IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / A Cl r/x V] /a K^V % ssi. ^, "*• '/ /A Photograpliic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WMSTM.N.Y. USIO (716) •7a-4S03 CiHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Inatituta for Hiatorical Microraproductiona Inatitut Canadian da microraproductions hiatoriquaa 1980 Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The tol The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D V D D D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur^ et/ou pelliculAe I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes giographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reiid avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along Interior margin/ La reliure serrie peut causer de i'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intirieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certalnes pages blanches ajoutAes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont pas M fiimies. L'Instltut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a M possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiquAs ci-dessous. D D D □ D D D D D D Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommag6es Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur^es et/ou peilicuiies Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6color6es, tachetdes ou piqudes Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of print varies/ Qualit^ inigale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppldmentaire Only edition available/ Seule Mition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6X6 film^es A nouveau de fa9on A obtenir la meilleure image possible. Tht pot of 1 filn Ori be] the sio otii firs sio or i Th< shi Tir wh Ma difi enl be rig] rec mf □ Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppiimentaires; This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de rMuction indiqu* ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 1 >/ lax 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X ails du idifier une nage The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Library of the Public Archives of Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol -^> (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning In the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire filmA f ut reproduit grAce A la g4n6rositA de: La bibliothdque des Archives pubiiques du Canada Lee images suivantes ont At6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de l'exemplaire filmi, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim6e sont fiimis en commen9ant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'Impression ou d'iilustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmAs en commenpant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'Impression ou d'iilustration et en terminant par la derniAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifie 'FIN ". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fiimis i des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clich6, 11 est film* A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, do gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. rrata :o pelure, 1 d n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 THE YUKON TERRITORY THE NARRATIVE OF W. H. DALL, LEADER OF THE EXPEDITION TO ALASKA IN i86&^i868 THE NARRATIVE OF AN EXPLORATION MADE IN 1887 IN THE YUKON DISTRICT BY GEORGE M. DAWSON, D.S., F.G.S. EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF AN EXPLORATION MADE IN 1896-1897 BY VVm. OGILVIE, D.L.S., F.R.G.S. iNTRODUCTlON M* F. MORTIMER TRIMMER. F.R.G.S. WITH MAP OF THE TERRITORY FIFTY WOODCUTS AXn TIVENTY-TWO FUU-PAG/-: ILLUSTRATIONS I>0\V\i:Y .\- V{^, i.iMiTM, 12 YORK STREET, COVENT GAUDKN, LONDON 189S [The pubUshen thankfully ackmwhdse the permisdon panted by the Iluur COMMISSIONKR lOR THE DOMINION OK CANADA to print Parts II. and III, of this vcliinie.'] ^3 0,^9 INTRODUCTION. GREAT public interest during the past six months has been directed to that remote territory in the North-Wcst corner of the continent of North America which may be geo- graphically described under the comprehensive term of the Yukon Territory. And in the succeeding pages will be found all the information of economic and scientific value that so far has been gathered on the spot, and prepared for publica- tion by trained and responsible observers acting in an official capacity. • In San Francisco last spring the present writer had the advantage of meeting a number of times with practical men — miners and prospectors — from the Yukon, who had come South for the winter season and were then returning northwards. Some of them were men known previously to the writer in Colorado and in other Western mining districts, but who since then had drifted off towards the arctic circle, in the roving manner characteristic of Western miners. Comparing the accounts of the Yukon country given to me by these with what is set out in the chapters following here, I find there is little that can profitably be added. The gold discoveries that have attracted so much attention have been made on some of the smaller tributaries of the main Yukon River. Dawson City settlement is the centre of the trading and supply point of this district. This place, as the VI INTRODUCTION map shows, is in Canadian territory, and not very far from the point where the Yukon River is crossed by the international boundary Hne. The raiif^e from which the gold-bearing side-streams come down to join the Yukon may be described as the arctic prolonga- tion of the fundamental range of the continent of America ; a range dotted at intervals, greater or less, with gold and silver camps from Klondyke to Cape Horn. The source of the Yukon gold is a significant point, as the permanent character of the mineral-bearing lodes of the Rocky Mountains (as the range is known north of Mexico) has been so long and thoroughly established wherever they have been uncovered — though as far as information goes, the fountain head, the mother lode of the Klondyke placers, remains to be discovered yet. This mother lode, unless all precedents fail, will be found somewhere up the mountain sides towards the sources of these same streams the placers have been formed on, or on the summits of the range. The placers in the valleys have been formed by the gathering through long ages of fragments detarhed from exposed portions of permanent reefs ; by weathering or water action — the gold finding its way slowly to the lowest level. In this connection it is worth perhaps recalling — as some persons have seen in these rich Klondyke discoveries a possible solution of the present deadlock in the commercial ratio between gold and silver — that the uncovering of placer gold has sometimes in the Rocky Mountains led to the uncovering of silver-bearing ores, instead of gold, by prospectors seeking for the mother lode. A notable instance of this is the great silver camp at Leadville, originally a gold placer camp ; and other cases might be cited. A question asked sometimes, but not often answered, is, How does gold come in these veins ? how are they formed ? INTRODUCTION VU An answer to this interesting question comes from China, where philosophers long ago have solved the problem to their satisfaction by a theory which if it has no other merit has that at least of novelty. My authority here is a Chinaman, a trader, and a man of education whom I used to know in Idaho. Our planet's centre (so Chinese professors hold) is full of molten gold, and whenever any orographic catastrophe in the past has occurred of magnitude sufficient to fracture the earth's crust right down to the seething molten mass below, some of the gold is squeezed out to the surface through the cracks. This theory though crude is plausible, and simple. Since the Klondyke " rush " set in a great deal has been written descriptive of the difficulties and the hardships to be encountered, and probably these have not been exaggerated. But the story of all big " gold rushes," and of many small ones, too, has been of hardships to be faced in the preliminary struggle. Only in days gone by there was less known to the outside civilized world of what was happening. In these latter days it is different, and now an increase of knowledge is apt to be confounded with an increase of facts. Still, there does remain the severity of the Arctic winters, which must always be a drawback, though in the end this drawback will mean nothing more serious perhaps than a slower development. The climate of the Yukon Basin proper, in its upper half, that is in the share of it which falls within the Canadian Dominion, is in marked contrast to the climate of the seaboard. This interior country has a companitively dry and clear atmosphere, with a limited precipitation, though here the cold is intense. Along the sea front of the Coast Range, on the other hand, the conditions are reversed completely as to mois- ture, and the degree of cold is by comparison quite moderate. In the lower or Western half of the Yukon Basin a gradual Vlll INTRODUCTION increase of precipitation marches with the fall of the land westward towards the river's mouth. Communication with that section which has made so much stir, is kept up at present under difficulties. At its mouth, the Yukon River is navigable for a very short period — from the beginning of July to the end of September ; but on its upper part it is navigable from May until the middle of October. Travellers seeking the easiest route go by steamer during the open season from one or other of the ports on the Pacific Coast to St. Michael's on Behring Sea, near the Yukon mouth, transferring there to river steamers which make the trip to Dawson City, distant some sixteen hundred miles. The duration of the river trip depends somewhat on the risks and chances of the river navigation. The route of which most has been heard since the rush first started is one by trails across the Coast Range at the Chilcat and neighbouring passes, starting from tide-water at the head of the Lynn Canal, as an arm there of the sea is known. The advantage of this route is its shortness, and once the Coast Range difficulties have been passed, the head-waters of streams navigable for boats flowing to the Yukon are quickly reached. Down these the trip is continued, going with the stream all the way to Dawson City, and without serious obstacles other than portages at several points necessitated by dangerous rapids. The distance, as measured in miles, from tide-water on the Lynn Canal across these passes to the head of navigation, is small, but the difficulties to be overcome at the crossing of the passes make the trip a serious undertaking, until some very necessary engineering outlay has been made upon the trails. But the route said to be the coming main route to the interior, and one growing already in favour in spite of the primitive conditions of the trail, is that entering by the INTRODUCTION Jx Stikine River; a very full description of the features along the course of which river is given in Dr. Dawson's itinerary, starting from Fort Wrangel at the river's mouth. Arrangements are reported to have been completed for open- ing up this route by the building of a railway from the head of navigation on the Stikine to the head of steam navigation on the Lewes, this being one of the main Yukon branches -the length of the gap to be filled being about two hundred miles. The Stikine Valley climate contrasts phenomenally with that of the interior. The mean annual temperature in the Dawson City region being as low as i6° Fahrenheit, while at Wrangel, near the Stikine mouth, 47° Fahrenheit is given as the corre- sponding figure. So favoured indeed is the Stikine Valley, that, on his trip through there, Dr. Dawson met with the humming-bird. February, i8g8. F. Mortimer Trimmer. CONTENTS. Travkls on thk Yukon 1866-1868, Hv W. H. Dali PART I. AND IN THK YUKON TkKRITOKV IN PART II. Extracts krom thh: Rhport on an Exploration maok in 1887 IN THE Yukon Territory, N.W.T, and a.hacknt Northern Portion ok British Columhia, bv George M. Dawson, D.S., F.G.S ••■••■ 243 PART III. Extracts from the Report ok an Exploration maok iv 1896-1897 BY Wm. Ogiiaie, D.L.S., F.R.Q.S. . 38, Index 424 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Dog Driving near f he .Vasoli.i Sopka St. Michael's Redoiiht . Diagram of Inniiit Topck Bidarra . Bidarka . . . _ Interior of Fort Darabin, from above Nul.-ito and (he Viikon from the HiufTs Wolasatux barrabora in winter The Koyukiik Sopka from above Pipes . . . ^ Tohonidola . Mount Ilohoniia from the Melozikakat Looking out of Nowikakat I farijour The Twin Mountains from the Melozikakat Mouth V ouug Nuklukahyet tyone Nose Ornament of the Yukon Indians In the Ramparts Looking liack at the Rapids Looking back at the end of the Ramparts Fort Yukon in June, 1867 Knife of Kutchin manufacture . Sakhniti Red Leggins ... Diagram of Innuit casine Kegiktowruk in the fall ... Toponika and Tolstoi Point from the Sc liigalik grave Lobrets and Earrings Amulets Hone needle-case • . . , Innuit fire drill • . . . Pigulka Innuit grave Innuit fish-hook and .sinkar Toface To face PACB Frontispiere To J ace 1 1 •3 «S IS 46 47 65 77 81 82 84 87 93 94 95 96 97 100 103 105 107 no 127 128 130 '32 140 141 14a 142 '43 146 148 face Tojace Toface XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Innuit sled of Norton Sound Hudson Bay sled, lop.ded Ingalik sled of the Yukon* Jearny's barrabora . Yukon grouse si are Different kinds of snow shoes Snow goggles of the Yukon Indians Site of Kwikhtana barrabora . Lofka's barrabora . Klan-ti-lin-ten Kantngs and wooden ladle Anvik Starcek Indian pottery Ingalik birch canoe First Premorska village . Ekogmut grave Ekogmut bow Village on the Lower Yukon during the fishing Andreaffsky . Kullik . The Emperor goose Ivory bodkin . " . Seine needle . ' . Innuit drawings on hone . On the Upper Pelly River, nineteen miles above the Macmillan Junction of Forty Mile and Yukon Riv Tahl-tan Valley, at Trail Crossing . J. Le Duis House — Sixty Mile post Dease River above " First Lake," looking west Lake Lindeman, looking up from Outlet White Horse Rapids Miles Canon Junction of FortyMile and Yukon Rivers (lefl-liand view) Junction of V'ntty Mile and Yukon Rivers (ii};ht-hand view) The Frozen ^■ukon, from IXiwson City • TAGB i6S i66 176 178 190 195 2IO 211 Toface 2'S 216 To face 217 218 219 223 227 228 Toface 228 230 234 236 236 To/ace 252 274 292 302 3'o 336 364 366 376 378 412 X PART I. TRAVELS ON THE YUKON AND IN THE YL'KO>r TERRITORY. CHAPTER I. Arrival in Norton Sound. — Circumstances of previous visit. — News of the death of Robert Kennicott. — Change of plans. — Receive my appointment as Director of the Scientific Corps, and determine to remain in the country. — Landing, organiza- tion, and departure of the vessels. — Dei)arture of the Wilder for Unalaklik. — Ru.ssian peechka. — St. Michael's Redoubt and Island. — Russian traders. — Stc- panoff. — Natives and their houses. — Skin boats. — Departure from the Redoubt. — Journey to Unalaklik. -»- Detention at Kcgiktowruk. — Seal-hunting. — Innuit graves. — Hath as enjoyed by the Innuit. — Character of the coast. — Depar- ture from Kegiktowruk. — Topanika. — Arrival oflf the mouth of the river. — Ice- cakes. — Arrival at Unalaklik. — Cockroaches. — Native clothing. — Descrip- tion of the post and village. — Deficiency of medical supplies. — Departure for Nulato via Ulukuk. — Iktigalik and its inhabitants. — Telegraph stew. — Escape of dogs and return to Unalaklik. — Russian baths. — Disagreeable trip to Iktigalik, — All gone on my arrival. — Second return to Unalaklik. — Impromptu theatricals, — Departure for Ulukuk. — Deserted village. — Arrival at Ulukuk. — Springs. — Transportation of goods — Arrival of .Mike with the brigade from Nulato. — De- parture for Nulato. — Parhelia. — Mysterious caterpillar. — First view of the Yu- kon. — Arrival at Nulato. ON the 24th of September, 1866, the clipper ship Nightin- gale came to anchor half a mile southeast of Egg Island, Norton Sound. A driving storm from the north and northeast obscured the atmosphere, and covered the deck with an inch or two of half- melted snow and hail. The waves were yellow with sediment, churned up by their own violence, and the very white-caps had a sullied look which spoke of shallow water. We were drawing nineteen feet, with a rise and fall of the waves of at least twelve feel more, auu the breeze was freshening. This did nut leave a very large margin under the keel, and the well-known rapidity with which a north wind will diminish the depth of water in the Sound, sometimes making a difference of a fathom in the course of a few hours, added to the an.xiety of our ship's officers. Our indefatigable commander, Captain Scammon, was seriously ill. Altogether, the circumstances attending our arrival in the vicinity of Redoubt St. Michael's were not propitious. 4 THE YUKON TEKRITORV. A little more than a year before, we had visited this point in the bark Golden Gate. We left a party to make the prelimi- nary explorations, previous to deciding; on the line on which it was proposed to build the international telegraph. This party was under the command of the Director of the Scientific Corps, Robert Kennicott, whose previous e.xperience in the Hudson Bay Territory to the westward had fitted him above all others to fill the arduous post of commander of the explorations in Russian America. Several members of the Scientific Corps were of his party, and to their combined labors we looked hopefully for a solution of the problem of the identity of the Yukon River with the so-called Kwikhpak of the Russians. This identity was stoutly upheld by Mr. Kennicott, though persistently denied by many, who looked upon the so-called Colvile River, flowing into the Arctic Ocean, as the true mouth of the Yukon, while they considered the Kwikhpak as a distinct river. The question was regarded as uncertain by all. Information received from the Russians, however, soon put the matter beyond a doubt, and we looked to Mr. Kennicott and his party as the favored few who were to pass the terra incognita between the limit of Russian explorations and the Hudson Hay Territory, and thus complete the exploration of the Lower Yukon. Though their equipment was not such as we could have wished, and though grave doubts prevailed as to the value of a miniaiure steamer, of which much had been expected, still we left all of them in the highest spirits, and with the heartiest wishes for their success, as we sailed slowly away from Stuart Island, September 17, 1865. During the year which had passed many changes had taken place in the organization of the Fl.xpedition. No word had been received from the party even through the Russian mail, which is carried overland from St. Michaels every winter to Nushergak and thence by sea to Sitka. Various detentions kept the vessels of the fleet lying in San Francisco Hay long after they should have reached the shores of Bering Sea, and it was only in the month of July that the E.xpe- dition finally set .sail. We had been lying in Plover Hay .several weeks, during which time a rumor had reached us that an explor- ing party had been at Graniley Harbor during the winter, and that THE YUKON' TERRITORY. one member of the party had been badly frost-bitten. All were i.iipposed to be alive and well. Now that we had again come within reach of our friends and companions, our an.xiety may be imagined. The state of the weather and our distance from St. Michael's, almost twelve miles, prevented our landing in a body. A boat with two officers was despatched late in the afternoon, but the distance and the still increasing storm forbade us to expect their return that night. My own impatience was so great that I soon abandoned the attempt to sleep, and accompanied the officer of the deck m his inclement night-watch, pacing up and down in the rain and sleet ; and I almost fancied that there was something derisive in the whistle of the wind through the rigging and insulting in the masses of slush which ciie swaying cordage occasionally threw in our faces. The ne.xt morning the storm continued with little abatement. About noon we saw the steamer George S. Wright, which we knew had arrived with the commander of the expedition a day or two before, getting up steam behind the point of Stuart Island. About four o'clock in the afternoon she came out and anchored under the lee of Egg Island near us, and we soon saw a boat put off from her. Every glass was pointed at her, and every eye was strained for a glimpse of some familiar face ; but the long hair and beards, the unfamiliar deer-skin dresses and hoods defied recog- nition. Pressing forward to the gangway, as the first man came over the side, my first question was, " Where is Kennicott .' " and the answer, " Dead, poor fellow, last May," stunned me with its sudden anguish. I stayed to hear no more, but went to my cabin as one walks in a dream. So he was gone, that noble, impetuous, but tender-hearted man, who had been to me and many others as more than a brother I During the past two years many had had bitter controversies with him, hut all felt and expressed their grief at his untimely death. I le was one who made enemies as well as friends, but even ene- mies could not but respect the purity of motive, the open-handed generosity, the consideration, almost too ;'reat, for his subor- dinates, and the untiring energy and lively spirits which wcru the prominent characteristics of the man. IMHHMI THE YUKON TERRITORY. The details of his explorations and death will be found else- where. His body had been tenderly cared for, brought down the Yukon from the point where he died, placed in a vault at the Redoubt, and was to be taken home in charge of Mr. Charles Pease, who had been his friend from boyhood, and Mr. H. M. Bannister, both members of the Scientific Corps. This would leave the Corps without a single representative in the whole of Russian \merica north of Sitka. My own plan had been, to e.xplain the operations of the Corps during the past year to Mr. Kennicott, and if approved by him to cross to the Siberian side and obtain such information and col- lections as opportunity might offer, and especially to determine by the barometer the height of the different volcanoes for which Kamchatka is renowned. Under the circumstances, however, and considering the infor- mation in regard to North American natural history and geology more important than that relating to the other continent, I re- solved to remain at St. Michael's or in the valley of the Yukon during the ensuing season. I determined to use my best energies to complete the scientific exploration of the northwest extremity of the continent, as it had been planned by Mr. Kennicott, and which comprised the exploration of, — First, the region between Fort Yukon, at the junction of the Yukon and the Porcupine, and Nulato, the most eastern Russian post on the former river ; Second, the region between Nulato and the sea, westward across the portage, and south by way of the Yukon to the sea ; and, — Lastly, the whole region bordering on Norton Sound and the sea to the north and south of it. Toward this considerable collections and many observations had been made at St. Michael's, but little had been done in other parts of the country. Captain Charles S. Bulkley, U. S. A., Engineer-in-chief of the P^xpedition, having signified his desire that I should succeed Mr. Kennicott as Director of the Scientific Corps, and learning that I desired to remain in the country, ordered me to act as Surgeon in general charge of the district between Bering Strait and the Yukon. I submitted my plans for the scientific opera- tions of the coming year to him, and they met with his entire approval. »l! THE YUKON TERRITORY. Great expedition was necessary in making my preparations. The continued north wind began to tell on the depth of water in the Sound, and on Saturday we grounded with every swell. Luckily the bottom here is an impalpable soft mud, without any stones, otherwise the old Nightingale would have left her bones there ; and as it was, every few moments she came thumping down, with a severity that shook everything, from truck to kelson. The following morning it cleared off, and those who were to remain took their seats in a large scow loaded with coal, which was to be towed ashore by the steamer Wilder. The Wilder was one of two small stern-wheel steamers, Ixiilt in San Francisco, and brought up on the deck of the Nightingale, designed for river navigation. They were shaped much like an old-fashioned flat-iron, and were just about as valuable for the purposes required ; being unable to tow anything, or to carry any freight, while in a breeze of any strength it was no easy matter to steer them. Sitting pensively on the larger lumps of coal, we had ample opportunity of studying the defects of our tug, and it became an interesting matter as to what we should do if she should break down before reaching shore, as seemed likely. A cold and extremely penetrating rain gave us a foretaste of the concom- itants of exploration, and rendered our dcimrture anything but romantic. Indeed, I could not help thinking that we bore much more resemblance to a party of slaves cii route for the galleys, as Victor Hugo describes them, than to a party of young and ardent explorers, defying the powers of winter, and only anxious for an opportunity to exhibit our prowess. We finally arrived in safety at the landing, near the Russian trading-post of St. Michael. Having pocketed some biscuit, I was provisioned, and, picking out a soft plank in a back room, I rolled my.self in a blanket, and after .some difficulty got to sleep. The rain continued ; the Russians were holding an orgie, with liquor obtained from the vessels ; the dogs howled nearly all night ; the roof leaked, not water, but fine volcanic gravel, with which it was covered. If this is a sample of the country, I thought, it is not prepossessing ! On rising in the morning I found, as might be expected, that THE YUKON TEKKITOKY. I was likely to feel for some time the eftect of my new style of bed in a way that was anything but agreeable. On Monday, the 1st of October, 1866, the Nightingale sailed for Plover Hay. All was activity on shore, preparing the Wilder and all available boats for a trip to Unalaklik, the seaboard terminus of the portage to the Yukon, at the mouth of the Una- laklik River. My friend, Mr. Whymper, the genial and excellent artist of the expedition, proposed to leave for Unalaklik on the steamer. The work of construction and exploration had been divided. The larger number of men, and the work to be done in the region west of the Yukon, had been placed in charge of Mr. W. H. Ennis and several assistants. Here the work of exploration had been mainly finished, and construction, e.xclusive of putting up the wires, was to be immediately commenced. The work of exploration and future construction, to the north and east of Nulato on the Yukon, was intrusted to Mr. F. E. Ketchum, to whom, with Mr. Michael Lebarge, the honor of exploring the region between Nulato and Fort Yukon had fallen after Kennicott's death. Mr. Ketchum, who bore the title of Captain in the service of the Expedition, was thoroughly qualified for the execution of the trust committed to him. He had been eminently faithful to Mr. Kennicott during his arduous explorations, and had successfully carried out his plans after his death. I proposed to accompany him to Nulato, the place best suited for the prosecution of the scientific work, and as he had decided to remain for a while at St. Michael's, after consultation with him, we secured a room in the Russian quarters together. On Tuesday the steamer, in charge of Captain E. E. Smith, with a Russian pilot, started for Unalaklik. As we were waving our congratulations, to our dismay we saw her come to a stand-still, plump on a rock at the entrance of the cove. It seemed as if her career were about to come to an ignominious conclusion, but after a good deal of labor she worked off without damage, and proceeded on her way. We returned to our quarters, where we built a fire in the Russian stove. These stoves are a " peculiar institution," in use throughout the territory, and worthy of description. Here they THE YUKON TERRITORY. are built of fragments of basalt, the prevalent rock, and smeared inside and out with a mortar made of clay. A damper in the chimney is so arranged as to shut oft" all draught, and is taken out when the fire is made. After the whole has been thoroughly heated by a wood fire the coals are removed. The damper is put in, thus preventing the escape of hot air by the chimney, and without further fire this stove will warm the room for twenty-four hours. It is admirably suited to the climate and country, and its only objectionable point is the amount of room it occupies. A good deal of cooking, baking, &c., can be accomplished in a large one, and the remainder is done in a building erected for the pur- pose, and called the />ovdniia. The Russian name for this stove is pccclika, but an iron stove, such as is used in the United States, is called dLkanccla. The foundation of the peechka is of wood, filled in with volcanic gravel, and covered with brick or slabs of lava. In Russia they are generally built of brick entirely, and are often tiled over on the outside with painted tiles, such as are yet to be found in some of the older houses in New England. Our beds, as in all the houses in this part of the territory, were made on a platform raised a few feet from the floor, and about seven feet wide. Mine consisted of a reindeer skin with the hair on, and with one end sewn up, so as to make a sort of bag to put ihe feet in ; a pillow of wild-goose and other feathers is essential to comfort ; this, with a pair of good blankets, is all that one needs in most instances. Sheets are unknown in this part of the world, and counterpanes are almost so. Our time was well occupied in getting everything in readiness for transportation, if the steamer should return as we hoped. If, as was probable, she found ice in the Unalaklik River, she would have to go into winter quarters at once. Meanwhile I took a careful survey of the old trading-post, or Michaelovski Redoubt, as the Russians call it. By order of Baron WrangcU, Michael Tebenkoft", an officer of the Russian American Company, established this post in 1833. It is stated by different writers to be in latitude 63° l}^ or 63^ 28' north, and longitude 161° 55' or 161° 44' west of Greenwich. Few points were established by the Russians with the accuracy deemed indispensable in modern English or American surveys. It is stated by Tikhmenief that, in 1836, the Unaligmuts of the lO THE YUKON TERRITORY. vicinity attacked the Redoubt, which was successfully defended by Kurupanoff, the commander. It is built of spruce logs, brought by the sea from the mouths of the Yukon and Kuskoqui'm, which annually discharge immense quantities of driftwood. This is stacked up by the Russians in the fall, for miles along the coast north and west of the Redoubt, and is carried in winter to the fort over the ice by means of dogs and sleds. No other fuel exists on the island and adjoining shores. These are entirely destitute of wood, if we except low, scrubby willows and alders, which are found in the vicinity of water. St. Michael's is situated on a small point of the island of the same name, which puts out into the sound and forms a small cove, abounding in rocks and very shallow. Here a temporary landing-place is built out into water deep enough for loaded boats drawing five feet to come up at high tide. This is removed when winter approaches, as otherwise it would be destroyed by the ice. The shore is sandy, and affords a moderately sloping beach, on which boats may be drawn up. A few feet only from high-water mark are perpendicular banks from six to ten feet high, composed of decayed pumice and ashes, covered with a layer, about four feet thick, of clay and vegetable matter resembling peat. This forms a nearly even meadow, with numerous pools of water, which gradually ascends for a mile or more to a low hill of volcanic ori- gin, known as the Shaman Mountain. The fort is composed of log buildings with plank roofs, placed in the form of a square, and with the intervals filled by a palisade about ten feet high, surmounted by a chr^'anx-dc-frise of pointed stakes. This is also continued round the eaves of the buildings. There are two outlying bastions, pierced for cannon and musketry, and con- taining a number of pieces of artillery of very small calibre and mostly very old-fashioned and rusty, except two fine brass howitzers of more modern manufacture. The principal buildings are the com- mander's house, — consisting of two private rooms, an armory and a counting-room, or contonim, — a couple of buildings used as store- houses, a bath-house, and separate houses for the married and unmarried workmen. There is a flag-staff leaning apologetically as if consciously out of place, and a gallery for the watchman, who is on duty day and night, with reliefs, and who tolls a bell on the hour stroke to notify the inmates that he is not asleep. One of THE YUKON TERRITOKV. I I the bastions is without cannon, and is used as a guard-house for refractory subjects. Outside of the stockade are several other buil(hn< a sm all storehouse used for furs, a large shed where boats are drawn up in winter, a blacksmith's shop, and a church. The latter is octagonal in shape, with a small dome, surmounted by a cross, and a beam bearing a bell at the side of a small porch which covers the door- way. Other small buildings are scattered about ; a sun-dial is to be found not far from the church, and a noticeable feature in the fall is the stacks of bleached driftwood, which, from a distance, look not uidike tents or bastions. Between the point on which St. Michael's is built and the main- land, a small arm of the sea makes in, in which three fathoms may be carried until the flagstaff of the fort bears west by north. This is the best-jirotected anchorage, and has as much water and as good bottom as can be found much farther out. At the southwest extremity of this arm, known as Tebenkoff Cove, we enter a narrow and tortuous chi.nnel, often not more than fifty feet wide, which separates the island of St. Michael from the mainland. This has been aptly named the Canal by the Russians, and it divides midway into two branches which are, it seems to me, equally tortuous, though they are styled the Straight and the Crooked respectively. The mainland near St. Michael's gradually rises from the Canal and the adjacent shores into low basaltic hills, with a rugged and rocky, though not elevated coast. The inmates of the fort — with the exception of Sergei Stepan- olf Ri'isanoff, an old soldier, who commands not only this, but all tlie trading-posts in the District of St. Michael, under the title of I'provali'slia — may be c'lvided into three classes: convicts, Creoles, and natives. The workmen of the Russian American Company were, al- most without exception, convieN, mostly from Siberia, where the Company was originally organized. They were men con- victed of such crimes as theft, incorrigible drunkenness, burglary, and even manslaughter. These men, after a continued resi- dence in the eountrv, naturally took to themselves wives, .alter the fashion of the eountrv, since Russian subjects in the Company's employ were prohibiteil from legal marriage with native women. 12 THE YUKON TERRITORY. These connections are looked upon with a different feeling from that which prevails in most communities, and these native women mix freely with the few Russian and half-breed women in the territory who have been legally married. Their children are termed Creoles, and formerly were taken from their parents and educated in Sitka by the Company, in whose service they were obliged to pass a certain number of years, when they became what is called " free Creoles," and were at liberty to continue in the service or not, as they liked. Many of the most distinguished officers of the Company were Creoles, among them Etolin, Kush- evaroff, and Malakoff. There are a few Yakuts in the service of the Company, and these, with some native workmen, who are generally of the tribe which inhabits the immediate vicinity of the post, compose the garrison. The reg.i ar workman gets about fifty pounds rf flour, a pound of lea, and three pounds of sugar, a month ; his pay is about twenty cents a day. Some of the older men get thirty cents and a corresponding addition to the ration of flour. They work with little energy and spirit as a general thing, but can accomplish a great deal if roused by necessity. Small offences are punished by confinement in the guard-house, or boofka, and greater ones by a thrashing administered by the commander in person ; those who commit considerable crimes are forced to r \ the gauntlet, receive one or two hu.dred blows with a stick, or in extreme cases are sent for trial to Sitka, or, in case of murder, to St. Petersburg. The present Uprovali'sha, Stepanoff, has been in office about four years. He is a middle-aged man of great energy and iron will, with the Russian fondness for strong liquor and with un- governable passions in certain directions. He has a soldier's con- tempt for making money by small ways, a certain code of honor of his own, is generous in his own way, and seldom does a mean thing when he is sober, but nevertheless is a good deal of a brute. lie will gamble and drink in the most democratic way with his workmen, and bears no malice for a black eye when received in a drunken brawl ; but woe to the unfortunate who infringes discipline while he is sober, for he slvUi certainly receive his reward ; and Stepanotf often says of his men, when speaking to an American, " \oy.\ can expect nothing good of this rabble ; they left Russia because they v-'ere not wanted there." THE YUKON TERRITORY. 13 The commanders, or hUdrsfiiks, of the smaller posts in the Dis- trict of St. Michael are appointed by Stepanoff, who has absolute authority over them, and does not fail to let them understand it, making them row his boat, when the annual supply-ship is in Dort, as Alexander might have called his captive kings to do him menial service. But Stepanoff trembles before the captain of the ship or an old officer of the Company, much in the same way that his workmen cringe before him. This sort of subserviency, the fruit of a despotic government, is characteristic of the lower classes of Russians ; and to such an extent is ii ingrained in their characters that it seems impossible for them to comprehend any motives of honor or truthfulness as being superior to self-interest. The native inhabitants of this part of the coast belong to the great family of Innuit. The name of the tribe is Vtialcct, and their name for the village, half a mile west of the Redoubt on the island of St. Michael, is T'satsihiii. The few families living there bear the local designation of Tutsoganiit, much as we should say Bostonian or New-Yorker. The village comprises half a dozen houses and a dance-house, built in the native fashion ; that is to say, half underground, with the entrance more or less so, and the roof furnished with a square opening in the centre, for the escape of smoke and admission of light. Di.iKr.im (if liimiit Tdpek. They arc built of spruce logs, without nails or pins, and an' usually about twelve or fifteen feet scjuare. Tlie cntrai.cr is a small hole through which one must enter on hands and knees, and is usually furni.shed with a bear or deer skin or a piece of matting to exclude the air. Outside of this entrance is a passage-\\ay. hardly larger, which opens under a small shed, at the surface of the ground, to protect it from the weather. >4 THE YUKON TERRITORY. They are about eight feet high in the middle, but the eaves are rarely more than three or four feet above the ground. The floor i.s divided by two logs into three areas of nearly equal size, the entrance being at the end of the middle one. This portion of the floor is always the native earth, usually hardened by constant passing over it. In the middle, under the aperture in the roof, the fire is built, and here are sometimes placed a few stones. On cither side the portion separated by the logs before men- tioned is occupied as a place to sit and work in during the day, and as a sleeping-place during the night. The earth is usually covered with straw, or spruce branches when obtainable, and over this is laid a mat woven out of grass. Sometimes the space is raised, or a platform is built of boards, or logs hewn flat on one side. This is a work of such labor, however, that it is seldom resorted to. The beds, which generally consist of a blanket of dressed deerskin, or rabbit-skins sewed together, are rolled up and put out of the way during the day. Almost all sorts of work are done in the houses after the cold weather sets in. At this time, however, there did not appear to be any people in the village, and Captain Ketchum told me that they would not return for a week or two, being absent at Pastolik, where they were killing the beluga or white whale. A solitary old woman, perhaps of exceptional ugliness, spent her time picking berries, which were abundant near the village. Sntiday, October jth. — A party of natives of the IMahlemut tribe arrived, in a skin boat, bringing letters from Unalaklik, saying that the boats had arrived safely at that point. The tur- rets or bastions of the Russian post were being fitted up for the accommodation of the officers, and winter quarters for the men were being arranged and made comfortable. The ground was well covered with snow, and we were advised to use all practi- cable expedition in reaching Unalaklik by water, before the forma- tion of ice should interfere with navigation. The thermometer averaged 9° Fahrenheit during the day, and no time was to be lost. We therefore made arrangements for starting the next day, — Captain Ketchum and myself in one boat, Mr. Westdahl our astronomer, and a i)arty of natives, with two others. The skin boats, in which most of the travelling by water is done. THE YUKON TERRITORY. 15 are of three kinds. One is a large open boat, flat-bottomed and con- sistin>r ot' a wooden frame tied with sealskin thongs, or rnniii, and liidarnl. witli the skins of the seal properly prepared, oiled, and sewed to- gether, stretched over this frame and held in place by walrus-skin lini-, or III i/ioiit. This kind of boat is known among all the I11- nuit l)v the name ooiiiiak, and is called a bidarrd by the Russians. nid.irk.i. Another, a smaller boat, for one man, is made essentially in the same way, but covered completely over, except a hole in which the occupant sits, and around the projecting rim of which, when at sea, lie tics the edge of a waterproof shirt, called a kauildyka by the Russians. This is securely tied around the wrists and face also ; the head being covered by a hood, so that no water can by any means penetrate to the interior of the boat. This boat is called by the natives a kyak\ and by the Russians a luddrkw. Tlie other kind is used only by the Russians, and was copied from those of the Aleutians, differing from the last only by being longer and having two or three holes ; it is adapted to carry two or three people. Tiiese boats are admirably light and strong, and extremely valuable for making short journeys. It is, with persons skilled in their use, all but impossible to swamp them, and the Russians have introduced thi;m into every part of the territory as an invaluable adjunct to exploration. They call them simply two or three holed bid.irkas. Tiiey are propelled by single or double ended paddles, and attain an extraordinary speed. Monday, St//. — The weather being clear and fine, the wind nearly tair, we determined to put off lor Unalakli'k. We left .St. Miciiael's about noon, Westdahl leading, but the wind hauling ahead we ran closer in, and left him making a long tack, which Ketchum was rather ajiprehcnsive would be unsuccessful, as it is H i6 THE YUKON TERRITORY. impossible, or almost so, to beat against the wind with one of these flat-bottomed skin boats. About eight o'clock p. m. we put into a small rocky cove about twenty-two miles from the Redoubt. This, f'^om two small rocky islets which protect it, is known to the Unaleets as Kegiktozvruk, a word derived frohi kiklUuk, meaning an island. There is quite a village on the high bank back of the cove, and the inhabitants came down and helped us to haul our boat up on a sort of ways, built of round logs, held in place by large masses of rock. These are necessary, as the cove is very shallow and so full of rocks that the skin boats are very liable to be cut on them at low tide. There were no signs of the other boats. The village is notable on account of the number of graves scattered over the plain about it, and also for the large size of the dance-house, or cosine as the Russians term it. This building is to be found in almost every village, and serves for a general work- room, a sort of town-hall, a steam bath-house, a caravanserai for travellers, and a meeting-house for celebrating their annual dances and festivals. It is usually the largest and cleanest house in the village, and generally empty at night, so that travellers prefer it to one of the smaller and more dirty and crowded houses. In the present case we were quartered in it very comfortably. We immediately sent out our teakettle, in this country always made of copper, and universally known as the chyuik, — tea be- ing chy in the Russian, a derivative from the original Chinese cliah. Chy being ready, we imbibed deeply, and filling up the chynik with water we dispensed the diluted fluid to our native friends, in the bountiful tin cups provided by the Company. A small hand- ful of broken biscuit added to the acceptability of the treat and disguised the weakness of the chy. This is the invariable and expected tribute to the hospitality of the natives from all travellers who avail themselves of the casine and other accommodations of the village ; for which the Innuit have not yet learned to charge by the night's lodging. iXppreciating the banquet, and warmed to enthusiasm by the hot water, an old blear-eyed individual seized an article something between a drum and a tambourine, and began to beat upon it with THE YUKON TERRITORY. 17 one of ■e about .11 rocky 'it6i\.'nik, is quite labitants of ways, These (cks that o\v tide. if graves ze of the ilding is -al work- '\ serai for il dances i^ lage, and le of the lent case y always ~ tea be- Chinese 1 e chynik icnds, in dl hand- \ reat and ihlc and ij ravcUcrs tions of ■A ) charge '•. 1 by the ■5 nething ' I it with 1 a long elastic rod. He was joined by all the old men in the vicinity, in a dismal chorus of Ung hi y;il), ah ha yah, yah yah yah, «S:c., keeping time upon his drum with an energy which .showed that the vigor of his youth had not departed from him. Four or five of the young men began to dance, posturing in different attitudes, moving their arms and legs, stamping on the floor, all in perfect accord with one another, and keeping accurate time with the drum. We were too tired, however, to appreciate this exhibition, and signified as much to the company, who finally (eft us to enjoy a good night's rest. Tuesday, ()t/i. — We were awakened by an officious native, who put his head in, bawling at the top of his lungs that the weather was bad, very bad indeed, and that we could not get away to- [lay ; after which pleasing piece of information he left us to our own reflections. On getting up and going out I found that the sky was clouiiy and the wind adverse, and ordering one of our Mdhlemuts to put on the chynik, I went down and reported the situation, which involved our remaining a day or two where we were. Breakfast, consisting of chy, with sugar, — but of course no milk, — biscuit, and a savory jMcce of bacon, was duly discussed ; and after a com- forting i^ipe, we were quite ready to bear our detention with the true voyageur's philosophy. I went out, and soon made the acquaintance, by signs and the very few native words which I had picked up, of a fine-looking young IMahlemut, who was also on his way to Unalakh'k with his family. The interview commenced by his begging for a little tobacco, upon receiving which he was so delighted as to take me to his tent, a poor little atfair, made of unbleached sheeting pro- cured from the Russians. Here he introduced me by signs to his wife and cliild, the latter about two years old. The former was not particularly ugly or pretty, but was engaged in manufacturing tinder, which rather detracted from the neatness of lier person. This tinder is made out of the fur of the rabbit, the down from the seed-vessels of the river poplar, or cotton lint obtained from the Russians ; either of which is rubbed up with charcoal and water, with a very little gunpowder, and then dried. The rubbing i)ro- i8 THE YUKON TERRITORY. i i' I) f cess was just going on, and I was thankful that etiquette did not require hand-shaking, among the Innuit of Norton Sound. The husband was a fine-looking, athletic fellow, standing about five feet five inches, with a clear brunette complexion, fine color, dark eyes, and finely arched eyebrows. The flat nose, common to all the Eskimo tribes, was not very strongly marked in him, and a pleasant smile displaying two rows of very white teeth conquered any objection I might have felt to his large mouth. The baby looked like any other Ijaby, and was notable only from never show- ing any disposition to disturb the peace. Returning after awhile to the casine, I observed that the aper- ture in the roof was closed by a covering composed of the intestines of seals, cut down on one side, cleaned, oiled, and sewed together into a sheet, which is sufficiently translucent to admit the light while it retains the warm air. The universal salutation of the Innuit is Chanimi ! Cluimmi ! and as likely as not, some greasy old fellow will hug you like a brother upon a first meeting. As they are given to raising a certain kind of live-stock, this method of proceeding is not likely to suit the fastidious. A note arrived from Westdahl by a native, one of his crew, saying that on account of rough weather he had been obliged to put into a small cove, .some miles south of us, had cut his bidarra on the rocks and wet almost everything. Ketchum immediately despatched four men with a needle, some twisted thread made of deer sinew, called gila, and a piece of seal- skin prepared for use, technically known as Itivtdk. These, with some grease to rub on the seam, are all that is needed to repair any injury done to the skin of a bidarra or bidiirka. Wednesday, \oth. — The water of the little cove in front of the village was white with foam when we rose in the morning : evi- dently we were not to get away yet. We walked over to a small bay on the other side of the point on which Kegiktcnvruk is situ- ated. Mere we found a cache, that is to say, a kind of small log en- closure about six feet square, covered with logs held down by heavy stones. In it were the bodies of four small hair seal, called m'rpa by the Russians and niksuk by the Mahlemuts. They are covered with short, stiff hair of a greenish silvery tinge, with darker spots surrounded by dark rings, especially on the back. The young are THE YUKON TERRITORY. 19 very beautiful, covered with long, silky, silvery hair, softer than in the adult and without the dark spots. They are about eighteen inches long, and the adults not more than four feet. The flippers have five long nails and are covered with hair like that on the body. The eye of the seal is black, very large and liquid, almost human in its expression, and the whiskers are placed like those on a cat ; the bristles are perfectly transparent, three-sided and twisted, looking like glass threads, about four inches long. The blood of these seal is very black, and so is the flesh, both having a slightly disagreeable odor when fresh. They are caught in rawhide nets. There is a much larger seal (like Plioca jubata) which is called maklok by the natives ; the name has been frequently applied to both species, but erroneously. The fat or blubber is about an inch and a half thick, very white and firm. The natives eat it, as well as the meat, and trade it with the Indians of the interior. The oil is used for burning, and the casine is lighted by means of four saucer-shaped dishes full of dry moss or sphagnum soaked in this oil, which give out quite as much smoke as light. Returning, our attention was attracted by the numerous graves. These are well worth the careful attention of the eth- nologist ; many of them are very old. The usual fashion is to place the body, doubled up, on its side, in a box of plank hewed out of spruce logs and about four feet long ; this is elevated sev- eral feet above the ground on four posts, which project above the coffin or box. The sides are often painted with red chalk, in fig- ures of fur animals, birds, and fishes. According to the wealth of the dead man, a number of articles which belonged to him are attached to the coffin or strewed around it. Some of them have kyaks, bows and arrows, hunting implements, snowshoes or even kettles, around the grave or fastened to it ; and almost invariably the wooden dish, or kaiitdi^, from which the deceased was accus- tomed to cat is hung on one of the posts. There are many more graves than present inhabitants of the village, and the story is that the whole coast was once much more densely populated. On arriving at the casine we met some men carrying long sticks of light-wood, and were requested to remove our bedding and other traps from the building, as the inhabitants were about to take a 20 THE YUKON TERRITORY. bath. This we did, much to our disgust, and adjourned to one of the houses till it should be over, as a cold wind was blowing. These baths are made by building a very hot fire in the casine, the middle part of the floor being removable, so that the earth may be exposed. Here the fire is built, and when it has sub- sided into coals the gut cover before mentioned is put over the smoke-hole, and the inmates proceed to bathe themselves in an unmentionable liquid, which is carefully saved for this and other purposes. Strange as it may appear, this habit was not con- tracted without reason, for the alkaline properties of this fluid combine with the oil with which they are smeared, and form a soapy lather, which cleanses as thoroughly as soap, which they cannot obtain, and removes the dirt, which water alone would not do. After this they wash off" with water and retire to certain shelves, which are placed near the roof of the building, and repose, wrapped in a deerskin, until the lassitude produced by the bath passes away. We waited as long as possible before entering the casine, but as evening came on we were obliged to return to it. As might be supposed, the ammoniacal odor was nearly stifling, and only the raw. blustering weather prevented us from sleeping outside. Thursday, wth. — To our great delight the sea had gone down a good deal and the wind was fair. We bundled our things into the boat, and although short-handed — two of our men having remained with Westdahl — we put out about eight o'clock, and just as we rounded the point saw the other boats, which had repaired damages, following. The character of the shore is abrupt and rocky from the Redoubt to Kegiktowruk, thence to Golsova River, known by the two small islets or rather rocks in the vicinity, and finally around Tolstoi Point to a place called Topanika. There are very few points at which a boat, especially a skin boat, can land even in perfectly smooth weather, and in rough weather only two between Tolstoi Point and the Redoubt. The first of these is the Major's Cove, so named because it was the first point .it which Major Kennicott landed, after leaving St. Michael's with his party. The other is Kegiktowruk. We passed Tolstoi Point and reached To- panika in safety. Here there is, except at high tide, a narrow, shelving beach, backed by perpendicular walls of sandstone in ■I THE YUKON TERRITORY. 21 gone our our eight 3oats, of the 5\vruk, ather to a which mooth Point v'c, so nicott other To- irrow, ne in bluffs from twenty to one hundred feet high. This beach con- tinues all the way to the mouth of the Unalaklik River, the bluff growing gradually lower, until near the mouth of the river there is only a marshy plain behind the beach. As the wind was light we sent two of our men ashore with a long mahout line to "track" the boats along the beach. We were now about ten English miles from Unalaklik. The wind blowing fair and freshening, we took our men on board and made a straight course for the mouth of the river. Meanwhile it was growing dark. I had been snoozing under a deerskin for an hour or two, as the air was very cold, but finally took up the paddle to warm myself, when Kctchum's experienced ear caught the crunch of ice, and in a minute we were into it. Large cakes about four inches thick covered the surface of the water, and we all had our hands full in staving them off, as they would have sunk the boat had they nipped us. We were not far from shore ; the lights at the trading-post at the mouth of the river were plainly visible. We fired several shots, but appar- ently without rousing any one, and were obliged to go nearly a mile north of the post to find a bit of beach sufficiently clear of ice to land upon. Having succeeded in hauling the boat above high-water mark, we stumbled amongst the driftwood with which the beach was strewn, up to the fort or trading-post, which was closed, every one being asleep. We soon roused them, how- ever, and after a regale of tea and bread I appropriated the bed of a Russian, and sank to slumber, surrounded and overrun by not less than thirty thousand adult cockroaches and their families. I-'riday, \2tli. — Rose with the determination of going some- where where there were no tarakdiioff, as the Russians call the insects with which their apartment was infested. I obtained a tent, pitched it, and moved most of my traps out into it. Planted a flag-pole and threw the ensign of the Scientific Corps to the breeze, with the resolution to carry the blue cross and scallop, before the year was out, where no other flag had yet floated, if that were possible. I began to provide myself with suitable clothing, such as the natives wear. First, an arU'i^i, or pdrha, as the Russians call it. This is a shirt of dressed deerskin, with the hair on, coming down to the knees, and to be confined by a belt around the waist. There is no opening in the breast or back, but a hood large f 22 THE YUKON TERRITORY. "l ■'! enough to cover the head, which may be pushed back when not needed. This garment is trimmed around the skirt, wrists, and hood with strips of white deerskin and wolverine or wolfskin, both of which are highly prized for the purpose. Around the hood the wolfskin is broad and taken from the back of the animal, where the longest hairs are barred with white and black, which, when the hood is drawn up, makes a kind of halo about the face which is not unbecoming. When travelling, these long hairs shield the face from a side wind to a surprising extent. The parka is exceedingly warm, and the wind does not penetrate it ; while in exceedingly cold weather a light one, made of fawn-skin, or zvipcrotky, as the Russians term it, may be worn with the hair turned in, inside of the usual garment, which is made of various skins, according to the fancy. The fall skin of the young deer, known as nccdrcss, is the most common and perhaps the best. The skins of Parry's marmot {Spcnnophilus Parryi) and the musk- rat (Fiber dbcthicus) are praised for their durability, and wipe- rotky parkies are neat and light, but do not last long. On the whole the needress is as strong, durable, and warm as any, and almost as handsome when well trimmed. The next most important articles are the torbassd or Eskimo boots. These are made of the skin of the reindeer's legs, where the hair is short, smooth, and stiff. These are sewed together to make the tops of the boots, which come up nearly to the knee, where they are tied. The sole is made of sealskin, or luvtak pre- pared in the same way as for making boats. This sole is turned over at heel and toe, and gathered like the skirt of a dress, so as to protect those parts, and brought up on each side. It is of course nearly waterproof and rather durable, but can be easily replaced in half an hour by a new one if iiccessary. It is wetted before being sewed, which makes the sealskin flexible, and the proper formation of the toe is aided by the teeth of the seamstress. In wearing these boots, which are made much larger than the foot, a pad of dry grass, folded to the shape of the sole, is worn under the foot. This absorbs any moisture, serves as a non-conductor, and protects the foot from the inequalities of ice or the soil. The whole fur- nishes a warm and comfortable covering, indispensable to winter travel. There are a pair of strings, one on each side, which are tied about the ankle, supporting it and preventing the foot from slipping about in the boot. -s il THE VUKOX TERRITORY. 23 toot, tects fiir- 1 liter are roni Deerskin breeches arc worn by the natives, but are rarely needed by white men when provided with clothing of ordinary warmth and thickness. The value of a good parka is at present about six dollars. Boots and other articles are usually obtained by barter. Ten musket-balls and a few caps are the regular price for a pair of torbassa, a pair of deerskin mittens being worth from four to six balls ; ornamental gloves and other articles are more or less costly, according to the amount of work and the scarcity of the article at the time. So far, the natives have not yet learned to make a well-shaped thumb to gloves and mittens, a triangular shapeless protuberance serving their needs, but they may be easily taught a better mode of manufacture. A deer or bear skin in the raw, dry state is used as a bed, and a blanket of dressed deer or rabbit skins, in addition to a pair of woollen ones, completes the list of articles needed for winter travel, though a small pillow is a great addition to one's com- fort. A deerskin is worth, at the regular price, about si.xty cents. For a number of days nothing occurred of special interest. Captain Ketchum delayed starting across the portage to the Yukon for NuUito, as it was still doubtful whether all the small rivers were securely frozen over. I found my nights in the tent not uncomfortable, though the thermometer ranged from twenty- eight to zero of Fahrenheit. Waking one morning, I found myself so deeply snowed up that I had a good deal of difficulty in get- ting out of the tent. It proved to be only a drift, however. A tin dipper of water frozen the first night showed no signs of melting. The Russian trading-post at this point is much smaller than the Redoubt. It is in rather a decayed condition, and has only two glass windows, the remainder being made of gut, as used by the natives. Glass is a rare article here. The stockade is built after the same plan as that at St. Michael's, and encloses one barrack building, with a room for the commander, a store, cook-house, bath-house, and a shed for storing oil, &c. ; it is defended by two square bastions pierced for cannon. The guns had lately been removed, and the turrets fitted up for the accommodation of our officers. They :v- I ■I! ,'l 24 THE YUKON TERRITORY. I , were of the most antiquated description, and likely to do as much damage by the breech as by the muzzle. The fort is situated on the right bank of the Unalakli'k River, where it empties into Norton Sound. It is said to have been built in 1840 and 1841. To the north are two assemblages of houses occujMed by Innuit of the Kaviak, IMdhlemut, and Unaleet tribes during part of the year, the latter being the only permanent residents. The village was formerly situated on the left bank of the river, but, an epi- demic occurring, they removed and built new houses on the north side. The remains of the old houses and the graves may be distinctly traced. The steamer Wilder, with the assistance of several hundred natives and our own party, under the direction of Captain Smith, had been hauled up on the beach beyond the reach of the ice, and might be considered as in winter quarters. The Cantain, who was an enthusiastic and successful sportsman, gave me the first specimens I had seen of the beautiful snow- white arctic grouse {Lngopiis a/l'iis), which may be started in coveys on all the plains around the mouth of the river. The beach at Unalakli'k is shelving and saudy, and is bounded by a ridge, on which the houses are built. Back of ihis ridge the land is knv, and overflowed for some distance when the freshets occur in the spring ; beyond this low strip, which is parallel with the beach, it rises .slowly and evenly, culminating in the ridges of the Shaktolik hills, which trend in a northeast and southwesterly direction, and attaii. a height of about a thousand feet above the .".ea. Several miles north of the river tiiey come down to the shore in high bluffs of gray sandstone. The coun- try to the south, already mentioned, is much the .same, though the hills are farther inland and attain a higher elevation. I'^rom the beach near the fort, Hesborough Island may be seen standing sharply and precipitously out of the sea, about thirty miles north- northwest. Mgg Island and Stuart's Island, to the southwest, ore so low that it is only on a very clear day, with a faint mirage to elevate them, that they can be distinguished. Covereil with snow and without trees, the ea.sy slopes and gracefully rouiuli'd hills have an aspect of serene beauty ; the etfect on a calm moon- light evening is delightful. .1 THE YUKON TERRITORY. Thursday, October 25///, — Captain Ketchum having made up his mind to an early start across the portage, we entered on the necessary preparations for our journey. Appointing Lieutenant V. M. Smith Acting Surgeon for the Unalalir ally. v'^^^P iind ivod our 9 the 1 iiicr six M the 1 i)ank, of split spruce logs driven into the ground, and roofed with birch bark. The door is at the end facing the river, and is an oval opening some three feet high. The houses are about twelve feet square and entirely above ground, as in summer the underground houses are full of water. Behind these houses are the caches, called kradoivoi by the Russians. They are simply small houses, about six feet square and high, elevated from six to ten feet above the ground on four upright posts. They are well roofed and are used only as storehouses for provisions, dry fish, and furs, and are thus elevated in order that dampness or field- mice may not gain access to them ; much like an old-fashioned corn-crib. Frames are also erected where the sleds, boats, and snow-shoes may be put out of the way of the dogs, who are always on the alert for any animal substance, and will cat sealskin and even tanned leather wi*h avidity, even when moderately well fed. On ihe other side of the river are two winter houses and several caches. One of these houses was the property of an old and rather wealthy Indian, as Indians go, who had been christened Ami'lka by the Russians. Ami'lka was anxious to obtain the title of Tyoiu; or chief, which is here merely a title ai.d conveys no authority except what age and wealth may bring with it. He liad been invested with the title by the explorers during the pre- vious season, and, though an exceedingly mean old fellow, had been of some assistance to them. In the house with him were his wife, a very fine-looking Indian woman of considm'able intelli- gence ; and a young f'dlow called Ingechuk by the Russians, who had a wife about four feet high, of whom he was exceedingly fond and jealous. The other occupants were an intelligent fellow Known as Andrea, and his wife, an old, very ugly, but dignified .ind hospitable woman. On our entering, she ordered some one to clear a place, and spreading out .1 clean grass mat motioned to us to be seated. Without relaxing her diligent oversight of the children around her, of her work, or of a kettle that was boiling by the fire, she sent out to the cache and obtained some dried backfat of the reindeer, the greatest delicacy in this part of the world ; cutting it into pieces of uniform size, she placed it on a clean wooden dish and handed it to us, with an air of quiet dig- nity quite unaffected, and as elegant as that ilisplayed by many a 28 THE YUKON TERRITORY. civilized dame when doing the honors of a palace. No return was asked or expected, but a present of a few leaves of tobacco was received with thanks. The backfat, when toasted over the fire, has a rich nutty flavor and is extremely good. The other house was occupied by a dirty old rascal called Matfdy, and another, equally dirty and more stupid, called Meesh- ka. Matfdy bore his greedy and deceitful disposition plainly im- pressed on his countenance, and evidently felt aggrieved that we had not honored his house with our presence, instead of sending our Mahlemuts there, who would make him no presents. Ketchum had actually gone into his place at first, thinking, as the honse was new, that it would be the cleaner of the two ; but after a , r • 't it had beaten a hasty retreat. These i is belong to a branch of the family of Ti'nneh, or Chippewayauo, similar to those of Mackenzie River ; their tribal name is Ingalik, or, in their own language, Kaiyuh-khataiia, or people of the lowlands. The tribe extends from the edge of the wooded district near the sea to and across the Yukon be- low Nulato, on the Yukon and its affluents to the head of the delta, and across the portage to the Kuskoquim River and its branches. Many of the adults have been christened, but not Christianized, by the missionaries of the Greek Church, and are usually known by their Russian names. They retain and use among themselves, however, their original Indian names. Monday, 2qth. — After a long night's rest, woke a good deal refreshed, though rather stiff, and enjoyed our breakfast thor- oughly. Francis and myself took a walk some distance up the river, finding many open places in the ice. After our return I made a few sketches of the houses and Indians, and obtained a beginning of a vocabulary of Ingalik words. These Indians all understand a little Russian, and by this means are enabled to communicate with the whites. No one in the territory under- stands any English. The Innuit, especially the Mahlemut dia- lect, is so easy to acquire that the fur-traders learn it in prefer- ence to attempting the difficult task of teaching them Russian. Very few of the Innuit understand any Russian, while almost all the Russians understand some I'^skimo, On the othei hand, the Indian dialect is so much harder to learn than the Russian, that the Indians pick up Russian with facility, while none of the I I I THE YUKON TERRITORY. 29 Russians, except an old interpreter named Tcle'ezhik, know more tiian a few words of the Indian dialects. In the afternoon Ingechuk brought us some white grouse and some fresh reindeer meat. Of the latter a delicious dish was con- cocted, which I will describe for the benefit of future explorers. It was invented by the members of Kennicott's party during the first year's explorations. The frozen reindeer meat was cut into small cubes about half an inch in diameter. An equal amount of backfat was treated in the same way. Hardly covered with water, this was simmered in a stewpan for nearly an hour ; water, pepper, and salt being added as needed. When nearly done, a little more water was added, and the finely broken biscuit from the bottom of the bread-bag slowly stirred in, until the whole of the gravy was absorbed. This done, we sat down to enjoy a dish which would have awakened enthusiasm at the table of Lucullus. It was known among the initiated as " telegraph stew," and the mere mention of its name would no doubt touch, in the breast of any one of them, a chord of electric sympathy. The Russian name for the reindeer is alctu', perhaps derived from the French. These deer are migratory, feeding on the twigs of the willow and the fine white moss, or rather lichen, which is to be found on every hillside. They frequent the hills during the summer, and are driven thence only by the mosquitoes to seek refuge in the water. In the fall and winter they prefer the more sheltered valleys, and appear on the plains in immense herds in the spring. Tiicsdity, y:)tlt. — Walked down the river, and, looking into some deserted Indian huts, obtained some exquisite green mosses anil lichens which were flourishing there notwithstanding the cold weather. A number of sleds arrived from Unalaklik, bringing a large amount of goods and provisions for transmission to Nuhito. On the rolling plain between the summer houses and the bases of the Uli'ikuk Hills I found the larch {Larix microcarpa ^ ) grow- ing sparingly to the height of twelve feet, and abundance of alders. The snow-covered sides of these symmetrical hills stood out witli striking beauty against the dark clouds which formed the back- ground of a rich crimson and purple sunset. \\\tiiicsiiay, i\st. — Ketchum decided to send back all the heavy I: 30 THE YUKON TERRITORY. Mahlemut sleds, and kept nine dogs to assist us in taking the goods up to Nulcito on the light Ingalik sleds. The weather, being above the freezing point, was so warm as to render the prospect of our being able to cross the Uliikuk River on the ice rather dubious ; it would have been useless to start until we could cross it, as it is only a few miles from Ikti'galik. After the sleds had started for Unalaklik, we let out the dogs from an empty summer lodge where they had been confined to prevent their following their comrades down the river. At this period of our explorations arose the famous controversy between two of our party, in regard to the relative merits of beans and rice as articles of food. However insignificant the subject, such was the earnestness and even eloquence developed on both sides, such was the array of facts brought forward to sustain the several arguments, that the interest of every one was awakened in the discussion. This lasted late into the night, and was renewed immediately the following morning. I am sorry to be obliged to record, however, that, as in many other discussions, both literary and scientific, no definite result was arrived at, although each was convinced against his will of the valuable properties of the escu- lent defended by his opponent. Thursday, Novanbcr \st. — The weather was still warm and snow fplling fast. We made the discovery that nine or ten of our dogs had apparently decided to hold a town meeting in Unalaklik, and had accordingly left for that place. This was exceedingly pro- voking, as it would render our starting impossible in the event of a sudden cold snap. I therefore proposed to Ketchum to go back to Unalaklik and get the dogs, and Francis offered to do the same thing. The decision was postponed till the next day. Ketchum, finding dry fish likely to be scarce, called on the Indians to bring out what they had to spare, and purchased it. This fish is principally .salmon and some small white fish, and is dried in the sun without smoke or salt. It is the principal staple of food, under the name of I'lkali, for all travellers, both men and dogs ; being very light and portable, yet full of oil ; of not the most agreeable flavor, it is at least strong if not strengthening. Occa- sionally one does get hold of a clean, well-dried ukali, that tastes very well when broiled over the fire ; though in my own case the use of it invariably produced heartburn. The ration for a dog is THE YUKON TERRITORY. 31 snow dogs I, and pro- fit of go the day. dians s fish cd in food, dogs ; most Occa- tastes ■e the log is one salmon weighing from a pound and a half to two pounds, or as many smaller fish as will amount to the same. They will travel on less, but the best policy is to feed your dogs well, and you may then, with proper attention, be sure that they will work well and rarely run away. At this time Ketchum made an arrangement with Lofka, a newly arrived Indian, and Andrea, to accompany him in a pro- posed winter trip up the Yukon, and paid them partly in advance. Friday, 2d. — Francis and I started at nine o'clock for Unala- klik to bring back the missing dogs. Found the walking good but wet, and we occasionally had to take to the bank. The distance is twenty-two English miles in a direct line, but at least thirty by the river, which is exceedingly tortuous. We arrived at the post at two o'clock, just in time for a glorious Russian bath and a hot cup of tea. These baths are an institution to be proud of Every Russian trading-post in the territory is furnished with a bath-house, and once a week all the inmates avail themselves of it. As they reckon time according to Old Style in the Russian colonies, their Sunday falls on our Saturday, and as a consequence bath-day comes on Friday. The apparatus is very simple. A rude arch of loose stones, of the hardest obtainable kind, is built, and more stones piled over it, so that a fire made beneath the arch can pen- etrate between them. There is no chimney, but a trap-door in the roof A large cask full of water heated for the purpose, and another of cold water, generally with ice floating in it, and a suc- cession of benches one abov^e the other, complete the equipment. When the stones are thoroughly heated and the smoke has all passed out, all coals are removed and the trap-door is shut ; any smoke or coals remaining will make the eyes smart and the bath very uncomfortable. Each one leaves his clothing in an outer room, and on entering wets his head and throws hot water on the heated stones until as much steam is produced as he can bear, lie then mounts as high on the benches as he finds com- fortable, and the perspiration issues from every pore. He then takes a sort of broom or bunch of dried mint or birch twigs, with the leaves still on them, which is prepared at the proper season and called miUiiik. With this he thrashes himself until all im- purities are thoroughly loosened from the skin, and finishes with a wash oft" in hot water and soap. Then taking a kantag, or H." If I ■ i r ) i, :'::■ 1' .' 32 THE YUKON TERRITORY. wooden dish, full of ice-cold water, he dashes it over himself and rushes out into the dressing-room. This last process is disagree- able to the uninitiated, but is absolutely necessary to prevent tak- ing cold. I have known cases of acute rheumatism brought on by omitting it. The dressing-room is spread with straw and always communicates with the outer air. The temperature is often many degrees below zero ; but such is the activity of the circulation, that one dresses in perfect comfort notwithstanding. A warm dressing- room would be insupportable. These baths cannot be recommended for those with a tendency to heart disease or apoplexy, but to persons in a healthy condition the effect is delightful ; rheumatic patients are frequently cured by their means, with proper precautions. One of these baths will re- move all traces of extreme exertion or fatigue as if by magic, and they may be advantageously followed by a few cups of hot tea and an hour's repose. After our bath we found to our disgust that the dogs had been sent back, thanks to the energy of Mr, Dyer, and must have passed us on the way, while making a short portage. The weather be- coming disagreeable, we were soon reconciled to our disappoint- ment, and were snugly ensconced in one of the bastions, which had been hung with reindeer skins for comfort and warmth dur- ing the severe winter, relating our experiences over the ever- grateful cup of tea, while the sleet was driving and the storm howled outside. Saturday, yi. — The weather continued warm and disagreeable. The ice was very wet and bad, and we concluded not to return to Ikti'galik to-day. The village beyond Iktigalik is called Ulukuk, and many of the Russians call the former village New Ulukuk, as it was built since the latter, by Ulukuk Indians, the point being a good one for the fisheries. The mouth of the Unalakli'k River is obstructed by a bar, over which at low tide there is only a few feet of water, except in a narrow and tortuous channel, which is continually changing as the river deposits fresh detritus. Inside of this bar we get two or three fathoms of water for a few miles, but the river has only a few feet in the channel, most of the summer, from the mouth to Ulukuk. The tide-water comes up a mile or two, and from this cause it is difficult at times to procure fresh water for drinking ?i 1 i "I •I -« THE YUKON TERRITOKV. '1 -> purposes, as the well water is disagreeably brackish. The same trouble is found at St. Michael's, where the only good water is obtained from springs on the mainland, near the shore opposite the island. There are many of these springs near the shore along the coast, and they are unfrozen all winter, the water having a temperature of 28" to 30° Fahrenheit, even when the air is several degrees below zero. Whether this is due to any latent volcanic heat cannot yet be decided, but the islands of Stuart and St. -Michael, as well as the coast as far north as Tolstoi Point, are composed of basaltic lava, full of amygdaloidal cavities and crys- tals of olivine, and, in many places, roughly columnar in five-sided pillars. Siiiuiay, ^th. — In the morning a strong northeast wind was blowing, with the thermometer about 16°, and a great deal of loose snow driving about. I determined, in spite of the remon- strances of the others, to delay no longer, and, putting some bis- cuit and ukali in my pocket, I started alone, about eleven o'clock, for Ikti'galik. The wind sweeping over the broad plains near the mouth of the river was so violent, and the sleet was so blinding, that I was unable to face it, and was obliged to go from side to side of the river diagonally. In doing this I was misled by a branch of the river, and proceeded several miles before I found out my mistake. Retracing my steps, I took the right direction, and reached the wooded part of the river, where the trees made a shelter from the force of the wind and driving snow, late in the afternoon. I found the ice rather soft and covered in many places with drifted snow, so that the travelling was very laborious. To add to my annoyances, it soon became very dark, and I had to grope my way over ice-hummocks and through snow-drifts until nearly worn out by the e.xertion. Passing round a bend in tlie river, the ice gave way under me, and I had only time to throw myself on one side, where it proved more solid, and I got off with a wetting up to my knees. Taking off my boots and socks, I wrung out the water and put them on again, when they froze immediately. Nothing but the want of an axe preventetl my camping then and there ; but a howling, which came evidently trom no great distance, reminded me that it might not prove healthy to sleep without a fire. I trudged along, and, to my great delight, about eight o'clock, the moon rose, and I soon saw the 3 l-l M tj til i ' 4 THE YUKON TERRITORY. ''I ( ! ( h I high caches of the village standing out against the sky. I heard no dogs, however, and on reaching the entrance of the house on the bank I found it closed with a block of wood. Climbing on to the roof and looking through the gut cover, I thought I saw a glimmer as of live coals where the fire had been. My shouts finally aroused Ingechuk, who was the only occupant. Ketchum had evidently gone, and I had my labor for my pains ! Between the small stock of Russian which I had picked up, and the little Ingechuk knew, I finally managed to make out that they had left that day and gone to Uliikuk. I made him boil the chynik, and changed my wet clothes, which were frozen so hard as to be difficult to get off; and then, after taking my tea, retired with a feeling that I had earned a good night's sleep. Monday, ^th. — Not wishing to take another useless tramp, I prevailed on Ingechuk to take a note to Ketchum, if he was at Uliikuk and if he wished me to join him ; and feeling rather stiff, I remained in the house, writing and resting most of the day. About the middle of the afternoon, Francis arrived. He had met an Indian with a note from Ketchum, on the river, and knew that he was gone, but had kept on to Ikti'galik. Soon after, Ingechuk returned with a note from Ketchum, who was on the point of starting for Nuhito, and advised us to return to Unalakli'k and come up with the next brigade of sleds. Tuesday, Qitli. — Breakfasted on some fine salmon trout {koko- limya of the Indians, and kolslick of the Russians) which Ketchum had sent down to us. These fish, when broiled in their skins on a stick over the fire, are exceedingly fine eating, but if fried or cleaned before cooking lose much of their flavor. Leaving some of our things with Ingechuk, to follow us the next day, we started for Unalakli'k about eleven, and reached it about five o'clock in the afternoon ; our return created some amuse- ment. The ice being very glairy made the travelling very disa- greeable, and we were well satisfied when we came to our jour- ney's end. Adams, one of the original party, now justly known as the pioneers, had left for the Redoubt in a bidarra, but had not re- turned ; some fears were excited that he might not be able to do so until the sea ice had fully formed. Temperature varied from 15° to 20°. THE YUKON TERRITORY. 