still in his
eyes Is soon speeding toward the house.
From other directions half a dozen
other physicians are coming, but they
are met at the door by a member of
the household, who is "So sorry, but
we couldn't wait, and Dr. Brown gave
an injection of morphine and he's all
right now."
A juncture where the physician feels
decidedly chary of giving his services
is inia ease where a doctor has been In
attendance on a patient for days aud
has prescribed a certain course of
treatment by the family, iut In the
night the patient appears "to become
worse, his breathing becomes light or
his pulse rapid and In alarm some
member of the family rushes for the
nearest doctor. He is told breathless'
ly at the door that a man Is dying In
the next block and unless he hurries a
life will have slipped away. In nine
cases out of ten the doctor will hastily
dress, and without asking any more
questions take his medicine case and
start for the house. There he finds a
table covered with bottles and pills
and powders left by the other phy
sician, and Is told that they would have
sent for the other doctor only he lives
so far away. Of course that sort of
NIGHTLY SCENES IN A D0CTO1VS LIFE.
thing does not tend to make a phy
sician fall In love with night messages.
He finds a case almost at his door
which was passed over his head to a
doctor in another part of town when
the patient became HI, but when a
crisis nrlses the family rushes to the
nearest iioctor, aud in nine cases out
of ten he is not paid for the call. After
a few dozen of these experiences he Is
a little shy about chasing out Into the
night on a hurry call. y
The majority of doctors, however,
po on the principle thst a physician's
time Is not his own, thnt he is enlisted
in the cause of suffering humanity and
should lie ready at all times to render
aid to the needy. These doctors for the
most part are the younger generation
who have not had so many hard
tf-v
; ;'J
" DR. SMITH GOT HEMS FIKST."
knocks as their gray-bearded brethren
and who are striving to build up a
practice In the fierce competition which
obtains in large cities. They Insist
tnat whoever calls on a doctor at any
hour for aid should be answered at
once. They look at the question from
i
0
a humanitarian point of view mone
than a utilitarian, and openly suy
that the medical profession owes It to
the public to be every ready to respond
to a call.
That there Is a great deal of Injustice
on the part of the public cannot b
doubted, and It Is also true that if the
public would consider a physician not
as a bounden servant, but as a profes-
sional mun full of duties, and never
Infringe on his night leisure except In
ases of real urgency, the man of med
icine wouiu always meei pauents imu
way. It Is an error to suppose thut a
doctor Is compelled to consider all culls.
There Is no law strictly covering the
ease, while many eminent physicians
declare it to be a part of their religion
to regard calls, whether they bring
fees or not, as part of a bounden duty,
they as well point to the fact thut a
failure to solve the problem of juwt
when a physician should be required to
give his time at unreasonable bourn
for nothing, has driven many persons
out of the profession.
NEW BABY INCUBATOR.
Very Efficient Contrivance to Fan th
Feeble Sparks of Life.
This Illustration shows one of the
latest baby incubators, with nurse In
attendance. These Incubators are tmcd
as a means of saving the lives of prema
turely born or very weakly Infants.
The Incubator Is composed of a metal
frame mounted on a metal stand. The
BAHY JNCUBATOB AND UUnSK.
child rests on a wire hammock sus
pended from the four corners, and la
front are two swinging glass doors
made to close tightly, while at one side
Is a glass window through which the
child may be seen. This box 1b heated
by nir which Is made moist and agree
able by being passed through a buuiB
sheet of absorbent antiseptic woo) sus
pended In medicated water.
Klen Long anil His Physicians.
Thero used to tie related a curious ar
ecdote of old Klen Long, emperor of
China. He was Inquiring of Sir George
Staunton the manner In which physi
cians were paid In England. When,
after some difficulty, his majesty was
made to comprehend the system, he ex
claimed: "Is any man well in England that
can afford to be 111? Now I will inform
you," said he, "how I manage my phy
sicians. I have four, to whom the car
of my health Is committed. A certain
weekly salary Is allowed them, but th
moment I am 111 the salary stops til I
am well again. I need not Inform jro
that my Illnesses are usually short"
Harper's Round Table.
Spitsbergen Hotel
The hotel recently erected In Spits
bergen is thus described: Built In Nor
wegian style, It has a large hall, and a
quantity of smaller rooms, with thlrtj
beds. It is also provided with a book
for visitors' names, amoug which maj
now be seen those of Sverdrup, Fulda,
lrlnce Hohenlohe-Schllllngsfuerst K.
Vely, and others. The climate of
Spitzbergen Is said to have the most
favorable Influence on persons suffer
ing from chest diseases.
Keal Mean.
Miss Olds Have you seen my nc-w
photographs? I have just had a dozen
taken, and am very much pleased with
them.
Miss Smartlelgh Ah, you wore a
thick veil, I suppose.
What has become of the old-fashioned
man who banked up bis house
every fall?
A sick man never gets sympathy u
long aj his appetite U stood-