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Jl. • IS *,' • J, :'■ «< ^OK .# • . ,-> ,:, » ♦ ,v '■ ••' • XJBrWO AMW* SFACl W)» DAILY REC^NO$, MEI^RANPU>|. •tt.* ■' ' ■ • * '■' '', ■ ■ ' ! ^ —WITH ^- ' ' '} ■ A domplefe Bm»ln e»s %ild^ -■*-»- mmmmmmi'*' ktmm miJtmim atmrnm ^ to in| )LBApXt4C M|mii^ur«r$; Whot^tele MercMnts, (»isur«irii:i6, |i«k(iv^y «n4 $t?afnship Companies, etc** Or Xtte DbMtHtON, .■.*^, ....<> ■■*- PRIOB iP09tPAtOh Si 'BO. :- •-•■*;-;-7*' -77 ...- ,-: i KLONDYKE FACTS IIBINO ■ 'm A COMPLETE GUIDE BOOK TO THE GREAT GOLD REGIONS OF TlIK YUKON AND KLONDYKE ▲HO THE NORTH WEST TERRITORIES nr JOSEPH LAL^UE Fui'.Nnr.H oi- I>a\vson Cirv. N. W. T. ■ MONTREAL: JOHN LOVELL & SON PUBLISHERS. .^ ' V » ^. V,^ L^' Vrt ; w Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the yeiir one thousaiul eight hundred and ninety -eeven by JoHJf Lovkll A Sox in the olMca of the Mlninter of Agriculture. F L3 eight Iniater ,--;i 1 THia MAP SHOWS TBB BTRIAX OX WHICH TBI PLACIB CI^UIS ABB LOCATBD .« ':y'm^iim»i:'C;' P PUBLISHER'S NOTE. The intense excitement caused by the marvellous disooT- eries of gold in Alaska and the great Canadian Northwest makes it necessary that authentic facts regarding this region should ho supplied to the rending public. . It is with pleasure that wr introduce Mr. Joneph Liidae, the pioneer prospector and founder of Dawson City, N. W. T., the central point of the gold region, as the author of this valuable work of reliable information. There is probably no man living w'uo is better posted on. Alaska and tire great Northwest than Mr. Joseph Ladue. He has just returned from that country to his old home in Schuyler Falls, N. Y., where he j)a8sed a large portion of his boyhood antl early manhood. Mr. Ladue left his home nearly twenty years ago to seek his fortune in the West, going first to the Bhii;k Hills, where ho was successful m gold mining, thence to Arizona and the Pacific Coast, and finally located in Alaska and the Northwest Territories, where he has been since iHS'.i. Mr. Ladue is a typical pioneer, strong, hardy ai\d resolute, a man of iron, as one must needs be to go through the hardships he luw and come out with a constitution unbroken and unimpaired at the age of about forty-three. Mr. Ladue has not only worked his muscles to good advantage to himself with the result of an abundance of this world's goods, but he has evidently all this time been closely observing the conditions of that strange country, the Yukon Valley, which has so suddenly become one of the great centres upon which human interest throughout the world is focnssed. 3 « PUBUaUHIVH NOTK. When the wonderful stories began to como down from the Yukon country it was naturally ooncludud that it wav at least half exaggeration. 'J'hat any Huch amount of gold could bo taken in ho short a time from a (country like that under the most unfavorable conditions was held to be incredible. But when the great, bags of virgin goM began to be poured out upon tlio mint counters in San Francisco under the eyes of the whole world (for mcxlorn journalism does this annihilating of time and space) people began to wonder, and the wondor grow day by day as the real facts wore disclosed ; and now people who are woU informed as to the facts declare that half the truth has not been -old of the golden treasures of the Yukon Vulloy. As we have already said, there is probably no man to-day alive who knows more about this woiidorf^.i country than does Mr. Ladue. What nuikes Viis talk of it specially interesting and reliable is the fact that his knowledge of it is practical. It has not been gained from hearsay nor from desultory visits made now and then at certain favorable seasons of the your, but from steady living there through the long summer days and the long winter nights, year in and year out, for fifteen years, whore he now owns tliirtooa of the best mining claims on the Klondyke and 173 acres of land at Dawson City. In presenting this work to the public we do so knowing that it is by an authority on tiic siibjcf^t of which h© writes. THE PUBU8HERS CONTENTS. CMAr. PAoa Publishers' Not* 8 Introduction 7 I. Historical and Geographical 9 II. Routes, Distancen and Triins{>ortatiou. . 21 III. Advices to BeginnerH 80 rV. Outfit for Miners 89 V. How to Htake out a Mining Claim 98 VI. Placer Mining 95 VII. Mining Law and Order 101 VIII. Mining Koturns 107 IX. Game, Agriculture and Timber 1 10 X. Mortality an' Climate I'.'O XI. Cost of Living and Wages Paid , 125 XH. Miners' Luck 127 XIII. Klondyke F'acts loO Appendix. Excer]>t« from the Mining Laws of the Canadian Northwest Territory /9t I m> I t ■ I INTRODUCTION. Mtttt has appeared in the iu'WPj)apors of the world ro- ganliii.!; tho iirwly (li.<('Overo(l gold-fields of Alut;ka and the great Canadian Northwest. To one who has prospeeted and lived in these territories for the past fifteen years, it is deplorable that so much un- reliable information liaa ajipeared. My object is not to induce any one to go to that remote country at tho present time ; until better means of com- munication are esta dished, a man undertakes serious risks ill going there uidess he has snfVuient resources to tide over ti)e long winter. After September, egress from tho country is practically impossible until the following June, and a yierson who luianot been successful in locating a j)ay- ing claim lias to depend for his subsistence ujion finding employuH^nt. Wages are at times abnormally high, ))ut the labor nuirket is very narrow and easily overstocked. It is estimated that up to the middle of May 1,500 to l,f)00 people had crossed the Taiya Pass this year. Whether em- ployment will be available for all ami for the consid"rable population already in the district is somewhat doubtful ; it will therefore be wise for tliosc who contemplate going to the Yukon Pi»trict to give serious consideration to tho matter before coming to a decision. Having recently retunuHl for a short time to my old hom(^ I find myself deluged with letters from all classes of men eagerly seeking facts relative to the new gold region. As it is impossible to reply to all these letters in a manner 8 TyTROnUCTION. that would be adequate and complete, I have decided to publish some of my observations and experiences hi the land that is yet comparatively unexplored. I will give the actual facts and such information as I think M'ill be valu- able to the intending prospectors of the new gold regions. JOSEPH LADUE. '■\r' '.':.>■ KLONDYKE FACTS. CHAPTER I. HISTORICAL AND OEOOR VPHIf'AL. The discovery of the great Yukon Kivor and the territory drained by it is due to the Hudson Bay Company and tho adventuroUvS oflficers wlio directed its interests in British North America. Indeed, the discovery of the Yukon it- self is due to Robert Cu'apbell, an employe of the com])any, •who named it the Peiley River in honor of Sir II. Felley, a governor of the comj^any. In 180? Frank E. Ketchum, of St. .John, N. li., and Michael Lattarge of ^lontrcal, explorers in the employ of the "Western Union Telegraph Company, ascended tho Yu- kon from Fort Yukon to tlie mouth of the Lewes, return- ing down tlie river, and in the same year Michael Byrnes, iu the same employ, made a trip from the direction of the Stikuie and reached the Ilootolincjua, not th(; river .subse- quently so called by the miners, but that on the survey map of Canada. Mr. AVhymper in ISnO, in his work. ''Travels in Alaska and on the Yukon,'' makes the first distinct men- tion ill ])rint of the discovery of gold. Tho report of Camitbell to the Hudson Bay Company directors was mtide orally. Mr. Whymper in liis book suys : "It is worthy 10 KLOND YKE FA CT8. vi of mention tliat minute specks of gold have been found by some of the Hudson Bay Company's men in the Yukon, but not in quantities to warrant a ** rush " to the locality." George Holt, who afterward was murdered by Indians at Cook's Inlet, was tlie first white man who crossed from the coast to the headwaters of tlie Lewes, with no purpose other than prospecting the country. The date is variously set from 1872 to 18T8, but tlio preponderance of testimony makes the hitter date the more probable one. He was accompanied by two Indians and crossed by the Chilkoot Pass. On his return he reported the discovery of "coarse gold." His trip was authenticated by inquiry among miners who had followed tlie routes he told them of. The Yukon district is not the entirely wild, savage, un- known land which romancists have been painting it. Gold, in paying quantities has been found there for over a decade. In 1887 a hundred and fifty hardy minors, making no secret of the wealth of the drift they washed, amassed fortunes there. The Yukon District has been growing, as access to the country became more easy and tl\o output has been the greater only because the placer diggings have been extend- ed and have been worked by more hands. Add to the present compaiative facility of reaching there the general dilTusion of knowledge of the wealth of the mineral through tlu! newsp;ipeivs and the consequent interest ex- cited, and you have explaiiud the dill'eivnce between the excitement of 1807 and the languor of 1887. And yet, in 1887, Dr. George M. Dinvson, the chief of an exploring party sent by the Canadian Government into the Yukon district made a report coniirining in the fullest the pres- ence of gold in great (piantities. DawHon, City, N. W. T., the ])rincipal mining camp in the Klondyke region, was named in his honor. * > - Possibly the conjecture, at (•('])ted as a fact, that thia KLONDYKK FACTS. 11 laud, in the language of a late Canadian cabinet minister, was *' the home of the bear and the wolf, and fit only to be the home of such," had something to do with the indiffer- ence. With the Yukon, snow that was practically i)erpet- ual, and great mountainB of ice seemed indissolubly con- necttnl. It was takeri for gra.ited. that it was aland no; lit to live in and that stories from it hud to be accepted with great allowance for the extravagance of language in winch men who lived in Arctic lands arc likely to indulge when they reach territory, where the sun gives warmth, for warmth is conducive to garrulity and exuberance of thought. In 185i> negotiations were commenced between Russia and the United States with the view of the United States purchasing Russian America, or Alaska, a territory of over live hundred thousand square miles. In March, 1807, Secretary Seward made an offer of $7,200,000, on condition that the cession be " free and un- encumbered by any reservations, j)rivilegcs, franchises, grants or possessions, by associated or unassociated com- panies whether corporated or unincorporated, lUissian or any other." In May the treaty was ratified, and on the 20th of July 1807 the usual jjroclamation was issued ]»y the President of the United States. On the 18th of October, 1807, the formal transfer of Alaska was made at Sitka t<> (Jcioriil Rousseau representa- tive of the United States. The treaty bel»veen Russia and the United States, estab- lishes the eastern and sonthcru boundary lines as arranged by Russia and (Ireat Britain in ls-^,j. The western line in- cludes the whole of the Aleutian Islands. Attou ia dis- tinctly named as the most westerly island ceded. The northern boundary is only limited by the ice and snow of the Arctic. 12 KhOyDrKK FACTS. :'l i I III ,t THE YrKON" RIVER AXl) ITS TKIBUTARTES. " Wliat tho Amazon is to South America, the Mississippi to tho central portion of the United States, the Yukon is to Alaska. It is a j,'roat inland highway, which will nuike it ])(>ssiblo for the explorer to penetrate the mysterious fast- nesses of that still unknown region. The Yukon lias its source in the llocky .^[ountains of I'ritish Columbia and the Coast Range Mountains in sor.theiistern Alaska, about 125 miles irom the city of Juni'iiu, which is the present metropolis of Alaska. Hut it is only known a.s the Yukon River at the point where the Pelly liiver, the branch that lieads in Jiritish Columbia, meets with the Lewes River, which heads in southeastern Alaska. This point of con- fluence is at Fort Selkirk, in the Northwest Territory, a))out r^o miles southeast of the Klondyke. The Yukon proper is 2,04+ miles in length. From Fort Selkirk it flows northwest 40() miles, just touching tho Arctic circle ; *henci' southward for a distance of 1,000 miles, whore it em])ties into Bchring Sea. It drains more than (;00,000 square miles of territory, and discharges one-third more water into Bchring Sea than does the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. At its mouth it is sixty nulcs wide. About l.aOO miles inland it widens out from one to ten miles. A thousand islands send the channel in as many difTerent directions. Only natives who are thoroughly familiar with the river are entrusted with the piloting of boats u}) the stream during tiie season of low wate". Even at the season of high water it is still so shallow as not to be navigable anywhere by seagoing vessels, but only by flat- bottomed boats with a carrying capacity of four to five hundred tons. Tlic draft of steiimers on the Yukon should not exceed three and a half feet. !.;■ 'H^ KLOyDYKE FACTS. 18 '* The Yukon district, which is within^thp nirisdiction of the Canadian Government and in which the|uulk of the gold haa been found, has a total area, a})proximately, of 103,000 square miles, of which 150,768 square miles are included in the watershed of the Yukon. Illustrating this, 80 that it may appeal with detiniteness to the reader, it may be said that this territory is greater by 71,100 scjuare miles than the area of Great Britain, and is nearly three times that of all the New England States combined. "A further fact must be borne in mind. The Yukon River is absolutely cloriod to navigation during the winter months, In the winter the frost-king asserts hia dominion and locks up all approaches with impenetrable ice, and the summer is of the briefest. It euflures only for twelve to fourteen weeks, from about the first of June to the middle of September. Then an unend- ing panorama of extraordinary picturesqueness is unfolded to the voyager. The banks arc fringed with flowers, carpeted with tiie all-pervadinfir moss or tundra. Birds countless in numbers and of infinite variety in plumage, sing out a welcome from every treetop. Pitch your tent where you Avill in midsummer, a bed of roses, a clump of poppies and a buncb of bluebells will adorn your camping. But high above this paradise of almost tropical exuberance giant glaciers sleep in the summit of the mountain wall, which rises up from a bed of roses. By September every- thing is changenlpany'^^ officer was expelled from Fort Yukon by the United States Government, Ihey having ascertained by as- tronomical observations that the post was not located in Britieli territory. The officer thereupon ascended thft Porcupine to a point which was supposed to bo within British jurisdiction, where ho established Rampart House ; but in 18U(.) Mr. J. II. Turner of the United States Coast Survey found it to be 20 miles within the lines of the United States. Consequently in ISDl the post was moved 2(1 miles further up the river to be within Britisli territory. "Tlicncxt j)eople to enter the country for tradin^^ pur- poses were Messrs. Harper and McQuestion. They iiave i)een trading' in tlic country since 1871) and have oeeupicd rnunerous posts all along the river, the greater nunil)cr of wliit h have been abandoned, ^fr. Harper is nov/ located as a trader at Fort Selkirk, with Mr. Jose[)h Ladiie under the firm iiarno of Harper & Ladue, and Mr. McQuestion is in the employ of the Alaska Commen.'ial Company at Cirele City, which is the distributing ]ioint for tlie vast regions surrounding Bircli Creek. Alaska. In 1882 a nundior of miners entered tlie Yukon country by the Taiva Pass ; it is still tlu^ onlv route used to anv extent by the miners, iuid is shorter than the other passes though not the lowest. In IH^'.) Lieutenant Schwatka crossed this same })ass and descended the Lewes and Y'ukon Rivers to the ocean. **The explorers found that ia proximity to the boundary 16 KLONDYKE FACTS. ri t i 18- line thero existed exteasiye and valuable placer gold mines, in which even then as many as three hundred miners were at work. Mr. Ogi'vie determined, by a series of lunar obsorvations, the point at which the Yukon River is in- tersected by the 141st meridian, and marked the same on the ground. lie also determined and marked the point at which the western affluent of the Yukon, known as Porty Mile Crook, is crossed by the same meridian line, that point being situated at a distance of about twenty-three miles from the mouth of the creek. This survey proved that the place wliich had been selected as the most con- venient, owing to the physical conformation of tbe region, from which to distribute the supplies imported for the various mining camps, and from which to conduct the other business incident to the mining operations — a place Bituate at the confluence of the Forty Mile Creek and the Yukon, and to which the name of Fort Cudahy has been given — is Avell within Canadian territory. The greater proportion of the mines then being worked Mr. Ogilvie found to be on the Canadian side of the international boundary line, but he reported the existence of some min- ing fields to the south, the exact position of which with respect to the boundary he did not have the opportunity to fix. '* The number of persons engaged in mining in the locality mentioned has steadily increased year by year since the date of Mr. Ogilvie's survey, and it is estimated that at the commencement of the past season not less than one thousand men were so employed. Incident to this mineral development there must follow a corresponding growth in the volume of business of all descriptions, particularly the importation of dutiable goods, and the occupation of tracta of the public lands for raining purposes which according to the mining regulations are subject to the payment of certain prescribed dues and charges. The Alaska Com' ! ! KLONDYKE FACTS. 17 mercial Company, for many years snbeequent to the retire- ment of the Hudson's Bay Company, had a practical monopoly of the trade of the Yukon, carrying into the country and delivering yt various points along the river, without regard to the international boundary line or the customs laws and regulations of Canada, such articles of commerce as were recpiired for the prosecution of the fur trade an(' latterly of placer mining, these being the only two twisting industries. With the discovery of gold, how- ever, came the organization of a competing company known as the North American Transportation and Trading Com- pany, having its headquarters in Chicago and its chief trading and distributing post at Cudahy. This company has been engaged in this trade for over throe years, and during the past season despatched two ocean steamem from San Francisco to St. Michael, at the mouth of the Yukon, tlic merchandise from which was, at the last men- tioned point, tran?hipi)ed into river steamers and carried to points inland, but chiefly to the company's distributing centre within Canadian territory. Importations of con- siderahle value, consisting of the immediately requisite supplies of the miners, and their tools, also reach the Canadian portion of the Yukon District from Juneau, in the United States, byway of the Taiya Inlet, the mou j.in passes, and the chain of waterways leading therefrom to Cudahy. Upon none of these im|)ortations had any duty been collected, except a sum of *3,'M8.80 paid to Inspector Constantino in 1894, by the Korth American Transports tion and Trading Company and others, and it is safe to conclude, especially when it is remembered that the coun- try produces none of the articles consumed within it ex- cept fresh meat, that a large revenue was being lost to the public exchequer under the then existing conditions. ** For the purpose of ascertaining officially and author- itatively the condition of affairs to which the correspond- 18 KLONDYKE FACTS, 'W ll; n !f ;i iy.« i, ft'" ence referred to in the next preceding paragraph relatei, the Honorable tlie President of the I'rivy Council, dur- ing the spriri^ of 1894, despatched Inspector Churlea Con- stantine, of the Nortliwest Mounted Police Force, accom- panied by Sergeant Brown, to Fort C'udahy and the mining camps in its vicinity. The report made by Mr. Constantine on his return, estiiblipJuMl the substantial accuracy of the representations already referred to. The value of the total output of gold for the season of 1894 he estimated at 1300.000. " The facts recited clearly establish — first, that the time had arrived when it became the duty of the Government of Canada to make more efficient provision for the main- tenance of order, the enforcement of the laws, and the administration of justice in the Yukon country, especially in that section of it in which placer mininfj for gold is be- ing prosecuted upon such an extensive scale, situated near to the boundary separating the Northwest Territories from the possessions of the United States in Alaska ; and, second, that while such measures as were necessary to that end were called for in the interests of humanity, and par- ticularly for the security and safety of the lives and property of the Canadian subjects of Her Majesty resident in that country who arc engaged in legitimate business j)ursuits, it was evident that the revenue justly due to tlie Govern- ment of Canada, under its customs, excise and laud laws, and which would go a long way to pay the expenses of government, was being lost for the want of adequate machinery for its collection. "Accordingly in June last a detachment* of twenty members of the Mounted Police Force including officers ♦The detachment was made up as follows : — Inspector C. Con- Btantipe, Officer Commanding Yukon Detachment N. W. M. Police ; Inspector, D. A. E. Strickland ; Assistant Surgeon, A. E. Wills ; 2 Staff Sergeants ; 2 Corporals ; 18 Constables. KLOSDYKK FACTS. 10 was detailed for (service in tliat portion of the Northwent Territories. 'I'lie oHiccr in conjinand, in addition to the magiHteriul and otlier (in ties he is reqnirod to perform by virtue of his«>ni(e and umh'r instructiontj from the J)»>part- ment of M«)unt«'d Police, was duly anthorizfd to represent where neooHsary, and until other arrangementH can be rnatle, all the (h-partmenttj "f the government having in- terests in that region. Particularly he is aulh(»rized to perform the omii»ion lunds agent, eollector of customs, and collector of inlantl revenue. At the fame time instruf'tions were given Mr. William Ogilvie. the sur- veyor referred to as having, with Dr. Dawson, been en- trusted with the conduct of the first government expedi- lioti to the Yukon, to proceed again to that district for the pu''^>ose of continuing and extending the work ol deter- mining the 14l8t meridian, of laying out building lota and mining claims, and gem;rally of performing such duties as may b( ntrusted to him from time to time. Mr. Ogilvie'a qualifi. ations as a surveyor, and his previous experience as explorer of this section of the Northwest, peculiarly tit him for the task. ** As it appears quite certain, from the report made by Mr. Ogilvie on his return to Ottawa, in J 881), and from the report of Mr. Constantine, that the operaHons of the miners are being conducted upon streams which have their sources in the United States Territory of Alaska, and tlow into Canada on their way to join the Yukon, and as doubt- less some of the placer diggings under development are situated on the United States siJe of the boundary it is highly desirable, both for the purpose of settling definitely to which country any land occupied for mining or otlier purposes actually belongs, and in order that the jurisdic- tion of the courts and officers of the United States and Canada, for botli civil and criminal purposes, may be estab- liihedj that the determiivation of tlie HUi meridian west sc I I I! I- 1 S'- ao KLONDYKE FACTS. of Greenwich from the point of its intersection with the Yukon, as marked by Mr. Ogilvie in 1887-88, for a con- Biderable distance south of the river, and possibly also for some distance to the north, should be proceeded with at once. Mr. Ogilvie's instructions require him to go on with the survey with all convenient speed, but in order that this work may bo effective for the accomplishment of the object in view the co-operation of the Government of the United States is necessary. Correspondence is in progress through the proper authorities with a view to obtaining this co- operation. It may be mentioned that a United States surveyor has also determined the points at which the Yukon River and Forty Mile Creek are intersected by the 14st meridian." ii ■2igh go from the top it jumps al;out fifty feet clear, and comes down in i)ieces. We loaded up tlie sleighs with some of our stuff, about two hundred and twenty-five pounds each, and started across the lakes. The trail was awful, and we waded through water and slush two and three feet deep. We got to the mouth of the canyon at about eight o'clock at night, done out. AVe left there that night, and pushed on again until morning. AVe got to the bottom of an awful hill, and packed all our stuff from there to the hill above the lake. We had about two and a half miles over hills, in snow and slush. I carried about five hundred pounds over that part of the trail. Wo had to get dogs to bring the stuff down from the summit to the head of the canyon. We worked two days bringing the stuff over from che canyon to the hill above the lake. Saturday Ave worked all day packing down the hill to the lake, and came here on a scow. We were out yesterday morning cutting down trees to build a boat. The timber is small, and I don'r. think we can get more than four-inch stuff. It rained aL' afternoon, and we couldn't do anything. There are about fifty boats of all sorts on Lake Bonnet, which is about half a mile from here. I have long rubber boots up to the hips, and I did not have them on coming from the summit down^ but I have worn them ever since. We met Barwell and Lewis, of Ottawa, to-day. They KIONDYKE FACTS. 27 were out looking for knees for their boats. They left Ottawa six weeks ago, and have not got an^ farther than we ha^e. There was a little saw-mill going here, and they have their lumber sawn. AV'e have it that warm some days here that you would fairly roast, and the next day you would be looking for your overcoat. Everybody hero seems to be taking in enough food to do them a couple of years. We are now in Canadian territory, after we passed the summit. I will have to catch somoboily going through to J)yea to give liim this letter, but I don't know how long before I can get any one going through. This is the last yuu will hear from me until I get down to the Kloa- dyke." Mr. Stewart adds ; " I wrote this in the tent at 11 o'clock at night during twilight." If you take this trip in winter, however, you have to pur- chase a sled at Juneau, and sled it over the frozen water- ways to Dawson City. For the benefit of my readers in Canada and for parties leaving for the great Northwest Territory for the gold lields, I take pleasure in quoting the following description of a Canadian route : — " Canadians should awaken to the fact that they have emphatically ' the inside track ' to their own gold fields, a route not half the distance, largely covered by railways and steamboats, wi4i supply stations at convenient inter- vals all the way. By this route tiie gold-fields can be reached in two months or six weeks, atid the cost of travel is ridiculously cheap — nearly anybody can afford to go even now, and by the spring it should be fitted out for the ac- commodation of any amount of tralfic. The details of the information in the following article are given by Mr. A. il. H, Heming, the artist who ac- f '"^ { 28 KLONDYKE FACTS. compauied Mr. Whitney in hia journey towards the Barren Lands, and the data rnay be accepterl as correct, as they were Been red from the Hudson Bay ofliciala. The details of the inland Canadian route, briefly, are as follows : By 0. P. R. to Calgary, and thence north by rail to Edmonton ; from there by stage to Athabasca Land- ing, 40 miles ; tlien, there is a continuous waterway for canoe travel to Fort Macpherson, at the mouth of the Mackenzie Kiver, from which point the Peel River lies Bouthwartl to the gold region. The exact figures are as follows : , . , MILEfl. ■ Edmonton tu Athabasca Landing iO To Fort McMurray 240 Fort Chippewyan 185 ►Smith lianding ^ ... 103 Fort Smith IG Fort HcHolulion 1U4 Fort Providence 168 Fort Simpson 1».)1 Fort Wri).'ley 130 Fort Norman 1 84 Fort Cood Hope 174 Fore Macpherson 282 Total... ■ 1882 There are only two portages on this route of any size — that from Edmonton to Athabasca Landing, over which there is a stage and wagon line, and at Smith Landing, six- teen miles, over which the Hudson Bay Company has a tram- way. There are four or live other portages of a few hun- dred yards, but with these exceptions there is a fine '* down grade" water route all the way. It is the old Hudson Bay trunk line to the north that has been in use for nearly KLONDYKE FACTS. 29 a century. Wherever there is a luke or a long Btretch of deep water river navigation the company has small freight steamers which ply buck and forward during tlio summer between tlie portage points or shallows. With compara- tively little expenditure the company or the Government can improve the facilities along the line so that any amount of freight or any number of passengers can bo taken into the gold region at less than lialf the time and cost that it takes Americans to reach it from Port St. Michael, at tho mouth of the Yukon to tho Klondyke, exclusive of the Btoamer trip of 2500 miles from Seattle to Port St. Michael. Canadians can leave here on a Monday at 11.15 a.m., and reach Edmonton on Friday at 7 r.M. From that point, a party of three men with a cauoe, should reach Fort Macpherson easily in from 50 to 00 days, provided they are able-bodied young fellows with experience in that sort of travel. They will need to take canoes from here, unless they propose to hire Indians with large birch bark canoes to carry them. Birch bark canoes can bo secured of any Bize up to tho big ones manned by ten Indians that carry three tons. But birch barks are not reliable unless Indians are taken along to doctor them, anc^ keep them from get- ting water-logged. The Hudson Bay Company will also contract to take freight northward on their stearr.cr^ until the close of navigation. Travellers to the gold mines leaving now would probably reach Fort Maophersoii before navigation closed. The letter from Rev. Mr. Stringer, the missionary, pub- lished in the Spectator on .July 2, shows that the ice had only commenced to run in the Peel Kiver, which is tho water route south-east from Fort Macpherson into the gold region, on September 30 last year. Any Canadians who are anxious to get into the Klon- dyke ahead of the Americana cas leave between now and 80 KLONDYKE FACTS. Aiignst 1, reach Fort Macpherson, and if winter comes on they can exchange tlieir canoes for dog trains, and reach the Klondyko without half tlie difficulty that would be experienced on the Alaska route. I'ho great ailvantago of the inland route is that it is an organized lino of communi- cation. Travellers need not carry any more food than will take them from one Hudson Hay post to the next, and then there is abundance of fish and wild fowl en route. They can also bo in touch with such civilization as prevails up there, can always get assistance at the posts, r...id will have some place to stay should they fall sick or meet with an accident. If they are lucky enough to make their pile in the Klondyke, they can come buck by the dog sled route during the winter. (There is one winter mail to Fort Macplierson in winter.) Dogs for teams can be pur- chased at nearly any of the lino of Hudson Bay posts that form a chain of road-houses on tho trip. Parties travelling alone will not need to employ guides tintil they get near Fort Macpherson, and from there on to the Klondyke, as the rest of the route from Edmonton is so well defined, having been travelled for years, that no guides are required. You don't need a couple of thousand dollars to start for "Klondyke to-morrow by the Edmdnton route. All yon need is a good constitution, some experience in boating and camping, and about $150. Suppo.;*^ a party of three decide to start. First they will nted to ^'urchase a canoe, about $35 or less ; first-class ticket fiovn Hamilton to Ed- monton, $71.40 ; second class, ditto, $40.90 ; cost of food at Edmonton for thiee men for two months (should consist of pork, flour, tea and baking-powder), $35 ; freight on canoe to Edmonton, $23. Total for three men from Ham- ilt« n to Fort Macpherson, provided they travel second- class on the C. P. It. will be $218.70. These figures are turnished by Mr. Heming, who has been over tho ronte •^^^^mmmmmmm mmmmmmmm ■1 ll 1(1 I' KLONDYKE FACTS. 