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Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, at the Department of Agnculture, by The Colonist Planting and Publishing Company, Limited, of Winnipeg, Manitoba. >m-m^>mm^^m>m^i»^m^m Whichever Route may be taken to the Goldfields, THE- Hudson's Bay Company Can furnish all necessary Outfits and Supplies for Miners and Prospectors. Storf!8 at Wiuuipefc, Cal^itry, Edmonton, Kamloops, Vancouver. Victoria, and other points. urmt iMiiM - ^1 |"i ', ■fi.r'."." ^. i-i' •"fif^ri-i ■ '■m^fn-ll^^ ';'!," uiii..,i»iflwi^^iffpipp™pp" E. F. HUTCH INQS OREAT NORTHWEST SADDLERY HOUSE Will be headqurtera for all kinds of Prospectors' Supplies lu the way of Paok Saddles, Bldlngr Saddles* Dnnmage Baffs, Hobbles, Paok Straps, Rubber Blankets, and everything suitable for prospectors in the way of {".i^ther goods. We have two good stores In North and South Edmonton where all those supplies can be had at cheapest rate, or call while passing through iVinuipeg and bay at headquarters. Cor. Main and Market Sta., Winnipeg. E. F. HUT0NINQ8 INDEX. The Eight Routes page 7 St. Michael's Route " 8 Dyea Route " 9 Stickeen Rivor Route " 11 Takou Inlet Route " 12 Revelstoke Route '* 18 Mackenzie River Route " 16 Liard Route " 20 Historical Sketch " 83 General Information " 45 Latest Information on the Routes ... " 48 1 ':■>''■ J Of good stores In e> or call while 'OHiiies EIGHT ROUTES — TO- WiTH Tahles op Distances, Cost op Oltpits, Map op Routes, and otheu Inpormation Compiled and Edited bv WALTER MOBERLY, C.E. For sixteen yeare eiij^ajrud in exploratory and eiijrlnecrin},' worlc on tlic Pacllic C last Moutitali: rauKes for tlie Iiniicrial and Doininion UovernmeiitP, and tlic Canadian I'atlHc Hallway. I'rill.nilKO IIY The Colonist PiiiNriNO & PiruMSHiNd Co, Ltd. WlXNllKC , MANLI'iHIA. \NLI'i zii {, J 6' / / Advkutisements. Midnapore Woollen Mills ..SPECIALTIES.. KLONDYKE BLANKETS MamifiU'tnriMl fiitinl.v of ruic Allierta Wool, ivimiiitiinjr warmth and lifj-litness of wt'iirtit. Lar»:e sizes 8.nU» fi'i't. i)rifes froini>5.0<> iipwurilH. MACKINAW CLOTH Special Extra Heavy for Suits and Shirts. Tailors on iiremlses. Oiittitters for the Klondyke. KINMAIRD SHAW & CO., CALGARY, AITA THE at Edmonton MILLING CO., UNITED MANUFACLUREIIS Highest Grades Roller Flour from No. i Hard Wheat. Mill nearer the Klondyke than any other. Save f, freight. Our prices are below Winnipeg, Chicago or New York. PUT UP IN DOUBLE SACKS EXPRESSLY FOR THE KLONDYKE TRADE SEND $1 And get the COLONIST ALBUM (containing 64 pages of Western views) and Tiik Colonist for one year. Address^WINMIPEG^ MANITOBA. Adveuti8h:ments. KLONDYKE -^VIA^^ EDMONTON IS THE SHORTEST AND BEST ROUTE TO GET TO THE GOLD FIELDS, and.. LARU IS THE PROPER PLAGE FOR INTENDING MINERS /\| ITEITC TO BUY THEIR NECESSARY UU 1 ll 1 j3 Our ten years' experience in supplying miners and traders is sufficient guarantee that miners and prospect* rs will find the right kind of goods at the smallest possible outlay. Branch Store at Slave Lake Information as to Route, Guides, etc., furnished. Correspondence solicited. LARUE & PICARD GENERAL MERCHANTS, EDMONTON. ALBERTA. E ITS nd nd at d. }. Introductory. Since the first great Californian gold excitement of '49, there have been a series of rich " strikes," generally in the most unexpected quarters of the world, nearly always in the most remote, and never at more than one place at a time. The Californian discoveries were succeeded a little later by even richer discoveries in Australia, these again by those in the Caribou district of British Columbia, while quite recently the attention of the world was attracted to the marvellous free-milling propositions of the Transvaal, and still more recently to the sensational discoveries of Western Australia. Each of these districts has in turn been the great gold producer of the day, though under very different conditions. California's, Australia's and the Caribou's rich days were the results of placer diggings, while the Rand, which speedily became the greatest producing gold field in the world, as well as Western Australia, the scene of a still later activity, were only free-milling gold fields, where individual miners with nothing but their pluck and their muscle had no opportunity of acquiring a fortune excepting in the speculative occupation of " prospecting. ' Indeed, since the days of the diggings on the Caribou, there has beeareally no great discovery of a field where any man with a few supplies has the oppor- tunity of delving his fortune out of the soil in perhaps a few months, until the most recent discovery of all — and the one that promises to be also the greatest — the rich placer deposits on the Upper Yukon, and its tributaries. Former discoveries have been rich, and also inaccessible, but this