Captain McKenzie and party have been heard from and are long before
now at their destination. The expedition includes, among others from this city, Samuel Orr, Alex La Plant, Mr. Schroeder, Frederick Alton and Mr. Thompson. Mrs. La Plant has received a letter from her husband from which THE ARGUS is allowed to quote:
"ON BOARD LEOTA August 1. - We are now 600 miles up the Yukon, and within 95 miles of Nulato. We expect to reach the Koyaukuk river, where we intend to try mining, in about two days.
"The current of the river is swift and our progress is slow, as we have to stop three times a day to chop wood. There is plenty of wood to be picked up in the Yukon for fuel, but it is wet and takes time to dry. We have to use 125 pounds of steam, and it takes hard firing to keep going. I am one of the firemen. The shifts are four hours
on and 4 hours off.
"We took up 40 tons of provisions, which was about all our steamer would
carry, with our crew of seventeen. The mate of the Alexander McNeil left his position to try his luck with us, and is now our captain.
"We got stuck in the mud three times, but got off all right. The river is not so very wide, only a mile and a half to two miles. At the mouth it is about as wide as from the foot of Park street to Bay Farm Island. It has rained every day but one since we
started up, but the rains are light. The mosquitoes are bad, but I got off better than the rest, as the bites do not poison me.
"We came near having a funeral last night. Mr. Orr, of the West End,
started to blow off steam from the boiler. He struck the stop cork with a monkey wrench and broke the washer on the plug. The plug blew out, lettings out a great volume of steam and scalding Orr badly. One side of his face, one arm and his legs were scalded.
"If I had not been there he would have been scalded to death. I pulled
him out of the hole and called the doctor, who fixed bim up. He is doing nicely now, and all the rest of the crew are well.
"I don't feel so much encouraged as when I started out. We hear many
discouraging accounts from parties coming down the river. We met one party of four, though, that had struck a good mine, and they showed us fine gold specimens.