31 ■.^ 400 miles north of Edmonton, and got the rest of his data from the Hudson Bay officials. If three men chip in $150 each they »rould have a mar- gin of over 1200 for purchasing their tools and for trans- port from Fort Macphri-son to tho Klondyke. This is how it may be done on the cheap, though Mr. Ileming con- siders it ample for any party starting this summer. Prices will likely rise on the route when the rush begins. If the Hudson Bay people are alive to their interests they will forward a largo amount of supplies for Fort Macpherson immediately and make it the base of supplies for the Klon- dyke during the coming winter. Parties should consist of three men each, as that is the crew of a canoe. It will take 000 pounds o* food to carry three men over tlie route. Passengers on the 0. P. R. are entitled to carry COO pounds of baggage. The paddling is all down stream, except when they turn south up Peel Eiver, and sails should be taken, as there is often a favor- able wind for davs. There are large scows on the line, manned by ten men each and known as * sturgeon heads.' They are iike canal boats, but are punted along and are used by the Hudson Bay people for taking forward supplies to the forts. The return trip to the United States is usually made by tbe Yukon slo-ame. s from Dawson City direct to St. Michael via the Yukon and Anvik Ttivor, thence by ocean steamer from St. Michael to Sun Francisco." The following letter is interesting to the prospector as showing the difficulties to overcome up the Taiya Pass to Lake Lindeinan. Winnipeg, July 27, 1897. A letter has been received from George McLeod, one of the members of the Winnipeg party of gold hunters that ^^^^i^mmmi ^"••■■llli 82 KLONDYKE FACTS. i : left here recently for the Yukon. Hp wrote from Lake. Lindeman under date of July 4, and states that the party expected to louve on the journey from the river a week later. They had a fine bo?t, with a freight capacity of two tons about completed. The real work of the expedi- tion started when the small steamer which conveyed the party from Juneau arrived at Dyea. The men had to transfer their goods to a lighter one mile from shore, each man looking after his own packages. After getting every- thing ashore the party was organized for ascent of the mountain pass, which at the hardest point is 3,000 feet above sea level. McLeod and his ciium, to save time and money too, engaged 35 Indians to pack their g applies over the mountains;, but they had to carry their own bed- ding and grub to keep them on the road. It is fifteen miles to the summit of the pass and the party made twelve miles the first day, going into camp at night tired from climbing over rocks, stumps, logs and hills, working through rivers and creeks and pushing their way through brush. At the end of twelve miles they thought they had gone fifty. On the second day out they began to scale the summit of the mountain. Hill after hill confronted them, each one being steeper than the last. There was snow on the top of the mountain, and rain was falling, and this adde--^. greatly to the difficulties of the ascei?t. In many places the men had to crawl on their hands and knees, so pre- cipitous was the mountain side. Time after time the men would slip back several inches, but they recovered them- Bclves and went at it again. Finally, the summit was gained, McLeod being the first of t)ie party to reach the top. After resting and chang- ing their clothes the descent was commenced. McLeod and his chums purchased sleighs, on which they Icided their goods and hauled for five miles. This was extremelj laborious work, and the men were so used up working in |! I KLONDTKE FACT3. 33 the Bcorching sun that they were compelled to vork at nights and sleep during the day. Two days after the de- scent began the sleighs were abandoned, and the men packed the goods for three miles and a half. They were fortunate in securing the seryices of a man who had two horses ta convey the goods to Lake Liiideman. McLeod says the worry in getting over tlie pass is terri- ble, and he has no desire to repeat the experience. Ho advises all who go in to have their goods packed all the way from Dyea to Lake Lindeman. It costs 17 or 18 cents per pound for packing. McLeod expected that Klondyke would not be reached before July 25. • I think it specially valuable for the reader to give him the approximate distances to Fort Cudahy, which is below Dawson City via the various routes. This table of distances has been prepared by Mr. James Ogilvie, and I also give a number of his notes which will bo of great value to the traveller when making the trip from Juneau to Dawson City. APPROXIMATE DISTANCES TO FORT CUDAHY. VIA ST. MICHAJIL. Milea. SftH F nncisco to Dutch Harbor 2,400 tHtfiitcif or Victoria to Dutch Harbor 8,000 T)vitr 1 Harbor to St. Michael 750 St. >;i.?h^iel to Cudahy 1,600 VIA TAIYA PASS. Victoria to Taiya 1,000 Taiya ;o Cudahy 650 VIA BTIKINE RIVER. Victoria to Wrangell 750 "Wrangell to Telegraph Creek 150 Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lake 150 T^>?ilin lake to Cudahy 850 3 Ik I 84 KLONDYKE FACTS. DISTANCES FROM HEAD OP TAIYA INLET. Uilea Head of oanoe navigation, Taiya River 5'90 Forks of Taiya River 8-38 Summit of Taiya Pass 14-76 Landing at Lake Lindeman 23-06 Foot of Lake Lindeman 27'49 Head of Lake Bennet 2809 Boundary line B. C. and N. W. T. (Lat 60^^) 38 09 Foot of I-ake Bennet 5385 Foot of Caribou Crossing (I^ke Nares) 56-44 Foot of Tagish Lake 73*25 Head of Marsh Lake 78-15 Foot of Marsli Lake 97-21 Head of Miles Caiion 122-94 Foot of Miles Cafion 123-56 Head of White Hoi-se Rapids 124-95 Foot of White Horse Rapids 125-33 Tahkeena River 139-93 Head of Lake Labarge 15307 Foot of Lake Labarge 184-22 Teslintoo River 215-88 Big Salmon River 24933 Little Salmon River 285-54 Five Finger Rapids 344-83 Pelly River 408.29 White River 4991 1 Stewart River 508-91 Sixty-Mile Creek 530-41 Dawson City — The Principal Mining Town 575-70 Fort Reliance 58220 Forty-Mile River 627-08 Boundary Line 667-43 " Anothfr route is now being explored between Telegraph Creek and Toslin Lake and will soon be opened. Telegraph Creek is the head of steamer navigation on the Stikine River and is about 50 miles from Teslin Lake. The Yukon is navigable for steamers from its mouth to Teslin Lake, a distance of 2,300 miles. A road is being located KL ON DYKE FACTS. 35 by the Dominion Government. A grant of 12,000 has been made by the province of British Columbia for open- ing it. *' J. Dalton, a trader, has use! a route overland from Chilkat Inlet to Fort Selkirk. Going up the Chilkat and Kiaheela Rivers, ho crosses the divide to the Tahkeena River and continues nortliM'ard over a fairly open country practicable for horses. The distance from the sea to Fort Selkirk is 350 miles. ** Last summer a Juneau butclier sent 40 head of cattle to Cudahy, G. Hounds, the man in charge, crossed the di- vide over the Oliilkat Pass, followed the shore of Lake Ar- kell and, keeping to the east of Dalton's trull, reached the Yukon just below the Rink Rapids. Hero tho cattle were slaughtered and the moat floated down on a raft to Cudahy, where it retailed at II a pound, " It is proposed to establish a winter road somewhere across the country travelled over by Dalton and Bounds. Tho Yukon cannot be followid, the ice being too much broken, so that any winter road will have to be overland. A thorough exploration is now being made of all the passes at the head of Lynn Canal and of the upper waters of the Yukon. In a few months it is expected ti at the best routes for reaching the district from Lynn Canal will be definitely known. **It is said by those familiar with the locality that tlie storms which rage in the upper altitudes of thecoa^t range during the greater part of the time, from October to March, are tcrriiic. A man caught in one of them runs tho risk of losing his life, unless he can roach shelter in a short time. During the summer there is nearly always a wind blowing from the sea up Chatham Strait and Lynn Canal, which lie in almost a straight line with each other, and at the head of Lynn Canal are Chilkat and Chilkoot Inlets. The distance from the coast down these channels to the ■^^,!j:--X:J^ssm^^m^^ M 86 KLONDYZE FACTi, . I !i' i:'!^ ( f Open sea is about 380 miles. The mountains on each side of the water confine the currents of air, and deflect inclined currents in the direction of the axis of the channel, so that the"e is nearly always a strong wind blowing up the channel. Coming from the sea, this wind is heavily charged with moisture, which is precipitated when the air currents strike the mountains, and the fall of rain and snow is consequently very lieavy. '* In Chilkat Inlet there is not much shelter from the south wind, which renders it unsafe for ships calling there. Oapt. Hunter told me he would rather visit any other part of the coast than Chilkat. ' **To carry the survey from the island across to Cliilkoot Inlet I had to get up on the mountains north of Haines mission, and from there could see both inlets. Owing to the bad weather I could get no observation for azimuth, and had to produce the survey from Pyramid Island to Taiya Inlet by reading the angles of deflection between the courses. At Taiya Inlet I got my first observation, and deduced the azimuths of my courses up to that point. Taiya Inlet has evidently been the valley of a glacier ; its sides are steep and smooth fr..m glacial action ; and this, with the wind almost constantly blowing landward, renders getting upon the shore difficult. Some long sights were therefore necessary. The survey was made uj) to the head of the Inlet on the 2d of June. Preparations were then commenced for taking the supplies and instruments over the coast range of mountains to the head of Lake Linde- man on the Lewes River. Commander Newell kindly aided me in making arrangements with the Indians, and did all he could to induce them to be reasonable in their demands. This, however, neither he nor any one else could accomplish. They refused to carry to the lake for less than 120 per hundred pounds, and as they had learned that the expedition was an English one, the second chief TH« BOUNDAHT LINK BITWIEN ALASKA AND NORTBWKST TEBRITOBISa 8H0WIMS OTIBLAND TBU> TO DAWSON CITT ritOH LAEB BIMNXT n -vkm^ ■a' 4' KLONDYKE FACTS. 87 ^ < i of the Chilkoot Indians recalled somo memories of an old quarrel which the tribe had with the English many ycara ago, in v/iiich an uncle of his was killed, and he thought we should pay for the loss of his uncle by being charged an exorbitant price for our packing, of which he had the sole control. Commander Nc well told him I had a permit from the Great Father at Washington to pass through his coun- try safely, that he would see that I did so, and if the In- dians interfered with me they would be punished for doing so. After much talk they consented to carry our stuff to the summit of the mountain for 110 per hundred pounds. This is about two-ohirds of the whole distance, includes all the climbing and all the woods, and is by far the most difficult part of the way. ** On the 6th of June 120 Indians, men, women and chil- dren, started for the summit. I sent two of my party with them to see the goods delivered at the place agreed upon. Each carrier when given a pack also got a ticket, on which was inscribed the contents of the pack, its weight, and the amount the individual was to get for carrying it. They were made to understand that they had to produce these tickets on delivering their packs, but were not told for what reason. As each pack was delivered one of my men receipted the ticket and returned it. The Indians did not Boem to understand the import of this ; a few of them pre- tended to have lost their tickets ; and as they could not get paid without them, my assistant, who had duplicates of every ticket, furnished them with receipted copies, after examining their packs. "While they were packing to the summic I was producing the survey, and I mot them on their return at the foot of the caflon, about eight miles from the coast, where I paid them. They came to the camp in the early morning before I was up, and for about two hours there was quite a hub- bub. When paying them I tried to get their names, but 88 ELONDYEE FACTS. 1 :m very few of them would give any Indian name, nearly all, "after a little reflection, giving some common English name. My list contained little else than Jack, Tom, Joe, Charlie, &c. some of which wore duplicated three and four times. I then found why some of them had pretended to lose their tickets at the summit. Tliree or four who had thus acted presented themselves twice for payment, producing first the receipted ticket, afterwards the one they claimed to have lost, demanding pay for both. They were much taken aback when they found that their duplicity had been discovered. " These Indians are perfectly heartless. They will not render even the smallest aid to each other without pay- ment ; and if not to each other, much less to a white man. I got one of tliem, whom I hud previously assisted with his pack, to take me and two of my party over a small creek in his canoe. After putting us across lie asked for money, and I gave him half a dollar. Another man stepped up and demanded pay, stating that the canoe was his. To see what the result would be, I gave to him the same amount as to the first. Immediately there were three or four more claimants for the canoe. I dismissed them with a blessing, and made up my mind that I would wado the next creek. *' While pa 'ing them I was a little apprehensive of trouble, for they iusiblcd on crowding into my tent, and for my- self and the four men who were with me to have attempted to eject them vould have been to invite trouble. I am strongly of the opinion that these Indians would have been much more difficult to deal with if they had not known that Commander Newell remained in the inlet to see that I got through wit! tout accident. *' While making ; he survey from the head of tidewater I took the azimuths and altitudes of several of the highest peaks around the liead of the inlet, in order to locatt KLONDYKE FACTS. 89 them, and obtain an idea of the general height of the peaks in the coast range. As it does not appear to have been done before, I have taken the opportunity of naming all the peaks, the positions of which I fixed in the abovo way. The names and altitudes appear on my map. ** "While going up from the head of canoe navigation on the Taiya River I took the angles of elevation of each Btation from the preceding one. I would have done this from tidewater up, but found many of the courses so short and with so little increase in height that with the instru- ment I had it was inappreciable. From these angles I have computed the height of the summit of the Taiya Pass,* above the head of canoe navigation, as it appeared to me in June, 1887, and find it to be 3,378 feet. What depth of snow there was I cannot say. The head of canoe navigation I estimate at about 120 feet above tide water. Dr. Dawson gives it as 124 feet. *' I determined the descent from the summit to Lake Lindeman by carrying the aneroid from the lake to tho summit and back again, the interval of time from start to return being about eight hours. Taking the mean of the readings at the lake, start and return, and the single read- ing at the summit, the height of the summit abovo the lake was found to be 1,237 feet. While making iha survey from the summit down to the lake I took the angles of de- pression of each station from the preceding one, and from these angles I deduced the difference of height, which I found to be 1,35-4 feet, or 117 feet more than that founrl * The distance from the head of Taiya Inlet to the summit of the pass is 15 miles, and the whole length of the pass to Lake LindenoiP" is 23 miles. Messrs. Healy and Wilson, dealers in general merchandise and miners' supplies at Taiya, havo a train .. of pack horses carrying freight from the head of Lynn Canal to the summit. They hope to be able to take freight through to Lake Lindeman with their horses during the present eeasoa. 10 KLONDYKE FACTS. by the aneroid. This is quite a large difference ; but when we consider tlie altitude of the place, the sudden changes of temperature, and tiie atmospheric conditions, it is not more than one niiglit expect. " While at Juneau I heard reports of a low pass from the head of Chilkoot Inlet to the head waters of Lewes River. During the time I was at the head of Taiya Inlet I made inquiries regiirding it, and found that there was such a pass, but could learn nothing definite about it from either whites or Indians. As Capt. Moore, who accompanied me, was very anxious to go through it, and as the reports of the Taiya Pass indicated that no wagon road or railroad could ever be built through it, while the new j^ass appeared, from what little knowledge 1 could get of it, to be much lower and possibly feasible for a wagon road, I determined to send tlie captain by that way, if I could get an Indian to accom})any him. This, I found, would bo difficult to do. None of the Chilkoots appeared to know anything of the pass, and I concluded that they wished to keep its existence and condition a secret. The Tagish, or Stick Indians, as the interior Indians are locally called, are afraid to doanything in opposition to the wishes of the Cliilkoots ; 80 it was difficult to get any of them to join Capt. Moore ; but after much talk and encouragement from the whites around, one of them named "Jim" M'as induced to go. lie had been through this pass before, and proved reliable and useful. The information obtained from Capt. Moore's exploration I have incorporated in my plan of the survey from Taiya Inlet, but it is not as complete as I would have liked. I have named this pass " AVhitc Pass," in honor of the late lion. Thos. White, Minister of the Interior, under who?e authority the exi)edition was organ- ized. Commencing at Taiya Inlet, about two miles south of its north end, it follows up the valley of the Shkagway River to its source, and thence down the valley of another KLONDYKE FACTS. 41 river which Capt. Moore reported to empty into the Takone or Windy Artn of IJove Lake (Schwatka). Dr. Dawson says this stream empties into Taku Arm, and in that event Capt. Moore is mistaken. Capt. Moore did not go all the way througli to the lake, but assumed from reports ho heard from tljo miners and others that thestream flowed into Windy Arm, and tliis also was the idea of the Inaian "Jim" from wliat I could gather from his remarks in broken English and Chinook. Capt. Moore estimates the distance from tide water to the summit at about 18 miles, and from the summit to the lake at about 22 to 2IJ miles. He reports the puss as tliickly timbered all the way through. " The timber lino on the south side of the Taiya I'jiss, as determined by barometer reading, is about 2,300 feet above the sea, while on the north side it is aboi.L 1,000 feet below the summit. This large difference is due, I think, to tlie ditTcrent conditions in the two places. On tlio south side the valley is narrow and deep, and the sun can- not produce its full effect. The snow also is much deeper there, owing to the quantity which drifts in from the sur- rounding mountains. On the north side the surface is sloping, and more exposed to the sun's rays. On the south side the timber is of the class peculiar to the coast, and on the north that peculiar to the interior. The latter would grow at a greater altitude than the coast timber. It is possible that the summit of White Pass is not higher than the timber line on the north of the Taiya Pass, or about 2,500 feet above tide water, and it is possibly even lower than this, as the timber in a valley such as tha White Pass would hardly live at the samp altitude as ou the open slope on the north side. " Capt. Moore has had considerable experience in building roads in mountainous countries. He considers that this would be an easy route for a wagon road compared with some roads he has seen in British Columbia. Assuming ^gxmmmmmmmam 42 KLONDYKE FACTS. my-- his distances to be correct, and the height of the pass to be probably about correctly indicated, the grades would not be very steep, and a railroad cdld easily be carried through if necessary. "After completing the survey 'lown to the lake, I set about getting my baggage down too. Of all the Indians who came to the summit with pfi'jkh, only four or five could bo induced to rem;ii)i an ' pack down to tlie lake, although I was paying them at the rate of )i^4 per hundred pounds. After one trip down only t.vo men remained, and they only in hopes of stealing something. One of them appropriated a pair of boots, and was much surprised to find that he had to pay for them on being settled with. I could not blame them much for not caring to work, as the weather was very ;^is.agreeable — it rained or snowed almost continu- ously. After the Indians left I tried to get down the stuff with the aid of m\ own men, hut it was slavish and un- healthy labor, and after the first trip one of them was laid up with what appeared to bo inflammatory rheumatism. The first time the party crossed, the sun was shining brightly, and this brought on snow blindness, the pain of which only those who have suttered from this complaint can realize. I had two sleds with me which were made in Juneau specially for tiic work of getting over tlie mount- ains and down the lakes on the ice. With these I suc- ceeded in bringing about a ton and a-half to the lakes, but found that the time it would take to get all down in this way would seriously interfere with the programme arranged with Dr. Daws<,n, to g^y nothing of the suffering of the men and myself, and the liability to sickness which pro- tracted physical exertion under such uncomfortable con- ditions and continued suffering from snow blindness ex- pose us to. I had with me a white man wiio lived at the head of the inlet with a Tagish Indian woman. This man had a good deal of influence with the Tagish tribe, of -^ KLONDYKE FACTS. 43 Vfhom the greater number were then in the neighborhood v-iiere he resided, trying to get some odd jobs of work^ and I sent him to the head of the inlet to try and induce the Tagish Indians to undertake the transportation, offer- ing them $5 per hundred pounds. In tlie meantime Capt. JMooro and the Indian '^Jim" had rejoined me. I had their assistance for a day or two, and *' Jim's'' presence aided indirectly in inducing the Indians to come to my relief. ' . - ■ * ' The Tagish are little more than slaves to the more power- ful coast tribes, and are in constant dread of offending them in any way. One of the privileges which the coast tribes claim is the exclusive right to all work on the coast or in its vicinity, and the Tagish arc afraid to dispute this claim. AVhen my white man asked the Tagish to como over and pack thoy objected on the grounds mentioned. After considerable ridicule of their cowardice, and explana- tion of the fact that they had the ex'^lueive right to all work in their oAvn country, the country on the side of the north side of the cojist range being admitted ])y the coiust Indians to belong to the Tagish tribe just as the coast tribes had the privilege of doing all the work on the coast side of the mountains, and that one of tlieir num- ber was already working with me unmolested, and likely to continue so, nine of them came over, and in fear and trembling began in pack down to the lake. After they were at work for a few days some of the Chilkoots came out and also started to work. Soon I had quite a nnn:iber at work and was getting n)y stuff do'\ a quite fast. But this g(ind fortune was not to continue. Owing to the prevailing wet, cold weather on the mountains, and the difliculty of getting througli the soft wet snow, the Indians soon began to quit work for a day or two at a time, and to gamble with one another for the wages already earned. Many of them wanted to be paid in full, but this I posi- 44 KLONDYKB FACTS. tively refused, knowing that to do so was to have them all apply for their earnings and leave me until necessity com- pelled them to go to work again. I once for all made them distinctly understand that I would not pay any of them until the whole of the stuff was down. As many of them had already earned from twelve to fifteen dollars each, to lose which was a serious matter to them, they reluctantly resumed work and kept at it until all was delivered. Thia done, I paid them olT, and set about getting my outfit across the lake, which I did with my own party and the two Peterborough canoes which I had with me. " These two canoes travelL-d about 3,000 miles by rail and about 1,000 miles by steamship before being brought into service. They did considerable work on Chilkoot and Tagish Inlets, and were then packed over to the head of Lewes River (Lake Lindeman), from where they were used in making the survey of Lowes and Yukon Rivers. In thia work they made about 050 landings. They were then transported on sleighs from the boundary on the Yukon to navigable water on the Porcupine. **In the spring of 1S88 they descended the latter river, heavily loaded, and through much rougn water, to tho mouth of Bell's River, and up it to McDougall's Pass. They were then carried over the pass to Poplar River and were used in going down the latter to Pool River, and thence up Mackenzie River 1,400 miles ; or, exclusive of railway and ship carriage, they were carrieJ about 170 miles and did about 2,500 miles of work for the exi)editif^n, making- in all about 1,700 landings in no easy manner and going through some very oad water. I left them at Fort Chipe- wyan in fairly good condition, and, with a little paint- ing, they would go through the same ordeal again. After getting all my outfit over to the foot of I^ke Lindo- man I set some of the party to pack it to the head of Lake Bennet. KLONDYKE FACTS. 45 I '* I employed the rest of the party in looking for timber to build a boat to carry my outfit of provisions and imple- menta down the river to the vicinity of the international "boundary, a distance of about 700 miles. It took several days to find a tree large enough to make plank for the boat I wanted, as the timber around the upper end of the lake is small and scrubby. My boat was finished on the evening of the 11th of July, and on the 12th I started a portion of the party to load it and go ahead with it and the outfit to the canon. They had instructions to examine the caflon and, if necessary, to carry a part of the outfit past it — in any case, enough to support the party back to the coast should accilent necessitate such procedure. With the rest of the party I started to carry on the survey, Avhich may now be said to have fairly started ahead on the lakes. This proved tedious work, on account of tlie stormy ■weather. *'In the summer months there is nearly always a wind blowing in from the coast; it blows down th' lakes and produces quite a heavy swell. This would notprev<'nt the canoes going with the deck? on, but, as w. .d to land every mile or so, the rollers breaking on the genor.dly ory troublesome. On this account 1 f'umd I could not average more than ten miles per day on he lakes, little more than half of what could be done on the river. " The survey was complr'.ed to the canon on the 20th of July. There I found the party with the large boat had arrived on the 18th, havin ? carried a part of the supplies past the canon, and were awaiting my arrival to run through it with the rest in the boat. Before doing so, however, I made an examination of the cailon. Tlie rapids below it, particularly the last rapid of the series (called the White Horse by the miners), I found would not be safe to run. I sent two men through the cafiou in one of the canpee to 40 KLONDYKE FACTS. It await the arrival of the hoat, and to bo ready in case of an accident to pick us up. Every man in the party was sup- plied with a life-preserver, so that sliould a casualty occur we would all have floated. Tliose in the canoe got through all right ; but they would not have liked to repeat the trip. They said the canoe jumped about a great deal more than they thought it would, and I had the same experience when going through in the boat. ** The passage tlirougli is made in about throe minutes, or attho rate of about 12^ miles an hour. If the bout is kept clear of tbr. «iut;s there is not much danger in high water ; but in low water there is a rock in the middle of the channel, near the upper end of the cuflon, tluit renders the passage more ditlicult. I did not see this rook myself, but got my information from some miners I met in the interior, who described it as being about 150 yards down from the hoad and a liti o to the west of the middle of the channel. Iti low water it barely projects above the surface. When I passed through there was no indication of it, either from the bank above or from the boat. "The distance from the head to the foot of the cafion is five-eighths of a mile. There is a basin about midway in it about ir)0 yards in diameter. This basin is circular in form, with steep sloping sides about 100 feet high. The lower part of the cafion i5 much rougher to run through than the upper pare, the fall being apparently much greater. The sides are generally perpendicular, about 80 to 100 feet high, and consist of biisalt, iu some places showing hexagonal columns. ** The White Horse Rapids are about three-eighths of a mile long. They are the most dangerous rapids on the river, and are never run through in boats except by ac- cident. They are f?onfined by low basaltic banks, which, at the foot, suddenly close in and make the channel about 30 yards wide. It is hero the danger lies, as there is a KLONDYKE FACTS. 