35 For several days we remained /// statu quo. Our time was taken up in increasing our knowledge of Russian and the Miihlemut dialect, in preparations for another attempt to cross the portage, and in reading a variety of matter provided by the kindness of some of the officers who did not remain in the coun- try. Several evenings were pleasantly diversified by an amateur theatrical performance, aided by several violins. Many capital personal hits were made, which, being taken in good part by the victims, were productive of a great deal of merriment. Monday, \2th. — Started for Iktigalik about ten o'clock, with two Mahlemuts, Shurugeluk and Ichiluk by name, commonly known as Shuggy and New-Years, the latter having been hired the previous year by Mr. Kennicott on New-Year's day. We had two heavily loaded sleds of Mahlemut make, drawn by five and four dogs respectively, dogs being scarce. The party consisted, besides the two Eskimo above referred to, of Messrs. Dyer and Francis, and myself, — Mr. Francis and I, not wishing to be idle, having volunteered to assist in transporting the Nulato goods to Ulukuk. By making several short portages, the distance was materially reduced, and we arrived in good condition at Iktigalik about two o'clock in the afternoon. Tuesday, \yh. — After breakfast, loaded up one Mahlemut and one light Ingalik sled and started at half past ten for Ulukuk, which is about eleven miles from Iktigalik by several portages and tlic river. About half-way on a bend of the river were two roofless deserted houses, once a summer fishing village, called by the Indians N'tsoh. Unromantic as it may appear, the sight of these poor ruins, indicating probably a death in the midst of the primeval woods, could hardly fail to produce a touch of emotion in any mind less occupied than that of the hardy and careless voyageur. They formed a rude, half-effaced, but effective monu- ment of human sorrow, in a country where humanity se( \<-'\ iiardly to have taken root, existing as it does, only by a constant struggle for the necessities of life. Pursuing our way up steep banks and down sharp declivities requiring the greatest care in the management of dogs and sleds, over the ice-bound river and the rolling plains, dotted with clumps ot larch and willow, we finally struck the river at a sharp bend, just l)elow the point where the village of Ulukuk is situated. n m B! •iii i'i ■I' ^1 ■I' (I , 11 M ! 36 THE YUKON TERRITORY. ! ; I, 1 El It '. Here a large number of springs exist, some of them loelow the bed of the river, whose waters are never frozen, an open patch being found here during the most severe winters. The water in these springs, measured by a standard thermometer of Greenes make, was not very warm, but retained a temperature of thirty- two to thirty-four degrees Fahrenheit during extremely cold weather. I counted seven springs in the gravel beach near the village, all without any ice about them ; most of them continue open during the entire year, but are covered by the river during the spring freshets. The village contains five winter houses, a small casine, and a row of high caches. It is situated on the right bank of the river, which is here about two hundred feet wide ; about four miles to the eastward the Uliikuk Hills rise to a height of about two thou- sand feet. At this time they were snow covered of course, but they are free from snow during the summer. The open water in the river makes it somewhat difficult to ap- proach the village with sleds from below, the banks, though low. being steep and covered with small trees. Snow or ice, plar upon the smooth pebbles from beneath which the springs w flowing, soon melted, though the weather was at zero. With the atmosphere at eight below zero, the temperature of one spring, which gave out beautifully clear water with a slight saline taste like bicarbonate of soda, was thirty-two degrees ; another, quite tasteless, was thirty-four degrees Fahrenheit. The water in the river, at the edge of the ice, which was about eighteen inches thick, had a temperature of thirty-one degrees. A remarkable abundance of fish frequents the vicinity of this patch of open water, especially the delicious salmon trout for which Uliikuk is noted, and a small cyprinoid fish not elsewhere observed. Ami'lka has a house in this village also, and into it we took our baggage and rested ; an old Indian called Sammdk roasted some trout for our evening meal, while with some fresh alene meat and backfat Dyer concocted one of those appetizing telegraph stews previously mentioned. Wi'dncsiiay, i^t/i. — Francis and our two Eskimo started oft' with three sleds to bring loads from Iktigalik. Several sick Ind- ians came to me for treatment, their own medical knowledge be- ing confined to steam-baths and to counter-irritants in the form of THK YUKON TKKRITORY. 2>1 low the 1 patch :ater in ireenes ■ thirty- :ly cold lear the :ontiiiuc r during e, and a he river, miles to wo thou- urse, but lit to ap- lugh low. e, plar ngs w With the |e spring, line taste er, quite ras about ;rees. A patch of Uliikuk Id. Itook our ;d some leat and hh stews Irted oft" lick Ind- ulge be- Ibrm of bleeding by means of a large number of small cuts and the actual cautery. They have no knowledge of the uses of the indigenous herbs of the country or of any medicines. I purchased a fine pair of snow-shoes about five feet long for a sheath-knife, and Dyer obtained a large number of the river trout from the Indians. I cannot understand why Kane and other Arctic travellers could not preserve fresh provisions in a frozen state, for winter use. In this country immense quantities of meat and fish are so preserved without taint all the year round. E.xca- vations are made in the earth to the depth of two or three feet, where it is usually frozen, and the contents are thus pro- tected from the rays of the sun. Towards evening Francis and the sleds returned with heavy loads of goods from the other village. Thursday, I'-^th. — It being my turn to take charge of the bri- gade, I started with the dogs and men about half past ten, with empty sleds. Reached Iktigalik about two o'cli> k, and by means of a little diplomacy induced Ingechuk and Am ilka to lend me their dogs, and also got hold of another sled. Friday, \6t/i. — Rose early, and after chy peet, as the Russians call a meal of bread and tea, harnessed up the dogs, and, taking all the remaining goods, except some dog feed, started about half past eight and arrived at Ulukuk about noon. Cached the goods and repaired sleds and harness. News arrived from Ketchum in the afternoon, by an Indian who brought a sled and a worn-out dog from a jwint called Vesolia .S(')pka, or Cheerful Mountain. He said that Ketchum had passed that point with three sleds ai route for Nulato, but that the roads were very bad, the snow being deep and soft. One of our party had been trading with Lofka, who, having an ear for music, bought an accordeon, giving in exchange two dogs, one of which was sup- posed to be running wild in the woods. Lofka knew nothing of the use of the instrument, and it was a moot question which had the best of the bargain. The instrument having been u.sed to play " Tramp, tramp, the boys are marching "' for some four months, about twenty-four times a day, was, to say the least, not in a condition to be much injured by Indian fingering. Alter waiting a day for the return of the Nulato brigade which was due. Dyer returned to Unalaklik, leaving Francis and myself i> rf ^ H; I. \ ' ... t. -J 1 i ; i ! ) [ I, " 1 ' I 38 THE YUKON TERRITORY, with nothing to do but eat, drink, and sleep, which was extreme- ly tedious, as the days were very short. We finally determined, if the brigade did not arrive the next day, we would get a few dogs together and carry a load to Ves()lia Sopka. If it were a finiall one it would be of assistance, and anything would be better than con- tinued idleness. A large number of Indians arrived from dif- ferent quarters, and I improved the opportunity to enlarge my Ingalik vocabularies. One of them went out, and returned with three brace of beautiful rutited grouse {Bouasa nmhdhts) I also purchased some small fish, which were devoted to the interests of science. Wednesday, 21st. — Heard a howling early in the morning and an outcry among the Indians, and jumpeci into my clothes just in time to catch a sight of Mike's j)leasant face coming up the bank, with two Russians, six sleds, and nearly forty dogs behind him. A rapid interchange of news ensued, while unharnessing the dogs and putting the sleds up or the stages provided for the purpose. Mike was delighted to find that the work of carrying the goods from Unalaklik to Uli'ikuk had been taken ori" his hands. The Russians were to go on to Unalaklik, and we should immediately proceed to Nuhito. Ketchum sent word to me to come up immediately, as uiy services were likely to be needed ; but unfortunately he wis obliged to ask Francis to wait for the next brigade, as the supply of provisions at Nuhito was exceedingly small. Nuhito. as the natives -ay, is emjihati- cally a " hungry " place. We all regretted the provoking neces- sity which deprived us for a time of the society of our lively and energetic companion. He therefore made arrangements for returning a third time to Unalaklik with the Russians. Thursdixy, ?2d. — Rising early, the sleds were soon in readi- ness, and, buying a 'ot of fresh trout, for our own use and to send by the Russians to UnalakUk, we started about noon for Ves(')lia bupka ; our party consisting of six Indians, one man to each sled, besides Mike and myself The road was excellent, and we dill not require snow-shoes; the ilogs were in good condition, and we progressed very well. After leaving Uliikuk, crossing the river and a belt of spruce timber of small size and about a mile in breadth, we came to open rolling land, between the river and the base of the hills. li. I THE YUKON' TERRITORY. 39 This country is almost level, with hillocks here and there, and occasional clumps of low willows. This prairic-like plain is called a ti'tiuim by the Russians. From Ulukuk to the river at the Vesolia Sopka is about four- teen miles,* the greater part of which is over the tundra, which is occasionally intersected by small streams falling into the Ulukuk branch of the Unalaklik River, and forming deep gullies, which, until filled with snow, arc difficult to pass with loaded sleds. The dogs have sometimes to be unhitched and the sled carefully easeil over the ravine and lifted up the opposite bank, — a work fre- quently of no small labor. The VescSlia Sopka forms the termination of the range of the Ulukuk Hills, but is somewhat lower and detached from the rest. It attains a height of about eight hundred feet above the sur- rounding plain, and has an even and beautifully rounded summit. At its base, hidden by large and very tall spruce and poplar, runs the Ulukuk River. We crossed the stream, which is about two hundred feet wide, and soon reached a spot where the Russians rue accustomed to camp, on the opposite bank, from which the Sopka (Russian for cone or peak, particularly a volcanic one) probably derived its name of Ves(')lia (cheerful). Near this point a small stream, known to tht' inhabitants as Poplar Creek, en- ters the river, This is an excellent locality for trapping, as the numerous fox and marten tracks testified. We boiled the chynik and partook of a cheerful meal of bacon and biscuit, and then pushed on by moonlight, over wooded hills, to an Indian summer lodge, or /^rt;-w7;<;/vr, built of spruce poles and birch bark. Here we campetl, and passed a rather uncomfortable night, as the frail walls retained the smoke and admitted the cold wind. This point is about eight miles from the S(')i)ka. Friday, 2t,(/. — Rose early, and after reloading the sleds and discussing chy, with accompaniments of bacon, I iscuit, ukali, and molasses, we passed on over hillsides sparsely wot)ded wilii spruce and alder, through valleys, and up anil dov 'i some rather bad hills, occasionally along the river on the ice. About dark we came upon some open tundra, just beyond a low marsh, known as Heaver Lake, as it is covered with water in the spring ; here a strong north wind was blowing full in our teeth, carrying tlie * I'lilcss otlu'iwisc St, 111 (I, Miiulisli st,\liiU' niilr> .in' im,inl. ''■'u til •!J| I'i ¥ V 1 , ; U ( 'i I 40 THE YUKON TERRITORY. snow along the ground in blinding sleet. The atmosphere was six below zero. The other sleds were some distance behind, but as our sled carried the teakettle and axes, we felt pretty sure the Indians would follow, though much against their will. We strug- gled on until we arrived at an old camp of Ketchum's, where one tree mocked us with its inefficient attempt at shelter. We de- cided to camp here, no more suitable locality being within reach. By placing the sleds to windward, with a piece of cotton drill stretched around them, we managed to keep off the driving snow a little. The hot tea in our tin cups burned the hand on one side, while the keen wind gnawed it on the other. Smoking was out of the question, and we lay down, using the bacon as pil- lows, and watched the dogs, who, growling their disapprobation, sheltered their noses with their tails, and, more fortunate than ourselves, soon sank into unconscious slumber. Satiird(i]\ 24///. — About four o'clock in the morning an old Indian called Ivan, from Nulato, came along with his son. They pulled their own sled, and had a few marten skins with which they were going to Unalaklik to buy oil for winter use. Shortly after, we broke camp and proceeded. About nine o'clock the sun rose, attended by three beautiful mock suns, or parlicliix. One was nearly thirty degrees above the real sun, and there was one on each side, similar, but more brilliant. All were connected by an arch resembling a rainbow, except that it was of an orange color with a dark reddish band on the inner side, and threw out rays of light from the 01 jr edge. About a quarter of another similar arch was reversed, loucliing the lower arch at the point where the upper mock sun was seen, and a cross of brilliant light was noticed at each junction of the arch with the mock suns. This beautiful exhibition continued for six hours, from sunrise to sunset, and IVIike tells me they are not uncommon here in winter. .Shot a Canada jay, or whiskey jack {Pcrisorcits canadensis), with a dark brown "woolly bear" caterpillar in his mouth, just killed. Where it had come from was a mystery I do not pretend to solve, probably from beneath the snow. We decided to camp early, as we were all very tired, and after descending a deep declivity called by the Russians Pcrivdlli, we stopped on the bank of a small stream, made a good camp, en- joyed our supper, tea, and pipes, and slept soundl)'. THE YUKON TERRITORY. 41 Sti/idayy 26//1. — Off at six. Passed over the flanks of some hi<:(h Iiills, from one of which I caught my first glimpse of the great river Yukon, broad, smooth, and ice-bound. A natural impatience urged me forward, and after a smart tramp of several miles we arrived at the steep bank of the river. It was with a feeling akin to that which urged Balboa forward into the very waves of a newly discovered ocean, that I rushed by the dogs and down the steep declivity, forgetting everything else in the desire to be first on the ice, and to enjoy the magnificent prospect before me. There lay a stretch of forty miles of this great broad, snow- covered river, with broken fragments of ice-cakes glowing in the rutldy light of the setting sun ; the low opposite shore, three miles away, seemed a mere black streak on the horizon. A few islands covered with dark evergreens were in sight above. Below, a faint purple tinged the snowy crests of far-off mountains, whose height, though not extreme, seemed greater from the low banks near me and the clear sky beyond. This was the river I had read and dreamed of, which had seemed as if shrouded in mystery, in spite of the tales of those who had seen it. On its banks live thousands who know neither its outlet nor its source, who look to it for food and even for clothing, and, recognizing its magnificence, call them- selves proudly nwii of the Yukon. Stolid indeed must he be, who surveys the broad expanse of the Missouri of the North for the first time witho' emotion. A little Innuit lad, who ran before the dogs and - it for the first time, shouted at the sight, saying, amidst his cxprcs^iniis of astonishment, " It is not a river, it is a sea ! " and even \\<^ Indians had no word of ridicule for him, often as they had seen it. A half-mile above the point where wc struck the river bank is a cluster of winter houses and caches, which goes b)' the name of Kaltag. Tliither we turned our steps, a piercing IK irth wester sweeping down the river being an effectual argument against fiu-ther progress. We entered one of the houses, a large, clean, and well-constructed building, where we founii a very old man known as Kultdi^ S/dirck by the Russians (s/onr'/,- meaning old man), and his wife, with another woman, busily at work on some winter clothing. They made room for us, spread some clean mats, and Mike, who was a general favorite, especially among the indigenous female population, by a present of a pair of scissors ■I ft f i km m \ > % 42 THE YUKON TERRITORY. \ I I ; I: I ii l\ t ' induced the old woman to give us tliree or four ptarmigan, with a promise of six more on his next visit. He then proceeded with the aid of some rice to concoct a stew which did great credit to his culinary abilities. We went out together to feed the dogs, and returning unex- pectedly, I found one of the Indians investigating with his fingers the recesses of a spare chynik which contained our molasses. Such incidents are not uncommon, when travelling with the na- tives. After discussing our supper and congratulating ourselves on the accomplishment of the portage without storm or accident, we turned in early, to enjoy a good night's rest and thereby prepare for an early start the next day. Monday, 26th. — Pushed oft' quite early, travelling on the middle of the river, finding the ice, which seemed so even and smooth from the bank, to be broken, strewed with numerous cakes, and diversified by hummocks, over which about eighteen inches of snow had already collected. Here and there were patches of smooth ice, evidently of recent formation, and once or twice a light cloud over an opening indicated that the surface was not entirely frozen. Numerous long islands, covered with spruce, poplar, and willow, obstructed the view of the opposite shore, which is quite low, while here and there we could catch glimpses of the summits of the Kaiyuh Mountains, a range of high hills to the eastward. Tiie right bank consists of rounded bluffs following each other like waves, reaching a heiglit of fifty to one hundred and fifty feet, cau.sed by the bending of the strata, which are composed of layers of brown tertiary sandstones of Miocene age. The sides of these bluft's, with the ravines between them, are well wooded with spruce and birch, which often attain a considerable height. The left bank is uni- formly low and densely wooded. Thr thermometer to-day fell to thirty-two below zero, but the air was still, and travelling was not uncomfortable. About six o'clock we reached a broad ravine, through which a small brook ran, and where an Ingalik named Alikoft' had built a small house, known as Alikolfs barr;ibora. This is about twenty miles from Kaltag, which, I forgot to state, is about twenty-five miles from Ivan's barnibora and thirty-six from Nuliito, perhaps a few miles more by the M)ad we took. THE YUKON TERRITORY. Here we decided to camp for the night, and found the house, which was empty, rather smoky and uncomfortable. Tuesday, 2^(11. — Making an early start for Nukito, we ))roceedcd up the river, the temperature being about twenty-eight below zero. About eleven o'clock, arrived at an open space near!)- two miles long, bounded on the south by a sharp bluff known as the Shaman Mountain. Here a seam of coal had been reported, and, stopping for a moment, I ascertained that the report was correct. Reserving a careful examination for some other occasion, I started ahead of the dogs, following the old tracks on the snow, and soon left the brigade behind me. In half an hour I reached a [»oint on the river where a party of three Russians were engaged in setting fish-weirs under the ice. An old fellow, whose head shook like that of a Chinese mandarin, informed me that the post of Nulato was only a mile beyond. A steady walk of nearly an hour convinced me that it was nearer three miles, but I soon espied the stockade and two turrets at no great distance. Ascending the bank. I went into the enclosure, and, inquiring for the Americans, was directed to a low building on one side. On entering I was soon shaking hands with Ketchum, and with W'hympcr, who was already engaged in sketching. We were congratulated on our quick trip from Ulukuk, and exchanged items of news. The noise of the dogs was soon heard, and we were busily engaged in unloading and storing the goods, as well as unharnessing the dogs, who seemed as glad as anybody that their journey had come to a satisfactory conclusion. M I' I ; 1 m ' i .■ CHAPTER II. \ : I . I I -. M i ' 11 II \ Arrival at Xulato, and introduction to the Creole bidarshik. — Description of the post and its inhabitants. — Adjacent points. — History. — The Nulato massacre and its cause. — Barnard's grave. — Daily life at Nulato. — Larriown. - Koyukun Indians. — Ingaliks. — Kurilla. — Plans for the coining season. — Examination of a coal- seam. — Nuklukahyct chief. — Christmas festivities. — New Year's and erection of the first telegraph poie. — Aurora. — Return of Ketchum. — Collections in Natural History. — Indian rumor. — Cannibalism. — Russian ingenuity. — Founding of Fort Kennicott. — Departure of Ketchum and Mike on their winter journey to Fort Yukon. — Arrival of our bidarra. — Trip to Wolasatu.x' barrabora. — Scarcity of food. — First signs of spring. — Robbing a grave. — First goose. — Indian children. — Rescue of the bidarshik. — Anecdote of Major Kennicott and erection of a mon- ument to his memory. — Formation of alluvium. — Preparations for our journey. — Breaking up of the ice on the Yukon. IT AVING finally arrived at Nulato, which I proposed to 1 make my head-quarters, and having rested from the fa- tigue of the journey, I was introduced to Ivan I'avloflf, the bidar- shik or commander of the trading-post. He was a short, thick- set, swarthy, low-browcd man, a half-breed between a Russian and a native of Kenai, and was legally married to a full-blooccd Indian woman, named Marina, the widow of a previous bidarshik, by whom he had a large family of children. He appeared to be a good-humored fellow, though the Indian clearly predominated in him. While evidently understanding nothing of the object of the collections and observations which I proposed to make, he yet assured me that I should be welcome to any information or assist- ance I might need. A disagreeable servility marked his inter- course with the Americans and full-blooded Russians, the latter regarding him with unconcealed contempt on account of his Indian blood, notwithstanding his responsible position. This accounted for the expression which might often be observed on his face while conversing with him. It seemed a mi.xture of stupidity and low cunning, as if he were apprehensive that some covert ridicule, or attempt at overreaching, lay hidden in the conversation addressed to him. He was an insatiable drinker, THE YUKON TERRITORY, 45 and ungovernable as a mad bull when drunk, thoup;h at other times quiet and uncxcitable. He was continually pestering us with requests for liquor, until I was obliged to poison all the alcohol intended for collecting purposes. Notwithstanding his faults, most of which were hereditary, he brought up his chil- dren and treated his wife as well as his light allowed him to do. He had a large proportion of generosity and hospitality in his character, was unusually free from any disposition to immorality, and was never known to sell any furs, purchased by him and belonging to the Russian American Company, to any of our party, as he might easily have done. He could not read or write, and the accounts were kept by an assistant called Yagor Ivanovich. He cherished in his heart a dislike to the Americans on account of their superior energy and intelligence, which led them to regard him with no very respectful eye. When he was drunk, the bitter and unfounded prejudices which he cher- ished came to the surface ; otherwise we should hardly have sus- pected them. I have been thus careful in drawing his portrait, not because the individual is of any particular consequence but because he is in many respects a type of the largest class of the civilized inhabitants of Russian America. They are known among the Russians as Creoles. The other inhabitants of the post of Nulato were two Russians, the only whites beside our- selves, named Karpoff and Paspi'lkoff (the Pomoghnik, or assist- ant, who kept the accounts, was a Creole, like the bidurshik) ; an old Yakut, named Yagorsha, who was a curiosity in himself; two half-breeds ; and a few Indians ; while a nearly equal number of Indian women were employed in and about the post. The fort was a large one, two sides and a part of the third formed by buildings, the remainder a stockade, thus enclosing a large yard, On one side was a long structure, containing two rooms, which .served for the bidarshik and his assistant and their families. These rooms were separated by a covered space from the rest of the building, which contained a magazine for trading- goods and furs, a store-room where fish were kept, and another, which was principally occupied by our goods. Opposite to this was another building of the same size, containiii,, one large room, sepa- rated in the same way from a small one, in both of which workmen and their families lived. ICach of them was surmounted wilii a • 'X ^ ■. '■?! m *i '^f t»i 46 THK YUKON TERRITOKV. I ■ 1 ' I , V^' I I i, M I! y 'I' I r 1 1 '■' ■j " > 1 itt 1 / turret pierced for ljuiis, and in one of these were two antique, rusty, and almost useless six-pounders. The third side was occupied by a low-studded buildiny, about twenty feet long and ten wide, which we occupied ; a shed, where fuel might be kept dry ; the bath-house, and a shed used to cook in, and called by courtesy the /^ot'dm in, or kitchen. The front of the yard was closed in by a stockade about sixteen feet high, of pointed logs set upright in the ground, and was provided with a large gate. 'J"hc houses were of round logs ; the roofs, nearly flat and covered with earth, could be reached by means of steps provided for the purpose. The windows were all of the parchment, or seal intestines, before mentioned, and the buildings were warmed by the universal peechkas, the seams of the walls being calked with dry moss. Interior of I'ort Der.lbin, frnm above. Directly across from the fort, which faces the river, is a low island, less than a mile long. Tlie river is narrow here, beina by exact measurement only a mile and a half wide. The lati- tude of the fort is nearly 64 42' north, and the longitude 157° 54' west. The variation of the compass is nearly thirty-two degrees to the eastward. A mile and a furlong east-northeast is a small creek, a raging torrent in the spring, called /\/,r/-hr/,-//ii///chy the Indians, literally " Stop-a-bit River." Half a mile west-southwest is the mouth of THE YUKON TERRITORY. 47 the Nuluto River, from which the post takes its name, thouj^h it was originally called Fort Derabin, from its builder and first bidarshik. Between these two streams the land is low, gradually rising from the river into low hills, and for the most part densely wooded. A short distance from its nioulh the Xuldto River .1 i f ' I Niilato and tlic Vukon fmm tlie liluffs. receives two streams of no great size. Its total length is about twenty miles, inclusive of windings. The opposite bank of the Klat-kixkhdtnc rises abruptly into a rocky, precipitous bluff, affording a fine view down the river. Not far below the mouth of the Nulato the river-bank rises, but not so abruptly, into bluffs 1 . 48 THE YUKON TERRITORY. :! if, I M about one hundred feet high, with higher hills behind them. Neither deer nor moose are often found in this vicinity. In 1838, Malakoff, a Creole, explored the Yukon as far north as Nulato. Here he built a small trading-post, without a stockade, consisting of several small houses. This was occupied during the summer and fall, but in consequence of the scarcity of pro- visions, at the approach of winter the Russians, under Notarmi the bidarshik, left it and returned to the Redoubt. On their return, in the spring, it was found that the Indians, jealous of the permanent settlement of the whites in their immediate vicinity, had destroyed it by fire. The same thing was repeated in 1839, the buildings being burned and contents carried otf. In 1841, according to Tikhmenief, the historian of the Russian American Company, Derabin was sent to Nulato and rebuilt the fort, after arranging the difficulty with the natives by means of numerous presents given to the most influential chiefs. Yet, not having benefited by previous experience, the post was composed of several detached log-houses, strongly built, but several hundred yr.rds apart, and without a stockade or other efficient means of de- fence. Other buildings were added as necessity called for them, and in 1842, Lieutenant Zagoskin, I. R. N., a special explorer of the Company, arrived, and assisted at the erection of some of these. For ten years, though frequently threatened, the little settle- ment escaped injury, Derabin meanwhile carrying on a lucrative traffic with the natives for furs. In the spring of 185 i, Lieutenant Barnard, of H. M. S. Enterprise, arrived at Nulato with the bidar- shik, in search of information in regard to the fate of Sir John Franklin. He was a member of Captain Collinson's Expedition, and, with Mr. Adams a surgeon, and one man, had been left by the Enterprise at St. Michael's the preceding fall Being prob- ably a blunt, straightforward Englishman, with no knowledge of Indian character and suspicion, he made the remark, in the presence of others, that he intended to " send " for the principal chief of the Koyukun tribe of Indians, whose head-quarters were on the Koyiikuk and Kotelkakat Rivers, and who were then hold- ing one of their annual festivals, about twenty-five miles from Nulato. This unfortunately-worded remark was conveyed to the chief in question, through some of the Indians at the post, by a passing native. THE YUKON TERRITORY. 49 This chief was the most wealthy and influential in that part of the coimtry, widely known and distinguished by a remarkably large and prominent Roman nose, from which he had received a name which, literally translated, means " humpbacked nose.' He was not accustomed to be " .sent "' for. When the Russians desired to see him they respectfully requested the honor of his presence. His Indian pride rose at the insult, and he immediately called a council to discuss the rumor. The shamans were of course first consulted, and they unanimously declared that it boded no good to the chief in question. The council then de- cided that, if the report proved true, they would, with all the Indians there assembled, go together to the fort and demand satisfaction. They waited some time, and finally were about to disperse to their homes, when a single dog-sled appeared on the river. This sled was accompanied by Ivan Biilegin, a Russian, and an Indian workman of the NuUito tribe, who had been sent up to see if any information were attainable, and if so, to bring down the Tyone of Koyi'ikuk. The ill-fated Biilegin drew his sled up on the bank, sending the Indian who accompanied him for water to boil the chynik. Sit- ting down on his sled to rest himself, he was approached stealth- ily from behind and, being struck on the head with an axe or club, was instantly killed. The sled was dragged away and plundered ; when the Nulato Indian returned and saw what had been done, he turned to run, but the Koyukuns called to him, saying, " Are you not one of us .' We will not hurt you." Overcome by l'<;ar, he returned and un- willingly assisted in the atrocity which followed. Biilegin's body was stripped, the flesh cut in slices from the bones, and the sav- ages, infuriated like wild animals by the siglit of blood, roasted these remains and devoured them. An Indian, who noticed the reluctance with which Biilegin's companion joined in the horrid feast, crept up behind him and drove his knife up to the hilt in his neck. The fighting men present then stripped themselves of all incumbrances e.xcept their bows and arrows, and, putting on their snowshoes, set out at once for Nulato. Less than a half-mile below the trading-post were three large winter houses, crowded with Ingaliks of the Nulato tribe, — in all, about a hun- ■^i ii •i i |. * ■h -i ■i i 'Ml 111 I 50 THE YUKON TEKRITORY. t -.'< drcd men, women, and children. These houses were situated near the river-bank, a few rods northeast of the mouth of the Nukito River. It being in the month of February, and an unusually warm spring, the Nuh'ito Indians had taken the precaution to clear away the snow from above their birch-bark canoes, forty or fifty of which were lying about. Intending to forestall retaliation for the death of Biilegin's companion, the Koyiikuns approached with the greatest quietness, not to disturb the sleeping inmates. The canoes were seized, broken up, thrust into the apertures in the roofs and the narrow underground entrances of the houses, and fired. The frightened inhabitants, wakened by the noise and crackling of the flames, endeavored vainly to force a passage through the fire. Some of the men, seizing axes, cut their way out through the wooden walls, but were mercilessly shot down by the arrows of the Koyukuns. Many were suffocated in the smoke. A few women were taken by the victors, and one or two children were able to save themselves in the woods, through the negligence or pity of the conquerors. A young man called Wolasatu.x, renowned for his skill with the bow, escaped to the mountains, eluding the vigilance of the pur- suers by his swiftness of foot. All the rest were smothered or fell beneath the knives and arrows of the assailants. But little noise was made, except by the screams of the women and the shouts of the destroyers, for at that time the Indians had no guns. The slumbers of the Russians were not disturbed. It is said that two Indian women who were employed at the fort, having risen early to boil the chyniks for the morning meal, heard and understood the cries of the victims, but, overcome by fear and anguish at the death of their kindred, stupidly shut themselves into the cook-house, and did not alarm the Russians. The Koyukuns next made for the trading-post, and found the bidarshik, just risen, sitting behind one of the houses. Saying to Ivan, one of their tribe who had been employed at the fort as interpreter, " If you do not kill the bidarshik, we will kill you," they forced him to consent. He approached Derabin and stabbed him in the back repeatedly, so that he fell to rise no more. The Russian interpreter, a man said to have understood seven languages, happening to come out, saw the act, and turning unarmed to the Indians, upbraided them for the murder, but fell THE YUKON TERRITORY. 51 in the doorway, pierced with seven arrows. Rushing over his prostrate body, they entered the house. Harnard was lyini^ on his bed readini; ; at the sij.;ht of th ; '.lostile Indians he raised him- self up to reach his gun, which hung above his head. Twice he fired, and twice the barrel was struck upwards, the balls taking effect in the ceiling. An Indian shaman --christened Larriown by the Russians — and his brother seized the arms, and one plunged his knife into the ICnglishman's abdomen, so that when it was withdrawn the intestines followed it, and he fell back mortally wounded. Several shots were fired, and one struck Larriown in the groin. Three children and their mother were killed ; their father, Teleezhik, being absent in the Kaviak peninsula, as inter- preter, with Captain Bedford Pim. Leaving the bidarshik's house, the Indians ne.xt attacked the casdniiiT, or room where the workmen lived, where there were two Russians and several Creoles. They had barricaded the door, and being at some distance from the other house, knew nothing that had happened. One of them aimed through the window at the crowd of Indians ; when the other, hoping to avoid blood- shed, advised him to fire above their heads, in hope that they would disperse. The crowd separated, but did not retreat, and only answered by a shower of arrows. The ne.xt shot, better aimed, killed one of the Indians, when a panic seemed to seize them, and they immediately retreated with their booty and pris- oners to Koyukuk. Larriown sat in great agony in the outer room of the bidarshik's house. A Russian lay in the inner room, helpless from fever, who had been overlooked by the Indians in the excitement. His wife, an Indian woman named Maria, brought him a loaded pistol, and held him up while he fired at the sha- man. Mis trembling hands could not direct the ball, and Lar- riown dragged himself out to the river-bank. Here he found a Koyukun woman, who had been staying at the fort, with her i).'iby on a little sled, which she was drawing by a band over her forehead. He threw the child into the snow, and ordered her to draw him to Koyukuk. She refused, and he stabbed her to the heart ! How he fi* Jly got away, no one knows. Thus ended the Nulato massacre. An Ingalik, named Lofka, was sent by the Russians with a letter to the Redoubt. He placed it in his boot, fortunately, for i;. ■k[ it. If I • I >i ( ll 52 THE YUKON TEURITOKV. he was stopped on the river and searched by two Koyiikuns, who suspected his errand. Finding nothing, they let him go. Mr. Adams, the surgeon, imn:ediately started, with Teleczhik and a party of Russians, for Nulito. Captain Pirn, having re- turned from his adventurous journey frost-bitten, could not ac- company him, and remained at Unalaklik. The Russians had sewed up the wounds ; but, before Mr. Adams arrived, Lieut'.'nant Barnard was dead. It only remained for him to perform the last sad offices and to erect a cross over his grave, with the following inscription : — LIEUiENANT J. J. liARXARD, Ok II. M. Kntkkprisk, Killed F"l) 16, 1851, IIY TIM. Koi'Kl'K l.\I)l.\NS, V. A. The Russian American Company, as is the wont of trading companies, never took any measures of retaliation for this mas- sacre. Larriown. and Ivan, the murdeier of the bidarshik, are frequent visitors at the fort. Presents were sent to the Koyukun chiefs, and there the matter ended. A stockaded fort was soon built on the jiresent site, and the graves of Barnard and Deni- bin lie a stone's throw behind it, The excavations where the Indian houses stood are still to be seen, and form the graves of those natives who jierished by the massacre. On the 29th of November the indefatigable Mike started again for Ulukuk. I occupied myself with putting my instru- ments in order for meteorological observations. The thermome- ter, a standard one, registered thirty-si.\ below zero. Our cook and principal assistant about the house, in the absence of the fairer sex, was Peetka, the son of Ivan, previously mi-iitioned as the murderer of Denibin. His father was acting as an inter- preter for the Russians. In an Indian house, outside the stock- ade, Larriown was domiciled with his wit\' and eliild. The ajijiear- ance of this man was remarkable. A small round head and face, piercing eyes, thin scattered hair, a sho ■ pug nose (unusual in an Indian), a tremendous development ol the muscles of the jaw, a very dark complexion, and a fiendish expression of countenance combined to make his appearance the reverse of attractive, even when in good humor. Ili THE YUKON TERRITORY. 53 His wife possessed some of these characteristics in a lesser degree, but was equally repulsive. Both of them had gained, by a long list of evil deeds, a reputation as sorcerers or shamans, which made their influence among the Indians immense. Both of them were well acquainted with the uses of intoxicating liquors, which for some years the Koyiikuns have obtained from traders at Kotzebue Sound. This circumstance has done much to ren- der the tribe, naturally cruel and turbulent, one of the worst in the territory. Fortunately, disease and the scarcity of Ibod, annu- ally increased by the use of firearms in killing reindeer, have reduced their numbers, and at present they can hardly muster over two hundred families. From increased immorality, chie to the introduction of liquor, the births are few, and hardly replace the deaths. Few women have more than two children, while many have only one, a large proportion being barren. The tribe, therefore, may be regarded as on its way to extinction. They are of the f;\niily of Tinneh, belonging, with the Ingaliks and Nowikakat Indians, to the division of Fastern Ti'nneh. Their dialect is closely allied to the Ingalik, hardly differing more from it than the widely separated local dialects of Ingalik differ from one another. Their principal villages are on the Kotclk;lkat and Kotelno Rivers, the largest being known as Kotelk;ikat. The Indians living on the Yukon between Koyukuk and Xuklukahyet are known to ihe Ingaliks as Urakat.iri.i, or " lar-off people," and call tl'.emselves, with most other Indians living on the river, Yukor.ikatiina, or " men of the ^'ukon." The Nulato Ingaliks are nearly e.xtinct. Tlie Ingaliks liv- ing on the other side of the Yukon, between it and the Kaiyuh Mountains (known os Takai'tsky to the Russians), bear the name of K;iiyuhkatana, or ■' lowland people," and the other branches of Ingaliks have simila' names, while preserving their general tribal name. The Ingaliks are, as a rule, tall, well-made, but slender. They have very long, squarely oval faces, high prominent cheek-bones, large ears, small mouths, no.ses, and eyes, ami an unusually large lower jaw. The nose is well formed and a(|uiline, but small in proportion to the rest of the face. 1'he hair is King, coarse, and black, and generally parted in the middle. Ikit few of them ,11 I m !' I I ", if ( l>; i m Ll ' ! I h :> n '•|! 54 THE YUKON TERRITORY. shave the crown, as is the custom among the Eskimo. Their complexion is an ashy brown, perhaps from dirt in many cases, and they seldom have much color. On the other hand, the Koyiikuns, with the same high cheek-bones and piercing eyes, have much shorter faces, more roundly oval, of a pale olive hue, and frequently arched eyebrows and a fine color. They are the most attractive in appearance of the Indians in this part of the territory, as they are the most untamable. The women espe- cially are more attractive than those among the Ingaliks, whose square faces and ashy complexion render the latter very plain, not to say repulsive. The women do up their hair in two braids, one on each side ; but among the Koyiikuns it is not uncommon to see the hair cut short, especially after a death in the family. The detached hair is tied up in a little bundle and placed in the crotch of a tree, or anywhere where it will not be disturbed by animals. Parings from the nails are treated in the same way, as they have a superstition that disease will follow the disturbance of such remains by wild animals. The original dress of the male Koyukuns consists of a pair of breeches of deerskin, with the moccasins, or coverings for the feet, attached, and a deerskin parka without any hood, long and pointed before and behind. At present they buy many articles of clothing from the Eskimo and from the Russians, especially for winter wear. They are fond of ornaments and gay colors, while the Ingaliks, who wear clothing much like that adopted by the Ivskimo, care little for ornaments or beads. Both build houses similar to those already described, while the other tribes of the same fixmily, to the eastward, build only tem- porary lodges of skins and poles, which they transport from place to place. The habits, utensils, and mode of life of the Ingaliks and Koyukuns are very similar, and will be more fully describeil hereafter. They depend for food upon the reindeer and moose, salmon and other fish, anil small game, more or less, according to the re- sources of the locality in which they live. At Nukito the only dependence is fish, and some small game, such as grou.sc and water-fowl in their seasons. There are no deer or moose at Nuliito, and food is often very scarce. I found a constant current of cokl air, with a temperature from ^1' THE YUKON TERRITORY. 55 \m — 32° to — 55° Fah., entering our room by means of the cracks in the floor, which was composed of logs squared on the upper side. Needles, forks, spoons, and other articles of use and orna- ment followed each other into the abyss. The matter, though laughable, was also serious, as our stock of the last-named articles amounted to only one apiece. After consultation we employed Kun'lla, one of the few surviving Nulato Indians, to calk the seams with moss. Our stock of this was soon ex- hausted, following the spoons, and we made the best of a bad job by covering the floor thickly with straw, that again with mats, and over all nailing some old blankets. By placing a few reindeer-skins about for rugs, we managed to improve matters a good deal. Previously, one day when the freshly heated peechka was pouring out a generous supply of hot air, I tried the ther- mometer at the eaves, where it stood at ninety ; four feet above the floor gave a temperature of forty-five, while on the floor the mer- cury indicated several degrees below freezing. The walls were anything but tight, and the warm air of the room deposited its e.xtra moisture in hoar-frost, like feathers, near the fissures. Peetka proved very unreliable, disappearing and staying so, just when we wanted him, and Kurilla, the Indian before men- tioned, was secured as a substitute. His history was romantic. Son of a wealthy and influential chief and shaman, at the time of the Nulato massacre he was but three or four years old ; in it his father, mother, and all their family perished. The boy and his sister, a year older, were in the trading-post at the time, and escaped unharmed, from their extreme youth. Some of the Rus- sians had taken pity on them and brought them up, until, as they grew older, they were able to earn their own liying. His sister, christened Anna, was one of the most comely Inga- liks who came under our notice. Both of them were unusu- ally tall ; both had acquired habits of neatness and an excel- lent knowledge of the Russian language, from their residence in tile trading-post. Anna was married to a very good kind of tellow, an Ingalik, who had accompanied us in our journey from Ulukuk and who was named Little Sid(')rka, to distinguish him from another of the same name but of greater longitudi'. Kurilla i^roved to be a faithful and intelligent lellow, and having had some experience in cooking ior our parties during the previ- 'hi >': :: ^ WW ^ I. r' h 1 ( ' t 56 THE YUKON TERRITORY. ous year, was well qualified to assist in the culinary department. To be sure, our style of living was simple and unostentatious, consisting principally of fried white-fish three times a day, varied by bacon, of which we were very sparing when fish was obtain- able. Finding a blanket on the bare boards, even alleviated by a deerskin, rather uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, we pur- chased several large feather-beds, filled with spoils from the wild geese and ducks, and had a small mattress made from them for each one of the party. With the addition of a pillow from the same source, we felt as if we could enjoy the sleep of the just, without danger of rheumatism. Our plans for the coming season were now discussed and approximately settled. VVhymper and myself decided to ascend the Yukon together, as far as Fort Yukon, by water in the spring. Ketchum proposed, in company with Mike Lebaige, to make the same journey over the ice, with dogs and sleds, in February. Dyer was to descend the Yukon and investigate the delta. On the 4th of December the temperature was fifty-six below zero. Faint parhelia aj^jpeaied. In a short walk I observed that the atmosphere seemed filled with an icy mist, small acicular crystals of ice suspended in the air. On the 7th, the weather being milder (twenty-two below zero), I decided to visit the coal scam below Nukito before the snow should cover it. Only one dog was available ; so, getting a small sled, and packing our blankets, chynik, and mess-pan upon it, with a bag for bringing some coal from the vein for trial, I started ahead, while Kurilla followed with the sled. We met Yagor.sha on the way, who with many gesticulations declared that we were going to have a severe snow- storm, and that we had better turn back. I concluded to risk it, however, and we finally arrived at the Shamdn IJluff, where wc soon found a sheltered ravine with plenty of dry wood ; spread- ing a blanket as an awning to keep off the snow, which came thick and fast, we built a cheerful fire and enjoyed our tea. After a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast of bacon, biscuit, and tea, I went to the end of the bluff, where the coal was situ- ated. A thorough examination of it showed that the seam was much contorted, running out at each end completely ; that the only mass of coal was in a large pocket or elbow of the contorted THE YUKON TERRITORY, 57 seam ; and that the whole deposit contained less than a ton. What there was of it was of excellent quality, hardened by- heat and compression ; it was enclosed on each side by thin layers of shale and the brown Miocene sandstone previously alluded to. Filling a bag with fragments of coal and geological specimens as trophies, we started homeward. The poor dog, I am afraid, had a hard time of it, what with the soft new sinow and the weight of the bag, but we arrived without detention or accident, though rather tired. Kun'lla, who was an excellent shot and an enthusiastic sports- man, liked nothing better than to spend an hour every day shoot- ing specimens for our collection. I obtained many more than I had dared to hope for in this way, — redpolls, downy and three-toed woodpeckers, pine grosbeaks, titmice, hawk-owls, and (strange to say) a bullfinch {Pyrr/iii/a), the first ever shot on the American continent. On the iith, Mike returned from Ulukuk with Francis, and this event, with the news that our friends brought from below, was quite a relief to the monotony of our daily life. On the 1 2th, a chief arrived at the fort from Nuklukahydt, where the Tananah River joins the Yukon. lie greeted Ketchum as an old acquaintance, and promised to have plenty of moose meat for us when we should come that way in the spring. Me remained several days at the fort, and on one of them assembled a number of Indians in our room and discoursed to them at the top of his lungs for nearly two hours. I expected to see him drop from exhaustion, every minute of the last half-hour, but long practice had doubtless inured him to it, and I resigned myself, while one of the party took up a conceitina and played " Tramp, tramp" by way of diversity. The return brigade was intrusted to Scratchett, who left, with Francis, for L'nalaklik on the 17th, while Mike rested his weary l)ones for a season. I continued adding to my collections and vocabularies, and setting traps for foxes, who iuul a fashion of carrying otf the bait without disturbing the trap. Iv;in I'avloff, however, succt-cded in trapping several, of which I sociu'cd tlie skt'lct ons. W lymper was busily at work on his sketches, while Mike and Ketch urn •i H I ■ • i .i . \ ;i ■-■1 Mi 1 i in !l 7 i ft ill! I i : V i ', i • 1 1 ;! 5« THE YUKON TERRITORY. were getting ready for their proposed journey. Altogether, time did not hang very heavily on our hands. We found the Indians to be a great nuisance in one way. They had a habit of coming in and sitting down, doing and saying nothing, but watching everything. At meal-times they seemed to count and weigh every morsel we ate, and were never backward in assisting to dispose of the remains of the meal. Occasionally we would get desperate and clean them all out ; but they would drop in again, and we could do nothing but resign ourselves to the annoyance, as we did not wish to offend them. They intended no offence, doubtless, but wanted an oppor- tunity of studying the Anglo-Sa.xon species of the genus /nn^w in its lair. Fish growing scarce, Karpoff was fitted out with some trading- goods, and sent to Koyukuk in hope that he might obtain some grouse or rabbits from the Indians of that locality. Christmas time approaching, we joined in endeavoring to cele- brate the day appropriately. Our knowledge of chemistry and the domestic arts was ta.xed to the utmost in the production of pies, gingerbread, and cranberry dumplings ; while a piece of Uliikuk reindeer meat, which had been kept frozen ever since our journey across the portage, performed the office of the customary " roast beef of old England," and a brace of roasted ptarmigan represented the Yankee turkeys. Green peas, tomatoes, and other preserved vegetables were produced for the occasion; and, with the company of the bidarshik and his assist- ant, we sat down to the best dinner ever eaten in that part of the continent. The day was enlivened by the reading of several original literary productions, and the brewing of a mild bowl of punch from a supply of old Jamaica, which we owed to the kind thoiightfulness of Mr.s. Scammon. Altogether the occasion was one which will long be remembered with pleasure by those who took part in it. The 27th of December an observation was made, wliich .showed the day to be just three hours long. As nearly as our watches could determine, the sun rose at a quarter before eleven, and set at a quarter of two. Proposing on New-^'ear's day to raise the first telegraph pole in the division of the Yu- kon, Mike went out with Kun'lla, and returned with a fine 'If THE YUKON TERRITORY. 59 spruce, of the orthodox dimensions, for the purpose. An In- dian, with the euphonious Russian name of Squirtzottj was em- ployed to peel and trim it. On the 31st we sat the Old Year out, and hailed the New with its prospect of successful explorations. We had hoped that our party might all be present on New- Year's day ; but there was no sign of the expected arrival of Mr. Dyer. After breakfast we went out in a body and raised the first telegraph pole, ornamented with the flags of the United States, the Tele- graph Expedition, the Masonic fraternity, and the Scientific Corps. A salute of thirty-six guns was fired, — one for each State ; and the enthusiastic Kurilla was brought to the ground by the recoil of a great Russian blunderbuss, which he had undertaken to discharge. A few days after, Ivan Pavloff returned from a journey of several hundred miles with dog-sleds, bringing about five hundred marten or American sable skins. The Russians throughout this territory compute their time according to Old Style, and hence are always eleven days behind time. They celebrated Christmas and New- Year's day on the 5th and 1 2th of January, respectively. Dyer arrived on the 3d, and on the 5th Captain Ketchum started on a last visit to the Redoubt. Strong endeavors were made to construct some sleds for Ketchum's trip, after the style of the Hudson Bay Company ; but, having no patterns, much good birch was spoiled without satis- factory results. We had entertained great expectations of seeing exhibitions of the Aurora Borealis of unusual beauty ; but they were not realized. The few displays which were observed were of an insignificant character. No colored lights were noticed, and the l)rilliancy of the light was far below what we had anticipated. Several of these displays, however, presented phenomena which may not be uninteresting to the general reader, as showing dis- tinctly some points not previously establisheil in rcgaril to the mode of appearance of the aurora under some circumstances. February 1 ith, 1867, an aurora was observed under the following conditions. From a gap in the hills north of Nuhito, a white light was seen to issue, early in the evening. The sky was I ; if uki'! rr rry^ I* % I 1 ; i ' I 60 THE YUKON TERRITORY. much overcast with cirro-stratus clouds, which were rapidly pass- ing in a different direction from the wind at the surface of the earth, which last was from the north. The light before alluded to approached with the wind, at about half the pace of the wind, in a cloudlike shape or condition, not far from the surface of the earth. The form of this luminous cloud was in successive waves, or ripples, and resembled the rings of smoke rising from a pipe, one within another, gradually expanding. The inner or focal rings were more intense than the outer ones, and the light was more intense in some parts of the rings than in others. They advanced as the ripples do when a stone is thrown into still water, and these ripples were compressed in an oval form by the wind, the longer diameter being east and west, across the current. It showed unmistakably that the shining medium was in consistence similar to cloud or mist. From the brighter portions of the rings, light streams of the same medium occasionally dripped, and dissipated at some distance below the point whence they originated ; from which it might be inferred that the more intense portion of this medium was denser than the atmosphere. No rays or streamers issued upwards from the upper edges of the rings, which were clearly defined and below the real clouds, of which the altitude seemed less than fifteen hundred feet. The hills from between which the auroral cloud had issued, and the tops of the higher trees between the fort and the hills, were dimly seen, or obscured by the lower portion of the haze, or cloud, which seemed not more than a hundred feet above the earth, as seen from the roof of the higher building. It followed the air- currents entirely; and all its motions seemed guided or controlled by them. Wavy outlines in the ripples seemed caused by the dif- fering velocity of the air in different parts of the current. It cov- ered the whole sky in about two houis from the time of its first appearance. As it spread and enlarged, the light became fainter. It (lid not give out a positive light, but had a mildly luminous appearance, like phosphorescence.* Captain Ketchum and Mike had returned February ist, bring- ing with them Captain Everett Smith, of the Wilder, and a * These remarkable phenomena were observed, in a greater or lesser degree, in several instances, of which an account was coinniunicated to the National Academy, at its session in September, 1869, by the writer. THE YUKON TERRITORY. 6i good budget of news. Several miles of poles had been erected in the vicinity of Grantley Harbor and Unalakli'k. Provisions, especially tea and sugar, were at a high premium. Our sup- ply of tea had been very small, and coffee in this climate is worthless. A point near the Klatkakhatne River was decided upon for the location of the head-quarters of the Yukon division, and a bargain was made with Paspilkoff, the shaky-headed Russian, to put up the building, which was to be of logs. I prepared the specimens of natural history which had been obtained during the winter, for transportation to Unalakli'k and the Redoubt. They filled two large bo.xes, many acceptable ad- ditions having been made through the kindness of my compan- ions. A walk with Captain Smith, near the fort, resulted in obtaining a fine specimen of the Hudson Bay titmouse {Pants Iliidsonicus), a bird which I had not previously collected, and the first specimen of which I owe, with many other valuable birds, to his quick eye and unerring aim. About this time a little excitement occurred, owing to a rumor, started by one of the Indian women in the fort, to the effect that Larridwn had planned the destruction of one of the proposed parties which were to ascend the Yukon. A council of inquiry proved, however, that the rumor had no more reliable foundation than a dream. The Indians are exceedingly suspicious in the most unimportant things, and the following incident is a good illustration of it. In talking over the scarcity of provisions, some one had jokingly remarked, that, if we were driven to the wall, we should have to make soup of Paspi'lkoff's baby, a new addition to our population. This was repeated by one of the women, and very soon old Iv;in the interpreter made his appearance, saying that the Indians wished to know if we were cannibals. He added that, since the time of Ikilegin's murder at Koyukuk, there was no instance known where the Indians had eaten human flesh. After indulg- ing in a hearty laugh, we relieved his apprehensions, which seemed to be serious, and thereafter were more guarded in our remarks. Peetka, his .son, had been very active in procuring birds for my collection, and much to my regret appeared one day with it u m w : I'l I ■|i i 62 THE YUKON TERRITORY. three fingers of his left hand nearly blown off, by carelessly pull- ing his gun through the bushes by the muzzle. The injury was so serious that amputation seemed necessary, but by careful ap- plication of water dressings twice daily, I was enabled to preserve them, though in a stiff and useless condition. Sometime after, the little fellow brought me in a marten, one of his own trapping, tlie only fee for medical .services I received in Russian America during two years' practice. The details of our Yukon trip were settled, and the boatmen engaged, so that we felt a reasonable confidence in the suc- cessful result of our proposed explorations. In the mean time I occupied myself taking angles and measurements for a chart of the Yukon and the small rivers near Nulato, in the constant ad- dition of specimens to the collection, with the meteorological rec- ords, and the enlargement of my vocabularies. One of the Russians took occasion one evening to express his dislike of the Americans by beating and abusing, without cause, a boy in our employ called Antoshka. Wii ut recourse to the bidarshik, Ketchum treated him to his deserts, — a well merited thrashing. This timely protection to our Indian .servants much increased our popularity among the Indians, and enforced re- spect from the Russian convicts employed by the Russian Ameri- can Company, in a salutary manner. Breaking the minute-hand of my watch one day, I repaired the damage by unwinding the silver thread from a violin-string and twisting a portion of it around the barrel of the broken hand. Opportunities for the exercise of ingenuity of this kind are fre- quent in this country, where few mechanics of any kind are to be found. The remarkable facility with which the Russian peas- ant can turn his hand to anything was well exemplihed among the men in the fort. All of them, with the t(r/>or, or .short-handled Russian broad-axe, could accomplish almost any piece of carpen- tering, from squaring a log to building a boat or a house. Many of them could handle blacksmiths' tools, and even manufacture, from sheet copper (provided by the Russian Company), chy- niks, kettles, and lamps for burning the seal oil used in winter. There are several good blacksmiths in the country, and Aleuts, Creoles, and even Indians learn the use of their tools with re- markable ease. THE YUKON TERRITORY. 63 On the 6th of March the plans for our proposed new station were decided upon, and the exact location selected. The en- closure was to be one hundred feet by si.\ty-five, and to con- tain a barrack, officers' quarters, bath-house, cook-house, and several store-houses. Paspilkoff promised to set about the work at once, and il was agreed that the members of the party would assist him in bringing and raising the heavy timbers. On the nth of March, having completed his preparations. Cap- tain Ketchum set out on his adventurous journey with Mike over the ice to Fort Yukon. It was undertaken under the most dis- couraging circumstances. Neither his provisions nor his dog- feed were sufficient to last during the journey of over six hun- dred miles. Russians and Indians alike shook their heads and declared their disbelief in his prospects of success. The snow would be soft and impassable. The dogs would run away, or give out for want of food, and die. He could not feed himself or his Indians, and all would perish of starvation. The Ulukuk Indians who had engai^cd to go backed out at the last mo- ment, and there was extreme difficulty in obtaining two men and two boys to take their place. This was finally done through the intervention of old Ivan, who sent his own son Peetka, and induced the others to go. The very day was dull and cloudy, with indications of snow. For two white men to undertake such a journey, in the face of all this discouragement, through a coun- try of which the resources were known to be very precarious, with the prospect of certain starvation if their guns did not sup- ply them with sufficient game to feed the dogs and party, was resolute and courageous in the extreme. From this point of view the journey was unquestionably one of the most remarkable undertaken by modern explorers. As their heavily laden sleds moved slowly away over the soft snow, we hoisted the stars and stripes, gave them three volleys from the big gun, a hearty cheer, and any number of salutes from guns and pistols. As they passed out of sight, the chances of success and failure seemed so unevenly balanced that we hardly dared to anticipate the realization of the plans which they were so bravely and energetically endeavoring to carry out. Our party now consisted only of Messrs. Dyer, Whymper, and mvself, with Scratchett the constructor, and two Indians. I I iM , k \k li! 1 ' M I . 64 THE YUKON TERRITORY. I I IT I '! .'. ■ 'I On the 1 8th our eyes were gladdened by the appearance of old Yagorsha, with the little skin boat, purchased at Ulukuk last fall, for which he had been sent. It came up from Ulukuk entire, on a sled drawn by five dogs, and had sustamcd some slight injuries. In this boat, Mr. Whymper and myself were to ascend the Yu- kon after the spring freshet. Antoshka and another Indian were sent by Dyer down the Yukon to a place called Ycxknts-kahiteuik, where a three-holed bidarka was supposed to lie, which he pro- posed to use in descending the Yukon and pursuing his examina- tion of the delta. We determined, although it was not strictly in the line of our duty, to cut and erect the poles necessary to bear the line be- tween the Nulato post and the proposed site of our new Fort Kennicott. The distance was a few rods over a mile, and re- quired about thirty poles. The work was done entirely by the four members of our party, except clearing away the brush and trees for twelve feet on each side, which we intrusted to one of the Russian workmen. Dog-feed and fresh provisions giving out, I proposed to make a trip to the Kaiyuh villages, and endeavor to purchase any sup- plies which the Indians might be able to spare. I arrived with Kun'lla and the dogs at a small village of two houses, on the left bank of the river, nearly opposite Alikofif's barrabora, and being the residence of the old veteran Wolasdtux. The village is known by his name. I found all the Indians away, and was obliged to take some fish out of his cache to feed the dogs with. Wolasatu.x barrabora is a well built Indian winter house, and stands near another smaller one, with two or three caches about it, on a small clearing in a dense growth of poplars and willows. These trees grow so close together, that they have reached the height of some thirty or forty feet, almost without branches, and so slender that it gives one a feeling as of standing on a Hat pin- cushion beset with enormous needles and pins. An old man finally appeared, who sold us a few ukali and some grouse. The next morning, Kun'lla went out, and in the course of his hunting met some Indians, who informed him that Antoshka had not been able to obtain any dog-feed here or at Kaltag, and that it was not improbable his dogs might be starving. Also, that all the Indians were away after deer, and that it was uncertain when they would THE YUKUN TERRITORY. 65 It 1- n or II t Is ll return. This determined mc to return to Nuhlto, so that Dyer might send some fish from our slender store to Antoshka, and thus prevent his journey from coming to an unfortunate con- clusion. There was no prospect of buying anything wliere we were. The next morning we set out for Xuhito, and found that the moist snow rendered the travelling very hard. The weather was so warm that the snow adiiered in large lumps to the snowshoes, adding a weight of ten or twelve pounds to the foot at each step, Wolasatux' bnrraboia in winter. until the masses would break oft" by their own weiglit, the same process being repeated indefinitely. We were exceedingly fa- tigued upon our arrival, near dusk. It was immediately determined to send Scratchett down to Kaltag with some fish for Antoshka. Our prospects of food at this time were anything but encouraging. Wherever the blame should have fallen, the ct remained, that if it had not been for the flour and fish we obtained from the Russians, we sliould have been in a starving condition ; while it was said, and never denied, so far as I know, that the Nightingale, on her return, carried with S i,' II 1 I 1 ^ ii ' , 1 :* :i i> '" ■' .id w^. \i\ 11 i V ; ,1 ■.!.H I 'i' ')\l > 66 THE YUKON TERRITORY. her ten thousand rations. The iireposterous folly of issuing food by ordinary rations to men in an arctic, or nearly arctic climate, was never more fully demonstrated. On the resources of the country as developed by the natives, who have all they can do to {ccd then-selves, a large body of men cannot support them.selves in this part of the territory, unless their time be devoted to noth- mg else. On the 8th of April, Scratchctt returned with a load of fresh reimleer meat, which he had obtained from the Indians, a number of whom accompanied him. Among them was W'olasatu.x and his foster-son Mikai.shka, and Tekunka, a noted shaman and tyone among the Kaiyuh Indians. The latter proved to be a very good kind of fellow ; he sold us a large amount of me;U, rel"using the offers of the Russians, who saw his sled-load taken into our store-house with unconcealed disgust. The day had gone b)- when they couUl contrt)l the trade of that kind, and force the reluctant Indian to sell against his will his hard-earned booty for a leaf or two of tobacco and a few balls. We paid liberally, but not extravagantly, for provisions of all kinds, and as the supply was very limited, the Russians, un- willing to raise their tariff of prices, were often obliged to go without. The continued warm weather was melting the snow ri'pidly, and although we had cleaned off the roof as much as possible, still the melting ice caused i constant c'. '.pping during the day. The evening rost would put an end to it for a while, bul it returned with the heat of the morning sun. The Nulato and other small rivers had felt the effects of the melting snow, and the ice on the jdge of the ^'ukon, which rests on and is frozen to the beach, was covered with water ironi them. Flies, to all appearance the common universal house-fly, as \\c]\ as the bluebottle, had appeared in large numbers, and migh be seen on the sunny siile of every wall. On the loth I found the first fully expanded willow catkins, and the preltv red c.itkin of the alder. A whiU'-winged crossbill. the first so far obtained, was shot in ,i grove of po])lars not far from the' jiost. On the roof of the house I obtained a larg<; number of small il THE Yl'KON' TERRITORY. 67 musk-beetles, of a stccl-grccn color and stronnj odor. Several other species wero obtained from the .stumps and mossy hillocks which bcyan to project above the level of the snow. The field- mice were also beginniuL; to be active, and the chiUlren about the fort eagerly scanned with their keen eyes, bow and arrow in hand, the various stumps and crevices where they mi;;ht tint! them; when successful they flockeil with their prizes to me, sure of a few beads or some other trinket to rejxiy them for their labor. The wliiti: [flarmigan be^an moultin^i;", or rather brown feathers ben'an to appear in their necks and oi. .he echoes of the wings, where the first change may be looked for. While skinning a hawk-owl I discovered in the ovary an egg, nearly perfect. Ivun'Ua, on his return from a foraging expedition, brought fine specimens of the great gray owl {Sj'n/i/nii riiit-irinin, which measured four feet across the wings, and the white owl (.VjvAvc uk'iv). The latter frcciueiulv flies by (la_,' without difii- culty, and he is a sharj) hunter who i an apjjroach it within gun- shot, even at midday. .Al)ril 23d being a good snowy day, I took adxantage oi the opportunity, to visit a gra\e on iIk point, near the Nul.'ito River. Carefully lifting the covii, \ removed the cranium, and putting it into my haversack, I retunnd iiy a roundabout way to the fort. I had long liad my e\c upon this grave, and had bi-en waiting for weather wluch wnuld cover up my tracks, in urder to secure the skull. The Iiulians are vmv superstitious in regard to touching anything that has belonged with a de.id bod\-, and wouUI have been highly incensed ha'. laicoparcw), and two ducks, — a mallard and a Golden-eye He received the annual pound of tobacco, the percpiisite of him who kills the first goose in the spring, l-'rom this time we hoped to obtain an abundance of water-fowK which are the only support of the inhabitants of Nulato until the freshets subside and the salmon begin to ascend the river. Curiously enough, there are no fish in these rivers which will take the hook. On the 7lh of May the first swans were seen. They are the small American species, the trum|)eter not being found in this region, and very rarely visiting Fort Yukon. The geese did not arrive in large numbers until the 9th of May. ten days later than on the previous year. The commonest ducks were the pin-tail and the green-winged teal. On the iJth of May the water came down with a rush, break- ing uj) the ice on the Nulato Rivi'r, and llooding tiie ice on the \'ukon. At the same tinu; a torrent poured down the KKit- kakh.itne River. Ivan I'avloff, having gone shooting over to the island, on his return was caught between the two currents and swept into a hole in the ice. I'aspilkoff gave the alarm, and, catching up two paddles, I huiried to tiie beach, where Scratchett I I .1 k\ ^i \* ». I » '! i 1^' 1 V 70 THE YUKON TERRITORY. hi i/il had already launched a birch canoe. With Antoshka, he rapidly made his way among the fragments which threatened to crush the frail boat, and succeeded in extricating the Russian in safety. To his credit be it said, the act was very handsomely done. The Russians were shouting and running wildly about, like chickens when a hawk is preparing for a swoop, and were not of the slight- est assistance. A year before, the ice having broken up, a convict named Tarentoff had beei: to the island in a birch-bark canoe. Return- ing, he was nipped between the ice-cakes and was sinking, when Major Kennicott saw him from his seat on the roof of the fort, and hurried two men to his assistance, unquestionably saving his life. When the Russian had changed his clothes, he came with protestations of gratitude to his preserver, who answered, " Do not thank me, Tareiitofif ; thank God." The next day, while walking in the early morning on the beach near the fort, taking the angles of the mountains for his proposed map, and with thoughts per- haps intent on the long anticipated journey, then only awaiting the disappearance of the floating ice, the Major was called to his eternal home ! His remains were found where he fell ; struck down by disease of the heart, aggravated by exposure, privation, and anxiety. On the sad anniversary of his death we erected, on the nearest hillock not swept by the spring freshets, a cross, which was hewn out by the blacksmith Paspi'lkoff, and which upheld a tablet with the following inscription : — In Ml.M'iRY OF ROBERT KENNICOTT, N.vn'KAi.isr. 7i'//(' (/ill/ iiciir f/i/s/>/iiii; A/iiy i.V//. i86f), ,i};i\/ thirty. On asking Pas])ilkoff what he wanted for his labor in hewing out the arms of the cross, lie replied, " We Russians take nothing for what wi^ may do for the dead ; we do not know when it may be our turn." On the 1 2th of May the mosquitoes made tliur appearance, though the snow still hi) on the ground in abundance. The^ were larger than our home mosquitors, and vcay bloodthirstj . After a few days it was imi>ossible to sleep without a net. THE YUKON TERRITORY. 71 We had abundance to do, getting our bidarra in order for the journey, and packing our stores into the smallest possible space, knowing by experience that every ounce counted. Collecting was not neglected ; and many specimens of birds were obtained which are only summer visitors. A walk to the blufl" above the Klatkakhatne River was rewarded by the discovery of a few more fossils, and some very minute land-shells, similar to, if not identi- cal with, Eastern American and Northern European species. I had at this time a good opportunity of observing the forma- tion of the alluvial soil of the islands and banks of the Yukon. Two or three feet below th'. surface, the ground is frozen, and probably always continues so, as there are no roots of living trees below that depth. The soil is composed of distinct layers, each layer consisting of a stratum of sand, overlaid by mud, and covered with a thin sheet of vegetable matter. These layers evidently mark the annual inundations, the materials brought down settling according to their specific gravity. Tiiey varied in thickness from half an inch to three inches, but averaged about about an inch. I counted one hundred and eighty of them in one bank, exposed by the undermining and washing away of the soil by the river, leaving a perpendicular bank about ten feet high. This action of deposition and denudation is constantly going on ; and so great is the amount carried out to sea by the Yukon water, that the water of liering Sea is discolored by it for many miles, even quite out of sight of the land. Occasionally the roots and stumps of trees might be seen exposed, in their natural position, but deep below the surface. These had evidently been broken off in some ancient flood, and finally buried under new deposits of alluvium. I even thought I detected, in the lower and older layers, indications of carbon- ization, or transformation into a kind of lignite, among the strata of vegetable matter. The Russians had already put their large bidarra in order, and, looking with contempt upon our little l)oat, which was shapeil like a dory, about fifteen feet long and four and a half wide, asserted that we could not keej) up with tiiein ; that it was impossible to row such a bag-siiaped contrivance against the ra|)id river current ; that it would not bear a sail as large as the one we had had maile ; and, finally, that, witii such a boat, it U M \:\ A'M i' V I n 72 THE YUKON TERRITORY. was useless to attempt ascending the river, for we should cer- tainly fail. We did not fail to appreciate the consideratic n for our weakness and inexperience, which was indicated by such comments ; and it but strengthened our determination to reach Fort Yukon at all hazards, even if the boat had to be replaced by a raft. We had provided a mast, and Kun'Ila exercised his taste and ingenuity in carving an arrow, with a broad tail to which some blue cotton vvas attached, to serve as a fly. The square sail was composed of stout linen towelling, purchased of the Russians ; and we were provided with an A-tent, and a large piece of drill, with which our Indians might make a tent for their own shelter. Our boat was too small to admit of a rudder, and an enormous paddle for use in steering was made by Kun'Ila, and ornamented with bars and stripes of red ochre. We had provided several oars cut out of seasoned spruce, no harder wood being attain- able, except birch, which is too brittle. On the 1 6th and i8th of May we all united in erecting the poles between the Nukito post and Fort Kennicott. Dyer had decided to take Antoshka, and a Creole called Aloshka, who understood the Eskimo dialect of the Innuit of the Yukon- mouth, serving as an interpreter as well as an assistant in paddling the three-holed bidarka in which the journey was to be made. Scratchett was to remain at Nuldto and secure logs for the buildings to be put up at Fort Kennicott after the ice had passed out of the river. The ice on the Yukon was separated from the shore by a wide belt of water, and we hourly looked for a rise which should give it a start down stream. On the 19th of iMay, about one o'clock, as Whymper and my- self were sitting on the roof we perceived :i slight motion, and upon our raising a shout to that effect, the whole population of the fort was soon out on the bank, watching the slow progress of the great sheet of ice between us and the island. The pre- vious year the ice had brofcfelozikakat River. —Arrival at Nowikakat. — Trading for meat. — Shaivanism. — Indian theol- ogy- — Treating the sick. — Departure from Xowikakat. — Hirch canoes. — Run- away from Fort Vukon. — Tozikakat River. — Xuklukahyct and the Twin Mountains. — Xuklukahyct tyone and other Indians. — Departure from Xuklukahyct. — The Rann)arts and Rajiids. — Moose killing. — Pass the Ramparts. — Mo.>ic|uitoes. — Plains north of the Vukon. — Kutcha Kutchin camp. — Sachniti. — .Arrival at Fort Yukon. — History of the fort. — Five years without bread. — Dcgr.adation of the servants of the Hudson Hay Company. — Intense heat. — Arrival of the hateau.x. — The annual trade. — Tenan Kutchin Indians. — Uther tribes. — Drowning of Cowley. — Red Leggins. — Arrival of Ketchum and Mike. — Missionaries and tiieir value. — Cour.sc of the I ludson Ray Company with the Indians. — .Massacre at Port Nelson. — Indians of the \Vestern United .States. — Furs in the storehouse. — Dejiarture from Fort Vukon. — Arrival at X^ilato. — Unexpected orders. — Start for the Yukon-mouth. — Seal and beluga in the river. — Arrival at .St. Michael's. EARLY in the morning of the 26th of May we helped our companion, Mr. Dyer, to pack his baggage into the bidarka, and about seven o'clock saw him fairly started, with Antoshka and Aloshka, on their journey to the Yukon-mouth. Wo gave them a parting salute, and immediately placed our own boat in the water and j^roceeded to load her. The Russians hatl already finished, and were assembled at a pseudo-religious cere- monial before their departure. .