The Dug-Eaters of the Yukon: A Philadelphia Man’s Starvation Story
H.C. Reifsnyder arrives in Seattle with a harrowing tale of survival on the Edmonton Trail, where his party subsisted on dog meat and dugouts after losing their provisions to the brutal wilderness.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Another Tale of Starvation Upon the Edmonton Trail TOLD BY ONE OF THE SURVIVORS Who Has Just Arrived in Seattle—The Thrilling Experience of H. C. Reifsnyder and Party From Philadelphia.
H. C. Reifsnyder, of Philadelphia, after spending almost 14 months continuously traveling across the rugged country of Canada in search of a route to the Klondike, reached the head waters of the Yukon River a month ago. He came to Seattle, and is now giving interviews to the press.
Mr. Reifsnyder started from Edmonton with a party of twenty-five, from Philadelphia, by way of the old trail. Mr. Reifsnyder, as well as several other members of his party, died on the trail from starvation. Some of the others were left behind in the snow for a great distance, which time they subsisted upon dugouts.
The most startling statement Mr. Reifsnyder makes is one which is most corroborative by the fact that probably three or ten hundred people perished in an attempt to reach Klondike via Mackenzie River.
"We left Edmonton March 8th with a good outfit and 11 horses," said Mr. Reifsnyder. "We first traveled over a distance of 200 miles. Then after more hard work, traveling through swamps and forests, we got to the head waters of the Liard River, about 500 miles northwest of this place. From there we rafted down to Liard River and came upon the little Indian village of Liard River. After a brief stay, and leaving several well-wishers, we went northward for at least 100 miles, when winter overtook us.
"I shall never forget the horrors of that winter," said Mr. Reifsnyder. "We had no wood in the country. Their fate will not be known until August next."
Mr. Reifsnyder is laying at the Atlantic Hotel. He will go east shortly to tell the full story of his party's experience in the wilds of Canada.
"Some of my party have struggled out," he says. "Others have died, and some are sick at Liard River. There are 10 fellows at the latter place suffering from scurvy and starvation. We had nothing to eat at all for a time. The men were so weak they could hardly stand.
"Paul Taylor and John Stewart, of Philadelphia, and a man named Flynn, of Lake Superior, Canada, with another man whose name I cannot recall, have been completely lost sight of. They undoubtedly died somewhere in the snow, either from lack of food or starvation."
He attempted Christmas with several of our party to cross the mountains, and we were lost for nearly a month. Our provisions ran out, and we ate dog flesh most of the time. There was still game in the country, but a week before we finally reached an Indian village, we had nothing to eat at all.
"Many of my party have struggled out," Mr. Reifsnyder says. "Others have died, and some are sick at Liard River. There are 10 fellows at the latter place suffering from scurvy and starvation. We had nothing to eat at all for a time. The men were so weak they could hardly stand."
Mr. Reifsnyder is laying at the Atlantic Hotel. He will go east shortly to tell the full story of his party's experience in the wilds of Canada.
While the Klondike Gold Rush has long faded into history, the brutal reality of the 'Edmonton Trail' serves as a grim reminder of the human cost of speculative manias. Today, as climate change alters Arctic travel routes and makes remote regions more accessible yet more dangerous, the story of Reifsnyder’s party highlights how quickly modern infrastructure can vanish, leaving travelers vulnerable to the same elemental forces that claimed hundreds in 1898.
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