47 sudden drop and the water rushes through at a tremen- dous rate, leaping and seething like a cataract. The miners have constructed a portage road on the west side, and put down rollways in some places on whicli to shovo their boats over. They have also made some windlasses with which to haul their boats up hill, notably one at tho foot of the cafion. This roadway and windlasses must have coat them many hours of hard labor. Should it ever be necessary, a tramway could be built past the cafion on tho east side with no great difficulty. With tho exceptiou of the Five Finger Eapids these appear to be the only serious rapids on tho whole length of the river. " Five Finger Rapids arc formed by several islands stand- ing in the channel and backing up tho water so nuich as to raise it about a foot, causing a swell below for a few yards. The islands are composed of conglomerate rock, similar to the cliffs on each side of the river, whence ono would infer that there has been a fall here in past ages. For about two miles below the rapids there is a pretty swift current, but not enough to prevent the ascent of a steam- boat of moderate power, and the rapids themselves I do not think would present any serious obstacle to tho ascent of a good boat. In very high water Avarping might be re- quired. Six miles below these rapids are Avliat are known as * Rink Rapids.' This is simply a barrier of rocks, which extends from tlie westerly side of the river about b.alf way across. Over th^^ barrier there is a 'ople which would offer no great obstacle to the descent of a good canoe. On the easterly sides there is no ripple, and the current is smooth and the water apparently deep. I tried with a 6 foot paddle, but could not reach the bottom. ** On the 11th of August I met a party of miners coming out who had passed Stewart River a few days before. They saw no sign of Dr. Dawson having been there. This wm welcome ucm's for me, as I expected he would have i I 48 KLONDYKE FACTS. t 'V f. - H reached that point long before I arrived, on account of the many delays I had met with on the coast range. These miners also gave me the pleasant news that the story told at the coast about the fight with the Indians at Stewart River was false, and stated substantially what I have already repeated concerning it. The same evening I met more miners on their way out, and the next day met three boats, each containing four men. In the crew of one of them was a son of Capt. Moore, from whom the captain got such information as induced him to turn back and accompany them out. " Next day, the 13th, I got to the mouth of the Pelly, and found that Dr. Dawson hud arrived there on the 11th. The doctor also had experienced many delays, and had lieard the same story of the Indian uprising in the interior. I was pleased to find that he was in no immediate want of . provisions, the fear of which had caused me a great deal of uneasiness on tlie way down the river, as it was arranged between us in Victoria that I was to take with me provi- sions for his party to do them until their return to the coaat. The doctor was so much behind the time arranged to meet mo that ho determined to start for the coast at once. I therefore set about making a short report and ' plan of my survey to this point ; and, as I was not likely ' to get another opportunity of writing at such length for a year, I applied myse^* to a correspondence designed to 8;itisfy my friends and acquaintances for the ensuing twelve months. This necessitated three days' hard work. - "On the morning of the 17th the doctor left for the out- side world, leaving me with a feeling of loneliness that only those who have experienced it can realize. I remained at the mouth of the Pelly during the next day taking mag- netic and astronomical observations, and making some measurements of the river. On the 19th I resumed the survey and reached White River on the 25th. Here I spent I 1 ) KLONDYKE FACTS, 49 i most of a day trying to ascend this river, but found it im- practicable, on account of the swift current and shallow and very muddy water. The water is so muddy that it is impossible to see through one-eighth of an inch of it. The current is very strong, probably eight miles or more per hour, and the numerous bars in the bed arc constantly changing place. After trying for several hours, the base men succeeded in doing about half a mile only, and I came to the conclusion that it was useless to try to get up this stream to the boundary with canoes. Had it proved feasible I had intended making a survey of tliis stream to the boundary, to discover more especially the facilities it offered for the transport of supplies in the event of a Bnrvey of the International Boundary being undertaken. ** I reached Stewart Kiver on the 2Gth. Here I remained a day taking magnetic observations, and getting informa- tion from a miner, named McDonald, about the country r that river. McDonald had spent the summer up the i^.er prospecting and exploring. His information will be given in detail further on. " Fort Reliance was reached on the 1st of September, and Forty Mile River (Cone-Hill River of Schwatka) on the 7th. In the interval between Fort Reliance and Forty Mile River there were several days lost by rain. ** At Forty Mile River I made some arrangt xicnts with the traders there (Messrs. Harper & McQuestion) about supplies during the winter, and about getting Indians to assist me in crossing from the Yukon to the head of the Porcupine, or perhaps on to the Peel River. I then made a survey of the Forty Mile River up to the canon. I found the canon would be difficult of ascent, and dangerous to descend, and therefore, concluded to defer further operations until the winter, and until after I had deter- mined the longitude of my winter post near the boundary, -when I would be in a much better position to locate the 60 KLONDYKE FACTS. ^$ interaection of the International Boundary with this river, a point important to determine on account of the number and ridmess of the mining claims on the river. "I left Forty Mile River for the boundary line between Alaska and the Northwest Territories on the 12tli Sep- tember, and finished the survey to that point on the 14th. i then spenc two days in examining the valley of the river in the vicinity of the boundary to get the most extensive view oftlui horizon ])ossible, and to find a tree large enough to serve for a transit stand. *' Before leaving Toronto I got Mr. Foster t^ make large brass plates with V's on them, which could be screwed firmly to a stump, and thus be made to serve as a transit stand. I required a stump at least 22 inches in diameter to make a base largo enough for the plates when properly placed for the transit. In a search which covered about four miles of the river bank, on l)oth sidea, I found only one tree as large as 18 inches. I mention this fact to give an idea of the size of the trees Jiiong the river in this vicinity. I had this stump enlarged by firudy fixing pieces on the sides so as to bring it up to the requisite size. This done, I built around the stump a small transit liouse of the ordinary form and then mounted and adjusted my transit. Meanwhile, most of the party were busy prepar- ing our winter quarters and building a magnetic observa- tory As I had been led to expect extremely low temper- atures durifig the winter, I adopted precautionary measures, 80 as to be as comfortable as circumstances would permit during our stay there. DESCRIPTION OP THE YUKON, ITS AFFLUENT 8TREAMS, AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRY. '* I will now give, from my own observation and from information received, a more detailed description of the KLONDVKE FACTS. 61 Lewes River, its affluent streams, and the reeonrces of th© adjacent country. " For the purpose of navigation a description of the Lewes River Itegins at the head of Lake Bennet. Abovo that point, and between it and Lake Lindeman, there is only about tlirce-quarters of a mile of river, which is not more tiian fifty or sixty yards wide, and two or three feet deep, and is so swift and rough that navigation is out of the question. **Lake Lindeman is about five miles Jon;]^ and half a rail© wide. It u deep enough for all ordinary purposes. Lake Bennet * 'u twenty-six and a quarter miles long, for th© upper fourteen of which it u about half a mile wide. About midway in its length an arm conies in from the west, which Schwjitka appears to have mistaken for a river, and named. AVheaton River. This arm is wider than the other arm down to that point, and is reported by Indians to be longer and heading in a glacier which lies in the pass at the head of Chilkcot Inlet. This arm is, as far as seen, surrounded by high mountains, apparently much higher than those on tlie arm we travelled down. Below the junction of the two arms the lake is about one and a half miles wide, with deep water. Above the forks the wat'^r of the east branch is muddy. This is caused by the streams from the numerous glaciers on the head of the tributaries of Lake Lindeman. *' A stream which flows iato Lake Bennet at the south- west corner is also very dirty, and has shoaled quite a largo portion of the lake at its mouth. The beai^h at the lower end of this lake is comparatively flat and the water shoal. "4 ■f -f • A small saw-mill has been erected at the head of I^ake Ben- net ; lumber for boat building sells i KLONDYKE FACTS. 55 would expect. Thoplan is evidently taken from the Indian houses on the coast, which appear to me to be a poor copy of the houses which the Hudson's Bay Company's gervants build around their trading posts. These houses do not appear to iuivebeen used for some time past, and are almost in ruins. The Tagish Indians are now generally on the coast, as they find it nmcheavsierto live there than in their own country. As a matter of fact, what they make in their own country is taken from them by the Coast Indians, so that there is little inducement for them to remain. - ' • • " The Lowes River, where it leaves Marsh Lake, is about 200 yards wide, and averages tliis width as far as the cafion. I did not try to find bottom anywhere as I went along, ex- cept where I had reason to think it shallow, and there I Jilways tried with my paddle. I did not anywhere find bottom with this, which shows that there is no part of this stretch of the river with less than six feet of water at medium liMgnt, at which stage it appeared to me the river was at that time. "From the head of Lake Bennet to the cafion the cor- rected distance is ninety-five miles, all of which is navigablo for boats drawing 5 feet ormore. Add to this the westerly arm of Lake Bennet, and the Takoiie or Windy Arm of Tagish Lake, each about fifteen miles in longlh, and tl. s Taku Arm of the latter lake, of unknown length, but prob- ably not less than thirty miles, and wo have a stretch t water of upwards of one hundred miles in lengili, all easily navigable ; and, as has been pointed out, (>asily connected with Taiya Inlet through the White Pass. "No streams of any importance enter any of these lakes eo far as 1 know. A river, called by Schwatka •* McClin- tock River," enters Marsh Lake at the lower end from tho o!wt. It occupies a large valley, as seen from the westerly side of tho lake, but the stream is apparently unimportant. Wt "^^ 56 KLONDYKE FACTS. Another amall stream, ap>pareiitly only a creek, enters the south-east angle of the lake. It is not probable that any stream coming from the east side of the lake is of import- ance, aa the strip of country between the Lewes and Teslin- too is not more than than thirty or forty miles in width at this point. ** The Taku Arm of Tagish Lake, is, so far, with the ex- ception of reports from Indians, unknown ; but it is equally improbable that any river of importance enters it, as it is so near the sourry of the waters flowing northwards. How- ever, this is a question that can only be decided by a proper exploration. The caflon I have already described and will only add that it is five-eighths of a mile long, about 100 feet wide, with perpendicular banks of basaltic rock from GO to lOU feet high. *' Below the caflon proper there is a stretch of rapids for about a milo ; then about half a mile of smooth water, fol- lowing which are the White Horse Rapids, which are three- eighths of a mile long, and unsafe for boats. "The total fall in the caflon and succeeding rapids waa measured and found to be 32 feet. Were it ever necessary to make this part of the river navigable it will be no easy task to overcome the obstacles at this point ; but a tram or railway could, with very little difficulty, be constructed along the east side of the river past the can on. " For some distance below the White Horse Kapids the current ' swift and tlie river wide, with many gravel bars. The reach between tiieso rapids and Lake Labarge, a dis- tance of twenty-seven and a half miles, is all smooth water, with a strong current. The average width is about 150 yards. There is no impediment to navigation other than the swift current, and this is no stronger than on the lower part of the river, wiuch is already navigated ; nor is it worse than on the Saskatchewan and Red Rivers in the more eastern part of our territory. ! 1 ELONDYKE FACTS. 67 ,11 *' About midway in this stretch the Talikeena River * joins the Lewes. This river is, apparently, about half the size of the latt/^r. Its waters are muddy, indicating the passage through a clayey district. I got some indefinite information about 1>'his river from an Indian wlio Inippened to meet me just below its mouth, but I could not readily make him understand me, and his replies were a compound of Chinook, Tagish, and signs, and therefore largely unin- telligible. From what I could understand with any cer- tainty, the river was easy to descend, there being no bad rapids, and it came out of a lake much larger than any I had yet jiassed. *'Here I nuiy remark that I have invariably found it dilTicult to get reliable ordef.nite information from Indians. The reasons for tJiis are many. Most of the Indians it lias been my lot to meet are expecting to make something, and consequently are very chary about doing or saying anything unless they think they will be well rewarded for it. They are naturally very suspicious of strangers, and it takes some time, and some knowledge of their language, to overcome this suspicion and gain their confidence. If you begin at once to ask questions about their country, without pre- viously having them understand that you have no unfriend- ly motive in doing so, they become alarmed, and although you may not meet with a positive refusal to answer ques- tions, yon make very little progress in getting desired in- formation. On the other hand I have met cases where, either through fear or hope of reward, they were only too anxious to impart ail they knew or had heard, and even more if they thought it would please their hearer. I need hardly say that such information is often not at all in ac- cordance with the facts. *The T.ahkoena vrfk, formerly much used by the Chilkat Indians as a meang of reaching the interior, V)ut never by tha miuers owing to the distance from the sea to its head. >5V iii ,'■ 68 KLONDYKE FACTS. *' I have several times found that some act of mine when in their presence ha»s aroiused either their fcar^ superstition or cupidity. As un instance : on the Bell River I met some Indiana coming doAvn stream as I was going up. We were ashore at the time, and invited them to join us. They started to come in, but very slowly, a!id all the time kept a watcliful evo on us. I noticed that mv double-barrelled sliot gun was lyiiig at my feet, loaded,, and picked it up tO' unload it, as I knew tliey Avould be handling it after land- ing. Tliis alarmed them so nuud) that it was some tim& before they came in, and I don't think they would havo come ashore at all had tliey not lieard tha* a party of white men of whom we answered the description, were corn- in": throui^h that Avav (tiiov had learned this from the Hudson's Bay (Company's officers), and concluded wo wero the party described to tliem. After drinking some of our tea, and getting a supply for themselves, tliey became quite friendly and communicative. *' I cito tliese as instances of what one meets with whO' comes in contact witii Indians, and of how trifles affect them. A sojourn of two or three days with them and tlie assistance of a common friend Avould do much to disabuse them of such ideas, but when you have no such aids you must not cxp('(;t to make much progress. ** Lake Labarge is thirty-one miles long. In the upper thirteen it varies from three to four miles in width ; it then narrows to about two miles for a distance of seven miles, when it begins to widen again, and gradually ex})and8 tO' about two and a-half or three miles, the lower six miles of it maintaining the latter width. The survey was carried along the western shore, and while so engaged I deter- mined the width of the upper wide part by triangulation at two points, the width of the narrow .middle part at three points, and the width of the lower part at three points. Dr. Dawson on his way out made a track survey of the KLOSVYKE FACTS. 59 eastern shore. Th'; western shore is irregular in many places, being inder ced by large bays, especially at the upper and lower ends. These l<;iys are, as a rule, shallow, moro especially those at the lower end. " Just above where the lake narrows in the middle there is a large island. It is throe and a-half miles long and about half a mile in width. It is shown on Sclnvatka's map as a peninsula, and called by him liichtofen liocks. How he came to think it a peniri iila I cannot understand, as it is well out in the lake ; the nearest point of it to tho "western shore is upwards of half a mile distant, and tho extreme width of the lake here is not more than five miles, which includes the depth of the deepest bays on the western Bide. It is therefore diflicultto understand that he did not sec it as an island. The upper half of tliis island is gravelly, nnd does not rise very high above the Like. The lower end is rocky and high, the rock being of a bright red color. *' At the lower end of the lake there is a large valley ex- tending northwards, which has evidently at one time been the outlet of tho lak"'. Dr. Dawson has noted it audits peculiarities. Ills remarks regarding it will ho fotmd on pages 150-lGO of liis report entitled ' Yukon District and Northern portion of British Colnnihia.' published in 18(S9. ** The width of thii Lewes Riveras itleaves the lake is tho Bame as at its entrance, about 200 yanls. Its waters when I wjis there were murky. This is caused by tho action of the waves on the shore along the lower end of the lake. The water at the upper end and at the middle of the lako is quite clear, so much so that the bottom can be distinctly Been at a deptli of or 7 feet. The wind blows almost constantly down this lake, and iu a high wind it gets very rough. The miners complain of muc!i detention owing to this cause, and certainly I cannot comjilain of a lack of wind while I was on the lake. This lake was named after one Mike Labarge, who was engaged by the Weatern Uuioa 60 KLONDYKE FACTS. It: ' r '■ ■ , - . :rAV ■I"".' Ttjlegraph Company, exploring the river and adjaoent country for the purpose of connecting Europe and Amerioa by telegraph through ]5ritish Columbia, and Alaska, and across Behring Strait to Asia, and theucoto Europe. Thit exploration took place in 18G7, but it dues not appear that Labarge then, nor for some years after, saw the lake called by his name. The successful laying of the Atlantic cable in 1866 put a stop to this project, and tlie exploring parties sent out were recalled as soon as word could be got to them. It seems that Labarge had got up as fur ju=5 the Pellybeforo he received his recall ; he had heard something of a large lake some distance further up tlio river, and afterwards spoke of it to some traders and miners Avho called it after him. ** After leaving Lake Labarge tlie river, for a distance of about five miles, preserves a generally uniform width and an easy current of about four miles per hour. It then makes a short turn round a low gravel point, and flows in exactly the opposite of its general course for a mile when it again turns sharply to its general direction. The current around this curve and for some distance below it — in all four or five miles — is very B\vift. I timed it in several places and found it from six to seven miles an hour. It then moderates to four or five, and continues so until the Teslintoo Eiver is reached, thirty-one and seven tenths miles from I^ake Labarge. The average width of this part of the river is about 150 yards, and the depth is sufficient to afford passage for boats drawing at least 5 feet. It is, as a rule, crooked, and consequently a little difficult to navi- gate. *' The Teslintoo * was so called by Dr. Dawson — this, ac- * The limited amount of prospecting that has been done on thi» river is said to be very satisfactory, tine gold having been found in all parta of the triver. The lack of supplies is the great draw- back to iy development, and this will not be overcome to any ex- i \ TIIK NOUrUEKN I'.OLNDAUY OF UIUTISH COLVMlilA f ■■,':•■-. ■.?: KLONDYKE FACTS. 61 cording to information obtained by him, being the Indian name. It is called by the miners * Hootalinkwa * or Hotalinqua, and was called by Schwatka, who appears to have bestowed no other attention to it, the Newberry, al- though it is apparently much larger than the Lewes. This was so apparent that in my interim reports I stated it as a fact. Owing to circumstances already narrated, I had not time while at the mouth to make any measurement to d r termine the relative size of the rivers ; but on his way out Dr. Dawson made these measurements, and liis report, be- fore referred to, gives the following values of tlie cross sec- tions of each stream : Lewes, 3,015 feet ; Teslint(»o, 0,809 feet. In the samo connection he states tliat the Lewes ap- peared to be about 1 foot above its lowest summer level, while the Teslintoo appeared to be at its lowest level. Assuming this to be so, and taking liis widths as our data, it would reduce his cross section of the Lewes to 5i,595 feet. Owing, however, to the current in the Lewes, as determined by Dr. Dawson, being just double that of the Teslintoo, the figures being 5*68 and 2*88 miles per hour, respectively, the discharge of the Lewes, taking these figures again in 18,64-i feet, and of the Teslintoo 11,4;}G feet. To reduce the Lewes to its lowest level the doctor says would make its discharge 15,600 feet. " The water of the Teslintoo is of a dark brown color, similar in appearance to the Ottawa River water, and a little turbid. Notwithstanding the dilTerence of volume of dis- tent until by sonne means hea^y fr|»i^ht can be brought over the coast range to the head of the 4ver. Indeed, owing to the difH- cultiea attending uccessand transportation, the great dra\vV)ack to the entire Yukon district at present is the want of heavy mining machinery and the scarcity of supplies. The government being aware of the requirements and possibilities of the country, has undertaken the task of making preliminary surveys for trails and railroads, and no doubt in the near future the avenue for better and quicker transportation facilities will be opened up. 62 ELONDYKE FACTS. charge, the Teslintoo clianges completely the character of the river helow the junction, and a person coming up tho river woukl, at tho forks, unhesitatingly pronounce the Teslintoo the main stream. The water of tho Lewes is Line in color, and at the time I speak of was somewhat dirty — not enough so, liowever, to prevent one seeing to a depth of two or throe feet. *' At tlio junction of the Lewes and Teslintoo I met two or three families of tho Indians who hunt in tho vicinity. One of them could speak a 'ittlo Chinook. As I had two men with me who understood liis jargon perfectly, with their assistance I tried to get some iiifornuitiou from him about the river. lie told me tlie river was easy to ascend, and presented tho same appearance eight days journey up as at 'Iho mouth ; then a lake was reached, 'vhick ttjok one day 2o cross ; the ri\cr was then followed again for half a day to another lake, which took two days to traverse : into this lake emptied a stream Avhich they used as a highway to the coast, passinj^ by way of the Taku liiver. lie said it took /our days wh^-n they had loads to carry, from the head of •fanoe navigation on the Teslintoo to salt water on the Taku Inlet ; but when they come light they take only one to two daj''s. He spoke also of a stream entering tho large lake from the east wliicli came from a distance ; hut they did HOC seem to know much about it, and considered it outside tlieir country. If their time intervals are approximately accurate, they mean that ♦^here are about 200 miles of good river to the first lake, as they ought easily tonuike 25 miles a day on the river as I saw it. The lake takes one day to traverse, and is at least 25 miles long, followed by say 12 of river, which brings us to the large lake, which takes two days to cross, say 50 or 60 more — in all about 292 miles — say 300 to the head of canoe navigation ; while the distance from the head of Lake Bennet to the junction is only 188. Aesuniing the course of the Teslintoo to be nearly south I KLONDYKE FACTS, 68 (it is a little to tl^ ' east of it), and throwing out every fourth mil for bends, the remainder gives us in arc throe degrees and a quarter of latitude, which, ('odurtcd from Gl° 40', the latitude of the junction, gives us 58° 25', or nearly t le latitude of Juneau. " T'^ make sure that I understood the Indi.iu aright, and that he knew what he was speaking about, I got him to sketch the river and lake, as ho described them, on the sand, and repeat the same several times. " I afterwards met Mr. T. Boswoll, his brother, ar ' an- other mino . who had spent mo t, of the summer on the river prospecting, and from them I gathered the following : " The distance to :.he first, and only lake which tuey saw, they put at 175 miles, and the lake itself they call at least 150 miles long, as it took them four days to row in a light boat from end to end. The portage to the sea they did not appear to know anything about, but describe a large bay on the east side of tlie lake, into which a river of considerable size entered. This river occupies a wide valley, surrounded by high mountains. Tliey thought this river must head near Liard Kiver. This account differs materially from that given by the Indian, and to put them on their guard, I told them what h ; had told me, but they still persisted in their story, which I lind differs a good deal from the account they gave Dr. Dawson, as incorpo- rated in his report. *' Many years ago, sixteen I think, a man named Monroe prospected up the Taku and learned from the Indians something of a large lake not far from that river. He crossed over and found it, and spent some time in prospect- ing, and then recrossed to the sea. This man had been at Forty Mile River, and I heard from the miners there his account of the appearance of the lake, wiiich amounted generally to this : The Bosvvells did not know anything about H/* It was unfortunate the Boswells did not remain €4 KLON DYKE FACTS. at Forty Mile all winter, as by a comparison of recollections thny might have arrived at some correct conclusion. " Cojiflicting as these descriptions are, one thing is cer- tain : this branch, if it lias not the greater discharge, is tlio longer and more important of the two, and offers easy nnd uninterrupted navigation for more than double the distance wliich the Lewes does, the cuflon being only ninety miles al)ove the mouth of the Teslintoo. The Boswella reported it as containing much more useful timber than the Lewes, which indeed one would infer from its lower altitude. " Assuming this as the main river, and adding its length to tiie Lewes-Yukon below the junction, gives upward of 2,^00 miles of river, fully two-thirds of which runs through u very moiintiiinous country, without an impediment to navigation. ** Some indefinite information was obtained as to the position of this river in the neigliborhood of Marsh Lake tending to sliow tliat the distance between them was only about, thirty or forty miles. ** Between the Teslintoo and the Big Salmon, so called by the miners, or D'Abbadio by Schwatka, the distance is thirty-three and a-hulf miles, in which the Lewes preserves a generally uniform width and current. For a few miles below the Teslintoo it is a little over the ordinary width, but then contracts to about two hundred yards which it maintains with little variation. The current is generally from four to five miles per hour. • * " The Big Salmon I found to be about one hundred yards wide near the mouth, the depth not more than four or five feet, and the current, so far as could be seen, sluggish. None of the miners 1 met could give me any infoi-mation con cerning tliis stream ; but Dr. Dawson was more fortunate, and met a man who had spent most of the summer of 1887 prospecting on it, Hia opinion was that it might be navi- KLOyDYKE FACTS. 6fr gable for Bmall Btern-whoel steumera for many miles. The valley, as aoen from the mouth, ia wide, and gives one the )f bei ied by ipor- i miuMi more tant streaiii. [jooking np it, in the distance fould be seen many l)ij::h poakrf covored with snow. As the date wjis August it is iiki'ly they are always so covered, which would make their probable altitude above the river 6,000 feet or more. ** Dr. Dawson, in liis report, incorporates fully the notes obtained frotn the miners. I will trespass so far on these as to say that they called the distance to a small lake near the head of the river, 190 miles from the mouth. Thia lake was estimated to be four miles in length ; another lake about 12 miles above this was estimated to be twenty-four miles long, and its ui)per end distant only about eight miles from the Teslintoo. These distances, if correct, make this river much more important than a casual glance at it would indicate ; this, however, will be more fully spoken of under its proper head. *' Just below the Big Salmon the Lewes takes a bend of nearly a right ungle. Its course from the junction with the Tahkeena to this point is generally a little east of north ; at this point it turns to nearly west for some distance. Its course between here and its confluence with the Pelly is north-west, and, I may add, it preserves this general direc- tion down to the confluence with the Porcupine. The river also changes in another respect ; it is generally wider, and often expands into what might be called lakes, in which are islands. Some of the lakes are of considerable length, and well timbered. '* To determine which c;hannel is the main one, that is, which carries the greates^t volume of water, or is best avail- able for the purposes of navigation, among these islands, would require more time than I could devote to it on my way down ; consequently I cannot say more than that I have m:. ed KLONDYKE FACTS. '?ijv no reason to doubt that a channel giving six feet or more of water could easily be found. Whenever, in the main channel, I liad reason to think the water shallow, I tried it with my paddle, but always failed to find bottom, v/hich /i^ives upward of six feet. Of course I often found less than this, but not in what I considered the main channel. *• Thirty-six and a quarter miles below the Big Salmon, the Little Salmon — the Daly of Schwatka — enters the Lewes. This river is about 60 vards wide at the mouth, and not more than two or three feet in depth. The water is clear and of a brownish liue ; there is not much current at the month, nor as far as can be seen up the stream. The valley which, from the mouth, does not appear ex- tensive, bears north.east for some discance, when it ap- pears to turn more to the east. Six or seven miles up, and apparently on the r.orth side, some high cliffs of red rock, apparently granite, can be seen. It is said that some miners have prospected this stream, but 1 could learn nothing definite about it. ** Lewes River makes a turn here to the southwest, and runs in that direction six miles, when it again turns to the northwest for seven miles, and then makes a short, sharp turn to tlie south and west around a low sandy point, which will, at some day in the near future, be cut through by the current, which will shorten the river three or four miles. " Eight miles below Little Salmon River, a large reck called tlie Eagle's Nest, stands up in a grave) slope on tne easterly bank of the river. It rises about five hundred fet-f above the river, and is composed of a light gray stone. Wliat the character of this rock isl could not observe, as I saw it only from the river, which is about a quarter of a mile distant. On the westerly side of the river there are two or three other isolated masses of apparently the same kind of rock, One of them might be appropriately f- XL ON D i'KE FA CTS. 67 i^ called a mountain ; it is south-west from the Eagle's Nesit and distant from it about three miles. ** Thirty-two miles below Eagle's Nest Rock, Nordenskiold River enters from the west. It is an unimportant stream, being not more than one hundred and twenty feet wide at t]ie mouth, and only a few inches deep. The valley, as far as can be seen, is not extensive, a;0. being very crooked, it is liard to tell what its general direction is. " The Lewes, between the Little Salmon and the Nor- denskiold, maintains a width of from two to three liuiulred yards, with an occasional expansion where there are islands. It is serpentine in its course most ox the way, and where the Nordenskiold joins it is very crooked, run- ning several times under a hill, named by Schwatka Tan- talu.'^ Butte, and in other places leaving it, for a distance of eight miles. The distance across from point to point is only half a mile. " Below this to Five Finger Rapids, so-called from the fact that five large masses of rock stand in mid-channel, the river assumes its ordinary etraightnes.