latest one is apparently the richest, as it is the most inaccessible of all. It appears to be the fate of all rich gold fields that they shall be attended by many natural obstacles in the way of climate and situation. It is probably just as well for the adventurous men who are willing to face these obstacles that it is so, for were such enormous wealth as the deposits of the Klondyke to be situated within easy reach, the rush thither would be so overwhelming that a very small percentage of the crowd would have any chance of securing a prize. Under the present conditions the number of miners in the Klondyke must be enormously diminished by the difficulty and expense of getting there, and therefore these very obstacles become an advantage to those \vlio have the pluck and the endurance necessary to reach the remote region. At the same time, though only comparatively a few can go, all the world is intensely interested, and everyone wants to know more about this extraordinary source of incalculable wealth in the inhospitable regions of Arctic America ; and. therefore a handbook such as this will be welcome to just as many people who have no idea of going there, as to those who are perhaps already making preparations to undertake the journey next spring. 'ihis little pamphlet on the Klondyke has been compiled from the most reliable sources of information extant. It is, ;is will be seen, edited by a man who has had more active personal experience of exploration and travel in the Northern ranges of the Rocky Mountains than any man living, and, therefore, we have no hesitation in claiming for it a greater degree of reliability than any publication that has as yet been issued on the subject. Mr. Moberly has had at his command all the available information concerning this little explored region, and this, added to his own personal knowledge of the subject, has enabled him to produce a i.iost reliable guide to any one contemplating a journey to the Rlondyke. The object has been not so much to add testimony to the already overwhelming evidence that the Klondyke is the richest gold field of the world, as to furnish definite and reliable information of the kind that will be of most value to all who have made up their minds to go there, or are still discussing within themselves the advisability of undertak- ing the adventure. THE COr.ONIST PRIN TINC; & PUBi JSHINCI CO., LTD. ' people who eady making om the most ed by a man travel in the d, therefore, ity than any erly has had le explored subject, has emplating a ich to add idyke is the information Mr minds to )f undertak- CO., LID. Eight Routes to the Klondyke. Up to the present there are only two or three regularly travelled routes to tillb Yukon placer fields, and all of them to a greater or less extent within the Uhited States territory, owing to the anomalous direction of the undefined international boundry line from Mt. St. Elias southward along the Pacific Coast. These are, of course, via|the Pacific Ocean ; but for half a century or gore the hardy and indomitable servants of the Hudson's Bay Company have id regular routes of travel across the mountauis from the East. Our object i to furnish a concise and accurate description of every known route. These ascriptions have been compiled from information gathered from many so'-.r^^es, but principally from ex-olificials and employees of the Hudson's Bay Comp.r •, ll|d prospectors and traders, from the official reports of Oovernment explorers attid surveyers and from missionaries, who have spent many years ''^ these almost unknown regions. > W'e find then that the gold 3esH.er has his choice of eight different routes \h which he may reach the Klondyke, namely : 11. Bj- St. Michael's and the Yukon river. •2. By Juneau to Dyea and the Chilkoot or White Pass. 3. Bj' the Stickeen river, Telegrai)h creek and Teslin lake. 4. Takou inlet. 5. Edmonton, the Y'^ellow Head Pass and Giscome Portage. • ). Revelstoke and Cariboo. 7. Edmonton and the Liard river. H. The McKenzie and Pon.'upine rivers. The starting points are Victoria, Revelstoke or Edmonton, all on the nadian Pacific Railway ; we mention \'ictoria in preference to the American rts to the south because by outfitting at that place the traveller will avoid ving to pay duty on the goods he takes to the Yukon country. Winnipeg ght almost be called the starting point for all l;ut the Pacific Coast routes, on account of it being the distributing point for the whole North-west, much it would be required could be purchased to better advantage at that point m at the smaller western towns. However this question will be more fully discussed under the heading of hVhere to outfit." Before entering upon a detailed description of each route we might say Ut the gold-seeker should be guided in his choice of road by several