THE ARMY IN ALASKA:
(3y Col.Wilds P#RichardSon,U.S.A.Rfct*
Reprinted from "Infantry Journal,May 1923)
(Cont»from last week)
THE KLONDYKE GOLD RUSH:
"In the summer of 1897,the 8th Infantry was stationed at
Fort D.A.Russell,Wyoming', I had just returned to the regiment after a tour of
duty as tactical officer at West Point.filled with enthusiasm for all things
military.On the night of July 31st,a ^op* was in progress at the Post® While
I was dressing for this festive event,Cant.P*Henry Ray,the same who had gone
to Point Barrow in 1881, came to my quarters and informed me that he had recei
ved telegraphic instructions from Washington to proceed to Alaska, and asked
me if I desired to accompany him,Upon ny reply in the affirmative he told me
to go to the hop in fulfillment of an engagement Already made,and he would
make some inquiries as t-o train schedules® Later in the evening he came to the
hop room and informed me that it would be necessary for us to leave Cheyenne
early the following morning in older to have time at Portland and Seattle to
get the necessary equipment together for sailing on August 5th. Goodbyes were
said on the spot,and most of the night was spent in malting preparations to
leave® This incident is related as characteristic of the old service in the
West,and because it completely changed the current of my own life from anything
I could have anticipated, and was tHte beginning of 20 years of'service in Alas
ka, with brief intervals between different duties* •
In Seattle there was nuch bustle and excitement over the
news of the great placer gold discovery of the Klondyke. The- news ms spread
ing rapidly throughout the States,and to distant countries* The richness of the
deposit buried deep under the permanent frost-, its. remoteness and difficulty of
access appealed strongly to the imagination,and there ensued a rush of miners,
prospectors,professional ani business men,speculators and adventurers from all
parts of'the world. In some respects, this "rush" ms even more dramatic than
that following the California discovery nearly 50 years before*
Before leaving Seattle Captain Ray received instructions
from thdi War Department to proceed to Circle City on the Yukon,and from there
investigate and report upon the facts concerning the reported discovery,the
movement of people,and n“ed-and location,if needed,-of troops in the Territory,
We sailed on the evening of August 5th on the steamer "Cle«-‘
veland",Ihis ship,an old freighter, with suitable accomodations for.about 20
passengers,had 170 on boards sleeping for thenost part on improvised bunks be
tween decks,but all were haopy to be on board-,and on the way to the new gold.
The "Cleveland" dropped anchor.in the.-Bay of St .Michael on
the morning of August 18th# Here we were delayed for 11 days awaiting the sail
ing of the river steamer "John J.Healy",-finally getting away on the evening of
the 29th for tibe mouth of the Yukon* Before leaving St .Michael Captain Ray sent
back to the War Department a recommendation for a detachment of troops to be
sent to St.Michael to preserve odder during the winder.as it seemed likely that
a considerable number of people would be stranded there for the winter,unable
to get up the river# In response to this recommendation,Lt*Col.George M.Randall
of the 8th Infantry,with Lts.3 .S.Walker and Edwin Bellini 25 enlisted men of
the same regiment were sent,arriving late in October,just before the close of
navigation# Captain Guy L.Edie.Medical Corps,with a snail hospital detachment,
accompanied the command# Thus began the re-occupation of-Alaska by the Army* *
Meanwhile the river steamer "Kealy" proceeded up the Yukon.
During a stop on Sept#8th at the mouth of the Xanana River,where was located
a small trading post/ve went ashore, and C apt ..Ray staked one corner and made a
general reservation of a site for a military post, Ihis afterwards became the
post of Fort Gibbon."
(To be continued next week).