-; and width, with a current from four to live miles per hour. I have already described B'ive Finger Rapids ; I do not think they will prove anything more than a slight obstruction in the navigation of the river. A boat of ordinary power would probably have to heli> herself up with windlass and line in high water. " Below tlie rapids, for about two miles, the current is strong — probably rIx miles per hour — hut the water seems to be deep enough for any boat that is likely to navigate it. " Six miles below this, as already Jioticed, Rink Rapids are situated. They are of no great importance, the westerly half of the stream only being obstruct^^d. The easterly half is not in any way affected, the current heiug smooth and the water deep. ** Below Five Finger Rapids about two miles a aru»U 68 KLONVYKE FACTS. stream enters from the east. It is called by Dr. Dawson Tatsliuii River. It is not more than 30 or 40 feet wide at the mouth, and contains only a little clear, brownish •.vater. Here I met the only Indians seen on the rivur between Teslintoo and Stewart Rive'-s. They were engaged in catching salmon at the mouth of the Tatshun. and were the poorest and most unintelligent Indians it has ever been my lot to meet. It is needless to suy that none of our party understood anything they said, as they could not speak a word of any language but their own. I tried by signs to get some information from them about the stream thoy were fishing in, but failed. I tried in the same way to learn if there were any more Indians in the vicinity, but again utterly failed. I then tried by signs to find out liow many days it took to go down to Pelly River^ but although I have never known these signs to fail in eliciting infornu-iion in any other part of the territory, they did not understand. They appeared to be alarmed by our presence ; and, as we had not yet been assured as to the rumor oontierning the trouble between the miners and Indians, we felt a little apprehensive, but being able to learn nothing from them we had to put our fears aside and proceed blindly. " Between Five Finger Rapids and Pelly River, fifty- eight and a half-miles, no streams of any importance enter the Lewes ; in fact, with the exception of the Tatshun, it may be said that none at all enter. *' About a mile below Rink Rapids the river spreads out into a lake-like expanse, with mai.j islands ; this continue* for about three miles, when it contracts to something like the usual width ; but ban-? and small islands are very numerous all the way to Pelly River. Ab<»ut five miles above Pelly River there is another lake-like expanse filled with islands. The river hero for three or four miiea is nearly a mile miQ, aud so uumerous and close Mre tii* KL OND YKE FA CTS. islands that it is impossible to tell when floating among them where the shores of the river are. The current, too, is swift, leading one to suppose the water shallow ; but I think even here a channel deep enough for such boats as will navigate tliis part of the river can be found. Schwatka named this group of islands *' Ingersoll Islands." " At the mouth of the Pelly the Lewes is about half a mile wide, and here too there are many islands, but not in groups as at Ingersoll Islands. *' About a mile below the Pelly, just at the ruins of Fort Selkirk, the Yukon was found to be SGo yards wide ; about two-thirds lieing ten feet deep, with a current of about four and i;hree-quarter miles per hour ; the remaining third was more than hall" taken up l)y v bar, and tho current between it and the t'outli shore waa very slack. "Pelly River at its mouth is about two Inuidred yards wide, and continues this width as far up as could be seen. Dr. Dawton made a survey and examination of this liver, which will be found in his re^ ort already cited, *' Yukon District and Northern British Columbia," '■' Just here for a short distance the course of the Yukon is nearlv west, and on the south side, about a mile below tho mouth of tho Lewes, stands all that remains of the only trading post ever built by white men in the district, 'i'his post was established by Robert Campbell, for the Hudson's Bay Company in the summer of 1848. It was first built on the point of land between the two rivers, but this locution proving untenable on account of flooding by ice jams in tho spring, it was, in the season of 185^, moved across th'- river to where the ruins now stand. It appears tluit the bouses composing the post were not finished wlien the Indiana from the coaat on Chilkat and Chilkoot Inletf came down the river to put a stop to the competitive trade whicli Mr. Campbell had inaugurated, and wl)ich they found to seriously intef ere with their profits. Their method of trade 70 ELONDYKE FACTS. appears to have been then pretty much as it is now — very onesided. What they found it convenient to take by force they took, aiid what it Avas convenient to pay for at their own price they paid for. ** Rumors had reached the post that the coast Indiana contemplated such a raid, and in consequence the native Indians in the vicinity remained about nearly all summer. Unfortunately, they went away for a short time, and dur- ing their absence the coast Indians arrived in the early morning, and surprised Mr. Campbell in bed. They were not at all rough with him, but gave him the privilege of leaving the place within twenty-four hours, after which ho was informed that he was liable to be shot if seen by thora in the locality. They then pillaged tiie place and set fire to it, leaving nothing but tlie remains of the two chimneys which are still standing. This raid and capture took place on the Ist August, 1852. " Mr. Campbell dropped down the river, and met some of the local Indians who returned with him, but the robbers had made their escape. I have heard that the local Indiana wished to pursue and overtake them, but to this Mr. Campbell would not consent. Had they done so it is probable not many of the raiders would have escaped, as the superior local knowledge of the natives would have given them an advantage diflTicult to estimate, and the confidence and spirit derived from the aid and presence of a white man or two would be worth much in such a conflict. " Mr. Campbell went on down the river until he met the ■outfit for his post on its way uji from Fort Yukon, which he turned back. He then ascended the Pelly, crossed to the Liard, and reached Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie, late in October. " Mr. Campbell's first visit to the sila of Fort Selkirk was mad© ia 1840, under instructions from Sir Georpv I M KLONDYKE FACTS. 71 Simpson, then Governor of tlie Hudson's Bay Companyi He crossed from the liead waters of the Liard to the waters of the Pelly. It appears the Polly, where he struck it. was a stream of considerable size, for lie speaks of its appearance when he first saw it from ' Pelly Banks/ tlie name giv','n the bank from which he first beheld it, as a 'splend.'.d river in the distance.' In Juno, 1843, he descended the Pelly to its confluence with the larger .stream, which ho named the * Lewes.' Here he found ma.iy families of the native Indians — ' Wood Indians/ he called them. These people conveyed to him, as best they could by word and sign, tlie dangers that would attend a further descent of the river, representing that the country below th(nrs was inhabited by a tribe of fierce cannibals, who would assuredly kill and eat them. This so terrified his men tha< he had to return by the way he came, pursued, as he afterwards learned, by the Indians, who would have murdered him- self and party had they got a favorable opportunity. Thus it was not until 1850 that ho could establish, what he says he all along believed, ' that the Pelly and Yukon were identical.' This he did by descending the river to wiierc the Porcupine joins it. and where in 1847 Fort Yukon was established by Mr. A. U. Murray for the Hudson's B-*y Company. " With reference to the tales told him by the Indians of bad people outside of their country, I may eay that Mackenzie cells pretty much the same story of the Indians on the Mat'kcnzie wh^'u ])< discovered and explored that river in 1780. lie had tl\(> advantage of having Indians along with him wh«se languaL'e wiw radically the same as tha.t of the peorl-e- he was c. rning among, and liis state- ments are more explicit And detailed. Everywhere he came it) contact with them they manifested, first, drear^'^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // /. f/. 1.0 I.I 1.25 2.2 to J 1.4 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 713 WiST MAIN STRUT '' 'EBSTER, NY. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 ^ firm, and who ^\aa at one time in the employ of the Ala.'^ka Coannereial Company. * Dawstm City is situated at the mouth of the Thron-Diuck now known as Klondyke, and although it was Uxvited only a tew months ago it is the scene of great activity. V* ry rich deposits of gold have been lately found on Bonanza Creek and other affluents of the Thron-Diuck. wm 80 KLONDYKE FACTS. r ■ f I " It appears that tlie Indians go up this stream a long distance to liiint, but I could learn nothing definite as to their statements concerning it. " Twelve and a lialf miles below Fort Reliance, the Chandindu River, as named by Sohwatku, enters from the east. It is thirty to forty yurds wide at the mouth, very shallow, and fur half a niilo up is one continuous rapid. Its valley is wide and can be seen for a long distance look- ing north-ejistward from the mouth. ** Between Fort Reliance and Forty Mile River (called Cone Ilill River by Schwatka) the Yukon assumes its nor- mal appearance, having fewer islands and being narrower, averaging four to six hundrod yards wide, and the current being more regular. This i^trctch is forty-six miles long, but was estimated bv the traders at forty, from which the Forty Mile River took its name. ** Forty Mile River* joins the main river from the west. Its general course as far upas the International Boundary, a distance of twenty-three miles, is south-west ; after this * Forty Mile townsite is situated on the south side of the Forty Mile Kiver at its junction with tho Yukon. The Aljiska Commer- cial Company has a station here which was for some years in charge of L. N. McQuestion ; there are also several blacksmith shops, restaurants, billiard halls, bakeries, an opera house and so on. Ratlier more than half a mile below Forty Mile townsite tho town of Cudahy wa.s founded on the north side of Forty Mile River in the summer of 1892. It is named after a well known member of the North American Transportation and Trading Com- pany. In population and extent of business the town bears com- parison with its neigiilwr across the river. Tlie opposition in trade has been the means of very materially reducing the cost of supplies and living. The North American l'ransj)ortation and Trading Company has erected a saw mill and some large ware- houses. Fort Constan tine was established here im mediately upon the arrival of tha Moimted Police detacmient in the latter part of July, 1895. It is described further on in an extract from Inspector Constantine*B supplementary repor. for the year 1895. KLONDYKE FACTS. 81 it is reported by the miners to run nearer south. Manj of them claim to have ascended this stroam for more than one hundred miles, and speak of it there as quite a large river. They say that at that distance it has reached the level of the plateau, and the country adjoining it they describe as flat and swampy, rising very little above the river. It is only a short distance across to the Tanana River — a large tributary of the Yukon — which is here de- scribed as an important stream. However, only about twenty-three miles of Forty Mile River are in Canada ; and the upper part of it and its relation to other rivers in the district have no direct interest for us. "Forty Mile River is one hundred to one hundred and fifty yards wide at tiie mouth, and the current is generally strong, with many small rapids. Eight miles up is tho so-called cafioii ; it is hardly entitled to that distinctive name, being simply a crooketl contraction of the river, with steep rocky banks, and on the north side there is })lenty of room to walk along the beach. At the lower end of tho caHon tliere is a short turn and swift water in which are some large rocks ; these cannot generally be seen, and there is much danger of striking them mning down in a boat. At this point several miners have been drowned by their boats being upset in collision with these rocks. It is no great distance to either shore, and one would think au ordinary swimmer would have no difficulty in reaching land ; but the coldness of tiie water soon benumbs a man completely and renders him powerless. In the summer of 1887, an Indian, from Tanana, with a.' family, was com- ing down to trade at the post at the mou^ of Forty Mile River ; his canoe struck on these rocks and upset, and ho was thrown clear of the canoe, but the woman and children clung to it. In the rough water he lost sight of them, and concluded that they were lost : it is said he deliberately drew his knife and cut his throat, thus perishing, while 6 «*? KLONDYKE FACTS. Ill his family were hauled ashore by some miners. The "chief of the band to which this Indian belonged came to the post and demanded pay for his loss, which he contended was occasioned by the traders having moved from Belle Isle to Forty Mile, thus causing them to descend this (dangerous rapid, and there is little doubt that had there not been so many white men in the vicinity he would have tried to enforce his demand. " The length of the so-called cafion is about a mile. Above it the river up to the boundary is generally smooth, with swift current and an occasional ripple. The amount of water discharged by this stream is considerable ; but there is no prospect of navigation, it being so swift and broken by small rapids. •' From Forty Mile River to the boundary the Yukon preserves the same general character as between Fort Reli- ance and Forty Mile, the greatest width being about half a mile and the least about a quarter. Fifteen miles below Forty Mile River a large mass of rock stands on the east bank. This was named by Schwatka * Roquette Rock,' but is known to the traders as Old Woman Rock ; a similar mass, on the west side of the river, being known as Old Man Rock. *' The origin of these names is an Indian legend, of which the following is the version given to me by the traders : — .'•In remote ages there lived a powerful shaman, pro- nounced Tshaumen by the Indians, this being the local name for what is known as medicine man among the In- dians farther south and east. The Tshaumen holds a posi- tion and exercises an influence among the people he lives with, something akin to the wise men or magi of olden times in the East. In this powerful being's locality there lived » poor man who had the great misfortiiP** to have an invet- erate scold for a wife. He bore the mniction for a long ELONDYKE FACTS. 88 time without murmuring, in hopes that she would relent, but time seemed only to increase the affliction ; at length, growing weary of the unceasing torment, he complained to the Tshaumen who comforted him, and sent him home with the assurance that all would soon be well. ** Shortly after this he went out to hunt, and remained away for many days endeavoring to get some provisions for home use, but without avail ; he returned weary and hungry, only to be met by his wife with a more than usually violent outburst of scolding. This so provoked him that he gathered all his strength and energy for one grand effort and gave her a kick that sent her clean across the river. On landing she was converted into the mass of rock which remains to this day a memorial of her vicious- ness and a warning to all future scolds. The metamor- phosis was effected by the Tshaumen, but how the neces- sary force was acquired to send her across the river (here about half a mile wide), or whether tlie kick was tulminis- tered by the Tshaumen or the husband, my narrator could not say. lie was altogether at a loss to account for con- version of the husband into the mass of rock on the west side of the river ; nor can I offer any tlieory unless it is that he was petrified by astonishment at the result. " Such legends as this would be o^ interest to ethnologists if they could be procured direct 'rom the Indians, but repeated by men who have little or no knowledge of the utility of legendary lore, and less sympathy with it, thdy lose much of their value. ** Between Forty Mile River and the boundary line no stream of any size joins the Yukon ; in fact, there is only one stream, which some of the miners have named Sheep Creek, but as there is another stream further down the river, called by the same name, I have named it Coal Creek. It is five miles below Forty Mile, and comes in from the east, and is a large creek, but not at all navigable. y\ rr 84 KLONDYKE FACTS. On it Horne extunsive coul Reams were seen, which will be more fuUv referred to further on. I'> ' "At the boundary the river is somewhat contracted, and measures only 1,280 feet across in the winter ; but in summer, at ordinary water levd, it would be about one hundred feet wider. Immediately below the boundary it expands to its usual width, which is about 2,000 feet. The area of the cross section measured is 22,2G8 feet, the sectional area of the Teslintoo, as determined by Dr. Dawson and already referred to, is 3,809 feet ; that of the I^^ves at the Teslintoo, from the same authority, is 3,016 feet. Hatl the above cross-section been reduced to the level at which the water ordinarily stands during the sum- mer months, instead of to the height at which it stood in the middle of September when it was almost at its lowest, the sectional area would have been at least 60 per cent inore,and at spring flood level about double the above area. *' It is a difficult matter to determine the actual discharge at the place of the cross-section, owing to the irregularity in the depth and current, the latter being in the deep channel at the east side, when I tried it in September, approximately 4*8 miles per hour ; while on the bar in midstream it was not more than 2 '5 miles per hour : and between the bar and the westerly shore there was very little current. ** The river above this for some miles waa no better for the purpose of cross-section measurement. At the bound- ary it is narrow and clear of bars and islands for some miles, but here I did not have on opportunity to determine the rate of the current before the river froze up, and after it froze the drift ice was jammed and piled so high that it would have been an almost endless task to cat holes through it. ■•1' in abundance, but men in summer are usually too busy to avail themselves of these. The diseases met with in this country are dyspepsia, an;emia, scurvy caused by improperly cooked food, same- ness of diet, overwork, want of fresh vegitaliles, overheated and badly ventilated houses ; rheumatism, pneumonia, bronchitis, enteritis, cystitis and other ac ute diseaHcs, from exposure to wet and cold ; debility and chronic diseases, due to excesses. Men coming to Klondyke shouM be sober, strong and healthy. They should be practical men, able to adapt themselves cpiickly to their, surroundings. Special care should be taken to see that then- lungs are sound, that they are free from rheumatism and rheumatic tendencv, and that their joints, especially knee joints, are strong and have never been weakened by injury, synovitis or other disease, It is also very important to consider their tem- PFP r'tH 88 KLONDYKE FACTS. poraraeutB. Men Hhould be of cheerful, hopeful disposi- tioua arui willing workera. Those of sullen, moroae na- tuToH, although thoy miij ho good workers, are very apt, as soon as the novelty of the country wears off, to become dissatistied, pessimistic and melancholy. ! If i < ?1 f^ » •» k KLUNDYKK FACTS. i9 CHAPTEK IV. I OUTFIT 10 U MINKKS. In giving any advico for ojitfits for miners, I should first state that it is a great mistake to ^ , "hiwe anything what- ever before arriving at .fuiicau, Mask. . This htw been a supply point for that region for iip.var(l8of ten years, and store-kee])or8 and eujiply con^ '.nies cavj in stock ex- actly what is necessary for the miner?. You will find that their prices aro reasonable, considtiing the difference iu cost of transportation at any point you niiijht decide to purchase from in the United States ; in fact it i.^ the saving of money to buy in Juneau. In the matter of clothing, of courstN it must he l"ft to the individual tjiste and means of the purchaser, but tho miners usually adopt the native costume of the region. The boots are generally nuide by the coast Indians and are of different varieties. The water boot is mad *' '• vegetables, 4 cans of condens(.'d milk, 5 pounds of sugar, 1 pound of tea, 3 pounds of coffee, 1 1-2 })Ound of salt, 5 pounds of corn meal. A snuill portion of pepper and mustard. The following utensils should be taken : — I frying pan. 1 water kettle, 1 Yukon stove, 1 bean pot, 2 plates, KLOyUYKE FACTS, 91 1 tin drinking cup, 1 tea pot, 1 knife mid fork. 1 large and 1 small cooking pan. The following tools should be brought as part of tlie out- fit : — These will be found absolutely necessary to l)uild a boat at Lake Lindenian : — 1 jack plane, 1 wliip saw, 1 cross-cut saw, 1 axe, 1 hatchet, 1 hun ing-knife. 6 pounds of assorted nails, 1 pound of oakum, 5 pounds of pitch, 150 feet of rope, 1 Juneau sled. It is also necessary to have one good duck tent anply <>f matches, and take a small supply of flshiug tackle, hooks, etc. It is very important that you have a pair of snow ghisses to guard against snow blindness. It will be interesting to know the prices at Dawson City for supplies : When I left in June, K^OT. Flour was sold in .')() pound bags ut |!t).i.tO a hag. Frpfh beef was supplied at 50 (;».'nt.s a r-uiid. iiacon was 40 cents. 'hm ■'•^. •* J w^^^ TrT a TS SS t" ■i I I 92 KLONDYKE FACTS. Coffee waR 50 cents per pound. Brown sugar was 20 cents per pound and granulated sugar was 25 cents a pound. ("ondensed milk was 50 cents per can. Pick axes were |!G,00 each. Miners' shovels were $2.00 each. Lumber right at Dawson City was 1130.00 per thousand feet undressed, and 1150.00 per thousand feet dressed. It is well perhaps to advise the traveller to supply him- self with a small medicine box whicli can be purchased in Juneau, but it is not necessary if he enjoys good rugged health. On arriving at Dawson City, luxuries will be found to be very high ; what is to be considered a very cheap cigar in the United States, two for 5 cents, sells in Dawson City at 50 cents each. Liquors command very high prices. Whisky sells in the saloons for 50 cents a glass, and fluctuates from ill 5. 00 to $25.00 per gallon, according to the supplies received from the at present overtaxed transportation companies. There was about 12,000 gallons of whisky imported into the territory from Canada the past year. Smoking tobacco was selling at ^1.50 a pound and good plug cit and fancy tobacco was selling at 12.00 a pound. The demand for medicine is very light, but the local traders carry a small stock of patent and proprietary meilicinest KLOSDYKE V^AKJTtf, 98 CHAPTER V. HOW TO STAKK OUT A MINIXG CLAIM. The method of locating a claim is essentially simple. It is peculiar to the Klondyke region because of the to- pograi)hy of the country. 1 refer of course to the claims staked out for placer mining, as up to this date this is the only mining attempted here. Throughout this section are numerous snuUl streams or creeks, running through nar- row viilleys between the foot-hills. The ])rospective miner determines on which stream to hunt for the {ireoious metal, and having made i " Und "' he stakes out his claim in the following nuuinei : 111 staking the claim the prospector must not exceed 500 feet \\\) and down the creek the general course of tho valley. The width of the claim can run from base to base of the hills or mountains. If there arc no claims located on this particular stream, the claim is known as the -'dis- covery <;laim '* and the stakes used are marked 0. The next claim staked a.-, you proceed up the creek is nuirkt'd \o. 1, as is the next claim going ilotoi the stream. There can bo but two claims marked 1 on any one stream. Tiu; 4 stakes being driven and each markeour own initials, and the letters M. L. (meaning mining location), you must bound your claim with cross or end lines, and then proceed within sixty days, tn file the claim with the government'^ recorder at Dawson City. The recorder at present is also the gold commissioner. In recording, afVulavits must bo nuule that the claim is properly staked, und date given, aud frr ^ ?r bi KLO^^YKE FACTS. gold been found. The number of (laim must also be given, and if it is not tlie discovery claim it must b(! mentioned as for instance, No. 1 or No. 10 above or below "discovery claim," as the case may bo. If a claim should be staked be- fore gold is discovered thereon, the prospector has sixty days in which to prosecute the search for gold. If when this time has expired he is yet unsuccessful, he can no longer hold this claim, as the iinding of the metal is absolutely necessary to the permanent holding of the claim. The method for staking a quartz claim is similar. Here you lay out a claim 1500 feet long by 000 fi'ct wide. Tho stakes are marked as in i»lacer claims and the same rules govern in regard to Iinding of gold and tiling tho claims. The miner having liled his claim, it is necessary that he work the claim three consecutive mouths each year. Those re- quirements though simple are imperatively necessary for the protection of the miner, for should a niiner attempt to work a claim without first properly staking and r^-cording the same, any one could < ome iu, work on the ,>roperty, properly stake and hold the claim, an first man to leave. A prospector can file but one claim. Others he may acquire must be by })urchiise and tlie bill of sale properly recorded at time of transfei . Should he abandon a claim he can of course locate another. ! 1 KL Oy I) VKK FA CTS. 95 CHAPTER VI. PLACEU MIMNO. Mixing operations are thus fur altof^cther placer min- ing, for the reason that the lirst disooverv Mas of that na- ture an''''"" '» fett ed to the bottom. FnM",uT^' P'"'^ "'"t have .« wimtovorgold„n.yh««tc^ ;■'■". 'V'-^' in the p,„. «"">t™t, of I'onn,! or two of ,„ero, rv 1' "'"'""T^ "-"'^^^ '""I a contaet with tho inereurv'it T T" "" ""■' '"'W ''"'"<•» ii. " '-^ tl>™ «,n,,,„, t,„'„7 " "»'f"'g" or •■firing., "•"eury that eo„,e, throngi t,' ,. "^■'<.»'-'" ""?■ "" the "<' Iiarrel to serve „™i„ t ,, ! T "" '"" ''■'"^k »'to P aood in a re.ort, ifZ ;;'i:t T"'"' '" "'" ^•■'« « «^'"v<-I, and heated until „ea 1 , ■" "'"■• '"' " ""'- "" a The gold then remair,« in a L « tir"'"'"'*' ''^ '"P""™"- ho .1 .n eombinat.on with i ^ "' """" "'"''^••"■y «till Tl'is is ealled tlie "over, on aecount of 'T fl ''"'"' """-''^"l and is continued /or any Jen. 1 of tr"'' , '■""' '■■'''-""sne.ss, Proeure»"roeker•^>^t,' ,L , "''""•''" l">^^'^'<> to t- wicio, made inTrj,; , '-^.i;''";" '""■" '«'t long „nd -«■ a heavy sheet irorbour:';,[r' "'•"'« »"""<-- 7 "^ "^"^<-J' i-i panelled full -A; m w 98 KLOyD YKK FA CTS. of quarter-ir.fli lioles. Tho othur part of the box is fittod with an iiu linod shelf about midway in its depth, wluoh is six or t'ifjht inches h>wer ut its lower end than at its upper. Over this is plaeed a pii'ce of heavy woollen blanket. The whole is then mounted on two rockers, much resem- bling those of an ordinary cradle, ajid when in use they are plttcod on two blocks of wood so that the whole may bo readily rocked. After tho miner has selected his claim, ho looks for the most convenient ])lace to set up ]ua " rocker," v/hich must be near a good su})ply of water. Then ho i)rocceds to clear away all the stones and coarso gravel, gathering tho liner gravel and sand in a heap near tho ** rocker." The shallow box on top is fdled with this, and with one hand the miner rocks it, Avhile with tho other he ladles in water. The liner matter with tho gold falls through the holes on to the blanket, which checks its progress, and holds the fine particles of gold, while the sand and other matter pass over it to the bottom of the box, which is sloped so that what comes through la washed downwards and finally out of the box. Across the bottom of the box are fixed thin slats, behind which some mercury is placed to catch any particles of gold which may escape the blanket. If the gold is nuggety, the largo nuggets are found in the upper box, their weight detaining them until all the lighter stuff has passed through, and the smaller ones are held by a deeper slat at the outward end of the bottom of the box. The piece of blanket is, at intervals, taken out and rinsed into a barrel ; if the gold is fine, mercury is placed at the bottom of the barrel, as already mentioned. Sluicing is always employed when possible. It requires a good supply of water with sufficient head or falls. Tho process is as follows : Planks are procured and formed into a box of suitable width and depth. Slats are fixed KLONDYKE FACTS. 99 across the bottom of the box at suitable intervals, or shullov holes bored in the bottom in sach order that no particle could run along the bottom in a straight line and escape without running over a hole. Several of these boxes are then set up with a considerable slope and are fitted into one another as the ends like a stove-pipe. A stream of water is now directed into the upper end of the highest box. The gravel having been collected, as in the case of the rocker, it is Hliovelled into the upper box and is washed downwards by the strong current of water. The gold is detained by its weight, and is held by the slats or in the holes mentioned ; if it is fine, mercury is placed behind tlie slats or in these holes to catch it. In this way about tliree times as much dirt can be washed as by the rocker, and consequently three times as much gold is secured in a given time. After the boxes are done with they are burned, and the ashes washed for the gold held in the wood.* lich the ight sed jper The hsed the urea iTho led Ued * A great many of the miners Rpend their time in the summer prospecting and in the winter resort to a niethcni lately adopted and which is called '* burning." They make fires on tlie surface thus thawing the gound until the bed rock is reached, then drift and tunnel ; the pay dirt is brought to the surface and heaped in a pile until spring when water can be obtained. The shiioe boxes; are then set up and the dirt is washed out, thus enabling tlie miner to work advantageously and profitably the ^ear round. This method has been found very satisfactory in places where the pay streak is at any great depth from the surface. In this way the complaint is overcome which has been so commonly advanced by miners and others that in the Yukon several months of the year are lost in idleness. Winter usually sets in very soon after the middle of September and continues until the beginning of June and is decidedly cold. The mercury frequently falls to 60 degrees below zero, but in the interior there is so little humfdity in the atmosphere that the cold is more easily endured then on tho coast. In the absence of thermometers, miners, it is said, leave Ml ^ I 1^' 100 KLONDYKE FACTS. their mercury out all night : when they And it frozen solid in the morning they conclude that it is too cold to work and Ntay at home. The temperature runs to gri'eat extremes in simimer aa well as in the winter ; it is quite a common thing for the ther* momcters to register 100 degrees in the shade. Ms It I ■( f^" ho at as er- KLOyDYKE FACTS, toi CHAPTER VII. MINING LAW AND ORDER The reader of course understands that Alaska and the Northwest Territory are adjacent. I confine myself al- most altogether to the Klondyke region, 1 ecause by far the richest finds are there, and are therefore most interesting to the reader. As the Klondyko is in ^Janadian Territory it is of course governed by Canadian laws. Probably in no other mining camp is so good order main- tained, such respect for the life, property and the righta of otluTs, Jis in the Klondyke region. So far, notwith- standing the mad rush to locate claims and the apparently fabulous richness of those claims, no murder has been com- mitted and no theft reported. The disorder, confusion and disregard of life and the rights of others that exists in many other mining camps, where might usurps the place of right, finds no place in the Klondyke. But one at- tempt has been made to jump a claim and that man has regretted his error ever since and has become a good, law- abiding citizen. lie wjis punished by being black-listed by the goM commissioner at Dawson City. This Mohibita him from ever after locating or filing a claim in the entire Northwest Territory. The most severe and, under the circumstances, fearful penalty that could be imposed, for m IFS^ "^ loa KLONDYKE FACTS. no matter how rich a find he may make he can never claim it. It; will be many a long day indeed with this example as a warning, before the offence will be repeated in this terri- tory. There was one other case where a man had a friend take out a claim for him, and prior to the sixty-day limit this friend took un affidavit that he had located the claim himself and found gold, thus attempting to register the claim as his own. The fraud was, howerer, discovered and the claim registered in the name of the rightful owner. The perpetrator of the attempted fraud was black-listed and prohibited forever from locating or filing a claim in the Xorthwest Territory, A frightful punishment indeed I These two are the only cases thus fur, of attempted frauds in this respect. The region is patrolled by the Northwest Mounted Police, under Captam Constantino, and the force is ample to protect all in their rights, and render life rea- sonably secure. Offenders are promptly arrested and as promptly punished. Mounted Police posts are rapidly being established at reg- ular intervals, so that the entire country will be thoroughly patrolled. As another instance of the severe penalties im- posed for violations of the mining laws, and rights of min- ers, I may mention that if any person destroys or pulls the stakes, or in any manner defaces or mutilates the boundaries of a claim, the penalty is seven years' impris- onment. There is a magistrate at Dawson City. Offenders arc arrested, taken before Li.n and given a fair trial. Thero are no miners' meetings permitted, as has been the case in other mining camps in the past, where lynch law prevailed, and great injustice was often done. All disputes must be passed upon by the gold commissioner appointed by the Canadian Government; so none need fear going to the KLONDYKE FACTS. 