impor- Lnt considerations, the most important being the state of his finances. He lould also consider which route is most suitable to travel at the season of the ;ar when he proposes to start, also whether he intends to make direct for the Llondyke, or whether he wishes to travel through an auriferous country and )rospect by the way. Another question worthy of consideration is the size of the party, and irhether the members of it are experienced in mountain travel. A " tender- 8 Eight Routes to the Klondyke. foot " party without an experienced guide should not think of attempting an\ but the Pacific Coast routes. "Phvsicial fitness" is also a matter to be taken into account in coming to a decision on this important question. For the sake of convenience in making comparisons as to distances and cos by these different ways, we have taken Winnipeg as a basis on account of it central position on the Canadian Pacific Railway — a comparison of distance and cost by each route will be found further on. The St. Michael's Route. This is the luxurious expensive way of reaching the gold fields — railronc and steamboats all the way — but until many more steamers are plying from Victoria it will be but few who can avail themselves of it. The great drawback, and to many an insurmountable one, is that the steamship companies will not carry more than 150 lbs. of baggage for each person — the reason of this beinu that they do a trading business of which they have practically a monopoly. I'lius a miner going to St. Michael's must have a long purse to enable him , to buy his supplies when he reaches his destination. He also runs the risk of | arriving at a time when there is a shortage of " grub " and famine prices are prevailing. Should this route be selected a passage would have to be booked some time in advance. This route is named after an o'd Russian Fort on an island in the Pacifi( . 80 miles outside the mouth of the Yukon River. Travellers by this route take the train at Winnipeg and go through to Victoria 1,600 miles, taking there a steamer for Unalaska, or Dutch Harbor, on one of the AUeutian Islands, 2,000 miles from Victoria. There the steamer enters Behring Sea and continues in its icy waters for 750 miles to St. Michael's, wliere the traveller takes a Hat bottomed river steamer, and after a passage of 80 miles in North Sound, enters the mouth of the Yukon, up which he is carried on the steamer 1,800 miles to Dawson City, over 6,200 miles from Winnipeg by this circuitous route. Tht cost of passage with berths and meals between Winnipeg and Dawson City is $250, at the very lowest estimate, being $200 from Victoria. It is plain th, t .' this is the most convenient route, but for all it is by no means a desirable oni'. •. As the Yukon mouth is choked by drift ice till July, and as ice sets in again in September, two round trips are all that can be depended on in one season. Besides this, landing at St. Michael's is often difficult and sometimes impossibic, while the passage of 80 miles from there to the Yukon on a river steamer is In all counted a dangerous trip. With the exception of the portion on the h\J,h M seas and the last 175 miles or so on the Yukon, this route lies entirely within f United States territory. I Eight Routes to thk Ki.ondykk. )f attempting an\^ atter to be taken j )n. istances and cos on account of it: ison of distance; The Dyea Route. fields — railroac 4 ' are plying from f : great drawback, mpanies will not son of this beinii _. a monopoly. ^ se to enable him ) runs the risk of ' mine prices are ve to be booked a id in the Pacific,] y this route take , taking there ai ui Islands, 2,000] md continues in; ler takes a flat th Sound, enters r 1,800 miles to )us route. 'J"hi Dawson City is It is plain th: t a desirable oni', ce sets in again | 1 in one season. imes impossible. - ^'r steamer is !)y ion on the hiji . s entirely within :^ 4 To date this is the most popular route if the numl)er of people passing over it is taken as indicating popularity. Boarding a steamer at Victoria the i traveller proceeds to Juneau, Alaska, some 900 miles, changing there to a smaller steamer and continuing the journey 100 miles further on to Dyea, at the head of Dyea or Taiya Inlet. From this place to the headwaters of the Lewis, the Western branch of the Yukon, the distance is only 23 miles, via Chilkoot Pass, or some 50 miles via \Vhite Pass, aud of these two the Chilkoot has been the principal route of travel. The summit of this pass is just about 3,500 feet over tide-water, rather less than 16 miles distant, and 1,378 feet over I-ake Linderman, 8 miles distant, to the northeast. All travellers agree as to the main points when des:ribing this mountain pass. The following descrip- tion of the journey is taken from a letter by L. R. McKenzie, with a