New York Times / Sep 29, 1898
Dozens Die of Exposure and Others Commit Suicide -- Chicago Man's Sad End.
TACOMA, Washington, Sept. 29. -- Rather than return to Chicago penniless, James Gardiner committed suicide on the banks of the Stickeen River, near Glenora, on Aug. 28. After losing his outfit and becoming broken in health through hardships on the trail, he deliberately blew his brains out when within sight of Glenora, where he could have taken a steamer to Fort Wrangell, and thence to civilization. Gardiner started for Dawson last Spring, and was unfortunate enough to choose the Canadian overland route via Ashcroft, which involves 2,900 miles of overland travel in order to reach Dawson. Five hundred men are stranded on this trail, prolonging their lives by eating horse flesh.