103 Klondyke because of the instability of law and order, and though of course while human nature remains as it is no Garden of Eden is possible, you are as safe in the Klondyko a« elsewhere. A large proportion of the population thus far — and so it "will undoubtedly continue — is the very best element to be found in any region. Merchants, bankers, lawyers and other professional men are there in large numbers. It is for this reavson that the community is so quiet and law antl order so successfully maintained. For, after all, on the char- acter of its citizens is the law and order of any community dependent. I strongly advise all intending settlers to leave behind all firearms, as there is no i;ecessity for tiiom. Those who brought them have no use for them and are endeavoring to dispose of them. L'ifles and shotguns are heavy and add needless weight to the outfit. Ko dependence can be placed on finding of game. In the past two years in my Journey ings over those ranges I have seen but one moose, hence you will see the uselessness of ritles as an aid of pro- curing food, as dependence must be placed entirely upon provisions. These, I tliink, are strong reasons why rifles and shotguns should not be carried, and I would go farther and advise that even revolvers be not carried, as they are n\ore apt to got you into trouble than any good they may do. In all my fifteen years' experience in tliis region I have rarely carried Qw.n a revolver, and have finally found it so unnecessary as to dispense with it entirely. As my neigh- bors concur in my oitinion on. this subject, the miner so familiar to the Californians in '49, filled with i)rofaniLy and armed to the teeth, is an unknown quantity in Klon- dyke. At a conference of cabinet ministers held at Dawson City, July 23d, 1807, the question discussed was the customs aspect of the Yukon question, A si)ecial customs officer i f fW^ a- I 104 KLONDYKE FACTS. was appointed for the Yukon district and two customs offi- cers appointed for the White and Dyea passes, so that all goods going in not bought in Canada markets will have to pay full customs dues. In view of the fact that the mining operations on United States soil are already quite extensive and (jiiite sure to in- crease, I append the following despatch from Washington under date of July 20, 1897, to show that law and order will be maintained on both sides of the boundary line bo-r tween the two countries. ■'», I I Washington, July 26. The President and Secretary Alger have decided to de- tail an army officer and a company of soldiers from tho regular army for service in Alaska. The matter is yet in very indefinite shape, but details will be arranged as soon as possible in order that the soldiers may get into uho vicinity of the gold country before navigation closes on the Yukon Iliver. They will be sent to the / destination via tho Yukon River route, and the offer of one of the shipping companies on the Pacilu; coast to transport tho men and their baggage and stores will probably be accepted. ^rh(^ exact location of the camp post has not yet been determined on, but it is expected to be at Circle City. An army officer now in the field who luis had experience in such matters has been invited to take charge of tlie com- pany, and an answer is expected from him very soon. The detail of men who will go will be made from one of the posts in the West, but just which one is not yet finally settled on. The officials are anxious to locate the soldiers in the gold country as boou as possible, and if it can b© KLONDTKE FACTS. 105 arranged they will be sent on the steamer sailing early in August. In view of the recent rush of travel to the Klondyke gold fields. Secretary of the Treasury Gage has established a sub-port of entry at Dyea, Alaska. The action was taken as the result of an application to the Treasury Department by Canada for pevmission for Canadian vessels to enter at Dyea, Alaska, and land passengers and baggage there. Dyea is about fifty miles north of Juneau, and it was de- sired to save passengers the annoyance of disembarking at Juneau and awaiting another steamer for Dyea, the head of navigation on this route to the Yukon frontier. Ottatca, July 24. Hon. W. Paterson has been informed, in reply to his request that Dyea be made; a customs post by the American Government, that such has been done. It is also agreed to send a man with the goods over the summit where the fees could be collected at the first post in what is acknowledged to be Canadian territory. It may be that the Canadian Customs will place their officer at Dyea, when the fees could be paid there. Two officers will be sent up from Victoria, one for each of those Passes which are most utilized by parties sending goods into the Yukon — the White and the Dyea. •k UATE or TAX. Toronto, July '>8. The Globe's Ottawa special says : *' At a Cabinet Council yesterday the Yukon was again under consideration, and .■if' m:i. w MH 106 ELONDYKH FA0T3. it was decided that the royalty to be levied on the gold taken out of that country would be 10 per cent, on all amounts taken out of any one claim up to 1500 a week, and after that 20 per cent. And in addition it must be remembered that every alternate claim is to be reserved by the Government for the benefit of the public revenue. u 1 rt ^ ■ P 'Iff KLONDYKE FACTS. 107 •1 CHAPTER VIII. MINING RETURNS. In the Klondyke section, from January to April 1st, 1897, although there were only four hundred and fifty miners, there was taken out in this section alone about $4,000,000, about half of this being retained in the coun- try, and used for purchasing fresh supplies, buying claims, or shares in claims, and in other investments. The balance was shipped to San Francisco, being con- signed either to the Government Mint or to Solby's [Smelt- ing Works, * no transportation companies giving tlic. miner a receipt foi it, and charging him about two and a half per cent., whicli includes all insurance, and guanintoeing safe delivery to its destination. Selby's Smelting "Works at San Francisco would seem to be the best place as their charge is a trillo less than at the Government Mint. At the mint and the smelling wurka tlie gold is placed to tlie credit of the miner, where he can obtain the money, or it is subject to a sight draft. As already stated, about two millions were retained in the country for investment, and many claims changed hands, as high as !i;GO,nOO or *10(),000 being paid for a single claim of 500 feet. Tlie gold dust is valued at about $17 an ounce, Troy ■weight being used in measiiroment. The principal cur- ■■^■s^ 108 KLONBYKE FACTS. . I ''•I' rency at Dawson City, however, is gold dust, which is accepted for everything. Any kind of currency, however, is accepted there. What we know as Klondyke is known there as The Bo- nanza Mining District, and the Hunker's Mining District. I have asked miners who have been in Australia and Cali- fornia, and they say tliey have never seen anything like the rich returns found in the Klondyke section. I have asked miners how they were panning out on their claim, and have often had the reply, '* I think I am oti; the pay strike, as I am only panning out $30 or ^40 to the pan," — a phenomenal return in any other region than Klondyke. One week miners were getting $300 to the pan, the next week they might only get $15, $20, or $30, but they always get something. As long ago as 1885 some profitable mining was done in this section, and on this point I quote Mr. Ogilvie. " The Stewart River was pretty well worked for the seasons of 1885-86 by about forty men, some of whom made at least $5,000 Assuming they averaged one-half that sum, we have $100,000 as their earnings. Forty Mile River, the only other stream from which any large quantity has been taken, was worked in the summer of 1887 by about three hundred men, many of whom spent only a few weeks on the river, some only a few days. The statement made by those of whom I inquired, was, that all who worked on the river for any length of time made a *grub stake.' Put- ting this at the lowest value I placed on it, $450, and assuming that two hundred and fifty men made each this sum, we have $113,500 as the amount taken out on this stream. I have heard the amount placed at $130,000. All the gold taken from the other streams by prospectors would not amount to more than a few thousand dollars, so that it is probable the total amount taken out of the whole I i'^, KLOyDYKE FACTS, 109 by the it- district is in the vicinity of a quarter of a million dollars, of which about half was taken out in our territory. *' I learned that the prevailing higii water interfered very much with the success of the miners in the season of '88., and that many of them left the country in the fall. It is probable, however, that a few will remain prospecting till something rich is found." The above quotation from Mr. Ogilvie's report for that period reads very strange in view of the rich strikes made recently. LIS )0. )r8 ISO ile mpf"^ uo KLONDYKE FACTS, v\ CHAPTER IX. GAME, AGRICULTURE AND TIMBER. The supply of large game is very limited indeed. Very lengthy trips have been taken for hunting purposes. There are many fur-bearing animals, which include the black tox, bear, otter and mink. The fur of the black fox is specially valuable. When I was in the fur-trading business I sold a black fox skin for $350. There is considerable small game, and, rabbits are very plentiful, also geese, ducks and river- birds. The moose, caribou, musk-ox abound very much inward and toward the McKenzie Basin. Horses and cattle are now being constantly shipped from Seattle, to be driven over the Taiya to Chi eat pass. They are fed on " bunch gruos." This grass is very nutritious and grown extensively. I have seen beef fattoi-i&d bettor on it than on the farms in Northern New York. There are vast plains covered with what is called ** bunch grass,** and it is good fodder for horses and cattle. Small timber is quite plentiful, such as spruce, etc., but large timber is scarce. I have often been asked how trees grow in soil that is frozen the year round. The roots spread out near the surface, adapting themselves to the climate. The large roots — tap roots — are wanting. I cut a laige birch tree on one of the islands which abound ia V J- i^.1 KLONDTKE FACTS. Ill the Yukon and fcinid the roots ui this condition, spread out flat, growing rear the surface, and there were two or three sets of roots, one above the other, the lower ones partially decayed, owing to the hirge amount of sediment that is deposited during high water in sutjceeding seasons. Fishing is good in the Yukon River and its trihutaries. Salmon is very plentiful and tliis is the season that they are running. Grayling, lake trout and small lish are easily caught in the streams. Farm vegetables are hard to raise, but not much time is spent, still there are small farms and gardens on the small islands and garden truck is raised from the Idth of May to the 15th of September, but the two large trading companies at Dawson City carry a large stock of supplies for all the needs of the com- munity. , The following, ou the agricultural capabilities of the Yukon Basin reported by Mr. Ogilvie will be interesting. *' The agricultural capabilities of the country along the river are not great, nor is the land whicli can be seen from the river of good quality. " When we consider further the unsuitable climatic condi- tions which prevail in the region, it may be said that as an agricultural district this portion of the country will never be of value. *' My meteorological records show over eight degrees of frost on the 1st of August, over ten on the 3d, and four times during the month the minimum temperature was below freezing. On the I3th September the minimum temperature was 10", and all the minimum readings for the remainder of the month wore below freezing. " Along the east side of Lake Bennet, opposite the Chil- koot or western arm, there are some flats of dry gravelly soil, which would make a few farms of limited extent. On the west side, around the mouth of Wheatou iiiver, there is an "k wm y—r 112 KLONDYKE FACTS. I' '1. extensive flat of sand and gravel, covered with small pine and spruce of stunted growth. The vegetation is poor and sparse, not at all what one would desire to see on a place upon which he was thinking of settling. At the lower end of the lake there is another extensive flat of sandy soil, thinly clad with small poplars and pines. The same re- marks apply to this flat jis to that at Wheaton River. ** Along the westerly shore of Tagish Lake there is a large extent of low, swampy flats, a part of which might be used for the production of such roots and cereals as the climate would permit. Along the west side of Marsh Lake there is also much flat surface of the same general character, on whicii I saw some coarse grass which would serve as food for cattle. Along the east side the surface appeared higher and terraced, and is probably less suited to the require- ments of the agriculturalist. Along the head of the river, for some miles below Marsh Lake, there are flats on both Bides, which would, as far as surface conformation goes, serve for farms, The soil is of much better quality than any heretofore seen, as is proved by the larger and thicker growth of timber and underbrush which it supports. The soil bears less the character of detritus, and more that of alluvium, than that seen above. *' As we approach the caflon the banks become higher and t\e bottom lands narrower, with some escarpments along the river. At the canon the bank on the west side rises two hundred feet and upwards above the river, and the soil is light and sandy. On the east side the bank is not so high, but the soil is of the same character, and the tim- ber small and poor, being nearly all stunted pine. ** Between the canon and Lake Ijabarge, as far as seen from the river, there is not much land of value. The banks are generally high, and the soil light and sandy. At the head of the lako there is an extensive flat, partly J 1 XLONDYKE FACTS. 118 and >ng "ises the not Dim- jeen iThe idy. Lrtly .i covered with timber, much larger and better than any seen above this point. Poplar eight and ten inches in diameter were not uncommon, and some spruce of fifteen and six- teen inches, and many of upwards of a foot in diameter, were also noticed. The soil, however, is light, and the vegetation, especially the grass, tliin and jjoor. Some miles down the lake an extensive valley joins that of the lake on the west side. This valley contains a small stream. Around this place there is some land that might bo useful, as the grass and vegetation is much better than tiny seen so far. On the lower end of the lake, on the west side, there ia also a considerable plain which might bo utilized ; the soil in parts c f it is good. I saw one part where the timber had been burned some time ago ; here, both the soil and vegetation were good, and two or three of the plants seen are common in this part of Ontario, but they ha- not the vigorous appearance which the same plants have here. Northward from the end of the lake there ih a deep, wide valley, which Dr. Dawson has named ' Ogilvie Valley.' In this the mixed timber, po[)lar and spruce, is of a size which betokens a fair soil ; the herbage, too, is more than usually rich for this region. This valley is extensive, and, if ever required as an aid in the snstt nance of our people, will figure largely in the district's agricultural assets. Below the lake the valley of the river is not as a rule wide, and the banks are often steep and high. There are, however, many flats of moderate extent along the river, aud at its confluence with other streams. The soil of many of these is fair. About forty miles above the mouth of the Pelly River there is an extensive flat on both sides of the Lewes. The soil here is poor and sandy, with small open timber. At Velly River, there is a flat of considerable extent on which 8 I p lU KLOXDYKE FACTS. the ruiim of Fort Selkirk »laii(l. It is covered witli afimall growth of i)oj»lur and a few sj)riu;e. Tlio soil is a gravelly loam of about eight inches in depth, the subsoil being gravel, evidently detritus. This flat extends up the river for some miles, but is all covered thickly with timl)er> cxcc})t a snuill piece around the site of the fort. On the east side of the river there is also a large plateau, ?mt it is two or three hundred feet above the river, and the soil u])pears to be j)oor, judging from the thinness and Bmallness of the trees. This plateau seems to extend up the Pelly for some distance, and down the Yukon for ten or twelve miles. As seen from the river, it reminds one of the slopes and hills around Kamloops in British Colum- bia, and like them, though not well suited to agriculture, might yield fair pasturage should such ever bo required. A serious objection to it, however, for that purpose, if it is not watered on the surface by ponds, is that the river is diflicult of access, as the plateau on the side towards the river is bounded by a perpendicular basalt cliff, which, without artificial arrangement, would completely bar ap- proach to the water. This cliff is more than two hundred feet high at the confluence, and becomes lower as we descend the river, until, at the lower end, it is not more than sixty to eighty feet high. Between Pelly and White Rivers there are no flats of any extent. At White River there is a flat of several thou- sand acres, but it is all timbered, and the surface of the soil is covered with a thick growth o* moss, which prevents the frost ever leaving the ground. "i.his has so preserved fallen timber and the foliage of ihj trees that much of it is lying on the surface nearly as sound as when it fell. On this account the vegetable mould on the gravel is thin and poor. The standing timber also bears witness to the cold- ness of the soil by its slow aud generally small growth. A KLOynVKl-: FACTS. lift any the lents rved lof it On and told- few trec8 near the bank, where the sun eun l»eat the soil, tire of fair size, but further ba(!k they are generally sinull. At Stewart River there is another large flat to wliieh the Biime general remarks are a[)plicable. Thence, to the site at Fort Reliance, tiiero are no flats of any importance. Iligli above the river in some places there are extensive wooded slopes, which, when cleared, would be well suited for such agricultural purposes as the climate would permit. At Fort Reliance tiiero is a flat of probaibly 1,500 acres in extent ; but although Messrs. Harper & McQuestion lived there for some years, it appears they never made any agricultural experiments, believing that they would be futile. At the Forty Mile Kiver there is a flat of about four or five hundred acres in area, on which the soil is of better quality than cu many of the otlier places mentioned. On this Messrs. Harper & iVIcQuestion erected their dwelling and store houses. They gave it as tiieir opinion that only very hardy roots would live through the many cold nights of the summer months, and that the season is so short that even if they survived the cold they would not attain a size lit for use. The river is not generally clear of ice until between the 25th of May and the 1st of June, and heavy frosts occur early in September, and sometimes earlier. At the boundary there are two flats of several hundred acres each, one on the west side, the other three mileji above it on the east side. Both of these are covered with poplar, s^jruce and white birch, also some willow and small pine. In making preparations for the foundations of our house at our winter quarters near the boundary we had to exca- vate in the bank of the river, and in an exposed place where the sun's rays could reach the surface without hin- Iff "^ 116 KLONDYKE FACTS. !'iver would probably double this, or give 2,000 farms iu that part of our territory, but on tho most of tlieso tho returns would be meagre. Without the discovery ar.d development of large mineral wealth it is not likeH'' that the slender agricultural re- sources of the region will ever attract attention, at least until the better part?, of our territories are crowded. In the event of such discovery some of the land might be used for thy production of vegetable food for the miners ; but, even in tl\at case, with the transport facilities which the district commands, it is very doubtful if it could com- pete profitably with the south and east. TIMBER FOR USE IN BUILDING AND MANUFACTURING. The amount of this class of timber in the district along the river is not at all important. There is a large extent ■of forest which would yield firewood, and timber for use p KLONDYKE FACTS. 117 ors ; lich 0. in mines, but for the manufacturo of lumber there is very little. To give an idea of its scarceness, I may state thit two of my party made a thorough search of all the timbered land around the head of Ijiike Bennet and down the lake for over ten miles, and in all this search only one tree was found suitable f jr making such plank as wo required for the construction of our large boat. This tree made four planks 15 inches wide at the butt, 7 at the top, and 31 i^et long. Such other planks as we wanted had to be cut out of short logs, of which some, 10 to 14 inclies in diameter and 10 to 10 feet long, could be found at long intervals. The boat required only 450 feet of plank for its construction, yet some of the logs had to be carri'xl nearly \!00 yards, aiul two saw-pits luid to be made before that quantity was procurcMl, and this on ground that was all thickly wooded with spruce, pine, and some balsam, the latter being gen- erally the largest and cloancst-trunked. These ronuirks apply to the timber until we reach tiie lower end of Marsh Lake. On the head of the river, near the lake, some trees of fair size, VZ to 14 inclies in diameter, and carrying their thickness very well, rould be got, but their number was small, and they were much scattered. At the canon the timber is small and scrubby ; below it there were a few trees thnt would yield planks from 7 to 10 inches widr, bul they have been nearly all cut by the miners, many of whom made rafts at the head of Lake Bennet, flftated down to White Horse Kapids, and there abandoned them for boats which they then built. The great bulk of the timber in the district suitable for manufacture into lumber is to be found on the islands in the river. On them the soil is warmer and richer, the «'^.' f" ^mmsam ■: I' 118 KLONDYKE FACTS i- >' m V.y'v. fA,' Bun's rays striking the surface td- a much longer time, and more directly than on the banks. At the confluence with the Pelly, on the east side of the river, there is a grove of spruce, from which some very nice lumber could bo made, and on the islands below this much of the same class of timber exists. Near White and Stewart Rivers there is a good deal of nice clean timber, but it is small. It is said there is more good timber on Stewart River in proportion to the ground wooded than on the main river. Between Stewart River and the boundary there is not so much surface covered with large trees as on many of the flats above it, the valley being generally narrower, and the sides steeper than higher up the river. This, of course, precludes the growth of timber. To estimate the quantity of timber in the vicinity of the river in our territory would be an impossible task, having only such data as I was able to collect on my way down. I would, however, say that one-fourth of the area I have given as agricultural land would be a fair conjecture. This would give us two and a half townships, or ninety square miles, of fairly well timbered ground ; but it must be borne in mind that there is not more than a square mile or so of that in any one place, and most of the timber would be small and poor compared with the Smber of Manitoba and the easterly part of the Northwest Terri- tories. At the Boundary Line I required, as has already been explained, a tree 22 inches in diameter at the gro^tud on which to erect my transit. An exhaustive search of over three square miles of the woods there, though showing many trees of convenient size for house logs, and many for small clean planks, showed only one 18 inches in diameter at a distance cff five feet above the ground. ELONDYKE FACTS. j-j. It may be said that tho countrv m,'r,Kf * • , jt ^•^iS? •'.V' ffT" Pi 120 KLONDYKE FACTS, CHAPTER X. MORTALITY AND CLIMATE. \} til'.-'' I Reports of d( i^i\8 in the Klondyke are most unreliaMe and would be riui' s were they not painful to read. One report stated thu .liere had been two thousand deaths during the winter of 189G and 1897, when as a matter of fact there were not 1,500 people in the entire territory. The truth is there were only two deaths, one of heart disease and one a man who died on the way in, not from hardship but from natural causes. In the graveyard at Forty Mile Post, which has served for all that section for some years past, there are only between thirty and forty graves. The place la exceptionally healthy, and the mortality cannot be com- pared with any eastern state, fevers and pneumonia being unknown. There are no infectious diseases. A few doc- tors have thus far located there, but have not as much practice as if located in any large city. There are no dentists at this writing, but there is a good opening for a few. Any one afflicted with catarrh may be recommended to go there, as the high altitude is good for them. Twenty Sisters of Mercy at this writing have left from Lachine and Montreal, Canada, bound for Circle City, the Klondyke, and other points, to care for the sick and dis- abled, feeli-ig sure that with the influx of miners their ser» € KLONDYKE FACTS. 121 vices will be required. At Circle City there is a hospital under the cliurge of these Sisters. Now, as to the climate. In the Northwestern Territory winter commencjes in October. The fall of snow through the winter is not ex- cessive. I urn speaking nuw of the mining regions. On the coast th(i fall of snow is very heavy, but in the mining regions two feet is considered a very heavy fall. There is very rarely more than three feet of snow at any one time. The snow is light and flaky and dry as sawdust. A hard crust does not forni, as there are no winter thaws. Travelling during the winter from near-by points is gen- erally done altogether on snow-shoes, which are purchased from the Indiana, the price for which varies from #5 to $10 per pair, according to the quality. During the winter the thermometei sometimes goes as low as 70 degrees below zero, but this lasts but a very short period at any one time. The average temj)erature during the winter, I should say, was about twenty degrees below zero. The reader will, however, recollect that the altitude is very high and !he air extremely dry, so that the cold is not felt RO much as in sections of the State of New York, where the thermometer rarely goes as low as 'M) degrees below zero. In fact 1 liave suffered more from cold in my old home in Northern New Yo-k 'ban I ever suffered here. I have chopj)ed wood here in my shirt-sleeves outside my door when the ttiermometer was TO degrees below zero and Buffered no great discomfort, — the air was so very dry. Winter days are very short in Dawson City, it is only two hours from sunrise to sunset. The sun rises and sets away in the south, but there is no pitch darkness, '^i'he twilight lasts all night, and the Northern Ijights are very common throughout these regions. As a school teacher in this region once quaintly put it, *'At Circle City I went to school at nine o'clock in the ' Pr 122 KLONDYKE FACTS. i ■fa. morning by the light of the setting moon, and returned home at nooii by the light of the rising moon." Spring opens about May 1st, and the ice on the Yukon commences to break up about the same time. The Yukon is generally clear of ice about May the 15th. In summer time it is quite warm, the temperature fre- quently rising 93 degrees above. The discomfort from the heat;, however, is not so much felt as might be expected on account of the dryness of the air. The rainy season is in the latter part of August and the beginning of September usually, and lasts about two or three weeks. The discom- fort in summer from flies, gnats and mosquitoes is consider- able. During the summer the day is about twenty hours long;, the sun rising and setting away in the north. There has been a misapprehension of the country and from a sort of accepted conclusion that the climate on the coast and that in the interior is similar. In the in- terior the climate is influenced largely by the altitude of each particular district, and in consequence of the general lowering of the country beyond the sixtieth parallel, the climatic conditions necessarily are much more favorable than they are, for example, in the Cassear district, which is only just north of British Columbia. There is a wide difference, too, in the quantities of spjw that accumulate in winter on the Coast Ranges and in the interior. While the quantities are great on the Coast Ranges, the depth of snow as far down the Yukon as the Stewart River and Forty Mile Creek is inconsiderable. In his work on * 'Alaska and Its Resources," W. 11. Dall says, ** The valley of the lower Yukon is somewhat foggy in the latter part of summer, but as we ascend the river the cli- mate improves." The temperature of Wrangell, which is just off the KLONDYKK FACTS. 123 month of the Stikine, may be taken as fairly representa- tive oi the coast in these latitudes. For the interior region there is not, unfortunately, any record of a series of ther- mometer readings ; but some idea of its climate may be formed from that of Fort Yukon, which is, however, situ- ated far to the north, almost exactly on the Arctic circle. DR. DAWSON 8 TABLE. le Fort Yukon. 14-6 56-7 17-4 23-8 ■'' 16-8 The mean seasonal temperature for these two stations, as gathered by Dr. Dawson, is as follows : Wrangell. Spring 40*4 Summer 57'1 Autumn 43*0 Winter 28*3 Whole year 42 -2 In other words, the seasons are not so severe in the in- terior of the gold-bearing regions as they are in some of the central provinces of European Russia, where the ther- mometer descends to 31 degrees and sometimes to 50 de- grees in the winter months, but rises in summer to 104 and even to 100 degrees. The rainfall in the interior, too, is small, varying from sixteen to twenty-eiglit inches, the maximum precipitation taking place during the summer montlis. I consider above readings can apply for immediate Klondyke regions. By May 1st prospecting and new mining operations usually begin, and there aro' really only four months, May, June, July and August, during which prospecting can be done and new mining operations commenced. '^^^■■^ ¥ m 124 KLONDVKE FAOTS. There is a popular error that mining operations can only be conducted during those four months, but 1 shall draw a clear distinction between prospecting .md the commence- ment of the new operations, and the working of mines al- ready established and being worked. Mining operations of the latter sort where the mines are already established can bo conducted during the entire year. ':■'«]■. <-, * mi'-. ■ KLONDYEE FACTS, u» CHAPTER XI. COST OF LIVING AND WAGES PAID. Many unreliable reports have been received as to the enormous cost of living in the new gctid region. When I left there in June, 1897, board was obtainable in Dawson City from two to three dollars per day in hotels and restaurants, but many of the miners were living on their own resources at not more than $1.00 per day, and some of the men that I knew were not spending more than $250.00 a year for living expenses. Of course with the large influx of new prospectors, the rate of board and pro- visions will advance, but in my opinion the advance will not be excessive for the reason that the Transportation Companies will increase their facilities for bringing in supplies. This is no place for a man unless he goes ready to do hard work and suffer hardships. Of course, in any mining camp or community of any nature, there is always a number of indolent characters who live by gambling, etc. Up to June, labor was in good demand ; it was almost impossible to secure hands at $15.00 per day to work in a saw mill. Miners working on claims and mechanics re- ceive 11.50 per hour or $15.00 a day. Ordinary laborers for any kind of work, however, never receive less than $10.00 a day. If a man is economical in his living, and does not allow himself to be drawn into the gambling -*}-> w 1 .iO 12b KLONDYKE FACTS. saloons, he can save sufficont money in a short time to pur- chase an outfit and go to prospecting and locate a good claim outside of the present regions. 