party of Manitobans : " The first six miles travelled were along a river, with the roadrunninj; from one bank to the other and a very hard path to pjetalonK ; sand and boulders, with from six inches to two feet of water, with a very swift current. The balance of the distance to the canyon is over boulders with fair footing. This is the end of the wagon road, and 3'ou tliuu take to the woods and begin the mountain climb, going up and up until the river-looks like a silver thread below; After leaving Sheep Camp we began to reach a few of the " liigh spots " right up in the clouds. For one thousand feet we had to stick " our toe nails in for all we were worth," and take steps from four to six inclies. I will not undertake to say how deep the snow is. When the top was reached the descent begun and if one lost his footing he was liable to go several hundred feet before recovering his equilibrium. There are six miles of this snow travelling. It is a hard looking path. 'J'he last six miles are not so bad. l)i.t is rough as one wants. If you see anyone intending to coine to the Yukon l>y this route tell them if they cannot pay for transportation on the portage " don't come." This gives a clear idea of what the Chilkoot pass is like, and it is well to state that the track used by travellers is some seven miles longer than the one measured by Ogilvie, being more windmg for the sake of somewhat easier grades and better footholds. But short as this pass is, it is a most expensive piece of road for the miner having goods to freight acros.s. The Chilkoot Indians are the only parties packing supplies over the pass. They are a wealthy tril:e, independent and even insolent. Their present rate from Dyea to I.inderman is 25 cents a pound, while it is feared the price may go higher. Now, if a miner goes fiiirly well supplied he must take with him at least 1000 pounds of goods, and paying 25 cents a pound means a charge of $250.00 for freighting his goods a distance of 23 to 30 miles. When I.inderman is reached the traveller must either purchase a boat, there being a small sawmill and boat builders at that j)lace, or go to work and fell timber, rip it into boards and build his' own boat. A boat capable of carrying two or three men and their su[)plies can be purchased here for $75, but a great many whose purses are not overstocked will doubtless continue to V lO Eu;ht Routes to the Klondyke. \ I fiiid the material and construct the boat themselves. In this connection it mi;;ht be said that timber for boatbuilding is getting scarce in the immediate vicinity of the lake. 'I'he boat being secured, it is comparatively plain sailing to the land of gold— to Dawson, 552.64 miles further on. In all this distance only two or three portages have to be made. The first one is across the neck of land separating Lake I.inderman and Lake Bennett. A stream connects them, but is too shallow for navigation at most seasons. The second portage is through tho canyon 5/^ of a mile long, and two miles further on past the White Horse Ripitls .iy of a mile long. The canyon may be run at high water, but the White Horse Rapids are unsafe for boats. The miners do their portaging on the west side of the river, and have made the p!ace convenient fo'- that pur- pose These dangerous places are some 35 or 40 miles below the foot of Marsh r,ake. The other rapids in the way are Five Finger Rapids and the Rink Rapids, close together, and about 150 miles below the foot of Lake Le- barge. Hut neither of these are considered dangerous by Mr. Ogiivie ; ordin- ary watchfulness being all that is required to run them with safety. The foriiier are formed by several islands in the river, and the latter by a barrier of rocks extending into the middle of the river from the western shore. The only care here is to hug the eastern shore while passing. THE WHITE PASS, So named by Mr. Ogiivie in honor of the late Hon. Thos. White, then Minister of the Interior. It follows the same general direction through the coast ranges as the C'hilkoot, but a few miles further south and east. It com- mences about two miles south from Dyea and folujws the Skagway river to its soarce and then down another stream emptying into a western arm of Tagish Lake. lYoni here is a clear, unbroken navigation, connecting with the Chilkoot route at Lake Nares, between Lake Bennett and Marsh Lake. This pass is about 50 miles long and no where as steep or rough as the other, in proof of which the summit of White I'ass is by Mr. Ogiivie stated to be only some 2,500 feet over tidewater, or about 1,000 feet lower than Chilcoot Pass, while double the length, giving apparently an easy slope right through. Some work has been done on the road over the U hite Pass, and it would now be a fairly practicable road for pack animals when frost is in the