\t eight o'clock we pushed off. Yagor and the two Russians who remained behind saluted the flotilla with several discharges of the rusty howitzer. The Rus- sian boat took the lead, with eight oarsmen and a light freight. We followed them at a short distance. Our party was com- posed of Mr. Frederick Whymper and myself; Kurilla ; a little Ingalik called Mikaishka, or in the Indian dialect MenohcMnoi, meaning beetle, in allusion to his diminutiveness ; and lastly, a Koyiikun, whose name was so remarkably long and unpronounce- able, that we decided to call him Tom. All these had arrivetl early in the morning in single birch canoes, a large number of THE YUKON TERRITORY, 75 which, with their owners, were to accompany us to Xuklukah- yct. The rain poured down on us and made everythinj; wet and un- comfortable. I realized, for the first time, the size and power of the logs and fragments of ice which, seen from the banks, seemed so small and insignificant. Kuri'lla, whose Indian name was Unookiik, had had much experience in this sort of navigation, and proved himself active, energetic, and efficient. The boat had been hurriedly loaded, and the goods were not arranged to the best advantage. It always takes a day to get the party and boat into good working order. After pulling about six miles we felt the necessity for taking some breaktast, and, the Russians setting the example, we hauled close into the bank and boiled the chyniks. It is, of course, impossible to take or make soft bread on such a journey, as it would very soon mould. The traditional "damper" is a humbug. It is invariably heavy, and a fruitful cause of heartburn, indigestion, and conseouent ill humor. Hence, in the absence of biscuit, a substitute being necessary, the Russians are accustomed to bake a large quantity of bread which, after slicing, they dry in the oven, so that, without browning, it becomes as hard as a rock. This hardness, however, immediately disappears when the siikan'c, as the Russians call it, is immersed in hot tea ; and in this respect it is preferable to biscuit, which takes a long time to soak. It is, however, more liable to break up than biscuit, when carried in a bag, and not unfrequently re- tains dust and grit from the mud walls of the peechka, unless very carefully dried. We had both biscuit and sukaree ; some of the latter having been made of white flour, it proveil execrable, the Russian sukaree being always made of groats or Graham flour. Just above the ravine and little brook where we took our tea was a rounded rock, boldly jutting out into the river. Around this a constant stream of ice-cakes, logs, and driftwood was pour- ing. The Russians first reached this ])oiiit, and after one or two trials turned back and camped, hoping that the ice would cease running before the next morning. Kun'lla saw this move with great disgust. "The Russians retreat: Unookuk will not retreat," said he, and struck boldly out into the stream of ice and drift- wood. I'or ten minutes all had their hands full, staving off logs i •■ 1 Iv \ \ J 1 ;; M — jj 1 M ill t 76 THE YUKON TERRITORY. and ice-cakes, and the danger was too imminent to think about. A clearer part of the river was soon reached in safety, the drift always running most thickly in the strongest current. Paddling up stream a mile or two, the severity of the rain induced us to camp on an island, where we pitched our tent in a willow grove, and endeavored to dry ourselves. The evening meal consisted of salted white-fish and tea. We now discovered that Scratchett had availed himself of the confusion of our starting to appropriate sundry spoons, and other articles of use and necessity, to his own advantage. Although of iron, the loss was as great as if they had been of gold ; for who can eat bread and tea without a spoon .-' We had just two left, and our Indians must take turn and turn about in using them. Another loss which we all regretted was three pounds of sugar, which I had purchased with a shirt, of the individual above mentioned. It is to be hoped that he has duly repented in his subsequent retirement. Several canoes had followed us through the ice in fear and trembling. Their inmates, camped near us, presented a melan- choly spectacle, A woman whose long upper garment consisted of white cotton, with her hair streaming down her back, resembled a drowned rabbit ; and an old man seemed to have received a more thorough washing than for many years previous. We were all very wet, but our clothing repelled the rain much better than deerskins or cotton drill. Blessed be the man who invented rubber blankets ! Mine, after a season in the Lake Superior region, did noble service, as well as Whymper's, which he had obtained in British Columbia. Laying them down on the mud in which our camp was situated, only covered by a little willow brush, we spread out our blankets, and were .soon at rest. The Indians, except Kurilla, who, as coxswain, slept in our tent, made their tent out of a great sheet of drill, after their own fashion. Bending down the tops of several slender wil- lows, they crossed them in different directions, and spreading the covering over that, the whole was nearly circular. It was always a marvel to me how they could lie down in it, it was so small. After all got inside, the edges were carefully tucked in and the mosquitoes effectually excluded. The rain prevented the latter from being very troublesome, and we slept comfortably. I if: I u <':' i I • i I , If r ; ^p ': l i ill ! if "In! IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 2.5 144 1 2.8 2.0 L»«.l^ 1^ ■:£ 1.8 1.25 1.4 1 A ■• 6" ► m n /, V '/ /A £ Hiotographi! Sdences Corporation '.') WIST MAIN STUIIT "^ WUSTIR, N.Y. 1 4580 (716) 873-4503 V iV 4 ^^ o *> * Q^ its I / 1' hi ji- ff 1 I ■ill' THE YUKON TERRITORY. 11 The brown Miocene sandstones before mentioned are suc- ceeded here by blue sandstones, which at Nulato lie below them. The latter contain few fossils, — mostly sycamore leaves {Pla- taiiiis), and other vegetable remains. Monday, May 27///. — Starting about three o'clock in the morn- ing, we soon passed the Russians, who had gone a little fartiier in the night and camped above us. We passed through a small slough or pratoka between some islands. About ten o'clock we arrived at a fine bluff near the mouth of the Koyukuk River, a landmark in this part of the country, and known as the Koyu- kuk Sopka. Mere is a small Koyukun village, where we stopped and took tta. I bought a large pike {Esox cstor) and a quantity of dry reindeer meat. After passing the Sopka the river is very winding, and we frequently crossed it in order to shorten the distance. When in tluing so we ':ame to the main channel, it was a hard tug to cross it, and we invariably lest ground, sometimes as much as a mile. On rounding a turn in the river we saw a large number of canoes lying near the bank and a crowd of dark figures on the shore. These proved to be Koyiikuns, who proposed to ac- company us. Ivan the tyone, Larriown, and a handsome fellow in a red shirt, named " Cousin " by Ketchum on his last season's trip, accosted us with gesticulations o." welcome. As rain threat- ened, and we wished to keep our provisions dry, we camped in the best place we could find among the den.se thickets of willows which line the shore everywhere. There were a few hills in the distance, but no mountains. The foliage was not fully out, but tlie delicate green of the young leaves made the river banks very beautiful. Close to the water grow willows a.ul alders. A little farther back are belts of broad-leaved poplars (/'. />a/satnifira), and on the dry ground spruce (Abies aU>a), growing to a very huge size and mi.xed with aspens (Poptilns tiriiiii/(>i(hs), whose ligiU-colored bark and silvered leaves contrast finely with the tiark evergreens. On the rocky blutfs a species of juniper is abundant, crawling over the rocks, but not rising from the .soil. On the left bank, which is everywhere low, the willows aiu' poplars appear to predominate. The banks in many places are undermined by the ra])id current, and freciuently fall into the Y il m 1 ' v ^ 78 THE YUKON TERRITORY. 1: ■V,; m i ■ \\ si' 1 ' ' If river in large masses, with the trees and shrubs upon them, startling the unaccustomed ear with a noise like thunder. The ground where Ketchum camped the previous year, accord- ing to Kun'lla, was under water ; we had camped on a low island somewhat in advance of the Russians. The Koyiikuns brought their stores of dried meat and fat, and I purchased about fifty pounds of the former. The tariff of prices was high, compared with what we had paid for the same things on the coast. We gave five loads of powder for a duck, seven for a goo.sc, if fat ; five balls or a small bundle of leaves of Circassian tobacco, called by the Russians a papods]i, for a beaver-tail ; six to eight balls for the dry breast of a deer ; four or five for a deer's tongue ; and for fat, especially the marrow of the long bones of the reindeer, whatever would buy it, usually a pretty high price. A ball, a charge of powder, or two caps, are the units of trade, and will buy almost anything. Knives, beads, flints and steels, needles, small looking-glasses, handkerchiefs of various colors, woollen scarfs, and cotton drill or calico are all useful, but tobacco and ammunition are th:; great staples. The Circassian or Cherkatsky tobacco, imported only by the Russians, and exceedingly strong, is the prime favorite where the Russians trade ; but those who deal more with the English at Fort Yukon like the long natural Kentucky leaf best. The latter we used for our own smoking, obtaining an excellent article from the Russians for thirty cents a pound. Swans, brant, and sandhill cranes were seen, the former abun- dantly. Ivan Pavloff sent me two eggs of the wliite-chceked goose (/)'. lauopairia), which were found on a bit of sandy beach near the camp, and every step added some new plant, insect, or bird to our collections. The Koyiikuk ScSpka is composed of a soft crystalline rock ajiparently unstratificd. In this kind of journey, sluggards are out of place. We allowed ourselves but four or five hours for sleep, and after a cup of tea continued on our way. Tuesday, 28///. — Ivan the tyone, and old Wolasatux came along in their little canoes with some half-dried fish for sale, which we purchased for our Indians. Passing through a narrow pra- toka between two islands and the shoi'e, we came to a solitary Indian house, quite empty. On the hillside near it stood a THE YUKON TERRITORY. 79 solitary grave. A little fence of white spruce stakes was built around it, and from several long poles streamers of white cotton were floating. Kun'lla said that it was the grave of an Indian who had died in the previous fall, and that the house was occu- pied by his wife, who spent all her time (except when procuring food) in watching the grave, and devoting all her property to the purpose of adorning it. The house looked neat and clean, the hillside was green, and the sun shone brightly on the lonely grave, as we passed by on the other side of the pratoka. Just be- yond, a perpendicular and solitary bluff fronted the river. Close to its face rushed the swift current, with its burden of driftwood, at the rate of seven knots an hour. There was no backing out : we had to cross here. The swift part of the current appeared to be narrow. The canoes first essayed it, and were swept like straws a mile down stream in ihe twinkling of an eye. This made us careful. We kept close to the rock, where there was a little slarV water, and then, driving our paddles into the water with a will, we passed the current, and reached the op- posite bank, not more than a quarter of a mile below. Waiting to rest, we saw the Russians kill a beaver in the water, and then cross the stream with about the same success as ourselves. Con- tinuing on our way, about si.\ c clock we stopped to boil the chynik and to rest. Ivan Pavloff was invited to take tea with us. Sugar being a very scarce article in this country, it is usually boiled with water into hard cakes, which, when properly done, are not afiected by the weather. Soft sugar will waste away imperceptibly with the dampness. The orthodox way is to take a fragment of this hard sugar, bite off a small piece of it, and drink your tea without putting any into it. This is much more economical, and is hereby recommended to boarding-house keep- ers. I was much amused by observing PiivlotV. who after finish- ing his tea replaced the lump from which he had been biting in the common sugar-box. About ten o'clock we came to a very wide part of the river, where the Russians lay to for a while, ami fired a small boat-gun which they carried in their bidarni. This was to notify the In- dians, if any were in the vicinity, that the Russians were ready to trade ; but none made their api)earancc, and the bidarni soon con- tinued on its way. On a low sand-bar, where the sun poured f I ^ 1 i' \ • \ I ■ 1 ' t 1 \ W k k \\m 8o THE YUKON TERRITORY. down with double force, and mosquitoes hummed in myriads, we also found an old man and his old wife. I afterwards heard that he had a young one. His hair stood out in every direction where it was not matted down by dirt. His clothing hung in the filthiest rags, and his voice sounded like that of a fishhawk with a cold. His name was Ooskon, or Rabbit, and it was stated by Kun'lla that he was noted for his good-humor and generosity. He might have given away all his clothes, which would account for hi' ap- pearance. His wife was his duplicate, except that she was silent, which is an excellent thing in women. The old fellow brought me a gull's egg, which I gratefully accepted, wished to sell me some fish, which I respectfully declined, and finally brought out two stuffed skins of the beautiful northern phalarope, which I purchased, as they were in very fair condition. I afterwards discovered they were stuffed with a very sweet-scented grass. On pointing this out to VVolasatux, he shook his head gravely, and said, " They are rotten ! " These Indians have no apprecia- tion of sweet odors. The wild rose {Rosa ciniiaiitoiiua), which is one of the few fragrant flowers to be found on the Yukon, is called among them by an untranslatable name, on account of its perfume. The only odor they appreciate lies hidden in the steam arising from the soup-kettle. Rain coming on, we camped on a steep bank, and the Russians followed our example. I afterwards added a green-winged teal and hooded grebe {Podurps corniitns) to our collection. A high sandy blufil" near our camp was full of the nests of the bank swallow. It seemed like a gigantic honeycomb swarming with bees, as the light- winged swallows darted about. The eggs are white, and are laid on a few very fine twigs, which keep them off the sand. I counted nearly eight hundred holes, all of which seemed to be occupied. I obtained from the Indians quite a number of ducks and geese for our kettle. \Vc(/)it'sd(iy, 29///. — We broke camp about five o'clock in the morning. Nothing occurred to break the monotony of con- stant steady paddling. Two Indians in the bow of the boat would row until tired, and then we would stop for a few minutes to rest, and let them smoke. The last operation takes less than a minute : their pipes arc so constructed as to hold but a very THi: YUKON TERRITORY. 8l tat cs a rv A. — Kutcliiii. B. — Innuit. I'll'ES. C — Knyukiin. I), K. — Cliiikchee. small pinch of tobacco. The bowl, with cars for tying it to the stem, is generally ca.st out of lead. Sometimes it is made of soft stone, bone, or even hard wood. The stem is made of two pieces of wood, hollowed on one side, and bound to the bowl and to each other by a narrow strip of deerskin. In smoking, the economical Indian generally cuts up a little birch wood, or the in- ner bark of the poplar, and mi.xes it with his tobacco. A few rein- deer hairs, pulled from his jiarka, are rolled into a little ball, and placed in the bottom of the bowl to prevent the contents from being drawn into the stem. A pinch of tobacco, cut as fine as snuff, is inserted, and two or three whiffs are afforded by it. The smoke is inhaled into the lungs, producing a momentary stupefaction, and the operation is over. A fungus which grows on decayed birch trees, or tinder manufactured from the down of the poplar rubbed up with charcoal, is used with flint and steel for obtaining a light. Matches are highly valued, and readily purchased. The effect of the Circassian tobacco on the lungs is extremely bad, and among those tribes who use it many die from asthma and congestion of the lungs. This is principally due to the saltpetre with which it is impregnated. The Indian pipe is copied from the Eskimo, as the latter were the first to obtain and use tobacco. Many of the tribes call it by the Eskimo name. The Kutchin and Eastern Tinneh use one modelled after the clay pipes of the Hudson Hay Company, but they also carve very pretty ones out of birch knots and Ihe root of the wild rose- bush. The Chukchees use a pipe similar to those of the ICs- kimo, but with a much larger and shorter stem. This stem is hollow, and is filled with fine birch shavings. After smoking for some months these shavings, impregnated with the oil of tobacco, are taken out through an opening in the lower part of the stem, and smoked over. The Hudson Hay men make passable J^ipe- stems by taking a straight-grained piece of willow or spruce, without knots, and cutting through the outer layers of bark and wood. This stick is heated in the ashes, and by twisting the 6 hi r9P7 III lik i^^ \ I i I 8a THE YUKON TERRITORY. ends in contrary directions, the heart-wood may be gradually drawn out, leaving a wooden tube. The Kutchin make pretty pipe-stems out of goose-quills wound about with colored porcu- pine quills. It is the custom in the English forts to make every Indian who comes to trade, a present of a clay pipe filled with tobacco. We were provided with cheap brown ones, with wooden stems, which were much liked by the natives, and it is probable that small brier-wood pipes, which are not liable to break, would form an acceptable addition to any stock of trading-goods. For the first time we were able to use our sail, as a fair wind sprang up in the afternoon, and for a short time we made excel- lent progress. About five o'clock we camped at a place where in summer the Indians have a fishery, and which is called Kami'n-sikhtcr. Thursday, 2,0th. — The sealskin of which the bidarnis are made, by long continuance in the water becomes soft and unsound. Hence, as the weather continued rainy, we decided to lay over a day, take the boat out of the water, dry and oil it ; the Rus- sians doing the same with their bidarra. During the interval, many additions were made to our collections. I ob- served a fine-looking Ko- yiikun, called Toho-iiidola, who wore a mantle made of a dressed deerskin. It was cut to a point behind, and into fringes around the edge. It was orna- mented with a few beads, hanging in short strings, and was colored on the inside with red ochre ; making a very graceful ar- ticle of apparel. The breeches had the moccasins continuous with the leg, and were heavily emliroidered with large black and white beads. The pattern universal among the Koyukun men consists of a band of beads in front, from the thigh to the ankle, a short one crossing it at the knee. At the ankle the long band bifurcates, and the two ends, after reaching the sides of the foot, Tohoniclola. THE YUKON TERRITORY. 83 continue all around its edge, except over the heel. The pattern for females is similar, but the perpendicular band on the leg is omitted. The Koyiikun male parka has been described. The pattern of ornamentation is a broad band of beadwork across the breast and back, and over the shoulders, with fringes on the pointed ends, and a few short tails of beadwork in front and on the sleeves. The female parka comes below the knee, and is cut round like an ordinary dress, but a little shorter in front than behind. They are ornamented with a similar band around the shoulders, sometimes one around the wrist, and one around the edge of the skirt in lieu of fringes. Before the introduction of beads by the Russians, this work was done in porcupine quills, often in very tasteful patterns, and among the Tcndn Kutchin, or Tananah River Indians, this practice still obtains White and black or brick red are the only colors I have seen used on cloth- ing, and they are always embroidered in alternate bands. Other beads, of various colors, in strings seven feet long, are valued by the natives as property, having a fi.ved value of two marten- skins a string. They pass from hand to hand, much as we use money. Small beads, of various kinds, are much in demand among the women, who use them as ornaments for their children. Strong beads, over which the hand passes smoothly, are the only kind suited for fur-trading. Red, black, white, dark blue, and amber are the desirable colors. Friday, 3UA — Making an early start, we passed a point known as Sakataloiitan, about half past three in the morning. Large stacks of driftwood, as big as houses, came floating down in the current, and great care was necessary to avoid collision. These were piles of logs thrown upon sandbars by previous freshets, which the unusually high water had floated off entire. We passed many low blufts of blue sandstone and a few gravel- banks. Tom found a mallard's nest on the bank, with nine eggs in it, which were devoted to an omelet, after carefully emptying the shells with a small blowpipe. We camped on a high bank without taking the tent out of the boat, as the night was remark- ably pleasant and the mosquitoes unusually quiet. Saturday, ytinc \st. — The next morning at one o'clock we were on our way again, working hard against a strong current. The sandstones were now succeeded by conglomerate and meta- ; H lii 1 J 1 r 1 ' 1 1 ' 1 ; ! IM 1,;, i' J 1: } iti ; 'It ■ 1 i' •• 1 < If ' it I 84 THE YUKON TERRITORY. morphous quartzose rocks. Many butterflies, including the fa- miliar swallow-tail {Papilio Tiiriius), and another species some- what similar {P. Aliaska), were hovering over the surface. Upon mentioning that I would give a needle apiece for good speci- mens, a commotion was aroused amongst the little fleet of birch canoes which accompanied us. All was excitement, paddles were flourished in the air, the light canoes darted about after the slowly sailing, unsuspecting butterflies, and the result was a considerable number of passable specimens. I saw, also, several wax-wings (Anipi/is garriilits) in the bushes along shore, and obtained a sandhill crane. A fair wind sprang up and sent the Mt. HohoniL-i from the Melozikakat. Russians scudding around a six-mile bend under their large sail. Our boat proved a very slow sailei, the wind soon droj^pcd, and we had to pull all the way around the bend. After camping we employed Larriown's wife to sew up sonic cuts in the sealskin of our bidarra. These were made by the constant stream of driftwood ; but when sewed up and the seam well rubbed with tallow, the boat was as tight as ever. The skin was old and very rotten, so that we had to exercise the utmost precaution in landing and in avoiding driftwood or rocks. Sunday, 2d. — About ten o'clock the next day we took our tea at the mouth of the Melozikakat or Clear River. From this THE YUKON TERRITORY. 8: point a fine view may be had of a mountain which rises per- haps two thousand feet above the river, and is known to the In- dians as Hoho-nila. The upper portion still retained snow in many ravines, though later in the season it disappears entirely. The mosquitoes were exceedingly troublesome. The night had ceased to be dark, as the sun remained only about two hours behind the high hills which shut out the horizon. Monday, yi. — Passed the I 'ka-iviUnc or " Look-and-see-it " River. It is a small stream. Near its mouth the Yukon is very broad and full of islands. About noon the sun was so scorching (90° in the shade) that we pulled into the bank and rested for a couple of hours. VVe then proceeded to the point on the right bank where the Russians had camped, waiting the report of a messenger who had been sent to the village of Nowikakat on the left bank a few miles above. As he did not appear I turned in, and had hardly got under the blankets, when I heard the well- known voice of Larriown, who poked his ugly head into the tent, saying there was plenty of dry meat and many Indians at Nowi- kakat, and begging a little tobacco for his information. I put on my boots and stepped out of the tent, around which a number of Indians had gathered. The old Nowikakat tyone was there, and one of the men who had gone up with Ketchum suddenly appeared. He gave us the welcome information tlxit Ketchum and the party had reached Fort Yukon in safety, and had started with open water for Fort Selkirk, having sent the In^ dians and six remaining dogs down the river in a bidarni made of moose-hide. Tiicsiiiiy, <\th. — VVe struck our tent, broke camp, and started for Nowikakat, in company with the Russians and Indians. We hoisted the American Hag over the blue cross and scallop- shell of the Scientific Corps, and came into Nowikakat Harbor with colors flying. We received and returned a salute of mus- ketry, and, finding with difficulty a place among the myriads of birch canoes where we could moor our boat, we pitched our tent in the middle of the village. We informed the tyone, or chief, that we were exceedingly tired, and must sleep before any trading could be done. This was quite true, as I, for one, hal slept but about two hours out of the last forty-eight. We tied the flaps of the tent closely, but even this did not prevent the Indians from ■fi \ [ ill ^':i V:; W I'' S6 THE YUKUN TKKRITOKV. raising the edge of the canvas and peering in upon us with as much curiosity and pertinacity as country boys at a circus After a few hours' rest we rose and dressed. We could not keep out the Indians, until we admitted the tyone, whose repeated orders kept them outside for a time. He watched the process of washing with great interest, from which I inferred that he did not indulge in that luxury. He was very anxious that we should present him with our brushes, combs, soap, and other articles for the toilet, which we were obliged to refuse him ; but we made up to him for the disappointment by presents of tobacco, powder, and ball. We heard that Antoine Houle, the Fort Yukon interpreter, was at Nuklukahyct with a trading party, and we desired to send a letter to him ; but old Ivan, the tyone, prevented our doing so, by fright- ening our messenger with an account of the danger of making such a journey alone. For this piece of mischief he got a scold- ing, which astonished him and made him less officious in future. After breakfast, which we shared with the Nowikakat tyone, we proceeded to business. Whymper was busy with his sketch- book, and left the trading to me. All accounts of the country between Nowikakat and Fort Yukon agreed in representing it as a district where provisions were very scarce, and so we had determined to provide them in advance. I purchased, for seven fathoms of drill, three papooshes of tobacco, and five balls, a birch canoe of the largest size, with its paddles. From the abundant stores of dried meat and lat which the Indians had laid in, I obtained about three hundred pounds of dry deer and moose meat, clear moose fat in birch dishes, and dried entrails of the deer, which were filled with fat of the best kind. I was able to secure, besides, a large number of moose and deer tongues, and dried moose noses, the latter making a delicious dish when thoroughly boiled. We also succeeded in engaging two more men to take this canoe-load of meat at least as far as Nuklukahyct. A large number of birds'-nests, mouse- skins, and other specimens of natural history, were also secured. I had then an opportunity to make a few observations on the place and its inhabitants. Nowikakat Village is situated on a beautiful little enclosed bay, into which the river of the same name enters, with several smaller streams. This river is about one hundred miles long, and its THE VIKON TERRITORY. 87 mouth is about one hundred and thirty miles from Nulato in a direct line. Hy the Yukon the distance is considerably greater. The head-waters are on the southeast side of the Xowikakat and Kdiyuh Mountains, and, according to Indian accounts, a short portage can be made to the head-waters of the S/idgiliik or so-called Innoko River, or, by crossing the mountains, to the Kaiyuh River. These portages are frequently made by the Indians who trade with the Ingaliks. A narrow entrance connects the basin with the Yukon. Through this a beautiful view is obtained, across the river and Looking out of Nowikakat Harbor. through the numerous islands, of the opposite shore and the Yukon Mountains in the distance. The feathery willows and light poplars bend over and are reflected in the dark water, unmixed as yet with Yukon mud ; every island and hillside is clothed in the delicate green of spring, and lu.xuriates in a density of foliage remarkable in such a latitude. The village appeared to be a mere collection of huts, temporary lodges, and tents ; one or two winter houses seemed as if long deserted and rapidly going to decay. All these were crowded together on a low bank, from which the willows seemed to have been recently cut away. The shore was absolutely covered with f'i ! i i ■« I i! !■ 88 THE YUKON TERRITORY. birch canoes. The dress of the Indians was similar to the Koyukun, already described ; but a few specimens of fine bead- vvork and fringed hnnting-shirts showed the effect of luiglish intercourse. The guns were all English single-barrelled flint- locks, while the Koyukuns are provided with double percussion guns from the traders in Kotzebue Sound, through the Eskimo. The principal supply of food seemed to be moose meat. Fish was evidently scarce, and deer less abundant than near the coast. As evening approached, Larriown the shaman, and his wife, were called upon to exercise their art for the relief of a sick man who apparently had not long to live. The belief in shamanism is universal among the natives of Alaska, Eskimo as well as Indians. Even the Aleuts, long nominally converted to Christianity, still retain superstitious feelings in regard to it. It is essentially a belief in spirits who are controlled by the shaman ; who come at his call, imj)art to him the secrets of the future and the past, afflict or cease afflicting men by sickness at his behest, and enable him to advise others as to seasons and places of hunting, good or evil omens, and the death or recovery of the sick. These however are not spirits who were once men. Many Indians — in fact, all the Tinneh that I have conversed with, who have not been taught by the luiglish or Russian mis- sionaries — do not believe in the immortality of man. Of those who have a dim notion of the kind none have any idea whatever of future reward and punishment, of any Supreme Power or Deity, of good and evil in a moral .sense, or of anything which can be called a religion. Assertions to the contrary proceed from the ignorance or poetical license of the author, or from an intercourse with tribes who have derived their ideas from missionaries. The support which the spiritual instincts of human nature demand is met among the Indians by a belief in shamanism. All animals, woods, waters, and natural phenomena such as the aurora borealis or thunder and lightning, are supposed to be either the abodes or the means of manifestation of spirits. The latter have power and knowledge limited by their respective spheres. The most powerful and beneficent of all are the ob- jects of ridicule and contempt, as often as of fear or reverence, in the Indian legends which relate to them. The whole relation. THE YUKON TERRITORY. 89 between the Indians and these spirits as they believe in them, is one of self-interest and fear. They preserve all bones out of reach of the dogs for a year, when they are carefully buried, lest the spirits who look after the beavers and sables should consiilei thac they are regarded with contemi^t, and hence no more should be killed or trapped. Other singular superstitions, the result of accident, some local incident, or unexplained coincidence, are found to be peculiar to each narrow territory or small tribe. The younger Indians look on these things with contempt and ridicule ; it is only when starvation or sickness impends, or the continued threats of some greedy shaman create alarm, that they pay any heed to them. It is with age alone that these super- stitions become firmly implanted in their minds. The .strange efi'ects which firm belief and vivid imagination have frequently produced among civilized and intelligent human beings are too well known to require further confirmation. Hence it is not to be wondered at among ignorant Indians, whose imagination is untrammelled by knowledge of the .simplest natural laws, that the self-deluding frenzy of the shaman should, as it trequently does, produce seemingly supernatural effects, which confirm his in- fluence. Among the Indians who frequent the trading-posts many may be found who have imbibed a few indistinct ideas from Christian theology, without renouncing their native superstitions, or gaining any comprehension of the cardinal principles of morality or re- ligion. It is from intercourse with such, that many of the popular delusions about the " Great Spirit " of the Indians have arisen. In the present instance, the Indians formed a circle around a fire, near which lay the sick man wrappetl in a dressed deerskin. Larriown had donned a suit of civilized clothing, which he had obtained from some trader. Me wore a very large black felt hat with a broad brim, and his wife had a sini'" '• equipment, so that it was difficult to distinguish them. They walked in contrary directions around the fire, gazing at it or into vacancy. At inter- vals he uttered a deep bass sound between a shout and a groan, which she answered in a higher key, both quickening their pace and occasionally stop])ing short and shuddering convulsixely from head to foot. At last the responses were more rapid anil assumed a kind of rhythm ; the whole circle of Indians acted as chorus in ;m '>!-V iil lie i' J! .1 i> 90 THE YUKON TERRITORY. the intervals. In the midnight dusk the circle of tall swarthy forms in strange apparel, the fitful gleams of firelight, the groans of the sick man, and the mysterious writhing forms before him, all united to give to the strauge chorus an intensely dramatic efil'ect. Contortions which were almost convulsions shook those two black forms, while the fiendish eyes of Larriown rolled until the whites alone were visible. Between the spasms both made mes- meric passes over the sick man, keeping time with the deep monotonous chorus, which might well have been the despairing wail of a lost spirit. The muscular contortions gradually grew less violent, from sheer weakness. The ring of Indians gradually broke up, the chorus ceased, and the ceremony was over. Wednesday, $t/i. — We rose at five, and putting our meat into the canoe and our baggage into the boat, we followed the Rus- sians out of the basin. This is the only place on the Yukon which appears to me safe for wintering a steamer, unless she were beached. The ice descending in the fre.shets would at any other point carry her away or crush her. The heat of the sun was so great that we lay over from eleven until two, and rested in the shade of .some magnificent birches. Nowikakat is noted for the beauty and good workmanship of the birch canoes made there. The single canoes are easily carried in one hand. They are about twelve feet long, just wide enough to sit down in, and have the forward end covered for three or four feet with a piece of bark, to keep water out. They are exceedingly frail. The frame is made of birch wood steamed, bent, and dried. They are sewed with the long slender roots of the spruce, and calked with spruce gum. The bark is put on inside out, shaped, and sewed over a clay model just the shape and size of the proposed canoe. The regular price for a tingle canoe is a shirf, or five marten skins. The paddles are of the usual lance-head shape, with a ridge in the middle on eacli side, running down to the point and strengthening the blade. They are four or five feet long, with a cross-piece at the end of the handle, and gayly colored with red ochre, blue carbonate of copper, or a green fungus which is found in decayed willow wood. The single canoe will carry a man and a bag of flour. The large canoes are of the same shape, but will carry three men and their baggage, in all about six or eight hundred pounds. They are .sometimes sixteen feet long, and do not turn up at the THE YUKON TERRITORY. 9' ends, as the canoes of the Lake Superior Indians do, but are straight, and furnished with a Y- shaped prow above the cut- water. Each carries a dish of spruce gum, some e.xtra pieces of bark, and a bundle of spruce roots, to repair damages, which frequently occur ; and a small framework of slats for the occupants to sit on. In the afternoon we were surprised to sec a wreath of smoke curling over the trees beyond a point on the river. The small canoes immediately fell back ; and Ivan, with his usual cow- ardice, called out to us to stop, for fear of hostile Indians. Dis- regarding his warning, we took the lead, and saw a white man and two Indians standing by a large fire. We supposeil it was a guide, or Antoine Houle himself, whom we had expected to join at Nuklukahyet. It turned out to be a man from Fort Yukon, who stated that he had left the fort on account of long-continued ill-treatment, and that he had trusted to fortune to enable him to escape from a tyranny which he had resolverl to bear no longer. He had started from the fort, with a little powder, a gun, and a few bullets, in a small canoe, and had supported himself by kill- ing game ; cutting up his bullets into shot, and when these failed using gravel from the beach. He had just been upset, lost his gun and everything except what he had on his ])erson. He had passed Antoine at Nuklukahyet, telling the latter that he had been sent down with letters for us, as he knew from Ketch um that we were coming up. Antoine had given him a letter which Ketchum left for us, and was now on his way back to I'ort Yukon with the furs he had bought. The man gave his name as Peter McLeod, and stated that he had been fourteen years in tlie Hudson Bay Comp:iny's service. We called upon him and Iv;in Pavloff to join us at our noon-day meal, and treated them to bacon, biscuit, and tea. He assured us that he had not tasted breatl for four years. Assuming his story to be true, we could not advise him to return. I furnished him with trading-goods sufficient to purchase provisions until he should arrive at Nuhito. Pavlot'f, witli his habitual \i ity, msisted on furnishing him with a l)lanket, to replace that which he had lost, a Hint and steel to obtain fire, and an order to ^'agor to feed him until his return. We all united in wishing him a safe arrival, and in supplying him with f I. ti 1! 1 \\ iSl ''*. .i ; ' ' V I I 'i !!• > « / iii i ii i 92 THE YUKON TERRITORY. such necessaries as we could spare, and then continued on our way. Thursday, 6t/i. — We passed through an exceedingly long pra- toka, which was so winding and narrow that I suspected we had got into a small river instead of a slough of the Yukon. We had intended to travel by night and take our rest in the hot noon- time ; but the sight cf some fresh deer meat in the camp of the Indians who had preceded us induced my companion to defer this arrangement until we should leave the Russians at Nuklu- kahyet. We therefore camped, and indulged in the lu.xury of some hot venison steaks. Friday, yt/i. — We had hitherto been unable to use the track- ir. 2-line, except at short intervals ; but the slight fall in the water had left a narrow beach, which we now availed ourselves of The little river tern, whose bright colors and graceful motions cannot fail to attract the traveller's eye, was very common in this part of the river. One of our men in tracking passed near one of their nests, and the parents immediately attacked him. Swoop- ing and returning, in long curves, they almost brushed his cap, uttering loud cries, and keeping it up for several hundred yards. A* last, annoyed by their conduct, which he did not comprehend, lie brandished a large stick in the air. Even then they did not rest until we were a quarter of a mile from their breeding-place. I obtained a fine piece of black obsidian on the beach, and noticed syenitic rocks for the first time in the Yukon territory. Saturday, 8t/i. — About eleven o'clock the next day we reached the mouth of the Tozikakat, which empties into the Yukon some fifteen miles from Nuklukahyet. Here we boiled the chynik and rested for a while. We usually sent one of the small canoes up a little distance when we camped near a small river, in order that we might obtain clear water for making our tea. The Yukon water is full of sediment. The mosquitoes were exceedingly trouble- sonic ; without gloves and a net nothing could be done. The Indians always placed a dish of wet moss with a few coals in it on the Lows of their canoes ; this produced a smoke which kej)! the insects away from the canoe when in motion. We smoked them out of our tent, when camping, in the same way. The mouth of the Tozikakat is obstructed by a bar, on which lay piled hundreds of cords of driftwood. Hi w n i WB hJ ■.1 k II-. » ■ M ii' ' IN X t-l D u: N (A THE YUKON TERRITORY. 93 Tc» the east the broad mouth of the Tananah River was seen, where it joins the Yukon. The latter cyrves abruptly to the left, and between them lies the low land, forming a point or island. This is Nuklukahyet, the neutral ground where all the tribes meet in spring to trade. Behind it rose the mountains. Two summits rose above the others, known by the Indian names of Mo-kldn-o- klikli and Mout-klag-at-lhi . The latter is really on the right bank of the Yukon, and the former on the left, but from our point of view this was not perceptible. At the junction the Tananah is much broader than the Yukon, yet into this noble river no white man has dipped his paddle. Below the junction the Yukon attains a width of five miles at least. A fair wind sprang up, and, as usual, the Russians left us far behind. By dint of hard paddling, about half past five in the afternoon we rounded the bluff opposite Nuklukahyet. Here we found Pavloff, who, with unexpected consideration, was waiting for us. We crossed together, with our flags flying. The Nuklukahyet tyone, who had been at Nuldto during the winter, hailed us from the beach. Pavloff answered him, and we landed, drew up our boats, and prepared to go through the ceremony for such cases made and provided. We formed in line, with blank charges in oui" guns. The Indians did the same. They advanced on us shouting, and discharged their guns in the air. We returned the compliment, and they retreated to repeat the performance. After ten minutes of this mock fight the tyone appeared between us. He harangued the Indians, who answered by a shout. Turning to us, he informed us that we were now at liberty to transact our business. Antoine and his Indians had left for Fort Yukon two days be- fore. There was little or nothing to eat at Nuklukahyet. Some men had been sent by the tyone after moose, and meanwhile the annual dances which take place here were performed on empty stomachs. The tyone came in with a little dish of fat as a present. He regretted that there was nothing better to offer us, and gave us a note which Ketchum had written during the winter; in it he re- quested that we would give the tyone, who had materially assisted him, any powder and ball we could spare. The powdjr and ball furnished by the Company was exhausted at Nowikakat, but I tl %. '%\ )!l 94 THE YUKON TERRITORY. made him a present of a can of powder and forty balls from my own private supplies, and asked him to keep a little meat for us when we should return, which he promised to do. He was a rather good-looking Indian, possessed a good deal of intelligence, and was younger than any other tyone we had seen. He wore an English hunting-shirt of red flannel, ornamented on the shoulders with large pearl buttons, and fringes of mooseskin. Around his waist was a long Hu'Lon Bay sash. He wore moccasins, and mooseskin trousers cut in the English fashion, with fringes down II, ) I ' ' > ' i^ii * ( ! I ii!'! \k ■ Young Nuklukahyet tyone. the outside of the leg, and blue leggins tied with a band of bcad- work below the knee. His black glossy hair was cut slriight around the neck, and parted a little on one side. Altogether, he appeared much cleaner and more attentive to dress than any of the Indians of the Lower \'ukon. All these Indians paint their faces. Black is obtained by rub- bing charcoal and fat together. Vermilion is purchased of the traders, and supplies the place of the red oxide of iron which they formerly used. I saw one who appeared to have used graphite, or plumbago, on his face, but on examining the article itself it i ;' THE YUKON TERRITORY. 95 proved to be micaceous oxide of iron, and was said to be obtained on the banlcs of the Tananah. They wear an ornament made of dcntalium, the sookli of the Russians, and " money-shell " of American traders. It is here Nijsu iiinanient nf the Yukon Indi.ins. represented of natural size. A hole is pierced through the skin of the nose, below the cartilage, when very young. Women and men alike wore it ; while at Koyukuk we noticed it only among the women. These Indians are fond of ornaments, and among other things I noticed in use as such were necklaces of bears' claws and teeth, sable tails, wolf ears, bands of beads and dentalia, embroidery of dyed porcupine quills, small ermine skins, hawk and eagle feath- ers, beavers' teeth (with which they whet their knives), and the bright green scalps of the mallard. Some wore hoops of birch wood around the neck and wrists, with various patterns and fig- ures cut on them. These were said to be emblem.s of mourn- ing for the dead. I noticed several graves in which the dead were enclosed, in a standing posture, in a circle of sticks squared on four sides and secured by hoops of green wood, thus looking much like a cask. From the sticks hung strips of cloth and fur. In the afternoon we witnessed one of their dances. The spec- tators formed a circle around two men who were the performers, and joined in the usual monotonous chorus of" Ho, ho, ha, ha," &c. The (lancers were stripped to the waist, and held in each hand eagles' feathers tipped with bits of swan's-down. Their heads were shaved, and bound with fillets of feathers. The dance con- sisted in motions of the head, arms, legs, and every muscle of the body in succession ; putting themselvi.s in every imaginable posture, joining in the chorus, and keeping exact time with it and with each other. I could not find out its emblematic meaning. We engaged two Indians to take the canoe of meat to Fort Yukon. One of them, whom we had called Hidarshik, had come with us from Nowikakat. The other was a wild specimen of the Xuklukahyet tribe, whom we decided to name Dick. A number 1% .i \ •f* m i ti li! fi !i 1/ 96 THE VUKOX TERRITORY. of others indicated their intention to travel with us to Fort Yukon and trade there. (Jne of them had been employed by Ketch um the previous summer. About three o'clock in the afternoon we left Nuklukahyet and the Russians behind us, receiving a salute from them, which we duly returned. The river was becoming deeper and narrower, and the hills were rising and approaching more closely to the Yukon, as we ascended. Late in the afternoon a sunken rock cut a hole in the ': r. ,1 ' 111 tlie Ramp.irts. bidarra, and \vc halted for repairs. On account of the extreme heat we now decided to travel by night and camp in the hottest part of the day. Monday, \oth. — We entered, about three o'clock in the after- noon, between high blurts and hills rising perhaps fifteen hun- dred feet above the river, which here was exceedingly deep and rapid and not more than half a mile wide. The bends were abrupt, and the absence of sunlight and the extreme quiet THE YIKCJN TERRITOKV. 97 Iirocluced a feeling as if \vc had been travelling underground. Ihe appropriate and expressive ICnglish name for these bluft's is '• the Ramparts. ' We were approaching the so-called Rapids of the Yukon, of which we had heard so many stories. The Russians had pre- dicted that we should not be able to ascend them. The Indians joined in this expression of opinion, and had no end of stories about the velocity of the current and the difficulty experienced in Lonking back at the Rapids. 1- P S 1h ascending them. We all felt a little anxious, but were confident of overcoming the supposed difficulty in some way. Wc met some Indians and obtained a little fresh meat. About midnight we arrived at the Rapids. The river is very narrow here, and the rocky hills rise sharply from the water. The rocks are metamorphic quartzites, and a dike or belt of hard granitic rock crosses the river. The fall is about twelve feet in half a mile. The rapid current has worn the granUe away on either side, 7 iiilr 9^ THE YUKON TEKRlTORY. forming two good channels, but in the middle is an island of granite, over which the river rushes in a sheet of foam during high water. There are several smaller " rips " along the shore, especially near the left bank, but nothing to interrupt steamer navigation, except the very rapid current. Several Indians attempted to ascend in their small canoes. We saw them reach a point just below the island, and by dint of the hardest paddling keep stationary there a few minutes ; when, their strength being exhausted, away went the canoes down stream like arrows. We joined our tracking-line with several rawhide lines belong- ing to the Indians, and by keeping close to the rocks succeeded in tracking over the worst part without much difficulty. Taking our seats again, we had a hard pull to pass one jutting rock, and our troubles were over. We then enjoyed a well-earned cup of tea, and took a parting glance at the Rapids from above. From this point only a broad patch of foam in the middle of the river indicated their existence. Tuesday, wth. — Coal has been said to exist in this vicinity, but erroneously. There are no sandstones or other fossiliferous rocks, and the granite is immediately succeeded by quartzites. I found plenty of wild garlic on the rocks, and currant and goose- berry vines in blossom. The Indians were attended by numerous little dogs, which ran along the shore, following the canoes, and sometimes swam across the Yukon two or three times in a day. These were excellent hunters, but too small to use with sleds. During the day they dislodged a porcupine, of which I secured the skull. Several women were with their husbands, who intended to leave them somewhere on the road until their return from trad- ing. They were hideously ugly and dirty, — far worse than the Koyukuns or Ingaliks whom I had seen. They took charge of the large canoes with the baggage, while the husband carried the furs in his small canoe. There were several babies, all very dirty, but otherwise like most Indian babies. During the day they were tied into a kind of chair made of birch bark and packed with clean dry moss, which was changed when occasion required. The object itself looked much like an ordinary willow baby-chair, but had a projection in front between the child's legs, which came THE YUKON TLKKITOKV, 99 up as far as its breast, and prevented its tumbling out when untied. It is remaricable that there arc no terraces along the river, and the flinty rocks show ice-markings only for a foot or two along high-water mark. Wednesday, \2th. — The water, which had fallen some two feet, rose about six inches during the day. The Indians assert that this second rise always takes place, and precedes the starting of the salmon up stream. We passed a dead moose in the water, and shortly after the Indians killed another, some of the meat of which we purchased. Passed a wrecked canoe on some shoals. The next day we passed the Yukutzcharkat River, which Cap- tain Ketchum had called, on his sketch-map, the W'hymper River, in compliment to our friend and companion, Mr. Frederick Whymper. Thursday, 13///. — The long handle of our frying-pan having broken oft", as they invariably do in travelling, it had been bent, so that it might be used to catch hold of the pan, put it on and off the fire when hot, &c. We were much annoyed at finding that our Indians had left it behind at the last camp. This may seem trivial ; but it is no small undertaking to use a frying-])an without a handle on an open wood-fire. Such accidents in an un- inhabited country bring forcibly before the mind the great value of many small conveniences which we never think of at home. The night was spent in tracking around a very long bend, which left us in the morning only a few miles in a direct line from the point which we had left in the afternoon. We cut the skin of our bidarra again, but pushed on, keeping her dry by bailing. Bidarshik and Mikaishka, who kept in advance of us, killed a large moose, and we were well supplied with fresh meat. Friday, i^t/i. — Passed a very small stream called by the In- dians Tdtsun-ikhtnn, or " Caught-in-the-rocks." I found a fos- sil skull of the musk ox {Ovibos uioscliatus) on the beach. WiUl roses, snowballs, and gold-thread were in blossom on the hillsides, and the fragrant juniper scented the air. A fine bluff, with a rocky face like a great staircase, marked the mouth of the Tsee- toht River on the right bank. After this the river begins to widen, and numerous small islands occur. Saturday, x^th. — The next day we left the mountains be- \ ui - '^ I ♦I in I' I n < I lOO THE YUKON TERRITORY. hind us. Just beyond them the Notokakat, or Dal! River of Ketchum, enters the Yukon from the north. The latter river is very broad at this point. W'e passed through some very strong water. Not the least annoyance in this kind of travel is the con- stant complaining of the Indians, unused to steady hard work and ever ready to shirk, doing on principle the least they can. Monday, lyth. — We enjoyed from our camp a fine view of the end of the Ramparts and the intervening islands. Passed by several deserted houses formerly inhabited by some Indians of the Kutchin tribes, who all died five years ago of the scarlet fever. This fever was introduced by a trading-vessel at the mouth of ihe Chilkaht River. From the Chilkaht Indians it spread to those of the Upper Yukon, and down the river to this point, where all died and the disease spent itself. These are known to the Eng- lish as the Small Houses, and the locality is an excellent one for game and fish of all kinds. The women were left behind on an island in the morning, and the Indians, relieved of the heavy canoes, were already far in advance of us. Tuesday, \St/i. — One of the few who accompanied us fol- lowed a cow-moose in the water until tired out, when he killed her with his knife, and with some difificulty we towed her ashore. We occasionally saw a black bear or a Canada lynx on the bank. For several days we kept steadily on, little of interest occurring. It was noticed that the trees began to grow smaller and more sparse as we ascended ;V.. river. The sun hardly dipped below the horizon at midnighi, and his noontide rays scorched like a furnace. The mosquitr cs were like smoke in the air. Through constant and enforced observation, I came to dis- tinguish four kinds, — a large gray one, and another with white leg-joints, a very small dust-colored one which held its probos- cis horizontally in advance, and another small one which carried its probe in the orthodox manner. All were distinguished from the civilized species by the reckless daring of their attack, Thousands might be killed before their eye.s, yet the survivors sounded their trumpets and carried on the war. A blanket of- fered them no impediment ; buckskin alone defied their art. At meal-times, forced to remove our nets, we sat until nearly .stifled in the smoke, and, emerging for a breath of air, received no mercy. • My companion's hands, between sunburn and mos- r% ;2 ler the lis- [itc los- licd loni |ck. lors lof- At I no I OS- I-* !f i;it: )* ''i' I % ii • I ( if i\ \.i THE YUKON TERRITORY. IO( quitoes, were nearly raw, and I can well conceive that a man without a net, in one of these marshes, would soon die from nervous exhaustion. The mosquitoes drive the moose, deer, and bear into the river, and all nature rejoices when the end of July comes, and their reign is at an end. Both banks had become very low and flat ; the region had a dreary appearance. Only five snow covered peaks, supposed to be part of the Romantzoft' range, rose above the level of the plains. These are the only mountains near the Yukon, in Russian America north of the Alaskan range, which b-^ar snow through- out the year. The plain here described reaches to the shores of the Arctic Ocean, broken only by a few ranges of low mountains near the coast, of which the Romantzotf are the highest. To the eastward it rises almost imperceptibly, attaining its highest elevation be- tween the head-waters of the Porcupine and the left bank of the Mackenzie. This table-land, somewhat broken and rocky, as seen abutting on the Mackenzie River has the appearance of high hills. These are the "mountains" of Richardson. There are no true mountains north of the Yukon, except the Roman tzoff. Nothing of less than five thousand feet in height has a right to the title of mountain ; but in the careless speech of the Hudson Bay trappers and traders anything more than two hundred feet high is a " mountain." Sdiunfay, 22d. — After passing the Birch River of the Eng- lish, called by the Indians Tolnoi'tn-niikdkat, we came upon a camp of the Kutcha Kutchin'. Camping here, I purchased a number of fish, which they were catching and drying. There were four or five men, a boy or two, and five women. All were much finer-looking than the Unakhatana we had left behind us at Nuklukahyet. All wore manv articles of luiglish make ; one of the women had a calico dress on. They had many dogs, all of the black, .short-haired, long-legged English breed. The men wore the Hudson Bay moccasins, leggins, and fringed hunting-shirts of buckskin, originally introduced by the ICnglish traders, who obtained them from the tril)es to the southeast. They had abundance of the fine bead-work in which the French Canadians delight, and which those women who frequent the forts learn to excel in. \\ I ' M ' w I ■Mi I02 THE YUKON TERRITORY. U, M The next afternoon, when we awoke we found the old chief from Fort Yukon waiting to see us. After a liberal present of tobacco and a tin cup, he returned the compliment by a small piece of very fat moose meat. The old fellow's name was Sakh- ni-ti, which the traders have corrupted into Senatee. The heat was so extreme that we deferred our start until half past eight in the evening. Sunday, 2id. — We stopped for tea and rest twice ; and when opposite the mouth of the Porcupine River we delayed a few mo- ments, to set the colors and load our fire-arms. Rounding a bend of the river, about noon we saw the white buildings of the fort on the right bank, about a mile above the mouth of the Porcupine. We gave them a hearty salute, which was returned by a fusillade from a large crowd of Indians who had collected on the bank. Landing, we received a cordial greeting from an old French Cana- dian and two Scotchmen, who were the only occupants. The commander and Antoine Houle were daily expected, with the remainder of the men and the annual supply of goods from La Pierre's house, by way of the Porcupine River. We were shown to a room in the commander's houre, where we deposited our baggage ; and, after putting our boat and equipment in safety, we turned in for a good nap. The journey, exclusive of the time spent at Nowikakat and Kamensikhter, had occupied less than twenty-seven days, and the distance travelled we estimated as about six hundred and thirty miles. In a straight line the distance from Nulato to Fort Yukon is over four hundred and eighty miles. We were much elated at the successful issue of our journey, and I confess to having felt a pardonable pride in being the first American to reach I*"ort Yukon from the sea. This trading-post was founded by McMurray in the season of 1 846- 47, and the original fort was a mile or more farther up the river. The present fort was commenced in 1864, and at the time of our visit needed only the erection of a stockade to com- I)lete it. The cause of the change of location was the undermin- ing and washing away by the river of the steep bank on which the old fort was built. At this period, the old houses had been removed, and some of the remaining foundation-timbers projected far over the water. f, jih '^i lii^t :.! I I '' \ \ i i THE YUKON TERRITORY. 103 The present buildings consist of a large house, containing six rooms, for the commander : a block of three houses, of one room each, for the workmen ; a large storehouse ; a kitchen ; and four block-houses, or bastions pierced for musketry, at the corners of the proposed stockade. Outside of the fort is a small house of two rooms, belonging to Antoine Houle the interpreter. All the houses were strongly built, roofed with sheets of spruce bark pinned and fastened down by long poles. The sides were plastered with a white mortar made from shell-marl, obtainable in the vicinity. Most of the windows were of parchment, but those of the commander's house were of glass. The latter was provided with good plank floors, and the doors and sashes were painted red with ochre. The yard was free from dirt, and the houses, with their white walls and red trimmings, made a very favorable comparison with any of those in the Russian posts. The fort is situated about two hundred miles from La Pierre's House, by the Porcupine River, the journey there and back being performed in about twenty days. Further particulars in regard to its geographical position will be found elsewhcie. The inhab- itants are all employes of the Hudson Bay Company. Most of them are from the Orkney Islands and the north of Scotland, while a few are French Canadians, with a mixture of Indian blood. At this time the garrison consisted of Mr. J. McDougal the com- mander, and six men, of whom four were Scotchmen. The Rev. Mr. McDonald, a missionary of the Established Church, was also expected with the boats. The next day we got up a good breakfast, and invited the three men who had received us. The repast consisted of flapjacks, bacon, tea with sugar, and moose meat. As several of them had been some years without tasting bread, it may be imagined this was a rare treat to them. The larc for men and dogs at this place is the same, i. e. dry moose meat alternating with dry deer meat, occasionally varied by fresh meat of the same kind, and the slight supply of game and fish which is now and then obtainable. The trading-goods which are designed for this point take two years in transportation from York P'actory on Hudson Bay. One portage of over fifty miles has to be made, between P'ort AIc- I'herson, on Peel River, to La Pierre's House on the Upper Por- cupine. Here the goods are carried on sleds in winter, across 1^= i^ii ■IV; i I04 THE YUKON TERRITORY. the high, rough, and broken table-land between the two rivers. On account of these diflficulties in transportation, few provisions are ever sent to this isolated post. These few find their way to the table of the commander, or to the Indian tyones who bring large quantities of furs to the annual trade. The men should re- ceive three pounds of tea and six of sugar, annually, to flavor their diet of dry meat ; but I was informed that this supply was exceedingly irregular, and often failed entirely. The Indian chiefs often obtain a small present of tea, sugar, or flour, but the latter is quite inaccessible to the men, except through the favor of the commander. These men are allowed two suits of clothes annually, if the supply holds out ; but for anything else they must wait until the furs are all purchased, and then, if any- thing remain after the Indians are satisfied, the men are allowed to purchase. Even if by their own skill they trap furs enough to buy articles of clothing, the Indians still take the precedence. They are allowed to purchase what they can from the Indians, but must turn it all in to the Company, and, if they need it, must buy it at Company's prices. The standard of value is the beaver- skin. One " made beaver," as they express it, is worth two shil- lings, or two marten skins. A man bu3's a dressed mooseskin, to make moccasins of, at its regular value of two " made beaver," or four shillings. He cannot set his wife at work making mocca- sins, but must sell it to the Company for what he paid the In- dians, and buy it back for tiveuty shillings, which is the Company's selling-price. If he does not do this he is liable to lose all his past earnings which happen to be in the Company's hands, and take a flogging beside from the commander. Every eflbrt is made, to make these men marry Indian wives ; thus forcing them to remain in the country by burdening them with females whom they are ashamed to take back to civilization, and cannot desert. They perform a larger amount of manual labor for smaller pay than any other civilized people on the globe. The hardships and exposures to which they are subjected are beyond belief In fact, the whole system is one of the most exact- ing tyranny ; and only in the north of Scotland could men of intelligence be found who would submit to it. The systematic way in which the white "servant of the Company" is jj^round down below the level of the Indians about him, is a degrada- THE YUKON TERRITORY. 105 tion few could bear. They are not even furnished with good tools. The Hudson Bay axe is a narrow wedge, which an American lumberman would reject with contempt. The Hud- son Bay knives — at least such as I saw at Fort Yukon — are so worthless that even the Indians prefer to buy files, and Knife of Kutcliin manufacture. manufacture their own knives from them. The guns are all flint-locks of the most miserable description ; and this rubbish must be bought at treble its value by the Hudson Bay voy- ageur, in a country where the axe and gun are a man's right and left hands ! There is some comfort in reflecting that a few years will put an end to this. Free traders already pass through the greater part of the Hudson Bay territory without restraint, and they will not be long in reaching a district so rich in valuable furs as that of Fort Yukon. The sun was so intensely hot that in the middle of the day we could do nothing, but during the cooler hours much of interest was added to my collection and my companion's portfolio. At noon, out of the direct rays of the sun, one of Greene's standard thermometers stood at 112" Fahrenheit. The men informed me that on several occasions spirit thermometers had burst with the heat. In the depth of winter the spirit falls sometimes as low as sixty-eight and sixty-nine below zero, making a range for the year of one hundred and eighty degrees Fahrenheit ! Neverthe- less, potatoes, turnips, lettuce, and other hardy garden vegetables mature during the short hot summer, and barley was said to have succeeded once, but only reached a few inches in height. We were very well pleased to hear from an Indian runner that the boats were not far otf. On the 26th of June, Messrs. McUougal, McDonald, and Sibbeston arrived with the bateaux. The latter were about forty feet long, nine feet beam, and drew two and a half feet of water. They are well adapted to the navigation of the Porcupine, which is full of shoals and sand- bars, and they brought a load of nine thousand pounds each from La Pierre's House. ■-: : \ h i m io6 THE YUKON TERRITORY. ( ' ^! : We invited the commander and Mr. McDonald to be our guests for the day, and did our best to provide a good dinner. We found them to be typical Scots, — quiet, reserved, cautious, but hospitably inclined. Antoine Houle the interpreter, who arrived with them, was of mi.xed French and Indian blood, and was a thor- ough voyageur. More independent than most of the Company's servants, he had his house to himself outside of the fort ; and like many of his Indian cousins, deaf to the remonstrances of the missionaries, had provided himself with one more wife than is usual in civilized countries. This was the more excusable, as the poor fellow suffered from ossification of the knee-joint, and could do but little to help himself His house was always open to every one, and was a noted resort of the Indians, with whom he was a great favorite. With them he could talk in their own dialects, while the usual mode of communication between the whites and Indians in this locality is a jargon somewhat like Chinook, known by the name of " Broken Slave." The basis of this jargon, which includes many modified French and English words, is the dialect of Liard River. The native name of the tribe called Slav^ is Achcto-tinnch, or " People living out of the wind." The ne.xt business for Mr. McDougal, after storing his goods, was the annual trade. Every spring the Yukon, and other In- dians who do not trade with the Russians, assemble at Fort Yukon, there await the arrival of the boats with the new supply of tobacco and goods, and then do their trading. After this is over, the furs are put into a large press, which is a conspicuous object in the yard, and pressed into bundles weighing about ninety pounds each. These bundles are covered with beaver-skins of the poorest class, and are pressed so solid by means of wedges that, even if dropped into the river, the water will not penetrate them. Each bundle contains a certain number of marten or fox .skins packed in beaver ; they are bound with rawhide cut in strips known as " babiche," and each bundle is called a " piece." After the trade is over and the furs are packed, thiy are taken in the boats to La Pierre's House, and the boats return empty. Any remaining goods are laid aside, and sent down the river in the following spring to Nuklukahyet. During the remainder of the year but little trading is done, and months i^ass without an THE YUKON TERRITORY. > 1 107 Indian visiting the fort. A certain amount of tobacco is distrib- uted among the men, and a certain amount is cached, in order that they may not be entirely without the article in the spring. The flint-lock guns sold by the Hudson Bay Company are pre- ferred by the Indians to percussion guns, as caps are not always obtainable, while a flint may be picked up on any beach. These guns are valued at forty marten skins. They cost five dollars apiece, and the skins will average one hundred and fifty dollars in total value. On the afternoon of the 27th a shout was raised that the Tananah Indians were coming. On going to the beach, some ! n ! Sakhniti. twenty-five single canoes were seen approaching. The occupants kept perfect time with their paddles, advancing in three platoons, and passed over the water as swiftly and beautifully as a flock of ducks. Sakhni'ti, the chief of the Kutch.i Kutchin, or Fort Yukon In- dians, stood on the bank dressed in his gayest costume, with a richly embroidered blue blanket wrapped about him. He hailed the foremost canoes as soon as they were out of the current. After a harangue of a few minutes a fusillade was commenced by w, J/ r: li (1^, 1 : , t i n: if l' (■ ■ " 1 08 THE YUKON TERRITORY. the Indians on shore, and returned by those in the canoes, after which they landed. The Tenan Kutchin (people of the moun- tains), or Indians of the Tananah, are known to the Hudson Hay men as Gens des Buttes. They arc without doubt the tribe of all others which has had the least to do with the whites. No white man has yet explored the river on which they live. We only know that its head-waters are not very far from Fort Yukon, and that its general course is parallel with the Yukon. It is represented as running between mountains, and obstructed with rapids and cascades. The Tenan Kutchin are regarded with fear by the adjacent tribes, and are doubtless a wild and untamable people. Their numbers are supposed not to exceed one hundred and fifty families. Of their mode of life nothing is known, except that they obtain their subsistence principally by hunting the deer. No women accompanied this party. They were all dressed in the pointed parkies, which were once the universal male dress of the family of Tinneh, and from which they have been called Chippe- wayans, meaning " pointed coats." These coats were ornamented in the same manner with beads or quills as the dress of the male Koyukuns, already described. Their parkies and breeches were smeared with red ochre. All wore the dentalium nose-ornament previously noted. The most striking peculiarity about them was their method of dressing their hair. Allowed to grow to its full length, and parted in the middle, each lock was smeared with a mixture of grease and red ochre. These then presented the ap- pearance of compressed cylinders of red mud about the size of the finger. This enormous load, weighing in some of the adults at least fir .1 pounds, is gathered in behind the head by a fillet of dentaliuui shells. A much smaller bunch hangs on each side of the face. The whole is then powdered with swan's-down, cut up finely, so that it adheres to the hair, presenting a most remarkable and singular appearance. The dressing of grease and ochre re- mains through life, more being added as the hair grows. The fat is soon rancid, and a position to leeward of one of these gentry is highly undesirable. This method of dressing the hair is peculiar to the men. Among civilized nations such practices are confined to the fairer sex. The gulf between pomatum with gold powder and tallow with red ochre is not as wide as it seems at first sight ; and the addition of swan's- I THE YUKON TERRITORY. 109 down is a suggestion which is worthy of consideration by the ladies. The tribes now represented at the fort, beside the Kutcha and Tenan Kutchin, were the following : the Natclu' Kutchin, or Gens de Large, from north of the Porcupine River ; the Vuntd Kiiichiit, or Rat Indians, from farther up the Porcupine; the Han Kutchin (wood people), or Gens de Bois, from the Y ;kon, above Fort Yukon ; and finally, the Tutc/ionc Kutchin (crow people), or Gens de P'ou-x, from still farther up the Yukon. The tribes resembled each other in appearance and dress. They all belong to the family of Tinneh, which is their name for " people." Their habits of life differ somewhat according to locality, but none have settled villages, — carrying their deerskin lodges wherever food is most abundant. Those who live in mountainous districts, hunting the active deer from summit to summit, are notably the most savage and unruly. Those who live by hunting the more phlegmatic moose, which inhabits the lowlands, are much more docile. Their lan- guages are similar in construction and roots, though not in the forms of many words. The dialect of the Upper Tananah assimilates closely to the Kutchin languages, while that spoken near Nuklukahy^t resembles more nearly the Ingalik. The Tananah Indians brought the news of the body of a white man having been found in the river below. A sad event had happened at Fort Yukon in the early spring. A young man named Cowley had been acting as clerk at the fort, and at the time of the freshet was shooting geese on an island across the river. He had crossed in a large canoe with one of the men employed at the fort. He was a new arrival, and not accustomed to the mode of life, and was therefore subjected to many practical jokes from the old voyageurs. Wishing to return, he could not find the canoe, and supposing that some trick had been played upon him, the two embarked in a very small single canoe and attempted to cross. The river was full of ice, and nothing more was ever seen of them. The wrecked canoe which we had passed in the Ramparts was doubtless the one in question. The Rev. Mr. McDonald, being informed of the Indian rumor, immediately started down the river with a companion, to investigate the matter, and if necessary to perform the last rites over the remains. \' 1^^^ 'll 'hill I i!^ i! .1 ,1 (. 1 ' j 1 f, ■ ) , 1 (I' } t M THE YUKON TERRITORY. Among the chiefs at the fort was a man of remarkable intelli- gence, who had been of great service to the whites on various occasions. He went by the name of Red Leggins, and possessed great influence among the Indians. I applied to him for assist- ance in obtaining ethnological specimens and vocabularies, and improved the opportunity by taking his portrait. On the 29th of June we were called out by the Indians, wh? said that Ketchum was coming. Two canoes were seen in the distance, and before long we had the gratification of shaking the hands of our fellow-explorers, and offering them our hearty con- gratulations on the complete success of their arduous explora- tions. They had arrived safely at the site of Fort Selkirk, and brought back as a trophy a piece of one of the blackened timbers which remained. They reported the river to be open to navigation up to that point; but just beyond it was a rapid, where a portage would be necessary. The country was a fine one, well timbered, abundantly supplied with moose and game, and inhabited by friendly Indians. An enumeration of the ob- stacles which they had encountered would be out of place here, but it may fairly be said that only extreme jMi'ence, endurance, indefatigable energy and courage, could have surmounted them. They were principally, however, not such as would impede a well-provided party ot' regular explorers. We " laid ourselves out," in California parlance, to get up a good dinner for our friends ; what with this oiid the interchange of news and informa- tion, it was well into the next day before we sought our i)illows. Mr. McDonald returned, having determined the body to be that of Ward, Cowley's companion. He had buried it near the point where it was found. After the trade, which occupied severnl days, we obtained the necessary goods to pay our Indians for the trip. To those who had come up with us from Nulato we gave each a gun ; the Nuklukahydt man received a good capote; and we gave a knife, shirt, and ])owder-horn to Hiilarshik. Our diet while at the fort consisted chiefly of boiled dried meat, which when cooked resembles in flavor and stringiness a boiled skein of yarn. Mr. McDonald during our stay performed several services among the Indians, lie was an earnest and well-disposed man. Ki. 1) l.r.dlllNS. ; I. 1 i' ii i i THE YUKON TERRITORY. I I I a fair type of most missionaries to the Indians. His disrourscs were rendered into broken Slave by Antoine Houle. In the evening the Indians, old and young, gatiiered in the fort-yard and sang several hymns with excellent effect. Altogether, it was a scene which would have delighted the hearts of many very good people who know nothing of Indian character ; and as such will doubtless figure in some missionary report. To any one who at all understood the situation, however, the absurdity of the pro- ceeding was so palpable that it appeared almost like blasphemy. Old Sakhnfti, who has at least eighteen wives, whose hands are bloody with repeated and most atrocious murders, who knows nothing of what we understand by right and wrong, by a future state of reward and punishment, or by a Supreme Being, — this old heathen was singing as sweetly as his voice would allow, and with quite as much comprehension of the hymn as one of the dogs in the yard. Indians iro fond of singing: they are also fond of tobacco; and for a pipeful apiece you may baptize a whole tribe. Why will intelligent men still go on, talking three or four times a year to Indians, on doctrinal subjects, by means of a jargon which can- not express an abstract idea, and the use of vvhich onb throws ridicule on sacred things, — and still call such work spreading the truths of Christianity .' When the missionary will leave the trading-posts, strike out into the wilderness, live with the Indians, teach them cleanliness first, morality next, and by slow and simple teaching lead thcii thoughts -Im'X'o the hunt or the camp, — then, and not until then, will they :■;' c.inpetent to comprehend the simplest principles of right ^■■■''.i \ >x)ng. The Indian does not think in the methotl that ^.1' li cii men adopt ; he looks at everything as " through a glass, darK.y. His whole train of thought and habit of mind must be educateil to a higher and dilt'erent standard before Christianity can reach him. The Indian, unchanged by contact with the whites, is in luind a child without the trusting affectio'-. of chiUiiiood, and with the will and passions of a man. Read by this standard, he may be lairly judged. One fact may be unhesitatingly avowed : if he 'in obtain intoxicating liquors he is lost. Neither missionaries ■lor tv-.ichers can savi; him while it is within his reach. A general I; Fill I 12 THE YUKON TERRITORY. ) t i glance at the condition of the American Indians at this time con- veys only one idea, which is, that the trader outstrips all re- straints and that the whole race is irrevocably doomed. In dealings with them they appreciate justice, but do not prac- tise it, and they respect the strong arm alone. It has often been asked why the Hudson Bay Company has succeeded in its in- tercourse with the aborigines without the misery and bloodshed which has stained our western frontier. The inference has been as often drawn that it was owing to the justice which was charac- teristic of the Company's dealings with the Indians. That there is no foundation for tb's opinion I propose to show. In the first place, wi ) '• Hudson Bay traders have had few contests with the Indiai 11, in proportion to the number of whites, full as many Indiai. outrages have taken place as in the Western United States. The following from the pen of Bernard R. Ross, Esq., of the Hudson Bay Company, is pertinent to the question.* Speaking of the Eastern Tinneh, he says: — " As a whole, the race under consideration is unwarlike. I have never known, in my long residence among this people, of arms having been resorted to in conflict. In most cases tlieir mode of personal combat is a species of wrestling, and consists in tlie opjjonents grasp- ing each other's long hair. Tliis is usually a very harmless way of set- tling disputes, as wlioever is thrown loses ; yet instances have occu.red of necks having been dislocated in the tussle. Knives are almost in- variably laid aside previous to the contest. Some of tiiem box tolera- bly well ; but this metiiod of fighting does not seem to be generally ap- proved of, nor is it much practised. Un examination of the subject closely, I am dis|)ose(l to consider that this peaceful disposition pro- ceeds more from timidity than from any actual disinclination to shed blood. These Indians, whether in want or not, will take the life of any animal, however useless to lliem, if they be able to do so, and that they can on occasion be sufficiently treacherous and cruel is evinced by the massacre at St. John's, on i'eace River, and at Fort Nelson, on the I, lard River. It may not be out of place here to give a brief account of the latter catastrophe. "In 1 84 1 the post of Fort Nelson, on the Liard River, was in charge of a Mr. Henry, a well-educated and clever man, but of a Jiasty tem- per and morose disposition. While equipping the Indians in the au- tunm he had a violent dispute with one of the ])rincipal chiefs of the * From the iinmial Report of the .Smithsonian Institution. THE YUKON TERRITORY. I I Bastard Beaver Indians resorting to the establisiiment, wiio departed greatly enraged, and muttering suppressed tlireats, which were little thought of at the time. In the winter a 'courier' arrived at the fort to infonn the whites that there were the carcasses of several moose deer lying at the camp ready to be hauled, and requested dog-sleds to be sent for that purpose. Mr. Henry, never in the least suspecting any treachery, immediately despatched all the men and dogs that he could muster. On their way out they met an hulian, who told them that they had better turn back, as the wolverines had eaten all the meat. This information, as it turned out, was given from a friendly motive ; but fear of ulterior consequences to himself prevented the man from speak- ing more plainly. The fort interpreter, who was of the party, took the precaution to carry his gun with him, and when they drew near to the path which led from the bed of the river to the top of the bank, where the Indians were encamped, he lingered a little behind. On the others mounting the ascent, they were simultaneously shot down, at one dis- charge, by the natives, who were in ambush awaiting them. When the interpreter heard the shots he was convinced of foul play; he therefore turned and made for the fort as quickly as he could, pursued by the whole party of savages, whose aim was to prevent him from alarming the establishment. The man was a famous runner, and despite the disadvantage of small snow-shoes, which permitted him to sink more deeply than the Indians, who, on their huge hunting snow-shoes, al- most skimmed over the surface of the snow, he would have reached the houses before them, had not the line that confined the snow-shoe on his foot broken. His enemies were too close upon him to allow time for its repair ; so, wishing to sell his life as dearly as i.