1 certainly would not recommend a person to go into tlie country with only sufficient money to take him there, lie should have suf- ficient money to take him there and purchase provisions for one year, and not be dependent upon the charity of strangers. The cost of various articles at Dawson City are mentioned in the chapter under outfit for miners. A miner does not have to be in the country long before he makes association with some other miner, and puts up his own cabin thereby reducing expenses. *M' iJ^;'>' ..V i.'^^-'' 7^::: t- '■■M KLONDYKE FACTS. 127 r- .d Id ly f- 18 y re P i CHAPTER XII. MINERS LUCK. Many of the reports received of the large finds of gold from the gold regions are not in any way exaggerated, but the claims all along theKlondyke and its various tributaries are already taken up and more than 1000 claims are staked out and in operation, and the new prospector must work for others or go on prospecting trips farther into the region and take his chance of locating new claims. I consider the chance good if he is well supplied with provisions and enjoys a good constitution, and can suffer t^c hardships which must be endured in any circumstances in this new and comparatively unexplored region. The reports already received of the finds of gold seem beyond belief but the greater part of them are actual facts, and the following came under my personal ob- servation : — Alexander McDonald, on Claim No. 30, Eldorado, on the Klondyke, started drifting on his claim wi^^ four men. The men agreed to work the claim on slu : , the agreement being that they should work on shares by each receiving half of what they could get out. The five together took out $5,000 in twenty-eight days. The r' 128 KLONDYKE FACTS. ground dng up was found to measure but 40 square feet. This was an exceptioTial find. The men are of course working the rlaim and had 4C0 square feet on the claim still to work out. m m, '¥ te:. People in the oast or elsewhere can hardly realize what a sniall space a mining claim is in this vast and compara- tively unexplored territory. William Leggatt on Claim No. 13, Eldorado, together with William (Jates and a miner named Shoots, purchased this claim from a miner named Stewart, and his partner, for the sum of $45,000. They did not have money to make the payment in cash, but made a first payment of $2,000 with the agreement to pay the balance of the purchase price, f 43, 000, prior to July 1st, 1897. They sunk a shaft and commenced taking out $1,000 per day. They worked the pay dirt until about May 15, 1897, when they found that they had taken out $C2,000, and the space of the claim worked was only 24 square feet. A young man who went to the Klondyke recently writes that he is taking out 11,800 a day from his claim. There are a great number of such exceptional finds that have occurred within the last six months. On November 20, Thomas Flack, William Sloan and a man by the name of Wilkinson sunk a hole eighteen feet deep in El Dorado Creek, and struck a four-foot pay streak that went $5 to the pan, or $2.50 to the shovelful. This was not for a short time, but for weeks and weeks. They KLONDTKE FACTS. 129 Bhovellefl out ton after ton of dirt that was literally filled with gold, and did not know it. Tho news of the new strike was spread out all over the Northwest, and not only prospectors but practical mining men camo to tho diggings. Some capitalists saw tho Flack mine, and bought out his partners, Sloan and Wilkinson, for ^50,ut lad 1 The most interesting feature ol ihe mail advices that cc ne from the Klondyke will be the details o'' the mining strikes made on Stewart and Pelly rivers thi Piiinmer. Several times since the arrival of the Klondyke miners with their nuggets from Bonanza and Eldorado creaks, stories have been ailoat of still richer fields on Stewart Cn ik and other creeks urthcr east. None of the retuiiied Klondykers were aolo to give information on the subject. Many have mined .vith li'-.ited success on Stewart, Polly and other rivers before striking rich dirt on the Klondyko tributaries. The only hint of what has been found, comes through Surveyor Ogilvie in the following news from Ottawa, re- i fwr^ 184 KLONDYKE FACTS. ceived ut Victoria, B. C. : ** While the Government officials are extremely reticent as to the latest advices from Surveyor Oprilvie and Inspector Constantine, the fact has leaked out that those officials have assured their depart- ments that scores of miners are deserting the Klondyke for a richer district further east, believed to bo Stewart river, where it is said still more wonderful deposits have been discovered this spring.*' Polly River is about par- allel with Sfov/art Kiver and enters the Yukon about forty iniles higlicr up. Both rivers are on the right or east bank of the Yukon, and are east of Dawson City. The Pelly has also been prospected by some Klondykcrs with little if any success, but this is no proof that other pros- pectors have not been more forturate. One miner wlio has been in the country eight or ten years told me that the experienced miners about Circle City had sunk their shafts and followed what was supposed to be an infallil)le rule in placer mining, viz. : that when they struck the clay they abandoned their claims, consider- ing them to be valueless, while, as he expressed it, these tenderfeet went into the Klondyke, and not knowing enough to stop digging, dug right through the clay, under which were the richest strikes, lie aiul his comi)anions have returned to their old diggings to work through the clay, hoping to find the same condition as at the Klondyke. There has been found at the Klondyke; what is called a false bedrock. It would appear that in the glacial action the gold was deposited on true bedrock and subsequently by either volcanic action or extraordinary glacial action, what appeared to be another bedrock was deposited on top of this gold deposit, and parties who have gone through this false bedrock have found rich pay streaks between it and true bedrock. It ie reported by parties who brought down large KLONDTKE FACTS. 185 • ; amounts on the Portland that there are two million dollars in dust now in the country which will be brought out by the owners when they have occasion to come out. The Becurity of possession of the gold dust there is absolute, and unless the persons are coming out they feel they are per- fectly secure in its possession. Only such come at this season of the year — at which the most work is being done — as have to get more provisions or materials ; or those who have struck extraordinarily rich claims and have left friends or relatives in posscssioji to work the claims while they come down with the dust they have, and to make provi- sion for their friends and relatives here. That the country is marvellously ri(;h in gold there can be no doubt, and if tin steamers from the north via St. Michael or Dyea will on tl eir trips in August and Sept- ember confirm the stories of tli miners who come out from there and bring out gold in 'he quantities it is expected they will, I estimate therr will be no less than 50,000 people exclusive of excursionists going into Alaska next spring or the early summer. A EKMALE GOLD IIlNTKll. Pauline Kellogg, the daughter of Judge Kellogg, an old miner of Colorado, who now lives here, is about to start for the Klondyke to engage in mining on her own account. She was born at Breckinridge, Col., and lived all during her youtl in .in atmosphere o mining speculation. Al- though youn<, and delicate, she is determined to brave tho hardships of camp life on the Yukon, and is only waiting till she can start with some friends. Siie says : " 1 am not going to look on tliore. 1 sliall take up a claim, hire help, and superintend the work myself. Of course, I know it is a life of hardshi]). I can remember some of the things we used to go through in tho cabin at Breckinridge when the country was new. There is an 186 KLONDYKE FACTS. Ki ■ft element of danger in it, but I feel able to take care of my- self. I have known of women in Colorado who did just this thing, and grew rich. My expectations are moderate, but I do not see why I could not do the same." " It is stated on good authority tliat one claim yielded $90,000 in 45 feet up and down the stream. Clarence Berry bought out his two partners, paying one $(35,000 and the other 160,000, and has taken up ^140,000 from the winter dump alone. Peter Wiborg has purchased moro ground. He purchased his partner's interest in a claim, paying $42,000. A man by tlie name of AVall has all he thinks lie wants, and is coining out. lie sold his interests for $50,000. Nearly all the gold is found in the creek bed on the bed rock, but there are a few good bench diggings. Perhaps tlie most interesting reading in the Mining Record is the letters written by men in the Klondyke to friends in Juneau, Here is one from " Casey " Moran : • Dawson, March 20, 1897. ^'Friend George : Don't pay any attention to what any one says, but come in at your earliest opportunity. My God ! it is appalling to hear the truth, but nevertheless the world has never produced its equal before. Well, come. That's il. Your friend, . *' Casey." Burt Shuler, writing from Klondyke under date of June 5, says : '' We have been here but a short time and we all have money. Provisions are much higher than they were two years ago and clothing is clean out of sight. One of the A. C. Co.'s boats wtw lost in the spring, and there will be re ro le ( / ELONDYKE FACTS. 137 a shortage of provisions again this fall. There is nothing that a man could eat or woar that he cannot get a good price for. First-class rubber boots are worth from an ounce to $25 a pair. The price of flour has been raised from $4 to SO and it w;is selliii^' at ^50 wlion we arrivt^d, as it was being freighted from Forty Mile. Big money can be made by brint^ing a small outfit over ti)e trail tliis fall. Wages have been $15 per day all Avinter, though a reduction to $10 was attempted, b'.it the miners quit work. . . . Here is a creek that is eighteen miles long, and, as far as is known, without a miss. There are not enough nu»n in the country to-day to work the claims. .Several otlier creeks show equal promise, but very little work has been done on the latter. I have seen gold dust until it seems almost as cheap as sawdust. If you are coming in, come prepared to stay two years at least ; bring plenty of clothing and good rubber boots." Ilere is a letter from another enthusiast : Kloxdyke, May ^^7, 1897. **Friexd Bill : We landed here the ITth and went on a stampede the next day, and bavo just got back. I I came through the camp and saw a good many friends ; I saw Burt ; he iuis a claim on Bonanza Creek. Billy Leake has bought a <'laim on Eldorado ; the claim is sup- posed to be worth a million. There are thirty-four claims on the same creek which seem to bo as good. Bonanza is good, but not so rich. There are 100 claims on Bonanza which are good, and there are other creeks which give good pay. Bill, it is the best camp I ever saw. AVages are 115 a day ; everything is high ; gmn boots are selling at $25. I look for a new strike this summer, as many men FT 138 KLONDYKE FACTS, are out prospecting, and it is the best gold country I ever saw. I wish you were here ; we will make a stake if we stay with it ; I will have something before winter. If you come in this fall don't start after the loth of August ; one can make more here in one year than ho can in ten out there. There will be work the year round ; wages may be cut to $10, but I don't tliink it ; I can go to work at any time, .and for us long as I wish at $15. It will pay to bring anything liere wliich can be carried in ; the demand is good and prices sucii that there is money in anything that can be brought in. Money will hardly buy claims here now, but men can often get in on a May.' I know men who took * la^s ' since Feb. 1, and made enough to go out with as high as 120,000 apiece. .• .. ^ / ^ ''Andy IIensley. >» Oscar Asliby fears that gold will have to be demonetized, for he says in a letter dated May 18, from Circle City : ''Hereafter address all letters to Klondyke, K. \V. Ter- ritory. 1 would have stayed here in Alaska, but when I heard of McKinley's election I palled my freight, for I knew that meant gold. I tell you one thing, if they find a few more Eldorado and Bonanza creeks, they will have to demonetize gold. Some of the kings here are hurrying out to spend their money before that is done. However, I am going to take chances on mine." 1^' ft- Anotlicr letter says : • ** Circle City is deserted, every one having gone to Klon- dyke, where the ricliest strike of the kind ever known in any country was made last fall. The stories told are not exaggerated, One ^.undred dollars to the Ban is very iH KLONDYKB FACTS. 139 common. One can hardly believe it, but it is true, never- theless. " Eldorado is staked off into claims for eight or ten miles, and every claim so far hsw shown up big. One claim was sold for |<10<>,0()0 three days ago. Bonanza is good also, and two or three other gulches close by show up •well. Every camp in the Yukon Valley is deserted for Klondyke. Wages there are $15, while ^12 is the prevail- ing rate here. No one wants to work for wages, but all are prospecting. This is undoubtedly the b(!st poor man's country in the world to-day. A very hard country to live in on account of tlu^ mosquitoes and poor grub, but healthy and a show to make a ten-strike. "We heard that McCul- lough, formerly of the Juneau Hotel, had been drowned while siiooting the White Horse llapids ; don't know whether there is any truth in it, as he was behind us. A number of parties were swam[)ed and lost their outfits, but escaped with their lives. The trip is anything but one of pleasure, as you will find if you ever make it. "Fred Buewstkh F.\y." 180.000 IX XIXETY DAYS. tSaii Francisco, July 24. William Stalley, his son, F. Phiseaterand C. Worden, all of whom left Seattle for the mines less tlian a year ago. have returned. From tlieir claims they took out gold worth more than JpSOjOOO in ninety days, and believe they have only just begun their work. They intend to return in ^laroh. T know that the above report is correct and the work was done on claims numbers 25 and 20 each of 500 feet. _j± pr^ ^^li' 140 KLONDYKE FACTS. ifti •1, , ,.■' I ^i^f-.': h ' ^S''' Jm'-: : m f^'k RosHhuul, B, C, July 27. The Miner puhlishes to-day a long letter from Hart Iluniber to Charlie Collins, of Rossland. Humher left Iloaslaud for Kloudyke last March, on receipt of first news of discoveries there. His letter deals with all phases of life at the mines. It is y spent at gam])ling and for whisky here in niglit than in lloss- land in a nu)nth. There are more ways of making money here than any place J ever saw : drinks 50 cents ; liair-cut $1 ; shave 50 cents. Packing to mine costs 25 cents per pound. This is the richest placer camp I ever struck. The mines are fifteen miles from Dawson City. One Montana man took out IIHJ.OOO from 45 square feet, and another $100,000 from 85 square feet. Dozens of others here have KLONDVK£ FACTS. 143 I dono nearly as well. Old-timers expect to strike new dig- gings just as rich this winter.' if MR. DRrMM0NI)*8 WAD. Hampton f Conn., July 31. One of the first persons to return to New England, from a successful trip to the Alaska goldtields ia J. J. Drummond, of this phice. Mr. I>rurnmond brought with him a cheque for !i^."),00() for gold ho carried to San Francisco after about a month of active work in the mines. He left a claim valued at !^ir)0,()00 in the Yukon region, which ho was forced to leave on account of lack of provisions. He says that the only way the richness of the gold terri- tory became known to the }>ublic was through this lack of food. The country ha« been filled Avith miners for many months, and they would have stayed in the gold region and kept the rich finds a secret if they had been able. But on returning to the settlements for provisions they found the stores emptied and Avorc forced to come to the States. They, therefore, returned to their homes for the winter, and spread the stories of fabulous finds which have set so many men starting for Klondyke. In tiio spring Mr. Drummond will go back to work his claim, and will prob- ably be accompanied by his brother in-law. |s per The jtana )ther Ihave ra)icouver, B. C, July 28. W. J. Sloan has returned from Klondyke. He was formerly a dry goods clerk, making a small stipend in Wilson's store. He went away a year ago and returns with $50,000 in gold nuggets, washed from the sand on Bonanza Creek. He is the lion of the hour and is constantly sur- \¥9 ^ ■r 144 KLONDYKK FACTS, '\ ''; ''.r. ^'l:^;: ?"■':■'■ ; 'i* • . ' ■ ,,V.''" , I "' rounded by crowds attracted by the huge nuggets he car- ries in his pockets. Mr. Sloan says transportation facilities are bad. He ad- viises the British (Johimbia merchants to band together and get a foothold on the trade, which is diverted to the States. Now is not the ti.:ie t- start, he says, March is the best month. The routs by Tolegrapii Buy to the Skeena is the best route for Canadians. There are no rapids or canons as in tiie White Horse Pass. There is no doubt about the value of the Klondyke diggings, but whether they are the only ones is hard to say. There are four miles of them all taken up. Tiiey average from iJ^dU to $2,000 per foot. Mr. Sloan's partner was the first i - get a bucket down. In three bucketfuls they panned $00. It is a dreary coun- try to winter in. There arc hundreds that have not made it pay ; but very big wages can be secured, an ounce a day. Any man can get work. Dawson City is at the junction of the Yukon and Klon- dyke Rivers. The former river is immense and puts the Fraser to shame. There are 3,000 inhabitants. The town sprang into e.-lstence three month? ago, but there are alreadv 100 saloons. The Mounted Police ke*^p perfect order as ia seen in all Canadian mining camps. Jjast winter the supply of provisions was so scarce that flour rose to $*30 per sack. Oold dust and nuggets are the only medium of exchange. A MOUNTAIN FULL OF GOLD. Santa Rosa, Cat., July 31. Professor Otto Fried Debendeleben declares that there ia a mountain of gold in Alaska, situated at 05 degrees, 25 minutes and 11 seconds north latitude, and 172 west lou- KLONDTKE FACTS. 146 I gitude. The mountain is called Mount Debendelcben, in honor of the professor, and was named by Professor Geo. Davidson. It was in 180(1, M-hile lie was a member of the famous AVestern Union Tclcf^'-aph Ihi.ssian extension expedition that Professor Dobendeleben first saw the niou^itain. It is the highest peak in all that region, he says, and is full of gold. Many scientists have been of the opinion that all the gold that crops out on this coast came some time from a great deposit in the north, and the professor thinks that mighty floods that moved everything before them carried the golden particles from the mother lode to fields further south. It was Professor Debendelcben who prepared the report on the resources of Alaska, that went to Secretary ol State Seward which Mr. Seward declared to be one of the most comprehensive documents of its character ever compiled. It was on this report that the Secretary principally relied when e "ging the purchase of Alaska from Russia by the United States. re 18 lou- WasliiiigtoUy July 31. More news about big strikes in the Klondyke was re- ceived to-day by Capt. C. P. Shoemaker, chief of the revenue cutter service, in a report from (.'apt. E. L, Hooper, commanding the Behriuj ^ea patrol fleet. Capt. Hooper sent some interesting infor/nation about t. e gold discoverie3 recently, which was printed in the Star. His report is dated Unalaskr.,, July 10. This is what he has to say rbout the Klondyke excitement : '* The North American Trading and Transportation Company^s steamer Portland arrived on the 7th from St. 10 iff'i^ ■M H >.i: 146 KLONDYKE FACTS. Michael with about fifty miners from the Yukon as pas- Bengers. Those men were from the new mines referred to in my last report, and, like those Avho arrived on the Excelsior, all have gold in sums varying from ^8,000 or #10,000 to over $150,000. In the aggregate the Portland had nearly the same amount as was brought by the Excel- sior, about half a million. All this and much more that has not been brought down has been tyken o''t of the mines sijic" '■heir discovery last August. " (jne man, a Mr. Berre, of California, who last Sep- temljer was in debt for his outfit, took out over ^150,000 while merely prospecting claim No. 40 on lionanza Creek, which he had staked out. AVith part of this gold he bought an interest in tliree other claims, which promise to be as rich as the first one. F. Phiscater, who previous to his staking out claim No. 2 on tb.e Eldorado, Wiis a waiter on one of the river steajners.. took out J?;iM),000 while merely prospecting his claim, the whole of which is estimated to be worth over a million dollars. Many similar cases are reported, which indicate that the new mining region is the richest yet discovered on this continent. Of course, all this will attra(;t a great many men, and as the means of getting provisions to the mines are but little better than last year, when with only two thousand men to provide for food was scarce and high, it will probably result in want." puosrEROUS IN 188G. In IS^i] few of the men in Forty Mile Creek were content with ground yielding less than tsl-i a day, and several of them reported to the envoys of the Canadian Government that several liad taken out nearly $100 a day for a short time. With the few men at work and their exceedingly KLOyVYKE FACTS. 147 ilav tent I of lent lort limited facilities this little stream in 1887 gave up about ^150,000 in gold. At this time the total number of miners in the entire territory of the Upper Yukon was less than two hundred and fifty and none of them wintered there. SCHOOL TEACHER I>f LUCK. San Francisco, July 31. The latest arrival from the Klondyke is Albert D. Gray formerly a school teacher in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mr. Gray got here, bringing 130,000 in nuggets. lie says he is the first man who went to Dawson by the Stikino River route. He predicts that this will soon be the favorite route to the gold diggings. He says that the entire Northwest is interested in the report that the Canadian Government is contemplating the building of a railway from Telegrapli Creek to Lake Tesliu. From this lake to Dawsou City there would be clear navigation if the rocks on the Yukon 200 miles above Dawson wero blasted out. WHAT ON'E BRAVE WOMAN^ DID. Mrs. J. T. Wills, of this city, who says she went " through death '' to seek Alaska gold, is a pioneer of thw pioneers. She has pioneered it in New Mexico, Colorado and Wash- ington. She is an Iowa woman, and reared three daughters in Missouri, where slie married a man named Mercer. Eight years ago she struck Tacoma during the big Northwestern boom, and married J. T. Wills, a gun and lock smith. As the boom subsided it became too quiet iu Washington for Mrs. Wills, and she journeyed to Alaska. She was the pioneer woman gold-hunter of that section. If 148 KLONDYKE FACTS. \ t ' ht-t' I'l,. At first she baked bread and conducted a laundry at Circle City. Her stove would bake only two loaves at a time, but at II per loaf she managed to net 114 per day. She also did plain sewing for the miners, and introduced the first starclied shirt into the El Dorado of the far north. When the word came down the Yukon that there was fabulously rich pay ^' dirt " on the Klondyke, Mrs. Wills joined the stampede. She went in with a party of cattle- men. The trip was rough and exciting, but Mrs. Wills did not complain, and was not a burden to the men who led the spurt for the new diggings. On a former occasion, however, she did not fare so well. On the way into the mines she becaro very sick, and for four days it was feared she would die. She was the only woman in a party of 140 rough miners from all parts of the world. The miners did not think of leaving her behind while life remained, but, as one of them said on returning here last spring, *' If she had died we would have made a coffin of her blanket and dropped her into a crevice in the ice, and pushed forward as if nothing had happeiied.'* When Mrs. Wills reached Dawson City she made a dash with the best of the men for a claim. But as the value of the surrounding claims came to be worth $35^000 to ^100,000, claim-jumping began, and Mrs. Wills had to fight like a will-breaker for her property. It is valued at at least 1250,000. While holding on to her claim Mrs. Wills spends lier leisure moments earning $15 per day as head cook for the Alaska-Commercial Company, at Dawson City. A WONDERFUL TALE. Captain Harry Meggs, United States army (retired), tolls a wonderful tale of the disviovery of gold in Alaska in. KLONDYKE FACTS. 149 )00 the latter part ol' the sixties. lie was on duty in that country at that time at a point near Juneau. lie says that even in those early days great lumps of gold were exhibited by natives. ** Often natives from the interior would come down wearing necklaces mad*' of riuggets picked up from creeks in the interior/^ he said : ** At one time there was a tribe which luid been conquered by another, and a penalty was exacted. Some of the conquered tribe came over Chilkoot Pass with a certain amoui of gold, which, on being weiglied, was found to be short of the price demanded by the coiKjUorors. Several chiefs were held iis hostages, while the remaind(M' of the tribe was directed to cross the moun- tains and procure enough to liberate them. They were gone several months, and when they came back an amount more tlian needed to pay the ransom was brought in. No one could ascertain whence the gold came, but from the direction in which they went and the length of time they occupied in making the tri]) it was believed that they went many miles inland. *' I believe tliut these men went into the passes of the Klondyke country and picked up by the crude means at their command the gold needed to complete the ransom. It was a topic of discussion among those who were detailed on duty at that time, and many plans were laid to procure information as to the location of the gold, but the natives kept the matter secret and would never disclose whence they derived their treasure." tired), )ka in i 150 KLOI^DYKE FACTS, CHAPTER XIII. 1' K L O X D Y K E F A C T S. Klonbyke ! Kloiidyke, the name that has become famous throughout the worUl and which was not heard of two short months ago, is taken from tlie Indian name ** Thron-Diuck," which means " Iliver with plenty of fish/' People in the region, however, do not use the name Klon- dyke, as used in the East. Gold was first discovered in the Klondyke region by a man named Henderson, August 24th, '96. Prior to tliat there was no civilization there whatever. It was on August 24, Avhen Henderson, who had been prospecting for four years in Indian Creek, a tributary of the Yukon, found himself in another little stream bed known as Gold Bottom, near the Yukon, the high water having driven him out of Indian Creek. He was prospect- ing around, ho])ing to find something as good as tho ground seemed to contain. After a time he panned out a little gold and put in a sluice box or two. In a very short time he ran out of supplies and went back to Fort Ogilvie, where I was stationed, and reported the find to me. I lost no time getting myself in readiness to proceed to the spot at once, and by August 28, I had two men and four horses in Gold Bottom. In the meantime, Henderson drifted down the mouth of the Klondyke iu a small boat. KLONDTKE FACTS. 151 and found George McCormack, an old friend of his, who W{i8 fishing for salmon. Hunting up his friends when there was anything in sight seemed to be one of Hender- son's best traits. He got McCormack up to Gold Bottom, where he located a claim, prospected around a while, and started back across country for the mouth of the Klondyke River, a distance of twenty miles. Tliat trip was destined to play an important part in the events which followed, for through it occnirred one of the big finds. McCormack took with him two Chilkat In- diana, and the three men went ot! in the direction of Bo- nanza Creek, where the white man struck gravel that went #2.50 to the pan. According to the mining laws in Cana- ■dian possessions, the discoverer can locate an extra claim for himself as a reward for niaking tlie find. So McCJor- mack took up two locations and tlie Indians one each. They set to work at once and took out ll'iO in gold in three days with little less tlian a pun. Then they came ilown to Fort Ogilvie and n^ported the find. That report which Avas spread by ^loCormack, had the immediate eflect of sending a thrill of excitement along the Yukon, from the lieadwaters down to Forty Mile and Circle City. As though by magic, the trails were sprinkled with pack mules, and the river was dotted with small craft coming up or going down to the new diggings, as the case may be. In less than ten days there were about 150 minors at work on new claims. Strangely enough, and a.s if by some great good fortune, I had come down the river about the same time McCormack left Gold Bottom, and had picked out a town site where Dawson City now stands, a little more than a mile from the Bonanza Creek claims. In this res^'oct I was very for- tunate, as it now stands in the midst of what is called Bonanza Gold Mining District, and a^l claims are so record- it P' 152 KLONDYKE FACTS. ed. As a matter of fact tliore is no other suitable place for a town site, and I eonsider myself lucky in getting hold of it. I commenced erecting the first house in that region on September 1st, 180(>, Witliin six months from that date there were over live hundred houses erected, which in- cluded stores, supply stations, hotels, restaurants, saloons, and residences. The place immediately became a bee-hive of vigorous industry, and the minor can obtain anything he requires at Dawson City. I hold ITH acres, while the remaining twenty-two are the property of the Government. The Yukon at that point is 000 yards across and about thirty-live fathoms deep, with natural advantages for pro- tection of craft. Dawson City is just below the mouth of the Klondyke Rivei'. I named it after Dr. Dawson, who es- tablished the boundary line that is now recognized as the correct line dividing Alaska from the Northwest Terri- tory. It runs due north from Blount St. Elias to Point Demarcation to the 141st meridian. That, of course, cuts ' all the present location witli the exception of those at Forty Ivlile out of United States possessions. There is no , cause for dispute on that score at all. It is purely a Cana- dian section, and Is under Canadian laws. Just as soon as the rush began at lionanza Creek the miners called a meeting, and in c der that the claims be relocated and made sure of, it was decided to measure them all off with a rope and reset the stakes that defined them. Somehow or other the men selected to make the measure- ments slid in a forty instead of a fifty foot rope, and thus made the claims from fifty to one hundred feet short in the total. In other words they were condensed, and the inter- vening ground was literally grabbed. This state of affairs ■ incensed the miners so that when they made the discovery of how the measurements were conducted, they petitioned William O^^ilvie, the Dominion Land Surveyor, to come up ^a' JxL(h\DyKE FACTS. 