ground, although then there is great danger from the slippiness of the narrow path round the mountains. In wet weather, horses and their loads frequently go over the edge and that is the last of them : until this road is improved it cannot be classed as practicable. Should this route be taken it would be advisable to take pack animals by steamboat from N'ictoria, and a good supply of horse shoes and nails should be ini hided in the outfit for this journey. One important point to remember when o.itfitting is that goods are taken from Dyea in bond to the international boundary and that therefore the packages cannot be opened en route so an assortment oi' provisions should l)e taken in separate packages to last the traveller over this part of the journey. Information as to quantities for this purpose can be had from the outfitters at \ictoria. Eight Routes to the Klondyke. II connection it the immediate to the land of e only two or neck of land cts them, hut age is through White Horse ater, but the portaging on fo*- that pur- w the foot of pids and the t of Lake Le- gilvie ; ordin- safety. 'I'he y a barrier of shore. The WHEN TO 00. The proper time to leave ^\'innipeg, for parties intending; to take either Dyea or the White Pass routes, is al)oiit the middle of March. They lid then be over the coast range and have their boats built, on the lakes, by time the ice breaks u\) and would then reach the diggings in June. ; River distances on the C'hilkoot route are figured thus : Total length of ivCr traversed to Dawson (Mty, 452 mi'es ; total length of lakes traversed, 95 liles ; total length of all rapids on route 2.7 miles : total fall in rapids, 32 feet ; otal fall on river route from Lake Linderman to Dawson City, about 1,300 eet — in 547 miles, or an average of less than 23/3 feet of fall to the mile. The 5tickeen River Route. White, then I through the ist. It com- ly river to its rm of Tagish the Chilkoot This pass is r, in proof of ie only some t Pass, while Some work w be a fairly !though then round the ivcr the edge )e classed as { aniaials by lis should be o remember nternational route so an to last the ies for this Travellers to the Klondyke have not as yet taken this route, though ■Oisibly it is the easiest from the Pacific Coast. The Stickeen is a large river, avigable for steamers for about 150 miles from tidewater, to a place called 'elegraph Crock. It enters the Pa ific Ocean near Wrangell Island and is for few miles up within United States territory, but the freedom of the river for atigation purposes is guaranteed all british subjects by treaty, so that, for all eactical pui poses, this may be considered an all-Canadian route. From "■^f^egraph creek, the head of the steamboat navigation, is a distance of 150 iiles to Teslin i-ake. This portage of 150 miles is over a practically level ib'eland, indeed by explorers considered as a very fiat country. An old pack *ail runs from Telegraph Creek the entire distance to Teslin Lake, and nother eastward to Dease I>ake, the centre of the Cassiar mining region. )esiring to open this route, to relieve the congested and dangerous Dyea I'ass, (ic british Columbia government sent an engineer to explore it early last pring. And so favorable was his report, dated July 8th, that steps were at mce taken to opi;n the route, and a force of men sent to improve the old pack rail and make it passable for freight wagons. At the same time a company vas formed for building steamers to p'y between l*'ort Wrangell and Telegraph 'reek. Two of these and a large barge for freight are now being constructed ind will be ready as will also the road to Tes'in Lake, by the time the spring •u$h t') the Yukon sets in, say in March next. The C'anadian Pacific Railway Johipany intend to run first-class steamers to I'ort Wrangell, and possibly :onstruct a narrow guage railway from Telegraph ("reek to Teslin Lake. Teslin f.ake is a narrow body of water, about 150 miles long, lying in a dde valley surrounded by hills. I'roin the north end of the lake springs the Pfslin river (the miners call it Hootalincpia River) and flows northwestward in I i^ide swee|)ing valley for some i7t; miiesto its junction with the Lewis River, 13 Eight Routes to the Klondyke. 