>ossible, he levelled his gun at the nearest Indian, wiio evaded the shot by fallinsr upon his face, whereupon the whole party despatched h'm. After perpetrating this additional murder the band proceeded to the fort, which they reached at early dawn. A poor old Canadian was, without suspicion of evil, cutting fire-wood at the back gate. His brains were dashed out with their a.\es, and they entered the establishment, whose inhabi- tants, consisting, with one exception, of women and children, were buried in profound repose. They first opened Mr. Henry's room, where he was asleep. The chief pushed him with the end of jiis gun to awaken him. He awoke, and seeing numerous fiendish and stern faces around him, made a spring to reach a i)air of pistols that were hanging over his head ; but before he could grasp them, he fell a bleed- ing corpse \' on the bosom of his wife, who, in tum, became a helpless victim of the sanguinary and lustful revenge of the infuriated s.nages. 114 THE YUKON TERRITORY. I :. / Maddened by the blood, they next proceeded to wreak their vengeance on the innocent women and children, who expired in agonies and under treatment too horrible to relate. The pillage of the stores was the next step, after which they departed, leaving the bodies of the dead un- buried. No measures further than the abandonment of the fort for several years were taken by the Northwest Company, to whom the establishment belonged, to punish the perpetrators of the atrocious deed; yet it is a curious fact that when I visited Fort Liards in 1849, but one of the actors survived, all the others having met with violent deaths, either by accident or at the hands of other Indians. This man, who was at the time only a lad, confessed to have dashed the brains out of an infant, taking it by the heels and swinging it against the walls of the house." This, and the long list of forts pillaged by the Indians or aban- doned on account of their hostility* by the Hudson Bay Com- pany, is sufficient to show that their occupation has not been wholly peaceful. But little has been said of these outrages, as it was evidently for the interest of the Company that they should not be talked about. It must also be noticed that the policy of the Company has always been to put cis fcvv men as possible in these trading-posts. A very few white men can go in safety where a large body would instantly excite hostilities. After the fort has been in operation for years, and a demand created for tobacco and other articles, the Indians feel that it is to their advantage to have them there, and the whites in small numbers no longer excite their jealousy. Then, whenever a new post was established, the influential chiefs were handsomely provided with presents, the whites in the fort were kept in subjection to the extent already described, going about in rags, while the Indians obtained broadcloth and clothing of every description for their furs. This obvious superiority pleased the vanity of the savage. Little or no retribution fol- lowed the outrages previously mentioned. In some cases pres- ents were plentifully distributed to appease their anger, and any ofience toward an Indian was severely punished. The self-re- spect of the white man was sacrificed to the desire of obtaining furs. Lastly, the most warlike and bloody tribes had been reduced to comparative quietness in the early colonial wars. * This includes Forts Seli7 place, that they are not Indians ; nor have they any known rela- tion, physically, philologically, or otherwise, to the Indian tribes of North America. Their grammar, appearance, habits, and even their anatomy, especially in the form of the skull, separate them widely from the Indian race. On the other hand, it is almost equally questionable whether they are even distinctly related to the Chukchees and other probably Mongolian races, of the east- ern part of Siberia. This is discussed elsewhere. The Innuit of Norton Sound and the vicinity are of three tribes, each of which, while migrating at certain seasons, has its own peculiar territory. The peninsula between Kotzebue and Norton Sounds is inhabited by the Kdviaks or Kavidganut Innuit. The neck of this peninsula is occupied by the Mdhlcmut Innuit. The shore of Norton Sound south of Cape Denbigh to Pastolik is the country of the Unaleets or Unalignmt Innuit. The habits of these tribes are essentially similar. They are in every respect superior to any tribe of Indians with which I am acquainted. Their complexion I have described as brunette. The effect of the sun and wind, especially in summer, is to darken their hue, and from observing those who lived in the fort, I am inclined to think that a regular course of bathing would do much toward whitening them. They are sometimes very tall ; I have often seen both men and women nearly si.x feet in height, and have known several instances where men were taller. Their aver- age height equals that of most civilized races. Their strength is often very great. I have seen a Mahlemut take a hundred- pound sack of flour under each arm, and another in his teeth, and walk with them from the storehouse to the boat, a distance of some twenty rods, without inconvenience. They are fond of e.xercise, and practise many athletic games, such as football or a similar game, tossing in a blanket or rather walrus hide, run- ning races, hurling stones or lances, lifting weights, and wrestling. Tlieir boats — the kyak or bidarka, and oomiak or bidarrd — have been already described. It may be mentioned in this connection that the oomiak is not considered among the Norton Sound Innuit as a "women's boat," nor is there ever any hesitation about men's using them. In this they differ from the ICskimo as described by arctic explorers. It is notieeal)le that the more northern the canoe, the smaller it is made. The kyak of Nunivak Island is double the \ 1 1 ! ii i Mi a ' ^ IK < Wi' \\ 5; 1 t 1 1 III / ! ;: ^ 1 ',; 1 '^ 1 ' i' K. 1 It i.^>8 THE YUKON TERRITORY. size of those used in Bering Strait. Tlie l« i Siii .. "it 146 THE YUKON TERRITORY. Inm.it grave. dead person is placed in the coffin or about it. Occasionally the whole is thus disposed of. Generally the furs, provisions, and clothing (except such as has been worn) are divided among the nearer relations ^f the dead, or remain in possession of his family if he has one. Such cloth- ing, household utensils, and weap- ons as the deceased had in daily use are almost invariably enclosed in his coffin. If there are many deaths about the same time, or an epidemic occurs, everything belong- ing to the dead is destroyed. The house in which a death occurs is always deserted, and usually de- stroyed. In order to avoid this, it is not uncommon to take the sick person out of the house and put him in a tent to die. A woman's coffin may be known by the kettles and other fem- inine utensils about it. There is no distinction between the sc.xes in method of burial. On the outside of the coffin figures arc usu- ally drawn in red ochre. Figures of fur animals indicate that the dead person was a good trapper ; of seal or deer, show his profi- ciency as a hunter ; representations of parkies, that he was wealthy: the manner of his death is also occasionally indicated. For four days after a death the women iit the village do no sew- ing, for five days the men do not cut wood with an a.xe. The relatives of the coad must not seek birds' eggs on the overhanging cliffs for a year, or their feet v. ill slip from under them, and they will be dashed to pieces. No mourning is worn or indicated, ex- cept by cutting the hair. Women sit and watch the body, chant- ing a mournful refrain, unti' "t is interred. They seldom su.spect that others have brought the death about by shamanism, as the Indians almost invariably do. At the end of a year from the death a festival is given, presents are made to those who assisted in making the coffin, and the |)eriod of moiiining is over. Their grief seldom seems deep, but they indulge for a long 1 in< if for the dead at intervals. I have seen several une ni wail- women who refused to take a second husband, ami had remained single, in spite of repeated offers, for man}- years. ^ ,1: THE YUKON TERRITORY. 147 fem- cxcs usu- thc rofi- was :cd. c\v- iTlic h.'V int- the the tc' icir ail- ho , hi Their habits are very regular. Every season the same round is gone through as in the previous one, only varied by the differ- ences in temperature and in the prevalence of fish and game. In February they leave the villages and repair to the moun- tains, with all their families. They pursue the deer until the snow begins to melt. I am informed that among the Mahlemuts, near their more inland villages, they will not permit any water to be boiled inside of the houses while the deer hunt continues. This is only one of many similar superstitions. The deer are stalked ; noosed in mahout snares, set wh. :••; they are accustomed to run ; or driven into pounds built for the purpose, where they are killed by hunc'reds. Since the introduction of fire-arms, about fifteen years ago, the number of deer has been very greatly diminished. At the same time the bow and arrow have fallen into disuse, and it would be impossible at present for them to obtain sufficient food without guns and ammunition. The Kav- iak peninsula formerly abounded with deer ; at present none are found there. When the snow melts and the ice comes out of the small rivers, the lunuit return to their homes. Myriads of water-fowl ar- rive, and breed on the steep cliffs of Besboro' Island, and similar promontories of the coast. About this time the young men .seek for e;;gs and kill the parent i)irds, while the older and more wealthy start for Grantley Hai bor and Kolzebue Sound, where the traders meet them as soon as open water affords ojiportunity. As June arrives, eggs arc more abundant, ;ind form for a while the chief article of diet. (iuUs' eggs are rejected by the women and chil /a 7: y /A Piiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WnSTIR.N.Y. 14SI0 (716) 873-4503 4^ ^^ 1^ Bfl 158 THE YUKON TERRITORY. , half a dozen salt salmon-trout, into the three-holed biddrka, in half an hour I had started for the Redoubt, a journey as unex- pected as it was sudden. Another day, if the weather continued fine, would bring us there. We camped at Fossil Creek near Topanika, but I passed a sleeple3s and painful night. The next morning we were off again early and plied our paddles vigor- ously, hoping to reach Pallonoi Point. The waves rose very high, however, showing heavy weather to the westward, and the wind began to freshen. The rollers became so large that we were obliged to put on our kamlaykas and tie them round the holes. The bidarka was frequently buried in the water, and as she was very old I was obliged for safety to put in at Kegiktowruk. My situation may be imagined, burning with fever and impatience at the delay. There was no help for it, however. Four days I lay in the casine, suffering from anxiety quite as much as from the pain, which however grew no worse. We got out of provisions the second day, as I had not anticipated such delay. I cut the last loaf into three parts and divided equally with my men. There was nothing else but seal meat obtainable. I tried the heart and liver, which were not objectionable, but the flesh impregnated with the oil was positively revolting. The blubber, when per- fectly fresh, has a taste exactly resembling the smell of the old- fashioned lamp oil. Certain arctic explorers have pronounced this, as well as the raw entrails of the seal, to be "delicious!" I can regard this statement only as the result of a depraved appe- tite goaded by hunger. The blubber of the beluga and whale, and even the flesh of the walrus, sea lion, and fur seal, is eatable. When fresh the taste is but moderately disagreeable and is easily conquered by hunger. Hut the flesh and oil of the leopard-seal are always extremely repulsive, and cannot to the civilized palate, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered otherwise. Whale-blubber is a luxury compared to it. I could not force myself to do more than taste it, and the result was immediate nausea. Fortunately, in the evening I obtained a small supply of venison and a deer's tongue. The latter dried or frozen is a great delicacy, and has the flavor of chestnuts. This flavor is lost in great part by cooking. In any shape there is no other kind of tongue which will bear comparison with it. Towards night of the 24th the waves fell somewhat. About THE YUKON TERRITORY, 159 bit but midnight I stepped out to look at the weather: snow-clouds were driving across the sky, the surf roared, and billows dashed upon the rocky islets. About five o'clock in the morning I rose and took another look. The wind had subsided, but no boats would leave that cove for six months. The weather was icy cold. As far as the eye could reach seaward was a sheet of ice I Aided by the snow, the intense cold in five hours had covered the entire coast of the Sound with ice. It was not clear, smooth, and solid, such as makes in calm weather, but a white, frothy, rough substance, looking like the white slag from an iron-furnace. Close in shore it was several feet thick, but soft and unsafe, with occasional pools of water. The Russians, who often have a substantive name for conditions of things which we describe by means of adjectives, call it shugdh, in distinction from clear, .solid ice, which is lolit. I dismantled the biddrka, raised her on a stage out of reach of the dogs, made up tlirc,; packs of about fifty pounds each, and about ten o'clock started with my men lor the Redoubt cii foot. The travelling was exceedingly hard ; we had to step from one tussock to another, which often gave way, striking the toes against the frozen ground. I had only one light parka without a hood, and the wind was very cold. Hy constant exercise I managed to keep warm, and about nightfall caught sight of the hut on the knoll at the Major's Cove. I told the men we would camp here, and they received the information with exclamations of thankful- ness. The house was a wretched one, much out of repair, and in consequence smoky. My bread was exhausted ; we had fortunately one drawing of tea, but no sugar, and only a small fragment of frozen deer meat. One of my men opened his pack and com- menced unrolling a small bundle. First a piece of paper, next a bit of sealskin, and .so on, until about ten wrappers had been removed To my surprise it was the bread I had given him several days be- fore. I praised his economy, but he interrupted me, saying, " Take it ; you want it more than I do." and insisted upon my accepting it. The other, who was almost a boy, seeing the bruised and battered condition of my feet, brought out .some pieces of cotton drill, which he asked me to use as " iiips " and to return to him at some future time. These instances of kind-heartedness are worthy of being remembered. They give a glimpse of character- istics we never found among the Indians, and which eminently I 1 h: \i \( ' '1 ! [r hi ■■ ; f: ;' i I [ I !1 ftl i6o THE YUKON TERRITORY. distinguish the Innuit. Several similar instances were related by members of Major Kennicott's party. Mahlemuts in their employ, during a scarcity of provisions, denied themselves in order that others might not suffer. The next day we boiled our tea-leaves over again, and made the best of our way over the ice along shore. The mouth of the Canal was frozen, as I had hoped, and with care we crossed safely, and reached the Redoubt just as the service was over and the inhab- itants were coming out of church. Stepanoff, who with astonish- ment had watched us crossing the new ice, received me hospita- bly. I obtained the necessary medicines, and, by heroic doses of calomel and quinine, succeeded in quelling the disorder. Four days after, though quite weak and still far from well, I started on my return with a Russian Creole, named Goldsen, a sled with six dogs, and three natives. I had obtained some sugar from Stepanoff, to make up my loss, and a good parka, with other necessary articles. The weather was about twelve below zero, and rather windy. We kept on the ice beyond the Major's Cove, but as it was untrustworthy we were obliged to take to the bank. Here the going was very bad, as previously mentioned. There was no snow, and we stumbled over the frozen hillocks until our feet ached again. We arrived safely at Kegiktowruk in the even- ing. Here we took on the tent and uiher things which I had been obliged to leave behind. The next day the travelling was even worse. In many places we had to cut our way through low but heavy willow brush, which grows along small watercourses. We camped in a ravine near the two islands. In the evening the wind fairly howled, and it began to snow. The air was full of fine snow, which the strong wind drove into the eyes. Travelling under such conditions is almost impossible and very dangerous. The Russians call this poorga. It is in such storms that travellers lose their way, and are frozen to death. Clear cold, however grept, can always be borne, with proper clothing and e.xercise, but the poorga, penetrat- ing to the bone, first blinds, then chills, and finally exhausts the hapless traveller, who no sooner falls than he is covered by the snowdrift. The next morning was more pleasant. We passed Golsova River about eleven. In the middle of the afternoon we saw a THE YUKON TERRITORY. l6l |)va a herd of deer feeding among the willow brush. The dogs started off on a full gallop, sleds and all, and it was with the greatest dif- ficulty that we checked them. I started in one direction, and Goldsen in another. A doe with her fawn passed near me. I fired, and she sprang into the air and came down full on her horns. A few struggles, and she was dead. The others, alarmed by the shot, were off at full speed. On e.xamination I found that one of the buckshot with which the gun was loaded had struck her on the leg. Falling on her horns, she had come down with such force as to break open the skull and pierce the brain. This, and not the shot, had killed her. On skinning her we found the udder full of milk, which we saved in a tin cup. It was thick and rich, like cream. The winter coat of the reindeer is gray, with long white hair on the throat. It is a very awkward- looking animal when in motion, reminding one of a cow. The eye is large and black. We cached the meat and skin, taking only the heart and liver. ^Ve hung up a handkerchief on a snow- shoe, and poured powder in a wide circle around it to keep off the fo.xes. Pushing on, we crossed Tolstoi Point, and camped in the house at Topanika. To reach it we were obliged to unload the sled, and carry every article, as well as the dogs, through the water around two points of rock. The ice was rotten, and there was a strip of open water ten yards wide between it and the shore. That night we had milk in our tea, the only time during my stay in Russian America. The house at Topanika, though well built, is very smoky, .so much so that in good weather it is better to camp out of doors. The ne.xt day we started for Unalaklik about eight o'clock. We had broken all the bone off the runners, and the .sled moved slowly. I pushed on ahead, and reached Unalaklik about two o'clock ; the dogs arrived about two hours afterward. The annual rumor of a proposed invasion by the Shageluk In- galiks had reached Unalaklik during my absence, and after two (lays' exciteir.ent had been forgotten. November 3d, Isaac's brother arrived from Kotzebue Sound with two kegs of rum, bought from the traders. The whole village was in an uproar very soon, and the Russians barred the doors and loaded their guns, shaking in their shoes with fear. Poor Isaac came up to the fort, without a weapon of any kind, II ' H I 1 if 'Itvl : m 11 .mM ij \m } '- 1 ■!tl l62 THE YUKON TEKKITORY. 1 , ! ( A I \4\ 9 :' '■t I. ii and the Russians seized him, tied him with ropes, and beat him dreadfully with dog-whips. I remonstrated, but they paid no attention to it, and when weary of abusing him they turned him out of the fort, half naked, and blind with the treatment he had received. As soon as it became known in the village the women united in bewailing the misfortune, and the wind brought their cries distinctly to our ears. Isaac's wife came up to the window of the bidarshik's room and cried, " We will tell the Americans when they come back, and they will not forget us," but she was only answered with curses. More brutality joined to greater cowardice I hope never to witness. The storm blew over in time, though the hatred which all the natives bore the Russians was much increased. Isaac was very popular among the Innuit, and had never injured the Russians in any way, I took some medicine and went down to the village next day, and dressed his wounds and bruises, but the Russians were afraid to leave the fort for a week. On the 8th of November an old woman died very suddenly in the village. The warm weather in October had occasioned much sickness everywhere among the natives. Pleuri.sy and bron- chitis were very prevalent ; many were sick, and all much alarmed. By the liberal use of mustard I assisted many of them, and my attempts to cure them met with the utmost gratitude from the poor people. The weather was very cold, and a piercing east wind prevailed, which did not help matters. Near the fort is a small village of Kaviaks ; their chief, named KamcSkin, had been of much assistance to Captain Pirn and other explorers in search of Franklin. He was always harping on this subject, and brought it forward on every occasion. A more persevering old beggar I never saw, nor were any of the others so unreliable or so mean. A fierce bulldog given him by the l*2nglish was a perfect nuisance in the village. One of his workmen was sick with pneumonia, but not dangerously ; he was in a fair way to recover when the old woman died. Fearful that this man would die in the house, which must then be deserted, Kamokin, with the greatest barbarity, and deaf to our remonstrances, put him out of doors in a cotton tent, without food, blanket, or fire. Of course, in two days, with the temperature thirty below zero and a sharp wind, the poor fellow died. His body was THE YUKON TERRITORY. 163 imcd )ther on 11 ore [rs so Iglish was way man lokin, i, put fire. )elow was dragged a short distance, wrapped in a piece of sealskin, covered with one or two logs, and all his little property, including his gun, scattered about on the ground. Left in this way, the dogs soon attacked it, and it was only by threatening Kamokin that we would take the body and throw it into his house through the smoke-hole, that we finally induced him to give it decent burial. The cold weather continued, and we e.xpected Kurilla with the ilogs every day. Meanwhile I had a number of women set at work making new harness, as the old was worn out, and we should need a double supply. These harnesses are made with two bands over the back, sewed on each side to a broad band which passes around the chest and is prolonged into two traces, lieneath, a belly-band with a button and loop holds it on. A single small sealskin will make a dozen good harnesses. The thicker skins make the best, and they are often ornamented with red flannel and bright buttons. ■ V il \ ( CHAPTER V. y i i?i Arrival of Kurilla jmd the dogs. — Departure from Unalaklik. — Various kinds of sk'dgfs. — Arrival at Iktigalik. — Series of detentions. — Indian avarice. — At L'iukiik antl across the portaj^e. — Comparative merits of different sledges. — Wol- asatu.x. — .\rrival at Nulato. — Sham hysterics. — Fisii-traps. — Kiirilla's return. — Journey to the Kaiyuh Kivcr. — Housekeeping. — Christmas and New- Year's. — Snaring grouse. — Yukon fish. — Continued sickness. — .Arrival ol the mail. — Start for the Redoubt. — Mow the Russians travel r.v. how the .\mericans travel. — .\rrival at the Keduubt. — Return to Iktigaiik. — lireak-down and repairs. — 1 )og- driving, and cam]) life in the \'ukon territory. — Snowshoes. — Arrival at N'ulato. — K.xpeditions among the Nulato Hills. — Hostile Kovukuns. — Reasons for their hos- tility. — Character of the western Tinneh. — I'jidurance. — Prevalent disea.ses. — Snow-goggles. — Totems. — Dances anil songs. — Arms. — Habits of life. — Ad- ditional notes on the Kutchin tribes. — .Making shot. — .Attack on 'I'ekunka and the result. — Arrival of swallows and geese. — Break-up of the ice. — Narrow escape. — Non-arrival of Indians. — I'avlotT's departure. EARLY in the forenoon of November I2th I was called out by a cry that dogs were comin<;. On reaching the river- bank I saw the tall form of the indefatigable Kurilla behind a rapidly advancing sled. He had hardly reached the fo. i: when IVivloff, Paspi'lkofil", Peetka, and Ivan the tyone came in sight with two other sleds. All was as usual at Nulato, and there was a fair prospect of abundance of fish in the coming winter. We greeted them heartily, and were soon .seated around the steaming samovar. They were eight days from Nulato, and had found the ice on the Yukon in good condition, though there were still open places in it. The Russians were bound for the Redoubt, and Ivan had come to Unalaklik to buy oil. The 14th was stormy, and on the 15th I arranged to start for Uli'ikuk. I was short of dogs, as Stepanoff had taken all the dogs belonging to the Telegraph Company, except those which Kurilla had brought from Nulato. I was able to secure nine from the Unalaklik village, and hired three Mahlemuts to assist us as far as Uliikuk and perhaps to Nulato. I obtained two Innuit sleils, which would be available only as far as Uliikuk. These sleds are il'l'^i THE YUKON TERRITORY. 105 admirably suited for travelling over the ice, but are too heavy to use on a portage. They are made of spruce wood, with the run- ners shod with bone cut from the upper edge of the jawbone of the whale, and pegged on with birch pegs. They arc brought from Ik'ring Strait, and good ones are worth ten sables a pair. The sled is furnished with a flat bottom made of slats, on which the liiDiiit >lccl of Norton Suiind. load is laid, and with a low horizontal rail. We were accustomed to lash a pole on each side, projecting behind the sled at an angle of fifty degrees with the runner These poles, strengthened with a cross-bar. assisted materially in pushing and guiding the sled and in lifting it up and down steep banks. We had brought down from Fort Yukon to Nulato, the previous summer, two Hudson Bay sledges and a set of harness. They are for riUa I the Ir as |eds, arc Huilsoii ll.iy sled, loaded. made of three birch boards about twelve feet long. These are cut thin at one end, about three feet of which is bent over, lashed and covered with rawhide to keep it in place. Inside of this curve the voyageur carries his kettle. The boards are secured to each other by crosspieces well lashed on. The load is placed inside of a large bag as long as the sled, and made of dressed mooseskin. It is then covered over and firmly lashed by means of a rawhide line and netting attached to each side of the sled. A piece of mahout, known as the tail-line, passes through a loop in the head of the sled and is tied to the lashings over the load, binding it all firmly to- gether. The preceding sketch shows the appearance of the loaded II > I i In It'- •'in f if. i %ii '1 ! I li 7 'M' H l'( P II 1 66 THE YUKON TERRITORY. slccl. The harness is furnished with a padded collar, like a horsc- coliar, but rounded, which goes over the neck of the dog, and the traces are long. The dogs are harnessed tandem, and three good ones make a team. The traces are buckled on each side of the dog behind, so that the strain all comes on the load and no power is wasted. I found it advantageous to lash two poles to the load behind, as already described, as it is very hard work controlling the motions of the sled by means of the tail-line alone. The Indian sled of the country is much lighter. It is made of birch, with thin, broad runners, which bend with the inequalities of the road. The accompanying picture will give a better idea Ingalik sled iif tliu Yukon. of it than a description. There are no nails or pins, the whole being lashed together by means of rawhide thongs. The load is usually covered with cotton cloth, and firmly lashed to the sides and rail of the sled. The dogs are harnessed two and two, with a leader, to a single line in front of the sled. The traces are tied together, and attached by a short cord to the sled-line. The har- ness was described in the last chapter. We had had many discussions during the past season, in regard to the respective merits of the different kinds of sleds, and I was very glad of the opportunity of thus putting them to a practical test. The Hudson Hay sled is the only one used by their voy- ageurs ; while the Russians use a sled similar to the Indian one, but broader and more strongly made. We started for Uliikuk about noon of the 15th. Our loads were unusually heavy and the teams small. On each of the Hud- son Hay sleds I placed about four hundred pounds, and gave them three good dogs apiece. The Indian sled took about the same load with four dogs, and the Innuit one had about seven hundred with five dogs. The latter, being shod with bone, will carry a THE YUKON TERRITORY. 167 ;ard was ;tical voy- one, oads [ud- thcm Isamc jdred Irry a very heavy load over smooth ice with ease. I took one of the Hudson Hay sleds, as I always made it a rule to take as heavy a sled as any man in the hrij^ade. With this arrangement no man could complain of the excessive weij^ht of his load, and laziness was left without an excuse. A light sled should always lead, and hreak the road. This was KuriUa's post ; I brought up the rear, to prevent the natives from needlessly lagging behind. When sure of my men and with a good road, I always took the lead. It is a good plan for the leader to carry the blankets, chynik, and axes ; for if a storm should come up, and the others should drop behind, they cannot camp until the day's work is finished, and they have caught up their lost ground. We found the going moderately good, and camped a short dis- tance below Iktigalik about six o'clock. The days were begin- ning lo be short. The sun rose about ten o'clock, and by three in the afternoon had again reached the horizon. His highest elevation was far below the zenith. We reached Iktigalik early the next day. Here we camped, bought dog-feed, and rearranged the loads, substituting an In- dian sled for the Innuit one, which was of no further use, as we were about to make portages. Matfay had promised me a new sled and the use of his dogs, for which I had paid him in advance. Now, the old ruffian refused to let his dogs go at all, and gave us a weak and almost worthless old .sled. Ami'lka and others had built some new winter houses near Nuk'kuh, and had deserted Ulukuk entirely, only one house there being still inhabited. All the Ingaliks were going to the Kaiyuh River a little later in the season. Here Tekunka had announced that he would hold a fes- tival. He was now on his way to Unalaklik to purchase oil. We were delayed the next day, having to patch up the old sled, but got oft' about ten o'clock. We had not proceeded far before three of the knees on one side broke. After making the best repairs ill our power we pushed on, and about noon reached the new village. Here we found a large number of Indians. There was a new sled there, and the owner asked for it a can ( i lb.) of powder, ten l)alls, and ten percussion-caps. The usual cost of a sled is twenty l)alls ; yet I would have purchased it, even at the outrageous price he named ; but after paying him he stooped down and be- .« N B 168 THE YUKON TERRITORY. i<.!< '.(■ ,■, i, ■/! gan to strip off the lashings, saying that the remni belonged to another man. At this my temper, which had been at the boiling- point ever since I left Matfay, gave way, and I expressed my de- cided opinion of him as thoroughly as my vocabulary permitted me. Leaving the sled and reclaiming the price, I pushed on, de- termined not to submit to such an imposition. About a mile beyond the village the old sled gave out entirely. This was the last drop. I said nothing, but took out my pipe and sat down to calm my nerves. The others did the same, and finally Kurilla spoke up and said that we must go back and buy the sled pre- viously spoken of. He suggested that he had a small tin whicli held only half a pound of powder, and if that were presented to the man he might not detect the difference : in this way we might get even with him. We had plenty of mahout to lash the sled again. I told him he might try, and he went off and soon returned with the sled. We had meanwhile boiled the chynik, and now took our tea, after which we reloaded. One of our dogs had taken the opportunity to gnaw off his harness and dis- appear in the woods. Meanwhile it had become almost dark, and the men were grumbling, and wanted to go back and spend the night at the village. They invented stories about there be- ing no ice in the Uliikuk River, and went grudgingly to their work when I told them that stopping was out of the question, and we should sleep only on our arrival at Uliikuk. This day's adventures are fair specimens of the annoyances sometimes ex- perienced in travelling, and which only patience and energy can overcome. The dogs are given to running away when most wanted, and light steel collars, and chains such as horses are hitched with, would be a very valuable addition to any traveller's equipment. We arrived in good order, but some time after dark, and camped in one of the winter houses. There we found a few Indians, and obtained abundance of trout, fresh from the river, with which we fed ourselves and the dogs, reserving the lighter ukali for the road. A small Indian cur occasioned great con- fusion during the night, howling and fighting, and started at last for the woods, with several of our dogs in pursuit. I had reckoned that old Amilka would be willing to lend us his fine team, but he refused; — such is life among the Indians! THE YUKON' TERRITORY. 169 and few river, |rhter con- td at had fine The next day was occupied in repairing damages, reloading, and recovering our runaway dogs. The weather was disagree- ably windy, with snow. On the 19th we started very early. A few miles from Ulukuk we were astonished to see dogs coming, and in a few moments the previously mentioned cur appeared, with Amt'lka's three dogs in hot pursuit. These were immediately impounded and pressed into the service, forming an exceedingly acceptable addition to our insufficient teams. Even the cur was made to contribute, by tying her to the foremost sled as leader. In crossing one of the gullies by which the tundra is inter- sected, the new sled was broken beyond repair. The Indians were in despair; but, by cutting off about three feet of the other runner, I made a short sled, in which two dogs could haul our blankets and other light but bulky articles. The remain'cf of the load and team was distributed among the other sleds. Ow- ing to this delay wi^ ^>ere obliged to camp near the Vesoliu. Sopka. These repeated stoppages were the more annoying as our dog-feed was short. The next day we made better time, and camped near Beaver Lake. Many deer tracks were visible, and there were evidently herds in the vicinity. The following morning we passed Beaver Lake and One-Tree Camp. The wind and snow were blowing just as they were the year before, when I was travelling with Mike. I little thought at that time that my next journey on that road would be taken alone. Facing the keen wind, I got my nose and checks some- what frostbitten, but soon restored them by rubbing with snow. It has been said that freezing is unaccompanied by pain, but my experience does not confirm it. The feeling is as if a thousand red-hot needles were being driven into the flesh. Of course, after it is frozen beneath the skin, there is no further pain. Im- mediate application of snow will relieve it, and the usual effects are slight. The skin peels oft' and leaves a brown stain resem- bling sunburn, and quite as ephemeral. Fire and warmth should be avoided, as they produce an intense burning pain attended with inflammation. The best plan in cold weather is to face the wind boldly ; after a while the skin will become inured to it. Arriving at Perivalli, we camped, making our supper of likali and tea. A ;■ \ 170 THE YUKON TERRITORY. 1. y I The next morning we started with the twilight. The valley through which we had been passing is of an hour-glass shape. The narrowest part is near a round, abrupt hill, called by the Russians the Ass's Head. It widens toward Ivan's barrabora and Kaltag. We camped not far from the latter place. For the last three days we had been on snowshoes, and the road was far from good. In the following morning early we reached the Yukon, and crossed to the village on the left bank. Here I bought some dog- feed and a couple of rabbits. There were many fresh marten and fox skins on the caches, and most of the men were away trapping. At this season the fur is the best ; toward spring it becomes faded by the sunlight. The next day we continued on our way, reach- ing VVolasatux' barrabora in the afternoon. Dog-feed was very scarce, and I was obliged to give them only half a fish apiece, instead of a whole one, which is the usual ration. I found my- self very tired, having worked with a Hudson Hay sled all day, and with a very heavy load. I came to a conclusion about the sleds, which I have not yet seen any reason to change. The virtues of the Hudson Bay style are, that it will carry very heavy loads without breaking ; that it will make fair time on level, hard snow ; that the method of harnessing is good ; and with first-class dogs it will do good service. Its faults are, that it will not carry as large a load of light baggage, dog-feed, &c., as the Russian style ; that it is much harder to guide ; that it is ex- tremely hard work to take it up hill ; that on a side-hill it keeps sliding down, unless a level road is beaten for it ; finally, that it is almost immovable in soft snow, a large pile of snow always form- ing under the head of the sled. For the Russian style it may be said, that, while more liable to fracture, it is much lighter ; it will carry an equally heavy load, with the same dogs, as the other style, and the load is above the surface, and not so liable to injury from water or snow ; it rides much more easily on a hillside and in soft snow, and the driver can help the dogs much more efiectually. The Hudson Bay style is the best for carrying such loads as oil, fresh meat, flour, and hardware ; and the other for all lighter loads. The Hudson Bay harness is decidedly the best, but not suitable for a large team, which would infallibly tangle at every declivity. The Innuit sled 11 111 THE YUKON TERRITORY. 171 IS rni- to lad, the des ver vie nd iay im, led is superior to both on the ice, and far inferior everywhere else. The Hudson Kay dogs are swifter and better trained, but not so enduring or tough as the dogs of the coast. Wolasatux, poor man, was in great tribulation. His eldest son, a bright-eyed, intelligent boy of twelve, was evidently dying. The child was wasted to a skeleton ; his cheeks burned with fever; his stomach alone protruded. The old man and his wife were both laid up with pneumonia, and his breast was covered with scars, where he had applied the actual cautery. I left as much bread as I could spare, and some pieces of backfat for the sick boy, who brought out from its hiding-place the skin of a lemming, which he had prepared for me the previous summer. I made the old man a liberal present, for he was a very generous and kind- hearted old fellow. About noon the following day we reached Nulato. Only three Russians were there. The house in which I proposed to winter was unfit for occupancy, being without windows. It had been repaired according to my orders, and I occupied a corner in the bidarshik's house until my own should be ready. Several of my dogs had been taken to feed during the past summer by Indians, who had failed to return them in the fall. I sent ." man to Koyu- kuk, where a great festival was being held, to procure the missing animals. Fish was very scarce, the traps catching very little, as the water continued high in the river. The next day two dogs arrived, but a third had been killed in a rage by the Indian who had it in charge, as he had hoped to keep it permanently. The dogs and sleds were prepared for another journey to Ulukuk, to bring up the remaining goods. On the 28th of November the brigade started, in charge of Kurilla, Johnny accompanying him, with two Indians and the Mahlemuts, The Russians got after my alcohol for collecting, and I was obliged to poison i*^ I set to work making windows, and laying my plans for putting down a fish-trap on my own account. The idea of being dependent on the Russians for fish wa.- repugnant to me, and I knew very well that they were often without fish for their own use. Several of the Indians ai the fort had been attacked by a kind of fit, and one of these occurred in my presence. The Russians consulted me as to some means of cure. The patient fell in a sort of convulsion, struggling violently, appearing uncon.scious, m 'l^^HI 172 THE YUKON TERRITORY. t I !'; tearing the clothing, nnd breaking everything within reach. There were no symptoms of uny disease, and the fits were epi- demic, seizing one after another at short intervals. The cases resembled the descriptions of those people who were supposed in ancient times to be bewitched, and also some of those appear- ances which have accompanied cases of semi-religious mania in Europe in modern times. Suspecting the cause of the symptoms, I recommended the application of a birch twig, well laid on: the result exceeded my anticipations. The patients arose in a rage, and the epidemic was effectually checked. The reason for such behavior was inexplicable, and is one of the mysteries peculiar to the Indian mind. It is probable that in the course of time these fits, at first wilful, became in a measure involuntary. Having finished the windows, I began to put the house in order, and it soon assumed a habitable appearance. My fever, which I had hoped was thoroughly conquered, returned, and I felt anything but well. On the 4th of December, PavlofT and his companions returned from the Redoubt. They brought discouraging reports from Kun'lla, whom they represented as without dog-feed. They strongly opposed my putting down an independent fish-trap, say- ing that it would cost me a great deal, that I should catch no fish, and that they could furnish me with all I required ; but I de- termined to persevere in my own plan. These fish-traps are the sole dependence of the Russians and Yukon Indians in winter, for a regular supply of food. They are made in the following man- ner. Green spruce trees, straight-grained and without knots, arc selected. It is often a matter of great difficulty to find them. When obtained they are repeatedly split by means of wedges, until the wood is reduced to strips a quarter of an inch in diam- eter and twelve feet long. The tough green wood does not break. These strips are for the basket and funnel. Thicker ones arc used for making the fences or mats. The former arc carefiiily trimmed until cylindrical. The latter are tied together with osiers until a sheet of network is formed, with the .-itups crossing each other at right angles, and the meshes about two inches long and one high. These sheets are eight feet high and ten long. The basket is twelve feet long, cylindrical, tapering nearly to a point at one end, and open at the other. The aperture in the it/ THE YUKON TERRITORY. / .> Illy ]ith Ihcs Itcn jrly Itlic point is about eight inches in diameter, and is closed by a small cover. The cylinder is about two feet in diameter. A large funnel of similar network is made. The mouth of it is ei6r, as the Russians call it. This trap was original with the Yukon Indians, but is found only below Koyukuk. The upper Indians and the Hudson Bay i)eople know nothing of it. Yagor.sha informed me that the Yakuts had a similar custom. Without it, in winter, starvation would reign on the Lower Yukon. Similar traps are used in summer and rai.sed by means of boats. The slender network, exceedingly frail when dry, is very tough when wet. The fish are shaken out by opening the cover at the point of the ba.sket. I h.td '■•'•'^"♦; difficulty in getting suitable wood, and had to send „.a or eight miles from Nuhito for it. I cut the willows on the island myself, to be ready for work when Ku- rilla returned. MetrikotY, the bidarshik of Nuhito before IVulotil", died suddenly, •'(i i\\ HI ll I'. •74 THE YUKON TERRITORY. r . v: M leaving two bright, intelligent children. The Russians had re- tained them on sufferance until the Governor could be heard from in regard to them. Maksiitoff's reply was, that the Company would do nothing for them, and they had better be given to the Indians ! Their mother was dead, and the recommendation of the hard-hearted Russian was carried into effect. Ingechuk, who was a relation of the mother, came and took them to Uliikuk. It was hard to see two such boys deprived of all prospect of educa- tion and condemned to a worthless life with the Indians, but it was a fair specimen of the character of the Russians in Northwest America. The v/eather had set in very cold, and averaged thirty below zero at noon. The wood for the trap, which had been obtained with so much trouble, proved unsatisfactory, and there was no prospect of obtaining more until Kun'lla returned. Meanwhile, though sick and miserable, I had not neglected the collections, and had already several hundred birdskins of the species which are winter residents. Late in the afternoon of December 15th, Kun'lla made his ap- pearance- with the brigade. They had done everything I desired, had b: ought all the goods except a big of oil and some likali, and the train contained four Mahiemut dogs, beside thirteen of mine. The Innuit had come forward and offered dogs as soon as they heard I was in need of them. I could not have trusted any Russian in the territory to do the work as well and faithfully as Kun'lla had done it. The Russians were out of fish. I had likali, but none to spare. It was evident that nineteen dogs could not be fed at Nulato for any length of time, and I determined to go to the Kaiyuh River, where Tckunka was giving a festival, and distribute all but one team among the Indians, to be fed and used until I needed them again. Notwithstanding they had nothing to eat, — as the day was a Prasnik, or holiday, when they were not obliged to work, — the Russians preferred sitting in the he use and grumbling, to the trouble of going to the fish-trap. On the 17th of Decem.ber the Nowikakat tyone and seven men arrived with a small hand-sled loaded with furs, which they sold to Piivloff. When they were at a little distance, though their num- THE YUKON TERRITORY. 175 ber could be counted, the Russians were seized with one of their cowardly fits, barred the gates, loaded the howitzer, and prepared for an attack from eight men and a boy ! On their stating their errand, the commotion subsided and the gates were opened. I made the tyone a present of some tobacco and ammuni- tion, in consideration of his services during the previous spring. With Indian assurance, he immediately demanded a seine, gun, blanket, and a large supply of ammunition, which of course were produced forthwith. The next day I harnessed all the dogs into one sled and started for Wolasatux', riding several miles for the first time during my stay in Russian America. We found all sick on our arrival, and very short of provisions. The following morning we proceeded up a small river and across the country, until we arrived at Te- kunka's barrabora on the Kaiyuh River. Here we found the festival in full blast and the place crowded with Indians, dancing and singing all night, so that we got very little rest. The country is rolling, sparsely wooded, and full of small lakes and rivers, which contain many fish, especially in summer. The next morning, as the Indians were still engaged in their festivities and would not attend to anything else, I put on my snowshoes and travelled about fifteen miles eastward, to the ridge of the Kaiyuh Mountains. These are low hills, trending in a northeast and southwest direction, and at that season covered with snow. Beyond them the country was rolling, with oc- casional hills, and sparingly wooded. The rivers, if any, were hidden by the snow. I returned, and reached the house in time to make a good camp outside, as I felt very tired and unwilling to be deprived of sleep for another night. I made my supper on raw, frozen whitefish, scraped up like frozen pudding. This dish is not unpalatable, as the freezinr^ has all the effect of cooking. Several of Indians made me presents of mink and marten skins. The next day was devoted to trading. I secured a full sled- load of frozen fish and ukali, keeping six dogs, and hiring In- dians to take and feed the rest. I also purchased a qiuintity of frozen berries, and some mats to cover the floor of the house at Nulato. Tekunka promised faithfully to make one of my party down iS V I 176 THE YUKON TERRITORY. i'l '.'J the river in the spring, and I gave him a gun as part payment to clinch the bargain. The next day all the Indians dispersed to their homes. We left Tekunka, passing up the river to a place known as Jearny's barrabora. Jearny (meaning fat) was the name of a very stout, greasy Ingalik, who had a house and fish-trap, where I hoped to obtain some more fish. The afternoon was moonlight, the sun Jearny's b.irrabora. setting very early, and after stopping to buy fish we thought best to push on. The fence of the fish-trap at this place extended clear across the river, and was made of bundles of willow brush tied together and placed side by side. There was only one Indian house and two caches. The building over the entrance to the house was large, square, strongly built of heavy logs, and pierced for musketry. V\'e camped five miles beyond. I had determined to return by another route, which would bring us on the Yukon nearly op- posite Nuhito. Here I met with a serious misfortune, losing a fine meerschaum, which had been my constant companion and solace. I was now reduced to a single brierwood, in very poor condition. The next morning, starting with the first light, we followed a very poor, roundabout trail toward the Yukon. I THE YUKON TERRITORY. 177 went on ahead of the dogs, and soon outstripped them. About dark I reached Nuldto, pretty thoroughly tired out, having made nearly forty miles on snowshoes. The train arrived about two hours after. On leaving Nulato I had placed all our slender store of crock- ery on a high shelf, that it might be out of any ordinary danger. What was my regret, on going into the house, to find that the shelf had given way, and the whole was in fragments on the floor! No more could be obtained for love or money, and we were re- duced to eating oti" of tin. Luckily, I had purchased of Ketchum a Hudson Bay cup, saucer, and plate, made of iron lined with por- celain. These were uninjured, and afterward did good service. Another plate was repaired by boring small holes with an awl, and sewing the pieces together with strong waxed thread. My efforts were soon directed to the work of supplying our household with various necessary utensils. Lamps, small cups, and other articles were manufactured out of old tin cans. Mos- quito-netting furnished the material for a sieve, and with Paspi'l- koff's assistance I made a candle-mould. Seal-oil lamps are very unsatisfactory, requiring constant picking, and making a great deal of smoke. Cotton twine furnished wicks, and I was soon able to make very passable candles from my extra supplies of reindeer fat. The flour which I obtained from the Russians was a mixture of rye and wheat meal, usually denominated groats. The husks were so coarse and abundant that sifting became necessary. The Rus- sians raised their bread by means of leaven, but as this made sour bread I adopted another plan, which is here described for the benefit of future travellers. A gallon of warm water was mixed with a handful of coarse salt, flour enough to make a batter, and was placed in a wooden vessel on the warm peechka over night. ICarly in the morning flour enough was stirred in to make it of tlie pro|)cr consistency. At breakfast-time the fire was made, and after breakfast, when the coals were removed from the oven, the bread was kneaded, made into loaves, and put in. An hour usu- ally served to bake it, making a batch of perfectly light, sweet bread, without yeast or leaven. White flour may be treated in the same way, hv^ takes longer to rise. I usually mude up about forty pounds of flour at a time, and the bread would last us about 1.1 i ( .78 THE YUKON TKRRITORY. a week. I soon found, by calculation, that we must be very careful with our flour, and was obliged to weigh out the daily allowance, — a pound each, not a very large piece of such damp brown bread. I allowed each three pounds of sugar per month, and a pound of tea for all hands. In this way I managed to make our supply last, although we were often on short commons. Fish, rabbits, and grouse were unusually scarce, and often entirely deficient. No deer visit Nulato during •^I.e winter. I had saved a small piece of frozen deer meat for Christmas, which found us without other supplies in the storehouse. Christ- mas morning I bought two white grouse, and sent Johnny out to shoot another, which he fortunately succeeded in doing. With these, some berry pies, and some sweetened short-cake, I made Yukon grouse-snare. out a pretty fair dinner, and invited Pavloff and Yagor to eat it with me, each bringing his own cup, i>late, and spoon, as my stock did not set the table. It was a loneiy Christmas compared with the last, or with any I had ever spent before. It was impos- sible to help thinking of the dear ones at home, of the Christmas- trees and festivities they were enjoying, and equally impossible to doubt that they were thinking of us as we were of them, though many thousand miles away. New- Year's day brought cold weather, forty-eight below zero. My hunters were unsuccessful, and our dinner was reduced to fish soup, cranberry pie, bread, and tea. My family consisted of Johnny, two Indian boys, and Kurdla. I sent the boys out set- ting snares for grouse and rabbits. These were occasionally successful, and eked out our slender bill of fare. The snares are il'' Hi L'f THE YUKON TERRITORY. 179 )Ugh zero. fish of set- arc made of twisted deer sinew in a running loop. This is attached to a pole, balanced, as in the preceding sketch, between two branches, and caught over a horizontal pole by means of a small pin tied to the snare. Brush is piled on each side ot the tracks which the grouse run in, so that they have to pass through the opening where the snare is set. A touch loosens the pin, and the heavy end of the pole falls, hanging the partridge or rabbit in the air. Some seasons hundreds are caught in this way. These grouse feed entirely on the willow buds, and the crop will some- times contain a pint. The flesh is hard, dry, and tasteless ; a long experience in eating it has left an unfavorable impression. Our fish-trap was in process of manufacture, but illness prevented me from assisting. I seldom rose from my bed, except to weigh out the daily allowance of bread, and I felt my strength failing fast. In spite of this, I could hardly force myself to eat, and was tormented with constant headache. Cold days alternated with warm weather, and even occasional rain. Pavloff said he had not known such a season for si.xteen years. Such mild weather in January was unprecedented. January i6th the Indians and some Russians, whom I had hired to help, commenced putting down my fish-trap. Kurilla came home with an ugly wound in the thigh, from falling from the sled upon an ice-chisel. I dressed his wound, but this disablement was a serious misfortune. All the Kaiyuh Indians, starved out by the unwonted scarcity of fish, had gone to Uliikuk, where there is always abundance, to stay until March. Weeks passed by, and not an Indian came near the fort. The Russians were totally without fish, returning from the examination of fifteen baskets with three poor whitefish. They were living on tea and bread. Their dogs were nearly starving. Ivan started up the river on his annual trip to Nowikakat, and lioped to find dog-feed on the road. Kun'lla's wound healed rajiidly, and to my great thankfulness he was able to ride on the sled and examine the fish-trap, which had caught six whitefish, — a good omen. The first week or two, before the resin is washed out of the wood, the trap rarely catches anything. On the 24th of January there were twelve fish in the trap. From that time forward we obtained from ten to thirty fish every two days, which drove the wolf from the door, and I 1^1 M ' s i8o THE YUKON TERRITORY. •irf: n i lit enabled me to save my ukali by leeding the dogs partly on fresh fish. The Russian trap still continued almost empty, and if I had not pcrscve'^ed in my plan of putting down an independent trap, I should have been left without fresh provisions and lost my dogs by starvation. The first fish which are caught in early winter on the Yukon, arc the " /os/i" {Lota maailata) of the Hudson Bay men. These arc known in Lake Erie as the " eel pout," and grow in the north- ern rivers to a very large size. I have seen them four feet long and weighing sixty pounds. The liver is very large and full of a rich sweet oil, which we found very useful in cooking. The livers themselves are good eating, but very rich. The flesh is hard and tasteless, and is usually given to the dogs. They present an ana- tomical peculiarity in having from one to four distinct gall blad- ders. The spawn, which occupies a large part of the abdominal cavity, makes an excellent soup. The next most common kind of fish is a red sucker, which grows also to a large size. The heads make a good soup, but the rest of the body is so full of bones as to be uneatable. The pike {Esox cstor) is very common in the lakes and small rivers, but rare in the Yukon. A salmon-trout is rarely caught, and a belated salmon occasionally finds its way into the trap as late as January. There are six kinds of whitcfish, some large and others small. The sea whitefish, or Morskoi scrgd of the Rus- sians, is considered the best. There is also found in spring a fish resembling the whitcfish, but dark-colored, and with a very long dorsal fin, from which it gets the Indian name of " blanket-fish." In July the salmon begin to ascend the river. There are five kinds. Three of them are good eating, but the others are only fit for dogs. After August they arc bruised and in bad condition, being cast in layers a foot deep on the banks of the small rivers. I have seen hundreds of thousands of dead salmon cast up in this way by the stream. Of course, in this condition they are only fit for dog-fccd, though the Indians will cat them if other food be scarce. Most of these fish, except the salmon, are common to the rivers of the Hudson Bay territory. On the 30th of January, Pavloff returned. He had not gone far, for want of dog-feed. His trade consisted of a black bearskin and one lynx ; the previous year he had brought back some seven hundred sables. THE YUKON TERRITORY. i8i )gS. :ast lave by for rce. of [far, land Iven My collection had thriven pretty well, in spite of sickness. I had a keg of small animals and fish, two boxes of birdskins, and other light specimens. Still, I was fearful lest my sickness should increase so as to pre- vent my collecting in the spring. I saw that the Russians and Indians considered me as half dead already, and I resolved to overcome it by force of will, if other means failed. I looked in the glass one day, and saw such a cadaverous reflection there that I turned it to the wall. I had already made preparations for my journey to the sea-coast, and the birch was seasoning from which I intended to have along sled made, expressly to bring the bidarra over the portage without taking it apart. On the 3d of February there was a commotion in the fort. Dog-trains were approaching in the distance. A rumor spread that Stepanoff was coming, and it was amusing to watch the un- accustomed energy with which the Russians hastened to clean out the yard, removing the accumulated dirt of months, and sweeping the path clean from the gateway down to the ice. It was not Stepanofl", however, but a Russian and two Creoles, with two of Stepanoffs fine teams from the Redoubt. On ar- riving, they proved to be Kamaroff, Lukeen, and Aloshka ; they brought a bag of oil for Pavloff, a two-gallon keg of molasses, and a larger keg of salted geese, — a present from Stepanoff for me. I knew at once that they had not come so far merely to bring these things. I asked if any news had arrived from Sitka, and received only an evasive reply. After a little I called Lukeen, who was a jolly little Creole, into my house, and stimu- lated him until he told me, with many injunctions of secrecy, that the official news had arrived, via Nushergak and the Kusko- quim, of the sale of the territory to the United States, that the Russian American Company was wound up, and all the Russians would return to Sitka or the A moor River by the vessels in the spring. This was good news, and I lost no time in hoisting the stars and stripes on our flagstaff in front of the fort. The news was soon made public, and all received it with joy. Old men who had been many years in the country, detained by trifling debts to the Company, which they had no means of paying, were extrav- agant in the expression of their delight in the hope, so long deferred, of seeing Russia once more. The native women, who n \f ' h 182 THE YUKON TERRITORY. /;,. : i could not accompany their husbands if the latter chose to leave the country, were in tears at the prospect of parting ; while oth- ers, whose husbands had treated them with brutality, did not conceal their pleasure at the hope of getting rid of them. Kamaroff decided to try his luck in trading at Koyiikuk, and beyond ; on his return, Pavloff was to go with him to the Redoubt for orders. I decided to accompany them, thinking, if I diti break down on the road, I should be within reach of assistance from them, and I had many misgivings as to my own strength. Paspi'lkoff at once set about making my new sled, and ve began to prepare sukaree for the road. By dint of extreme argument I succeeded in getting Peetka to accompany me to the Redoubt. I proposed to take Kurilla, and leave Johnny and the rest to take care of the house. Kamaroff and Lukeen returned with a few furs on the 13th, and everything was prepared for an early start the next day. Our loads consisted principally of the collections. I took a Hud- son Bay sled, and the long sled for the boat, with eight dogs. On the 14th we set out. I found myself too weak to walk, a'nd was obliged to ride nearly all day on the sled. We made a very short day's work, as the Russians stopped to get dog-feed from the fish-traps, and camped at VVolasatux' barrabora, where they rum- maged all the caches for ukali, the Indians being at Uliikuk. The next day we camped at Kaltag, The necessity for work and the determination to do it were conquering my weakness. I felt better than for months previously. The next day we reached the hill at Beaver Lake. This was an excellent day's work, and I so remarked to Kamaroff. " Yes, Gospodin Doctor," he replied, with an amusing air of superiority, " this is the way the Russians travel." I made no answer, but did not forget the remark. The next day we took tea at noon near Ivan's barrabora. The Russian sleds were light, and they had full teams of fine dogs. With our heavy sleds we were soon left behind. I forced myself to walk on snowshoes behind the sled, and relieved the dogs as much as possible. We passed Poplar Creek, and came to the Vesolia Sopka about dusk. The moon was shining, although there were dark clouds coming up, and we pushed on as fast as our tired dogs would go. Stopping a moment to rest, I improved the opportu- !■: :he Irtu- THE YUKON TEKRITORY. 183 nity to sketch the scene, of which the frontispiece gives a good idea. The crust was covered with about three inches of soft dry snow, and thj Hudson Kay sled pulled very hard. Constant e.xer- cise of the lungs and whip were necessary to keep the dogs up to their work. On we trudged, following the track, lifting the sleds up and down gullies, pushing through occasional drifts, and shout- ing encouragement and ntlmonition to the dogs, calling each by his name. We did not lurn off from the tundra at Uliikuk, but kept on, until I noticed that there were no new tracks, and called to Ku- ri'lla, inquiring where the Russians were. He rcjilied that he did not know ; perhaps they had camped at Uliikuk ; but as that road was such a bad one he had kept on ihe Indian trail across the tundra direct to Iktigalik. I apnroved of his determination, but saw that we must reach the latter placo before we could camp, as the trees along the edge of the tundra wrr.. small and sparse, the wind was rising, snow beginnuig to fall, and poorga impended. At last we reached the river, and collected all our energies, as the blast, carrying snow and almost blinding us, was increasing in severity. In half an hour we passed a fish-trap, and soon after, the welcome sight of the tall caches against the sky met our eyes. We carried the sleds up the bank with a will and a shout, which brought the Indians like marmots from their burrows. An In- dian who had been with us during the early part of the day came out and inquired where the Russians were. Kun'lla replied that we did not know, probably at Uliikuk. The air rang with their shouts of derision, at the idea that a sick man, with heavy loads and feeble teams, should have outstripped the fine dogs and empty trains of the Russians. The poor dogs were unharnessed, and immediately curled themselves up to sleep, refusing to eat, from fatigue. It was with a pardonable feeling of pride that I took my place in the house by the fire, and discussed the day's work over a cheerful cup of tea. Hy the winding road which we were obliged to take, we had made not less than fifty miles, unquestion- ably the longest day's travel with loaded sleds which had been made in that part of the territory within the memory of the old- est inhabitant. The next morning, after a long night's rest, we arose and fed the dogs. The teams were loaded and harnessed up, and I spent n s It- ! 'if .; ■ %■ ^ r \'4 L LI i: m i84 THE YUKON TERRITORY. .W\ '74' ! Ii 'I ini:i ,, M- |1 M a half-hour purchasing deer meat and likali for my dogs on my return. We then started down the river, and after a mile or two stopped to obtain some water. Just as we were about to push on, the Russians, who had been travelling since daybreak, came over the bank. Kamaroft" advanced, cap in hand, and inquired where I spent the night. I informed him, and he remarked that we had made an excellent day's work yesterday. It was now my turn, and I replied, " Yes, Kamarotf, that is the way the Americans travel ! " About three o'clock in the afternoon wc reached Unalakli'k. Here we found Ostrofskoi alone, Popoff having been recalled to the P.edoubt. After some trouble, I hired a Mahlemut sled to take our goods on to St. Michael's. All the Innuit were away hunting deer, only two or three old people remaining in the vil- lage. After a cold, rough journey, we reached the Redoubt about noon of the 23d. The wind was very strong, the ice broken and piled up in barricades twenty feet high. The temiierature aver- aged twenty-eight below zero. We were just in time for a hot bath, and Stepanoft' received me with great hospiti.lity. A pri- vate letter from the Russian e.\-governor had informed him of the circumstances of the sale and transfer of the country, and the arrival of General Rousseau at Sitka. The winter expeditions from the Redoubt had been very successful, and more furs had been obtained than for many previqus years. I obtained two bags of flour, son.o powder, and tea, from Ste- panoft". At home it would sound queerly to talk of going three hundred and fifty milts for a bag of flour, but here it was well worth the trouble. Though still very weak, I felt perfectly well, and could ascribe my recovery only to the exercise of will recpiired by the journey. On the 27th of February I started with I'avloff for Nuhito. We were able to pass around Tolstoi Point on the ice, an unusual occurrence, which facilitated our journey. We arrived at Unala- kli'k on the 39th. I found that Ostrofskoi had made away with a good many of the ukali which I had relied on to feed my dogs on the return. It was impossible to obtain restitution, as ukali were not to be had for the asking. These fellows are inveterate thieves. On the 2d of March I reached Ikt(galik. I had hired several ^, i THE YUKON TERRITORY. 185 had Ste- hree well icribe icy. .il.Uo. usual Inala- /ilh a i;s on extra clogs from the Russians, and found two of my own hen;, which Andrea had stolen. The place was crowded with the Kaiyuh Ingaliks, and I gave him a rating for his dishonesty, in their presence, which made him sneak away like a whipped cur. We determined to strike on to the tundra directly beyond Ikti'galik, and I would recommend this plan to all future travel- lers. It is far preferable to the old route by way of Ulukuk. Hy keeping along the bases of the Ulukuk hills, a nearly even road may be obtained as far as the Vesolia Sopka. At the first bank beyond Ikti'galik the runner of the new sled carrying the bidarra broke short off. My mortification was great, and the Russians passed on, thinking us disabled for several days at least. To make a birch runner, the wood must be bent while green, and then well seasoned. To do that here was out of the question, and we lighted our pipes and sat down to consider what could be done. After consultation, Kuri'Ua smarted ofl" with the a.xe over his shoulvler, and I made a good fire, and put on the chynik, determined to be comfortable, whatever might turn up. Kun'Ila returned with a slender spruce tree, which he rapidly hewed into the shape of a runner. I sent an Indian back to tlie village to borrow an awl and buy some small sealskin line. As soon as the runner was hewn out, we bent it in the ^re. and in two hours we had the sled completely repaired. The new runner was thick, heavy, and clumsy, but answered the purpose very well. Deerskins, to prevent the sealskin from chafing, were laid on the sled, which had no rail. The boat was then replaced, and strongly lashed. We took our tea, and proceeded on our way. In the afternoon we passed the Russians, who had camped near a small stream. They were much surpriseil and disgusted at seeing us so soon. We camped just beyond the Ves(')lia S()pka. I had the heaviest load 0.1 one of the Hudson Hay sleds. KLiri'lhi had the bidarra, and an Indian called Blackbird had the oilier sled. My team comprised three dogs. The leader was a fine black dog named Ikkee, who had a magnificent bushy tail, which was always erect and curly. Tlie next one was black and white, and called Sawashka, a hard worker and of amiable disposition. Next the sled was old Kann'ik, my favorite, and tlie ugliest dog in the brigade. His tail, poorly furnished with hair, was usually 1 ^{t ^■'"i; l>V ■ 1 86 THE YUKON TERRITORY. I' h m between his le^s ; his ears were short, and scored with the marks of many battles. His face was stolid, and exhibited emotion only when feeding-time came, or when some other dog ventured too near or lagged behind. His body was large, and his legs were like pillars ; his color was white, with dirty spots. Alto- gether he looked a good deal like a lean pig. But how he would pull! A description can give but a faint idea of dog-driving. It is an art in itself. The nature of dogs is cross-grained, and they frequently do the wrong thing with apparently the best inten- tions. Each has a peculiar look and character. Some are irre- claimably lazy, others enjoy hard work unless pushed too far ; some are greedy and snappish, others good-humored and decor- ous. All arc very practical, ''lOwing affection only fjr the man who feeds them, and for him only as long as he feeds them. Hence the voyagcur should always teed his ovvn team himself They dislike the whip, not only when in use, but in the abstract. They will always destroy one if they can get at it. The whip is made with a short handle, a very long Ir.sh, braided of leather or sealskin, and usually loaded with sheet lead or bullets in the core. As we walk behrid the sled, which ordinarily travels about four milet an hour, we have an e.rellent opportunity of stu' ing dogs. One habit appears to be ingrained in their nature. It ex- hibits itself at street-corners in cities, and at every bush, stump, or lump of ice which they pass on the road. When travelling rapidly, some clog will stop twenty times an hour to examine any bush or twig which attracts his attention. If a leader, it checks the whole team ; if not, he usually entangles himself in the harness, and jumps frantically to release himself as he hears the well-known crack of the whip about his ears. If a log comes in the way, and the driver is not ready with his help in urging the sled over it, down they all drop on their haunches, wagging their tails and looking about with a pleased expression, or uttering a sentimental howl. With a crack of the whip, and a shout to Kamuk to stir himself, their reveries are broken, and we go on. (loing down hill, the whip and lungs are again called into requi- sition, to keep the dogs out of the way of the descending sled. It has been said that no man Cv.n dilve dogs without swear- ' /( THE YUKON TERRITORY. 187 ine it the the in the icir Is a to on. Iqui- l;lc(i. tar- ing. I think it is in a measure true. At all events, he must have a ready store of energetic expletives to keep them on the gut vive. In Russian America we always used the indigenous epithets, which, as we did not understand them, were hardly sinful. If there is a tree near the trail, the dogs invariably try to pass it on difterent sides, until checked by their harness ; they constantly exhibit such idiosyncrasies, and it was lucky for Job that h^; was not set to dog- driving : if he had been, I fear his posthumous reputation would have suffered. At noon we stop for a cup of tea. Here the true voyageur ex- hibits himself in building the fire. A greenhorn or an Indian will make a conical fire, at the side of which you must place your chy- nik, and wait until it chooses to boil. A white man's fire is built in layers. The sticks in each layer are parallel with each other, and at right angles with those in the layer beneath. A few chips are placed upon this pile, which presents a broad, flat top, on which you set your chynik. A few shavings are whittled from a dry stick, and you light your fire on the top of the pile. The free circulation soon puts it all in t blaze, your kettle boils in ten minutes, you drop in your tea and let it boil up oiicc, and you are ready for "chy peet." If the fire be lighted at the bottom, it takes twice as long to kindle, and if you boil your tea more than an instant, it is ruined. Many travellers drink a caustic decoction of tannin, which they call tea ; such unfortunates are to be pitied. Tea over, you empty out your chynik, and set it in the snow a moment to cool, that you may not burn your sled cover. Having replaced it, and seen that the dogs are untangled, you shout to Kamuk, " Be off, you old sinner ! " Down goes his tail, and away you go. A greenhorn will have burnt his skin boots meanwhile, trying to warm his .shins, and have put the axe where it will knock a hole in the chynik or drop out through the slatting of the sled- bottom, if you have n't looked out for him. The wind blows the snow in his eyes; his toes lnnn]i against the bar of his snowshocs ; now and then he trips himself up with them : truly, the poor fel- low has a hard time. If he has the right grit in him, he will soon learn, and laugh at these things as you and I do. Up hill and down dale, until it begins to be dusky in the south. Greenhorn thinks it is the west, because the sun sets there. In June we will show it to him setting due north, and rising there within half an '' ■ t. II pih! V )V <■, ■^ 1 88 THE YUKON TERRITORY. -i .;, ! if hour after it went down. The chief of the brigade has been on the lookout for a place where there is plenty of dry wood, and having selected his ground, gives the signal for halting. Kurilla, who delights in showing his proficiency in the use of the American axe, makes a straight wake for yonder dead spruce. Greenhorn takes an axe, and chooses a small tree to begin with. Somehow or other, the chips don't fly as they do over yonder ; but, by dint of chopping all round like a beaver, it finally falls, burying him under the branches in the deep snow, where he must stick until somebody picks him up. Meanwhile the direction of the wind is noted, and the camp placed accordingly; — not so that it will blow on the backs of those who sit in front of the fire, — because this always makes an eddy where the smoke will remain, choking everybody, — but so that the wind will blow on their sides, lengthways of the camp, and carry the smoke away. In March we must excavate the snow to a depth of eight or ten feet before we can find solid ground to build our fire on. If built above the ground it will gradually sink beneath the snow, leaving us in the cold. One Indian goes in search of water, another cuts sp.uce boughs, and you instruct greenhorn in the art of placing the twigs, stem down and tips up, so as to make a soft and springy bed. A green log is placed at the foot of the bed, to keep the blankets out of the fire. Some one is cutting r-.ics for a tempo- rary stage. On this the sleds are placed, with their loads intact, to keep them out of the way of the omnivorous dogs. The har- nesses are also hung out of reach for the same reason. Then each dog receives his supjier of one dried salmon, and you carry your blankets to ihc camp. Kun'lla comes staggering under the weight of a huge back-log, and follows it up with half a dozen more, and also a supi^ly for morning use. The camp being made, and everything else done, we finally light the fire. Greenhorn asks why you don't do that first, and you explain that the effect would be to keep everybody in the vicinity warming themselves, while the camp was unfinished, and hence the other necessary work would be slighted. The ever grateful cup of tea being ready, and such other pro- visions cooked as you may have, you enjoy the evening meal and discuss the events of the day. Supper being over, you light your H iil 't W: ■o- THE YUKON TERRITORY. 189 pipe. What demon would have the heart to deprive the weary voyageur of his tobacco, — or what money would buy the pleasure which he derives from it .' Oceans of whiskey would poorly re- place his cup of tea, and untold gold would fail to purchase his pipe. That delicious fifteen minutes being over, one last glance must be taken at the sleds and dogs. As you return, the inmates of the camp are invisible, beneath the surface. The fire and smoke and glow, which issue from the excavation in the snow and illu- minate the dark evergreens behind the camp, remind one of the mouth of Inferno. The deerskins are spread ; if you are luxu- rious you have a small pillow, if not, you take the biscuit-bag as a substitute. Water being scarce, a large cake of snow is impaled on a stake before the fire. Beneath it is the chynik, which soon fills with water as the cake melts. Your nips and the straw from your boots are hung in the smoke, to be thoroughly dried for to- morrow's use. Unless this precaution is adopted, you will have cold feet the next day. You cover yourself with a blanket on which skins of the arctic hare or rabbit have been sewn. This forms a light but very warm protection. I have slept comfortably with nothing else and with the air at sixty below zero. You pull your head entirely under the blanket, leaving a very small hole for air, and if the dogs, who like a warm corner, do not come and lie down on top, you may enjoy undisturbed the sleep of the just. Leaving our camp in the morning, we pushed on among the trees toward Beaver Lake. Every step was taken on snowshoes. The snow was blown in our teeth, and the wind howled in such a way that we knew poorga was raging on the tuntlra. Near the edge of the timber at Beaver Lake we found an old camp. This we cleaned out and enlarged, making a first-rate camp of it. It was useless to go farther, as there were no trees and it was impos- sible to travel over the open country. The great spruce trees rocked and moaned with the fury of the blast, and the snow flew in sheets far above our heads. The next morning it was even worse. As we were well supplied with provisions and dog-feed, I concluded to remain where we were. In the afternoon the Rus- sians came up. I invited them to occupy part of our camp, and told them they could not go over a mile farther, and then would not be half as comfortable. But no ; their energy was not so easily daunted, and on they went. '\ ;V! \} s; : : in m i 4 l.^i y II 11 ; I U !? ' 1 I go THE YUKON TERRITORY. I i ■ MV! , 'l.li ! I <•< I have spoken of travelling on snowshoes. To travel without them in winter is impossible, but sometimes on an old, well-beaten road, or with a hard crust on the snow, and while travelling over ice, they are not needed. The different kinds of snowshoes are, in a measure, characteristic of the locality where they are used. >u. '■ Different Kinds of snowshoes. The Innuit snowshoe (a) is small and nearly flat. It is seldom over thirty inches long. The netting is open and strong, being made of fine remni. That which supports the foot is made of strong mahout, which passes through holes in the frame. It is strong, simple, and well adapted for walking on the hard snow of the coast. Both shoes are alike. The Ingalik snowshoe (c) is much larger. Mine were five feet eight inches long, and strongly curved up in front. They are always rights and lefts, a slight difference being made in the curves of the frame of the two .shoes. They are much wider in front, and the netting, which is of deer sinew twisted into twine, is much closer than in the Innuit shoes. The netting under the foot is the same, In all the snowshoes the strings are alike. Two short loops over the toe, and a long one around the foot above the heel, fasten it to the foot. In walking, the toe sinks into an opening in the netting provided for the purpo.se. Begin- ners generally strike their toes against the bar, but after some experience they learn how to adjust the loops and prevent this. THE YUKON TERRITORY. 