153 aira eup to Bonanza Creek at once and settle tlie complications that were arising, lie re-surveyed the whole group of clairua and tlie matter was then adjusted to the satisfaction of all hands. • It must bo remembered that the total gold regions to-day do not extend over an area of "iOO square miles from Daw- son City. There are good pay diggings at Circle City in Alaska. I know of at least twenty good claims tliere ; but the place has been pracjtically deserted owing to the rush to Klon- dykc. Fort Cudaliy or Forty Mile Creek is deserted. There will undoubtedly be new and valuable diggings discovered next year in the Klondyko region which will create emi- gration to various points at present unknown. Dr. W. II. Dall, of the National Museum of Washing- ton, is no harebrained enthusiast and says he 'las spent much time in the Yukon Valley on geographical expedi- tions. He is a scientific expert. He has no axe to grind. He unhesitatingly accepts the reports tliat come from that portion of the Yukon ^'alley which lies just beyond the American boundary. ITe lias known for twenty years past that gold existed in the bed of the Yukon lliver, though, not in large enough quantities to makt; mining very profi- table, and he has suspected that it existed in infinitely larger quantities in tlie various tributaries that empty into the great river. He holds that the Klondyke and the streams that feed ir represent but a very small portion of these gold yielding tributaries. In short, his opinion is that the gold-ileposits exist over a length of five or six hun- dred miles. He scents no exaggeratioii in the reports that have come in so far from the comparatively small Klon- dyko regions. :l' 154 KLONDYKE FACTS. Every tiling points to the fact that the gorgoous times of 1840 are to be repeated on a more prodigioua scale. The following report made by Mr. Ogilvie in January, 1896, will be of interest to the intending prospector. •i.J-,- i: f A iv CuDAHY, ty Mile River. In connection with this I have occupied six j:) holograph stations auf^ developed all the i)lates exposed which have turned out sal isfactorily. I have made a cross section measurevnent of the Yukon River where the boundary crosses it. In the vicinity of the river I have opened out a wide line in the woods which will remain visible for several years, but I erected nothing permanent on it. Vp to date our lowest temperature has been 63 ' below zero. The winter has been unusually windy. Coming up here we had KLONDYKE FACTS. 15» to face a strong wind when 52° below zero, and frozen faces and noses where the rule of the day. CuDAiiY, loth June, 1896. I submit the following interim report of my operations in the Yukon District up to date. After my return th^re was some fine clear wea Her in January, but it was exceedingly cold, more than 60^ b 'ow zero, one night 68 °5 ; and as I had both my ears i)retiy k. ily frozen and could not go out In such cold without having them covered, so that 1 could not hear the chronometer beat, I could not observe until the end of the month when we had two fine nights — 29th and 30th — mild enough for me to work. Having reduced all my observations, and the days having attained a reasonaVjle length, I went into camp on the line on the 20th February, resuming work on the 22nd. But as the hill tops are all b:i re and from two to three thousand feet above the river we lost many days through the fierce winds. Our progress wns ne<"essaril} slow for this reason and also from the fact that I photographed from several stations, which took '^ome time. As there were no important creeks between the Yukon and Forty Mile Rivers I did not cut the line out continuously, but left it so that any one wishing to can place himself on or very near to the line. The distance from the Yukon to Forty Mile River is a little over twenty-five iniles. ^"""^isssmmsBsstBBn ICO KLONDYKE FACTS. In the valleys along the line the timber was thick, M-ith much underbnash, but very little of it is of much value. Curiously enough the line kept generally in the valleys or on the sides of them, and very little of it was in the open. Going from point to point we had to follow as much as possible the hill tops and ridges. I reached Forty Mile River with this survey on the 13th March. From this point southwards there are many streams cut by the line, all of which are more or less gold- bearing and all have been more or less prospected. This ne- cesj.itixted my cutting the line out continuously from Forty Mile River onwards, which increased our work very much. The valleys traversed are generally upwards of 1,000 feet deep and often very steep, so tliat the work was exceedingly laborious. Transy)orting our outfit from camp to camp was often a very hard task as the hills were so steep everything had to be packed lip them, which in the deep soft snow was anything but easy. I reached a point within two miles of Sixty Mile River on the 14th April, and as I had passed all the creeks of any note, and many of tliem were already running water and our way lay down them, I thought it well to quit work on the line and re- turn to Forty Mile and Cudahy, and attend to the local sur\eys there. 'I'he weather was fine and warm, and so much water ran in the creeks by which we had to return that we could only travel a few hours in the early morning and forenoon. Had the season been more favorable I would have visited Glacier and Miller Creeks which were generally supj^osed to be in Ah' ska, but are found to rtm in Canada for some distance. They are the two richest creeks yet found on the Yukon and »ire both tributaries of Sixty Mile River. Both creeks are fully located and worked, each claim being 500 feet along the creek and the width of the vdlev or creek bed. There are nearly 100 claims, all of which pay well. One on Miller Creek I understand will yield 75 to 80 thousand dollars this season, KLONDYKE FACTS. 161 lay (I re- T\eys water only Had acier i>e in nice. :ind fully reek learly ek i ason, and the owner will net, it is said, between 40 and 50 thousand dollars. He took out, it is reportec'., nearly hnlf that sum last year off the same claim, and expects to do equally well next year. This is much the richest claim yet found, but all on those creeks do well. There are many other creeks in this vicinity yet to be prospected and some will, I have no doubt, pay well. Gold is found all along the valley of Sixty Mile River, and under more favorable conditions, both mercantile and climatic, it would yield good results to large enterprises. The mercantile conditions will improve ; the climate is a serious difficulty but will be surmounted in time, I believe. Along the last 10 or 12 miles of the line I ran, the mountains consist principally of quartz and schists, which no doubt originally held the gold found in the \alleys and doubtless hold some yet. Several men have taken to (juartz prosjiecting, and from indi- cations which I will dwell on later 1 bf lieve we are on the eve of some magnificent discoveries. The miners on all the creeks referred to have quietly ac- cepted my line as the boundary /r<7 /em, and as far as I can learn at present the general feeling is satisfaction that one can now know where he is. T.ven ii the line is not final, no one doubts its being very near the final position. As far as run it is marked by cairns of stones wherever it was possible to pro- ''urc them with reasonable lime and labor, and is cut through tiie woods and blazed so that no one who wants to find it can mistake it. Another source of satisfaction to all is tiiat they now know distances and directions. Many miners remark to me, " We now know how we are going, we can see *vhere south is." In this high latitude in the siunmer months it is impossi- ble to tell when the sun is near the meridian because its change in altitude is so little for 8 or 9 hours, consequently any point between east and west was called somewhere near south Tliis helps to explain much of the variance in the direction of pcma II rr 1G2 KLONDYKE FACTS. as given by miners and others who have no compass or are unacquainted with the use of one and the application of the declination. On my arrival at Cudahy I rented two cabins from the N. A. T. & T. Co., to house my men and self as I would be around here probably until I started up the river. I did this because there are no convenient camping places in the vicinity^ and in the spring all the flats are like lakes along the river until well into the month of June. After a couple of days' rest for the party, who had worked very hard, and after I had developed all my photographs, I began to attend to the local surveys, first surveying the coal claims on Coal Oeek and making a chain traverse survey of the creek from the claims down to the Yukon. I next made a survey of the Cone hill quartz mining claim and a chain traverse survey of Forty Mile River from the claim down to the Yukon. I then went to work on the Forty Mile town site and Cudahy town site. The last I was asked to block out, which I havedoi e. The manager, Mr. C. H. Ham- ikon, objected to streets 66 feet wide on such a small plot of ground (Oiere is only about 50 acres). I read him my in- structions and wrote him an official letter on the subject, but he insisted on streets only 50 feet wide and assumed all res- ponsibility, so I did as he desired. I made him a plot of the work done on the ground, and he understands that he will have to pay the department for the service rendered in blocking as well as the orglnal survey, and wishes a plan of it, which of course can ouly be prepared when I go out. ' I made a complete survey of Forty Mile, locating and tak- ing the dimensions of every house in it, and it is the worst KL OND YK E FA CTS. 163 tak- /orst jumble I ever saw. 1 had to do this though it entailed a great deal of work, for there were so many claim holders, and there appeared to be a general distnist in the vicinity ; ev^ry man wants himself on record in evidence as to his claim. 1 have taken some, but I have several days' work yet. I made a sur- vey of the island for the Anglican mission, and of another island for a man named Ciibson. This is in the delta of Forty Mile Creek, and he intends to make a market garden for the growth of such vegetables as the country will produce. In my final report I will deal as fully as my experience here will per- mit on that phase of the country's character. Many here have small gardens and are fairly successful with ordinary vegetables, I have advised many to correspond with the experimental farm at Ottawa, with a view to learning the best sort of vegetables for growth in this climate. There is an application in, and the purchase money and cost of survey paid, for 8o acres just west of Cudahy town site, which I will survey in a few days. There is also an application in for 40 acres containing ^ hay swamp on the east side of the river, about 2 miles below here, which I will survey before starting out. There are many other appli- cations in, but I shall not have time to attend to them, nor have the parties asked for asuney. I think these applications are simply intended to hold the ground until the tuf ire of this; region is forecasted ; it certainly looks promising no\\\ I would respectfully call the attention of the department to the fact that the services of a surveyor are urgently needed -. here and will be for some years to come, and I woukl suggest that one be appointed to look alter and take charge of all the laiKi interests in this district. He will find plenty to do, and any work outside of departmental which he might be asked to da (a»id there is mach of ii, and will be more in the way oi engineering) waald help materially to pay hi^ salary wioch would of course .3 here have to be liberal. f vm 164 KLONDYKE FACTS. I have had several applications for engineering surveys, and 1 have told the parties I can only make these as an officer of the department, with whom they will have to settle on the basis of the time it took and the cost per day of the party and myself, should I undertake any of it, which is more than doubt- ful. Any surveyor so appointed vvill require experience in the taking of evidence and will need to be patient and attentive, for it is extremely difficult to make some of the people here understand what they want to know. Another inconvenience is the want of a trade medium ; there is very little coin, nearly all business being transacted in gold dust, which passes current at $17 per ounce troy*, but, as most of it will not assay that, there is some hardship to those taking it out, though there may be no actual loss. If enough money were sent in to pay the North-west mounted police for some time it would help for a period at least, and would emphasize the exist- ence of Canada. What coin and bills are here are largely American. Another important question is the treatment of the liquor business, which cannot be ignored much longer; there are several saloons in Forty Mile and one in Cudahy, yet there is no law recognizing them nor regulating them in any way. It would be almost impossible and very unpopular were any at- tempt made to close them. Liquor could not be kept out of the country if the whole North-west mounted police were scat- tered around the river. Another subject which I have mentioned before is that of the * Ihe net value of the gold received by the department was found to be only $16.50 per ounce, 9 cents of which were silver. Deducting freight, insurance, mint charges and bank commission, the amount realized is re- duced to $15.77. Inspector Constantine, N. VV. M. P. quotes as.'-ays by the United States office at Helena, Mont.,of gold from eight creeks, ranging from $14-46 for the Upper Lewes to $17.33 for Davis Creek. The average is $16.12. liquor ;re are lere is ly. It any at- out of re scat- X of the found to freight, zed is re- s^ays by t creeks, s Creek» ELONDYKE FACTS, 165 timber. Large quantities of timber are being and have been cut in our territory and floated down the river to American territory, where it u used, and Canada derives no benefit. Were it used to develop our country it would matter less ; in fact, I would encourage such use ; but to see the best of our timber taken out without any sort of benefit to the country is, I think, worthy of some sort of attention. There is very little useful tirnlier in the country, and much of what does exist is cut into fuel, while more of it goes beyonci the boundary. In the near future we shall feel the want of it. I have .spoken to the agent about it, but he has no authority to act, and, if he had» is disinclined to run up and down the river looking after it un- less he has a steamer. The merchants here who pay duLy are naturally dissatisfied at the smuggling done on the upper river and ask for some sort of protection. It might be advisable to have a squad of police and an officer somewhere on the lake to look after that. I am thoroughly convinced that a road from the coast to some point on the head waters of the river, preferaijly by the Taku if at all practicable, would convert all our part of the river into a hive of industry. It may be said there is no competition, and any way in the present conditions ot trade things cannot be sold very much cheaper at a fair profit. Once let a railroad get from some point on the coast to some point on the river so that we can have quick, cheap, and certain entrance and exit, and the whole Yukon basin will be worked. At prevent the long haul makes the expense of minmg machinery pra^ uc>aUy prohibitive, for the cost of transport is often more than the first cost of the machine. ;>• ... . y.' i^.ssays of the Cone hill quartz are very satisfactory, and the quartity good for generations of work; were it on the coast -the Treadwell mine would be diminutive beside it. Five tons ^of took are being sent out from it for a mill test, and should IGG KLONDYKE FACTS. they prove as satisfactory as the test of a ton sent out last year, I understand the parties owning it will proceed to develop it. If it starts and proves reasonably successful there are scores of other places in the country that may yield as well. An expert here who prospects for the N. A. T. idered by all the old miners the best and most extensive gold country yet found. Scores of them would i)rosi)cct it but for the fact that they cannot get provisions up there and it is too far to boat them up from here in small l)oats. This new find will necessitate an upward step on the Yukon, and help the Stewart River region. News has just arrived from Bonanza Creek that three men worked out $75 in four hours the other day, and a $12 nugget has been found, which assures the character of the ground, namely, coarse gold and j.lenty of it, as three times this can be done with sluice boxes. You can fancy the excitement here. It is claimed that from ^.100 to f^^uo per day can be made off the ground that has been prospected so far. As we have about 100 claims on Clacier and Miller Creeks, with three or four hundred in this vie inity, next year it is impera- tive that a man be sent in here to look after these claims and all land matters, and it is almost imperative that the agent be a surveyor. Already on Bonanza Creek they are disputing about the size of claims. 172 KLONDYKE FACT^ I would have gone up and laid out the claims properly, but it would take me ten or twelve days to do so, and meantime my presence might be more urgently rcfjuired elsewhere. Another important matter is the appointment of some sort of legal machinery here. Before the police came miners' meet- ing administered justice, collected debts, etc., etc. ; now the magistrates here are expected to do ail that, and when it is found that they do not it causes much dissatisfaction, and there are several cases of real hardship where parties will not pay their just debts though able to do so. If a miners' meet- ing were held and judgment given against the delinquent it would do no good for he would and does resist payment, and were force reso.ted to he would aj^pcal to the police for protec- tion. A continuation of this state of affairs is most undesirable in the interest of our country, for .ve have a reputation as a justice-administering, law-abiding people to maintain, and I would urgently press this matter on the atUhorities. From the indications 1 have mentioned it would be seen that this corner of the North-west is not going to be the least important part of it, more especially when we consider the fact that gold-bearing quartz has been found in it at numerous places and much will no doubt be worked. It i? ajiparent that the revenue and business of the country w\\\ more than offset the expense of administration. I cannot here enter into the reasons for it, but I unhesitat- ingly make the assertion that this corner of our territory from the coast strip down and from the 141st meridian eastward will be found to be a fairly rich and very extensive mining region. As I have already pretty fully reported on coal, 1 will only add that it is reported in abundance only 8 miles up the Chandindu River, where a seam over 6 feet thick has been found of the same quality as that already described. KLONDVKE FACTS. 178 CuDAHY, November 6th, 1896. Your official letter informing me that negotiations for a Joint survey of the 141 st meridian had so far failed, and that I had better return to Ottawa for the winter, reached me here on the nth of September. As the Alaska Commercial Com- pany'? steamer " Arctic " was then hourly expected up the river on her way to Selkirk, I thought it best to wait and go up on her to that point. Day after day passed without any sign of her ; wearied of waiting, and hopeless of her arri^'al at all this year, I determined to start out on the 27 th of SeptemV)er, a late date but with fair conditions feasible. On the 25th a tremendous storm of snow set in which so chilled the river that in a few days after it was choked with ice which precluded all idea of getting up the river, and it was equally hopeless down the river. Three parties have announced their intention of starting for the outside world about the ist prox., and I write this con- templating its transmission by one or other of these parties. For myself to think of going out in the winter is, 1 think, un- wise, for the following reasons: — Do^ss, the only means of transport, are scarce and dear, ranging from $30 or $40 to #125 apiece. Dog food, like all other food, is scarce, by reason of the poor salmon run in the river last season — prac- tically none were caught near here — and the result is tne dog owners here have to use bacon for food, which at 25 to 40 cts. per yxjund, is expensive. I would require a team of eight dogs to take my outfit and my man Fawcett with our provisions and the tlogs' food as far as Taiya. There the dogs would have to be abandoned or killed, as they are worthless on the coast, except to parties coming in here early in the season. Starting from here say December 1st, it would be February before 1 reached Ottawa, 1 i!i ; r 174 KLONDYKE FACTS, and during 35 or 40 days of this time we would be exposed to much cold and hardship and some hazard from storms. The journey has been made, and I would not hesitate to undertake it were things more reasonable here and ddg food plentiful, but it would take at least $1,000 to equip me with transport and outfit, which sum, I think, I can expend more in the interests of the country by remaining here and making a survey of the Klondak of the miners — a mispronunciation of the Indian word or words "Thron-dak" or**diuck," which means plenty of fish, from the fact that it is a famous salmon stream. It is marked Tondak on our maps. It joins the Yukon from the east, a few miles above the site of Fort Re- liance, about 50 miles above here. As I have already in- timated, rich placer mines of gold were discovered on the branches of this stream. The discovery, I believe, was due to the reports of Indians. A white man named George W. Cor- mack, who worked with me in 1887, was the first to take ad- vantage of the rumors and locate a claim on the first branch, which was named by the miners Bonanza Oeek. Cormack located late in August, but had to cut some logs for the mill here to get a few pounds of provisions to enable him to begin work on his claim. The fishing at Thron-Diuck having totally failed him, he returned with a few weeks' provisions for him- self, his wife and brother-in-law (Indians) and another Indian in the last days of August, and immediately '^et about working his claim. As he was very short of ai)pliances he ccild only put together a rather defective apparatus to wash the gravel with. 'I'lie gravel itself he had to carry in a box on his back from 30 to 100 feet ; notwithstanding this, the three men working very irregularly, washed out $1,200 in eight days, and Cormack asserts with reason that had he had proper facilities it could have been done in two days, besides having several KLONDYKE FACTS. Yt% hundred dollars more gold which was lost in the tailings through defective apparatus. On the same creek two men rocked out I75 in about four hours, and it is asserted that two men in the same creek took out $4,000 in two days with only two lengths of sluice boxes. This last is doubted, but Mr. I^due assures me he weighed that much goUl for them, but is not positive where they got it. They were new comers and had not done much in the country, so the probabilities are they got it on Bonanza Creek. A branch of Bonanza named Eldorado has prospected magni- ficently, and another branch named Tilly Oeek has prospected well ; in all there are some four or five branches to Bonanza which have given good prospects. I'here are about 1 70 claims staked on the main creek, and the branches are good for about as many more, aggregatiiig say 350 claims, which will require over 1 ,000 men to work properly. A few miles farther up Bear Creek enters Thron-Diuck, and it has been prospected and located on. Compared with Bonanza it is small, and will not afford more than 20 or 30 claims, it is said. About 12 miles above the mouth Ciold- bottom Creek joins Thron-Diuck, and on it and a branch named Hunker Creek (after the discoverer) very rich ground has been found. One man showed me $22.75 ^^ ^^^^ o"^ >n a few hours on Hunker Creek with a gold pan, prospecting his claim on the surface, taking a handful here and there as fancy suggested. On Gold-bottom Creek and branches there will probably be 200 or 300 claims. The Indians have reported another creek much farther up, which they call " Too much gold creek," on which the gold is so plentiful that, as the miners say in joke, "you have to mix gravel with it to sluice it." From all this we may, I think, infer that we have h^re a dis- trict which K»iU give 1,000 claims of 500 feet in length each. ^^ * 176 KLONDYKE FACTS. Now, 1,000 such claims will require at least 3,000 men to work them properly, and as wages for working in the mines are from 12 to 15 dollars per day without board, we have ever^' reason to assume that this part of our territory will in a year or two contain 10,000 souls at least. For the news has gone out to the coast and an unprecedented influx is expected next spring.* And this is not .ill, for a large creek called Indian Creek joins the Yukon alx)ut midway between Thron-Diuck and Stewart Rivers, and all along this creek good pay has been found. All that has stood in the way of working it heretofore has been the scarcity of provisions and the difficulty of getting them u() there even when here. Indian Creek is quite a large stream and it is probable it will yield five or six hundred claims. Further south yet lies the head of several branches of Stewart River on which some prospecting has been done this summer and good indications found, but the want of provisions pre- vented development. Now gold has been found in several «^i the streams joining Pelly River, and also all along the Hoca- linqua. In the line of these finds farther south is the Cassiar gold field in British Co'-unbia ; so the presumption is that we have in our territory aloi 'r the easterly water- shed of the Yukon a gold-bearing belt of indefinite width, and upwards of 3L0 miles long, exclusive of the British Columbia |>art of it. On the westerly side of the Yukon prospecting has been done 01. a creek a short distance above Selkirk with a fair amount of suc- cess, and on a large creek some 30 or 40 miles below Selkirk fair prospects have been found ; but, as before remarked, the * A feature of this year's immigration is that it includes many women «nd children. The correspondent of a western paper, writing from the Chillcoot pass at the beginning of last month, says : " To go along the trail, one would think the people were bound for a farming country, there are horses, ploughs, wheelbarrows, three mowing matchines, coops of chickens, etc.** fl KlONlf)TKE FACTS. 177 men to nines are ivc cver^' a year or gone out ted next d Indian an-Diuck has been erctofore }f getting te a large ;d claims. >f Stewart > summer lions pre- everal ^4 e Hoo*a- e Cassiar s that we le Yukon of 3L J it. On 3ne o>. a of suc- Selkirk ked, the tjr women from the along the country, es, coop» difficulty of getting supplies here prevents any extensivr or extended prospecting. Dal ton informed me he had found good prospects )n a small creek nearly midway between the coast range * d Selkirk in his route. His man showed me tiome coarse gold, about a dollar's worth, he found on the head of a branch of the Altsek ■River necir the head of Chilkat Inlet, which is inside the sum- mit of the coast range and of course in our territory. From this you will gather that we have a very large area all more or less gold-bearing and which will all yet be worked. Good quartz has been found in places just across the line on Davis Creek, but of what extent is unknown as it is u the bed of the creek and covered with gravel. Good quartz is also re- ported on the hills around Bonanza Creek, but of this I will be able to speak more fully after my proiwsed survey. It is pretty certain from information I have got from prospectors that all or nearly all of the northerly branch of White River is on our side of the line, and copper is found on it, but more abundantly on the southerly branch of which a great portion is in our territory also, so it is probable we have that metal too. I have seen here several lumps of copper brought by the natives from White River, but just from what part is uncertain. I have also seen a specimen of silver ore said to have been picked up in a creek flowing into I^ke Bennet, about 14 miles down it, on the east side. I think this is enough to show that we may look forward with confidence to a fairly bright future for this part of our territory. When it was fairly established that Bonanza Creek was rich in gold, which took a few days, for Thron-Diuck had been prospected several times with no encouraging result, there was a great rush from all over the country adjacent to Forty Mile. The town was almost deserted ; men who had been in a It • 178 KLONDYKK FACTS. fe t' chronic state of drunkenness for weeks were pitched into boats as ballast and taken up to stake themselves a claim, and claims were staked by men for their friends who were not in the counlry at the time. All this gave rise to such conflict and confusion, there being no one present to take charge of matters, the agent being unable to go up and attend to the thing, and myself not yet knowing what to do. that the miners held a meeting, and ap]K)inted one of themselves to measure off and stake the claims, and record the owners' names in connection therewith, for which he got a fee of $2, it being of course understood that each claim holder would have to record his claim with the Dominion agent and pay his fee of $15. At the same meeting they discussed our law on mining, and discovered, as they thought, that it was very defective. They appointed a committee to wait on the agent and ask him to ratify their course in appointing the surveyor and recorder to act /rf course c:ord his • ing, and . They him to order to 1 the law e that a the fact and be- oint and ery pos- ng they ecause I that has been a aid out already jrement f of the of the creeks necessarily meant a survey and adjustment of the claims^ and it took me some time to correct that impression. I made them understand that as the claims had been laid out by their own act and had been approved of by the agent I could not interfere without the consent and approval of all the ori^^inal parties to the act, and they would have to meet and discuiis the question and determine whether they would have them ad- justed or not. If they decide to have it done I made them understand they would have to assist me at work as I passed, along. If they do not require it I will take the necessary step; to enable me to plot very closely where every claim is. I may make a good deal of the suney by photography as I have about ten dozen good plates yet. In any case I will occupy several photo stations to enable me to give some idea of the mountain ranges around — if any — and supplemen* my views from the boundary last winter. As soon as this work is done all my men will take their discharge, Adam Fawcett going into the service of the Alaska Commercial Company, and all the rest mining. If you want any further surveys made in here men will have to be sent in to do it, for men cannot be had here for less thaii from $5 to |io per day. Any man sent in for survey purposes will require to bring a good canoe with him, say 1 9 feet long and 44 inches wide, and 18 to 20 deep. Such a canoe will bring in ^ or 6 men and their stock of provisions for the trip. By the time they would arrive here provisions will be plentiful, for the boats will then be up from Circle City where two of them are probably wintering. A party crossing the summit early in June would just about find the lakes open for the run down. You might warn any such patty that they had better run no risk at the Canon, White Horse and Five Fingers. The Canon is not dangerous, but there is a good portage past it. The rapids between it and the White Horse are rough in high ^ 180 KLOUDTKM FACTS, but with care are safe. A great many large boats run the White Horse, but most of them take more or less water ; many fill altogether, and the owners are often drowned ; in any case they lose all their effects if they do escape. A care- ful estimate of those drowned in 1895 places the number at 13, a large percentage, I think of those who tried it The Five Fingers are at some stages of the water uncertain. Last time I came down I found it very nice on the left side — no danger at all, while boats passing the right side took in water. In every case the party in charge will do well to carefully examine beforehand all the points named. Should you deem it advis- able for myself to return early in the summer, I ^11 have to make my way around by the mouth, as I will have no men to help me up stream, and no one will be ascending the river un- til near September, and indeed very fe^ do at all now. Any party coming in would reasoiubly be expected in before I started down, and I could confer with them on the work to be done should you deem it advisable to do so. In the course of a year I believe coal will supersede wood for fuel, which will relieve the demand as far as the towns and villages are concerned ; but mining interests will require a lot of fuel where coal cannot be taken. The traffic; in liquor will have to be taken hold of and reg- ulated at once ; it is here now and cannot be kept out by any reasonably practical means. The majority — the great majority of miners — ^will have it, and all the more will their predilection be if it is attempted to stop the entry of it. In my opinion it is imperative that this business be brought imder control at once, or it may develop phases that will be at least annoying in the near future. - ' I have in previous reports intimated that some sort of legal machinery is now absolutely necessary for the trial of cases of contract, collection of debts and generally the judicial interests KLONDYKE FACTS. 