ounded, but of law and order there was
none. Dyea also, which at one time was almost deserted, was growing into
a place of importance, but the title of every lot in both towns was in
dispute. Rain was still pouring down, and without high rubber boots
walking was impossible. None indeed but the most hardy could stand
existence in such places, and every steamer from the south carried fresh
loads of people back to their homes.

Of the 6,000 people who went in this fall, 200 at the most got over to
the Dawson Route by the White Pass, and perhaps 700 by the Chilcoot.
There were probably 1,000 camped at Lake Bennett, and all the rest,
except the 1,500 remaining on the coast, had returned home to wait till
midwinter or the spring before venturing up again. The question of which
was the best trail was still undecided, and men vehemently debated it
every day with the assistance of the most powerful language at their
command.

As to the crowds who had gone to St. Michael's, it is doubtful whether
any of them got through to Dawson City, since the lower Yukon is
impassable by the end of September, and, at any rate, in view of the
prospects of short rations, it would have been rash to try. The
consequence would be that they would have to remain on that desolate
island during nine months of almost Arctic winter, for the river does
not open again till the end of June. Here they would be absolutely
without employment unless they chose to stack wood for the steamboat
companies, and their only amusements (save the mark) would be drinking
bad rye whiskey--for Alaska is a "prohibition" country--and
poker-playing. For men with a soul above such delights, the
heart-breaking monotony of a northern winter would be appalling, and it
is only to be understood by those who have had to endure similar
experiences themselves on the western prairies.

2. Mass Movements and the Mores: The Woman's Crusade[309]

On the evening of December 23, 1873, there might have been seen in the
streets of Hillsboro, Ohio, persons singly or in groups wending their
way to Music Hall, where a lecture on temperance was to be delivered by
Dr. Dio Lewis, of Boston, Massachusetts.

Hillsboro is a small place, containing something more than 3,000 people.
The inhabitants are rather better educated than is usually the case in
small towns, and its society is indeed noted in that part of the country
for its quietude, culture, and refinement.

But Hillsboro was by no mea