1 f 5 ,ij about 32 miles below Lake Lebarge. There are no known obstructioiisSj]^^ navigation for steamers on Teslin Lake and River, while in the Lewis, bciild th the Teslin, the only rapids met with are the five finger and the Rink RapiJet a, and which even a tyro is with ordinary care able to pass in safety. ^^ ^^' What is unquestionably in favor of this route is the fact that wheat, bar'^Sj.j'j^ti and vegetables are successfully grown at Telegraph Creek and in the vicin,3|^edi as reported by Dr. Dawson, chief of the geological survey department. Dawson went up the Stickeen in 1886, taking from Telegraph Creek i^ Dease Lake pack trail, and continuing on to the Pelly, down which he weiiti its confluence with the Lewis, where he met Mr. Ogilvie, who had comtn over the Chilkoot Pass. In his report Mr. Dawson expresses the opinion th] vegetables might be grown throughout the entire tableland between Telegraji Creek to Teslin Lake, along the shores of the lake and down thmuij the valley of the Teslin River. If this were done health-giving vegetable fo( could be guaranteed the Yukon miners, if not all the year around, at kri during the greater portion of it, and at reasonable prices. In view of this i' well this district will be opened up to the public by the spring season of i -S The Takou Inlet Route. i 'I ( This may yet become a practicable route, but as yet but little is known it, and until more information is available it would not be wise for parties ' attempt to take freight in by the Takou. The following particulars are from Frank F. Meyersj, who went through ]\i\y, 1897: '■ The entrance to this inlet is ten or twelve miles south of Juneau, and i navigable for the largest ocean vessel a distance of eighteen miles, to the incmi! of the Takou River. This river is navigable by canoe at all stages of the w at < for a distance of fifty-three miles to Nahkina River, where land travel hus begin. A distance of seventy miles must be traversed before Lake Teslin— oiu' the chain of lakes which form the head waters of the Yukon can be reached ' boat with comparative ease. The total distance from Juneau to Lake Teslin 150 miles. The Yukon River is navigable for vessels of light draugl except during freshets, which last about a month and usmilly occur in June, going up the river in July our party found no difficulty, the shallowest win being about two feet in midchannel. The Indians who took us up the river : it is open from May to the middle of September for canoes carrying from tW' four tons of freight. The wind during the summer is from the southwest 1 saiic were used on the canoe, which greatly assisted in working up against ii ' mile uirrent. At the end of the fourth day the mouth of the Nahkina rivii si' reached. From here we started for Lake Teslin on foot accompanied I' » Indian guide and two packers. The course was up this stream until K. un Creek was reached, which was followed four or five miles. Then we staru ' in northwesterly direction over a low range of mountains, forming a beautilHi an vast bee loi "ir lac iloi Eight Routes ro the Klondyke. 13 wn obstructions n the r.ewis, bel d the Rink Rapi safety, t that wheat, bar^ and in the vicin'^ r department, legraph Creek 1 n which he went who had conic es the opinion th between Telegraj' nd down thrrnj ing vegetable for Jar around, at k; _ In view of this i: ■ ng season of 1 S I lulatinj? countiy. Accoi'dimj to the Indians with us the snow in winter only lis here to a deptli of fiom IS to 24 inches. The vepetation was most luxuriant :1 thousands ot head of stock could subsist. The country all the way from the et abounds with Kame, such as cariboo, deer, ground-hog, grouse, etc. In t it was so plentiful that all a person would rpquire in the waj' of an outfit is a n, Hour and salt. The rivers and small lakes aie alive with fish. Several ioties of berries were also found in great quantities. The object of our edition was to explore this section, as well as to find a new route. On our urn we followed the mountain range and devoted considerable attention to si>ecting, but found no very encouraging prospects. On one or two small earns gold was found, but not in sufficient (pumtify to w.iik. No thorough sj)acting was done, as our supplies were running short. However, with tlie ning uj) of this section, so that supplies can be taken in at icasonable rates, gos can be made by hundreds of men on the various streams drained by the kou, and also on the small streairs which empty into tlie lakes. On these es th(» mining season is much longer and more worR could be accomplished." The Revelstoke Route and the Yellow Head Pass Route. t little is known wise for partic s 10 went through 3f Junenu, and liles, to the mom stages of the w.it land travel h;is lake Teslin— 0111' can be reached ' to Lake Teslin )f light drangi )ccur in June. ! shallowest wat IS up the river , •yiiig from U\ ■ he southwest • up against ji fahkina river a,, sompanied !