19; feet ;V are the er in twine, er the alike. ; foot sinlvs Begin- some his. The Kutchin snowshoe (n) is made a little smaller than the Ingalik pattern, but much in the same style. The netting is much closer and finer, and is made of fine line, cut from prepared deerskins, called babiche. The whole shoe is prettier and more artistic. It is frequently painted and ornamented with beads. The Hudson Bay snowshoe (b) is very small, thirty inches being the regulation size. This is in order that it may sink deeper in the snow and beat a better road for the sleds. It is sharply curved upwards in front, and is furnished with a knob to break the crust of the snow. The frame is flat, not rounded as in the other kinds. The foot netting is put on around the frame, and not through holes in it. All the net- ting is very fine and close, and made of babiche. They are gen- erally painted in gay colors, and ornamented with tufts of colored worsted. The latter in moist snow must be a great nuisance, as the snow must stick to them and greatly increase the weight. In hunting, the Hudson Bay men use the larger Kutchin shoe. The latter is probably the best of all for general use. The ne.xt morning the wind had gone down, and we started very early. We passed the Russian camp, about a mile beyond ours, and soon overhauled them on a side hill, where they were stuck in a large drift. I proposed to go ahead and break the road for them, at the same time taking some of their load, though my sleds were already the heaviest. My offer was ac- cepted, and we led the way for the remainder of the trip. We camped near the Ass's Head that night, and about ten miles abave Kaltag on the Yukon the following day. The road on the river was e.xceedingly bad. The long March day and the warm sun made the snow moist and sticky. Each snowshoe would raise ten pounds adhering to it, and it was ex- tremely hard travelling. We took tea three times during the day. Tired out with running before the dogs, IVivloffs Indian lay down on the snow and refused to run any further. None of the Rus- sians were in a condition to take his place. We were only some three miles from Nuhito, and I gave my sled to the runner, and took his place. It was really a relief to exercise another set of muscles, after walking behind the sled and pushing all day. We found all in bed at Nulato, as we were not expected for several days, and the Russians were especially surprised to see me, sup- 11 ■»'■ I: i . ^11 J' ■'\ , ^ r. '!!;• 71 I'S IV M 192 THE YUKON TERRITORY. posing me to have been too sick to return immediately. Pavlofifs wife had the samovar ready, and we all took a cup of tea to- gether, which did much to relieve the fatigue of the day. The Russian fish-trap was catching nothing. Mine had been very fortunate. There was a pile of several hundred frozen fish in the storehouse, quite sufficient to feed my dogs. The next day Blackbird was handsomely rewarded for his work, and sent back with the e.xtra dogs to Unalaklik. Repairs being needed on the fish-trap, I discovered that the Russians had appropriated all my e.xtra wood during my absence. After some trouble I obtained restitution. Having a small piece of glass, I inserted it in the window. After getting the light all winter only through parchment, it was a great relief to be able to peep out occasionally, and to admit a few rays of pure sunlight. The plans which had been settled upon by the Russians were about as follows : A raft was to be built in the spring, and on his return from the annual trip to Nuklukahyet, PavlofT was to em- bark with all the Russian employes and goods belonging to the Russian American Company, and make the best of his way to the mouth of the river, where boats from the Redoubt would meet him and convey them to St. Michael's. In the latter part of the month of March I made several expe- ditions, without dogs, to the hilly region back of Nulato. In this manner much geographical and geological information was ob- tained. About the 1st of April, Bidarshik, one of the Koyukuns who had accompanied us to Fort Yukon, arrived from the mountains, where he had been deer-hunting. He brought a sled-load of meat, of which I secured the greater part, — a most acceptable addition to our monotonous fare of fish-soup. He brought the information that Larriown was endeavoring to excite the Koyukuns to active hostilities against the Nulato post. Larriown was one of a family of five brothers, all influential men among the Koyukuns. One, whose name I could not obtain, had recently died, lie had been concerned in the first Nulato massacre, and was accused of having killed Barnard. Since that time he had committed many outrages. A Yukon Indian, named Nikolai, who had been extremely useful to Major Kcnnicott's party in their explorations about Koyiikuk, had ;re of to kon live lily |nc, pen ng [es. to lacl THE YUKON TERRITORY. '93 an exceedingly pretty wife, and, with his brother, was possessed of much property. In the fall of 1866, Larriown s brother induced Nikolai and his brother to accompany him to the mountains after deer. There the former killed both of them, and hid the bodies, securing their guns ind ammunition. All the autumn and far into winter, the other Indians sought the brothers in vain. At last the murderer, tired of hearing about them, led the searchers to the place where they lay, and boldly avowed his crime. He then went to the house where they had lived, and plundered it. Niko- lai's mother reproached him with the unprovoked murder, and he threw her into the fire, forced Nikolai's wife to accompany him, and fled to the mountains. Of the whole family, only the little son of Nikolai and his sister, who were away, escaped. There was no one to revenge them, and the murderer escaped unpunished. In the fall of 1867 he died of pleurisy. Much sick- ness of the kind prevailed during the winter, and Larriown, whose dictum as a great shaman was not to be denied, accused the Rus- sians of having caused the sickness and death by their sorceries. This may seem incredible, but such reasoning is characteristic of the Indian mind. The remaining brothers sent beads to the various Indians as an inducement to attack the Russians ; but so fiir they had hesitated, from the scarcity of provisions. Bidarshik, under promise of secrecy, divulged the plot to me, and begged me to leave Nuldto. I took him into the magazine, showed him my stores of ammunition and my arms, and told him that I was prepared for anything ; that the Russians had given me the use of a house in the fort, and if they were attacked I should assist them against their enemies, — giving him permission to inform the Koyiikuns of the determination. Rumors were rife, during the entire spring, of a proposed attack, but none was at- tempted. Details have already been given of the practice of shamdnism among the Indians, and the various tribes have been described. A few more particulars in regard to them and their mode of life may not be uninteresting. The Indian character, with some modifications, is the same almost everywhere. The Ingaliks are peacefully inclined, and as industrious as any Indians. They are more honest than the major- ity of uneducated whites, and much more so than those tribes who 13 ' I w, ii \i H :t n M 194 THE YUKON TERKITORV, « 'ir ';-■( I I ; h ■ il'f have been degraded by the use of liquor. They are courageous, but not bloodthirsty, and are easily controlled by a firm hand. Avarice appears strongly in their characters ; the afifections arc but slightly developed, and are exhibited only toward their chil- dren. The latter are obedient and respectful to their parents, but exhibit no love for them. The old people live on odds and ends of food which the young ones do not eat ; this seems rather to be a custom than any deliberate neglect. The opinions of the old men are always consulted, and usually followed. Foster- children are not uncommon. The fruit of their labor belongs to the person who reared them, and they are in a manner slaves, but still possess property of their own, and marry when they like. The authority of the foster-parent is retained as long as he lives. Children are anxiously desired, even when women have no hus- bands. The Ingalik women are less inclined to sensuality than many others, but are by no means strict in their morals. Incon- tinence on the part of a wife is seldom punished with anything more than a beating. Excessive laziness or ill-temper sometimes induces the men to discard them entirely. The women are rarely chastised, and usually well treated. Both sexes are dirty about their persons, and handsome women are exceedingly rare. The old ones are often hideous. The Ingaliks are tall, but more slen- der than the Innuit, and their legs are often ill-shaped. This comes from constant sitting in a small canoe in summer, and walking on snowshoes in winter. They are seldom very muscu- lar ; those who live on fish are invariably the most dirty, weak, cowardly, degraded, and least intelligent. Their number appears to be decreasing. Few women have more than two children ; twins are almost unheard of Many women are barren. The number of deaths annually increases, from their habit of inhaling the smoke of the Circassian tobacco into the lungs, which greatly adds to the prevalence of lung diseases. While the Indians are exposed to privations of every kind from childhood, they are, if anything, less hardy than the whites. A white man of ordinary strength and endurance can invariably tire out any Indian, as soon as he has become accustomed to the mode of life. I believe that the white can surpass the Indian in everything, with but little difficulty, even in those things to which the latter has devoted his attention from infancy. All my own tly THE YUKON TERRITORY. •95 experience tends to confirm this opinion, and it is certain that Indian sagacity has been greatly overrated, especially in the fables of such romancers as Cooper. Diseases are quite as prevalent among them as among civilized people. As yet, among the Ingaliks, zymotic diseases are un- known. Pleurisy, pneumonia, bronchitis, dyspepsia (not rare), asthma, rheumatism, colic, hydrocephalus, calculus, urethritis, and hemorrhoids were noticed, and various mild diseases of the skin, boils, and small tumors are not uncommon. Ophthalmia is pro- duced by the reflection of sunlight from the mist arising from the melting snow in the spring. To obviate this, they, as well as the Innuit, make use of goggles after the annexed pattern. These Snow-goggles of tlic Yukon Indiana. are made of soft wood, cut to fit the face, and tied by a string behind the head. They are pierced with one or two slits which admit of vision. The inside is blackened with charcoal, and some have a small ledge over the slit, as a shade, also blackened. I found these goggles superior to those of green gla.ss with which we were provided. Curiously enough, a taenia, developed from hydroids found in the reindeer, is occasionally found among these Indians. I have seen humpbacks, club-feet, and other malformations among Ko- yi'ikuns, and once a deaf-and-dumb man. Strabismus is common, and I have .seen several cases of cataract. Their remedies, besides the rites practised by the shamans, are few and simple. Bleeding, scarification, actual cautery, ligatures, steam baths, and fasting, are practised, but they have no knowl- edge of the virtues of any roots or herbs. The women seem e.\- ^U f m 1 ii Hi: )\ If fi I ■ : 1/1 .i1 i1 ■Hi !i ;' I'l 196 THK YUKON TERRITORY. ill: i ( ! %-\ empted from the curse of Eve. Delivery takes place in a few minutes, the mother kneeling ; no pain is experienced, and she is about again and at her work in half an hour. The infant is rubbed with grease, washed and put to the breast. They are rarely weaned under three years. The Indians are devoid of fortitude, crying at a scratch or cut which we should consider trifling : this may be partly a.scribed to ignorance. They are short-lived, few men reaching forty-five. The women live longer, many reaching sixty. Their exact ages can seldom be determined, as they keep no record and soon for- get. They can count one hundred, but no further. The work is divided among the sexes much as among the In- nuit. There is no such enslavement of the women as exists among the Kutchin and other eastern and southern tribes. The men do nearly all the hard work. They have no pride of family such as is so prominent among the Koloshes, and few know who were their grandfathers. A very few of the Ingaliks have more than one wife ; none, as far as I know, have more than two. The Koyiikuns are more lax in this respect. Cousins do not marry among the Ingaliks, but there are no rules observed by the Ko- yiikuns in regard to marriage. There is a superstition among the Koyukuns that a youth must not marry until he has killed a deer, otherwise he will have no children. They believe in love- philters, made of an owl's liver, which, to be successful, must be administered without e.xciting suspicion. The totemic system, properly so called, is unknown among them, but they have the practice, as described among the Innuit, of selecting a patron spirit. Somt: uostitute for an amulet the small brass crosses distributed hy the Russian missionaries ; sometimes both hang around the neck on the same string. The Kutchin have always possessed the system of totems, and I quote the following remarks from an acount of them by William L. Hardisty, Esq., of the Hudson Bay Company. All the Kutchin are divided into three castes or totems, called re- spectively Tchit-chc-aJi, Taig-ratscy, and Nat-sali-i, according to Strachan Jones, Esq., late commander at Fort Yukon. Mr. Har- disty says : — " With reference to the origin of caste it is difficult to arrive at a cor- rect solution. I believe that they do not know, themselves, for they give '.t' */ THE YUKON TERRITORY. 197 5ses by AH re- to lar- cor- rive various accounts of tin; origin of tiic three groat divisions of mankind. Some say it was so from tiie beginning ; others, that it originated when all fowls, animals, and fish were people, — the fish were the Chitsali^ the birds l\iin-^ccsah-tsali, and the animals Xat-siugh ; some, that it refers to the country occui)ied by the three great nations who are supposed to have composed the whole family of man ; while others, that it refers to color, for the words are applicable. Chitsah refers to anything of a pale color, — fair people ; Xat-siiigh, from ah-zhv^h, black, dark, that is, dark jjeople ; 7;//>/,;,r(j-(///-/W/, neither fair nor dark, — between the two, — from iitiii-giYS, the half, middle, and ah-tsali, brightish, from tsa, the sun, bright, glittering, shining, \:c. The country of the Na-tsik-kut-chin is called Nah-t'singh to this day, and it is the country which the Xat-singh were supposed to have occupied. The Na-tsik-kut-chin inhabit the high ridge of land between the \'ukon and the Arctic Sea. They live en- tirely on the flesh of the reindeer, and are very dark-skinned compared with the Chit-sangh, who live a good deal on fish. Some of the Chit- sangh are very fair, — indeed, in some instances approaching to white. The Tain-gees-ah tsa, taken as a whole, are neither so fair as the Chit- sangh nor so dark as the Nah-t'singh. A Chit-sangh cannot, by their rules, marry a Chit-sangh, although the rule is set at naught occasion- ally ; but when it does take place the persons are ridiculed and laughed at. The man is said to have married his sister, even though she may be from another tribe, and there be not the slightest connection by blood between them. It is the same with the other two divisions. The chil- dren receive caste from their mother : if a male Chit-sangh marry a Nah-t'singh woman the children are Nah-t'singh, and if a male Nah- t'singh marry a Chit-sangh woman the children are Chit-sangh ; so that the divisions are always changing. As the fathers die out the country inhabited by the Chit-sangh becomes occupied by the Nah-t'singh, and vice versa. They are thus continually changing countries. J.atterly, however, these rules are not so strictly observed or enforced as formerly, and no doubt will soon disappear altogether. One good thing proceeded from the above arrangement, — it prevented war between two tribes who were naturally hostile. The ties or obligations of color or caste were stronger than those of blood or nationality. In war it was not tribe against tribe, but division against division ; and as the children were never of the same caste as the father, the children would, of course, be against the father, and the father against the children, — part of one tribe against part of another, and part against itself ; so that, as may be sup- posed, there would have been general confusion. This, however, was not likely to occur very often, as the worst of parents would have natu- rally preferred peace to war with his own children." ft pi' .1?! \\ igS THL: YUKON TERRITORY. w I' I ♦ hi iM '-m I'ifi It is not improbable that the custom or system of totems origi- nated in a desire to prevent war, and to knit the tribes more closely together. It is a well-known fact that most of the inter- tribal Indian wars have occurred between those who did, and those who did not, adopt the system. In all other known tribes the names of the totems are those of animals, and I doubt whether the similarity of the Kutchin names to words indicating color, re- ferred to by Mr. Hardisty, is anything more than an accidental coincidence, or perhaps an error. The system is found in perfec- tion among the Thlinkets or Koloshcs. The method of disposing of the dead has been described. The dances or festivals of the Indians are less varied and interesting than those of the Innuit. They r^re held at their yearly meetings at Nuklukahyet, or other neutral trading-grounds. Others are given by men who desire a reputation for liberality ; others by the relatives of a dead person a year after the death ; still others by the inhabitants of a village who desire to extend their hospi- tality to neighboring villr.ges These dances have been pr'^viously alluded to. Their choruses are less euphonious and less varied than those of the Innuit. Their dances have less of a symbolic character. Feasting and giving presents form the chief attrac- tions at their festivals. The universal chorus is "lie! he! ho! ho ! " indefinitely prolonged. When the feast for the dead is given the pre onts are hung on a pole. Around this the dancing is done. The Indians wrap themselves in blankets, and the mo- tions are simple jumping up and down, gradually moving side- \/ays, as in the old game of " threading the needle." There are no graceful motions or posturings of the aims and body, as in the Innuit dances. The Indians, particularly the women, are fond of singing, a})art from their festivals. Their ears are very quick, and they soon catch up an air from hearing it sung once or twice. Our parties contained several good singers, who enlivened the evenings with patriotic and comic .songs, The Indians soon caught up the airs; and "Tramp, tramp, the boys r.re marching," " Sixteen cents a dozen," and " Marching through Georgia" may now be heard from the mouth of almost any Yuko". Indian, The women are fond of making up songs of their own, which they hum over their work. Some of these are full of sentiment and not unworthy of THE YUKON TERRITORY. 199 preservation. The chorus always forms a prominent part. The following is a free translation, preserving the original rhythm, of one which I heard a Koyiikim woman singing as she sewed. It is a fair specimen of many which were translated to me, some of which I jjreserved. It is the song of a mother hushing her cliild to sleep, and the air was slow and soft. IS art |)on ies rith Irs ; Is a tird lare ieir of ' The wind blow.s over tlie Yukon. .My husband hunts the deer on the Koyukun mountains. Alimi, Ahmi, sleep, little one. ' There is no wood for the fire. The stone a.xe is broken, my husband carries the other. Where is the sun- warmth ?* Hid in the dam ot" the beaver, waitmg the spring-time ? Ahmi, Ahmi, sleep, little one, wake not ! ' Look not for ukali, old woman. Long since tlie cache was emptied, and tiie crow does not light on the ridge-pole ! Long since my husband departed. Why does he wait in the moun- tains ? Ahmi, Ahmi, sleep, little one, softly. ' Where is my own ? Does he lie starving on the hillside ? Why floes he linger? Comes lie not soon, I will seek him among the mountains. Ahmi, Ahmi, sleep, little one, sleep. ' The crow has come, laughing. His beak is red, his eyes glisten, the false one ! ' Thanks for a good meal to Kuskokala the shaman. On the sharp mountain quietly lies your husband.' Ahmi, .Ahmi, sleep, little one, wake not ! ' ' Twenty deer's tongues tied to the pack on his shoulders ; Not a tongue in his mouth to call to his wife with. Wolves, foxes, and ravens are tearing and fighting for morsels. Tough and hard are the sinews ; not so the child in your bosom.' Ahmi, Ahmi, sleep, little one, wake not ! • Over the mountain slowly staggers the hunter. Two bucks' thiglis on his shoulders, with bladders of fat between them. Twenty deers' tongues in his belt, (io, gather wood, old woman ! OtT Hew the crow, — liar, cheat, and deceiver 1 Wake, little sleeper, wake, and call to your father ! * I. c. the warm principle of the sunlight, which they regard as a personal sjiirit. h\ :'\'^ M 200 THE YUKON TERRITORY. n I' !ia i n lull " He brings you backfat, marrow, and venison fresh from the mountain. Tired and worn, he has carved a toy of the deer's horn. While he was sitting and waiting long for the deer on the hillside- Wake, and see the crow, hiding himself from the arrow ! Wake, little o.ie, wake, for here is your father! " These songs are heard in every lodge. Some attain wide popu- larity, others are unknown except to the singer, who measures the stroke of her paddle or the motion of her needle by the simple rhythm of the air. The bow has long since given place to the gun among the Koyukuns, Kutchin, and northern Ingaliks. Long, single-bar- relled flint-locks have beep obtained from the Hudson Aay Com- pany at Fort Yukon since 1847, and at about the same time traders from the Sandwich Islands began to visit Grantlcy Har- bor and Kotzebue Sound. The latter trade a small Belgian fowling-piece, double-barrelled and of small bor^. These guns, with some ammunition, bring twenty marten-skins, and the Hud- son Bay guns are sold for forty. Their habits, though not as regular as those of the Innuit, still pursue a nearly uniform course, each successive year being much like the previous one, and only modified by the greater or less abundance of game and fish. Life among the Indians is a constant struggle with nature, wrestling with hunger, cold, and fatigue ; the victory is ever un- certain, and always hard-earned. The opening and closing of navigation are the two great events of the year. The months of April, May, and June are the hardest of the season. Tlie snow is melting, ophthalmia attacks the deer-hunters, and the winter's store of food is nearly or quite gone. In May the geese and ducks arrive. The fish-traps are carried away by the rising water in the rivers, and few have sufficient ammunition to sujiply them- selves with wild fowl for many weeks. The men take their canoes and asceml the small rivers, as .soon as the ice breaks up and the freshets drive the beaver out of their winter houses. For a week or two they support themselves in this way, and then those who have been successful in trapping start for Xuklukahyet to trade. Th(;rc they find the moose and deei driven by the mosciniloes into the river, where they n\ay be killed. Bears leave their winter quarters, and their meat occasionally adds to the spring supply THE YUKON' TERRITORY. 20 1 of food. The women, and such of the men as remain at home, are busy making nets and seines from the inner bark of the wil- low and alder. The wood for the summer fish-traps is also pre- pared, and the baskets and other parts of the trap are tied to- gether, ready for use. On the Lower Yukon the eggs of wild fowl are obtained in sufficient .lumbers to furnish a partial means of subsistence. This is also the season for making birch canoes. Early in June the king salmon {KahtliV of the Ingaliks, or cho- zuichcc of the Russians) begin to ascend the river. After the middle of July only stragglers of this species are caught. The chowi'chee are followed by two or three other kinds, and the salmon fishery is well over about the end of August. During this period most of the Indians are on the river, fishing, splitting, and drying the fish for winter use. Some are smoked, but the "aier part are simply dried in the sun. They have no salt, and never use it, even when ft might be pi-ocured from the Russians. In consequence many oi the likali have a tainted flavor. White- hsii are caught and dried at the same time as the salmon, but are smnller, and not so extensively fished for. They are most plenty and in their best condition in September. In the latter part of October the ice puts a stop to fishing, until it is strong enough to set the winter traps. In August many Indians repai. to the hills, where the reindeer are in prime condition, fat, and less timid than at other seasons. The fawns are also large enough to make their skins of use. Moose are very rare on the Yukon below Koyu- kuk. In August the young geese are fledged, but cannot yet fly, as their '..ing-feathers are not fully grown. The old ones have also m> ,i!li (!. ^nd many of both kinds are caught in nets. In Oct'^1- t '...l November the white grouse have returned to the willow t; ..'.:■ . .'n the river, where they are snared by hundreds. In Decembe; i^ winter fish-traps are put down, and some deer- hunting is done on the mountains. Trapping begins in Octolx;r ; before that, the furs are worthless. In December and January, trading commenc >s with the Innuit for oil and sealskin. In Feb- ruary and March the fish-traps and snares for grouse and rabbits are their principal reliance. In the latter part of March the starving season sets in again, l^y some tribes, April is called the "huiU'T month." In May, rabbits are very plentiful for a week or IvV-- '.hen the wild fowl arrive in millions, and the yearly round is completeu. : h; i^ m If if' * !;ll •f If' ,' I t|ii# 202 THE YUKON TERRITORY. The Koyukun and Ingalik names for women generally end in " il'no " as Tdllo-ilno, " dashing water," &c. The names of men frequently end in " ala " as Knsko-kdla, " he who strikes," &c., but are not so regular in their terminations as the female names. With the Kutchin the father takes his name from his child, not the child from the father as with us. Thus, Kiocc-ccJi-ct may have a son and call him SdJi-mi. The father then takes the name Sah-uH-tec, and his former name is forgotten. Sometimes the mother will drop her name, and be called Sah-nu-bc-han, or Sah- nu's mother.* The same practice obtains among the Indian tribes to the south, as the Koloshes ; but the western Tinneh are without it. In war, when a Kutchin I v *' kills his adversary, he cuts all his joints. They are governec ihe same chiefs in peace and war. The authority of a chief it. very limited ; the Indians are very unruly, and indisposed to submit to authority. The chiefs are chosen on account of their wisdom, wealth, or courage, and not on account of birth. They have no insignia of office, and only such privileges as they can take ; none that the others can withhold from them. This undeniable fact has been universally ignored in the dealings of the United States Government with the Indians. The chiefs and old men are all who are entitled to speak in council ; but most young men will not hesitate to rise and give their elders the benefit of their wisdom. Among the Han Kut- chin a metal ring is sometimes used in the nose instead of the dentalium ornament of the western Tinneh. Among the eastern Tinneh the women are literally beasts of burden ; but they have the privilege of disposing of their daughters at any age ; the fathers and brothers having no voice in the matter, according to their customs. They have the singular custom of not cutting the nails of girls until they are four years old. The reason they give is, that, if they did so earlier, the girl when grown up would be lazy, and unable to embroider in porcupine quills, an art which they carry to great perfection. The children arc seldom weaned until three years old. They arrive at the age of puberty at about twelve or fourteen. Some of the women reach a great age ; one • ViJt account of Kutchin tribes by .Straclian Jones, Esq., in Sniilhsonian Report, 1866 M< I" THE YUKON TERRITORY. 20- V ■.: ilM M V *i .' 'i /I ■ f ! . Hi / lii, f'V 204 THE YUKON TERRITORY. by all the Kaiyuh Ingaliks who were returning from Ulukuk. While sitting peaceably in the casarmer he was insulted and struck by Shabounin, a convict from Archangel in Russia, who had been sent to Nulato to build the raft on which the Russians were to descend in the spring. I heard Kuri'lla calling to Pavloff, in the yard, that Shabounin was killing Tekunka. I rushed into the casarmer at once. Tekunka was standing on one side, his face bleeding, and hurling defiance in good Russian at his assail- ant. The Russians were huddled in one corner, unarmed, and cowed by the crowd of Ingaliks, each with his hand on his gun, which half filled the room. Sure of his power, though himself unarmed, Tekunka did n.ot spare his tongue. He told them that he held their lives in his hand. "A word," said he, "and my men wash this floor with your blood. You call us ' dogs of In- dians ! ' We know what you are, — murderers, thieves, and out- laws, driven from Russia for your crimes ! Yet you come to our country and abuse us without reason, take away our daughters, and pay us with a leaf of tobacco for furs which you cannot trap yourselves ! Why should I not avenge this unprovoked insult .' Why do I not 01 Jer my men to exterminate you like vermin } Because I had rather stand here and tell you in your own casarmer that I hate, despise, and defy you !" Pavloff now enteral, and was called upon to redress the injury, which he did sullenly and reluctantly. Shabounin was rebuked before the Indians for his conduct, and a present of tobacco and ammunition was made to Tekunka, who received it with uncon- cealed disdain. The Indians slowly left the room, and I followed them. They took their baggage and sleds, and left the fort. It is very seldom that such an exhibition of spirit is seen among these Indians, but Tekunka was unusually intelligent, and had worked in the fort among the Russians when young. It must also be said that such an outrage on the part of any Russian had never before occurred at Nuk'ito, and probably very seldom anywhere. On the nth of April the first swallows appeared, and on the 27th Kun'lla earned the pound of tobacco by killing the first goose of the season. The Russian raft was well under way, and was a clumsy concern, shaped like a flat-iron, nnd provided with high bul- ?(' THE YUKON TERRITORY. 10-- warks, a mast, rudder, or rather sweep, and a sail. They informed me that it was after the pattern of the rafts on which timber is floated down the rivers of Russia which flow into the Northern Sea. Meanwhile the skin had been taken off" our little bidarra, well oiled, repaired, and replaced. The mast, oars, and sail were manu- factured, as well as an enormous paddle, which Kuri'lla, in his capacity as coxswain, proposed to use himself The Russian bidarra was made ready for their trading-voyage to Nuklukahyet. Johnny would accompany them, and go on to Fort Yukon with the Indians. He was a useful little fellow, but gratitude or af- fection formed no part of his nature, and I did not expect to miss him much. On the 24th of May the Nulato River broke up, and the water and ice came down with a rush. About four o'clock in the after- noon the ice on the Yukon moved a little, and then stuck fast. An ice-barrier fifteen feet high formed near the bluft" north of Nulato. This remained several days without change. On the 28th I went up to the Klat-kakhatne River, and crossed in an old birch canoe which I found there, after hewing out a rough paddle, and leaving my axe in a dry log, four feet abo^'e the water. On the other side the beach between the ice and the high perpen- dicular bluff was only about six feet wide. I collected here a number of interesting fossils which had been uncovered by the melting snow. Suddenly I heard a crash, and the water began to rise very rapidly. The barrier had broken, and I had to run to escape being crushed between the bluff' and the enormous blocks of ice which the rising river ground against it. I was just able to keep pace with the water, and found my canoe on the little point quite submerged. On the other side the log, with the axe in it, was floating away with the ice. I emptied the canoe, and paddled after the axe, and got safely ashore on the Nulato side. Here I stopped awhile and enjoyed the sight, l^locks of ice six feet thick were driven against the bank, cutting off' large trees, and carrying ice and turf many yards inland. In some places the ice was piled thirty feet high. I only regretted that niy artist companion of the previous year, Mr. Whymper, was not there to i)reserve the scene with his ready pencil. The break-up of 1867 was nothing to it. At the fort the ice came i *i -r ■ f.| 206 THE YUKON TERRITORY. .!,! liii ! I ' * close to the bank. A little more, and the biiilclin_i PI' 5 it; ^1 !.' 2 lO THE YUKON TERRITORY. a \-u from a thicket and, probably impelled by curiosity, followed the boat at a short distance for nearly a mile. The superstitions of the Indians were excited, and they finally shot the bird, which fell in the water and continued to follow us, carried by the current, even in death. The alder buds were just opening, and the tender leaves began to appear. About ten o'clock, passing through a small pratoka, we saw on a gently rising mound a white Greek cross. This spot, according to Kun'lla, was the place where the boat for Nuldto with goods from the Redoubt was once caught by the ice and frozen in. The crew built a house and wintered here. They called it Kwikhtana barrabora or Cold I louse, from the extreme cold which they suftered. One of them, who died, was buried on H v.r' Silc of Kwiklitnna b.irmbora. this mound, where the cross marks his resting-place. Game was scarce, and we were obliged to be economical with our stores. For dinner we boiled three geese and a duck in the big kettle. I usually made away with the duck and a plate of soup, beside tea and sukaree, while the Indians never failed to clean out the kettle, leaving only the bones, which were the dog's perquisite. In the afternoon we crossed the river to a slough which Kun'lla said was a short cut ; but after going a little way the wind was^so !*■ ■'\ m THK YUKON TERRITORY. 21 I stronjj and dead ahead that I determined to turn back and j;o by the main river, where we were sheltered by the high l)ani<. We saw many fresh tracks of the black bear along the muddy shore. Crossing again, we continued along the right bank, which in some places is composed of trachytic rocks of dift'erent colors. These do not rise to any great height, and are soft and crumbling. Yellow, red, green, blue, and all transitions from black, through gray, to white were observed. Toward evening we approached the Yakiitz-kakitenik River, at the mouth of which is an Indian house in a very dilapidated condition. This is known as L()fka's barreibora. It had a melancholy appearance in the twilight, ,«, Kvas »res. tea Ithe dte. Llla so Lofka's b;iiral)ora. being deserted and falling into ruins. We decided to camp here. .\s we i)ulled toward the beach, a large otter started from among the willows and ran along the shore. We had brought along a small canoe made of three boards, and Kurilla hastily jumped into this and made for the beach. He landed, but the otter was too quick for him ; it plunged into the water near the river and dis- appeared. We put up the tent, boiled the chynik, and retired to rest. The rain, which soon came on, did not disturb us, as every- K 212 THE YUKON TERRITORY. |!i! I!ut alf ■ne ng od, /as ng are wo is id- ro- do ich md the cr; :cd. lad nly ips. :ali, )f a the :rcd urn ods. f\ <-m V\ 1^ lit! ~^. H I •< -1 ■J. THE YUKOX TERRITORY. 215 Nothing rots a bidarra like mud or dirt inside of it. We camped near a small brook, and Kurilla started off after game, while we attended to the boat, We finished cleaning her and gave her a good oiling before getting supper ready. The three Indians pol- ished the beaver's bones, while I regaled myself on a fat teal roasted on a stick before the fire. Sunday, Jth. — The day opened fair, but with the same wind, which was soon attended by smart showers of rain. We pulled along shore, and about ten o'clock came to the point where the Russians had located a sort of rapid. It proved to be nothing more than a piece of swift water, running along the base of a range of low conglomerate blufts, for two or three miles. The river here was quite broad ; to the right were successive hills, rising one after another, and fading into purple distance. The left bank was, as usual, low, and a large island divided the river a few miles beyond. Kurilla said that the Indian name of the place was Klan-ti-lin-tcn, meaning " rocks and strong water." The Russians had reported a coal seam here, but the rocks are conglomerate, preceded by trachyte of various colors, and fol- lowed by beds of cla)', quartzite, and yellow gravel. I landed to take the annexed sketch, and to examine the rocks. While so doing, an arctic hare scampered by on the edge of the bluff. Kurilla was too quick for her, however, and a shot from my rifle brought her down. I was sorry afterward, when we skinned the animal, to see that the teats were full of milk ; for it showed that she had, somewhere, a family of little bunnies, who would suffer and probably die for want of a mother. We took tea at a small rivulet about noon, and concluded to remain there until the wind fell somewhat. We scoured the small lakes near the river for game, and came back to camp well loaded. About sunset the wind became less violent, and we pushed a little farther down stream, camping about nine o'clock. Monday, St//. — As we slowly descended the river, we saw a few Indians on the bank. They appeared to be shy, and indisposed to meet us, but finally one of them put off in his canoe, and ex- tended a bit of paper in the end of a long cleft stick. I took it, and he immediately paddled away as fast as he could. It was a bit of yellow tissue paper, carefully folded. I opened it, and after removing several wrappings I came to a bit of white paper, ap- n 1*1 ' I hi \\ 5. \H « M \ r 2l6 THE YUKON TERRITORY. J • in 1! I Mf parently the blank edge of a newspaper. On this was a rude drawing of a boat, by its side a bottle, and under the drawing, in a straggling hand, was written, " Isaac Koliak." The meaning was evident. My intelligent Mahlemut friend had crossed the portage from the seaboard to Anvi'k, not far be- low on the Yukon, and was going down the Yukon on a trading- voyage. He knew I was coming down the river, and sent this note by one of the river Indians to inform me of his proximity. We passed the northern entrance of the great Shageluk slough, and continued down the main stream toward Anvi'k. There were numerous large, well-wooded islands, and the mouth of the slough might easily be overlooked. A little later we saw a camp on the right bank, and, pulling toward it, soon recognized Isaac and his party. They received us with the most lively demonstrations of welcome, and declared their intention of going down the river with us. The party comprised about thirty Mahlemuts, male and female, and their children and dogs. Isaac told me that he had crossed from Kegiktowruk late in the spring, with three large bidarnis on sleds drawn by dogs, and had descended the Anvi'k River after the ice had broken up. His intention was to descend the Yukon, trading as he went, and to meet the American traders who were expected at St. Michael's in the early summer. The articles which they had brought for trade were principally skin clothing of their own manufacture, needles, tobacco, guns, and am- munition. They proposed to buy furs, and wooden dishes or kan- tags, of Indian manufacture. The Innuit are accustomed to make these voyages for the purpose of getting rid of their old guns and K.inlags and wooden ladle. surplus ammunition, at prices much higher than they pay for new ones to the traders at Grantley Harbor and Kotzebue Sound. The wooden ware is an article of trade with the Innuit of Bering Strait, where wood suitable for the purpose does not grow. I n ';■ ^ \ I \ ilii I ^ i < A X V I K S T A U K E K. "Dnc more leaf nftcbaccn." THE YUKON TERRITORY. 217 took Isaac on board as a passenger, while his party got their boats ready to follow us to Anvik. We reached the mouth of the Anvi'k River about noon, and pulled up the stream for a short distance, to the point where the village is situated. Here both sides of the Yukon are rather high. Not far below they become low and flat. The Yukon widens, and here a series of sand-bars exists, which is the first ob- struction to navigation as we ascend the river from the sea. These bars change somewhat every year, but a native pilot can find a five-foot channel during the lowest stage of the water in the fall. Anvik is a large village, of some ten or twelve houses, each of which may contain twenty inhabitants. The natives are Ingaliks, but from constant intercourse and close pro.ximity to the Innuit tribes of the coast, they have adopted many of the Innuit customs. Among these, that of wearing labrets is most conspic- uous. The language spoken is the true Ingalik, with no inter- mixture of Innuit words, except such as are used to designate objects which they obtain from the latter in trade, and for which there are no Indian names. A jargon containing a large number of words of both languages is used in trading. This is also used in intercourse with the Russians, who understand something of the Innuit dialects. This fact is a sufficient cause of miscompre- hension in regard to the different dialects, and should be borne in mind by philologists. A similar jargon is in use wherever the Indians trade with the coast tribes. We boiled the chynik, while I examined the village and took notes of points of interest. The chief man of the village had been hired by Isaac to descend the Shageluk and meet him at the southern entrance ; but an old fellow who appeared to have a good deal of influence came forward with two fish, which he pro- posed to sell for tobacco. The price of a salmon is a leaf of tobacco, on this part of the Yukon. He wantetl two leaves apiece, complaining that it was early in the season and fish were scarce, while the leaves were very small! His parka was almo t deprived of hair by long use, his breeches were shiny witli grease and dirt, which also incrusted his hands and face, while the hair on his aged head, though cut short, stood erect as if in protest against the invasion of so much raw material. He looked so comic '. as he stood higgling for a leaf of tobacco, with his ^ t 'i 1 1 ;i!: 1' 1 ■ ' 1 ; i ^^ • . ' 1 u 1/ 2l8 THE YUKON TERRITORY. head on one side and his small eyes glistening with excitement, that I gave him the price he asked, and made it square by taking his portrait. Dirt was the prominent characteristic of the village. The year before, we had touched here, and the space in front of the houses was red with thousands of salmon, split and hung up to dry. It was yet too early for the fish this season, and there were many new baskets and nettings lying about, — the material for projected fish-traps. Many of the inhabitants were absent, after beaver. One man brought me ten fine marten, but asked so high a price that I refused to buy them. The Stareek (old man) brought me two marten and some mink, which I bought, but the Mahlemuts had purchased most of the furs. Well armed, bold, and numerous, the latter completely overawed the degraded, fish- eating Indians, and forced them to sell whatever they had, at the purchaser's price. I noticed that the graves or coffins here, instead of being covered with logs, as farther up the river, were filled in with earth beaten down hard and plastered over with clay. They were larger, rattier more elevated, and painted more after the In- nuit fashion than those farther up on the Yukon. I saw quite a number of clay pots and cups of native manu- facture here. They were mostly large, holding three or four gal- lons, but some were smaller, and one was evidently modelled after Indian pottery. a Russian mug. The common Innuit lamp is also made of clay, and all their pottery is rudely ornamented with lines, dots, and crosses. They are about three quarters of an inch thick, of a dark bluish clay, and were perfectly black from smoke and grease. I would have purchased some of them, but they were so large and so exceedingly dirty that I did not care to put them in the boat. This kind of pottery was formerly universal, but has been super- seded by the kettles of the traders. The pots are made by hand, THE YUKON TERRITORY. 219 and therefore not perfectly round or symmetrical. They are dried in the sun, then baked, and will stand the fire very well. The Innuit name for the pots isAtkusik, for the saucers or lamps Nniiuk, and for the cups hn-oivnn. We left Anvi'k soon after drinking our tea, with Isaac on board. The wind was so high that we could not cross the river, and rain coming on, we soon camped on a small island. The other boats crossed to the other side, and we lost sight of them. Starting from camp, I saw and killed a large sand-hill crane. These birds are plenty on the Lower Yukon. I have seen thousands of them, but never of any color except brown, gray, and fawn color. White ones are unknown, and I doubt the correctness of the theory which considers the white crane of the Mississippi valley and the sand-hill crane to be one species. Tuesday, ()th. — The rain ceasing, we passed down the river and entered a long slough or cut-off. Near noon we stopped and took tea. Soon after, we came to an Ingalik camp where they were making birch canoes. The birches of the Lower Ingaliks are very different from those of the Upper Yukon Indians. The IiiKalik birch canoe. rough waters of the broad river need a stronger canoe than those used by the Kutchin tribes. Everything is carefully carved and smoothed. The frame is stout and strong, and ornamented with red paint. The bark is shaped over a mound of the e.\act size of the proposed canoe, and sewed with spruce roots. The cut rep- resents the canoe before the gum is placed over the sewing. The paddles are lance-shaped, small and slender, and ornamented with the most fantastic figures, in red, black, and green. I ex- pressed a desire to see the green pigment, and one of the Indians produced some. It was a sort of fungus (/Vr/.c^z) or mould, which j)enetrates decayed birch wood and colors it a deep bluc-grcen. I bought a small model of a canoe, from which the above figure is drawn. There were seven large canoes nearly finished, and several in process of manufacture. The Ingaliks take fleets of I 1} if ^\ *' 'I' M !':• \ i' ii Ml i ' IP II^J,P««I,PIII llp 220 THE YUKON TERRITORY. /I !' I Kv, In 'T M these new canoes clown to the delta in the fall, and trade them to the river Innuit for oil, ivory, boot-soles, and other articles, Isaac expressed a great desire to take one of the little model canoes to his baby, and I bought one for him, to his great delight. We also purchased some fish and berries, and went on our way. We passed a large winter village between two hills, known to the Russians as the Murderer's Village. Crossing the Yukon about three o'clock, we came to the southern entrance of the Shagcluk slough. Ascending a little way, we reached the Leather Village of the Russians. This is a large Ingalik summer village, the inhabitants in winter living at the last-mentioned settlement. Here we saw the cotton tents of the Mahlemut camp near the Indian houses. Isaac's wife stood on the bank, holding the baby, which crowed and exhibited all its infantile joy at seeing its father, who still further delighted this jaromising member of the family by producing the toy canoe. We left the boat in the water, and took only our tent, cooking utensils, and blankets ashore, as the number of natives was so great that I thought it the safest way, especially as these Indians have a reputation for stealing. Leaving one man on the watch, I strolled into the village. The amount of food collected here was almost inconceivable. Large stages were groaning beneath the weight offish, caught and dried the previous season. Long lines were strung with fresh white-fish, drying in the sun. Rows of caches full of dry fish, meat, fat, and skins of oil, showed that hunger need not exist in this favored locality. The fresh meat of three or four moose, just killed, was lying in one pile ; another contained the haunches and shoulders of ten deer. Every few minutes a canoe half full of fresh white-fish would arrive from the fish-traps, and in no part of the Indian country have I ever seen food so plentiful and so easily obtained. I was informed that the natives had quite a trade with those from other places, who came to buy I'lkali in the winter and spring. The summer houses were large and well built. The walls even of the caches were thick, and in many cases pierced with loop- holes for guns. There were but few dogs about, and I noticed a large white-breasted thrush tied by the leg, and apparently quite tame. I tried to buy the bird, which I had not seen elsewhere, but the owner could not be found. The Indians told me that c ! THE YUKON TERKITORV. 221 Teleczliik, the old Russian interpreter, had been there the previous day, and was now trading; for furs farther up the Sh;igehili. I re- turned to my tent, and bought a lot of fresh meat and some fat. Isaac came up and said that his brother hail come with him, and had a little liquor which he had bought of the traders, but not enough to make a " good drunk." " Now," saitl he " we want you to sell us your whiskey, and we will pay you well for it, with furs or anything you want." During my absence the rascals had dis- covered a can of alcoholic specimens in the boat, and supposed it was whiskey. I told him that I wanted it myself, that it was not good to drink, &c., but he went away very sulky. The Mahle- muts, male and female, now dressed themselves in the n-^nv fur clotli i'g which they had brought to sell. Old Abraham, Isaac's father, commenced drumming, and the rest .soon began one of their characteristic dances. Those who did not dance raised the old "Ung-hi-yah" chorus and kept time, clapping their hands. It was a sight to remember. Ten or fifteen clean, handsome, stal- wart Innuit, going through the graceful gesticulations of their national dance, dressed in new and handsomely trimmed parkies of every variety of skin, — with the tall poplars and spruce for a backgi'.und, a fire on one side, and above the genial twilight of the Cliz'^c night. Their wild chorus added to the charm of the scene. Around them in a wide oval were huddled the well-fed but filthy Indians. Their skin clothing was hairless from long use, and while almost dropping off them from decay, glistened with vermin. Degradation, filth, stupidity, fear, and wonder marked their features. The meanest of the Innuit far surpassed the best of them in strength and manliness. Their miserable condition was due in great measure to their sedentary habits, constant fish diet, and natural indolence. Very few had guns at all, and those which they did have were old, worn out, and nearly worthless. The Ingaliks who live farther up the Shdgeluk arc said to be more intelligent and active, probably because they sub- sist on the deer and moose which they are obliged to hunt. Af- ter the jMahlemuts had concluded their dance they distributed tobacco in small pieces to the bystanders. I repaired to my tent, took supper, and putting the alcohol-can, for safety, into the tent, lay down to rest. I had not got asleep, when I heard something crash against the tent-pins, breaking down two of them. At the if I i \ I 222 THE YUKON TERRITORY. m li. hi-' same time, Kuri'lla shouted to me from outside that the Mahle- muts were after the alcohol. I shouted back to look sharp, as they would not get it while I had a loaded gi n. I pulled on my boots, seized my revolver, which lay by my head, and threw back the flap of the tent. There stood a Mahlemut with his hand on the trigger, and the muzzle of his gun about two feet from my breast. At the same moment, Kurilla's long arm jerked the gun from his hands, and flung it far away among the bushes. I stepped out of the tent, and the Mahlemuts slunk away with- out a word. They were intoxicated, having drunk the liquor of which Isaac had spoken. The In;uans had hidden themselves, while my men, guns in hand, stood near the tent. If the Mahle- muts had been sober, they would not have b^ihaved so. It was a narrow escape, which I hardly realized at the time. The in- truders retired to their tents, seeing us armed and ready for any- thing. The Indians now mustered courage enough to come out, and the chief came to mc and begged me, with many bows and deprecatory gestures, to remove my camp, as he was afraid there would be trouble yet. " You know these Innuit are so very bad, so horribly bad, such beasts, worse than dogs," said he, al- most with tears in his eyes. No doubt he was thinking of the miserable gun which they had just given him for twenty fine marten skins, which he dared not refuse them. I consulted with Kurilla, and then told the '^hief that we would move our camp to the island in the middle of the river, and if any one wished to trade meat or fur they would find us there. The tent and other traps were thrown into the boat, and we pulled across a very swift curi-ent to the island. Just as we hauled up the boat, Kurilla shot a swan who was sailirg slowly overhead, and taking the little canoe, he started do'.vn stream alter it. Some Indians came over with beaver skins and tails, which I purchased ; and I hired one of them to act as sentinel during the night, with a good fire to keep off the mosquitoes. When Kiu-i'lla returned we gave our watch- man the swan to pick, to keep him awake, and turning in, were soon lost \,\ slunil)er. ]Vt'tiiics(/(tj', \ot/i. — We pushed out into the rapid current very early in the di.y, while we saw nothing more of our Innuit friends, who were probably sleeping off their headaches. We ]nilled hard, lioping 'o reach the Mission before night. We pass ;d a village II v/ THE YUKON TERRITORY. 223 of two houses, called Manki, interesting principally as being the most inland Innuit village on the Yukon. The difference of stock was apparent only from the countenances of the natives and the dialect which they spoke. The latter exhibited no signs of any mixture of Indian words. It was quite incomjirehensible to my men, who had been able to conver.se freely at the last vil- lage. I could understand only a few words, which resembleil the Mahlemut, though the grammatical construction was the same as that of the other Innuit dialect.s. These natives belong to the Ekogmut (sometimes called Ki^'iklipagviut) tribe, and are known First Premo'^k.i village. to the Russians as Pir-morski, or " dwellers near the sea." They extend to the seaboard, on both sides of the river. Tluir habits in general are similar to those of the coast Iniuiit already de- scribed, but are a little modified by their situatiun on a river, which presents some conditions whicli do not ol)tain on the sea- shore. Tlu'v are at peace witii the adjacent Indians, probably as much because both are miserable cowards, as from any other reason. As we saiU'd ilown the rivi'r, an old fellow in a small bidarni came out from a river which entered the Yukon horn tin; west, ■ \ \ 1 " ''" 1^ \ ' !^^ ■ ! fi n '\ 1 ,(, ! I ;il' j.r: IP I -t 'S i ill; '1 1 ! ; 1 I n LM ii li t 224 THE YUKON TERRITORY. and brou!i -ill 226 THE YUKON TERRITORY. / ; t Tlmrsday, nth. — After collecting a few plants, among which were the blossoms of black and red currants, we pushed off on our way to the Mission. The trees had already become less abundant, especially on the right bank. The latter was pretty high in many places, and trachytic rocks were observed. In some places the river is exceedingly wide, and once or twice, when we were in the current close to the right bank, the left bank was quite invisible. A broad, smooth sheet of water stretched to the west, undisturbed by any ripples, and not broken by islands or dry sand-bars. The scene strongly impressed upon the observer the majesty of the great river upon which we were travelling. About ten o'clock the basaltic rocks indicated the proximity of the Mission, and hoisting the American flag and that of the Scientific Corps, we rounded a point, and the build- ings came into view. The water near the shore was shallow, and we had some difficulty in hauling in our heavily loaded boat. We fired a gun, and were saluted in return by the Rus- sians. We found that the missionary of the Greek Church in the District of St. Michael's (commonly known to the Russians as the Pope) was on the point of starting for the Redoubt. He had dismantled the church of everything valuable, and had nailed up the door. At his request I took an inventory of the houses and articles of furniture he left behind, as he hoped to sell them to the Americans when they arrived. He then applied for med- ical advice, and gave a lengthy description of his personal mis- eries, which were all clearly referrible to an undue indulgence in alcoholic stimulants. This, I believe, in the Greek Church is not considered to detract from the holiness of its ecclesiastics. All of those I have met with in Alaska and Kamchatka were inveterate topers. He told me that he had been seven years a missionary on the Yukon, and that he thanked God that he now had an opportunity of returning to Russia, where a glass of rum might be had for twenty-five ko])eks (five cents). I cautioned him against iMiriuiii tiriiwiis, and bade him good by. His Creole servant, who accompanied him to St. Michael's, had a very pretty wife, and I doubted if something more than a fatlierly benediction did not lurk in the kiss Father Larriown gave her just before he embarked. hi ^(1 THE YUKON TERRITORY. 227 The other Russians at the Mission were Milavanoflf the bidar- shik, and Goldsen, who had been acting as secretary. Mila- vanoff was a good trader, but an invalid from liver complaint, which is common among the Russians in this country. He gave me a good supply of bread, as my own was nearly exhausted, and I made him a present of my Derringer, to which he had taken a fancy. I was sorry to find that I could not get an interpreter here, as the Innuit dialect of the delta was incomprehensible to all of our party. The buildings at the Mission, except a new house of Milavanoft''s and one belonging to the Pope, are very rotten and miserable. The place is a very unhealthy one. It is situated between two hills which shelter it completely from the wind. Several pools of stagnant water are close by. The In- dian village is very filthy, and their refuse from fish and other matters is everywhere scattered about. I counted si.\ dead dogs among the bushes, and close to the houses there is a large number of graves, both Russian and native. Some of the latter were curious, and were fur- nished with the baluster-like sup- ports before mentioned. We emptied our boat, turned her over, gave her a good oiling, and left her to dry. This is imperatively necessary when travel- ling in skin boats, and .should be done at least once in ten days, if possible. We all took a good steam bath, which was a great lu.xury. Once, farther up the Yukon, I had tried the experiment of bathing in the river, but the water was .so cold that only a single plunge was endurable. In this part of the river the water is so muddy that it adds nothing to one's cleanliness to bathe in it. Friday, \2tl1. — After securing a number of specimens, grind- ing our a.xes, and performing a variety of similar small jobs, we again j)roceede(l on our way. Just below the Mission we saw a native attacking a beaver with one of their bone tridents. Ku- rilla started to his assistance, in the canoe, with his gun ; after a little while they returned, and I bouglit the animal, as it lay, for three bunches of Circassian tobacco. We kept on all night, as ICkogmut grave. \ \ ^J \ \' \ i i.V ^1 m ■■ \ ■t \ 1^1 'ft m 1 n \ i:! I! a I 228 THE YUKON TERRITORY. .• ,^;> the air is cooler than in the clay, and there is no darkness, though the sun goes a little below the horizon. No stars were visible all night. Saturday, \yli. — About midnight we rounded the Great IJend. Here we met the head-wind blowing in our teeth with redoubled force. For all the use they had been, so for, we might as well have left the mast and sail at NuUito. At the l^end we found a camp of natives who were waiting for the wind to subside. They had nothing for .sale except a few mink and some eggs. I bought some swan's eggs for scientific purposes, and also a bow of the kind in use in the Yukon delta. These bows are made of spruce, which has little elasticity when dry, and is very liable to break. To remedy this defect the bow is bound with cord."! twisted from deer sinew, as shown in the annexed figure. This gives it great ((| r ia=: -51 rSfc 1 M Kkoi;imit bow. Strength, and overcomes the briliicness of the wood. We took tea in a slough, and about noon stopped at a village where the inhab- itants were engaged in fishing. It is only by personal inspection of such a village that any one can obtain an adequate idea of the immense quantity of fish which is annually caught and dried on the Lower Yukon. Several acres of ground in front of the sum- mer houses were literally covered with standards and stages bear- ing line after line of fish, split and hung u]) to dry. The odor is borne to a great distance by the wind. The dogs, children, and other inhabitants of the village, during the fishing-season, recall the old lines, — "Jcslninin he \va.\r(l fat. And down liis clieek.s they luinj^ ! " while the long rows of caches are crammed with provisions for the winter. This condition of things holds good as far as Anvi'k. Beyond that point the fish are scarcer, and, as previously related, Nulato is far from fiu-nishing food of any kind in plenty. In the foreground the dilferent parts of fish-traps were lying, in readi- b V ; i .;ii ''I; •* ": :.»* . itti ■ w f' } 1 1 W I hi: ,te i I) 1 1, ih ;:u 1 :i I i II I THE YUKON TERRITORY. 229 ness to repair any damage, or put down a new trap, if the water fell so as to render it necessary. Here some men were emptying the fish out of a basket, and there others were returning with a canoe-load of salmon from some distant zapor. We bought a few whitefish, and some mink. I saw two red fox cubs with collars, tied to stakes in some of the houses. These were apparently intended to amuse the children. We then departed, and finally camped on a sand-bar which was literally alive with wild fowl. We were now getting into the region where they abound, during the spring and summer, in myriads. The report of a gun will often raise such immense flocks of geese as literally to darken the air ; sometimes a flock will be four or five miles long, and two or three rods wide, flying as close together as they can with safety. Swans whitened the surface of several lagoons, and from them down to the tiniest snipe, not weighing more than an ounce, every kind of wild fowl abounded in pro- fusion. Their eggs were scattered over the sand-bars, and a hatful could be obtained on any beach. On attempting to empty the swan's-eggs which I had purchased the day before, by means of a blow-pipe, they resisted all my efforts. On breaking them, what was my surprise at finding that they had been hard boiled by the natives, to keep them from spoiling ! The real work of the season had been well commenced at Nulato, but partially suspended since we left, as we had procured but few birds new to the collection, since leaving that point. Now I iiad my hands full, and leaving the task of navigating to Kuri'lla, I was constantly occupied skinning the birds which we obtained at every turn. I passed many a night without getting an hour's sleep, in order that rare birds might be preserved ; and the work of preparing birdskins is anything but a pleasant one. The results to be obtained for natural history were so great, that it was impossible to grudge a moment of time so spent, or to neglect any opi)ortunity of ackling to the note-book or the collection. Sunday, \/^t/i. — Passed the Rasbinik village, where I bought a marten-skin and a haunch of reindeer meat. The natives here always cut a small piece off every skin after selling it, for luck as they say. Toward night we reached the village of Starry (old) Kwikhpak. Here I found a man named \'aska, who hatl been interpreter at Andreafifsky. I explained to him that I wished to u (I li ij •!H .-.M'.i 1m ^!' ■ f 230 THE YUKON TERRITORY visit the Kusilvak Slough, and obtain eggs and skins of the beautiful emperor goose i^Cldocphaga axnagica), which breeds in abundance there, and there only. He could not go himself, but obtained a boy who knew the way, and explained to him what I wanted. The village was full of fresh skins of the reindeer fawn. I counted a thousand and seventy-two bunches hanging up to dry. Each bunch contained four skins, or enough to make a parka. This would give a total of nearly four thousand three hundred of these little creatures, which had been killed during the past two months. The village contained a great deal of dry meat and fish, but the inhabitants were squalid and dirty. I saw ,1 I m Aiulreaffsky. a tame owl sitting on one of the rafters, and a few marten-skins were hanging on a cache. I bought an otter-skin of the finest quality, for four bunches of Circassian tobacco. Not wishing to camp in such a dirty place, we proceeded a little way down the river with our guide, and camped. Monday, IS///. — While collecting in the morning, I found cow- slips in blos.som on the marshes, and obtained the eggs of the beautiful white-winged gull. The long-continued and never-tir- ing head-wind was stronger than usual this morning. To avoid it, we entered a long slough, where we took tea, and I collected many yellow butterflies {Picris vctiosa Scud.), the only species h THE YUKON TKRRITORV. 231 which I noticed un the Yukon near the sea. About one o'clock we emerged from the slough, and ,it this point killed several geese. The waves were very high, and after an hour's hard pull- ing we passed the mouth of the INIilavanoff River, and finally reached Andreaffsky Fort. It vas quite deserted. The solitary fort, with the window.^ all nailed up, the bare hills, and cloudy sky, made the place seem more lonely and dreary than ever. We hauled up the boat, and boiled the chynik, and rested until the wind should abate a little. Andreaffsky was built in the form of a square, the buildings making two of the sides, and a stockade the other two. It con- tained barracks, a store, magazine, cook-house and bath-house. It was erected about the year 1853. In 1855 it was the scene of a mournful tragedy. There was formerly an Ekognuit village near the fort. Several of the natives were workmen at the fort. No trouble had ever occurred. Several of the garrison had gone up to Nulato with the annual provision-boat, and only the bidar- shik and one Russian, besides th ■ native workmen, were left in the fort. One Friday in August, the natives attacked the Russians as they came naked out of the bath, and killed them with clubs and knives. A Creole boy escaped to the hills, and finally crossed the portage to the vicinity of St. Michael's. When he reached that point the Uprovah'sha was away, and his secretary, Ivan Kogen- ikotf, was acting in his stead. The Russians had long murmured at the conduct of the Com- pany, in leaving unavenged the Nulato massacre. The oppor- tunity of settling accounts with the natives was too tempting to resist. Kogenikoff and Gregory Ivanhoff, with two Creoles, immediately started for the fort. On reaching it they found everything in confusion. The dead bodies lay at the tloor of the bath-house. The natives, not knowing how to use flour, had merely carried off the sacks. They had also ripped open the beds, and carried away the ticking, while the mass of flour and feathers was left on the floor. After satisfying them- selves that there was no living thing in the fort, the Russians started for the village, which was about a mile otf. As they ap- proached, Kogenikoff saw a man standing in the door of one of the houses and pointing a gun at the approaching partv. It after- ward turned out that the gun had no lock ; but not knowing this, i! ill U J M r > ir m r, J' I' J\ let- iiJ I: ^' .i^''^' •i ! i 232 THE YUKON TERRITORY. the Russians fired, and killed the man. The natives, who were few in number, came rushing out, and were shot down without mercy. The Creoles, who, when aroused, have all the ferocity of the aboriginal savage, attacked the shaman and beat out his brains with clubs. None were spared. The blood shed at the fort was not yet dry, and the infuriated Russians resolved that the authors of that cowardly outrage should be e.\terminated without mercy. When they stayed their hands the work was done. Fathers, mothers, and children had passed their " evil quarter of an hour." The result was wonderful. From that day to this not a native on the Lower Yukon has lifted his hand against the whites. The bloody lesson was not thrown away. The strong hand, which alone commands the respect of savages, was worth a thousand missionaries. To this day the natives trav- elling on the river near the fort pass by on the other side. Large quantities of tobacco and other property, stolen from the fort, were found in the village. Around the necks of most of the dead, crosses were found hanging, indicating that the thieves and mur- derers were baptized converts of the Yukon Mission. The only articles remaining in the fort at the time of our visit were three si.x-pounders, and some old iron. Toward evening, though the river was still very rough, we embarked, and by keep- ing close to the bank managed to travel several miles farther. The white dome of the Kusilvak mountain loomed up grandly to the southwest. Ju'^— The Ef^peror noose. The following day and ihe one after that were spent much in th.e '^■•ne way. I was busy preserving and packing the skins, while the Indians were constantly out gnnniiig. Sid(>rka added another goose to my collection, and I ol)t,aim'(l near the hou.se several rairs, and also the eggs of a curlew (Liinosa itiopye^i- alis) not previously found on the American <-ontiiient. On Mon- day, Kurilla heated the bath room, and a.' all took a steam bath. In the evening about half p,.st eleven that nld \eicran Telee/.hik arrived from the Sh;igeluk with a l.oat-load of furs. lie would only stop to drink ti:a, however, and with his two companions pushed on to Pasliilik. He had obtained about a thousand martens. ■!l ■ 1 <* .*H ' H p^iiHpj IV im 236 THE YUKON TERRITOKV. !•:! i: 11' J!' Tuesday, 2yi. — After packing up all the collections, 1 con- cluded to follow Teleezhik to Pastolik. We arrived theic saK.l\-, and had hardly landed our cargo before a strong head-wiml sprang up, so that we had been just in time. l*ast(')lik is a Una- leet village of some thirty huts, mostly built of turf and driftwood. Just now it was without inhabitants. It is situated on the shore of a wide inlet, into which the l'ast()lik River empties. Tin; mouth of this inlet is nearly closed by a l)ar which is almost dry at low tide. Inside of the bar there are deep places, and here a beluga fishery is carried on in the month of August. The beluga is a small white whale, allied to the sperm whale and ])orpoi.se. They come into the shallow water to breed, and are prevented from getting out of the inlet by the bar. When the tide falls, the natives in their kyaks attack them with lances, and large num- bers are killed. The flesh is eaten, and the blubber and oil pre- served for trade and winter usl-. The length of tiiese animals seldom exceeds fifteen feel, and a large one will weigh about two thousand pounds. 1 counted eighty skulls lying about tin; Iuil>;, the remains of the fishery of the previous year. The teeth oi the being; I are 01 th con Istency of ivory, and are e.xlensivel}' use by the Iniuiit in making small carvings, liirds, seal, deer, a nd )th er animals are imitated with some s ^kiU by th many articles of use and oinament are made by the e nativi ami m ii'oiii i\'or\'. Th e previous year, on ou r arrival from NiiliUo, I purchasei large number of these articles. An awl or bodkin is here repre- ivniy lliulkin. sented. The larger articles of ivorv are made fiom w;iliiis tusk<, which aic obtained by trade with the natives ot' llic iiorthi 111 coast. In July and September a se.d fishery, similar i>i thai at Kegiktowriik, is carried on hire, and many are secured in n( I ■ These nets are exceedingly strong, and arc made from remni, Sriiii nil. Ill- with a peculiar medic, which is here rcpresen t. .1. I miuit \i 11 ii THE YUKON TKKRITORV. ■0/ women are extremely expert at this kind of work. I am informed that with similar nets, durinj^ the moultini; season, they secin-e large numbers of wild fowl and also many arctie hares in the fall. During the moulting season they obtain many skins of the dift'er- ent species of divers, by driving them into shallow water where they cannot dive, and spearing them with bone tridents. Of these skins they make parkies and other articles of clothing, some of which are very tasteful. The Innuit have also a custom of making, on flat pieces of bone, rude drawings of animals, hunting parties, and similar things. M I INNUIT DRAWINGS UN DONE. v^^^^^^ ^ Spearing geesu. Waives alter deer. '^^ Iiinuit ilaticc. nii M % Dier luiiitini;. These drawings are analogous lo those discovered in France in the caves of iJordogne, and the jireceding sketch of ihe drawings on either side of two bom: knives illustrates their general character. I have seen an ivory bow, used in conni'ction witii a (hill, and made of an entire walrus tusk, whicli had di.'picted on each of the four sides every pursuit folK.-weil by the Iniuiil from birtii Id interment, These fai Is have a peculiar interest as showing some similarity between the customs of tiie [)rescnt Orarian tribes III m I •1 ft h ' il ; / ^ li I'. £1- «i III I' I ^1 i l!^ I < ( 2.^.8 THE YUKON TERKITURV. and those of the ancient European cave-dwellers. Similar draw- ings are common everywhere among the Iiiniiit, while I have never seen among the Tinneh tribes of the northwest any similar specimens of art. Some of the Innuit tribes to the southward exhibit much more ingenuity in such matters than those of Nor- ton Sound and the vicinity. Hack of rast<)lik are extensive marshes bounded by the low range of the PastcSlik Hills, while at their foot the Pastoliak River flows, emptying into I'astol Hay. These marshes are the favorite haunts of myriads of wild fowl. Wednesday, 24///. — This morning an unexpected misfortune occurred. The strong west wind rai.scd the water so high that it not only invaded our tent near the shore, but surrounded the boxes of birdskins before we became aware of it, and I was obliged to empty them, unpack every individual .specimen, and dry it in the sun. This was fortunately accomplished and the speci- mens repacked, when clouds came u]) and it began to rain. I'"rom the marshes my Indians obtained many fine birds and eggs, including several specimens of the exquisite Sabine's gull {Xema Sabiiiii), and a pair of Emperor geese. This is nearly the most northern point reached by the latter species. A solitary native arrived in a kyak at night, and reported others on the way. I picked up near the village a large portion of the skull of the extinct elephant {F.lcplias prii)iii:;ciniis). These bones are not so common as the teeth and tusks, being fanul on the surface only, and usually much decayed ; whde the bones of the musk-ox and fossil buffalo found in the same situations are much better preserved, and sometimes retain some of the ani- mal matter in the bone. The natives have no tradition of any other large animal tli.nn \\\v reiniiccr and moose, and regard the elephant and musk-ox bones as the remains of dead " devils." The tusks are not so well [)reserved as those found in Siberia, which are usually buried in the earth. The former are black- ened, split, and weathered, and conlain little ivory in a stali: fit for use, though the Innuit of the Arctic coast occasionally 'i\w\ them in such preservation that they make kantags or dishes of the ivory, according to Simpson. On Friday, Cioldsen arrived in a three-holed bidarka with his son ami an Innuit lad. He reported that Milavanotf was at Kutiik. THE YUKON TERRITORY, 239 — w? m i H Saturday, 2'jtli. — The wind being nearly fair, all hands loaded up, and we started for the Redoubt. I had hoped to get a larger boat at Pastolik, fearing to trust my little bidarni to the waves of the open sea, but there were neither boats nor natives at hand. We sailed well, and soon outstripped Teleezhik, though the nim- ble bidarka led the Heet. We drank tea on the shore, about ten miles from Pastolik, and then pushed on toward Point Roma- noff. Goldsen arrived at this point some time ahead of us, as it had become quite calm. On reaching the village, near the solitary hill which marks the point (which is the Cape Shallow Water of Cook), I was about to land, when Cioldsen cried out to me, "Hurry up I Mr. Doctor, don't stop for a moment, there are two American ves- sels at the Redoubt I " My joy and excitement can hardly be described. Our ignorance of any details only added to it. The news was obtained through a native who had been to the Canal, and had only .seen the vessels. I immediately proposed to Gold- sen to put his native into the bidarra, while one of my Indians would take the other paddle, and I would accompany him in the swifter bidarka to the Redoubt. This arrangement was soon completed, and I left Kun'lla to i)ring the bidarra to .St. Michael's. We touched at Pikmiktalik, and entering the Canal took tea on the bank. While the chynik was boiling I took a bath in one of the lagoons, and otherwise prepared myself to meet civilized beings once more. After tea we pulled vigorously all night. Sunday, 2>> "^V- o'^ •'*.'■ 6^ 246 THE YUKON TERRITORY ffi M '*.■■: Id ! r Ogilvie, D.L.S., was intrusted with the conduct of instrumental measurement, and the astronomical work in connection with the determination of the position of the 141st meridian. We left Ottawa on the 22nd of April, 1887, travelling by the Canadian Pacific Railway to Victoria, and reached Wrangell, at the mouth of the Stikine River, where our work was practically begun on the 18th of May. Here Mr. McConnell stayed behind, for the purpose of getting Indians and canoes to enable him to make a micrometer survey of the Stikine from the end of the line measured by Mr. J. Hunter in 1877, to Telegraph Creek, while I proceeded up the river by the first steamer of the season to Telegraph Creek, the head of naviga- tion. From thence, goods are carried by pack animals to Dease Lake, the centre of the Cassiar mining district. On June 5th, we reached the head of Dease Lake, and found the greater part of the lake still covered with ice. It was not until the 9th thut v,e were able to reach the point on the shore near Laketon at which two men, previously sent on in advance with an Indian packer, were sawing lumber for boats. Seven days were employed in this work and in constructing three boats. On the evening of the i6th, a strong wind having broken up the remaining barrier of ice, we reached Laketon with our boats, Mr. iucConnell, with a crew of five Coast Indians intended for my work on the Upper Liard, having meanwhile joined us. On the i8th we started, and on the 23rd reached the " Lower Post " at the confluence of the Dease and Liard Rivers. Here Mr. McConnell, with one boat and two men, separated from us for the purpose of surveying and geologically examining the Lower Liard. On leaving the confluence of the Dease and Liard, my own party included, besides myself, Mr. McEvoy, Messrs. L. Lewis and D. Johnson, engaged at Victoria, two Tshimsian and three Stikine (Thlinkit) Indians, all good boatmen. Two local Indians hired as guides, and to help in portaging, deserted a day or two after engaging ; and from the " Lower Post " to near the confluence of the Pelly and Lewes, for an interval of more than six weeks, we met neither whites nor Indians. The ascent of the Liard and I'rances rivers to Frances Lake proved unexpectedly difficult and tedious, the rivers being swift THE YUKON TERRirOiiY ?47 throughout and three bad canons having to be passed through. Frances Lake was reached on the 8th of July, and after spending a few days in examining a'-.d mapping the hike, making the observations necessary to fix its position, and in the endeavour to find some Indian trail by which we might travel across to the Pelly, we began the work of portaging on the 17th. As we had been unable to discover any route now in use by the Indians, and no trace remained of the trail employed by the Hudson Bay Company in former years ; and as no I(x:al Indians could be found to act as guides or to assist in carrying our stuff, it was evident that the crossing cjf this portage (which had been estimated by Mr. Campbell at about 70 miles in length) would be a difficult matter, and that we might indeed find it impossible to carry over a sufficient supply of provisions for work on the Pelly. We therefore constructed a strong log ak/ic on the shore of Frances Lake, and left there everything we could possibly dispense with, to be taken to Uease Lake by the Indians when they returned. Had we been unable to effect the portage, there was in our ak/w a sufficient supply of provisions to enable the whole party to return to the " Lower Post." We were, however, so fortunate as to reach the bank of the Upper Pelly on the 29th of July, with still nearly a month's provisions for four persons, our instruments and a small camping outfit, a canvas cover from which a canoe might be constructed, and the tools and nails for building a wooden boat, should that prove to be necessary. Our Indians were paid off here, and to their great delight allowed to turn back. As a dangerous rapid was reported to exist on the upper part of the Pelly, it was deeidid to construct a canvas canoe in preference to building a boat, which it might prove impossible to portage past the rapid. Having completed the canoe, we descended the Pi-lly, and arrivetl at the rontluence of the Lewes branch with the Upper Pelly on the nth of August. At the mouth of the Lewes we had now reached the line of route which is used by the miners, and I'xpected to rnui a picai ranged memorandum from Mr. Ogilvie, from wIkjiu we had separated in May. As we did not find any such notice, and as Mr. Ogilvie had not been seen on the lower river by a party of miners whom we met here on their way up the Lewes, we were n 2 III 111 ' i» uH : 1 ; M \m f mU f; iKm ^/ ] B ' R rii 248 THE YUKON TERRITORY forced to conclude that he had not yet reached this point. We were also told that Harper's trading post, where I had hoped to be able to get an additional supply of provisions should we fail to come up with Mr. Ogilvie, had been moved from the mouth of the Stewart to Forty-mile Creek. From the place where we now were we still had a journey of nearly 400 miles to the coast, with the swift waters of the Lewes to contend against for the greater part of the distance. If therefore it should have become necessary to go down stream 200 miles to Forty-mile Creek for provisions, so much would have been added to our up-stream journey that it would become doubtful whether we should be able to afford time for geological work on the Lewes, and yet reach the coast before the smaller lakes near the mountains were fro;5en over. I therefore decided to set about the building of another boat, suitable for the ascent of the Lewes, and on the second day after we had begun work, Mr. Ogilvie very opportunely appeared. After having completed our boat and obtained Mr. Ogilvie's preliminary report and map-sheets, together with the necessary provisions, we began the ascent of the Lewes, and from its head-waters we crossed the mountains by the Chilkoot Pass and reached the coast at the head of Lynn Canal on the 20th September. In addition to the physical obstacles to be encountered on the long route above outlined, some anxiety was caused by reported Indian troubles on the Yukon. On reaching the mouth of the Lewes we ascertained that the story was entirely false, but it had none the less kept us in a state of watchfulness during a great part of the summer. The entire distance travelled by us during the exploration amounts to 1322 miles. This, taken in coimection with the coast-line between the Stikine and Lynn Canal, circumscribes an area of about 63,200 square miles, the interior being, even yet, but for the accounts of a few prospectors and reports of Indians, terra incognita. The same description, with little qualihcation, applies to the whole surrounding region outside the surveyed circuit, but much general information concerning the country has been obtained. The region traversed by the routes just mentioned, including THE YUKON TERI<[TORY 249 the extreme northern part of British Columbia and the southern part of the Yukon district (as previously defined), is drained by three great river systems, its waters reachinjT the Pacific by the Stikine, the Mackenzie, (and eventually the Arctic Ocean,) by the Liard, and Behrinj;; Sea, by the Yukon. The south-eastern part of the region is divided between the two first-named rivers whose tributary streams interlock, the Stikine making its way completely through the Coast Ranges in a south-westerly direction, while the Liard, on a north-easterly bearing, cuts across the Rocky Mountains to the Mackenzie valley. The watershed separating these rivers near Dease Lake has a height of 2730 feet, and both streams may be generally characterized as very rapid. To the north-westward, branches of the Stikine and Liard again interlock with the head-waters of several tributaries of the Yukon, which here unwater the entire great area enclosed on one side by the Coast Ranges, on the other by the Rocky Mountains. The actual watershed, between the Liard and Pelly, on our line of route, was found to have an elevation of 3150 feet, but it is, no doubt, much lower in the central portion of the region between the Rocky Mountains and Coast Ranges. To the north of the Stikine, at least one other river, the Takii. also cuts completely across the Coast Ranges, but its ])asin is comparatively restricted and little is yet known of it. It will be noticed, that while the several branches of the Yukon conform in a general way to the main orographic axes, the Stikine and Liard appear to be to a large degree independent of these, and to How counter to the direction of three mountain ranges. The region, being a portion of the Cordillera belt of thi; west coast, is naturally mountainous, but it comprises as well important areas of merely hilly or gently rolling country, besides many wide, flat-bottomed river-valleys. Higher in its south-eastern part — that drained by the Stikini- and Liard — it subsides gradually, and apparently uniformly, to the north-westward ; the mountains at the same time becoming more isolated, and being separated by broader tracts of low land. The general base-level, or height v)f thi' main valleys, within the Coast Ranges, thus declines from about 2500 feet, to nearly 1500 feet at the confluence of the Lewes .