Lake Linderman Alaska
Oct. 17th 97
Dr. W. A. Crockett
Montgomery City, Mo.

Dear Friend
As you see we are at the Lake at last, I will try & give you a description of our hard trip of 30 miles distance then you can judge for yourself if we have tried to get through & what it cost to come through. First is our passage from Seattle was 25.00 instead of 6.00 (second class) the cheapest we could get. Then the steam ship Co, advised us to go to Skagway (they could land there better & was in with the dam realestate men. That pass is fifty miles long & impassable. We soon learned to our sorrow & several dollars out of our pockets also the delay of several days. It cost us 27.00 to get up to Deya. We are hauled by wagon to ferry two miles cost 10.00. over river (about 40 yds) cost 10.00 (Aug 29) Aug 30-hauled to Finegans point 4 miles cost 40.00. Lee, Frank & myself packed our first. (Aug 31-) Lee, Frank & myself packed two packs to canon. Tom stayed in camp to doctor his feet. he claimed was sore (4 or 5 miles)
(Sept 1st) Two packs to Canon. (Sept 2-) Two packs to Canon. Had a salmon trout for supper. My feet are sore & tired. We are saving about 30.00 per day. A man had the corks turned on a pair of horse shoes today & it cost him 1.50 one shoe common tent meals 75¢ (Sept 3- one trip to canon. (Sept 4- Pack boat lumber to sheeps camp in exchange for 600# lbs of provisions packed by horses. (11 miles distance). Sept 5- we go back to camp. (Sept 6- we smoked our meat. Lee went to Post Office. Tom got a letter from Mrs Duey & I got one from you. The first & last we have heard from any one. (Sept 7th- we pack to sheeps camp 11 miles from Finigans point & 6 miles from foot of canon. We had 1650# packed to Canon, we hire most packed on horses to Sheeps Camp as the distance was so far to pack on foot. Tom leaves us at the canon to prospect (he said,) up to this time he had packed 150# from Finegans point to Canon & one board of the boat lumber (25#) to sheeps camp we were working too hard for him was the reason when we would leave him in camp he was to dam lazy to cook for us. Sept 8- we go back to Canon to finish packing to sheeps camp. (Sept 9- made 3 trips to Rock house (Sept 10- Rained all day (Sept 11- One trip to Rock house (Raining) (2 1/2 miles) (Sept 12- Pack to the Scales (foot of summit) no wood at scales Lee & I go 2 miles back for some. Cold & wet the worst day we have packed. get fire started & supper over at 11 o'clock. wrap our robes around us & sit up to sleep (a terrible night) Here we pack over summit & pay difference to get our goods from Rock house & sheeps camp. (Sept 13- make two packs over summit 80# my first pack & 75# the second. I am getting strong as a mule, at first a 50# pack on the leavel was a load now 75 to 100 & over is my pack. Frank & Lee are packing the same. This is over the terrible climb, (The summit)(Chilcoot) some time you can not go over 100 feet then take a rest, to top of summit is 7/8 of a mile. we packed over & down to Crater Lake 1 1/2 miles from Scales, Sept 14. Made 3 trips over summit. The wind nearly taken me off my feet once (Sept 15-97 Made 2 packs over summit in a blizzard, snow falling every day, (Sept 16- Rained all night had to hold the tent down to deep it from blowing away. Made 2 packs in rain, had to sit up all night & take a nap when ever we could. Sept 17- Rained all day, we conclude to hire help so to get away from this miserable place. (Sept 18- Two packs over summit. we sleep on the rocks at Crater Lake with our robes around us (Rained all night) Sept 19- Lee & I start for Long Lake with packs Frank gets balance ferried over crater. 2m,s. Here we learn that Sheeps Camp is partly swept away by a glacier sliding down, (one man killed)
Sept 20- snowed all night. make one trip to crater we pack all our goods to Long lake 3 miles (as follows) (Sept 21- Two packs. Sept 22- Rained all day made 1 pack (Sept 23- Two packs. A man died in 20 feet of our tent of Pneumonia he was a reporter they gave us about 15.00 worth of stationary Bible's & Hymn books, this paper is off of one tab, Sept 24- Two pack. Sept 25- Made two packs & finished We packed during this time from 100# to 125# snowed all night & day.