■ ?am until K, m we start! • ,.. ig a beautifii; iui The following description is written with the intention of showing how the prospector may make his way through the (.Ireat Mineral belt of British Qulumbia and the Headwaters of the Pelly — Yukon. It is not claimed that there is at present any practicable route of travel through the country here described to the Klondyke, but there undoubtedly if a route to be made at comparatively small cost for pack horses and over which a railroad could be constructed which would run through the gold belt all the way. It is probable that many prospectors who have studied the gold country of the West and who are heading for the Klondyke will look to this route which ofl'ers the best chance for rich discoveries en route. The localities where gold has so far been found in quantities and where mining is still actively followed are about Rossland — several places in the neighborhood of Fort Steel, in the country adjacent to Rock Creek on the Shiiuilkomeen river and its tributary, Whip-saw Creek, in the Slocan, Trout Lake, LarJeaux cou; ' •, Kootenay Lake, in the big bend of the Columbia River, in (Cariboo, about the Omenica and Findlay and head waters of the Peace River, in the Cassiar country, and now apparently richest of all in the Klondyke district, which embraces a distance end to end of about 1,650 miles equal to the entire length of Europe. Between the junction of the Findlay and Peace Rivers and Klondyke is a v«sl extent of this mineral belt, about 900 miles in length, that has not as yet been prospected and for those going to Klondyke with pack animals this unex- ored portion of the mineral belt offers a fine field for prospecting. The rincipal difficulty they will have to contend with will be the want of a trail for ack animals beyond the Omenica River, that is if they start from any [)oint long the Cariboo wagon road. 14 Ek;ht Routes to the Klondyke. tros I unction fc^'^ flu' ." W For parties starting from Edmonton, if they go by the Yellow Head 1 to the Tete Jeune Cache, on the Fraser River, they will not find much di culty between those two points, a distance of about 300 miles, as a good \a trail was opened over this line so far during the surveys for theC.P.R.I 1872-3, and a good trail was also opened from Kamloops to the Tete Jcn^'ea Cache by the valleys of the North Thompson and Albreda Rivers. From Tete Jeune Cache to the Ciis:onie Portage, a distance of about v% miles would be through a timbered country, along the banks of the Fia- ^^X}. River, as no pack trail has as yet been opened over this portion of the rdut The better and ([uicker way would be for the prospectors to take along w .jt)ai them a whip-saw, nails, etc., and construct boats at Tete Jeune Cache in wlib to convey their goods to (iiscome Portage and drive their unloaded anim; through the woods. They could thus without any great amount of difficult l'^™ provided they knew how to handle boats and to manage pack animals, rcai the junction of the Fuidlay and the Peace Rivers, and would ensure themsth; ^loi thus far an almost level route to travel. The route from Edmonton via Atb poo basca f-andinii; and Peace River, which would reach the same i)oint, viz., tlj^^. fork ot the Findlay and Peace, would be much rougher and more dangeroi fQf.\ S. Cunningham, who has fretjuently travelled by the trail via Lake > jsu Anne, Sturgeon Lake to Dun vegan on the the Peace River, gives the distaiu |roi in day? as follows : Lake St. .\nne to Athabasca River at tne ALacleod, four days ; Little Smoky, four days ; Sturgeon Lake, three dny Big Smoky, three days ; S{)irit River, three days ; Dunvegan, two days. The Athabasca has generally to be rafted or boated across, the Litti ftp c Smoky is always fordable and the Pig Smoky generally so. There is ver i°'" little muskeg aiul a good deal of open country along this trail. Macleod Lak Wjeli and Buck Lake across the Athabasca and Shining Hark Lake, between ih '^er Macleod and Athabasca are good fishing lakes ; also Sturgeon Lake. 1^'i^' A route from Edmonton to Fort Macleod can also be had by an old ti;;i j^g through the Pine River Pass. This trail is represented as being throuuli . ** C very rough and broken country. From the forks of the Findlay and l'ea( Nif^ Rivers over the only divide between Rossland and Klondyke (a distance o ^''^[ about 1,650 miles), is the only point on this long and nearly level route when ^^^ we anticipate serious difficulty may be encountered for a railway, but ns tin it v line is n a direction parallel to all the great mountain ranges, it will, \> »tri believe, not present anything like the difficulties that the C. 1'. R. had to coi p^. tend witli eiihur in the Rocky or Selkirk ranges. The great point to keep 11 ^^^ view is that the route of this Northwestern thoroughfare should keep in ant lioi through the mineral belt and not deviate from the course delineated on tli t>ai accfimpanying map. From the forks of the I'indlay and Peace the route ^ij would be over a practically unexplored country to I'rancis Lake, but it is iin believed that there would be any great difficulties to encounter. From r,:ike Francis to Dawson is descrii)cd in the Liard Route. The following fniii reliable sources will give some idea of the prospects en route. In the sen.iti committee of investigation at Ottawa in 18S8, Pishop Clut said : " Thert is gold in the sand banks of the Peace river and in considerable (juantities, Imi during the winter and in high water it cannot be mined. The miners ni ike from $18 to $20 per day. There is copper, and one river bears the nanu of Eight Routks to the Klondyke. 