■I i 250 THE YUKON TERRITORY in ! M .iii and Pelly rivers, and the average base-level of the entire region may be stated as being a little over 2000 feet. The Coast Ranges, with an aggregate average width of about eighty miles, closely set with high, rounded or rugged mountains, constitute the most important orographic uplift in the entire region, and reproduce geographically and geologically the characteristic features of the more southern portion of British Columbia. Beyond the vicinity of Lynn Canal, this mountain axis runs behind the St. Elias Alps, ceasing to be the continental border, and may be said to be entirely unknown, as any indications of mountains which have appeared on this part of the map are purely conjectural. Notwithstanding the great width of the Coast Ranges, it is not known that any of their constituent mountains attain very notable altitudes, but it is probable that a great number of the peaks exceed a height of 8000 feet. These ranges are composed of numerous mountain ridges, not always uniform in direction, and, so far as has been observed, no single dominant range can be traced for any considerable distance. The mountain axis next in importance to that of the Coast Ranges forms the water-parting between the Upper Liard and Yukon on one side, and the feeder of the main Mackenzie River on the other. This represents the north- western continuation of the Rocky Mountains proper. Its eastern ridges were touched on during the exploration in the vicinity of Frances Lake and the head-waters of the Pelly River, and are there designated on the map as the Tootsho Range. This forms, so far as has been ascertained, the culminating range of a number of more or less exactly parallel ridges, and certain summits attain heights of from 7000 to gcoo feet. A third notable mountain axis, which I have designated on the map as the Cassiar Range, is cut through by the Dease River in its upper course, and further to the north-westward appears to form the line of water-parting between the tributaries of the Upper Liard and those of the branches of the Yukon. Peaks near the Dease, in this range, somewhat exceed 7000 feet, but the range in a general way becomes lower to the north-westward. In the north-western and less elevated moiety of the region, the mountain ranges and ridges are in general lower and THE YUKON TERRITORY 251 become discontinuous and irregular, or while retaining a general parallelism, assume an overlapping or echelon-like arrangement. In each of these mountain chains granitic rocks appear in greater or less force. In the intervening and subordinate mountain systems of the south-east, granitic axes are not found and do not exist as prominent features. Scarcely anything is known of the character of the country drained by the Macmillan, Stewart and White rivers, but it is probable that the basins of the two first-named streams closely resemble that of the Upper Pelly. Miners who have ascended the Stewart for a hundred miles or more, report the existence of a continuous range of mountains of considerable height, which runs parallel to the river on the north, from a point about fifty miles from its mouth onward. The absence of tributaries of any size along the south-west side of the Lewes below the Tahk-heena, with the general appearance of the country in that direction, so far as it has been overlooked, shows that the basin of the upper portion of the White River must be com- paratively low. Situated as it is within the St. Elias Alps, this country must possess most remarkable features, both geographically and from a climatic point of view, and well deserves exploration. The estuary of the Yukon appears to have been first explored by the Russian, Glasunoff, in 1835 to 1838, and the river was then named by the Russians the Kwikhpak : this name, accord- ing to Mr. W. H. Dall, is in reality that of one of the channels by which it issues to the sea. The lower part of the river, however, continued to be known as the Kwikhpak for a number of years, and it is so called on the (Russian) map of Lieut. Zagoskin, made from reconnaissance surveys which, in 1842-43, he carried up so far as Nowikakat. The mouth of the river is shown on Arrowsmith s map of 1850, but is there nameless. The name Yukon was first applied in 1846 by Mr. J. Hell, of the Hudson Bay Company, who reached the main river by descending the Porcupine, and called it by what he understood to be its Indian appellation. The head-waters of one of the main tributaries of the Yukon had previously been attained by Mr. R. Campbell (also an officer of the Hudson Hay Company) in 1840, and in 1850 he descended the river as far as the mouth 1 252 THE YUKON TERRITORY !,l of the Porcupine, naming the whole river thus traversed the Pelly, and naininj,' also the Lewes, White and Stewart rivers, as well as numerous smaller tributaries. The name Yukon does not appear at all on Arrowsmith'sniap of 1854, that of the Pelly standin},' for the whole length of the river explored by Campbell, but since that date the term Yukon has gradually become applied to the main river. In the United States Coast Survey map dated i.S6g the main river between the Porcupine and Lewes is definitely named the Yukon ; but in the map accompanying Rayinond's official report (1871) this name is again confined to the river below the Porcupine, and the statement is made in the report (p. 21) that from Lake Labarge to I'ort Yukon the rivet is called the Lewes. With respect to the substitution of the name Yukon for that of Pelly on the portion of the river between the Porcupine and Lewes, it is simply a question of well established priority versus use. It is possibly a matter of small importance which shall be employed in future, but no valid excuse can be offered for the attempt to substitute any new name for that either of the Lewes or Pelly above the site of old Fort Selkirk. From the point of view of the physical geographer, and apart from the question of nomenclature, the position of the furthest source of the great Yukon River is, however, an interesting subject of inquiry ; though it may j-et be some years before we are in possession of sufficient information to settle the question definitely. It may be confidently assumed that this point is to be found by following up either the Pelly or the Lewes from their confluence at the site of old Fort Selkirk. The Lewes there carries the greater volume of water, but, draining as it does a considerable length of the humid Coast Ranges, which bear throughout the year great reserves of snow and numerous glaciers, it does not compare on terms of equality with the Upper Pelly, which unwaters a regic^i relatively dry. Whether reckoned by size, or by distance from its mouth, i\\c source of the Lewes must be placed at the head-waters of the Hotilincpi River • explored by Byrnes, of the Telegraph Survey, in approxi- ' The Tes-lin-too occupies the main orographic valley above its confluence with the Lewes, but is smaller than the Lewes and besides doubles back on its course, as is shown on the map. I i ! 'I ^'t THE YUKON TERRITORY 253 mate latitude 59° 10', longitude 132° 40'. In regard to the Pelly, it is not yet absolutely certain that the Pelly proper rises further from the common point at Fort Selkirk than its p^reat branches, the Macmillan and the Ross rivers, but it is highly probable that it will be found to do so. I must confess to havinjj been somewhat disappointed in the si^e of the Pelly or Yukon where we saw it below the con- fluence of the Lewes. The river, when undivided by islands, is about 1700 feet only in width, with a maximum depth scarcely excecdinfj ten feet when at a stage which may be considered as its approximate mean. It appeared to me to be about equal in si;?e and velocity to the Peace River at Dunvcgan : Mr. Ogilvie, who is also familiar with the Peace, concurred in this estimate. Helow this place the river, of course, receives a number of important tributaries, but at any fairly comparable point on the two rivers I believe that the Mackenzie must far exceed the Yukon in volume. Statements which have been made that the Yukon discharges a volume comparable with that of the Mississippi are altogether exaggerated. The numerous large and important rivers by which the Yukon district and the adjacent northern portion of British Columbia are intersected, constitute the principal routes of travel, and during the summer months render inter-communi- cation comparatively easy. The Stikine is navigable by stern- wheel steamers for a distance of 138 miles. This constitutes the travelled route to the Cassiar mining district. A trail was, at one time, opened from Fraser Lake overland to Dease Lake by which cattle were driven through, but of late no travel has occurred on it. The Dease River can scarcely be considered as navigable for steamers, though constituting a fairly good boat route. The Upper Liard and Frances rivers, above the mouth of the Dease, are also passable for large boats, with occasional portages, but not for steamers. The ditViculties of the Lower Liard are, however, such as to render it an undesirable route, even for boats, and scarcely suitable as an avenue of trade between Cassiar and the Mackenzie. Numerous tributary streams in this district may also be ascended by boat or canoe for considerable distances, though with many interruptions from rapids and bad water. ;. f| 254 THE YUKON TERRITORY I, I Communication may easily be established by railway from the mouth of the Stikine to the centre of the Cassiar district and beyond, when such shall be called for ; and it is probable also that this district might, without difficulty, be connected by rail with the more southern portions of British Columbia by one or more routes. Followinpf the river-valleys, by a route practicable for a railway, from Rothsay Point at the mouth of the Stikine to the mouth of the Dease, the distance is found to be 330 miles. Thence to Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie is a further extension of 390 miles, makinp; the total distance by this route, from the Pacific to the navigable waters of the Mackenzie, 720 miles only. Little is yet known of the Taku River, but the Indians ascend it in canoes to a point about eighty miles from the head of Taku Inlet, and Indian trails lead south-eastward from this vicinity to the Tahl-tan, eastward to Tes-lin Lake and north-eastward to the lakes near the head of the Lewes. From what has been ascertained of these, it is probable that it would not be difficult to construct a trail suitable for pack- animals, if not a waggon road, from the vicinity of the head of navigation on the Stikine to the lakes which are connected with the navigable waters of the Lewes. The rivers that drain the Upper Yukon basin have in general lower grades, and afford better navigable water than those above referred to, and are therefore likely to prove of greater importance in connection with the exploration and develop- ment of the country. The distance to which they may be respectively ascended by boat or canoe has been determined in only a few cases as yet. It may, however, be stated that the Yukon is continuously navigable for small steamers from its mouth, on Behring Sea and following the Lewes branch, to Miles Cafion. Thence, after an interruption of about three miles, to the head of Bennett Lake and to an additional considerable, though not precisely determined distance, by the waters extending south- eastward from Tagish Lake. From the site of old Fort Selkirk, the Pelly might be navigated by small steamers of good power to within about fifty miles of the site of old Fort Pelly Banks, and the Macmilla branch is also navigable for a THE YUKON TERRITORY 255 considerable, though not ascertained distance. The same may be said of the Stewart River ; but White River is, so far as known, very swift and shoal. The total length of the waters which may be utilized for navigation by light stern-wheel steamers on the main river and its branches to the east of the 141st meridian of Alaskan boundary, measured in straight lengths of fifty miles, is there- fore at least 1000 miles, and, if the sinuosities of the various streams are followed, would be very much greater. This does not include the Porcupine River, and with the exception of the single break above referred to on the Lewes, forms a connected system. If the upper portion of these rivers, above the first obstacles to such navigation, were incUu'i • the total here given would doubtless be greatly increased. ' At the present moment [188S] but three routes of access to the Yukon district are employed, (i) Tp it of the portage by the Chilkoot Pass from the head of Lynn Can;il to the navig- able *vaters of the Lewes. (2) Thai from P-jel River, near its confluence with the Mackenzie by portage to La Pierre's House on a branch of the Porcupine, (j) Thai from Behring Sea by the main river. The first is almost exclusively used by the miners, the second is employed only by the Hudson Bay Company, and the last is that of the Alaskan traders. ' The date of this report must be borne in mind. I CHAPTER II. P/ M'l ■1 Slern-whet'l slcamcrs im the lower river — The Cliilkoot I'ass inipassuMc for pack animals— White Pass— IiuliaMs and llieir travelled routes — C'limat'c condition of the Coast Ranjjes and the interior— Mean annual teuiperalure — Summer and winter winds — Natural flora of the Yukon dislrict — Its aj;ricultural possiliilitiesand timber — The fauna of the region traversed by the Kxpedition Supply offish in the lakes and rivers — Minerals and deposits of precious metals — Winter climate in the northern district — Dilficulties o( " ipiartz-niinin}; " — Abundance of wood and water — Total aniou.U of gold afforded by the N'ukon dislrict in 1887 — Platinum found — Value of furs — Material resources of the district — Difference in climate between its northern extremity and tlie western and eastern sides — ("ieolo(;y of the southern part of Urilish Columbia — Widtli of belt of granitoid rocks comprising the Coast Ranges and Cliilkoot I'ass — Paleozoic formation of the interior region — Comparison of the position of the granitic axis with dejiosits of placer gold — Clue to the search for auriferous ground — Lithological character of the mountainous region east of Frances Lake and River — Fossil molluscs and plants — Conglomerates and sand-stones of Lake Labarge — Fossil jilants on the Upper I'elly River — Formation of rocks in the valley of the Upper I.iard. i' I ! THERE arc now tlueo small stern -wheel steamers on the lower river, which ascend each year so far as the tradinj:^ post at Forty-mile Creek, bringinj,' the f,'reater part of the j^'oods used in trade with the Indians and for the supply of miners. The character of the Cliilkoot Pass is such that it wt)uld scarcely be possible to construct a useful trail across it for pack-animals, but the White Pass appears to offer a better opportunity for makin;^^ a trail or road, which, if constructed, would render the entire region much more easy of access. Another route, also leadinf:^ from the head of Lyim Canal to navij;able water connected with the Lewes, is that by the Chilkat Pass, formerly much empKned by the Indians, but it entails a much lonj^'er land carriaj^^e, one which is said to occupy the Indians for twelve days whei. carryinj; packs, as against two days of packing by the Cliilkoot Pass. The Indians who inhabit the region to the south and east of P THK YUKON TERRITORY 257 the site of old I'\)rt Selkirk are poor boatmen, and follow the various rivers, in the course of their periodic journeys, to ;i very limited extent. Most of their travelled routes appear, indeed, to run nearly at right-angles to the direction of drainage. The rivers are crossed in summer on rafts : the remains of these may frequently be obseived. In travelling the Indians carry their small camping outfit on their backs. The coast and coastward slopes of the Coast Ranges con- stitute a precipitate belt of excessive humidity, with some- what equable temperatures, while the interior region to the eastward of these ranges is relatively dry, with a ttnipcrature of extremes. In the interior, however, the climate is largely influenced by the altitude of each particular district, and in consequence of the general lowering of the country beyontl the 60th parallel (constituting the north line of Hritish Columbia), it is certain that the climatic conditions there are much more favourable than in the Cassiar district. The mean annual temperature of the coast region is con- siderably higher than that of the interior ; yet, in consecpience of the great depth of the snow-fall and the persistently clouded aspect of the skies, the Coast Ranges are found to support numerous and massive glaciers, while these are almcst or altogether absent in the Cassiar Mountains, in the mountains about Frances Lake, and in the other ranges seen by us in the interior. The depth of snow in winter continues to be inconsiderable or moderate, at least so far down the Pelly (Yukon) as the mouth of Stewart River and Forty-mile Creek, while at Nulato, on the lower river, and in a similar latitude, but 500 miles further west, the depth of snow from April to November is said to average eight feet and often to reach twelve feet. As in the more southern parts of British Columbia, the dryest country is found in a 1 1. bordering the eastern or lee side of the Coast Ranges, and this phenomenon recurs, tlu Mgli in a less marked degree, in coimection with each of the \,'e!l(lefmed mountain ranges of the interior. Thus a region of greater humidity is foimd near Dease Lake, on the western Cassiar Mountains, with a dry belt on the east side of the •range ; while humid conditions, with recurrent showers in t' ii 1 1 y if' 258 THK YUKON TliRKITORV i'lV %v* I : I summer, characterize the district in the vicinity of Frances and Finlayson lakes. A noteworthy circumstance in connection with the Stikine valley, the passes leading from the head of Lynn Canal, and doubtless in all the low gaps in the Coast Ranges, is the change in direction as between the summer and winter winds. During the summer, strong winds blowing up these valleys inland are of very frequent occurrence, and they commonly freshen in the afternoon and die away toward night. In the winter months the conditions aie precisely reversed, the strongest winds blowing seawLird. The temperature of Wrangell, just off the mouth of the Stikine, may probably be taken as fairly representative of that of the coast in these latitudes. For the interior region, here our special subject, we are unfortunately without a series of thermometer readings extending even over a single year, but some idea of its climate may be formed from that of Fort Yukon, which is, however, situated far to the north, almost exactly on the Arctic circle. The mean seasonal tempera- tures for these two stations may be compared as below : — Spring Summer Autumn Winter Year Wrangell. Fort Yukon. 40.4 14.6 57.1 56.7 43.0 17.4 28.3 -23.8 42.2 16.8 iCi' ' At Telegraph Creek, and in its vicinity on the Stikine, to the east of the Coast Ranges (lat. 58), wheat, barley, and potatoes are successfully grown with the aid of irrigation. Their cultivation has so far been attempted on a limited scale only, on account of the want of a market, and wheat has been grown only experimental!}', as it cannot, like barley, be employed for feeding pack-animals. None of these crops can be successfully grown or ripened on the coastward side of the mountains. Taking into consideration the facts which I have been able to ascertain, and also those to be derived from an examina- tion of the natural flora of the country, and the observed advance of vegetation, which (in the absence of actual experi- THE YUKON TERRITORY 259 merits) are capable of affording valuable data, I feel no hesitation in stating my belief that such hardy crops as barley, rye, turnips and flax can be successfully cultivated in the Yukon district so far north as the former position of Fort Selkirk, near the 63rd parallel, or in other words about 1000 miles north of Victoria. Taken in conjunction with the physical features of the region, this means, that chiefly within the drainage area of the Yukon, and for the most part to the north of the Goth parallel, there exists an area of about 60,000 square miles, of which a large proportion may be utilized for the cultivation of such crops, and where cattle and horses might be maintained in sufficient number for local purposes, without undue labour, as excellent summer grazing is generally to be found along the river-valleys and natural hay-meadows are frequent. I do not maintain that the region is suitable for immediate occupation by a large, self-supporting agricul- tural community, but I hold that agriculture may before many years be successfully prosecuted, in conjunction with the natural development of the other resources of this grea', country. The district is generally wooded, and in all portions of it, in valleys and on low lands, there is abundance of white spruce, of fair to good quality, well suited for building purposes. The other species of trees are of inferior economic impor- tance. The fauna of the region traversed by us does not differ notably from that of other parts of the northern country which are already moderately well known. The smaller black-tailed deer [Oiriacus Colmnhiamis) occurs on the islands of the southern p{f the Yukon, in association with the gold. It has also been observed in the Cassiar district. Gold and furs are at present the only articles of value derived frwm the great n-gioii here refern>d to as the Yukon district. It is impossible to secure accurate information as to the value of furs annually obtained, but sufficient is known to show that it must be very considerable. Petroff, in his report, states that the total annual value of the furs shipped by the Yukon c I }i ir ill- \ V- 1» »■ I ! It Ci 262 THE YUKON TKRRITORY probably dues not exceed |)75,ooo,' and it is known that a great if not the greater portion of this total is derived from the region lying east of the 141st meridian. In addition, however, to the furs taken from the Yukon dis- trict by this route, the Hudson Bay Company obtains a large quantity of skins from their posts on the Porcupine ; these reach the market by the Macken2ie River route. A certain number of skins derived from the country north of British Columbia is, further, annually traded at the little post at the mouth of Dease River, and taken out by the Stikine. A considerable quantity of furs also finds its way each year by the Chilkoot and Chilkat passes to the head of Lynn Canal, and some are brought down by the Taku River to the coast, though the greater part of these last is probably derived from the north-western corner of the province of British Columbia. Information obtained on the spot indicates that the value of the furs reaching Lynn Canal from the interior is from ^12,000 to -IjiiSjOoo annually. Without including the northern part of British Columbia, but restricting ourselves to the great area of 192,000 square miles to the north of the Goth parallel and west of the Rocky Mountains, which I have referred to as the Yukon district, the information now obtained is sufficient to warrant belief in its great value. It is known to be rich in furs, well supplied with timber, and it is traversed by a great length of navigable rivers. It is already yielding a considerable yearly product in gold, and presents every indication of wealth in other metals, and in deposits of coal. In its southern portion, situated between the Goth and G^th degrees of latitude, is comprised an area of probably not less than 30,000 square miles, suitable for eventual agricultural occupation, and presenting none of the characters of a sub-Arctic region, which have been attributed to it by some writers. In each of these particulars and in climate it is greatly superior to the corresponding inland portion of the territory of Alaska. It may, in fact, be affirmed that the region here spoken of as the Yukon district surpasses in material resources the whole remaining northern interior portion of the continent between the same parallels of latitude. ' Rcjiort on the Populalion, Industries and Resources of Alaska, p. 5, U.S. loth Census, vol. viii. THE YUKON TERRITORY 263 J.S. The winter climate of the whole of this j^Tcat region is a severe one, and its northern extremity lies within the Arctic circle, but the climatic conditions on the western and eastern sides of the continent are by no means comparable, and the isothermal lines, representing; the mean annual temperature, trend not westward but north-westward from the Manitoba rej^ion. It is needless to recapitulate the causes which produce this difference in climate, but the lines as already approximately drawn upon the maps, represent the agj^regate of influences which produce at the site of old Fort Selkirk on the 63rd parallel of latitude in the Upper Yukon basin, an attractive landscape, with well- j^rown forests and intervenin<; slopes of meadow, while in the same latitude in Hudson Strait we find, even at midsummer, a barren waste of rocks and ice. While the Yukon district and the northern portion of British Columbia are at present far beyond the limits of ordinary settle- ment, we may be prepared at any time to hear of the disc()\ery of important mineral deposits, which will afford the necessary impetus, and may result, in the course of a few years, in the introduction of a considerable population into even its most distant fastnesses. It appears meanwhile eminentl}- desirable that we should encourafje and facilitate, in so far as may be possible, the efforts of the miners and others who constitute our true pioneers in the rej^ion, and to whom, in conjunction with the fur companies and traders, the peaceful conquest of the whole of our Great West has been due. In the future there is every reason to look forward to the time when this country will support a large and hardy population, attached to the soil and making the utmost of its resources. The geology of the corresponding portion of the Cordillera belt in the southern part of British Columbia is as yet very imperfectly understood. Speaking broadly, however, and with reference to the general features of the region, the rock-series represented are evidently similar to those found in the southern portion of British Columbia between the rocky mountains and the coast. The Coast Ranges, where traversed by the valley of the Stikine, and again where crossed still further north by the Chilkoot Pass, consist, for the most part, of granite and granitoid i :.M ' I i *r 264 THE YUKON TERRITORY rocks, almost invariably of p;ray colour and frequently rich in hornblende. With these are occasionally included stratified or stratiform masses of mica and hornblende-schists, and both these and the fjranites are frequently traversed by pef;fmatite veins, diabase dykes and intrusive masses of coarse diorite. The schistose portions of these ranges may possibly represent the still recognizable remnants of rocks of Archaean age, or may be merely porti'^ns of much newer series which have suffered extreme alteration. No demonstration of the date of the origin of the granitic rocks of the Coast Ranges was obtained in this region, but there is every reason to believe that it is comparatively recent, and due to a time lying between the Triassic and the Cretaceous ; this is the case with their continuation to the south, near the northern part of Vancouver Island.' The argillites of Wrangell, together with those met with near Juneau, and at Sitka, on the Alaskan coii.st, and also in various places along the east side of Lynn Canal, together with the altered volcanic rocks found in association with these on Lynn Canal and elsewhere (examined by me particularly in the vicinity of Seduction Point), clo. ?ly resemble rocks of the same class composing the Vancouver group of the Queen Charlotte and Vancouver Islands. The width of the belt of granitoid rocks composing the Coast Ranges is, on the Stikine, about sixty-five miles, measured from their sea border inland at right angles to the main direction of the mountains. It is somewhat less in the latitude of the Chilkoot Pass, but may be assumed to occupy a border of the mainland about fifty miles in width along the whol'^ of this part of the coast. Broadly viewed, however, the coast archipelago in reality represents a partly submerged margin of the Coast Ranges, and granitic rocks are largely represented in it also. The examination of these two northern cross-sections of the Coast Ranges, serves, with observations previously made, to demonstrate the practical identity in geological character of this great orographic axis, from the vicinity of the Fraser River to the 6oth parallel of north latitude — a length, in all, of about goo miles. ' See Annual Report Geol. Surv. Can., 1896. THE YUKON TERRITORY ?6- East and north-east of the Coast Ranfi^es, the interior region traversed is, for the most part, floored by Palaeozoic rocks of very varied appearance, and probably referable to several of the main sub-divisions of the geological scale. In so far as the information obtained in the region here in question enables conclusions on the subject to be formed, the lowest part of the rocks (i) consists of greenish and grey schists, generallj' felspathic or hornblendic, but often quartzose and including distinctly micaceous and talcose schists, with some bands of limestone ; the lithological character of this sub-division being exceedingly varied. Apparently overlying these are (2) grey and blackish, often lustrous and sometimes more or less micaceous calc-schists and quartzites, including beds of lime- stone of moderate thickness, which are often more or less dolomitic. These are associated with, or pass up into (3) black argillites or argillite-schists, also containing thin beds of lime- stone, which, at one locality on the Dease, have afforded a small number of graptolites of Cambro-Silurian age. Next above these is a series (4) consisting chiefly of massive lime- stones, generally of grey or blue-grey colour where unaltered, but often locally changed into white or variegatrd crystalline marbles. The preponderantly Palaeozoic floor of the region east of the granites of the Coast Ranges, is broken through on two main lines by granitic axes. The first of these is cut across by the Dease River, a short distance below Dease Lake, and was again met with — over 300 miles north-westward — on the Pelly near the mouth of the Macmillan. Though referred to as a single granitic axis, this uplift probably consists rather of a series of alternating and more or less irregularly shaped granitic masses, which, however, preserve a general alignment. There are on the Upper Pelly in fact three separate granitic ridges in place of the single one met with on the Dease. In close association with these granites are some gneissic rocks and holocrystalline mica and hornblende-schists, which have not been referred to in previous paragraphs as they are regarded as probably Archaean, rather than as representing highly altered Palaeozoic rocks. A small tongue of granite occurs on the Lewes a few miles above the mouth of the Little Salmon, :.,,! i\ I 266 THE YUKON TERRITORY I which may be connected with the south-western side of this ffranitic axis, but with this exception, its continuity between the Dcase and the Pelly is indicated merely by the statement of Mr. J. McCormick that granites and mica-schists occur on the south-west side of Quiet Lake and near the Bif( Sahnon River, below that lake. Its further extension in a north- westerly bearing is, however, proved b)' the occurrence of a great preponderance of rocks of the same character in the collection made by Mr. Ogilvie ' on the lower Pelly or Yukon, between the mouth of the Lewes and Forty-mile Creek. On comparing the position of this irregular granitic axis and its surrounding altered rocks with that of the richer deposits of placer gold so far discovered and worked, it will be found that they are closely associated. The chief placers and river-bars are, in faict, scattered along this line or belt, and extend, like it, all the way from Dease Lake and McDame Creek to Forty- mile Creek. Evidence was moreover found on the Pelly to show that the development of quartz veins in the Palaeozoic rocks had occurred contemporaneously with the upheaval of the granites, and probably by some action superinduced by the granite masses themselves while still in a formative condition. While cutting the stratified rocks, the quartz veins seldom or never cut the granite masses in this district. These observa- tions should afford an important clue to the further search for auriferous ground, as well as for the lodes from which the placer gold has itself been derived. Of the second granitic axis of the interior region little is yet known, but it is probable that it is still less regular in character than the last. It occurs in the mountainous region to the east of Frances Lake and River, and probably also in the vicinity of the Pelly Lakes. Its lithological characters and those of the rocks in its neighbourhood are similar to those of the last described, and here again in its vicinity, on Frances Lake and on the Liard, paying gold placers have been found. The granitoid rocks of the interior region are different in general appearance from those of the Coast Ranges, and ' Sent out by him in charge of the latest party of miners in the autumn of 1887. THE VIJKOX TERRITORY 267 resemble more closely the probably Archaaii granites of the Gold Ranges in southern British Columbia. Lithologically the granites and granitoid rocks of the Coast Ranges are generally fresh and unaltered in appearance, grey in colour and not often distinctly foliated, while those of the ranges of the interior show evidence of considerable alteration subsequent to their formation, are more highly quartzose and often reddish in tint. The Mesozoic period is represented by strata of Cretaceous and Laramie age. These rocks are more recent in appearance than all the C'lder formations, and rest quite uncomfortably on the latter, though they have since been to some extent involved in their flexures. On the lower part of the Lewes, below the mouth of the Little Salmon, these rocks are cut across by the river for a distance of at least thirty-live miles. Some fossil molluscs and plants have been obtained from this area, from which it would appear to include beds referable to the Middle or Lower Cretaceous and to the Laramie period: it is not improbable that the series is a consecutive one between these limits, as the total thickness represented must be very great. The strike of these beds varies much in direction, and the angles of dip are so irregular that no even proximate estimate of thickness could be formed, and it is impossible to arrive at any definite conclusion with respect to the trend of the basin in which they lie. The rocks comprise, in their lower portion, coarse conglomerates, grauwacke-sandstones, yellowish and grey quartzose sandstones, and dark calcareous slates. The upper portion, in which Laramie plants are found, consists chietly of rather soft sandstones, shales and clays, generally of pale colours. Evidence of contemporaneous volcanic action is observable in both parts of the series, and the higher beds include lignite coal of good quality. Some miles further up the Lewes, midway between the Little and Big Salmon rivers, peculiar green, grauwacke-sand- stones and green, calcareous conglomerates occur, which are also provisionally referred, though with some doubt, to the Cretaceous. They are at least newer than the PaUeozoic rocks, being composed of fragments of these and of the granites. m< m n 268 THE YUKON TERRITORY r;i Confjlomerates and sandstones similar to the last are again found near the lower end of Lake Labarge, on the east side, and are associated with black calcareous slates, which recur in several places along the same side of the lake, further up ; and from these a few fossils have been obtained. These seem to show that the beds are on or near the horizon of Series C. of the Queen Charlotte Islands, which is of Middle Cretaceous age, approximately equivalent to the Gault. On the Upper Pelly River, forty-three miles below Hoole Canon, a single low outcrop of hard, dark shales, containing fossil plants of Cretaceous or Laramie age, was found, but in the absence of further exposures along the river in that vicinity, nothing can be said of the extent of this area, except that it must be quite limited in width. Again, on the Stikine River, between Glenora and Telegraph Creek, there are local occurrences of conglomerates and soft sandstones which may be regarded as probably Cretaceous, though no pala;ontological evidence is forthcoming. The position of these last-noted areas, as well as that of those along the Lewes River, occurring as they do in a zone of country immediately within the line of the Coast Ranges, is analogous to that held by Cretaceous rocks on the Skeena, and in other localities still further southward in British Columbia. Further investigation will probably show that rocks of that age occur in many additional places, and occupy somewhat extensive areas in this belt of country. In the vicinity of the Lewes, par- ticularly, it is noted that the plane of the original base of the Cretaceous, now thrown into a number of folds, is about that of the present surface of the country, and these rocks may there- fore be expected to recur frequently in the form of troughs or basins, more or less strictly limited, and only to be discovered in detail by thorough examination. The loose material brought down by the Big Salmon River, appears to indicate the existence of a considerable development of these rocks not far up the valley of that stream. No wide-spread Tertiary areas like those of the southern interior portion of British Columbia occur in the region here described. The most important occurrence of beds of this age is that which occupies the wide valley of the Upper Liard, but THE YUKON TERRITORY 269 Its extent to the north-west and south-east was not ascertained. 1 he rocks are soft shales, sandstones and clays, generally of pale colour, a-d holdin- beds of lignite in" some places. Flows of basalt either cap these rocks or are included in their upper portion, and from the considerable angles of dip observed, the formation Nvould appear to haxe suffered some flexure subsequent to its deposition. I '.4 ij P ■F /^/ p. >. !ii »-!. if: 1 ' t 1 i ! ;1 J 1 CHAPTER III. Basalt-flows in the Stikine valley — Discovery of jade alonsj the route — Glaciation and superficial leposits — Houlder clay of the Upper I'elly anil Lewes valleys — Mastodon or niamniotli remains — Plienoniena of the glacial period and its connection with the distrilmtion of placer gold deposits— Where the richest of these deposits occur — Wide-spread auriferous character of the Upper Yukon basin — Later superficial deposits — Their character and importance — Volcanic ash deposit spread over the Upper Yukon basin — Mount Wrangell the pro!)ai)lc source of the material — Period of the eruption — Its extent and duration — The placer gold mines of Cassiar — Tiie Stikine River — Its importance as an avcnueof coinmunication---Size and general character — I'ack trail from Telegraph Creek to the centre of the Cassiar mining district — Micrometer survey of tiie Stikine River — Mr. McConnell's notes and map — General trend of the Stikine valley — Width, depth, and velocity of the Siikine River — Most suitai)le vessels for its navigation — ^Fall of the river— The Siikine Indians — Little Cafion^ Kloochman Canon — The " Grand Rapid '' — Aspect of the laniiscape. IN the Stikine valley, cast of the Coast Ranges, important local basalt -flows are met with, overlying old river and valley gravels, and the lignite reported to exist some miles up the Tahl-tan is, doubtless, also of Tertiary age and inferior in position to the basalts. Basalt effusions of a sporadic character may be frequent in other places in the region, as such were actually noted in three other widely separated localities, vi/. abo\<' Hoole Canon on the Pelly, at Miles Canon on the Lewes, and again at the confluence of this river with the Pelly. The basalts are at least pre-glacial in age, and though no characteristic fossils were observed in the associated bedded deposits, both may be provisionally classed from their analogy with similar deposits in the more southern portion of British Columbia, as Miocene. Having become interested in the question of the origin of nephrite or jade, on account of its former extensive employment by the natives of the west coast for the manufacture of imple- THE YUKON TERRITORY 71 ments, I kept a close watch for this mineral alonp; our route, and ultimately succeeded in findiuj^ several rolled pieces in gravel-bars along the Lewes. Of the pebbles collected by us at least five had the specific gravity and other physical characters of jade, though they have not yet been subjected to chemical or microscopical analysis. Several of these are evidently, however, jnire and typical jade. One specimen is a pale-green translucent to sub-transparent variety weighing a pound and three-quarters, after a piece, probably equal to about one-fourth of the original mass, had been broken off and un- fortunately lost. Some of the specimens collected indicate the passage, by admixture of other materials, of the pun; jades into various altered rocks of volcanic origin. So far as I have been able to ascertain, this discovery of jade is, with one excep- tion, the first actually direct one made in the region of the Pacific slope. The exception above alluded to is that of jade found at the Kwichpak mouth of the Yukon during Captain Jacobson's stay in that vicinity, which was obtained by him and taken to Berlin.' Such details as appear to be of interest respecting glaciation, and the superficial deposits, are given in the subsetpient de- scriptive portion of this report. The general bearings of these are here merely summarized in the briefest possible manner.-' Previous observations in British Columbia ' luive shown that at one stage in the glacial period -that of the maximum glacia- tion — a great conlluent ice-mass has occupied the region which may be named the Interior Plateau, between the Coast Ranges and the Cold and Rocky Mountain ranges. I'rom the 55th to the 49th parallel this great glacier has left traces of its general southwaril or south-eastward movement, which are distinct from those of subso()uent local glacii-rs. The southern extensions or terminations of this conllueiit glacier, in Washington and Itlalio Territories, have (juite recently been examined by Mr. Bailley M'illis ami Prof. T. C. Chaniberlin of the U.S. Ceological ' See paper l)y I'lof. A. li. Muvit, Jaliii'slji'iiclu des \ cioins fur Enikundc zu nifsilcn, 18S4. - 'I'lio siihstaiuo of this suiiiiiiary lias bcL-n i)uhlislu'il in advance in llic Geoloj;ical Mi-.^a/inc. Dcculc 111. vol. v. p. 547 (Any. 1888). " Quart. Journ. ( icol. Soc. vol. xxxi. p. 89, Ihiii. vol. xxxiv. p. 272. Canadian Naturalist, \ol. viii. ::'l ; ( ) '1 'M 1 1 I h 1 ; 1 ■ i iki il^ i i 272 THE YUKON TERRITORY ;; fi i: i . f ■! ijll Survey/ and their observations tend to confirm the views above outlined, which had previously been stated by the writer. There is evidence to show that this inland-ice flowed also, by transverse valleys and gaps, across the Coast Ranges, and that the fiords of the coast were thus deeply filled with glacier-ice, which, supplemented by that originating on the Coast Ranges themselves, buried the entire great valley which separates Vancouver Island from the mainland, and discharged seaward round both e.ids of the island. Further north, the glacier extending from the mainland coast touched the northern shores of the (Jueen Charlotte Islands. The littoral of the south-eastern part or " coast strip " of Alaska, presents features identical with those of the previously examined coast of British Columbia, at least so far north as lat. 59°, beyond v 'ach I have not seen it. The coast archipelago has evidently been involved in the border of a confluent glacier which spread from the mainland, and was subject to minor variations in direction of flow dependent on surface irregu- larities. It is, however, in the interior region, explored and examined by us in 1887, between the Coast Ranges and the Rocky Moun- tains oroper, and extending northward to lat. 63', that the most interest ing facts have come to light respecting the direction of movement of the Cordilleran glacier. Here, 1 the valleys of the Upper Felly and Lewes, traces were found of the movement of heavy glacier-ice in a northerly direction. Rock- surfaces thus glaciated were observed down the Pelly to the point at which it crosses the ijGth meridian and on the Lewes as far north as lat. 61° 40', the main direction in the first-named valley being north-west, in the second north-north-west. On Lake Labarge, in the Lewes valley, both the sides and summits of rocky hills 300 feet above the water were found to be heavily glaciated, the direction on the summit being that of the main (north-north-west) orographic valleys, while that at lower levels in the same vicinity followed more nearly the immediate Nulley of the river, which here turns locally to the east of north. Glaciation was also noted in several places in the more ' UuUeiin U.S. Gcol. Survey, No. 40, 1887. 'ii,ll \^\' THE YUKON TKRRITORY 273 mountainous country to the south of the Yukon basin, in the Dease and Liard valleys, but the direction of movement of the ice could not be determined satisfactorily, and the influence of local action is there less certainly eliminated. While the greater part of the area traversed is more or less completely mantled with glacial deposits, it will be observed, in referring to subsequent pages, that true boulder-clay was found in certain parts only of the southern and more mountainous portion of the region, while it spreads over almost the entire length of the upper Pell)' and Lewes valleys, though not found quite exposed to their confluence. It may be stated also that the country is generally terraced to a height of 4000 feet or more, while on an isolated mountain-top near the height of land between the Liard and the Pelly rivers (Pacific- Arctic water- shed) rolled gravel of varied origin was found at a height of 4300 feet, a height exceeding that of the actual watershed by over 1000 feet. No remains of mastodon or mammoth were observed in the country traversed by us, but according to Campbell such remains occur not far from the site of Fort Selkirk, and they are known to be moderately abundant at points further down the river. Sir J. Richardson speaks of a tibia oi lUcphas piimi- genius sent to England by Roderick (Robert) Campbell from this region.' Reverting to the statements made as to the direction of the general glaciation, the examination of this northern region may now be considered to have established that the main gathering- ground or mvr of what I have called the great Cordilleran glacier or confluent glacier mass of the west coast, was included between the 55th and 59th parallels of latitude, a region which, so far as explored, has proved to be of an exceptionally mountainous character. It would further appear that this great glacier extended, between the Coast Ranges and the Rocky Mountains, south-eastward nearly to hit. 48 , and north- westward to lat. 6j°, or beyond, while sending also smaller streams to the Pacific Coast. In connection with the northerly direction of ice-flow here ascertained, it is interesting to recall the observations which I ' \.\x\.. Joiirn. Sci. and Arts, vol. xix., 1855, p. 132. '\ W %■ \\ I % 1/ I ii 1*1 /; I! I M> ■I! "f ,1 .^i 274 THE YUKON TERRITORY have collected in a recently published report of the Geological Survey, relating to the northern portion of the continent east of the Mackenzie River.' It is there stated that for the Arctic coast of the Continent, and the Islands of the Archipelago off it, there is a considerable volume of evidence to show that the main direction of movement of erratics was noithivard. The most striking facts are those derived from Prof. S. Haughton's Appendix to M'Clintock's Voyage, where the occurrence of boulders and pebbles from North Somerset, at localities loo and 135 miles north-eastward and north-westward from their supposed points of origin, is described. Prof. Haugliton also states that the east side of King William's Land is strewn with boulders of gneiss like that of Montreal Island, to the south- ward, and points out the general northward ice-movement thus indicated, referring the carriage of the boulders to floating ice of the glacial period. The copper said to be picked up in large masses by the Eskimo, near Princess Royal Island, in Prince of Wales Strait, as well as on Prince of Wales Island,- has likewise in all probability been derived from the copper-bearing rocks of the Coppermine River region to the south, as this metal can scarcely be supposed to occur in place in the region of horizontal limestone where it is found. Dr. A. Armstrong, Surgeon and Naturalist to the Investigator, notes the occurrence of granite and other crystalline rocks not only on the south shore of Baring Land, but also on the hills at some distance from the shore. These, from what is known of the region, must be supposed to have come from the continental land to the southward. Dr. R. Hell has found evidence of a northward or north- eastward movement of glacier ice in the northern part of Hudson I)ay, with distinct indications of eastward glaciation in Hudson Strait.-' I'or the northern part of the great Mackenzie valley we are as }et without any definite published information, ' Notes tn accompany aCicological Ma|) of the Northern Portion of the Dominion of Canada Mast of the Rocky Mountains, p. 57 K., Annual Report (ieol. Surv. Can., 1886. '-' I)e Kance, in Nature, vol. .\i., j). 4<)2. •' Annual Report C.col. Surv. Canada, 1883, p. 14 D.l)., and Report of Prog'-ess, i88:-84, p. 36 1).D. ,'n 10 )n, the lort I of '.' :-■ -"f^-j^ Y*v,n.;i.i!fff-m 'rvaf-i ':^ ( i Mi I'vi ■ I! . THE YUKON TERRITORY 275 but Sir J. Richardson notes that Laurentian boulders are scattered westward over the nearly horizontal limestones of the district. Taken in conjunction with the facts for the more northern portion of the continent, already pretty well known, the observations here outlined indicate a general movement of ice outward, in all directions, from the great Laurentian axis or plateau which extends from Labrador round the southern extremity of Hudson Bay to the Arctic Sea ; while a second, smaller, though still very important region of dis- persion — the Cordilleran glacier mass — occupied the Rocky Mountain region on the west, with the northern and southern Hmits above approximately given, and a length, in a north-west and south-east direction, of at least 1200 miles. While the study of the phenomena of the glacial period is one not without its bearings on economic problems even in the eastern part of the continent, it has, in British Columbia and the Yukon district, a direct value in its con- nection with the distribution of the placer gold deposits, and on the existence and position of the buried channels of rivers and streams, in which some of the richest of those deposits often occur. Thus the greater part of the " fine " gold found along the river-bars and banks of the larger streams in the Yukon district is doubtless proximately derived from the gravels and other superficial deposits in which these streams have re-excavated their beds since the period of glaciation. By the general dispersion and intermixture of these materials, composed of the di'bris of the older rock formations, it is even possible that the existence of a few comparatively limited original areas of great richness might account for the latter day wide-spread auriferous character of the alluviums of the Upper Yukon basin. A circumstance of some interest in connection with the later superficial deposits of that part of the Upper Yukon basin drained by the Lewes and Pelly rivers, is the occurrence of a wide-spread layer of volcanic ash or pumiceous sand. The existence of a peculiar white line or band in the upper parts of scarped banks along the river, was first remarked not many miles below the point at which we embarked on the Pelly. As D 2 *f m\ i h 14 i 1' ;■ !|' 276 THE YUKON TERRITORY *l ?if its character was not at first understood, I omitted to note the precise point at which it was first seen, but am of opinion that it probably extends to the east of the place where we reached the river. After its character and importance had been recopf- nized, however, it was looked for and noticed almost continu- ously along the whole course of the Pelly, as far down as the mouth of the Macmillan, it was not distinctly recognized, but according to Mr. McConnell (1888) it extends down the river for about ten miles below Fort Selkirk. It is likewise seen along nearly the whole course of the Lewes, being last noted at the narrows between Lake Nares and Bennett Lake, known as Caribou Crossing. This ash deposit appears to be entirely due to a single period of eruption. It is homogeneous in character wherever seen, forming a single layer not divided by intercalations of other material, and has been spread everywhere over the entire area characterized by it. It is much more recent in date than the white silt deposits, the last properly referable to the glacial series, these having been deposited after the river-valleys were excavated in the glacial materials, and at a time when the rives had cut down nearly or quite to their present levels. This is made evident by the circumstance that it overlies the deposits of river and valley-gravels and sands in all cases, except m those of some low river-flats, where these deposits sometimes cover it to a depth of several feet. In most places it is overlain merely by the surface soil with a depth of six inches to two feet, and in a few instances it was noted as constituting the actual surface of terraces of moderate height, the present forest being rooted in it. The ash appears to have fallen tranquilly, much in the manner of snow deposited from a calm atmosphere. The examination of scarped banks along the two rivers showed it to occur near the surface of terraces about 200 feet in height, as well as on lower terraces and river-flats down to within about ten feet of the actual river-level in August and September. It was also detected in some places on the sloping fronts of terraces. The thickness of the layer was no doubt originally pretty uniform, and it still retains this uniformity where it rests upon wide flat terraces. Its average normal thickness for the Pelly, as a whole, was estimated at about five inches, but this is somewhat ■ml THE YUKON TERRITORY 277 exceeded along the part of the river immediately above the Macmillan. On the Lewc^. below Rink Rapid, its normal thickness is about a foot, but above this point it becomes much less, and where last seen, at Caribou Crossing, is not over half an inch thick, and only to be recognized when carefully looked for. Where the ash deposit rests undisturbed upon the original surface, this appears very generally to be a yellowish or reddish quart ■^ose sand. There are, in some cases, remains of burnt trees at the base of the layer, and traces of similar forest fires are found as well in the sand or soil overlying it. The volcanic ash is thicker on the lower part of the Lewes than elsewhere, and the thickest part of the deposit on the Pelly lies nearly due east of the portion of the Lewes just referred to. The greater mass of the deposit in that direction shows that it was derived from the westward, and a line drawn across the portions of the Pelly and Lewes above defined, lies between the 62nd and 63rd parallels of latitude, with a nearly east-and-west bearing, so that if produced to the westward it would pass, at a distance of about 200 miles, through the mountain region near the Copper Region, of Alaska, which includes Mount Wrangell. Mount WrangcU is the nearest known volcano,* and this or one of the neighbouring mountains in the same group, may not improbably have been the source of the material which has been so widely spread over the Upper Yukon basin. Respecting the date of the eruption to which the ash-bed is due, very little can be said with certainty. As already noted, the rivers have not certainly cut their beds perceptibly deeper since the deposit occurred on their flood-flats, so that the period to which it belongs cannot be an exceedingly remote one. It was further observed in one place, on the Lewes, to rest upon stratified sands a few feet thick, which in turn overlie a mass of drift logs still quite sound and undecayed. This fact, with the general appearance and mode of occurrence of the deposit, leads me to believe, that while the eruption must have happened at least several hundreds of j-ears ago, it can scarcely be sup- ' Sec Lieut. H. T. Allen's Reconnaissance in Alaska, Washington, Govern- ment, 1887. t !i 1 :|i 'A' yw? w3 i* ^f^ '»^ yy*f ^ 286 THE YUKON TERRITORY if, S I I'l consist chiefly of organic fragments which are not, however, sufficiently distinctive for the reference of the beds. From this point to Telegraph Creek, basaltic and other con paratively modern volcanic rocks become prominent features, the basalts appearing as remnants of horizontal flows, the broken edges of which form scarped cliffs. These rocks are due to a period antecedent to that of the glacial deposits, and are of Tertiary age. Analogy with neighbouring parts of British Columbia indicates that they may be assigned vv'ith probability to the Miocene. The basalts have evidently flowed along and partially filled the old river-valley, and unconformably overlie the old altered volcanic rocks previously alluded to, as well as all the 1"^' rock series. About two m elow Glenora, the basaltic rocks were noticed in one place > have filled the old river-bed, conforming in their lower la^'ers to the slopes of its sides, and to have been subsequently cut across obliquely by the present river. Other examples of this character are of special interest in connection with the occurrence of placer deposits of gold. Betw^een Glenora and Telegraph Creek, the rocks seen below the basalts include at least two distinct series. The first and oldest of these is represented by a number of occurrences of altered volcinic rocks, like those previously referred to, as well as by considerable exposures (beginning about a mile above Glenora) of grey and blackish, rather cherty quartzites, often nearly on edge. The second consists of slightly indurated conglomerates, sandstones and shales, the conglomerates being often very coarse and containing pebbles both of the older volcanic series and of the granites and granitoid rocks. These lie at comparatively moderate angles of inclination. No fossils were observed in them, but in their lithological character as well as in their position relatively to the Coast Ranges, they resemble rocks of Cretaceous age met with in other parts of British Columbia, both to the south and north of the Stikine, and may be provisionally referred to that period. In the immediate vicinity of Telegraph Creek, the prevalent rock is a grey-green, speckled, altered volcanic material, which proves to be a fine-grained diabase-tuff. The high hill immedi- ately opposite Telegraph Creek, on the other side of the river, i 1 u\ ier 3se tils as ey lie, tnt ich Idi- icr, THE YUKON TERRITORY 28; is composed of similar old volcanic rocks, comprising compact diabase and a massive diabase-agglomerate. About two miles below Telegraph Creek, on the right bank of the river, a portion of the basaltic filling of the old valley forms a range of columnar cliffs about 200 feet above the present water-level. A second similar remnant occurs just above Telegraph Creek, on the same side, and a portion of it extends vp Telegraph Creek itself for a mile or more. Basaltic dykes, which may have served as sources of supply of molten material at the time of eruption, cut the older rocks. Though in some cases simulating the appearance of terraces, the basaltic shelves along the sides of the valley are quite distinct from and of earlier date than these. The portion of the Alaskan coast which I have seen, viz. that to the south of the sgth parallel, shows the same general absence of terrace deposits which has already been noted and commented on in the case of the British Columbian coast. In the vicinity of the mouth of the Stikine, terraces fifteen to twenty feet in height are found, resembling the wooded flats met with further up the river, but as they are here upon tide- water, they indicate doubtless an elevation of the coast-line to that amount. Further up the river, the first appearance of high-level terraces is at about two miles below the Great Glacier. Those here seen are quite narrow, and were estimated to be 500 and 700 feet respectively above the river. The river, for the first time, shows bordering-terraces of from thirty to fifty feet in height, about six miles below the Little Canon, and similar terraces are frequently seen above this point. On the mountain above Glenora a distinct but small terrace was seen from a distance at an estimated height of 1500 feet above the river. At Telegraph Creek the two principal terraces are go and 200 feet respectively above the river-level. The traverse of the Coast Ranges by the Stikine River, from its mouth to Telegraph Creek, affords an excellent illustration of the difference between the coast and inland climates, repeating to a great extent the phenotnena met with in making a similar traverse of the same ranges in the southern part of British Columbia. The annual precipitation at Wrangell, at the mouth of the Stikine, is over sixty inches, while in the w li It I 'i!; [h I M m tlii ;!' i ' ,H" I. 'it 288 THE YUKON TERRITORY vicinity of Telej^raph Creek, distant only 140 miles, but on the inland side of the mountains, the precipitation is so small that irrigation is necessary to cultivated land. Nor does this comparison of rain-fall sufficiently mark the great difference between the two climates. The prevalence of clouded skies in the coast region is accompanied by a saturated state of the atmosphere, precisely opposite conditions being found on the eastern side of the mountain belt, at not more than eighty miles inland from the general line of the coast. The coast climate is, of course, much more temperate than that of the interior, which, even no further off than Telegraph Creek, becomes one of extremes. Miners state that the snow accumu- lates on the river-flats of the lower part of the Stikine, within the mountains, to a depth of from eight to ten feet, while at Telegraph Creek on the eastern slope of the range and on the Tahl-tan River it seldom exceeds eighteen inches. At the latter places horses and mules have been wintering out for a number of years. The great depth of snow retards the advance of spring all along the portion of the river where it occurs. Vegetation is much farther advanced in spring on the inland side of the Coast Ranges than elsewhere. In the middle of May the cotton-woods and other deciduous trees at the mouth of the Stikine and along its lower part showed merely a general faint greenish tint as the buds opened. Four days later, in the vicinity of Telegraph Cre^ '.;, the appearance was almost that of early summer. A great number of plants were in flower, and butterflies and humming-birds were abundant. As the river is ascended the change from a very moist to a dry climate is indicated by the variation of the species of plants. The local differences of climite are important. Thus Glenora, though about twelve miles only from Telegraph Creek, is said to experie:.:e much greater cold in winter, and the snow-fall is also greater, being estimated at three feet and a half. Less snow falls on the Tahl-tan than elsewhere, the amount increas- ing both to the east and west of that place. Strong winds blow- ing up stream or inland are prevalent in the Stikine valley in summer, but occur in the reverse direction, as a rule, in winter. During the few days we spent at Telegraph Creek, in the latte (led by )ra, ll is ^css as- |o\v- in in Itte THE YUKON TERRITORY >89 part of May, the wind generally blew up the river and was often strong. The high distant ranges of the Coast Mountains to tlie west were usually enveloped in clouds, and heavy sho\\ers were evidently of common occurrence. The sky at Telegraph Creek was also as a rule largely obscured, but after passing over the Coast Mountains the clouds were more broken, and pro- duced merely a few drops of rain now and then ; the conditions being similar to those met with in the dry country to the east of the same range in the Fraser valley, much further south. Cultivation in the vicinity of Telegraph Creek and Glenora is practically confined to the raising of small quantities of vege- tables and of barley and fodder for animals. There is, however, in this vicinity, in the aggregate, a considerable area of land which might be tilled if there were sufficient local demand to warrant it. Excellent potatoes are produced, and though the leaves are occasionally touched by frost, the crop is seldom affected. It has further been ascertained by trial on a sufficient scale that not only barley, but wheat and oats will ripen, and that all ordinary garden vegetables can be produced. The record is a remarkable one for the 58th degree of north lati- tude. According to Mr. J. C. Callbreath, of Telegraph Creek, the Stikine generally opens for navigation between April 2otli and May 1st. The river usually freezes over before the end of November. The highest water occurs in the early summer, generally in June. Horses and mules find grazing on the Tahl- tan from April 20th or May ist to about December ist, after which date they require some hay. Though the position of the Stikine is indicated on \':mi- couver's charts by the open channels of the river, and the shoals about its estuary are mapped, the existence of a large river was not recognized by that navigator, who visited this part of the coast in 1793. According to Mr. W. H. Dall, the river was first found by fur traders in 1799. In 1S34 the Hudson IJay Company fitted out a vessel named tin; Dryad for the i)urpose of establishing a post and colony at the mouth of the Stikine, but the Russians, being apprised of this circmnstance. sent two small armed vessels to the spot, and constructed a defensive work, which they named Fort Dionysius, on the site of the !;! ''f in V • 1 \ V J !90 THE YUKON TERRITORY I • r present town of Wrangell. Finding themselves thus fore- stalled, the Company retired. This dispute was compromised in 1837, when an arrangement was made by which the Com- pany leased for a term of years all that part of the Russian territory which now constitutes the " coast strip " of Alaska, and the "fort " was handed over to the Company, the British flag being hoisted under a salute of seven guns, in June, 1840. The first discovery of placer gold on its bars was made in 186 1, by two miners named Choquette (" Buck ") and Carpenter. In the following spring several prospecting parties were fitted out in Victoria, and a number of men passed the summer in mining on the river. In 1863, the Russian authorities, hearing of the dis- covery of gold, despatched the corvette Rynda to ascertain whether the mining was being carried on in Russian territory. A boat party from this vessel, under Lieutenant Pereleshin, ascended the river to a point a few miles above the Little Canon, occupying May 23rd to June ist on the expedition. Mr. W. P. Blake accompanied this party, and in addition to the sketch-map published by the Russians, his report on the Stikine, previously alluded to, is based on it.' A Hudson Bay post was established on the east side of the river in 1862 or 1863 and maintained till about 1874, when it was moved to the vicinity of Glenora, where it remained till 1878, when it was abandoned. In 1866, explorations for the line of the Western Union or Collins' Telegraph Company were extended to the Stikine under Major Pope. These were continued in 1867 and embraced most of the principal tributaries of the river. The results were not separately published, and the whole enterprise of which they were a part was abanaoned. The sketch-maps then made were, however; partly embodied in the small map accompanying Mr. W. H. Dall's work on Alaska (1870), and with greater complete- ness in other subsequent maps of the region. In 1873, Messrs. Thibert and McCullough, travelling west- ward from the Mackenzie, discovered gold in the Cassiar region, and fell in with the miners already engaged in placer work on the Stikine in the autumn of that year. The subsequent ' Geographical Notes upon Russian American and the Stickeen River ; Washington, 1S68. Also, Am. Journ. Sci. and Arts, vol. -xliv , 1867, p. 96. or ider not v'cre, Mr. Ilcte- /est- ;ion, Ivork luent liver THE VUKON TKKRITORY 291 history of the river is inckided in that of the Cassiar mining district. The trail from Telegraph Creek to the head of Dease Lake was opened by the Government of British Columbia in 1874. It has since been kept in a fair state of repair, and is a good route for pack animals. It follows the north side of the Stikine and Tanzilla valleys, and is sixty-two miles and a half in total length. On leaving Telegraph Creek, the trail makes a steep ascent to the level of a broad terrace, and runs along at a considerable height above the river, till it again descends, at eleven miles, to the valley of the Tahl-tan or First North Fork, near its month. The main valley of the Stikine is here about four miles in width, and is bordered by high hills and mountains of rounded forms ; those to the north often nearly bare, while those on the opposite side are generall}- either wooded or strewn with burnt logs where fires have passed. The river occupies a canon, with precipitous banks often 300 feet in height, which has been cut in the bottom of this great valley. It is very rough and rapid, but there are no true falls. Terraces are well developed at several levels on both sides of the river, which is frequently bordered by vertical basaltic cliffs. The country traversed b\- the trail between Telegraph Creek and the Tahl-tan is wooded only in patches, the trees being chiefly black pine (Pi'nus M/irravana) and aspen {Popidus treniiiloides), with occasional specimens of white birch, and alder and willow in the hollows. The soil is reddish and rather sandy, and appears very dry, being but scantily clothed with thin, tufty grass and bear-berry. The Tahl-tan River, crossed near its mouth by a good bridge, is a large and rapid stream, which rises about thirty miles to the north-westward. Its valley is narrow and almost canon-like where it reaches the Stikine, and has cut through basalt-flows and heavy underlying gravel deposits to a depth of about one hundred and fifty feet, though its right bank, just above the crossing, is composed of the older rocks. It is resorted to by the Indians for salmon fishing during a part of the summer, and there are several temporary houses and a number of graves. The angle between this river and the Stikine, on the right bank, E 2 ! I I ; U • I i il py W( rfi uH h 'f" K!; m '1 1J^ 192 THE YUKON TERRITORY shows three clearly dertned, superposed, columiuir hasalt-flcnvs. The opposite angle, up which the trail /i|^'-/ags, is in the form of a long, narrow point, composed of large pieces of basalt lying in great confusion, with deep interspaces and crevices. This is generally known as the " lava-bed." Gold mining was at one time carried on successfully fur some miles up the Tahl-tan valley. The Tahl-tan occupies a portion of an important valley which carries, to the north-westward, the upper branches of the Taku and the furthest sources of the Lewes River. The Indians travel along this vallej', and it appears worthy of attention as a route from the navigable waters of the Stikine to the Yukon basin. The distance from the Tahl-tan to the Tooya, or Second North Fork, is about six miles. For half this distance, to Ward's house (now abandoned, like other places of call along this route) the trail runs near the Stikine River, whose imme- diate valley still continues to be occupied b}- basaltic-tlows. Above these, however, the sides of the valle\- are generally formed of regular and high terraces of hori;iontally stratified sands, gravels and earthy deposits, which are rather silts than true clays. The gravels frequently include large boulders. At Ward's, the trail turns away from the ri\er and cuts across a high point to the Tooya, the highest terrace-level crossed being about 1000 feet above the river. On these high terraces the vegetation was perceptibly less advanced than in the lower parts of the valley. Swampy spots are frequent, and the country, as we recede from the vicinity of the Coast Mountains, has evidently a more humid climate and is more subject to summer frosts. Potatoes and other crops are successfully grown at Ward's, situated on one of the lower terraces, but irrigation is there necessary. The Tooya valley, where it is crossed by the trail, is a great gorge, about 600 feet in depth, cut out through the terrace deposits. The river, which is spaimed by a small bridge, is a wild torrent — almost a series of cascades. From " Wilson's house " to Caribou Camp, about twelve miles, th(; trail crosses an extensive high terrace or plateau, with a nearly level or slightly undulating surface, which is generally wooded with aspen, black pine and white spruce of i f. an At the arts as hi IS jmer at m is treat irace is a •clve leaii, h is |:|t y. ■= 'I : 1 1 i' I'H le ot I . > IP im THE YUKON TERRITORY 293 1 fair growth. The Tooya valley is here said to run nearly parallel with the main valley of the Stikine and at no great distance from it, but is invisible from the trail. No mountains were seen to the north-eastward, but high, rounded moun- tains, with broad, bare summits, continue to border the south- east side of the Stikine valley. About midway between Wilson's and Caribou Camp, the Stikine, or Too-dessa of the Tahl-tan Indians, coming from the southward, enters the main valley, cutting through the bordering mountains in a narrow canon, which the Indians report impassable. Their route to the upper waters of the river crosses the mountains to the west of this canon. They state that after again reaching the Stikine, above the cauon, they can ascend it in canoes without difficulty for a long distance. No rock exposures were seen along this part of the trail, and only occasional groups of boulders. The vegetation and appearance of the country afford evidence that the climate is still a dry one. The trail reaches the edge of the valley of the Tanzilla, or Third North Fork, about a mile south-westward from Caribou Camp. This valley is cut out to a depth of 450 feet below the level of the plateau, and is about a mile in width from rim to rim. The sides show evidence of extensive landslips, both old and recent. The river is a comparatively small though swift and muddy stream, with an estimated width of 180 feet and depth of about three feet. No rocks are exposed in the valley, the entire depth of which appears to be excavated in bedded clays and silts, which weather to grey, earthy slopes. i1> r,i ' i'.^. '•I •/I J ii.i>i H, ' ft , I in CHAPTER V. The Irail frum Caribou Camp to Dense Lake -The Icnaces nl the sides of the Tanzilla — The mountains — The Tanzilla valley part of a river-course of very ancient date — Vole mic origin of the rocks near Telegra])h Creek — rre-glaciol age of the basaltic rocks — The old river-bed below Glenora — IJasaltic formation of the Stikine — Its impcrtance in respect to the dislribiilion cf gold — "Heavy 'gold found along that portion of the stream characterizjd by the basalt— The old channel — Remuneration bars worked up the Tahl-tan valley — Characteristic formation of the count.y betsicen Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake^Dease Lake the centra' point of the Cassiar district — I'lacer mines of value awaiting discovery in this district — This district more accessible than ti.at of Caribou — Construction of a waggon-road — Suitable materials easily obtainable — No serious impediment pre-ented to the construction of a railway —The survey of the Stikine — The route a direct one to Dease Lake — Also a direct line from the Pacific Coast to the Mackenzie River— Arrival of the expedition at the head of Dease Lake — Dates of the opening and closing of the lake — Its elevation and length — -The richest gold deposits discovered at Dease Creck--Tiie head-cpiarters of the Gold Commission — Country surrounding the lake — Vegetation — Agricul- ture not practicable in this region — Resemblance of roi.ks to the gold-bearing series of the Caribou district — The ancient pre-glacial valley — The present valley — Lstimated value cf gold produced by Cassiar district— Summary and particulars as to the condition of the workings in the .aiious localities — Difficulties of mining on account of frozen ground — Prospecting U .