Sunday Sept 26- We bought a boat for $200.00 don't it look like a price? The boat was made on Lake Linderman by a Sweede an old boat builder it is the best I have yet seen. we only had $141.00 to buy same with but by night & morning had made enough to pay balance. Our intentions are to make enough to pay for packing boat to Linderman & our goods also & as much more as possible We intend to ferry here as long as it would have taken us to packed our stuff & time of building boat. Made two trips over lake $50.00 (2 miles) (Sept 27- Two trip 28.00 (Sept 28- made 15.00 (Sept 29- made 8.50 got caught in a squall coming back but got through OK brought four men back that had been swamped on Lake Bennet. They stayed two nights with us as the Summit was impassable. One of them was a musician had his violine ( a very pleasant night in doors but stormy out, I killed a duck with rifle 75 yds (Sept 30- A blizzard all day. (Oct 1- Bad weather till noon. turned cold in evening (Oct 2- Ferried 3 trips 45.00 (Oct 3- made 3 trips 44.00 (Oct 4- Ferried 11 men 19.50 had a hard time getting back, had to load our boat down with rock so the wind would not catch it so hard. The waves & white camps were 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet high, You can have some idea what our boat will stand, it has carried 6000#, 24 feet long 7 feet on top in center 3-6 at bottom is of sweedish pattern, clinken built.
Oct 5- Rained all day.
Oct 6- Made 57.25 (Oct 7- Three trips 75.10
Oct 8- Stormy, (Oct 9- Two trip 34.50 Lee made to packs from Long lake for man 12.00 (Oct 10- A terrible night our tent blew down on us. Lee packed from Long lake again 6.00. Oct 11- Four trips 96.75
Oct 12- Two trips 31.00 moved camp to foot of Lake
Oct 13- Move camp to foot of Deep Lake made 5.00 ferrying on same we conclude not to stay any longer as Crater Lake is freezing over & all the ferry boats are coming this way. (Oct 14- made 3 packs to the (Long looked for Linderman) Long Lake to Deep Lake is 1/4 mile across Deep Lake is 1 mi from Deep Lake to Linderman is 2 1/2 miles
Oct 15- we hire 9 men (& us three) to pack boat to Linderman 9.00 each the pack stoved us up terrible our shoulders are raw but will get over same in a short time (Oct 16- Made pack and hire balance packed
Sunday Oct 17-97 We are repairing our boat and anxiously waiting for the mail man could get away in the morning if mail was here Parties are still leaving every day from here. don't know if we can get all the way down or not but will go as far as possible all of the people who see our boat envy us. Have not heard from Tom guess he is eating his grub & prospecting don't know who is washing his dishes. a job like that eaven did not have the right taste for him. and packing he could not digest at all. I cannot see why Georgie has not written to me possibly she has & I have not been able to get it. But have sent a dozen times after mail and only got yours when Lee went for mail, Dr.? it would be impossible to tell you our hardships the 30 miles or more from Deya to Linderman cannot be described on paper. Think of packing 1000# or 1200# that distance on your back. When we started in packing was 38¢ per lb then it run to 40¢ & 50¢ from Sheeps Camp to Linderman. about half the whole distance that would make the whole distance worth about 65 to 75¢ per lb what could we have done with the 500.00 each after buying our supply's & outfit there is a man to rob you at every place Rich men put the price up by paying any price to get through & of course it made it hard as hell on us poor devils.
Oct 19th we work on our boat & while at same, who should come up (but Tom) he played the devil with my mail had taken it out of the office & carried it a long time then sent it back to office the Postmaster then returned same, so you see I will not get a letter from Georgie at all the other boys got mail while here but your first letter is the only one I have yet received. The mail man has just arrived with one letter for Frank. Tom talked like he had or was going to write to Uptegrove for money to invest in property at Deya. Remember that we have made no request like that. In two hours from now we will be sailing down Lake Linderman, have our boat launched and nearly all our goods down to boat. There is no big strike on Stewart river, but four good ones on Indian river don't know if we can get down there or not if we would have had money enough to have gone through we would have bee in it. We will get away from here at 2 o'clock. dont know where to tell you to address us, but will write you soon as we get down We are going as far down as possible cant say how far that will be. It is nice sun shiney weather here now snows about tow or three inches at night & melts in the day time. Dear old friend dont forget to send this to Georgie so she will know that I have not heard from her. We are all in the best of health & in a terrible hurry to start.
So good buy
From Everett Barton