15 s Yellow Head I ot find much d; i!es, as a good p? s for the C.P.H to the Tete Ju Rivers. stance of about r )anks of the Fras, ortion of the mut to take along w une Cache in win, unloaded aniin; iiount of diffi( tack animals, re:i( 1 ensure themsdv dmonton via Ath me point, viz., t[ d more dangeroi trail via Lake > gives the distanc It tne Junction Lake, three d.ivs I, two days, across, the Litti 0. There is ver 1. ALicleod r,;ik akc, between tli )n Lake. had by an old tr;;i i l)eing throui^h , indlay and I'eno ke (a distance o level route when railway, but ns \h ranges, it will, \> 1'. R. had to CO) point to keep 11 lould keep in am delineated on th Peace the routi .ake, but it is dh ter. From \/Akv ic following fri'iii J. In the sen. tc aid: " Then is le quantities, luii rhe miners ni ;ki. ears the nanu oi !!opper Mine River. It is found there in great quantities. 1 have seen little crosses made out of it by the savages themselves when they were not able to liave other material. The sulphur abounds in several places. ' W. T. Fit/gerald, of Seattle, who prospected in the Ominica and Upper I'eace River regions last season, says : At a I " We took up 2,5(M> acres of placer jj:rouii(I along the Peace Rivci. ^la fepth of IH feet we .striick bod rock and found the jiround to )iiospect .^iSot) to the able yard, aixl in sonic instances as hlgli a« !?('>(iu were obtained. The largest esults were obtained on the river bars. The gold is coaise and is what is termed larley gold with occasional nuggets wortli from §l(i to .^is." From "Vancouver World," Sept. 3rd, 1897, the personal experience of fames Orr, ex-M.P.P., one of the Cariboo pioneers, is well worth hearing. " Landing at Williams Creek m 1S82. when that famous creek was in its lory as a producer. Mr. Chr became one of the owners of the Caledonia and was ookkeeper for that company. In fifteen months they took out one-half a inillion dollars— tiiey took out s().5(.)(i from 5 (iivc pans of gravel. The j)rize jian Seing §l.6«it. This was in 18H3. Out of the Caledonia, whicli was ti7 feet to l)ed took, the best paying dirt was about two feet on bed rock and the vein was often 150 feet wide. The " Never 6wear, '" was adjoining and washed tip every day rom HO to 200 ozs. " Peauregard " as high as 8OO ozs. a day. "New York" rom 150 to -JoO ozs. " Moffats" over !?80o,ooo taken out of lOO ft. srpiare which §vas the size of the Cariboo claims. The Mcl^can claim was next but not so rich, yiie " Tinker '■ with 3 to feet of grouinl paid in Cassiar rang(> of mountains fiom which watersheds the sources of the Yukon largely spring. For the jirospectors who wish to go in cheap we ay : Start from .Vshcroft in April, L^ave (^uesnelle in May and you cnn spinnl the eason most protitably in prospecting through Telegraph Creek. If you wish you \ ill x6 Eight Routes to the Klondyke. I \ ri could then sell your pack animals, for which there is always a demand at tlial point, and build a boat, and in a week from the time you leave Lake Teslin > i?* can reach that now most talked-of spot on earth — Klondyke,". The Mackenzie Porcupine Route. .nil nj Hill ite aei 3hJ the Next to the St. Michael's this is unquestionably the most convenitnby route, and also the next longest. A party taking this route would travel I)-t1 rail to Edmonton, a distance of 1,032 miles from Winnipeg, thence 1'^* stage 90 miles to Ath.ibas:a Landing, From this place is practically untk broken navigation, by lakes and rivers, for some 1,800 miles to Fort McBi" Pherson on the Peel River, a few miles above the Mackenzie River delta, i^iiu'^f the traveller may elect either to procure a boat and take it to Ft. McPherson, oi^^i, take passage on one of the Hudson's Bay Co s. steamers plying on this rivt.lul route. From Ft. McPherson to La Pierre's House on the Porcupine or rathe- P^ on the Hell River, a short distance above its junction with the Porcupine is portage of some 70 or 80 miles. But this portage is very easy and accord in.^^'^ to the president of the Edmonton Board of Trade, Mr. Isaac Cowie, the Indim ^^o will in winter take freight by dog trains over this portage for $1.50 per loc^iba pounds, though in summer they demand 14 cents a pound. From La Pierre ilf'' House navigation on the Bell and Porcupine Rivers is unbroken to the Yukon, ^ a distance of 400 miles. The Yukon, of course, is navigable all the way up ;, the distance from the mouth of the Porcupine to Dawson city being about 37; j