■ metalliferous veins in the Cassiar district — Its accessibility to the coast — Facilities afforded for the con- struction of a good road — The district very imperfectly prospected — Probable existence of rich creeks — " (Juartz-mining "" ciinpared with alhivial-mining. F*ROM Caribou Camp to the vicinity of Dease Lake, or for about twenty-six miles, the trail runs alonjjf the north-west side of the Tanzilla. The valley of the stream f^radually loses its depth, owipp- to the fact that, while the j;rade of the stream is considerable, ihe terraces at its sides continue at about the same level. I'hese consist, so far as can be seen, of similar silty and clayey matei ials, but the ec!t;es of the terraces arc less marked, and they show a tendency to merj^n; into slopes, which rest upon the bases of the mountains bordering the valley. The mountains whicb extend to the south-east of the river become hij^her here, and take the form of a well-marked range, which is known to the Indians as Ho-tai'-lult. Swampy spots become frequent and the vegetation more alpine in character, :<•' ■' i:H THE YUKON TERRITORY 295 for \-cst )ses the lilar less lich ley. iver [pots :tcr, with evidence of a considerably f^reater rainfall. A great part of the forest all alonj; this portion of the valley has been destroyed by fire. Rock is seen in place only on approachinj^ the bases of the monntains. The part of the valley which connects the Tanzilla with Dease Lake is floored by terrace deposits, and is without doubt very deeply filled with such material, as no solid rock is seen in it. It has evidently been part of a throuj^di river-course of very ancient date, but in what direction the stream that orif,nn- ated the valley flowed, it is now difficult to surmise. It has, however, been ajj^ain occupied by a river in c(jmparativel}' recent post-j^lacial times, subsequently to the formation of the terrace deposits, as it is traversed by a well-marked river-bed, filled with rolled stones and f^ravels. This old channel appears to rise slij;;htly towards Dease Lake, and there can be little doubt that the stream by which it was formed flowed out of the lake. Respecting;' the older rocks which characterize the greater part of the country between Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake, few details were noted, and no approach to a general section was obtained, as the}- are not usually e\j)osed except along the bases of the mountains, which are, as a rule, at some distance from the route oi tra\el. These may be described as consisting of grey and greenish-grey quartidtes and grauwackes. with a large pnjportion t)f altered volcanic materials, generally felspathic, but passing into diabases and becoming in some cases more or less schistose. Rocks originally of volcanic origin notably preponderate in the \icinity of Telegraph Creek, while near Dease Lake they are less abundant, and at about two miles from the lake, on the trail, massive grey fine-grained limestone occurs, in exposures which are nearly continuous for al^out a mile. None of the mountains in sight on either side of the valley are distinctly granitic, and rocks ol this character were observed only in one locality, w'^ 'e they onupy a relatively small arv'a. The pre-glacial age of the basaltic n .ks is shown liy their relation to the terraces of the valley, and also b\' the occurrence upon them of large granitic boulders. A few miles below Glenora, where the basalt filling of the old valley has been cut across, it seems the old river-bed is i,i; ■If ]{ 296 THE YUKON TERRITORY I! r Pi below the present water-level, indicatirifj, in connection with previous observations, that the j^radc of the orif^nnal river was greater than that of the present. Though the basalts of Tertiary age actually seen by me are confined to the Stikine valley, it is highly probable that further explorations will prove their occurrence in other valleys, and possibly also the existence of similar rocks, in the form of plateaux of some size, in the region east of the Coast Ranges. The basaltic formation of the Stikine is important in respect of the distribution of gold. The gold along the Stikine was said by the miners to be " spotted," or irregular, in its occur- rence, but the greater part of the " heavy " gold was found just along that portion of the stream now characterized by the basalts, and it appears even possible to trace a connection between the richer bars which have been worked and those places in which the present river has cut through or followed the old basalt-protected channel. Such being the case, it seems very desirable that the old channel should be fully prospected, but this I cannot learn has ever been attempted. If gold should be found in it in paying quantity, it might easily be worked, and would give rise to a considerable renewal of activity in mining. It is not known to what extent similar conditions may occur up the Tahl-tan valley, where also remunerative bars were worked some years ago. The most characteristic later formation of the country between Telcgrapl" ^roek and Dcase Lake is the silty deposit which has alreaci} b:on referred to in several places. The vvhole of the great valley has evidently in later-glacial times been filled with this deposit, which must have been laid down in a comparatively tranquil lake-like body of water, into which coarser materi.al was in some places washed by entering torrents, as in the case of the Tooya. It appears to me possible that this body of water was held in by means of glacier-ice accumu- lated on the Coast Ranges on one side and those of the Cassiar Mountains on the other. The increased height of the ter- races in the vicinity of Dease Lake, as compared with those near Telegraph Creek, may show that the terrace-deposits have been laid down near the front of a retreating glacier-mass, the water-level of the lake being reduced />(in' />asst(, with its reces- THE YUKON TERRITORY 297 ;n :h ts, at iii- ar )se XV. le sion. The hij^hcst terrace-level observed near the Tahl-tan, is at an approximate elevation of 1700 feet above the sea, while half way between the Tooya and Dease Lake the terraces run up to a height of about 2800 feet. At the head of the lake a well-marked terracc-edfi^c was observed at 520 feet above the lake, or 3180 feet above the sea. The irregular surface of the same terrace sloped upward to a further height of about 100 feet, and granite boulders were found on the summit of a lime- stone hill 1000 feet above the lake, or 3660 feet above the sea. If the supposition of the considerable inland extension of the glaciers of the Coast Mountains at one epoch of the glacial period be correct (and it is strictly paralleled by similar circum- stances in the more southern part of British Columbia), the greater part of the gigantic erratics met with may probably have been derived from the Coast Ranges, through the Cassiar Mountains : possibly other ranges in the region are charac- terized by similar rocks. Dease Lake is the central point of the Cassiar district, and though, as shown by statistics subsequently quoted, the yield of gold has greatly fallen off since the palmy days of its first discovery, it is very probable that further jilacer mines of value may yet be found in this region (of which a great part still remains to be carefully prospected), and there is every reason to believe that (juart/ mining and other imlustries will before long be developed on a considerable scai l-veii at the present moment this district is more easily accessible tltm that of Caribou, and when a waggon-road shall have 1) )iiiit from the head of navigation on the Stikine to Dease Lake it sliould be easy to lay down goods at the latter {)()int at very reasonable rates. The construction of a waggon-road, with moderately favour- able grades, between Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake, would not be very difficult or expensive. The first ascent from Telegraph Creek is steep, but might easily be overcome. Hetween eight and ten miles from Telegraph Creek, or for 1 distance of about two miles, the road woidd havi' to follow .1 rough hill-side above the canon, where some blasting and grading would hv required. The descent to thi' Tahl-tan would entail some heavv side-hill cutting in rock and earth and a Mi ■1 iiil 298 THE YUKON TERRITORY 14 1 ,n '! , bridj^'c would be necessary. The ascent and crossing of the " lava bed " would entail about a mile of rouf,di work on the opposite side of the Tahl-tan, and should the line of the present trail be followed, a low^ and steep ascent, with j^radinf^ in gravel and clay, would be required at \\'ard"s. and again in descending to and ascending from the Tooya vallej-, but no rock work would be necessary. It seems quite probable, how- ever, that a better route might be found for a road, at a lower level, from Ward's to the mouth of the Tooya, in fijllowing the side of the main valley. In eithiT case a good bridge would be required at the Too\a. Beyond this, all the way to Dease Lake, no further serious obstacle presents itself. Portions of the route are clayey and swampy, and to render these easily passable, from eight to ten miles of corduroj' in all would be required, and for this suitable material could be obtained near by in all cases. Should the construction of a railway be contemplated, the difficulties to be surmounted would be greater in proportion, particularly l)etween Telegraph ("reek and the Tahl-tan, where the line would have to follow the side of the canon, which is very rough and rocky. Beyond this point, so far as the valley can be seen from the trail, it presents no very serious impedi- ments. Below Telegraph Creek, to Glenora, (jr a little further, a railway would involve some moderately heavy side-hill work : but further dcjwn the Stikine, to the sea, it might fjUow the river-flats at a nearly uniform K'\el. The greatest difficulty to be apprehended on this part of the line would l)e that likely to arise in winter from the very hea\y snow-fall on the river below the Little Caiion. It may be pointed out in this coiiiiecticju that the survey of the Stikine and of the valley leading by the Tan/illa to Dease Lake shows the route to be ;in ex( n (Hngly direct one to Dease Lake, and that, taken in ronjunctmn with the valleys of the Dease and Liard Rivers, it alTords almost an air-line from the Paeilic coast to the great Maekeuiiie Ri\-er. We reached the head of Dease Lake on June 5th, and evt'U- tuallj' left the hikv on the morning of June i()th, spending thus thirteen days in all upon the lake. At the date of our arrival the lake, with the exception of a small area at its head was THE YUKON TERRITORY 299 still covered with the decayed but unbroken ice of the previous winter, and this did not finally break up and disappear till the i6th. Meanwhile, almost all our time and attention were devoted to sawinjj; out boards and building three boats. The followinj,^ dates, obtained from Mr. Robert Reid, of Laketon, are those of the opening; and closin;jf of the lake for the past few years : — Voir. 1882 18S3 18S4 1885 1886 1887 Ldh' opened. Lake eloscd. December 51I1 or 6lh Uecciiiber 5 ill June 9th May 30th (Clear from end to end) June 2nd Decemljcr 2nd June 3rd December ist (Frozen completely across) June 5th December i6tli (Crossing on ijtli) June i6th of lise lise Ihe he ■n- Mis •al as Dease Lake has an elevation of 2660 feet above the sea, and lies nearly due north-and-south on the ijoth meridian. It has a total lenj^th of twenty-four miles, with an averaj^e width of less than one mile, beinj;- somewhat narrower at the northern than at the southern end. Dease Creek, on the delta of which is situated Laketon, the chief place of the Cassiar district, enters on the west side at sixteen miles and three (luartiis from the head of the lake, and is the largest tributary stream. It is also the most important, beinj^ that on which the richest of the f^old deposits were discovered, and (jn which /^old is still worked to a liiuited extent. A certain amount of business is still carried on here, and it is the lieadcjuarters of the GoUl Com- missioner. The old Hudson IJay Post was situated about two miles from the lower end of the lake, on the east side. A small steamer was put upon the lake when the mines were in a tlourishinj;' condition, anil is still employed in makint;- occasional trips up or down the lake with supplies. The country about the lake is everywhere wooded, thouj^h " timber "" trees are lomid only in sheltered valK-ys or on low land. It is not rou;;hly mountainous, tlKJUj^h se\eral prominent summits exist. Near the northern end of the lake do the mountains begin to crowd down closely to tlu' water's edge. ;oo THE YUKON TERRITORY ! f i .1' ,'(' 1 1 '■ ^ '.'r The lake is shallow and marshy at both ends, but elsewhere is evidently very deep, though no soundings have been made in It. The vegetation gives evidence of a greater rainfall, and conditions more alpine and less favourable than those met with on the trail to the south-eastward, and sharply contrasting with that of Telegraph Creek and the Tahl-tan. The effect of the ice upon the lake in spring in retarding the vegetation in its immediate vicinity, was very apparent. Agriculture can scarcely be regarded as practicable in this region, and the results of gardening, however carefully conducted, are small. Potatoes can be grown, but in some j-ears they are much injured by frost ; carrots, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflowers and turnips may be made to afford a fair return. Such rock-exposures as could be reached near the shores of the lake were inspected, and the material brought down from the hills by several streams was examined. The rocks as a whole closely resemble those of parts of the gold-bearing series of Caribou district. Dease Creek is said to be about twelve miles in length and to rise in a lake about hve miles long. The ancient pre-glacial valley has, at the same later-glacial period, been tilled with clayey and gravelK' deposits, among which large and often glaciated boulders are common. These deposits frequently resemble boulder-clay, and are possibly entitled to be so called. The present valley has been cut down through them, and often to a consideralile depth into the rock beneath them. The mining has occurred chieily in the bed of the stream, along the surface of the solid rock, in the sides of the valley, and in various places in the gravel deposits which still remain ; also at the head of the flat on which Laketon stands, where the stream issues from the narrow recent valley. Much (]uart2 occurs in the wash of the stream, and the gold, being "coarse," is evidently of local origin and has been liberated by the disinte- gration of the rocks in the immediate vicinity of, if not entirely within, the actual drainage-area of the stream. The following table, based on the reports of the Minister of Mines of British Columbia, clearly illustrates the sudden rise and gradual decadence of the gold yield of Cassiar district : — 'I ii THE YUKON TERRITORY ;,oi Ml in at un in IS .ly ot lise Estimated value of Gold produced by Cassiar District, from 1S74 to iSSy. 1873 . . . ... ... Not known. 1874 §1,000,000 1875 830,000 1876 S5M74 1877 499,830 1878 519,720 1879 405,200 1880 297,850 1881 198,900 1882 182,800 1883 ... 119,000 1884 ... ... ... ... 101,600 1885 ... ... 50,600 1886 63,610 1887 60,485 Total .S4,886,o69 No estimate has been formed for the yield of the mines in the first year of their operation (1875), but as that ior the following year appears probably to be overstated, it ina)-, for the purpose of arriving at a general estimate of the whole, be assumed that the sum of one million includes both years. The value of the gold may be stated as from S16 to 817 per ounce, though that of Dease Creek is usually priced at about -^iS'So only. In the Report of Progress of the Geological Survey for 1886- 87, I was enabled to give a general note on the various creeks worked for gold in Cassiar and on the Stikine. The informa- tion there given was chiefiy furnished by Mr. G. 13. Wright. I am now able to add to this, particulars as to the actual con- dition of the workiiigs in 1887. These were largely obtained through the kindness of Mr. J. S. Crimp, the present Gold Commissioner for Cassiar district, thougn facts were also gathered from several old miners who were among the first to enter the country. As explained on a previous page, my oppor- tunities of personally investigating the Cassiar ilistrict were restricted by the necessity of pushing on to our main field of exploration. Chiefly from the sources above-mentioneil the following summary account of the different localities is derived. Stikine River. — Gold discovered, 18G1. \'ery fine gold can be found on almost all parts of the river, but \eiy little profit- able work was ever done below the month of the Clearwater. The rich grcjund may be said to have begun about nine miles below Glenora, and to have extended thence to the Grand li' 3 ?02 THE YUKON TERRITORY ;!■> i '^i 1 I Cnnon, above Tclej^'rapli Creek. Here Sheck's or Shake's Bar, aiul Carpenter's, Fiddler's and Buck's Bars were situated, the richest bein^ between Clenora and Telef^'raph Creek, thouj^h ;;()ld was also worked in a few places in the Grand Canon. With the exception of a few spots in the lower part of the canon, below the Tahl-tan, and one nearly opposite Wilson's, all the gold was very hne. Coarse j^old was also found on the lower part of Tahl-tan, which proved quite profitable, and bars were worked for a distance of ten or fifteen miles up the river. Pellets supposed to be oi silver, but probably of arquerite or silver-amalgam, were also found on the Tahl-tan. The bars on the Stickinc at first averaged 8j to 8io a day to the hand, and as much as two to three ounces were sometimes obtained, but not more than Si to 85 can now be got, and work has practically ceased. It is stated that none of the higher benches so far prospected will pay for hydraulic work, but it is doubtful whether these have been examined with sufficient care, as the area of such benches is very considerable. Dcase Creek. — The bed of this creek has been gcjue over several times, and is now nearly worked out. It formerly yielded 88 to 850 a day to the hand, and paid well from the head of the fiat, at its mouth, for six miles up. Above this a few isolated gootl claims were found, particularly the Caribou Company's claim, eight miles up, from which much heavy gold was obtained. This claim has been worked over four times. The best remaining claims are bench claims on the south side of the creek, some of these being upon an old high channel which yields well in places. Some hydraulic work on a small scale is being carried on. In 1886 there were sixteen whites and thirty-five Chinese at work, and the total amount produced was about 815.000. The gold is generally well water-worn and somewhat mixed in character, varying in value from 8i5'5" to 81O per ounce. '1 liibert Creek.— 'Ww bed of this stream is also worked out. It paid for about six miles up from the mouth, jieldingat about the same rate as the last. Bench claims are now being worked, two by the hydraulic method, the rest by tunnelling. An old high chanrel had also been found on the south side of this creek, upon which two claims are being worked, one paying very i> 1' VWm rk, ith to IV s as llie the lich is mcl :i'ci and () to )Ut. out )ld this I'L'O' THE YUKON TERUITORV 303 well. Yield in 1866, nearly the same with Dease Creek, about twenty-two whites and twenty-tive Chinese bein;,' employed. Gold valued at .^ib per ounce. On a tributary named Mosquito Creek very good prospects have lately been obtained — as much as 340 to a six-foot set oi timbers. Work is now goin<^' on here. Defot Creek. — A tributary of Canon Creek, on the same (west) side of Dease River with the last. It rises on a plateau hij^h above the river, where great numbers of quart;; reefs occur, and the gold found is quite rough and full of quartz. Large nuggets have been obtained, including one of fourteen ounces in weight. Some work is still in progress, though the creek-bed is worked out. Gold worth !iiii7 per ounce. CaTion Creek. — No paying deposits found. Cottomvood Creek. — This large stream heads in the same mountains with the last, but no paying deposits have been found upon it. Beady Creek. — A little mining was done here in 1874 and 1875, but nothing of importance ever found. Eagle River. — No mining ever developed. McDame Creek. — Discovered 1874. The highest average daily yield varied from i^G to Sioo to the hand when mining was at its best. Most of the gold was obtained in what appeared to be an old high-level channel, which crossed points of terraces or benches on both sides of the present stream. A very small proportion of the yield was from the stream-bed. Four or five whites and forty Chinese are now at work here, the greater number of the Chinese being employed on wide flats, which occur about nine miles up the creek. Bench claims run for about seven miles up the creek or to Holloway's l>ar. Gold worth from %'i.Tl'S t" •'^iS per ounce. Snoiv Creek, a. tributary of the last. — The richest claim foiuid in Cassiar was near the mouth of this creek, yielding ftn" a week 300 ounces for six to eight men. Only two men now at work. Quartz Creek, a branch of Trout Creek, which is also a tributary of McDame Creek. — Good claims were worked here, yielding rough gold full of quartz. Much quartz in the vicinity. Two miners now at work. F 2 ti « '1 w^ i MH t It' p 304 THE YUKON TEkklTORY Rosella Patterson and Dennis Creeks. — Yielded moderate amounts of gold, paying " wages," say, at ^6 a day. Now abandoned. The remaining creeks mentioned in the report cited, viz. Gold Creek, Slate Creek, Sotner's Creek or First North Fork of Mc Davie, Third North Fork of McDanie, Sprint^ Creek and Fall Creek, are now abandoned, though several of them yielded a considerable amount of gold at one time. Sayyea Creek. — Near the head-waters of the Upper Liard, Nielded excellent prospects, but has never been properly examined. The gold obtained was found in the benches, and some of it was very coarse. The creek yielded at the rate of -Sio'go a day to the hand for a short time, to three miners who discovered it. Walker Creek. — Said to be distant about seventy miles in an easterly direction from the mouth of McDame Creek. Some work has been done here, but no great quantity of gold obtained. Black, Turnagain or " Muddy " River. — Reached by trail running easterly from a point opposite the mouth of McDame Creek, and said to be ninety miles distant. Fine gold stated to have been obtained to the value of ^10 per day to the hand, and it is generally believed that coarse gold may occur on its head-waters. In 1874 prospectors found streams about seventy miles south-east of Dease Lake, which are supposed to be tributaries of this river, and yielded J^G a day in coarse gold, but at the time this was considered too poor to work. Considerable difficulties were experienced in mining opera- tions in some parts of the Cassiar district on account of frozen ground, often met with below the wooded and mossy surface. It is on record that on Dease Creek the ground continued to be frozen to the end of a tunnel driven in one hundred and fifty feet from the slope of the hill, and at a depth of forty feet from the surface ; but after the woods and moss had been burnt off, little further complaint was heard of frozen ground. Very little has yet been done in the way of prospecting for metalliferous veins in this district, but from what I have been able to learn it would well repa}- a thorough examination, and the comparative ease with which it may be reached from the ^ ^Jl THK YUKON TERRITORY 305 been lind. IVA for been m, and Ini the coast, together with the facility it affords for the construction of a good road to the very centre of the district, should not be forgotten. A specimen of gdena, holding a little copper and iron pyrites, from the " Acadia Claim," South Fork of McDame Creek, was given to me some years ago by Mr. J. W. McKay. This has since been ;i'-;ayed by Mr. C. Hoffmann, and proves to contain seventy-five ounces of silver to the ton of 2000 lbs. A piece of native copper, fifteen pounds in weight, was at one time found in Boulder Gulch, Thibert Creek. Taking into consideration the great extent of generally auriferous country included in the Cassiar district, it must be conceded, that apart from the immediate vicinity of the well- known productive camps, it has been very imperfectly prospected. A great part of the district has in fact merely been run over in search of rich diggings, the simplest and cheapest methods of prospecting only having been employed in the quest. It is not improbable that additional rich crerks like those of the vicinity of Dease Lake may yet be discovered elsewhere, and it may be considered certain that these arc great areas of poorer deposits which will pay to work with impruved methods, and will eventually be utilized. It is also to be anticipated that "quartz mining" will ere long be inaugurated, and will afford a morj permanent basis of prosperity than alluvial mining, however rich. It ':':, ^pm I' » ) * ;l CHAPTER VI. Discovery of the Cassirii- district liy tlic Ihidson li.iy Company — Dense Lnke fouml unci named l)y Mr. J. McLcoii, cliicf trader— The Indian Uridine — Geograpiiical information (>!)tain(.il hy Mr. McLeod — Tooya Kiver the fmthest point reaciieay Company, and ajrain, after a considerable interval, by the j^old miners. rhe Hudson Hay Company made an iinsnccessfnl atti mpt, in 1834, to reach the trade of the inti'rioi" coimtrv west of the Kocky Moimtains from the month of the Stikine. In the summer of iS 54, Mr. J. McLeod, chief trader, was explorinj^' the Liard River above Fort Htilkett, and endeavouring; to discover some stream llowinj; to the westx' id. He found and named Dease L;d I'ort Halkett, so alarmed the party that they tinni'd back, abandoninjjf their .ijooils, and ran ilown stream to l""ort Simjjson. In 1S3JS, Mr. R. Campbill vohmtet'red his services to estal)lish a tradin}; post at Dease l^ake, and in t!ie spriii}; of that yar he succeeded in doin,;; s(/. He was accom|)anied by a half-bii "d and two Indian lads. After ascertainin;,' that tlu' "I'clK"' of McLeod was identical with the Stikine. lu- returned to Dease Lake, ^vhere, to employ his own words, " we passed a winter of constant danj^er from the sava,i;i' Russian (Coast) Indians, and of nuich sufferiufj; from starvation. \\^' wcie dependent for subsistence on what animals we could catch, and, failinj^ that, on ' tripe tie roclie' We were at one tiint- reduced to such dire straits that we were obli.Ljcd to i-at our parchnn-nt windows, and our last meal before abandoning Di-ase Like, on (Sth Maj', iNjfj, consisted of tlu' lacing of our snow shoes." ' ' The discovery and cxnloratiou of the Yukon (Pclly) River. Winnipeg-, 1885. iH V ' I . 'I \ 3o8 THE YUKON TERRITORY fi The post, thus abandoned, was not again re-occupied. It had become unnecessan-, owing to the leasing of the " coast strip " of Russian America by Sir George Simpson for the Company, in consequence of which the trade of the interior was entirely controlled on both sides by the Company. From that time the country appears to have been practically forgotten until 1872, when the discovery of gold by Messrs. Thibert and iVIcCulloch brought about an entire change in its conditions. Henry Thibert, a French-Canadian, left the Red River country in i86g on a hunting and prospecting expedition to the west. In 1871 he met McCulloch, a Scotchman, and together they passed the winter near the abandoned site of Fort Halkett, on the Liard River, suffering in their turn severe hardships from scarcity of food. Near this place, probably on what was known afterwards as McCulloch's liar, gold was first found. In 1872 they reached Dease Lake, having been informed that it was a good locality for fish, with the intention of securing a sui'ficient supply for the ensuing winter. Being told, however, by the Indians, that white men were engaged in mining on the Stikine not far off, they crossed by the trail from the head of the lake and reached the mining camp at Buck's Bar. Early in 1873 they set out on their return to the original discovery of gold, but meeting with success on Thibcrt's Creek, at the lower end of the lake, they were deterred from going further, and remained working there during the summer, being joined afterwards by thirteen other miners from the Stikine. Dease Creek was discovered during the same season, and Captain W. Moore was among the first to begin work there. Thibert is still mining in Cassiar, but McCulloch lost his life some years since on a winter journey on the Stikine. In 1874 the population, exclusive of Indians, was estimated to have reached 1500. The placers of McDame Creek were discovered. Miners descended the Liard for a long distance, and worked McCulloch's Bar and other river bars. The little town of Laketon was built at the mouth of Dease Creek, and beef cattle were for the first time brought across country from the Upper I'^raser. The total yield of gold from the district (which, from a mining point of vimv, inchulos the Stikine) is roughly estimated to have been equal to $1,000,000. J )'»■ oing ;ine. and icrc. life ted hvcrc , and town beef the Ihich, rhlv THE YUKON TERRITORY 309 In 187s the population is estimated to have been 1081, and the yield of gold equalled about ^830,000. Three hundred head of cattle were brought from the Fraser overland. This and the preceding season were the best years of the district. Prospect- ing was activel)' carried on in outlying regions, Sayyea Creek being discovered near the Liard head-waters, and the Frances River also apparently examined. Owing to the flattering accounts sent out, a great influx of miners occurred in 1876, the population being at one time estimated at 2000. Profitable work could not, however, be found for so many men, and the yield of gold fell to $499,830. Walker Creek, said to be from seventy to eighty miles east of McDame Creek, was discovered, but that stream never proved very remunerative. Defot Creek was also found, and in 1878 proved rich for a limited area. Since that time the production of the district and the number of miners employed have gradually declined, and no important new creeks have been discovered, though reports of their exist- ence have from time to time been circulated. The Black or Turnagain (Muddy) River is the most recent of these, some attention being drawn to it in i(S86. Though the region about Dease Lake is as a whole rather low, with isolated mountains and ridges here and there pro- minent, that to the east and north-east is difterent, being studded with rugged mountains, and constituting an important mountain range with north-west and south-east trend, and a transverse width of nearly fifty miles. This range appears to represent a cuntinu;ition of that named in various maps the Peak Mountains or Blue Mountains, but as its comiection to the south-eastward is as yet uncertain, and as neither of these names possesses cither a distinctive character or any special fitness, I believe it will be most appr(){)riate and convenient to call the rangi' the Otss/ar Range, and shall accordingly so designate it. The entire length of the Dease River is one hundred and ten miles, but following all the sinuosities of the stream, one hundred and eighty miles. The height of Uease Lake, as previously stated, is 2660 feet. That of the confluence of the Dease and Liard is about 2100 I Hi 1:> . i.1 ii: Ij m. i I :3*" % \i '< :i m ^^1 ji ' I, V ''.i' i 1 1 < 1 5 1 i)l |>;k!{ 'I 310 THE YUKON TERRITORY feet. The velocity of tlie current was estimated at three miles an hour, as a general average, but there are several little rapids, as well as some rather long tranquil reaches. The river, from Dease Lake to the Liard, maj^ easily be descended in two days, but the ascent is a comparatively slow process, depending much on the height of the water, and, when the bars and beaches are not bare for tracking, is a tedious affair. It is possible that the river might be navigated by small stern-wheel steamers of good power, as there are no insuperable obstacles, but doubtful whether such an enterprise would be a remunerative one, even if the traffic were to assume propor- tions much greater than at present. Such goods as are now required at McDatne Creek (fifty-five and a half miles below Dease Lake by the course of the stream) and at the little trading post at the mouth of the river, are easily taken down stream in large tlat-bottomed boats, which go back light, by poling and tracking, without great difliculty. The boating on the river has been done principally by crews of Coast Indians, who are engaged and brought into the interior for the purpose. On leaving Dease Lake, the ri\er is a small stream, averaging from 100 to 150 feet only in width, extremely tortuous and rather swift, meandering in a wide, ilat valley. At about eight miles from the lake it enters the mountains, the valley at the same time gradually narrowing and becoming bordered by mountains from 4500 to 5000 feet in height. At tlhrteen miles from Di-ase Lake, it expands into a little lake about a mile and three quarters in length, and between this and the mouth of Cottonwood Creek it flows through three more similar lake-like expansions. These are probably formed in all cases by tlie partial blocking of the \alley by (h'bris brought in by tributary streams, of which Cottonwood Cr^'ek itself is the last and most important. These lakes constitute impedi- ments to navigation, as they free/Je over in the autumn long before the ice takes on the river, and remain frozen till late in the spring. Dease River rapidly increases in si/i', and soon doubles its volume, owing to the number of aflhient streams, of which Cottonwood Creek is the first which may be called a river. tin- lore all ht is )c(li- lonj;- te ill its hich ivev. fi ■i i 11 r i: 'f, s I iKi I ri 'ft '■r f M ff 1^' J 11 li f5 i i THE YUKON TERRITORY 311 This stream occupies an important valley, bordered by high ranges. No paying deposits of gold have ever been found either on this or on Eagle River, which enters the Dease from the south about four miles further down. Eagle River also flows between high mountains, and its valley appears to be parallel to, and analogous with, that occupied by Dease Lake. It is evidently the "Christie River" of McLeod,' but this name has entirely passed out of use, and it appears hopeless to endeavour to reinstate it. Cottonwood Creek is shown on Arrowsmith's maps, according to McLeod and Campbell, but is not named. There is a considerable development of terraces at high levels on the sides of some of the mountains, particularly in the part of the valley which runs along the base of the Skree Range. Well-marked terraces were here seen on the west side of the valley, at an estimated height of 2000 feet above the river, or about 4600 feet above the sea. Immediately below the mouth of Cottonwood Creek is the Cottonwood Rapid, in which the course of the river is impeded by a number of boulders. The rapid is not a formidable one, or at all dangerous to run, with ordinary care. The river below Cottonwood Creek runs nearly due east for about ten miles with a rather strong current. It then turns more to the northward, and after making several large flexures, reaches Sylvester's Landing, at the mouth of McDame Creek, in about eight miles. Immediately opposite the mouth of McDame Creek is a remarkably prominent and abrupt rocky mountain, which it is proposed to name Sylvester Peak. Its height was estimated at 7000 feet, but the circumstances did not admit of its measurement. Sylvester's Landing is the point of supply for the miners on McDame Creek, also a post for Indian trade. McDame Creek was discovered to be auriferous in 1874. It has since been constantly worked, and, with its tributaries, has yielded much gold, but is now believed to be nearly exhausted. Its valley ' I have endeavoured in all cases to identify the orij^inal nrimes given by the first explorers in this country, and also to ascertain the native nanius of places, but where these have passed entirely out of use by the miners and traders now in the country, it becomes necessary to drop them, though in so doing the strict law of priority is, no doubt, transgressed. lil^' THE YUKON TERRITORY f i ■! I' U' III liil is wide and important, runninj^ north-westward for about seven miles, and then turning nearly due west. The mountains bordering McDame Creek, viewed from Sylvester's Landing, are singularly different from any before met with. They are evidently composed for the most part of limestone, and characterised by the occurrence of long, bare slopes of shattered rock-fragments. They are scarcely at all wooded, and in this respect resemble the bare limestone crests of parts of the Rocky Mountains in more southern latitudes. Potatoes and turnips of large size are grown every season without difficulty on McDame Creek. Nine miles below Sylvester's, the Dease makes its great bend toward the north, the intervening portion of the river some- what changing its character from that above described, rock exposures being comparatively frequent in its banks and bed, where they produce several little rapids. Forty-mile Creek enters from the south at somewhat less than the specified distance below Sylvester's. It appears to be the " Stuart River "of McLeod, shown on Arrowsmith's map of 1850, but neither on this nor on that of 1854 is McDame Creek indicated. Sylvester's trail to Turnagain or Black River (Muddy River of miners) runs up this valley, and follows a tributary — Sheep Creek — to the south-eastward, passing near the base of Sheep Mountain, a high rugged peak estimated at 8000 feet, situated about five miles and a half south of the Dease. The distance to the trading outpost on Turnagain River is estimated at ninet}' miles, but is probably less. Horses are employed in packing over the trail. The valley of the Rapid River joins that of the Dease at its great bend, just alluded to, but the stream, running parallel with the Dease for some distance, enters it several miles lower down. The northerly course of the river carries it very obliquely through the eastern portion of the Cassiar Range. The quantity of snow resting upon the mountains was observed to be very small, and Sylvester successfully winters his horses here, without cutting hay or otherwise providing for them, the depth of snow in winter being so small that it does not seriously interfere with grazing. This favoured district is, in in uely The rved rses lem, not in TFIE YUKON TERRITORY 13 fact, homologous with that in the vicinity of Telegraph Creek, being in the dry lee of the Cassiar Range, just as that is in a similar situation with respect to the Coast Mountains. Much of the valley, with the slopes of the hills, is open or partially wooded with groves of black pine {P. 3Iurrayaita) and aspen poplar. The grass has the tussocky bunch-grass character usually found in dry regions, and it is intermixed with the small sage {Artemisia frigida). The bear- berry {Arctostapldyos uva-tirsi) is not uncommon, and the strawberry and lupin {LupiiiHS Nootkatcnsis) were in flower. Anemone patens was here also observed for the first time, but long past flowering. Making allowance for the time occupied in reaching this place from Telegraph Creek, the progress of vegetation here was palpably less advanced, but the showing was still a remarkable one for the latitude, elevation and distance from the sea of the region. Below the Rapid River the Dease becomes relativelj' wide, with numerous gravel-bars, and in some places many islands, with frequent " drift piles " or accumulations of timber. Terraces are well shown on the sides of the mountains, and reach a height of about 2000 feet above the river. A few miles before reaching the second great bend, a stream joins from the west, which has become known to the miners as French Creek, and is probably the " Detour River " of old maps. It rises on the north-east slope of the Cassiar Mountains, and is not large. The last main reach of the Dease extends from the second great bend to its mouth, a distance of thirty-one miles in a direction of N. 55° E. Though the course of the river is far from being direct, the general bearing leaves the base of the Cassiar Range nearly at a right-angle. In descending this part of the river, the mountains soon become invisible from the river-valley, which is bordered by undulating lowlands, or low diffuse hills which rise to a plateau at some miles distant, from 400 to 500 feet above the stream. Banks of frozen soil were seen in one or two places beneath a peat}' or mossy cover- ing. The climate is evidently more humid than before, and less favoureible to vegetation. The current of the river is swift, and there are two or three inconsiderable rapids, but none of impor- I VM 1 I i-f j'ii M 3H THE YUKON TERRITORY ! i r- tance till within about four miles of the mouth, where there are several strong rapids ; these at certain stages of the water are reported to be dangerous, and in all our boats shipped more or less water. Terraces, as much as 300 feet in height, approach the river in some places in this part of its course, and when cut into generally show stratified gravels which sometimes rest directly on low exposures of rock. The larch (Lari'x Aincruana) was first seen five miles below the second great bend, and below this place becomes quite abundant in cold, swampy spots, where it grows with the black spruce {Picea nigra). Blue River (the " Caribou River " of Campbell) joins the Dease twelve miles below the second great bend. It is a stream fifty feet wide at the mouth, with clear water, and derives its supply from the north-eastern slopes of the Cassiar Range, to the north of French Creek. The " Lower Post," which is the furthest outwork of " civili- zation " or trade in this direction, is ituated at the edge of a terrace forty feet in height on the left > ank of the Liard, about half a mile above the mouth of the Dease. It is of a very unpretentious character, consisting of a few low log buildings. In the vicinity the woods have been entirely destroj-ed by fire. The Liard River is said to open, as a rule, h-om the ist to the 5th of May, though in 1887 this did not occur till the i8th of that month. In the autumn of 1886 it was frozen over on November 21st. It would be impossible, without the expenditure of much time, to make anything like a complete geological section on the line of the Dease, the main geological features are, however, suffi- ciently apparent. At the first little lake, a granitic area is entered, which may be i-egarded as constituting the axis of the Cassiar Range, and which extends on the river to the mouth of the Cottonwood, constituting the entire Skree Range, and apparently also Anvil Mountain and the surrounding high mountain region, with a transverse width of about thirteen miles. The granite here differs somewhat from that found on the Stikine in being more highly quartzose and occasionally garnetiferous. Mica is present in great abundance, and is in some specimens black, in others of THE YUKON TKRRITORY 315 time, He line suffi- iwhich ange, Iwood, Anvil Ivith a here niore Iresent liers of characteristic pale, silvery colours. The existence of distinctly gneissic rocks was not ascertained, but the lithological character of the series resembles that of the lowest rocks of Shuswap Lake and other districts in the interior of British Columbia to the south, which hr ve been provisionally referred to the Archaean. The valley of Cottonwood Creek appears to coincide with the north-eastern edge of the granites for a number of miles. The mountains to the north of it, and extending eastward along the north side of the Dease, are evidently composed of stratilicd rocks, including important beds of limestone, the average dip being about N. 45° E.< 30°. The northern spur of the moun- tain which terminates the Skree Range, opposite the mouth of Cottonwood Creek, shows the overlap of the stratified rocks upon the granites at a considerable height above the river. The mountains which run southward on both sides of Eagle River valley seem to be also granitic for the most part, though a greenish-grey felsite was collected on the river from the northern spur of the mountain to the east of the valley. Little was ascertained respecting the rocks composing the mountains between Eagle River and Sylvester's Landing, but granite does not reappear in them. Eleven miles south of the second great bend, on the right bank of the river, is a low, r^ )cky cliff, about fifteen feet above the water, capped by about ten feet of bedded white silts. The rocks are blackish, sandy shales, rather hard in some places, carbonaceous, and holding a little impure lignite. They are extremely irregular in dip, and are broken and jumbled up with a hard, grey quartzite, which is seen in places as the underlying rock, but is even then singularly shattered. The aspect of the shales is that of those of the Tertiary rocks, and it is possible that this locality represents an old shore-line, but more probable that the rocks form part of an ancient slide, or are upon the line of disturbance of a fault. From the second great bend to the mouth of the Dease, the underlying rocks consist of grey and black schists, the former generally calc-schists, and the latter more or less highly car- bonaceous. They are interbedded with thin limestones, which often weather brown. The calc-schists are frequently glossy, and in some places form very thin, paper-like layers. Some of G 'II if: til it 4) '^■> ,1 1 1 ^ ! i hi' ^^1. ! I f! 316 THE YUKON TERRITORY these rocks closely resemble those met with at the " Grand Rapid " on the Stikine, The general strike is north-west by south-east, but the direction and auf^le of dip is very varied, and the beds are frequently much disturbed and twisted, and traversed by veins of quartz and calcite. There are probably frequent repetitions of the same horizon, but the f^eneral arrange- ment may be synclinal, the dark shales and schists occupying the higher position, and being most abundant about the middle of this length of the river-section. Graptolites were found in the dark shales, particularly at a locality in a north bend of the river, eleven miles westward in a direct line from the mouth, and in appearance the whole series is much like that of the Cambrian calc-schists and Cambro-Silurian giaptolite-shales of the Kicking Horse (Wapta) valley, west of the summit, on the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The general aspect and association of the rocks to the east of the granite axis of the Cassiar Range closely resembles that of the Rocky Mountains about the 51st parallel, but differs in the large proportion of metamorphic materials of volcanic origin, which, from the debris brought down by streams, must be even more abundant than the exposures along the river would indicate. This difference is paralleled by the similar change which is met with on the 51st degree of latitude, in passing from the Rocky Mountains proper to the interior plateau of British Columbia. A small collection of graptolites, made at the point above indicated, has been submitted by Mr. J. F. Whiteaves to Prof. Charles Lapworth, of Mason College, Birmingham, who has kindly examined them, and furnishes the following note : — " The graptolites collected by Dr. Dawson from the Dease River are identical with those examined by me from the rocks of the Kicking Horse Pass, some time last year. The species I notice in the Dease River collection are: — Diplograptus eiiglyphus (Lapworth). Climacograptus, comp. antiquus (Lapworth). Cryptcgraptus tricornis (Carruthers). Glossograpttis ciliatus (Emmons). Didymograptus, comp. Sagittarius (Hall). New form allied to Canograptiis. THE YUKON TKRRITOKY '0^7 Dease rocks icies I "The f^raptolite-bcarinf^ rocks are clearly of about middle Ordovician age. They contain forms which I would refer to the second or Black River Trenton period, i.e. they are never newer than the Point Levis series and older than the Hudson and Utica groups. The association of forms is such as we find in Britain and Western Europe, in the passage-beds between the Llandeilo and Caradoc limestones. The rocks in Canada and New York with which these Dease River beds may best be compared are the Marsouin beds of the St. Lawrence valley and the Norman's Kill beds of New York. The Dease River beds may, perhaps, be a little older than these. ** Mr. C. White describes some graptolites from beds in the mountain region of the west, several years ago, which may belong to the same horizon as the Dease River zones, though they have a somewhat more recent aspect. " The specific identification of the Dease River fossils I regard as provisional. While the species correspond broadly with those found in their eastern equivalents, they have certain peculiarities, which ma}-, after further study (jr on the discovery of better or more perfect specimens, lead to their separation as distinct species or varieties. " It is exceedingly interesting to find graptolites in a region so far removed from the Atlantic basin, and also to note that the typical association of Llandeilo- Bara genera and species is still retained practically unmodified." Overlying these old rocks, in several places at about eight miles from the mouth of the Dease, are shaly clays and coarse, soft sandstones, associated with which a thin bed of lignite was observed. These are evidently Tertiary, and referable to the series afterwards found more extensively developed on the Liard, above the mouth of the Dease. Some very obscure remains of leaves were noticed, but none were collected. The beds dip at various angles, sometimes as high as 15 , and thus appear to have been, to some extent, affected by flexure sub- sequent to their deposition. It is not improbable that a con- siderable part of the higher plateau by which the river is here bordered on both sides, is composed of these newer rocks resting upon the upturned edges of the schists. G 2 llil m SM CHAPTER VII. '« ■ J i Name of the T.innl River defined -The Liard and Frances ascended as far as Simpson Lake about 1X54 — The same route to Frances and Finlayson I,ai r i ! 120 Till', VUKoN I'l'.KKI'rokN' parallel may he s;ii(l to coincide ;i!mnst cxaclly willi the lower end of the canon. The rocks in (he Lower ("anon resemljle tiiose described as charactc'rizin^; tile lo\\(|- pint of tlic J)ease River. < )iiartzites are also present, and all tile rocks are occasionally loc;allv silici- lied. 'The w liiile series is nnicli di^tnrlted and contorted, and is broken by innnnieial)le small, ii"re;^iilar seams and veins of ipiarl/ and calcite with some dolomite, thoii,i,di no well-marked or important lodes were seen, (ialeiia is reported to lia\-e been found in some of the veins, and to have j'ielded a small return in silver on assa)'. 'ihi; Liard is full o( islands at its conlluence with the I'rances, renderiii}; it dii'liciilt to estimate the relati\e ini|)ortance of the two streams, but tlie\' appealed to carrv almut an eipial (|iiantity of water, 'ihe Liard is, howe\er, e\idenll\' more subject to freshets; iManci^ I ,ake doid)tless sei'viu;,' to re^idate tlu; How ol the I'rances lvi\er, which is o( a clear, pale, amber colour, and docs not thomunhK' mingle with the yellowish, tiubid watei' ot the Liard lor some miles. Above the conlluence, the Liard valley is seen lo trend off in a south-westerly direction (01 ten miles or nii Me, aitei' w hi( h it iieain turns to the north-westwar il, and. Iron: the scanty information available concerning it, seems to flow alon;,f the eastern side of the northern contimiation of the ("assiar Ivanj^c, horn whit h it receives most of its watei". Sayyea (reek, which is an inconsiderable stream, flows in from (he west about lifty-fi\e miles above the mouth of the l'"raiices. ("lood ,!^old " |)rosp(!cts " wen; found on this creek in 1^(75, a numbei" of pieces worth ten dollais liaviuf^' been obtained, but little work has e\er been done. ( )f a |)arty of miners who spent the wintei of i>'^7-p5 in its vicinitw foui' iied of scurvy. ( )f the other ti ibutaries of the Li.aid, which nnisl be numerous, I have been unable to ascertain anyliiin^' authentic. The ,i;r,iveM)ars and the shores of this part of the Liard are almost hall ((im|)osed ol rolled (|uart/ pebbles, which havi' evidently bien derived from \eins traversing' relatively soft schistose rocks like those' of the canon. The j^'reat (piantity of such vein material present in this district m;iv be re^^arded as a favoinable indication in lespecl of miueial development. Some TIIK VUKf)N TKKRfTOKY 321 wrr 1 as ;it(!S lici- 1(1 is Ix'cU turn 1" the iitity c.t to low 111 liid H1>1 c, •sU:rly to tllc lilaM'' .f llic icli It IWS 111 ,f til.' 'ck in hrcii rtv of III lied I list 1)0 ■iitic. id arc lia\i' iv soft Itity of Id as a Soiik; small l);:rs have paid to work ;ilon;^' tins part of tlu; river, and f,'olcl is also foiiiid in sonn' layers of the f^ravel de|)osit wliieli crlies the older rocks aloii}/ tlu; canon and abo\c it, where ov wai ;cs " at i^.\ a day can be made. The anioiint of c( )Ver wliich it soon becomes necessary to remo\-e in followiiif^ the payin;,' layers, has pi"e\'ented e.\tcnsi\c lninill^^ hut |)robaI)lv tluse ;^Mavcls mif^dit be advantaj^eoiisly worked as a whole, by shiiciitf,^ or by the hydraulic method. l"or the first few miles above its mouth the I'lances is extremely tortuous, so much so that the distance following; the actual coiirsc of the ri\'er to tlu! loot ol the canon is t\\('nt\-t\vo miles. This river, like the Liaid, was at a niediinn sta^^c near the (-'iul of June, i.S(S7. Marks aloii^; the banks sliow<(l that it had been about six feet higher in the spriuj^, and that it had (• width in this |)art is about f)Oo si nee been falliiiL;. its aver; feet, and the rate ol the cuireiit, at the nicdiiim sta^^'c above referred to, about four miles and a hall an hour. Tlu' hij^hest land immediately bordering on tlii^ part of the river isa. tiirace :it a hei,L;lit ol about 150 feet above it, the surface of which is in some places composed ol :ihii<»; |>iir<' sand, iii)on which o|)i 11 woods ol I'diks Miinavtiiia j;iow. Larch was observed to be moderately abiindaiil in dam|), sIkkK' localities, and tlu banks w< re in some places diNcrsilied with llowcrs, of which /'(f this reach of tlu; ii\-er, two considerable streams enter on the west side, and on one or other of these;, at no great distance from the river, Simpson f.akc; of McLeod and (".am|)l)ell is situated. As tiie Indians who had accom- panied US Imm the UHiuth oint reached by us. On the opposite side, one stream of con- siderable size joins the i'lances. This is sii|)|)osed to be tlu; Ag(l-zl-r:ii oi the Indians, and, if so, is represented as rising,-' in a chain of small lakes, some of which drain in an easterly direction to the Macphersoii [li_ii-is-r-ti>o'-ii) River, 'i'he vallc^y occupied by these lak(!S is a traxi'lled route em|)lo3e(l b}' the Indians. The current is swifter in the ii|)per than in the lower portion of this part of the I'^rances, and then; are numerous islands in the river, but no rock-i'xposiires occur. The mountains to tlu; cast ol the river are high, but haxc blunt, rounded forms. ,1!^ V t'i : '. I I ■1 :f 1 1^ > ( » ^i^ ! V' n^l Pi ! I ! 1 i 324 THI'! YUKON TKRHITOKY Much bare rock shows in their sides, but tliere is 110 a|t|)caranc(; of slratilicatioii, and this, witli their form and colour, and th(' ^'reat ahiiiidaiice of tlial material found in the streams in tiiis vicinity, lenders it nearly certain that they are com|»ose(l of ^Manite. The mountains so far met with in the vicinity of th(; I'rances form rather isolated lanj^es or masses, wlii( h ris(' somewhat abruptly hom {^'cnerally low count ly, or are siparatcd by wide; valleys, the a|)pearancc beiu/^^ that o( a nioimtain system partly buried in later de|)osils; th<)u;^di no Tertiary rocks, either in place or as loost; fra^nnents, an; met with above the Middle ("anon. TIk' {^Manitic moimlains last refericd to form an out- lying' spur or t)uttress of the most important ran;.;e of the district, the axis of whi( h is Ik re about twelve miles east of (he rivt;r. This it is jiroposed to desi},'nate the Too-tslio Rani^c.^ 'I'he sonthernmost hif^di sunmht observed was named, from its foiiu, lent Pi'nk. It is situated in latitude t)o" 5^' ,(5", and has an altitude of 7860 feet above the sea. The liver next makes an ai)rupt turn to the west for four miles, a mile and a (jnarler of (his distance bein^' oc( upied by a series of rapids, which are rocky and lather stron^^s and havi' a total fall of about thiity feet, 'i'he baid hei;4li(s of 100 (o .ioo fee(, (liouf^h the rocky cliffs aloufMlie wa(er are of inconsiderable hei;.;b(, scarcely anywhere exi cedin;; 'if(y feet. 'Ibis pla, imablc lo iiscertaai the Indian name vt 'ii's ranjjt-, it »»«ifi:(l it lias any su( li, Till', YUKON ri'.KKirOKY 325 nipid occiiis. 'I"lic (lips iiid all low, and, so far as observed, iiniforniiy in a northerly dir<'(lion. Sonic of the schists an; highly silicilicd by action snl)Sc(|nciil to their deposition, and parts of all the rocks, iiichidinf,' the limestone, arc reticulated with narrow quart/ seams. Near the ii|)|)er part of the canon some hard conjjlomerates occin, holdin;; s(diistose fraf^'meiits, as ell as limestone pebbles, in which crinoidal joints are observ- iblc. It is not improbable that two mu'on forma ble series of lock w here, but I d)l(- to iind II occur Here, Dill I was iinal)l(; to imd means oi (iisim^iiisiiin^' them ill tlw sections.' I'loiii the l!|)per ("arioii to I'lances i.ake, a distance of twent\-oiie miles and a hall in a stiai};hl line, the river iiiaiii- taiiis a northerly direction with considerable iinitormity. It is deep, with a moderate current, lor about ei^ht miles, or to Moose ls/(iii(/, above wlii( h lor ten miles the ( urreiit is a^'ain swill, avera^diij( from (01 11 and a hall miles to live miles an hour. It a;^^•lin becomes slack lor a short distance below the lake. Some portions oi this jiait ol the river are iiiik h broken up by islands and };ravel-bais. Oiir actual workinj; time on I'laiices l\i\(i, liom its mouth to the lake, was sixty-seven hours and a half. The dilTeicnce of level between l'"raiices Lakeaiid the month ofthe Dease is • 177 feet. Hy assif^Miin^' ninety feet to the fall in the three; canons, and dividin;^^ the remainder b\' the total leiij^fth of the ri\'er (less the a/^^^rej^'ate length ol the < arioiis), we obtain an av(!ra}^'e rate ol descent very slij^ditlv e.\( ci'diii},' three leet to the mile, which is about what mi;;ht be anti(ipated from [\\r. current met with in the riv(M", as (oinpaied with (hat of other streams in the (listri( t . The I'levation of l'"iances Lake abo\c the sea, as deteiniimd by a series of baroineler obsei \ations e\ tern I in;; liom I he Mh l< i the ibtll of |uly, is .^577 feel. Three mile, llMlll its lower end ihe lake biliircates, formiii;; two ajipo iximalely e(|ual and nearly jiaiallel arms, with leiif^'lh . of about lliiitv miles. The two arms are alioiil ei;;hl miles apart, and aic separated i)y ;i f;roiip ol low, idimded nioimlaiiis ; the ( iilmiiial in;; point, with an elevation of 5^50 feet, was named Sim|)sou's Tower by ' Ilsd, llic i()( ks licic noled may K'luc.cni lln; ('hM.k (.'ons lu uliii li tlicy an; iithoid^ii ally siiiiiliU. 11: ; ■!/• .M 1 i U I I 1! n> ^ ■'k ii ( 1 1 -'K 't 326 THE YUKON TF.KKITORY Cainphell, the lake itself rcceivinf,' its name at the same time in honom- of Lady Simpson. Tlie eastern side of ils east arm is bordered by the Too-tsbo Range or hills attached to it, while th(! country to the west of the west arm rises more gradually to tin; bases of the Campbell Mountains, some miles distant. Though so far referrcid to as a single lake, this body of water is in reality entitled to be considered as a group of lakes. It ap]iears best, how(;ver, to retain Campbell's original name for the whoh; body of water, rather than to multiply names for which there is no immediate call. l'"rances Lake closely riisembles a large number of lakes in the motmtainons regions of Jiritish C()lund)ia, and has the long narrow parallel-sided outline characteristic of lak(;s occupying old valley-excavations, the drainage; of which has become int(Mrupted in various ways. In this case, as in a nund)er of others, there can be litth; doubt that the; lake is lu;ld in by moral nic accmnulations. JCxcept along the u|)|)er i)art of the eastern side of the east arm, the mountains do not slope down abru|)tly to the shores of the lake. Llsewluac, the lake is almost conlinnonsly bordered by a terrace-like; |)lateaii, which is widest to the west, and has an average; elevation of about 500 fec;t. This reS(;m- bles the low country about Deasi; Lake, though even more uniform and less sloi)ing in charaet(;r, and is not far from tlu; same actual elexation above the sea in both cases. The streams entering the lake generally cut down through tlu; edges of this plateau-like margin, in deep narrow goiges ; th(; sections show that il is (Composed largely of rock, though levelled •i|) to some extent by tlu; addition of sui)(;rrHi;d gravi;lly deposits. There is, in addition to this, a s(;cou^<)ii, for ihc late Sir W. 1'" Lop[;in. Heavy iti: asses 10 true glaciers an; produced f snow n.'st in some of the valleys, hut a fact indicatinj; a comparatively Ul small snowl; fall. The west arm terminates in a nearly circular basin about a (piarter of a mile in diameter ; at one side of this a fair-si/ed river, easily iiavi},^d)le for boats, Hows in. Tiic east arm was not followed to its head, though its tciininatioii in low land was seen. Here also, aceordinj^f to ("ampbeli's sketch, a considerable river, which he has named Thomas Kivcr, enters. Tlie two valle}s, the lower |)ails occupied by the east and west arms of the lake, run on far beyond the heads of thes(! arms. ICacli of tiie risers llouin.i; in these valleys (;v(.'ntually bifurcates, and ,.dl four streams thus formed rise in lakes. The river ilowinf^Miito the head of the west arm is named Yus-sez' -nil, and the lake on its western blanch is known as Us-ias'-a-lsf/o. No name was obtained lor the lake on its eastern branch, which is evidently, howcvi'i, Macplursoii Lake ol v..am|)U( •II. T P le motmtains to tl le noith ill whieli the se rivers rise, were loo distant to enable us to lix them with any ^Mcat accuracy from points octupied by us on i'Vances Lake, but the whole country in that direction, from such views as were: obtained of it, appeared to be riif^ijed and liij^li. The water of l'"rances I^ake is clear andofa|)ale, brownish tint, and the lake is evidently very deep in its iip|)er portions, though ratlu^r shallow where, encumberi'd !))■ the morainic accumulations already alluded to, and it does not appear to be subject to very great lluctiiatioiis. Driltwood is very abundant along some parts of the slioics, particularly in the west arm, and it is probable that much ol this is brought down by the river entering at the head ol this arm. Lake troiil, w liite-lish, pike, and suckers were louiid in the lake in considei able al)UiKlaiiC( The silt: of the old Hudson Hay ixi^t is jiiht al)o\c the nam iw entrance to the east arm, on the edge oi westward. Though Mr. (ampbell had ll le haul aeiiij. ;i\cii iiie all accurati' description of its position, it was so completely overgrown with bushes ami small trees, that it was tliscovered with dilliculty. I'l! "';':, 'III ill l\- 1 ! hi! m 1 ( 3 28 TIIK YUKON iKKklTOUY Tlic outline of (lie old slo(l<:i(lr, will) liastioiis ;it tlic corners, is still visible, thoiif^li ;ill traces of tiie stiiicture itsi;lf lias dis- appeared. This post lias l)eeii abandoned since 1H51. All tlu! lo\V(rr country about l'"ranr,es Lake is well wooded, rind the nioiiiilains arc; also covered with forest, save when c'xre|)tion;dly steep and rocky, to a heij^lit of at least 1500 feit ai)ov(! the laki', while trees of smaller f^'iowtli extend in the valleys considerably hij^dier. The most abundant tree, here as (;Is(!where in the rcf^ioii, is the white spruce {Piini nUui). It fre(|ueiitly attains a diameter oi two li'it, ^'rowin;^' tall and straij^dit on low j^'rouiid and in sheltered places. The black spnic(! {Picca mu^ra) is also abundant. The larch {Larix Auierkann) is characteristic of dam|), cool, northern slopes, and birch [llitnlii pnpyrifcya) is moderately abundant, thoiij^h not larf^'e. The shores, and particiilaily the delta-llats at the mouths of streams, are characterized by j^'ioves of cottonwood (|)rol)ably all referable here to Popnlus balsixmijern) and black pine {Pinus Miirrayaiui). \.\\x^v. tracts of country have been burnt over, many years rv/^o, and extensive recent (ires have swept the western side of the upper part of the east arm. Whenr a sicond f^Towth has had time to sprinj^ up, it f^^'iierally consists ol mixed spruce, aspen and birch. Alders art; common, but scarcely arboreal, aloiif^f the borders of the lake, in tin; middle of July thickets of wild roses in hill l)lo\'^'' Photographic Sciences Corporation ia V; w r MAIN STMIT WIBSilR.N.Y. MS80 (716) S73-4S03 ^ CHAPTER VIIL r. ArrivrtI at Frances Lake — Difficulties of overland journey towards the Pelly — Search for the trail used by the Hudson Bay Company — No sign of a trail discovered — Indian assistance unobtainable — The expedition compelled to make the best of its own resources — Continuation of journey — Slow rate of progress— Finlayson Lake eventually reached — Observations taken — Arrival at the Pelly River — The region between Frances Lake and the Pelly — General character of the country and climate — The lower part of the Finlayson — McEvoy Lake — Length and elevation of Finlayson Lake — Fish plentiful — Low and swan. py character of the shores — Distance from the head of the lake to the nearest point on the Pelly — Vegetation in the vicinity of the Pelly — Soil of the river terraces — Quartz vein- stuff everywhere abundant — First camp on the Pelly-- Hoole Caiion — Pelly Range — Identification of Hoole River — Banks and beaches of the Pelly above Hoole River — ^The river at Hoole Canon — Ross River — The Pelly between the caiion and Ross River — Rocks of Hoole Caiion and its vicinity — General course of tr.e Pelly from Ross River to Glenlyon River — Lapie River — Formation of the mountains north and south of the Pelly — Densely wooded character of the northern slopes — Forest growth — Rapids in the vicinity of the Glenlyon — Com- position of rocks between the Ross and Glenlyon — Occurrence of rocks of Laramie or Cretaceous age — Tributary streams — The Pelly below Glenlyon River — Glenlyon Mountains — The Detour — Macmillan River — Coalescence; of the Macmillan and Pelly valleys — Upper part of the Macmillan unexplored — First human beings met with since leaving Dease River — Confluence of the Upper Pelly and Lewes Rivers — The Pelly below the Macmillan — Granite Caiion- Character of the country — The current from Granite Caiion to the coiifluencc. WE reached Frances Lake on the morning of the 8th of July, and had we been able to find any local Indians to serve as guides and assist in carrying over our stuff, we should have proceeded at once to the best point for that purpose, and continued our journey overland toward the Pelly. As it was, it became our first object to endeavour to find the trail used many years previously by the Hudson Bay Compay, of which a general description had been furnished by Mr. Campbell. This necessitated a careful examination of the west shore of the west arm to its head, which enabled us to identify, with tolerable certainty, the stream which Campbell had named the Finlayson. It was supposed that the Indians might have THE YUKON TERRITORY 331 employed the same route in the periodical journeys which they were known to make from the Pelly down the Frances to the little tradinff post at the moutn of the Dease ; but thouji;h the remains of an old lo^!; ciu'/ie of the Hudson Bay Company were eventually foimd, together with the nails and ironwork of a large boat which had evidently been burnt on the beach near it, no sign of a trail could be discovered. It thus appeared very doubtful whether we should be able to make our way ;icross to the Pelly, with sufficient provisions and the necessary instru- ments for the continuation of our survey in the Yukon basin. In order to exhaust the possibility of obtaining further assistance before making the attempt, I made a light trip in one of 01 r boats round into the east arm; this was knovvu to exist from Campbell's report, but its narrow entrance had not even been observed on our way up the lake. Thus I was enabled to sketch the east arm, but no Indians were found. In fact, we discovered traces of only a single camp which had been made during the same summer, most of the Indian signs being two or more years old. All that could now be done was to make the best of our own resources. We went carefully over all our stuff, discarding everj'thing which was not absolutely essential, and making up the remainder in packs, together with as much food as could be carried This done, we stowed a great part of our camp equipage, together with some provisions, in a strong log au/ie, which was constructed for the purpose in the bay immediately south of the mouth of the Finlayson, and moved on the north side of the delta to what we believed to be the best starting-point of that stream. We then hauled out our two boats, and on the 17th and i8th of July carried our remaining stuff to a point some miles up the Finlayson and above the canon and cascades, which render its lower part utterly impassable. Here we set up the Osgood canvas boat, which we had also carried over. Into this a portion of our stuff was put, and two of our Coast Indians were in- structed to endeavour to track it up tlie shallow and winding stream, while the rest of the party found their way as best they could along the valley, with heavy packs. The walking was extremely fatiguing on account of the deep moss, alternating H V m In 1 1 1 i 1 1 I ^ ill 1 [r in li' 1 ifr; '■■'■; 1* ,iii i 332 THE YUKON TEURITORY ¥ li with brush and swamps, and as the weather was very warm and the mosquitoes innumerable, our rate of profjress was slow. On arriving at the forks of the stream we unfortunately took the wrong branch for several miles, thus losing time, but we eventually reached a lake which we recognized as Finlayson Lake, on July 24th. The canvas boat did not arrive till the evening of the next day ; for we had great difficulty in getting it up the shallow stream, which was badly blocked with fallen trees. In the meantime, observations for latitude and time were taken, and a raft was constructed on which the stuff might be floated to the head of the lake ; the latter lay in the general direction of our route. The lake proved to be nine miles and a half in length, and near its head we again found the ruins of a Hudson Bay cache, but no appearance of a trail. Having selected the most promising looking place from which to continue our journey, we took out the raft-sticks, in order that they might remain dry and serviceable for our Indians on their return, and made a second small cAche of provisions. The Osgood boat being almost worn out b)? its hard usage on the Finlayson, and being besides quite too heavy to carry overland in addition to our other stuff, was also drawn up and abandoned. Soon after leaving the lake we came upon small streams which evidently drained towards the west, and about noon on the 2gth of July we had the satisfaction of reaching the bank of the Felly River. From this place our five Coast Indians were sent back with instructions to take the articles left in the cAchc on PVances Lake to Mr. Reed, at Dease Lake. This duty, we subsequently learned, they faithfully performed. Having constructed a canoe from the canvas brought over for that purpose, we began the descent of the Felly on the ist of August. Though the region between Frances Lake and the Felly may be described as a mountainous one, no very high summits were seen ; the elevations are, as a rule, rounded and regular in outline, and form broad, plateau-like areas above the timber- line in some places. The Too-tsho Mountains, which run along the east arm of Frances Lake nearly due north, turn more to the westward beyond the head of the lake. THE YUKON TERRITORY 333 varm slow. took ut we ayson U the ettinf? fallen > time e stuff in the :h, and ^ cache, ; most aurney, ain dry made a ; being id beinf,' to our s which on the k of the re sent ache on uty, we lover for ic ist of Lily may iits were l^ular in timb<;r- Lich run Un more It is probable that the general character of the country fairly represents that of a wide belt to the west of the Frances River and north of the Liard, including the Campbell and Simpson Mountains and their vicinity. The mountains are about equal in altitude to those last mentioned, averaging from 5000 to 6000 feet. The country is traversed by wide, wooded valleys ; that occupied by the Finlayson is the princi- pal one. The climate evidently becomes less moist as Frances Lake and the vicinity of the Too-tsho Mountains are left. The lower part of the Finlayson for about four miles, near its mouth, forms a series of rapids and small cascades in a narrow, rocky gorge, making in this distance a total descent of 300 feet to the lake. Above this cafion it is rapid for several miles, with gravelly bars, and quite shallow, but further up it becomes a narrow and often deep stream, flowing between muddy or sandy banks. At twenty-two miles from its mouth it divides into two jqual branches ; the northern comes from McEvoy Lake, the southern from Finlayson Lake. Each of these streams, at their confluence, is from twenty-live to thirty feet in average width and about two feet deep. The northern branch, however, soon becomes shallow, rapid and stony, while that coming from Finlayson Lake is extremely crooked, v.inding in all directions in a flat valley about a mile in width, and is besides, as already mentioned, very badly blocked by fallen trees. Finlayson Lake {Tle-tlan'-a-tsoots of the Indians) is nine miles and a half in length and irregular in form. Its elevation above sea-level is 3105 feet, and it may be regarded as occupy- ing the summit of the watershed between the Mackenzie and the Yukon, as no stream of any importance enters it. The country about it is all low, but diversified, to some extent, by wooded ridges and hills, which rise highest near its upper end. The water is apparently shallow throughout, and has, in con- sequence, a much higher temperature than that of Frances Lake. It is well stocked with white-fish and lake trout, and also, no doubt, with the other species found in Frances Lake. The immediate shores of the lake are generally low and often swampy, and the country is covered with small, poor timber ; much of this has been killed by fire. H z li 334 THE YUKON TERRITORY The distance from the head of the lake to the nearest point on the Pelly, in a straight line, is about fifteen miles, but the low tract of country already referred to runs some miles to the south of such a line for the greater part of the way. The actual watershed in this low country is probably not fifty feet above the lake, but there is no evidence that the lake ever discharges toward the Pelly. Its height above sea-level is about 3150 feet. Small streams, rising to the west of the lake, flow together to form a respectable brook about half way across. This occupies a wide, terraced valley, the bordering ridges gradually diverge as the Pelly is approached, and the river itself is bordered by undulating terrace-flats several miles in width. On ridges west of the head of Finlayson Lake Abies subalpina becomes moderately abundant, but the white and black spruce are still the characteristic trees, and the former is well grown in sheltered valleys. The vegetation in the vicinity of the Pelly was much further advanced than any we had yet seen, and the climate of the valley is evidently more favourable than that of the watershed region. The soil of the river-terraces is a fine, silty material, which, judging from the luxuriance of plant growth, must be very fertile. In consequence of the width of the valleys and the mantle of drift deposits, few rock-exposures were met with along the whole route from Frances Lake to the Pelly. But quartz vein-stuff is everywhere very abundant, and on the terrace overlooking the Finlayson, on the north side, three miles below the lake, a large mass of quartz occurs in places. The extent of this mass of quartz could not be ascertained, as it protruded from the soil only in isolated spots over an area several hundred feet in length and breadth. Our first camp on the Pelly was situated in lat. 61° 48' 52", long. 131° 01' 06", the height of the river being at this place, as approximately determined from the mean of a number ^i barometer observations, 2965 feet. The river is here 326 feet wide, with a current slightly exceeding two miles and a half an hour, and a middle depth of seven feet. From explorations made at the time of the existence of the Hudson Hay post, as well as from Indian report, the river is known to be navigable THE YUKON TERRITORY 335 i' 52", place, (iber oi 26 feet mlf an rations ost, as vigable by boats for a considerable distance above this point, and to rise in two lakes, the position of which is approximately indi- cated on the map, accordinfj to Mr. Campbell's sketch. Our camp was about two miles above the mouth of the stream which has already been mentioned as rising on the portage near Finlayson Lake, at the angle of the Pelly, the old post named " Felly Banks." We saw no trace of the buildings which formerly existed. From the site of our first camp to Hoole Canon, is a dis- tance of thirty-one miles in a straight line ; its direction is a few degrees north of west. The river, however, forms a wide curve to the south of this line, and is tortuous in detail, the actual distance, following its course, being fifty miles. The main orographic river-valley is here not confined between parallel ranges of mountains. There is a wide tract of irregu- larly hilly country, bounded to the south by a well-defined mountain range at a distance of from ten to twelve miles. This range is crowned by a series of square-outlined pyramidal peaks, which are probably composed of stratified rocks. It is proposed to distinguish it as the Pe/// Range. To the northward, no definite boundary to the low hilly region can be seen. The actual trough in which the river meanders is scarcely more than a mile in average width, and is generally bordered by terraces a hundred feet or more in height. Thirty-three miles, by the course of the river, below our starting-point, a tributary comes in from the mountains to the southward, about fifty feet wide by one deep, and very rapid. This is identified as Hoole River. Its water is blueish in tint, and clearer than that of the Upper Pelly, which by this time has become slightly turbid from material derived from its soft, silty banks. The river, between our first camp and Hoole River, has a moderate current, scarcely exceeding four miles and a half an hour, though with several little " riffles " or small rapids. Just below the mouth of Hoole River is a rapid about 600 feet long, with a total fall estimated at about ten feet. There is an easy portage on the right or north bank, but a fair-sized boat might run through without danger at most stages of the water. From this rapid to Hoole Canon the water is swift, and there are several little rapids. ii i 336 THE YUKON TERRITORY i i I Til The banks and beaches of the Pclly above Hoole River are generally silty or muddy, though the strength of the current is sufficient to produce well-washed gravel-bars in mid-stream. Below that point the banks and beaches are also as a rule gravelly, in conformity with the swifter flow of the stream. The banks along the south side of this part of the river are for the most part densely wooded, and where shady and damp the growth of timber is small and scrubby, with much black spruce. The banks on the opposite side above Hoole River show numerous open, grassy patches, and below that place grassy slopes preponderate over the wooded area, the grass having the characteristic growth and dry, tufted appearance of " bunch-grass." The trees are similar to those found along the rivers previously described, except that Pinus Murrayana and larch do not occur, and but a single white birch was noted, near the mouth of Hoole River. At Hoole Canon, the river makes a knee-like bend to the north-eastward, and is restricted between rocky banks and cliffs about a hundred feet in height. Yhese render it impractic- able to use the line, and the water is very rough and dangerous. The distance by the river is about three-quarters of a mile, by the portage half a mile, the highest point being one hundred feet above the river. The portage is on the south side of the river, and we found traces on it of skids which had been laid by the Hudson Bay Company many years ago, but no sign that it had been employed by the Indians, who in all this district generally travel by land, making rafts when they are obliged to cross any of the larger rivers. Sixteen miles and a half below the canon in a straight line, or twenty-three miles by the course of the Pelly, is the mouth of a river which is identified as the Ross River of Campbell.' This stream, which comes from the north-eastward, is to all appearance equal in volume to the Pelly, having a width of 290 feet, with a current of four miles and a half an hour. Its water is turbid and milky, and colder than that of the Pelly, leading to the belief that it is not derived from lakes, like that stream, or that if lakes do occur on its upper waters, they are much less ' So named aftir Chief Factor Donald Ross, it line, mouth ipbell.' to all of 290 Is water leading Istream, liich less O cu •J y, 'ji o o y. y. 4'' 'H) i ft I 1 1: "! lI; 1 i THE YUKON TERRITORY 2>Z7 in area than those of the Pally. Like other streams from that direction, it carries clear, blue, mountain water, and brinjjs down quartzites, argillites and schists of the usual character, tofjether with a {,'reat abundance of quartz-f,'ravel. The Pelly, between the canon and Ross River, is swift throughout, with numerous little rapids. To the south of the river there is still a wide extent of low, wooded country between it and the continuous ranp[e before referred to as the Pelly Mountains. To the north the view is more limited, particularly near the mouth of the Ross River, owinf:^ to the existence of a long, steep ridge, parallel to the course of the Pelly, and from 600 to 800 feet in height above it. The southern face of this ridge, which is cut through by the Ross River, is more than half, open grass land, and would afford excellent pasturage. The rocks of Hoole Canon and its vicinity are chiefly white marble, associated and interbedded with grey and bhiak chert} - looking quartzites, which are often thin-bedded and sometimes rather schistose, and precisely resemble the Cache Creek quartzites of southern Hritish Columbia. From the mouth of Ross River to the Glenlyon River, the general course of the Pelly is almost direct, on a bearing of N. 50'^ W., the distance being sixty-four miles. Inconsequence of the number of minor flexures in the stream, this is increased by the river to eighty-two miles. Ten miles below the Ross, following the river, Lapie River,^ sixty feet wide by one foot deep, and resembling in its general character and colour of water Hoole and Ketza Rivers, comes in from the south. Twenty-three miles from the same point a smaller tributary joins from the north, which is supposed to be the Orchay of Campbell. All the way from the Ross to the Glenlyon the Pelly is closely bordered on the north by ridges and hills of considerable height, which become mountains of 4000 to over 5000 feet before the last-mentioned stream is reached. These entirely preclude any outlook over the country on that side. To the south, the important and well-marked Pelly Range is continued to a point ' This stream was not named by Campbell. I call it Lapie River, after one of his Indians, he having given the name of the other (Ketza) to a neighbouring tributary. I! 1 \ i'ii -'r 338 THE YUKON TERRITORY 6' ... - opposite the Orchay River, where it appears to terminate in a group of mountains lower than those of its eastern part, but still from 5000 to 6000 feet in height. The forms of the moun- tains are bold, consisting of steep crests and ridges, with inter- vening narrow gorges, and they appear to be covered with low herbaceous growth, giving them a greenish tint. There are few bare, rocky summits, and the whole appearance is that of a range shaped by normal processes of denudation from schistose or other crumbling rocks of a stratified character and nearly uniform hardness. They still carried a few patches of old snow on the 4th of August. The greater humidity of this part of the valley is particularly marked by the densely wooded character of the slopes on the north side of the river. The Pelly, for more than half the distance between the Ross and Glenlyon, continues to be pretty swift, and is much divided among islands and gravel-bars ; the remaining part is compara- tively tranquil, with the exception of the rapids in the immediate vicinity of the Glenlyon. The forest growth throughout is much like that previously described, save that the bircii is now moder- ately abundant, and the black pine {P. Murrayana) appears, coming in first on dry northern slopes thirteen miles eastward from the Glenlyon. Cottonwood, aspen, alder, spruce, and willows are the prevailing trees on the river-flats, which are usually about ten feet above low water level. Frozen soil was again seen in several places along the shady side of this part of the river, extending from about eighteen inches below a mossy and peaty sod to the water level, with a depth of ten feet or more. Some of these banks were being rapidly undercut by the water, which thaws the soil wherever it comes in contact with it, and causes large masses, with the superincumbent sod and trees, to fall into the stream. The rapids above alluded to as near the Glenlyon are two in number. The first occurs in an S-shaped bend about two miles east of the Glenljon ; the second just below the mouth of that stream. The uppt r rapid is wide and .rather shallow, with some rocky impediments. It is easily run with a canoe, but at low stages of the river doubtfully passable for a steamer not of light draught. The current in the second rapid strikes full on the face of a rocky bank on the right of the river, and THE YUKON TERRITORY 339 forms a heavy confused wash in consequence, but is otherwise unimpeded and deep. The rocks seen along the Pelly, between the Ross and Glenlyon, while resemblinj; in a fjeneral way those previously described, differ in their fjreater alteration and in the evident importance in their composition of products orif,'inally of volcanic origin. The most abundant are blackish-grey and greenish quartzites and schists, often more or less micaceous, and in places passing into true mica-schists. The most interesting fact developed on this part of the Pelly is, however, the occurrence of rocks of Laramie or Cretaceous age. These were noted in a singi^ ''>\v exposure on the south side of the river, twenty-seven miks and a half west of the mouth of Ross River. They consist of black car- bonaceous or possibly plumbaginous shale . rathci hard, and interbedded with grey-brown sandstones, the whole dipping near!,' Uie south at an angle of forty-five degrees. Hut this single occurrence of rocks of this character was found, and no rocks are seen for several miles up or down the stream, so that the area characterized by the formation to which they belong is uncertain. The total distance, following the course of the river, from the Glenlyon to the Macmillan, is ninety-one miles. The tributary streams in this distance, again measuring by the course of the Pelly, down stream, are as follows : — Glenlyon River, the Earn River of Campbell, and the Tummcl River of Campbell. From this point to the Macmillan no tributary streams were observed, the country to the northward evidently draining toward the last-named stream, and that to the south, at no great distance, being in all probability within the drainage- basin of the Lewes. For about twenty