Beatty, George died 1898

BEATTY

Posted By: Reid R. Johnson (email)
Date: 5/15/2022 at 20:09:00

Elkader Register, Thur., 17 Nov. 1898. Littleport column.

By word received here George Beatty was drowned in the Klondike country, Aug. 11th. George had many friends here who will be sorry to hear of his death in his search for gold.

(Placed as an aid to Beatty family descendants.)

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Added by S. Ferrall:

Through the kindness of Jas. Beatty, we herewith publish the letter containing particulars of the death of George Beatty in the far off gold regions of Alaska. George was well and favorably known in this vicinity and for the past two years has been living on his father's place near Littleport. He leaves a wife and four children to mourn his loss, who have the heartfelt sympathy of the entire community.

Beatty Camp
Kluteena River, Alaska
September ?th, 1898

Dear Ones at Home
We have met with a very sad loss; we are all in God's hands but one of our number has crossed the river of death. Yesterday we buried George, he was drowned while trying to cross the Kluteena River on a raft.

Isaac, Jamie, Mae and I had been down the river on a two weeks' sojourn of exploration. I have been away from camp, prospecting almost continuously for the past two months. Some of the boys were always with me. We had just returned from a 15 days' trip and George was troubled with a sore knee, which he had bruised on a stone while out hunting, consequently, it was arranged that he should stay and take care of camp while the rest of us were away on a prospecting trip.

It was his preference to stay and he very cheerfully shoved our boat off and waved us good bye. Now it so happened that the mail carrier had brought no letter for George on either of his last two trips and George said he would rest up and when we returned he would go over to Valdes and get the mail; but from indications at camp and the condition of his clothing and the provisions which we found near him in a sack, he must have started on the next day after our departure from him at camp.

On two weeks from that day as we were retuning from our trip we found his body on the bank of the river about four miles below camp. Near where we found George, we found the raft on which he attempted to cross the stream, on it was nailed the little box, which Jamie used for a chair, in that was a hatchet and near was a pike pole, which we readily identified as we did the boards which were on the raft. We also found his sack of provisions farther up stream.

We sent up the river to a camp above for three of our most intimate acquaintances. After making the necessary preparations for burial, the body was placed in the coffin, laid in the boat and towed up the stream to a magnificent mound, and a burial spot selected, where two, young, white spruce evergreens were growing at either side of the head of his grave.

When the coffin was placed on two poles across the grave, I repeated the 23rd Psalm and took for his funeral text, "A Soft Answer Turneth Away Wrath." I delivered a short discourse, offered prayer, invoked God's benediction, and the coffin was lowered to a solid rock bottom, the grave nicely filled and rounded up and the last tribute of respect was paid, and three sad hearts turned from the spot to retrace our steps homeward. The language of the text was most appropriate, for no matter what tempest was tossing in his bosom, one kind word would still it. His was certainly a forgiving spirit; kindness was his foremost virtue. In the exercise of this propensity, he was absolutely without restraint.

Although he had acquired great skill in managing boats on Iowa streams, he was unable to use those methods under conditions found here. The streams in Alaska are different from anything I ever saw before except the rapids of the Niagra. The river at the time he undertook to cross was very high and dangerous and could only be crossed by means of oars or a rudder, neither of which George would have anything to do with; he depended entirely upon a pike pole with which at this time he could not reach the bottom, as the water was so deep and the current so swift.

The stream at this time was 150 yards wide, from six to ten feet deep in the current and running about ten miles an hour. He had the best pike pole I have seen in Alaska and knew how to use it, but in such a stream a pike pole is but a toy.

There have been a number of lives lost in this stream, some drowned that have never been found, multiplied tons of goods have been lost, not a week has passed this summer without its scenes of wreckage and yet the Kluteena River is one of the mildest streams on this side of the divide.

My heartfelt sympathies are for the bereaved ones, Uncle Jack, Aunt Ann, and poor Lillie. My heart aches for them. Give my tenderest love to Jimmie's folks and assure them that I will do my best by their boy. I think this is the last mail that leaves Valdes this winter ...
S.T. Beatty.

~Elkader Argus, Thursday, December 1, 1898; pg 8

Notes:
- Klutina River is the correct spelling as currently used in Alaska.
- Lillie was George's wife