RECREATION. 
Volume XX, 
MARCH, 1904 
Numter 3 
G. 0. SHIELDS (COQUINA), Editor and Manager 
A* TALE OF ALASKAN HARDSHIPS. 
vw 
J. A. Ritchie, of Montreal, D. A. 
McPhee, of Winnipeg, Roy Moffatt, 
of Pembroke, Ontario, Philip Billneau, 
of Duluth, and Alec Holmes, of Fres- 
no, California, found themselves at the 
headwaters of the Porcupine river in 
the season of 1898, too late to attempt 
its descent by boat. With no other 
guide than one of Ogilvie’s charts, 
they started, some time after winter 
had set in, to make a Southward cross- 
country trip of about 200 miles, to 
reach the Yukon. 
Holmes froze both feet at the out- 
set, though not seriously. Believing 
himself unequal to the long trip, he de- 
cided to turn back and trust to getting 
enough salmon at a previously found 
hole in the ice to keep off starvation 
until help should come, Holmes and 
Billneau were partners, independent of 
the other 3 men, but the 2 parties had 
joined for the trip up the Porcupine 
and overland. Moffatt and Billneau 
decided to remain with Holmes, Mof- 
fatt being the best hunter of the party, 
while Ritchie and McPhee continued 
the journey as already planned. They 
were to return with help as soon as it 
could be secured. 
Holmes, Moffatt and Billneau went 
into camp at Fish branch on the upper 
Porcupine. Holmes fished while Mof- 
fatt and Billneau hunted. They had 7 
dogs ; the other 2 men pushed on with 
4. All the party were poorly provided 
with clothing for cold weather, but 
they were stout young fellows, 25 to 
35 years old. 
Ritchie and McPhee left the others 
October 31. They crossed the 3 lakes 
17! 
We 
at the head of the Porcupine, 
crossed a mountain range, with snow 
2 feet deep, traversed a wide, uneven 
valley drained by 3 tributaries of the 
Ogilvie river, crossed another low 
range, and found themselves on the 
head of the left fork of Big Sheep 
creek, which pours into the Yukon a 
few miles below 7o-mile river, and 130 
miles below Dawson. They reached a 
cabin at the mouth of Big Sheep a few 
days later, having been 10 days on the 
trip, about half of that time without 
food except some beaver hides. They 
had lost one dog and were on the point: 
of killing one of the survivors for 
food. They had seen some game on 
the way, but were unable to get any. 
The young men _ found good 
friends at the cabin. It was occupied 
by 4 old timers: Al and Lee Pate, 
George Stiller and Julius Sternberg. 
These men at once volunteered to re- 
turn and help the others of the party 
out of their predicament. McPhee had 
an incipient attack of scurvy and a 
frost-bitten toe. Ritchie, who, despite 
the hardships he had undergone, was 
in good shape to travel again, acted as 
guide for the rescue party, his compan- 
ions being Lee Pate and Julius Stern- 
berg. With several extra pairs of 
snow shoes they set forth November, 
13, with 30 days’ food supply. As the 
young men had come through in Io 
days, the relief party expected to make 
the round trip in a month. 
Over 6 weeks passed and no word 
was heard from them, The people of 
70-mile began to talk of sending after 
them. Finally, December 19, they re- 
