his friends. The soldier replied, "Ask the captain.”

A few years ago the country was a witness to one of the most flagrant wrongs that could be perpetrated on the public in the Aalskan gold craze. It seemed to have been originated by an emmigration society for the purpose of

pure greed and gain.

Newspaper plants were purchased, space was paid for by the year in the leading daily papers, train loads of literature was printed and scattered broad-cast all over the United States. Glaring reports of gold discoveries were published in every paper in the land. Parties returning from the gold field-destitute and having spent all they had taken, and borrowed more; parties returning home to stay, were interviewed and made to say that they had returned on business; that they had left their mines in the care of an agent.

When the advertisements of the rich gold field had done its deadly work, the stream of gold seekers started north. They came in swarms, in companies, every mode of conveyance that could be pressed into use to carry the emigrants to the gateways of the Pacific Coast, were pressed into use. Every form of floating craft that could be used, either sail boat, gasoline, steamboats were packed with freight and passengers going to the land of gold. Young and old, strong and decrepit, old women leaning on canes, old men using crutches, rich, poor and all nationalities were represented in the

people making the venture. From the day the parties sold their home, or mortgaged it to secure money to make the trip to the day they landed, it was one round of grab, greed, graft and every turn in the road was met with adver sity from start to dismal finish.

When Alaska was reached the labor began to get the supplies to the gold fields. At the coast landings the parties having goods or sup plies, had to carry the same to the summit, a distance of many miles. This was up a canyon to reach the top of the divide. Goods were carried for a distance of a mile or two miles or more as much as the owner or packers could carry. The goods were placed in a pile and the other goods carried to this deposit until all was carried to the first deposit, and then a new place was selected and the goods carried to that place, and so on until the top of the table land was reached.

When the summit was reached, and the lake reached, there was more trouble. Lumber had to be sawed with a whip saw out of the standing green timber at the lake's edge, and boats or scows were made to transport the goods across the chain of lakes. This took more time and cost of labor. When the boats were made and filled, trouble arose by the wind and waves on the lake, damaging the goods in the boats from leakage of the boats. The gold fields. were reached after many week's hardship of the fortunate ones. Many fell by the wayside, met death in snow slides or the narrow

passes. Others drowned by boats upsetting on the lakes. When camp was reached houses had to be made of canvas, clay, sticks and logs as best they could of the material at hand.

The camps were thinned with disease, typhoid fever, malarial fevers, scurvy and many other forms of disease made inroads on the camps. Some gold was found, but not one dollar was taken away for every ten dollars spent by the gold seekers. It was one chain of adversity after another all along the line.

No

No one could have stopped the craze. one thousand men with a mililon dollars at their command could have brushed aside the craze, once it was fanned into existence. When a person loses his life at the hands of an assassin the murderer is run to cover and his life taken as a forfeiture. When one loses goods, the thief is found and placed in the penitentiary for the crime. Someone must atone for the crime.

In the Alaskan craze, where an army of unknown number, lost their lives in that land of adversity; lost all they had made in a lifetime by toil; and in trying to place the blame, one would be at a loss to know where to begin. When the weary bankrupt miner started home. to the land of plenty, he possibly was waiting for the last boat out from Alaska for the fall. The boat was a dilapidated old tub, and it was taking the risk or stay in the frigid north. The risk was taken and in some instances it was the winding sheet of the returning miners.

An Eastern Oregon rabbit drive by the farmers, where miles of guide wire fence is spread to guide the rabbits to the pen of death, where boys, men on horseback, and dogs are driving the rabbits to their doom, is no surer of results than the craze that set Alaska on fire some years ago. The transportation companies take no blame. The merchants that sold the goods at exorbitant prices to the gold seekers claim they are not to blame. The steamboat companies share no blame in the matter. The fact is clear that the gold seekers were duped, deceived, misled, met adversity on every hand, lost all they had; came home sick, destitute and had to begin life anew. The symbols of adversity were on every hand in the entire trip. What more could a sane person have planned than they gathered? Father Flynn, now ninetyseven years of age, hale, hearty, contented in living in the valley at the foothills of the Cascade mountains in Oregon, where the violets, crocus, hyacinths and other early blooming plants come in bloom the first of March every year, sometimes earlier, has kept his life free from these trips that contain only adversity, and is happy.

CHAPTER III.

Spiritual Consciousness.

The subject of spiritual consciousness is little understood. The very few care anything about it, rarely discuss or think of it. People are afraid of the subject; many of the bravest people in the world fear the darkness, fear that they will be confronted with a spirit, a ghost. I know a very intelligent Christian lady who will not go into a dark room for any price. One night, while in a darkened room, she saw a face and ever after that she fears the dark. Possibly if she could be made to understand from whence came the form of the face she would fear the dark less than the light. The ma jority of the people believe, are taught in church and Sunday School, that the spirit is quickened after death, never before; that af ter death we become a spirit. To test this matter you have but to ask any child, any teacher, any preacher in Christendom and be convinced that this statement is not true. It is wrong to teach that we will gain a spirit. We are spirit. We are spirit and know it not. The introduc tion has been attempted in a thousand ways from childhood to old age, yet we cannot, or Iwill not understand. The doctrine has been advanced that after death we will gain a spiritual body of perfection, and live on and on for