181 wood rns and a lot of the country. There arc several «;ases of hardship now ^r the want of a proper court. If some sort of court to satisfy the necessities of the people in busmcas here is not at once established serious inconven- ience will result The officer appointed will require to be a hale vigorous person, for it b probable he will have to make journeys of considerable length across unoccupied country, in the discharge of his duty. There have been several applications for land in the vicinity of the mouth of the Thron-Diuck, an'' inspector Constantine has selected a reserve for government i'.,,^o8es at the conflu- ence of that stream with the Yukon 40 it res in extent. A court or oflice of record in v > 1 estate trhniiactionR will require to be opened here at once. A rei order was appointed ill Forty Mile and a plot made in 1884 in anticipation of my going out this fall I got a meeting held of the property OT^-ners and had them hand the records over to me for the information of the department. They are in my possession yet, and 1 will take them out with me when I go. They are rather crude in form and require an initiate to understand them. I act as recorder //-nu'>z Cucfa/iy, gth December, 1896. A mail left here for the outside en the 27 th ultimo by which I sent you an interim report, which will probably reach you in January. From it you will learn how 1 came to be caught in the country and why I have not attempted to get out in the winter. As you are as likely to get that report as you are this one, I refrain from repeating more here than to say that should it be necessary for me to go out before summer I will try and get out by dog team, starting in the last of February or early in March when the days are long and the weather mild, getting out sa\ early in May. Since my la;,t the prospects on Bonanza Creek and tribu- taries are increasing in richness and extent until now it is cer- tain that millions will be taken out of the district in the next few years. On some of the claims prospected the pay dirt is of great extent and very riciv One man told me yesterday that he washed out a single pan of dirt on one of the claims on Bon- anza and found $14.25 in it. Of course that may be an ex- ceptionally rich pan, but $$ to 5? per pan is thf average on that claim it is reported, with 5 feet of pay dirt and the width yet undetermined, but it is known to be 30 feet even at that : figure the result at 9 to 10 pans to the cubic foot, and 500 feet long; nearly $4,000,000 at $5 per pan — one-fourth of this would be enormous. Another cl ;im has been prospected to such an extent that it is known there h r.bout 5 feet pay dirt averaging $2 per pan and width not tcss thaa 30 feet. Enough prospecting has KLONnYKE FACTS. 188 'jnvi?. ^reat t he n- ex- on idth at: feet thLi It it [pan has been done to show that there are at least 15 miles of this extraordinary richness; and the indications are that we will have 3 or 4 times that extent, if not all equal to the above at least very rich. I think the department should get large posters printed on which shall be shown the sections of the law governing the location and recording of quartz and placer mines, the ex- tent of each, the duties of miners, in both cases, and the rul- ings of the department on the questions I have submitted, with the penalties attached to offences against the law. Some of these should be printed on stout paper or parchment capable of standing exposure to tlie weather, and posted at every im- portant ])oint in the coimHy so that there may be no excuse hereafter for ignorance. A large numter of copies of the Mining Act, l^ind Act, and timber and hay lands regulations should also be sent in. As to the extent of mining districts they should 1 think be made large, and section 2 1 amended to enable a man who has located a claim which does not pay a reasonable return on outlay the first season after his claim has been prosijcrted, to \make a second location in the same locality or district provided Ihe can find one in it. I he agent would have to determine whether or not he had expended the proper amount of labor on his claim to get reasonaV>le returns^ this I know oi>ens the door for a lot of trouble and may be fraud, but on the other hand a great niar.y worthy men suffer from the want of some such regulation, and as very few would be in a position to take advantage of such a provision until after their second season, there would hardly be anything left for them to take. ICnter- prising industrious men who would work almost continuously n;ight get some benefit — proV)ably would — but no others, so si.ch a regulation could not do vcr}-much harm and might help some deserving people. As it is now men stake claims on F^ 184 KLONDYKE FACTS. nearly every new find, some having several claims in the Throil- Diuck locality. They know, I believe, that they will not be able to hold them, but as the localities are not yet clearly de- fined they can hold on to them for a while and finally by col- lusion with others acquire an interest in them. The miners here are I understand getting up a petition to the Minister asking for aid in opening a way from the south and building along it shelter for winter travellers, with suitable supplies scattered along. As it is now a winter's trip out from here is on account of the long haul and want of shelter tedious and hazardous, and their representations are worthy of consideration. The following letters written so far back as January will prove most interesting. Cudahy, nth January, 1897. ^\ if The reports from the Klondyke region are still very encour- aging ; so much so that all the other creeks around are practi- cally abandoned, especially those on the head of Forty Mile in American territory, and nearly one hundred men have made their way up from Circle City, many of them hauling their sleds themselves. Those who cannot get claims are buying in on those already located. Men cannot be got to work for love or money, and development is consequently slow ; one and a half dollars per hour is the wages paid the few men who have to work for hire, and work as many hours as they like. Some of the claims are so rich that every night a few pans of dirt suf- fices to pay the hired help when there is any : as high as $204 has been reported to a single pan, but this is not generally credited. Claim owners are now very reticent about what they get, so you can hardly credit anything you hear ; but one thing is certain we have one of the richest mining areas ever KLOSDYKE FACTH. 185 found, with a fair prospect that we have not yet discovered its hmits. Miller and Glacier Creeks on the head of Sixty Mile River, which my suivey of the 141st meridian determined to be in Canada, were thought to be very rich, but they are poor both in quality and quantity compared with Klondyke. Chicken Creek on the head of Forty Mile, in Alaska, dis- covered a year ago and rated very high, is to-day practically abandoned. Some quartz prospecting has been done in Klondyke region, and it is [jrobable that some good veins will be found there. Coal is found on the upper part of Klondyke ; so that the facilities for working it if found are good and con- venient. Cudahy, 23d January, 1897. I have just heard from a reliable source that the quartz men- tioned above is rich, as tested, over one hundred dollars to the ton. The lode apjjears to run from 3 to 8 feet in thickness and is about 19 miles from the Yukon River. I will likely be called on to survey it, and will be able to report fully. Placer prospects continue more and more encouraging and extraordinary. It is beyond doubt that 3 pans on different claims on Eldorado turned out ^204, $212, and ;?2i6 ; but it must be borne in mind that there were only three such pans, though there are many running from $10 to 1^50. FT"^ 186 KLONDYKE FACTS. k i-r. I have been repeatedly asked what I think of the present rush to the gold regions, and 1 have to aay that I regret it exceedingly. For this season of the year, I tliink it very had indeed, and that there will be a great amount of hard- ship and s'.ifferinjj. I do not rocomnieiid any one to at- tv^npt to make the trip until Manli 1."). Tlicre is unquestionably rooui for a great many people in that district, but already too many have left for the liard winter trij) that must be taken before Dawson City can b(> reached. I Inive made the trip many times and know whereof I apeak, and shall certainly not attempt to return till after March 1st, 1S98. Dawson City is now ti»e most important point in the new mining regions. Its population iu Juno, 181«r, exceeded 4.000 ; by June next it cannot be less than 20,000. It has a saw-mill, stores, cliurches, of the IVesbyterian, Baptist, Methodist and Roman Catholic denominations. It is the headquarters of the Canadian Northwest Mounted Police, and pcrfori htir (iiiff order , ^ niaitUaintd. It is at Dawson that the prospector files his claims with the Covernment (lold Conimissioner, in the recording oflices. l)awson faces on one of the banks of the Yukon River, and now occu])ies about a mile of the bank. It is at the junction of the Klondyke Creek with the Yukon River. It is here where the most vahuihle miiiing claims are being operated on a gcale of profit tluiu the world has liitherto never known. The entire country surrounding is teeming with mineral wealth. Copper, silver and coal can be found in large quantities, but little or no attention is now being paiil to these valu- able minerals, as every one is engaged in gold-hunting and working the extraordinary placer mining claims already located. ivcr, tho vtr. K'ing crto ting ities, alii- und eatiy "T-^ i^. ,1 ■i' :!:i-?' KLOyDTKE FACTS. 187 - 1 :,l The entire section is given up to placer mininjf. Very few claims had been filed for quartz mining. The fields of gold will not be exhausted in the near future. No man can tell what the end will be. From January to April, 1807, about 14,000,000 were taken out of the few placer claims then being worked. Tliis was done in a territory not ex- ceeding forty square miles. All these claims are located on Klondyke River and the little tributaries emptying into it, and the districts ure known as Big Bonanza, Gold Bottom and Hunker. I have asked old and experienced miners at Dawson, who mined through California in Bonanza days, and some who mined in Australia, what they thought of the Klon- dyke region, and their reply has invariably been: **The world never saw so vast and rich a find of gold as we are working now." Dawson City is destined to be the greatest mining centre in the history of mining operations. The entire country is teemnig with mineral wealth. Copper, silver, as well as coal, can be found in large quan- tities but little or no attention is being paid at present to these minerals, as everybody's mind is bent on getting gold. When mining operations commence on coal it will be specially valuable for steamers on the various rivers and greatly assist transportation facilities. In the next few years there will certainly be recorded the most marvellous discoveries in this territory usually thought to be only a land of snow and ice and fit only to be classed with the Arctic regions. It is marvellous to state that for some years past we have been finding gold in occasional places in this territory, but from the poverty of the people no effort was made to prospect among the places reported. It is my belief that the greatest finds of gold will not bo y^ i88 Hon DYKE FACTS. y h •,<'- i made in this territory. It is sufo to say that not 2 per cent, of all the gold discovered so far has been on United States soil. The great mass of the work has been done on tlio North- west territory which is under the Cunadiaii Government. It is possible, however, that further discoveries will be made on American soil, but it is my opinion that the most valuable discoveries will be further east and pouth of the present claims, and wo would advise prospectors to work east and south of Klondyke. From the very clear map shown in this work and which takes in the present gold regions, it will be sec that Dawson City is at the junction of the Klondykr .iver, marked oti the map " Thron-Diuck." The mining claims commence within 'i^ miles from Dawson City on the Klondyke and follow the stream on both sides to ** Too Much Gold Crock." All the tributary streams on the Klondyke such as " Too Much Gold ("reek," Ilunkt 'd Creek, Gold IJottom, Last Chance, and Bear Creek, Mould's Bonanza, and Eldorado are now being worked by the miners. The richest of these is Eldorado, Gold Bottom, Hunker and *'Too Much (Jold Creek." All of them, however, are exceptionally rich for placer mining. It is reported that the least knowjias yet of these, •' Too Much Gold Creek" will probably be the most valuable in the region. It is the most distant from Dawson Citv. 9 THE TOO-MUCH-GOLD RIVER. Which the Indians report to be situated beyond, and to be far richer than the Klondyke. Far up the stern-precipiced Klondyke, In the Arctic drear, we are told, There speeds a mysterious river, " The River of Too Much Gold." t 2 per United North- tnent. will be 10 mo8t of the work [ which • that .iver, !s from eiini on 'ibutary d Bear being [linker vcr, are d that Creek " is the 18» than tho KLONDYKE FACTS, O say, ye powers of darkness I Dill the Yukon Indians dream The longing they roused in our heart-chords When they named us thut hidden stream? There once was an El Dorado Men crazed tlui' lives to behold; But what was tlie merely Golden To the River of Too Much Gold? O, if we could stand on its l)order, And after our sacks werfe distent, Kick round us still l)eaches of nuggets, Would wo feel we could tlien be content? "Would we feci, as we shouldered < \ir million,-^ Pii'dge of pleasures ten thousand fold, That even then tiiis river Was a River of Too Much Gold ? y Or when will tlie heart of mortal " . Be ready to cry " Enough ! " And what is tlie use of the struggle For the " stuff " if it does not stuff? But however it be. I am longing As though it would free me from care, For the banks of that Arctic river. And a little of what is there. W. D. LionTHi.LL. f i ! P f.. ^1'- ' APPENDIX. Excerpts fbom the Mining Laws of the Nobthwest Territories. DEPINITION OP TERMS USED IN MINING. ** Mine," "placer mine," and 'diggings" shall be syn- onymous terms and shall mean any natural stratum or bed of earth, gravel or cement mined for gold or other precious minerals : ** Placer claim " shall mean the personal right of property or interest in any placer mine ; and in the term ** min- ing property " shall be included every placer claim, ditch, or water right used for placer mini"*; purposes, and all other things belonging thereto or used in the working thereof. Placer claims shall be divided into creek diggings, bar diggings, dry diggings, bench dig- gings, and hill diggings : <* Creek diggings " shall mean any mine in the bed of any river, stream or laviue, excepting bar diggings : ** Bar diggings " shall mean any mine over which a river extends when in its flooded state : 191 r' 192 APPENDIX. fl' " Dry diggings " shall mean any mine over which a riyer never extends : ** Bench diggings'' shall mean any mine on a bench, and shall, for the purpose of defining the size of a claim in bench diggings, be excepted from "dry diggings : " "Hill diggings" shall mean any mine on the surface of a hill, and fronting on any natural stream or ravine : "Streams and nivines'' shall include all natural water- courses, whether usually containing water or not, and all rivers, creeks and gulches : ** Ditch " shall include a flume, pipe, race, or other arti- ficial means for conducting water by its own weight, to be used for mining purposes : ** Ditch head " shall mean the point in a natural water- course or lake where water is first taken into a ditch : '*Free miner" shall mean a person, or joint stock company, or foreign company named in, and lawfully possessed of, a valid existing free miner's certificate, and no other : '* Legal post " shall mean a stake standing not less than four feet above the ground, and squared or faced on four sides for at least one foot from the top, and each side BO squared or faced shall measure at least four inches on its face so far as squared or faced, or any stump or tree cut oS and squared or faced to the above height and size : ♦'Record," ''register," and " registration," shall have th« same meaning, and shall mean an entry in some offi- cial book. kept for that purpose : ** Record," when used without qualifying words showing APPESDIX. m that a 'lifferunt inntler is referred to, shall be taken to refer to the record of the location of a placer claim : ** Full interest " 8hall mean any placer claim of the full size, or one of several shares into which a mine may be equally divid A : ** Close season '* shall mean the period of the year during which placer claims in any district are laid over by tho Gold Commissioner of that district : ** Cause " shall include any suit or action : ** Judgment shall include '' order " or ** decree *' : ** Real estate " shall mean any placer mineral land held in fee simple. MISCELLANKOUS REGULATIONS. 1. The Minister of the Interior shall, from time to time, 8 ; he may think fit, declare the boundaries of mineral and mining districts, and shall cause a description of the same to be published in the Canada Gazette. 2. The Minister of the Interior may direct mineral and. mining locations to be laid out within such districts wher- ever, from report of the Director of the Geological Survey, or from other information, he has reason to believe there are mineral deposits of economic value, and may sell tho same to applicants therefor, who, in his opinion, are ablo and intend in good faith to work the same ; or, he may from time to time, cause the said locations to be sold by public auction or tender. Such sales shall be for cash, and at prices in no case lower than those prescribed for locations sold to original discoverers, and shall otherwise be subject to all the provisions of these Regulations. 13 r- T^ mmrmmmm^Kma^ ^mmi^im' i 'I IM APPENDIX. 3. The Minister of the Interior may grant to any person or persons who have a mining location and are actively de- veloping the same, an additional location adjacent to and not exceeding it in area, provided the person or persons holding such location shall show to the satisfaction of the Minister of the Interior that the vein or lode being devel- oped on the location will probably extend outside of either of the vertical lines forming the side boundaries of the location before it has reached the depth at which it can be profitably mined. 4. Persons desirous of obtaining quarries for stone on vacant Dominion Lands may do so under these Regulations ; but the Minister of the Interior may require the payment of a royalty not exceeding five per cent, on account of the sales of the product of such quarries, oi ^he land may be sold not subject to such royalty at such price a" may bo determined. 6. Returns shall be made by the grantee, sworn to by him, or by his agent or other employe in charge of the mine, at monthly or other such intervals as may be re- quired by the Minister of the Interior, of all products of his mining location and of the price or amount he received for the same. 6. The Minister of the Interior shall have the power to Bummarily order any mining works to be so carried on as not to interfere with or endanger the safety of the public, any public woik or Jiighway, or any mining property, mineral lands, mining claims, bed-rock drains or flumes ; and any abandoned works may, by his order, be either filled up or guarded to his satisfaction, at the cost of the parties who may have constructed the same, or in their Absence upon such terms as he shall think fit. } -- APPENDIX. 195 ■ 7. The Superintendent of Mines, acting under instruc- tions to be from time to time issued by the Minister of the Interior, shall cause to be laid out, at the expense of the person or persons applying for the same, a space of ground for rl<>pof<'!ts of leavings and deadd from any tunnel, claim or mining ground. FORFEITURE. ■ 8. In the event of the breach of these Regulations, or any of them by any person holding a grant for Quartz or Placer Mining from the Crown other than Crown Patents, or from the Minister of the Interior, or from any duly authorized officer of Dominion Lands, such right or grant shall be absolutely forfeited ipso facto, and the person so offending shall be incapable thereafter of acquiring any such right or grant, unless for special cause it is otherwise decided by the Minister of the Interior. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF MINERS. 1, The forms of application for a grant for placer min- ing, and the grant of the same, shall be those contained in forms II and I. 3. The entry of every holder of a grant for placer mining must be renewed and his receipt relinquislied and replaced every year, the entry fee being naid each time. 3. No miner shall receive a grant of more than one rain- ing claim in the same locality, but the same miner may hold any number of claims by purchase, and any number of miners may unite to work their claims in common upon such terms as they may arrange, provided such agreement mmmmn ■pm mmmmmm 196 APPENDIX, be registered with the Agent, and a fee paid for each reg- istration. 4. Any miner or miners may sell, mortgage, or dispose of his or their claims, provided such disposal be registered with, and a fee of two dollars paid to the Agent who shall thereupon give the assignee a certificate. 5. Every miner shall, during the continuance of his grant, have the exclusive right of entry upon his own claim, for the miner-like working thereof, and the con- struction of a residence thereon, and shall be entitled ex- clusively to all the proceeds realized therefrom ; bat he shall have no surface rights therein ; and the Superintend dent of Mines may grant to the holders of adjacent claims such right of entry thereon as may be absolutely necessary for the working of their claims, upon such terms as may> to him, seem reasonable. 6. Every miner shall be entitled to the use of so much, of the water naturally flowing througii or past his claim, and not already lawfully appropriated, a" shall, in the opinion of the Superintendent of Mines, be necessary for the due working thereof ; and shall be entitled to drain his own claim free of charge. 7. A claim shall be deemed to be abandoned and open, to occupation and entry by any person when the same shall have remained unworked on working days by the grantee thereof for the space of seventy-two hours, unless sickness or other reasonable cause be shown, or unless the grantee is absent on leave. 8. A claim granted under the?e Regulations shall be con- tinuously, and in good faith, worked, except as otherwise . i V** APPENDIX. 197 provided, by the grantee thereof or by some person on his behalf. 9. In tunnelling under hills, on the frontage of wLich angles occur, or which may be of an oblong or elliptical form, no party shall be allowed to tunnel from any of the fiuid angles, or from either end of such hills, so as to in- terfere with parties tunnelling from the main frontage. 10. Tunnels and shafts shall be considered as belonging to the claim for the use of which they are constructed, and as abandoned or forfeited by the abandonment or forfeiture of the claim itself. 11. For the more convenient working of back claims on benches or slopes, the Superintendent of Mines may per- mit the owners thereof to drive a tunnel through the claims fronting on any creek, ravine, or water-course, upon such terms as he may deem expedient. HEARING AND DECISION OP DISPUTES. 1. The Superintendent of Mines shall have power to liear and determine all disputes in r'^gard to mining prop^ erty arising within his district, sub'ect to appeal by either •of the parties to the Commissioner uf Dominion Lands. 2. No particular forms of procedure shall be necessary, but the matter complamed of must be properly expressed in writing, and a copy of the coMiplaint shall be served on the opposite party notlt^ss than i^pven days before the hear- ing of the said comi)liuiit. 3. The complaint may, by leave of the Superintendent of Mines, l)e amended at any time before or during the proceedings. ^^ 198 APPENDIX. 4. The complainant shall, at the tin.e of filing his complaint, deposit therewith a bond-fee, which shall be returned to him if the complaint proves to have been well founded, and not otherwise, except for special cause, by direction of the Minister of tlie Interior. 5. In the event of the decision of tlie Superintendent of Mines being made the subject of an appeal to tlie Com- missioner of Dominion Lauds, the u])pellant sludl, at the time of lodging the appeal, deposit with the Agent a bond-fee, which sluill be returned to tlic said appellant if his appeal proves to have been well founded, and not otherwise, except for special cause, by direction of the Minister of the Interior. G. The appeal must be in writing and must be lodged with the Superintendent of Mines not more than three days after his decision has been communicated in writing to all the parties interested, and must state the grounds upon which the said decision is appealed from. 7. If the Commissioner of Dominion Lands decides that it is necessary to a proper decision of the matter in issue to have an investigation on tlie ground, or, in cases of disputed boundaries or measurements, to employ a surveyor to measure or survey the land in question, the expense of the inspection or re-measurement or re-survey, as the case may be, shall be borne by the litigants, who shall pay into the hands of the said Commissioner, in equal parts, such sum as he may think sufficient for the same, before it takes place; otherwise, it shall not proceed, and the party who refuses to pay such sum shall be adjudged in default. The said Commissioner shall subsequently decide in what proportion the said expense sliould be borne by the parties respectively, and the surplusage, if any, shall then be returned to the parties, as he may order. APPENDIX, 199 8. All bond-fees adjudged tis forfeited and iM payments retained under tlie last preceding section, shall, as soon as decision lias been rendered, and all entry and other fees or moneys shall, as soon as they huvo been received by him, bo paid by tlie said Agent or Commissioner to the credit of the Receiver-General in the same manner m other moneys received by liim on account of Dominion Lands. ADMIXISTRATIOX. 1. In case of the death of any miner wliile entered as the holder of any ininin, letter is based upon the most authentic and reliable infuruiatiou uuw obtuiuuble from those just re- ^^^ 202 APPENDIX. turned from this wonderful country. It will be of interest to you and those inquiring about the region. The schedule following the letter showing supplies nec- essary per man — unless otherwise mentioned — is based up- on interviews with returned miners and others from the Klondyke, and was actually so used by a party from Seattle going to the mines. There are two established routes into the Klondyke country. One is via the ocean to St Michael's, thence via river steamer up the Yukon to Dawson City. The mouth of the Yukon Kiver is sixty miles from St. Michael's ; dis- tance from St. Michael's to Klondvke, 2000 miles. Facil- ities on the Yukon consist of two stern-wheel steamers be- longing to the Alaska Coinincrcial Co., and the steamers P. B. Weare, J. J. ITealy, of the North American Trans- portation & Trading Co., and a third boat, the C. II. Hamilton, of the latter company, which is expected to be ready in a couple of weeks. The Yukon is shallow in places, and it is impracticable to operate steamers having a draught of more than 4 J^ feet. The other route, and the one which will be principally travelled is from Dyea, over the trail, via Chilcoot Pass, to Lake Lindeman, thence through the chain of lakes which you will see on any Alaska map into the Lewes Kiver, and down the Yukon to the Klondyke. The route via Dyea is by steamer from Seattle running direct to Dyea, where they pack over Chilcoot Pass to Lake Lindeman, at which place they build boats usually 22 to 24 feet long and 4^ to 5 feet wide, which are taken through the lakes, wliilo the provisions have to be packed over two short portages^ one 1^ mile and one about f mile, while the boat is taken, through the small streams. The distance via this latter route is a follows : — APPENDIX, Miles. Seattle to Jnnean *Juneau to Dyea Dyoa to Lake Lindeman 28 Across Lak*^ Lindeman 6 Portage, Lindeman to Lake Bennett. ... IJ Across Lake Bennett to Caribou Crossing 80 Across Tagish Lake 19 Six-Mile River to Mud Lake 6 Across Mud Lake 20 Fifty-Milo River from Mud Lake to Lake LeBarge 50 Across Lake LeBarge 31 Thirty-Mile River to Ilootalinqua River.. 30 Down Ilootalinqua and Lewes Rivers to Fort Selkirk 187 Fort Selkirk down the Yukon to Dawson City 195 Total distance from Dyea to Dawson City 208 Miles. 899 90 603i 1598i Over the Chilcoot Pass, the highest elevation of which is said to be 2,600 feet, the trail in places is very steep, and outfits have to bo packed over by men for a distance of eight miles, for the remainder of the distance pack trains are used. There are only two dangerous rapids encoun- tered on this route, and they are at White Horse Rapids, betwpcn Mud Lake and Lake LeBarge, and at Five Fingera on the Lewes River, about eighty miles south of its con- * If steamers, however, go direct to Dyea this distance would be shortened perhaps 30 mileu. 204 APPENDIX. ilnence with the Polly. So far as I can learu no serioui casualties have occurred at these places. A few prospec- iurs by nnskilfnl management have lost their outfits, but Seattle parties who went in last spring state that with ordi- nary care there is no difficulty. For packing freight across from Dyea to Lake Lindeman it cost, if hired, from 18| to 20 cents per pound. Some parties at Seattle yester- day contracted to have 15,000 pounds packed across at a rate of 18^ cents per pound. On the Cleveland, which is to sail August 5th — accom- modations all taken — the rate announ(!ed is |s200 for all classes, but on September 10 the steamer Portland will Bail from Seattle for St. Michael's, fare llOO, including^ meals and berth. The Klondyke is a stream, about 140 miles in length, Tuuuing in a generally westerly direction and the gold, bearing creeks where the richest finds have been made, run into the Klondyke from a generally southerly ilirec- lion. Two and one half miles of the Klondyke from its confluence with the Yukon, is Bonanza Creek which baa eeveral small tributaries. Twelve miles from where tho Bonanza enters into the Klondyke, running approxi- riateiy parallel with the Yukon is Eldorado Creek Avliich is 12 to 15 miles in length. About four miles further up Bo- nanza Creek is Gold Bottom Creek. About seven miles further up is Adams Creek and then come several small streams which bear local names. J^onanza Creek is vari- ously estimated at from 24 to 30 miles in length. Twelvo miles up the Klondyke is Bear Creek, which also has a few small tributaries. About twelve miles further up Klondyke is Hunker Creek, and about the same distance from there up the Klondyke, is Too Much Gold Creek. The whole delta of these creeks is where the richest finds have been made and principally on the Bonanza and Eldorado^ develop- APPENDIX. 205 men I on the other creeks not being ao far advanced althongh rich Btrilcea are reported on all of them. About 50 miles south on the Yukon from Klondyke is Indian River which runs in a more south-weH'terly direction. Running out of Indian Creek ia Quartz Crook, a w(j11 explored creek, about 80 miles from the confluence of Indian Creek and Yukon River. About six miles from tho mouth of Quartz Creek, extending in a northerly direction to the range of hills "which separate the delta of tho Indian Creek from that of the Klondyke is First Loft Hand Fork. About eight miles further up Quartz Creek, running in tho same direction is Kettleson Fork. From tho opposite side and running in the opposite direction out of Quartz Creek, about five or eix miles from tho mouth of Quartz Creek, is Phil Creek. These latter from latest reports* arc being extensively pros- pected and good iluds being made.