Klondike Nuggets, and How Two Boys Secured Them
Copyright© 2026 by Edward S. Ellis
Chapter 2: At Juneau
Now it is a serious undertaking for any one to make a journey to the gold regions at the headwaters of the Yukon, as every one will admit who has been there. All know of the starvation which threatened the people of Dawson City during the winter of 1897-98, when the whole country was stirred with sympathy, and our Government made use of reindeer to take food to the suffering miners.
No dangers of that kind confronted Roswell Palmer and Frank Mansley, but their parents could not contemplate the undertaking without anxiety. The mothers held more than one consultation, and there was a time when both were inclined to object to the boys going at all. The dread of that desolate, icy region in the far Northwest grew upon them, until it is safe to say that if the departure had been postponed for only a few days Mrs. Mansley and Mrs. Palmer would never have given their consent. But Mr. Palmer laughed at their fears, and assured them there was no cause for alarm. He spoke so cheeringly that they caught his hopefulness, but neither noticed the lump he swallowed, nor with what difficulty he kept back the tears when the hour for parting came. He was fully as anxious as they, but he knew how to dissemble, and would not have confessed his real emotions for the world.
After all, it was Jeff Graham who deserved the credit for the willingness of the parents to see their sons venture upon the long and dangerous journey. To him the trip was much the same as a visit to Los Angeles or the Yosemite Valley. His self-confidence never faltered. He was sure it would be only a pleasant outing, with the certainty of a big reward at the end of it. The sly fellow dwelt on the pale complexion and debilitated appearance of the lads. He even said that a cough which he heard Frank try to suppress (in swallowing some fruit, a bit of it went the “wrong way”—it was nothing more) indicated the insidious approach of consumption. Jeff was the only one who was able to see any paleness in the countenance of the young athletes, or suspect them of being otherwise than fine specimens of youthful health and vigor; but since he was as solemn as a judge when making his declaration, the father and mother of the one and the mother of the other could not feel quite certain there were not grounds for his fears.
And so it being settled that the boys were to go to the Klondike gold fields under the care of the grim old Argonaut, it only remained to complete the preparations in the short time at their disposal.
Had the mothers been free to carry out their wishes, their sons would have been loaded down with baggage upon leaving San Francisco. There are so many things which seem indispensable, when an affectionate mother is considering the comfort of her only son, that she is sure to overwhelm him. At first the mothers insisted upon each being furnished with a large trunk, which would have to be crowded to bursting to contain what was needed, but Jeff put his foot down.
“Nothin’ of the kind. Didn’t I tell you that we’ll git all that’s needed at Juneau or Dyea or some point on the road? You’ve forgot that.”
“But, Jeff, there are some articles which they must take with them.”
The old miner lit his pipe, sat down in the rocking-chair at the Palmer home, where the mothers had met while the boys and Mr. Palmer were down-town making a few forgotten purchases. The old fellow chuckled a little and then became serious.
“In the fust place, not a trunk!” and he shook his head decisively.
“Do you expect them to take what they want in their pockets?”
“Umph! it would be the sensiblest thing they could do, but we can’t be bothered with any trunks, that would be sure to be lost in the first shuffle. Each of us will have a good, big, strong carpet-bag, and nothing more. You can cram them as full as you choose, but what you can’t git in has got to be left at home.”
There could be no mistake as to Jeff’s earnestness, and neither mother attempted to gainsay his words.
“Now,” said he, “jest lay out on the floor what you have in your mind that the youngsters need, and I’ll tell you what they do need.”
“You mustn’t forget,” observed Mrs. Palmer, as she started to comply, “that the boys are now down-town buying some things which they positively cannot get along without.”
“As, for instance, what?”
“Well, tooth-brushes, soap, combs, courtplaster, handkerchiefs, buttons, thread, quinine, and pain-killer.”
“Is that all?” asked Jeff so quizzically that both ladies laughed.
“You have forgotten,” added Mrs. Mansley, “the shirts, underclothing, socks, and shoes.”
“They are here,” replied Mrs. Palmer, stepping briskly into the next room and returning with her arms full.
“I’ve got to lay down the law,” observed Jeff, just as Mr. Palmer and the two boys came in, glowing with excitement. “Here are the young men, and they look as if they had bought out half the town. Dump everything on the floor, and let’s sort ‘em out.”
