History
1
Travel in Alaska’s interior demanded endurance, careful packing, and a willingness to face unknown country. Prospectors preparing for an expedition judged precisely what they needed, insisting that anyone unable to carry ninety pounds was unfit for life in the hills, where the guiding motto was “Never stuck” and the land remained one of hope. In 1885, with so little known of Alaska’s interior, U.S. Army General Nelson A. Mile's [sic] authorized Lieutenant Henry T. Allen to proceed into the territory. Later accounts recalled the punishing conditions travelers faced: in 1899, Charles A. Morgeson wrote of rain-soaked brush as high as their heads that left no dry clothing and limited the party to two miles in three hours, and in 1904, Lynn Smith remembered finding nothing to follow but three feet of snow and spending the next 22 days moving by snowshoes and gee pole.
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Silver Springs, Alaska · United States