When the pile was complete the miner gravely remarked:
“Nothing less than a freight-car will answer for all that stuff, and I don’t b’lieve we can charter one through to Dawson. In the first place, I s’pose the tooth-brushes will have to go, though I never found any use for such things, and I can crack a bull hickory-nut with my teeth. The same may be obsarved of the soap and combs, while a roll of court plaster don’t take up much room. We’ll be likely to need thread, buttons, and some patches for our clothes, though I’ve got a supply in my carpetbag. The quinine and pain-killer they may take if you can find a corner to squeeze ‘em in. As to the underclothing, extra shirts, it depends whether there is room for ‘em; but the boys mustn’t think of taking their dress suits along, ‘cause I’m not going to. There ain’t any room for violins, pianos, or music-boxes, and the only clothing and shoes that can go with this party is what we wear on our bodies and feet.”
“Suppose the shoes wear out?” asked Mrs. Mansley in dismay.
“Then we’ll go barefoot. Now, see here, we shan’t be away more than three months. A pair of well-made shoes will last longer than that, and the same is true about our clothes, though we have the means of mending them, if modesty calls for it, which ain’t likely to be the case in the diggings. Caps, coats, vests, trousers, and shoes are to sarve from the day we start till we come back. If one of the boys casts a shoe and loses it, we’ll find some way of getting him another. What’s this?” suddenly asked Jeff, picking up a small volume from the floor and opening it.
He looked at the fly-leaf, on which was written: “To my dear boy Roswell, from his affectionate mother. Read a portion every day, and be guided in your thoughts, words, and deeds by its blessed precepts. Then it shall always be well with thee.”
There were two of the small Bibles, the other being similarly inscribed with the name of Frank Mansley. The boys and their parents were standing around the seated miner, and no one spoke. He looked at each precious volume in turn, and then reverently laid them among the pile of indispensables.
“That’s the mother of it,” he said, as if speaking with himself; “it’s a good many years since my poor old mother done the same thing for me when I started for Californy, and I’ve got the book among my things yet, though I don’t read it as often as I should. Them go if we have to leave everything else behind.”
When the task was completed, every one acknowledged the excellent judgment displayed by Jeff Graham. The three were arrayed in strong, thick, warm clothing, and, in addition, each carried a heavy overcoat on his arm. In the valises were crowded underclothing, shirts, handkerchiefs, and the articles that have been already specified. It was wonderful how skilfully the mothers did the packing. When it looked as if every inch of space was filled, they found a crevice into which another bottle of standard medicine, an extra bit of soap, more thread and needles and conveniences of which no other person would think were forced without adding to the difficulty of locking the valises.
Nothing remaining to be done, on the following day the boys kissed their tearful mothers good-by, and warmly shook hands with Mr. Palmer, who brokenly murmured, “God bless you! be good boys!” as he saw them off on the steamer bound for Seattle, and thence to Juneau, where they safely arrived one day early in April, 1897.
In making such a voyage, many people are necessarily thrown together in more or less close companionship, with the result of forming numerous acquaintances and sometimes lasting friendships. Following the advice of Jeff, the cousins had little to say about their plans, though they became interested in more than one passenger, and often speculated between themselves as to the likelihood of certain ones meeting success or failure in the gold regions.
There were three sturdy lumbermen all the way from Maine. A curious fact about them was that, although they were not related at all, the name of each was Brown. They were light-hearted and the life of the large party. One Brown had a good tenor voice, and often sang popular ballads with taste and great acceptability. Another played the violin with considerable skill, and sometimes indulged in jig tunes, to which his friends, and occasionally others, danced an accompaniment.
“They’ll succeed,” was the verdict of Roswell, “for they are strong, healthy, and will toil like beavers.”
“And what of the two men smoking their pipes just beyond the fiddler?” asked Frank.
“I had a talk with them the other day; one has been a miner in Australia, and the other spent two years in the diamond mines of Kimberley, South Africa. Meeting for the first time in San Francisco, they formed a partnership; they, too, are rugged and must understand their business.”
“No doubt of it. Do you remember that stoop-shouldered old man whose room is next to ours?”
“The one who has such dreadful coughing spells in the night?”
“Yes; he is far gone with consumption, and yet he won’t believe there’s anything the matter with him. He is worse than when he came on board: but he says it is only a slight cold which will soon pass off, and he is just as hopeful as you or I of taking a lot of nuggets home with him.”
“He never will see the other side of Chilkoot Pass.”
“I doubt whether he will ever see this side.”
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