miles below the Glenlyon River the Pelly is more than usually free from abrupt bends, and few islands are met with. It is bordered to the south by Glenlyon Mountains, whose higliest points exceed five thousand feet. Lower irregular hiils border the north bank, and these, as usual, show extensive grassy slopes on the southern exposures. At the distance from the Glenlyon just mentioned, the river turns abruptly to the northward, making a sharp bend, and WW 340 THE YUKON TERRITORY '* 3' ■M, ,', .i cutting completely through the ridge which has previously bounded it on that side. After a sinuous course of about fifteen miles (about midway in which it receives the Earn River), to the north of the ridge, it turns again with equal abruptness to the southward, rounding the west point of the ridge, which here dies away. This peculiar flexure is distin- guished on the map as T/ie Detour. To the south of the ridge is a wide valley, which lies in the general direction of the river, and which doubtless represents a pre-glacial valley of the Pelly, though now apparently floored by drift deposits. The distance from bend to bend of the river, through this disused valley, is eight miles and a half, and the height of its floor above the water-level was estimated at about two hundred feet. As far as the lower end of The Detour the current is swift, and there are a number of little riffles ; some of these might be called rapids, though none are of a character to impede navigation. The Macmillan and the Pelly valleys coalesce at an acute angle at the western point of the range of hills which alone has separated them for some distance, and the two streams must run nearly parallel for many miles above their junction. The Macmillan is bordered to the north by a well-defined range of low mountains, which continues to the wertward for about ten miles as the bordering range of the united streams. At the confluence, the Pelly appeared to be somewhat the larger river at the time of our visit, and it is probably so at all properly comparable stages of water. The Macmillan water is much more turbid than that of the Pelly, and of a yellowish colour. The temperature of both rivers was identical on the gth of August, being 54° F. It may probably be assumed from this circumstance that the origin of the rivers is similar, and that the Macmillan, like the Pelly, rises in or flows through considerable lakes, in which the water is warmed to a like extent. The suspended matter of the Macmillan may be entirely due to the washing away of silty banks, which is the usual cause of the turbidity of streams in this district. The upper part of the Macmillan has never been explored, but its size would indicate that it may rise as far to the eastward as the Pelly, and probably, like it, in mountains representing the THE YUKON TERRITORY .341 western ranges of the Rocky Mountains. We do not, however, know to what extent this river shares with the Stewart the drainage of the comparatively low country to the northward. I afterwards met a couple of miners (Messrs. Monroe and Langtr}) who had ascended the Macmillan for several days in a boat, but, not finding encouraging "prospects," had returned. They reported the existence of a large area of low land with good soil, and had met with no impediments to navigation so far as they had gone. Ten miles above the mouth of the Macmillan we encountered a couple of Indians, father and son, working their way up the Pelly with a small dug-out canoe. They were the first human beings we had met with in the country since leaving the mouth of the Dease River, forty-three days previously, but as we were totally unable to communicate with them except by signs, it was impossible to obtain any definite information from them. They were evidently at a loss to know whence we had come, and evinced a peculia" interest in examining our little canvas canoe. The range of hills bordering the Pelly on the south, near the mouth of the Macmillan, is composed of granite, which appears in several places on the river. This is of greyish and greenish- grey colours, and similar to that of the Glenlyon Range, though it apparently forms a distinct though parallel granitic axis. From the mouth of the Macmillan to the confluence of the Upper Pelly and Lewes Rivers is a distance, in a straight line with a general bearing a few degrees south of west, of forty-six miles. A considerable portion of this part of the river is, however, extremely tortuous. The distance from the Macmillan to the mouth of the Lewes, measured along the course of the stream, is seventy -four miles. Four miles below the mouth of th Macmillan, on the north bank, is a small log cabin, the first sign of habitation we had seen. We afterwards ascertained that two miners had Hved here during the winter of 1886-7. At five miles and a half below the Macmillan the Pelly was found to be 754 feet in width, with a current of 2*3 miles per hour ; a few miles below this the river turns south-westward and then nearly due south, entering Granite Canon at thirteen miles from the Macmillan. I li 1 t;'' ! i I 342 THE YUKON TERRITORY "U mi The canon is four miles in length, with steep, rocky, scarped banks and cliffs, 200 to 250 feet in height. In the cafion are several little rapids, but the water is deep, and with the exception of some isolated rocks, the navigation would be quite safe for steamers, even at a low stage of water. As the river is much confined, however, it is probable that rough water may be found here during floods. Just beyond the cafion, or sixteen miles and a half below the Macmillan, a small stream, about ten feet by three inches, enters from the south- eastward. The bed is wide, and it appears at seasons of flood to become a formidable torrent. At thirty-six miles from the Macmillan another small stream was observed on the south side, but with this exception, the river receives no further tributaries before meeting the Lewes. After passing the ridge which is cut through by Granite Cafion, the country on both sides of the river for about fifteen miles is quite low. No mountains or high hills are in sight on any bearing to the westward, and wide terraces run far back from the river at heights of 150 to 200 feet above it. These are often lightly wooded, largely with aspen, and are clothed with a good growth of grass, presenting a very attractive appearance. The soil is good, and at the time of our visit the country was very dry. For the remaining distance to the mouth of the Lewes, the river is more closely bordered by low hills and ridges, which seldom exceed a height of 400 feet. At one place the stream is confined between high and somewhat rocky banks, but no rapid is met with. The southern slopes of the hills are generally open and grassy, and would afford excellent pasturage. The northern exposures are still thickly wooded. Just above its confluence with the Lewes, the Pelly makes an abrupt turn to the south, and runs for several miles along the eastern base of a scarped cliff of basalt. From Granite Canon to the con- fluence, the current scarcely exceeds two miles and a half an hour. CHAPTER IX. it i Total length of the Uppur PcUy— Its elevation — Estimated fall in Hoole Canon — Tin; river navigable for stern- wheel steamers— Streams and small rivers fljwin'i into the I'elly— Gravel bars of the Pelly—" Small" and "heavy" colours founu in considerable number — Country about the confluence of the Lewes and Upper I'elly — Temperature of the water — -Ruins of Fort Selkirk — Fort Yukon — Explor- ation of the Upper Liard and Yukon by Mr. Robert Campbell — Campbell's men discouraged by the "Wood Indians " — Fort Selkirk established in 1847-48 — Fort Yukon established — The I'elly and Yukon identical — Navigatitin of 'he Liard — The post at I'elly Banks — Dimensions and construction of Fort Selkirk — Its interference with the trade of the Chilkoot and Chilkat Indians — The occupants expelled and the fort pillaged by the Indians — The buildings demo- lished by the local Ind.ians — Fort Yukon maintained till 1869 — The Hudson IJay Company expelled by the United States Government — Abandonment of the fort — I'osts established from Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie to Fort Yukon — Time taken by " returns " to reach the market — Ascent of the 1 ewes and arrival at Lake Lindeman — Ascent of the Yukon by explorers of the Western Union Telegraph Company— Survey of the 1 ewes by Lieutenant Schwalka — Course of the river from Fort Selkirk t(j Rink or Five-finger Rapid — Velocity and width of the river below Rink Rapid — IngersoU Islands — The terraces and llats bordering the river — Character of the river valley — Description of Rink Kapid— Pleasing appearance of the country — lIoo-chee-Roo Bluff — Stratification of the rocks — NordenskiOld River— Little Salmon River — The valley of the Lewes between Rink Rapid and Little Salmon River — Bars worked for gold above the Nordenskiijld — Rock exposures — Coal seams — (leneral bearing of the Lewes from Little Salmon River to the mouth of the Bi^' Salmon or D'Abbadie River — The Seminow Mountains — Particulars respecting the Big Salmon River — " Fine " gold found all along the river. THE total length of the Upper Pelly, following the course of the river, from the point where we first reached it at the west end of the Campbell's Portage to its confluence with the Lewes, is 320 miles. The elevation at the first-mentioned point is about 2965 feet, that at the confluence 1555 feet, giving a total fall of 1410 feet, or 4*4 feet to the mile, a considerable portion of which, however, occurs in the numerous little rapids and riffles of its course. In Hoole Canon the estimated fall is about twenty fe- 1. Wii.11 tne exception of Granite Canon, where warping might have to be resorted to at one place, the river would be easily navigable for stern-wheel steamers so far up as the mouth of ^■;i|j -: ti m n \ h 344 THE YUKON TERRITORY the Macmillan, and the latter stream is also navif,'able for a considerable though unknown distance. Above the Macmillan, I believe, no serious difficulty would be met with in takinj^ a small stern-wheel steamer of good power up to the mouth of the Ross River, and possibly as far as the foot of Hoole Canon. A line might have to be carried ashore at a few of the stronger rapids, but the chief difficulty to be encountered would be from shoal water at low stages. Where the river is widely spread and swift, a depth of three feet could scarcely be found across some of the gravelly bars. The Ross River is a navigable stream at its mouth, but its upper part is quite unknown. Hoole Canon is, of course, quite impassable for a steamer of any kind, and the rapid seventeen miles east of it, at the mouth of Hoole River, might prove to be a diff.cult one to surmount by warping, as its fall is estimated at about eight feet. Above this point, the river is again, however, an easily navigable one for small steamers to the furthest point seen by us, and possibly so far as the lakes. All the streams and small rivers flowing into the Pelly from the south and rising in or beyond the Pelly and Glenlyon Mountains, are notabl \ swift, and most of them are evidently subject to heavy freshets. On the lower part of the Upper Pelly there are numerous groves on or not far from the banks, with good spruce up to two feet in diameter. Spruce of the same size is found also on the whole upper part of the river, but is relatively less abundant there. As in the case of the Upper Liard and Frances Rivers, quartz derived from veins is an abundant constituent of the gravel-bars of the Pelly, and numerous small quartz veins were observed in the rocks in many places. Where the granites are approached, the veins cut all the rocks except these, and it appears that the development of the quartz veins is due to the same period of disturbance which has given rise to the uplift of the granite axes or I heir extrusion. Small "colours" of gold may be found in almost any suitable locdlity along the river, and "heavy colours," in considerable number, were found by us as far up as the mouth of Hoole River, in the bottom of a gravel-bed there resting on the basalt. The river has been THE YUKON TERRITORY 345 quartz |-el-bars irved in jached, rs that same plift of |of gold river, |d by us of a Ls been prospected to some extent by a few miners, but no mining of importance has yet been done on it. The country about the confluence of the Lewes and Upper Pelly is generally speaking low, with extensive terrace-flats running back to the bases of rounded hills and ridges, of which none in sight probably exceed looo feet above the river. The moderate current which has been described as characteristic of the Upper Pelly for some distance above the confluence, con- tinues to its mouth, but the Lewes is much swifter, and though at the point of junction divided among wooded islands, is evidently the larger stream, carrying a volume of water considerably greater than that of the Pelly, though probably less than twice as great. It does not, however, necessarily follow from this that the Lewes is to be considered the principal head stream or continuation of the Yukon. The water of the Lewes is of a bluish, slightly milky cast, and is easily distinguished from the brownish muddy colour by which the Pelly is characterized below its junction with the Macmillan. The temperature of the water in both rivers was found to be practically identical, on the 17th and i8th of August, at 7 p.m., being 59° F. The river below the confluence of the Pelly and Lewes averages about a quarter of a mile in width, and though its appear- ance is placid and there is no rough water, it is uniformly swift. Of this width about two-thirds had an average depth often feet, with a surface velocity of four miles and three-quarters an hour. The ruins of Fort Selkirk, formerly a post of the Hudson Bay Company, stand on a partly open flat, on the south side, at a short distance back from the river, and about a mile and a half below the confluence of the Pelly and Lewes. One chimney, built of basalt blocks which must have been brought across the river, and ccmcmeu svith clay which has been baked almost .to brick by the combustion of the ruins of the fort, still stands erect and uninjured. The lower part of a second is near it, and the fragments of several others strew the ground, which is partly overgrown by small aspens. These, and the traces of a couple of excavations which have probably been cellars, are all that now remain to mark the site of the buildings which were pillciged by Indians from the coast in 1852. ' .1 lip m : 1 s 346 THE YUKON TERRITORY Fort Selkirk, of which the ruins alone now exist, was at one time the most important post of the Hudson Bay Company to the west of the Rocky Mountains in the far north, and with the exception of Fort Yukon, it was the farthest permanent post ever maintained by the Company to the north-west. Mr. J. McLeod appears, in the same year in which he reached the Stikine (1834), to have ascended the Liard as far as Simpson Lake, and to have brought back the information according to which the river was represented on Arrowsmith's map of 1850. It was owing to the energy of Mr. Robert Campbell, however, that the exploration of the Upper Liard and Yukon is almost entirely due. The only published account of Mr. Campbell's work, so far as I know, is that which appeared in the Royal Reader, Fifth Book, Toronto, 1883, p. 435, and which was reprinted, with slight alterations at Winnipeg in 1885, as a small pamphlet entitled " Discovery and Exploration of the Youcon (Pelly) River." From this source and from additional facts furnished by Mr. Campbell in answer to questions addressed to him, as well as from allusions in the unpublished journals of Chief Factor James Anderson, the following brief account is drawn up. After the abandonment of Dease Lake post in 1839, Mr. Campbell was, in the spring of 1840, commissioned by Sir George Simpson to explore the " north branch " of the Liard to its source, and to cross the height-of-land in search of any river flowing to the westward, especially the head-waters of the Colville, the mouth of which on the Arctic Ocean had recently been discovered by Messrs. Dease and Simpson. Mr. Campbell writes : — " In pursuance of these instructions, I left Fort Halkett [on the lower Liard] in May, with a canoe and seven men, among them my trusty Indians, Lapie and Kitza, and the interpreter, Hoole. After ascending the stream some hundreds of miles, far into the mountains, we entered a beautiful lake, which I i amed Frances Lake, in honour of Lady Simpson. . . . Leaving the canoe and part of the crew near the south-west [sic] extremity of this [the west] branch of the lake, I set out with three Indians and the interpreter. Shouldering our blankets and guns, we ascended the valley of a river, which we traced to its source in a lake ten miles long, THE YUKON TERRITORY 347 it one any to d with nanent lich he s far as rmation smith's Robert lard and :ount of ppeared «5. and iiipeg in Dloration .nd from iswer to s in the son, the 839, Mr. by Sir he Liard [h of any ;rs of the recently Itructions, a canoe |.apie and [ie stream Entered a of Lady Ithe crew aranch of Iterpreter. lalley of a liles long, which, with the river, I named Finlayson's Lake and River." From this point, Mr. Campbell struck across to the Pelly, which he then named in honour of Sir H. Pelly, a Governor of the Company. During Campbell's absence the remainder of the party built a house at the point between the two arms of the lake, which was then named " Glenlyon House," but was afterwards known as Frances Lake House or Fort Frances. Returning down the river, they met a trading outfit which had been despatched for them, at Fort Halkett, and turned back with it to Frances Lake, after sending out a report of their proceedings. The Company now resolved to follow up those western discoveries, and in 1842 birch bark, for the construction of a large canoe to be used in exploring the Pelly, was sent up from Fort Liard. In the same year Fort Pelly Banks was con- structed, or its construction begun, and early in June, 1843, Campbell left that place in the canoe which had been made, accompanied by Hoole, two French-Canadians and three Indians. They saw only one family of Indians (" Knife Indians ") till they reached the mouth of the river which Campbell called the Lewes. Here was a large camp of " Wood Indians," and these, after recovering from their surprise at the sight of the party, so discouraged Campbell's men by their stories of the number and ferocity of the people on the lower river, that he was obliged to turn back. For some years afterwards the operations of the Company did not extend beyond " Pelly Banks," though during the summer, hunting parties were sent down the Pelly to collect provisions, and in that way information was received respecting the river and the Indians inhabiting its vicinity. In the winter of 1847-48 boats were built at Pelly Banks, and early in June following Campbell set out to establish a fort at the confluence of the Pelly and Lewes Rivers. This was named Fort Selkirk, and was at first situated on the extreme point of land between the two rivers, but this point being found subject to floods during the disruption of the ice, the post was in the spring of 1852 moved to a site a short way below >hc mouth of the Lewes, on the left bank. The inner work of the new I 2 iliii n i i] & i ^ 1 i i 1 ij: 1 i 1 1 i :| i 1 i mil • 1 II ihi 1 1 I i nil > Hi 1 i ^^Bl 348 THE YUKON TERRITORY buildings was still unfinished at the time of the Indian raid, noticed further on. Meanwhile an entry was being made into the Yukon basin from another direction. Mr. J. Bell had already in 1842 reached the Porcupine or Rat River, and had descended it for three days' journey. He was in 1846 in charge of the Hudson Bay post on Peel River, near the mouth of the Mackenzie, and was instructed again to cross the mountains and to further explore the Porcupine River. In pursuance of these instruc- tions, he in that year reached the mouth of the Porcupine and saw the great river into which it flows, which the Indians informed him was named the Yukon. In 1847 Fort Yukon was established at the mouth of the Porcupine by Mr. A. H. Murray. It still remained, however, for Campbell, in 1850, to prove that the Pelly and Yukon were identical. This he did by descending the river from Fort Selkirk to Fort Yukon, after which he ascended the Porcupine, crossed the mountain-portage, and returned to Fort Simpson by the Mackenzie.' One result of this journey was to show that the route from Fort Selkirk by way of the Porcupine River to the Mackenzie was preferable to that originally discovered. The navigation of the Liard was both arduous and dangerous, and several lives had been lost in boating on that stream. Added to this was the length of the land transport from Frances Lake to the Upper Pelly and the fact that great difficulty had been found in maintaining the posts in that district. ' Mr. Campbell states that when again on his w.-.y down the river from Fort Selkirk to Fort Yukon, in 1851, he found that a great number of the Indians had been carried off during the previous winter by some virulent disease. He has further informed me, in answer to my inquiries on the subject, that the Stewart River was so named after his 'dear and gallant friend and assistant-clerk, James G. Stewart, son of the late Hon. John Stewart, of Quebec." Stewart was sent out in the winter of 1849 to follow the Indian hunters in quest of meat. He found them some distance north of this river, which he crossed on the ice. White River, Mr. Campbell named on account of its milky colour. Of the other streams entering between Forts Selkirk and Yukon he says, "Antoine River" was named after the intcipreter at one time at Fort Yukon, a son of his interpreter Hoolc ; " Forcier River,'' after his guide, Baptistc Fortier ; " Lolique River," for Forcier's wife ; and " Ayonie's River," below the White River, was named after the natives of that quarter THE YUKON TERRITORY 149 raid, basin 1 1842 1 it for ludson . ie, and further nstruc- rciipine Indians Yukon r. A. H. o prove did by jn, after -portage, lie result elkirk by •referable iard was n lost in 1 of the and the ning the iver from iber of the nc virulent lie subject, friend and tewcart, ot the Indian f this river, colour. Of n he says, ne at Fort his guide, " Ayonie's hat quarter In 1849, the post at Pelly Banks, with the exception of the men's house, was accidentally burnt. In 1850 it was finally abandoned, and in the spring of 1851 Fort Frances was like- wise abandoned.' The abandonment of these posts was not due to any hostility of the natives, who were on the contrary- most friendly, but in consequence of the circumstances above noted, and the fact that while these establishments were very expensive to maintain, they merely bought furs which would otherwise have been carried by the Indians themselves to other posts, if these particular, and to them more convenient ones, had not been in existence. The several ruined chimneys of Fort Selkirk still to be seen, with other traces on the ground, arc in themselves evidence of the important dimensions and careful construction of this post. The establishment consisted, I believe, in 1852, of one senior and one junior clerk and eight men. The existence of this post in the centre of the inland or " Wood Indian " country had, however, very seriously interfered with a lucrative and usurious trade which the Chilkoot and Chilkat Indians of Lynn Canal, on the coast, had long been accustomed to carry on wi*h these people ; acting as intermediaries between them and the white traders on the Pacific and holding the passes at the head- waters of the Lewes with all the spirit of robber barons of old. In 1852, rumours were current that these people meditated a raid upon the post, in consequence of which the friendly local Indians stayed by it nearly all summer, of their own accord. It so happened, however, that they absented themselves for a couple of days, and at that unlucky moment the Coast Indians arrived. The post was unguarded by a stockade, and, yielding to sheer force of numbers, the occupants were expelled and the place was pillaged, on the 21st of August. Two days afterward Campbell, having found the local Indians, returned with them and surrounded the post, but the robbers had flown. Being now without means of support for the winter, Campbell set off down stream to meet Mr. Stenart and the men who were on the way back from Fort Yukon. He met them at the mouth of ' Forts Frances and Pelly Banks are erroneously stated in Dall's "Alaska and its Resources," to have been burnt and pillaged, p. 115, foot-note and p. 508. 350 THE YUKON TERRITORY f V 1 ■ ' ffl I'S; l!':l 1- m i White River, and after turning them back with instructions to arrange for wintering at Fort Yukon, set out himself in a small canoe up the Pelly River, crossed to Frances Lake, descended the Liard and arrived at Fort Simpson with the tidings of the disaster, amid drifting ice, on the 21st of October. Being anxious to obtain Sir George Simpson's permission to re-establish Fort Selkirk, Campbell waited only till the river froze, when he left Fort Simpson on snow-shoes and travelled overland to Crow Wing in Minnesota, where he arrived on the 13th of March. On the i8th of April he reached London, but was unable to obtain from the directors of the company the permission he desired. A short account of this remarkable journey appeared in the Perthshire Advertiser and Inverness Courier, but I do not know the precise date of the publication. In the autumn of 1853, one of Campbell's hunters arrived at Fort Halkett on the Lower Liard by way of the Pelly and Frances. This is the last traverse of Campbell's Portage of which I can find any record, though it may doubtless have been used by the Indians subsequently. From this man it was learnt that the buildings at Fort Selkirk had been all but demolished by the local Indians for the purpose of getting the ironwork and the nails. He also stated that the Chilkats, being unable to carry away all their plunder in the preceding year, had taken merely the guns, powder and tobacco. They had cached the heavier goods, which were afterwards found and appropriated by the local or wood Indians. At a later date the ruins of the post must have been burnt, as their present appearance indicates.' Fort Yukon, at the mouth of the Porcupine, was continuously maintained till i86g, when the Hudson Bay Company was expelled by the United States Government as represented by Capt. Charles W. Raymond, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army; he having ascertained by astronomical observations that the post was situated to the west of the 141st meridian. He describes his proceedings as follows. — "On the 9th of August, at 12 noon, I notified the representative of the Hudson Bay Com- pany that the station is in the territory of the United States ; that ' Of Reid House, shown on Arrowsmith's map of 1854, near the Stewart River and to the north of Fort Selkirk, I have been unable to learn any- thing. Mr. Campbell never heard of it, and if it had any existence it was probably a temporary outpost of Fort Yukon. THE YUKON TERRITORY 351 the introduction of trading goods, or any trade by foreigners with the natives, is illegal, and must cease ; and that the Hudson Bay Company must vacate the buildings as soon as practicable. I then took possession of the buildings and raised the flag of the United States over the fort.'" The fort was afterwards abandoned and allowed to go to ruin. The utmost credit must be accorded to the pioneers of the Hudson Bay Company for the enterprise displayed by them in carrying their trade into the Yukon basin in the face of difficulties so great and at such an immense distance from their base of supplies. To explorations of this kind performed in the service of commerce, unostentatiously and as matters of simple duty by such men as Mackenzie, Fraser, Thompson, and Campbell, we owe the discovery of our great north-west country. Their journeys were not marked by incidents of conflict or bloodshed, but were accomplished on the contrary with the friendly assistance and co-operation of the natives. Less resolute men would scarcely have entertained the idea of utilizing, as an avenue of trade, a river so perilous of navigation as the Liard had proved to be when explored. So long, how- ever, as this appeared to be the most practicable route to the country beyond the mountains, its abandonment was not even contemplated. Neither distance nor danger appears to have been taken into account, and in spite of every obstacle a way was opened and a series of posts established extending from Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie, to Fort Yukon. Fort Simpson may itself be regarded, even at the present day, as a post very far removed from the borders of civilization, but this further route, which nearly half a century ago became familiar to the Company's voyageurs, stretched out beyond it for over a thousand miles. Mr. James Anderson, in 1853, writes thus of the Liard River : " You can hardly conceive the intense horror the men have to go up to Frances Lake. They invariably on re-hiring endeavour to be exempted from the West Branch [Liard]. The number of deaths which have occurred there is fourteen, viz. three in connection with Dease Lake and eleven in connection with Frances Lake and Pelly Banks, of these last three died from starvation and eight from drowning." ' Report of a Reconnaissance of the Yukon River, 1871, p. 16. rhtf ! I- :>52 THE YUKON TERRITORY At the time of the establishment of Forts Yukon and Selkirk, and for many years afterwards, the " returns " from the furthest stations reached the market only after seven years, the course of trade beinj,' as follows : Goods. — ist year, reach York Factory ; 2nd year, Norway House ; 3rd year. Peel River, and were hauled during; the winter across the mountains to La Pierre's House ; 4th year, reach F"ort Yukon. Returns. — 5th year, reach La Pierre's House and are hauled across to Peel River ; 6th year, reach depot at Fort Simpson ; 7th year, reach market. We left the confluence and began the ascent of the Lewes on the i8th of August, and arrived at Lake Lindeman, where the portage to the coast begins, on September i6th. We were during this time on the one travelled route of the country, and every few days fell in with small parties of miners, generally on their way out, up the river. A few men were still found working on bars, and six or eight passed down stream with the purpose of wintering at or near Forty-mile Creek. The Lewes River was discovered and named by Mr. Camp- bell in 1842, as already stated. It is indicated in an approximate manner, according to information supplied by this gentleman, on Arrowsmith's map of 1854. Mr. Campbell informs me that he was well aware of the existence at its head of a portage to the sea by which the Chilkat Indians came inland to trade. This route he had the intention of exploring, but the question of supplies and other difficulties prevented him from doing so. Communication was occasionally had by this route with the Hudson Bay steamer which traded along the coast, and it was thus that the Honolulu paper mentioned as received in 1848 by Sir J. Richardson, on the Mackenzie, was sent inland. Such communication was, however, only accomplished by travelling parties of Indians. In 1867, explorers in the employ of the Western Union Tele- graph Company ascended the Pelly or Yukon from Fort Yukon to the mouth of the Lewes, returning down the river. In the same year another explorer of the Telegraph Company reached the Hotolinqu (of Telegraph Survey map, not the river subsequently so called by miners), which is now known to be one of the furthest if not the most remote source of the Lewes. This he did from the direction of the Stikine, but was recalled before THE YUKON TERRITORY 353 Tele- Yukon le same led the uently of the his he before he had, by descendinpj the river, proved its relation to the Lewes. The head-quarters of the Lewes River were first reached from the head of Lynn Canal about 1878. Between the date of the explorations of the Telegraph Company and this time, the Lewes may have been visited by traders ascending from the Lower Yukon, but of this we have no record. Previous to 1883, however, the river and some of its tributaries had become well known to a number of miners and prospectors, and when Lieutenant Schwatka, in the last-mentioned year, crossed the Chilkoot Pass and descended the Lewes, he merely followed in their footsteps. To Lieutenant Schwatka is, however, due the credit of having made the first survey of the river, a survey which Mr. Ogilvie's work of 1887 has proved to be a reason- ably accurate one, in so far as its main features are con- cerned. While the general course of the Upper Pelly is remarkably straight, that of the Lewes makes several important and well- marked bends, and is besides interrupted by lakes, and other- wise irregular. From the site of Fort Selkirk to Rink or Five-finger Rapid, the course of the river is nearly straight, the bearing being about S. 50° W., and the distance, measured by the stream, fifty-five miles. The current of this part of the river is swift throughout, averaging about four miles and a half an hour and seldom being under four miles. At a point six miles below Rink Rapid, where the course of the river was uninterrupted by islands, and its velocity and width about normal, the rate of flow was found to be 4*8 miles per hour, the width 732 feet. There are numerous islands, which differ from most of those met with on the Pelly in frequently occupying positions in mid- channel instead of being merely portions of river-flats cut off" by lateral sloughs. A few miles above the mouth of the Lewes, these islands are particularly numerous for a distance of about five miles, and the total width of the stream from bank to bank is increased to nearly a mile. This group has been named IngersoU Islands by Schwatka. The terraces and flats immediately bordering the river are at first quite low, but in ascending, increase in height till they I t, 1 i. I ■ ■ ^^ 354 THE YUKON TERRITORY stand often at loo to 200 feet above it before reaching Rink Rapid. The river valley is generally wide and somewhat ill-defined, the ridges and low hills bounding it seldom exceeding 1000 feet in height. Near the mouth of the river these are irregularly disposed, but further up, those on the north-east bank become more uniform and run parallel to the stream like the hills on that part of the Pelly near the Macmillan. Two miles below Rink Rapid the Lewes makes a right-angled bend to the south-westward. The rapid itself is caused by the occurrence of several bold rocky islands which obstruct the river, and is only a few yards in length where the water flows swiftly between them. The channels are deep and un- obstructed, and at low stages of water might, I believe, be ascended by a steamer of good power even without the assis- tance of warping. At high-water this rapid would, of course, be more formidable, as the velocity of the stream would be increased. It is pretty evident that a fall has at one time existed here, but the barrier of conglomerate which has pro- duced it has now been cut con.pletcly through by the river. Below the main rapid there is a second " riffle " or minor rapid which appears to be somewhat stony, but which would not be a serious impediment to a properly constructed steamer. The general, appearance of the country along this part of the river is pleasing, and resembles that of the correspondinfr part of the Pelly. It is usually wooded, but the southern exposures of some of the hills are partly open, and dry, grass- covt red terrace-flats are frequent. The trees are of the same specji s before mentioned, and birch is moderately abundant. For about twelve miles above the Hoo-chee-koo Bluff no rocks were seen, after which, for eight miles, or to Rink Rapid, there are frequent exposures of rocks of a different series, of much less altered appearance, and all probably referable to the Cretaceous. These include coarse, hard, dark, grauvvacke- sandstones, with softer shaly sandstones, passing into dark sandy shales, all more or less calcareous. The rock of the islands and banks of the actual rapid is coarse conglomerate which often contains boulders of granite up to eighteen inches in diameter, and is interstratified with irregular THE YUKON TERRITORY 355 beds of yellowish sandstone, the appearance of the conglomerate being much like that of the conglomerate of Jackass Mountain on the Fraser River, though somewhat less altered. Imme- diately above the rapid, on the south-east side of the river, grey and blackish shales, with thin beds of sandstone and of limestone, appear from below the conglomerates. These were found to contain fossils in considerable abundance, though representing but a few species. Quartz vein-stuff is much less important as a constituent of the river-gravel? than it is on the Upper Pelly, Upper Liard, and other streams to the eastward. From Rink Rapid to the mouth of the Nordenskiold the general bearing of the river is nearly due south, the distance in a straight line being twelve miles. The Nordenskiold is a small swift river with clear bluish water, which enters the Lewes on the west side. It was estimated as eighty feet wide by six inches deep, a couple of hundred yards above its mouth. Its vallev is not a wide or important one, it being in fact difficult to decide from which direction the stream comes a few miles back from the Lewes. The Little Salmon (or Daly, as re-christened by Schwatka) joins the Lewes on the opposite side, and was estimated to carry about twice as much water as the Nordenskiold. It is about one hundred feet wide, with an average depth of three feet. The water is clear and brownish in tint, and the current not rapid at the mouth. The valley of the Lewes, between Rink Rapid and the Little Salmon River, is in general somewhat irregular and not very wide, and no mountains are in sight from this part of the river. Terraces rising to 20c feet are frequent, and often run back at about that level to the bases of the hills. Near the mouth of the Nordenskiiild the river is extremely crooked, and the current is everywhere swift. The southern slopes of the hills and terraces are generally in large part open and grassy, no difference such as might indicate a climate more humid than that of the region about old Fort Selkirk being met with. Several magpies were seen, for the first time, on this part of the river. The first spot observed by us in ascending the river where 356 THE YUKON TERRITORY '/ t bars have been worked for gold, is situated six miles above the Nordenskiold. The rocks along this portion of the river, like those last described, belong to the Cretaceous series, but their attitudes are too varied to enable anything like a complete section to be gained from the isolated exposures met with. A few localities, however, show features worthy of special mention. One of these is found five miles and a half above Rink Rapid, where a high bluff shows a series principally composed of sandstones, shales and shaly clays. This exposure includes, within sixty feet of the base of the bluff, at least three coaly beds, of which the lowest is about three feet thick. This and the other beds contain some good-looking coal, of which a thickness of abjut a foot sometimes occurs, but the greater part of the material is so sandy and impure as to be use- less. The condition of all the beds in this vicinity is remarkably unaltered, as compared with those seen lower down the river, and would appear to show that if (as assumed) they form a connected series, th'^'^e lepresent its upper part. The thin coal-seams here actually seen cannot be considered as of economic value, but are important as indicating the exis- tence of a coal-bearing horizon which may prove to contain thicker beds elsewhere, and might become an important point in connection with the navigation of the river. The coal has been examined by Mr. G. C. Hoffmann, who describes it as a lignite-coal, with the following composition : — m.'' Hygroscopic water Volatile combustible matter Fixed Carbon . Ash 603 36'92 4903 8 '02 1 0000 From the Little Salmon to the mouth of the Big Salmon River or D'Abbadio, the general bearing of the Lewes is about east-south-east, and the sinuosities of the river are not nearly so great as in the portion last described. The distance by the stream between these tributaries is thirty- four miles. A con- siderable portion of this part of the river is not so swift as ? r'l THE YUKON TERRITORY 357 usual, and for eight or ten miles, midway between the Little and Big Salmon Rivers, both the river and its valley are more than usually narrowed. Beyond this, the valley begins to widen rapidly, and, for some miles before the mouth of the Big Salmon is reached, is notably wide between the bases of the limiting hills. At the mouth of the Big Salmon, the Lewes turns abruptly to the south, while the main valley is continued in a south-easterly direction, becoming there the valley of the Big Salmon. From the confluence of the rivers, the main valley can be seen running on for a distance of about fifteen miles, bordered by low hills to the northward, and by higher hills to the south. These last are the Sominow Mountains of Schwatki. The Lewes cuts through this range, which is continued also for some miles westward, forming the south-west side of the Lewes valley. The hiUs are rounded in form and wooded, and rise to heights of 1500 to 2000 feet above the river. Several bars which had been worked on for gold were seen along the Lewes, below the confluence of the Big Salmon. The Big Salmon ' has been re-named by Schwatka the D'Abbadie River a name which has the merit of being more distinctive than that previously in use, but the miners, who (with the exception of the Indians) alone travel through the country, refuse to know it by any but the old name. It is much more important than any of the tributaries joining the Lewes further down, being 347 feet wide, with a depth of five feet for about one-third of its width, and a current of about two miles an hour. The water is clear and of a bluer tint than that of the Little Salmon, and the discharge was estimated at 272G cubic feet per second, when probably rather below its mean stage. It might, no doubt, be navigated by a small stern-wheel steamer for many miles. I was afterward so fortunate as to meet a party of four miners who had spent a part of the summer of I1SM7 in prospecting this stream, and from one of them, Mr. John McCormack, obtained some particulars respecting it, together with a sketch of its course. Thirty-two miles from the Lewes, the Big Salmon is said to be joined by a smaller stream, which McCormack calls the North Fork. I'or about a mile and a half I !:i lb hi 1,'ri Ta-tlin-hl-ni of the Tu^ish. 358 THE YUKON TERRITORY ilV V/ below and a short distance above the mouth of this branch the river is very rocky and rapid. Half a mile above it there is an Indian salmon fishing place. For some distance beyond this the river is sluggish, and at sixty-six miles from the Lewes the South Fork branches off. This fork occupies a wide valley and comes from the south-eastward. Above it the water is swifter and the valley of the river is narrow, with high mountains on both sides, but particularly on the north. Granite and mica-schist were seen along this part of the river. At a supposed distance of one hundred and five miles from the Lewes, another stream joins from the south-east, and this also occupies an important valley, though not so wide as that of the South Fork. Above this point the river turns to a northerly bearing for about fifteen miles, the current being, in general, slack. It then reverts to an easterly bearing, and after passing a rapid, at one place, Island Lake is reached at igo miles from the Lewes. This lake is four miles long, and has two arms at its upper end, from the southern of which a river leads, in eight miles, to a second lake two miles and a half long. A stretch of river, a mile and a half long, joins this to the highest lake, which McCormack named Quiet Lake, and whose length he estimates at twenty-four miles. At the outlet of the lake is an Indian fishing place. The country to the south of these lakes is mountainous, granite being a common rock, and several streams run from these mountains into Quiet Lake. The north-east side of the lake is bordered by lower ridges, and from its head, McCormack travelled about eight miles, through a low country, to the bank of the Tes-lin-too, which he found here flowing from north to south. These miners found " fine " gold all along the river, but no good paying bars. They were in search of " ( oarse " gold, but did not discover any. A small specimen of pyrites and quartz, from veins met with on one of the streams flowing into Quiet Lake, given to me by Mr. McCorm.'ck, was found by Mr. Hoffmann to contain very distinct traces of gold with a trace of silver. According to the Indians, the salmon run up this river to its source, and the same is reported of the Little Salmon and the Tes-lin-too. CHAPTER X. General bearing of the Lcwe^ at the mouth of the Big Salmon River — The con- fluence of the Tes-lin-too and Lewes — Auriferous gold bars — Cassiar Bar the richest on the river — Valley of the Tes-lin-too — Composition of the Seminow Hills — The river unexplored — Notes from Mr. T. Boswell's description and Indian sketches — General trend of the Tes-lin-too — Estimated length to the great lake— Its continuation — Navigation fairly good — The great lake, represented as the largest known to the Indians— The Indian trail — Distance covered l)y the trail — Indian salmon fishing stations above Tes-lin Lake — Fine gold found by Mr. Boswell all along the Tes-lin-too — The Lewes from the mouth of the Tes-lin-too to Lake Labarge — Length and formation of Lake Labargc — Country surrounding the lake — Ogilvie Valley — Richtofen Island — Hills and mountains along the lake — Miner's Range — The Lewes beyond the head of Lake Labarge — Tahk- heena River — Its principal sources — The river employed iiy Indians to reach the interior — White Horse Rapid and Miles Canon — The valley occupied by Lake Labarge — Its climate — Bennett Lake— Lake Marsh— Country in its vicinity — Tagish Lake — Jubilee Mountain — Navigation by steamers— Lake Marsh portion of a system of still water navigation — Probable utility of this system in opening up and developing the mineral resources of the country — Main continuation of the Lewes — Lake Nares — The lake sy.item — Lake Lindeman — Trail over the Coast Mountains — Dates of opening and closing of the rivers throughout the region — Entrance to the Yukon district by tlie Chilkoot Pass and Lewes River — SheepCanip— Mr. J. Healey— Mountain portage from Lake Lindeman tollealey's house — The trail across the summit of Chilkoot Pass — The "Stone house" — Formation of rocks on the Chilkoot Pass — Its vegetation — White Pass — Altitude of its summit — Another route to the intirior — Ma]) of the Chilkoot and Chilkat Passes and their vicinity — Earliest reference to the discovery of gold in the Yukon waters. THE bearing of the Lewes becomes nearly due south, at the mouth of the Big Salmon. Though crooked in detail, it preserves this general bearing to the mouth of the Tes-lin-too, a distance by the river of thirt\-one miles. The actual width of the river, at a point nine miles below the mouth of the Tes- lin-too, was ascertained to be 483 feet, the current being at the rate of 4*84 miles per hour. A short distance south of this point, the river again begins to widen and to resume its usual aspect. The hills bounding the valley on the south of the Seminow Range seldom exceed a height of 800 feet till the vicinity of the confluence of the Tes-lin-too and Lewes is reached, when they gradually increase to 1000 or 1500 feet. fit 56o THE YUKON TERRITORY m 'hi m Kill! A number of auriferous gravel-bars have been worked along this part of the Lewes, including Cassiar Bar, which has so far proved the richest on the river. Limited areas of the river-flats have also been worked over, where the alluvial cover is not too deep. The valley near the mouth of the Tes-lin-too is again nar- rower than usual, singularly so for the point of confluence of two important rivers. The valley of the Tes-lin-too is evidently the main orographic depression which continues that occupied by the Lewes below the confluence. The Lewes flows in through a narrow gap, closely bordered by high hills and nearly at right angles to the lower course of the river. The water of the Lewes has a blue, slightly opalescent colour, much resembling that of the Rhone where it issues from the Lake of Geneva, while that of the Tes-lin-too is brownish and somewhat turbid. A considerable pa"t of the water of the former stream must be derived from the glaciers and snows of the Coast Ranges, but the existence of large lakes on both streams doubtless accounts for their proximate equality in temperature. From the few exposures on that part of the Lewes which cuts across the Seminow Hills, the range would appear to be composed of greenish, altered volcanic rocks, probably diabase, interbedded with grey or whitish marble. The Teslin-too River is named the Newberry or Tess-el- heena ' on Schwatka's map, and is evidently the same which is sketched on the U.S. Coast Survey map of Alaska, etc. (1884), as the Nas-a-thane. By the miners who pass along the Lewes, it is known as the Hootalinkwa or Hotalinqu, in consequence, as it proves, of a misapprehension. The Hotilinqu, which has appeared on the maps for many years, was traversed in its upper part by Byrnes in the course of his exploration. I have ascertained that one or more of the miners who first descended the Lewes knew Byrnes, and were familiar with his work ; ' This is doubtless a version of Tes-lin-hi-ni, ///// (or in combination /il-ftJ), beintj 'lanisli for river. Tes-lin-too is the name given to me by the Tagish Indians, the termination being the Tinne equivalent for /////. This is, how- ever, not the only case of such use of Tinne words by the Tagish. Nas-a- thane is doubtless NIsutlin or Ni-sutlin-hi-ni, the name of the river above the great lake. Krause names this river, on an Indian sketch attached to his map, Tis-lin-hin. THE YUKON TERRITORY 361 n hi -til), Tagish IS, liow- Nas-a- er above led to his they naturally enough, on finding the river, jumped to the con- clusion that it was the Hotalinqu of which he had told them. This river still remains to be explored and mapped, and as it drains a country with a rather dry climate, the area of its basin is probably very considerable. It has been prospected to some extent by a few miners, but it is difficult, from the accounts which they are able to give, to ascertain much of a definite character respecting it. At the mouth of the river we met Mr. T. Boswell and two other miners who had spent most of the summer on it, and from Boswell's description, together with sketches subsequently obtained from Indians, the following notes are drawn up. The general trend of the Tes-lin-too appears to be south- eastward, and Boswell estimates its length, to the great lake, at one hundred miles. There are no rapids or falls in this distance, but the water for sixty or seventy miles from the mouth is moderately swift, the remaining distance to the lake being quite slack. Tiie lake is represented as being at least one hundred miles in length, but accounts differ as to the existence of a large tributary river at its head, some affirming that there is merely a small unimportant stream. Be that as it may, the main con- tinuation of the Tes-lin-too is found at the head of an arm ten or twelve miles long, on the east side of the lake. This river, known to the Tagish Indians as Ni-sutlln-hl-nl, must come from a north-easterly direction in the first instance, and it is represented as circling completely round the head of the Big Salmon River and rising between that River and the Upper Pelly. At a distance variously estimated at from eighty to one hundred and twenty miles from its mouth (and said by the Indians to be two days' travel down stream), the river forks, the west fork being the larger and that of which the course has just been described. The east fork is swift and full of rapids ; it rises in a mountainous country, which no doubt represents a portion of the northern continuation of the Cassiar Range. The Indians travel several days up this fork and then cross moun- tains to tributaries of the Upper Liard and descend by these to the little trading post at the confluence of the Liard and Dcase. Between the mouth of the main river and the forks above men- tioned, the navigation is fairly good and no heavy rapids occur. K i ! f !-.•>** !:>..! ii ' t- 362 THE YUKON TERRITORY If ^' The great lake above mentioned, into which the Ni-sutlin- hi-nl discharges, is said by the Indians to be the largest known to them. It is named Tes-lin by the Tagish Indians, and is bordered to the westward, at a distance of several miles, by a high range of mountains, while a similar range, but of inferior height, runs along its east side and separates the Tes-lin-too from the Big Salmon further north. Near the head of the lake is an Indian trail by which, it is said, the head of canoe naviga- tion on the Taku River may be reached in two long days' packing. Inquiry seems to show that the distance from point to point by this trail is about sixty miles, and that it crosses a range of mountains, but not at such a height as to pass entirely out of the timber. It is stated that a miner named Mike Powers, with eight or nine other men, crossed from the Taku to the lake in 1876 or 1877. These men built three boats on the lake, but do not appear to have done much prospecting, and came out by the same route by which they had entered. There are two Indian salmon-fishing stations on the Ni-sutlin- hi-ni above Tes-lin Lake. Mr. Boswell and his partners found fine gold all along the Tes-lin-too and also on the Ni-sutlin-hi-nl. They worked in different places along the river and appear to have done fairly well. From the mouth of the Tes-lin-too or Newberry to the lower end of Lake Labarge the distance by the Lewes is twenty-seven miles and a half. The river is very crooked, and for the first six or seven miles very rapid, averaging probably six miles an hour. Large boulders occur in its bed in some places, but it is believed that a stern-wheel steamer of good power might ascend without difficulty. The current becomes slack three or four miles before reaching the lake. The river does not follow any well marked or important valley, but an irregular depression among lumpy inconsequent hills, probably none rising over 1000 feet above it. This lake, through which the Lewes River flows, is un- doubtedly that named for Lake Labarge on the older maps, though Schwatka names it Kluk-tas-si, which is no doubt an attempt at its Tagish Indian name Tloo-tat-sai'. Krause calls it Tahiniwud, which is evidently the name given to me as that of the Lewes River. ?;: THE YUKON TERRITORY ?>^2> sutlin- known and is s, by a nferior lin-too he lake naviga- ig days' Ti. point osses a entirely Powers, the lake ake, but le out by li-sutlin- ;rs found lin-hl-ni. appear to le lower ty-seven the first miles an es, but it 'er might ck three does not irregular ly none s, is un- ler maps, loubt an [use calls le as that The lake is a little over thirty-one miles in length. It lies nearly north-and-south, but is somewhat irregular in outline and does not present the parallel-sided form and constant width of most of the mountain lakes. It is bordered nearly everywhere by billy or mountainous country, but two important valleys require special mention. The first of these evidently forms the continuation of the hollow occupied by the lake itself, and runs on from its north or lower end in a north-west- ward direction, while the river, where it leaves the lake, turns to the north-east and breaks through the range of hills on that side. The greater part of this valley, which I propose to name the Ogilvie Valley, appears to drain from the lake in a north-westerly direction and probably to White River, as it is seen to be blocked by terrace-flats about 200 feet above the lake, at a distance of a few miles from it. The second valley begins in a tract of low land to the west of Richtofen Island, and runs parallel to the first, being, like it, one of the main orographic valleys of the region. A small river appears to enter the lake from this valley. The mountains on the south-west side form a well characterized range, but appear scarcely to exceed 2500 feet in height above the lake. They carried, however, some patches of old snow, the first seen by us since leaving the upper part of the Pelly River. The hills along the lower part of the lake on the east side are remarkable in their abrupt forms and have white limestone summits. They rise from 300 to 1000 feet above the lake, and no higher mountains were seen behind them. Further up the lake, on the same side, similar limestone mountains attain a height of about 2000 feet at a short distance back, but are not so remarkable in form. On the west side of the lake, north of the Richtofen valley, the hills slope gradually back from the shore and in a few places reach a height of probably 2000 feet above it, at some miles inland. The outlines of these hills are monotonous and they are wooded nearly to the summits. South of the Richtofen valley the Miner's Range ' approaches the lake at an oblique angle, but decreasing in altitude. The mountains that form this range are more varied in form than those just described. ' I name this for the miners met by us along the river, good fellows all of them. K 2 . i! I I ■ ;64 THE YUKON TERRITORY i .1-. Thouf^h local tokens of a more humid climate were noted on the Lewes near the Seminow Hills, these are soon lost after passing; that ranj^^e, and alonj,' Lake Laharj^e, southern slopes of terraces and hills are often grassy and open. Anemone patens was noted as abundant in many places. No definite indication of the mode of orif,Mn of the lake was obtained. Observation shows that the valley throuf,'h which it now discharges existed in glacial times, but it may probably have been of less importance, and it is not impossible that before the glacial period the river flowed out by the Ogilvie valley, which may since have become blocked by morainic or other drift deposits. Beyond the head of Lake Labarge, the valley of the Lewes continues equally wide, and runs in a gerieral southward direc- tion like that of the lake. At the head of the lake, the valley is occupied by swampy flats nearly at the water-level and by low terrace-flats, which, where cut in the river banks, are seen to be composed of stratified fine sands, which are often iron-stained, and a few miles up the river are found to rest upon the white silts, showing that they are valley deposits of post-glacial date. The limestone range which has bordered the east side of Lake Labarge, runs on in a southward direction, forming the east side of the wide valley. Eleven miles and a half from the head of the lake the Tahk-heena River flows in from the west, making a right angle with the main river, and at thirteen miles further (still measuring along the river) the foot of White Horse Rapid is reached. The current of the Lewes is rather slack for eleven miles from the lake, and the bed and banks are clayey or sandy. Above this point, the river becomes swift, averaging about four miles an hour, and gravel banks and bars reappear. For about two miles below the White Horse Rapid the current is very swift, and though the latter may be designated as the head of possible steamer navigation, it would scarcely pay to endeavour to force a steamer up to the very foot of the rapid. No rock exposures whatever were seen along this part of the Lewes, the scarped banks, which are often a hundred feet in height, consisting almost entirely of white silts with a widely undulated bedding. The Tahk-heena River is named the Tukon at its outflow from wm ! ■]'■] ;ed on ,t after slopes neiiione kc was hich it robably t before valley, ir other 2 Lewes d direc- valley is by low sen to be -stained, he white :ial date. f of Lake the east the head he west, thirteen foot of Lewes is bed and becomes anks and te Horse may be it wonld very foot en along often a hite silts (/3 a o X X 1'^ i: i: • y Iflow from ■ i'i liJ i M '1^,.^. THE YUKON TERRITORY 565 "west Kussooa Lake" at its head, on Krause's map. The orthography of the published maps is retained here. The name would probably be more correctly rendered Ta-hi-nT. It is a considerable stream and is wide and slack at its confluence with the Lewes. At about 200 yards from the Lewes, where it has attained its normal size, it was ascertained to be 237 feet wide, with a depth of ten feet for about one-third of this width, and a current estimated at two miles an hour. The hills which border the south side of this river at its mouth, rise to high rugged mountains at about fifteen miles to the west, and these have the appearance of being largely composed of granite. The water of this river is very turbid as compared with that of the Lewes. The principal sources of the Tahk-heena are shown by Dr. A. Krause's exploration to be at a distance of forty to fifty miles from the head of the west branch of Lynn Canal, and the river was formerly much employed by the Chilkat Indians, whose chief place is on that arm, as a means of reaching the interior. It is not used by the miners, and is now used to only a small extent by the Indians themselves, on account of the long and difficult carriage from the sea to its head ; but the lake at the head of the river once reached, the voyage down stream is reported to be easier than that by the main river, the rapids being less serious. The White Horse Rapid and Miles Caiion form together the most formidable obstacle to the use of the Lewes as a route into the interior, constituting an interruption to navigation of two and three-quarter miles in total length. White Horse Rapid is three-eighths of a mile long.' The worst rapid is at the lower end of the White Horse, where the river scarcely exceeds a hundred feet in width, with low basaltic banks, and the force of the water is very great. In the upper part of the White Horse, the water flows between low basalt cliffs scarcely exceeding twenty feet in height, but sufficient to render track- ing precarious and difficult, while the numerous rocks in mid- channel make the rapid dangerous to run. The portage is on the west bank, and it is usual to carry both boats and cargo over it. ' The distances here given are those measured by Mr. Ogilvie. '1'!^^ 566 THK YUKON TKRKITORY Il;i /. ' ' . ! ^ i i % ii !i'*; : i , Between the White Horse and the foot of the canon the river is very swift, and iit one phice, a mile above the former and three-quarters of a mile below the latter, the set of the stieam is so strong; round a rock}- point as to render it advisable to make an additional short portage of i jo feet. A third portage of hve-eighths of a mile is necessary at Miles Cauon. This portage is on the east bank, and at the lower end a very steep ascent has first to be overcome. Here a sort of extemporized windlass has been rigged up by the miners for the purpose of hauling up their boats. The canon is cut through a nearly horizontal tlov/ of basalt and is not more than a hundred feet in width, with vertical cliffs averaging about fifty feet, and never exceeding one hundrt-d feet, at the sides. It opens out into a basin in the middle, but the river is elsewhere inaccessi- ble from the banks. Terraced hills rise above the basalt walls on each side of the valley, but are particularly abrupt on the west bank, The river flows through the canon with great velocity, but is unimpeded in its course, and it is tlierefore not very risky to run with a good boat. The White Horse Rapid is, however, much more dangerous, and though some of the miners have run through it — generally accidentally — it should not be attempted. The great structural valley which is occupieil by Lake Labarge and by the ri\er above it up to this point, runs on above the canon as a wide, important depression, bearing nearly due south, and appears to be uniiiterr\ipted till it joins the lower end of Bennett Lake, thirty-two miles distant. The course of the river, however, diverges to the south-easi. in which liirection also a wick" \alley runs, and in twenty-three miles (fi)llowing the stream) the lower enil of Lake Marsh is reached, 'i'liis valley, thougli extensive between its limiting slopes, is iu)t regularly bounileil by parallel ranges, like that first mentioned. The climate is drj-, the black pine {Piniis .Uz/rrdjui/tti) is now very abundant, nuich more so than on the lower river, and it w;is here observed that this tree began to ass uine a more branching and less rigid form than it has to the north. Large numbers of salmon wert- found di-ad or dynig rdong the banks lor a few miles above (he canon, and the grass along the n am 1 1 the river iicr and e stream isable to porta{j;e n. This cry steep mporized irpose i)f a nearly dred feet feet, and 3pens out inaccessi- salt walls )t on the •ith f^rreat refore not rse Rapid lie of the -it slu>uld by Lake , runs on learinj; 11 it joins ilistant. h-easi. in I'uty-tlnve Marsh is liniitin^^ like that \(i) is now •r, anil it a more Lar^c Ihe banks U)nt: the y. o -1" ■Mi >M ;i, iMi ii % i' il!! > i f' THE YUKON TERRITORY 3^7 shores was trodden down by bears attracted here by this circumstance. No salmon were found so far up as Lake Marsh, and the Indians consider this is the hmit of the fish. It would appear that after their long journey from the sea, those which get so far, exhaust their last remaining strength in ascending th'^ canon. Lake Marsh, so named by Schwatka, in honour of Prof. O. C. Marsh, is known to the miners as ' Mud Lake." It is twenty miles in length, with an average width of about two miles, pretty uniformly maintained. The valley of which whose centre the lake occupies, is notably wide, and the country in the immediate vicinity of the lake is quite low, consisting of terrace-flats, or low rounded or wooded hills and ridges. Conspicuous mountain summits, however, occur at a distance of some miles inland on bo*^h sides of the lake. A moderately well-defined range, of which Michie Mountain ' 5540 feet in height is the most ele^■ated point, bounds the view on the east side of the lake. To the west is an irregular and broken mass of mountains in which several notable gaps occur, and which occupy the country between Lake Marsh and the Watson valley, previously referred to. The highest pointr, of these, Mounts Lome and Lansdozvne, were ascertained to have approximate elevations of 6400 and 6140 feet respectively. The diversified forms of the mountains in view from this lake render it particularly picturesque, and at the time of our visit the autumn tints of the aspens and other deciduous trees and shrubs, mingled witb the sombre greens of the spiuces and pines, added to its beauty. The upper end of Lake Marsh i.s connected with Tagish I ke by a wide tranquil reach of river five miles in length. !'li<» current is here very slack, and the depth, according to Ogilvie, from six to twelve feet. The river is bordered by low terraces, which are particularly wide on the west side, and are covered with open woods, chiefly consisting of white spruce and Cottonwood. To the eust, the long irregular ridge? and slopes which culminate in Jubilee ?dountain begin to rise a short distance back from the river. A mile above Lake Marsh, on the east bank of the river, are two roughly built houses ' So named by Schwatka. 'I' . ,Jlj ■vm n ■ ■>! m 368 THE YUKON TERRITORY Im- belonging to the Tagish Indians. These are the only permanent houses seen along the whole course of thi "^.ewes, and here the Tagish people, who roam over this part of the country, reside during the winter months. From the description just given, it will be seen that the navigation, by steamers, from the head of the canon through Lake Marsh and to Tagish Lake would offer no difficulties, while the tranquil character of the connecting river between the two lakes last mentioned, is such as practically to render Lake Marsh the lower portion of an extensive system of still-water navigation which includes not only Tagish Lake, but also Lake Nares, I. 'le Bennett, and possibly other connected waters, and which w J e of the greatest utility at no distant date in facilitating opening up and development of the mineral resources of the tract of country in their vicinity. Taken as a whole, these lakes constitute a singularly picturesque region, abounding in striking points of view and in landscapes pleasing in their variety, or grand and impressive in their combination of rugged mountain forms. The inner or north-eastern edge of the Coast Ranges is not here very well defined, but Tagish and Bennett Lakes, with their several arms, may be described as lying upon this border and as in part penetrating the outskirts of the range. The lower part of Tagish Lake occupies the continuation of the same wide valley in which Lake Marsh lies, and the valley of the Tako Arm may also be included as a part of the same depression. To the west of this, the upper part of Tagish Lake and Bennett Lake must be considered as lying among the mountains of the Coast Ranges, and the height as well as the abrupt and rugged character of the mountains increase in that direction, their slopes and summits holding large areas of permanent snow, even late in the summer. In consequence of the position of this country, in the lee of the higher crests of the Coast Ranges, and notwithstanding its considerable altitude, the climate appears to be equally dry with that about the site of old Fort Selkirk, and no very striking difference exists in the character of the vegetation. The southward facing slopes of some of the mountains, to a height of a thousand feet or more above the lake, are grassy ^'n 11 THE YUKON TERRITORY 369 and open, a circumstance particularly observable on the north side of the west part of Tagish Lake and on Lake Nares. This is the main continuation of the Lewes, and is reported to be a tranquil stream of no great length, resembling that between Marsh and Tagish lakes. It flows out of the west side of another very long lake which lies nearly parallel to Tahko Arm. This lake, near the south end, receives several feeders, one of which, entering at its extremity, I suppose to be the Hotalinqu River of the Telegraph Survey, though the Tagish Indians informed me they named it Yd-hl-nT. The Indian name of the lake here named Tagish Lake, is Ta-gish-ai (Taglscha of Krause). It is commonly known by the miners as Tako Lake, and Schwatka adopts this name on his map. It appears, however, admissible to revert to the proper Indian pronunciation of the name. I am obliged, by the facts of the case, to include Bove Lake, of Schwatka, as part of Tagish Lake, but, in order to preserve the nam.e, propose to attach it to the large island in the mouth of Windy Arm. Lake Nares is known to the miners as " Moose Lake," Lake Bennett as "Boat Lake." A glance at the map will show that the lakes of this system occupy a portion only of a still more extensive system of wide valleys, which are probably of great antiquity. The pre-glacial direction of drainage in some of these can only be conjectured. All those valleys are now, to a great extent, filled with detrital deposits, probably due for the most part to the glacial period. No appreciable deepening of drainage levels is f^oing on, and the action at present in progress is constantly tending toward the filling up of the lake basins. It may be presumed, here as elsewhere, that the lakes of this region now occupy the place of the last tongues of the great glacier, which in the end dis- appeared so rapidly that their beds had not time to become filled with detritus. Lake Lindeman occupies the continuation of the same valley in which Lake Bennett lies, but is separated from that lake by a small rapid stream, three-quarters of a mile in length. This stream falls about twenty feet between the two lakes, and is rough and rocky. The portage is on ihe east side, and after carrying the greater part of our stuff overland, we experienced 3fo THE YUKON TERRITORV !. !;.ii;l no difficulty in bringing the boat up the rapids. Lake Linde- man (Tl-tshoo-tah-minI of the Tagish Indians SchiitliichroA Lake of Krause) is five miles in total length, with an average width of about half a mile. It is the extreme head of naviga- tion in this direction. The lower end is shallow, and the occurrence there of many large boulders may show that it is moraine-dammed. Its shores are rough and rocky along both sides, high rough mountains rising on its north bank, while lower country, consisting of rocky hills, extends to the south- eastward, as far as the White Pass. A stream joins the head of the lake from the west, in which direction the main valley runs, but bifurcates at a distance of about three miles, the branches running off among high granite mountains. A second stream of some size, which evidently becomes a formidable torrent at certain seasons, flows into the lake about a mile from its head, on the south side. It is the valley of this stream which is followed by the trail by which the Coast Mountains are crossed. The scenery about this lake is wild and fine, though solitary and alpine in the extreme. The rocks every- where about the lake are granites of the kind just described. As a number of miners had preceded us, on their way to the coast, we found several boats drawn up on the shore at the mouth of the stream above mentioned. We were also so fortunate as ■ o find a small party of Tagish Indians camped there, but most of the men had already gone over the portage with some of the miners, and we were obliged to wait two days for their return, before we could obtain the requisite assistance to carry over our stuff. The total length of the route by the Lewes River from "the Landing " on Lake Lindeman to the site of Fort Selkirk is 357 miles. From the outlet of Lake Labarge to the same point is a distance of 200 miles, in which the total descent is 595 feet, or at the rate of 2*97 feet to the mile. The information obtained respecting the dates of opening and closing of the river in spring and autumn is very fragmentary. It would appear, however, that the rivers generally throughout the region open early in May, while they may be expected to freeze over, in slack-water reaches, any time after the middle of October, on the occurrence of a few consecutive days of hard w THE YUKON TERRITORY 371 pm " the [k is 357 Ipoint is 1)95 f«et, ung and lentary. [oughout lected to liddle of of hard frost. Loose ice sometimes begins to run in the rivers as early as September 20th, but this generally precedes the actual closing of the rivers by a couple of weeks. In some seasons the rivers do not freeze over till well on in November. The ice, however, remains much longer unbroken upon the lakes, the lakes on the course of the Lewes thus generally preventing the descent of that river by boats till June. Miners entering the Yukon district by the Chilkoot Pass and Lewes River, frequently leave the head of Lynn Canal in April, and after crossing the pass — for this fine weather is essential ■ — continue on down the lakes on the ice, and then, if necessary, wait at some convenient point for the opening of navigation, and build their boats. In ascending the river, much depends on the build of 'the boat employed and skill of the men in poling, as well as on the occurrence, or otherwise, of head-winds on the lakes. The whole distance from Forty-mile Creek to Lake Lindeman has been made once or twice in so short a time as thirty days, and I believe that even this record has been surpassed by a couple of days on one occasion, but under very exceptional circum- stances. Much, however, depends on the stage of water in the river, as when it is unusually high, the current is not only stronger, but many of the bars and beaches are covered, and the poling and tracking is much more laborious. Timber suitable for building boats can scarcely be found in the cinity of Lake Lindeman, but no difficulty is met with in obtaming trees of fair size on Bennett and Tagish Lakes. Below these lakes the country is generally wooded, and there is an abundance of spruce of fair quality, growing tall and straight in sheltered localities, but seldom attaining a diameter of two feet. On the igth of September, 1887, we set out with four Indian packers, crossed the summit, and reached a point in the valley of the west slope near what is known as Sheep Camp, the same evening. On the evening of the 20th, we arrived at the head of tide-water on Taiya Inlet, and were hospitably received by Mr. J. Healeyj who has established himself at that point for purposes of trade with the Indians and miners. We had at ■II: '1: 1 '^li 1' 1 V :'3 1 1 i^llMlIl 372 THE YUKON TERRITORY this time just completed our fourth month of arduous and incessant travel from Wrangell, at the mouth of the Stikine River, by the rivers, Kikes and portages of the interior described in the foregoing pages, the total distance traversed being about 1322 miles. It was not the least pleasing moment of the entire journey when, from a distance of some miles, we first caught sight of the sea shining like a plate of beaten bronze under the rays of the evening sun. The length of the mountain portage from Lake Lindeman to Healey's house is twenty-three miles and a half, the summit of the pass being at a distance of eight miles and a half from Lake Lindeman, with an elevation of 3502 feet. The valley on the north or inland side of the summit contains several little lakes which are evidently true rock-basins, with lumpy bottoms and irregular contours. The trail is rough and crooked, and entirely without attempt at improvement of any kind. It follows the stream in one place, for about a mile, through a narrow rocky defile, which has evidently been cut out since the glacial period. Where it crosses wide areas of shattered rocks, the closest attention is required to follow it, and this can only be done, in the absence of guides, by noting the slightly soiled appearance of the grey stones from one to another of which the Indians step. Some of the valleys to the north of the summit, and near it, are deeply filled with perennial snow, over which the trail runs by preference, to avoid the rocky slopes. The small lakes highest in the pass were, at the time we crossed, about two-thirds covered with new ice ; this showed little sign of melting, even under the bright sun that prevailed. Hard frosts were evidently occurring here in the mountains every night at this season. From seven to eight miles of the highest part of the pass is entirely destitute of timber, even of a stunted growth such as might be used for firewood. The nature of the ground is, how- ever, so rocky that it does not afford a proper criterion of the normal height of the timber-line. At the actual summit, the trail leads through a narrow, rocky gap, and the whole scene is one of complete desolation, the naked granite rocks rising steeply to partly snow-clad mountains on either side. The slope of the pass on the north side is ffltt ) • ' THE YUKON TERRITORY 373 and ikine ribed ibout entire aught er the aan to mit of 1 Lake )ntains s, with gh and of any a mile, sen cut ireas of )llo\v it, f noting one to |s to the [erennial Old the :, at the Ice ; this sun that e in the [e pass is such as is, how- )n of the 3\v, rocky Ition, the lountains |h side is gradual, and the total ascent from the lake not very great, being but 1334 f^^t. To the south, on the contrary, it is at first abrupt and even precipitous, being accomplished over huge masses of fallen rock, which alternate here and there with steep slippery surfaces of rock in places ; but the travelling here is after all not so bad as that met with lower down the valley, where the trail goes through the woods along the steep, rocky and often boggy hillside, leading up and down the sides of several deep, narrow gullies. Two small detached glaciers occupy hollows in the slope of the mountains on the west side of this valley, and from these a considerable part of the water of the stream is derived. The " Stone house," or stone houses, and "Sheep camp" are points noted in this part of the pass, the first consisting of several natural though inconvenient shelters, beneath great masses of rock which have rolled down from the mountain, where the Indians often stop over night ; the second being the point where arboreal vegetation of fair growth begins. At six miles from the head of the inlet, the stream followed down from the summit is joined by another which has been dignified by the name of the Nourse River. A short distance up the valley of the latter are somewhat extensive glaciers and high snow-covered mountains. Both the valley of this stream and that coming from the pass are narrow and V-shaped, but from their point of junction a wide flat-bottomed valley runs due south between high mountain walls and is continued further on in that occupied by the inlet itself. This valley is largely floored by gravel-flats and is evidently subjected at times to heavy floods. The little river formed by the confluence of these streams may be ascended with difficulty by canoes, for some miles, when the water is not low, but at the time we passed this was scarcely practicable. It is, however, easy to walk along the gravel-flats, the only discomfort being the necessity of fording the ice-cold and very swift water several times en route. The rocks met with on the Chilkoot Pass are practically all granites, generally hornblendic and grey, though varying in coarseness of grain, and often porphyritic with pink orthoclase. Below the Forks, on the east side of the valley, the summits of several mountains show rocks evidently stratified, dipping at I 374 THE YUKON TERRITORY 'If Li] f Ml high angles. These are probably gneiss or schist, like those seen in the valley of the pass. Scrubby hemlock {Tsuga Pattoniana) in a prostrate form occurs not far below the actual summit on both slopes. Below the " Stone house " this tree becomes arboreal, and a few miles further down the valley grows tall and straight, forming entire groves. Menzies spruce {Abies Sitchensts) also appears, a short distance below " Sheep camp," together with Cottonwood (probably Populus balsamiferd). Here also elder and birch were first seen on the south slope. The devil's club {Fatsia horrida) comes in about a mile above " Sheep camp." Pinus contorta was not seen till the Forks was reached. The " Stone house " is named Te-hit by the Indians. The Indian name of the Taiya River of the maps, is Dai-e'. Nourse River is named Kit-li-koo-goo-a', the stream followed southward from the summit of the pass Si-tik'. These rivers are named Katlakuchra and Ssidrajik on the map of Dr. A. Krause. Having heard reports of the existence of a second pass from Taiya Inlet to the lakes on the head-waters of the Lewes, Mr. Ogilvie sent Capt. W. Moore to make an examination of it, with instructions to rejoin the party to the east of the mountains. This pass Mr. Ogilvie has named White Pass in honour of the late Minister of the Interior. It leaves the coast at the mouth of the Shkagway River ' five miles south of the head of Taiya Inlet, and runs parallel to Chilkoot Pass at no great distance from it. The distance from the coast to the summit is stated as seventeen n.'iles ; the first five miles are of level bottom-land, thickly timbered. The next nine miles is in a canon-like valley where heavy wcrk would be encountered in constructing a trail. The remaining distance of three miles, to the summit, is comparatively easy. The altitude of the summit is roughly estimated at 2600 feet. Beyond the summit a wide valley is entered, and the descent to the first little lake is said to be not more than one hundred feet. The mountains rapidly decrease in height and abruptness after the summit is passed, and the valley bifurcates, one branch leading to the head of Windy Arm of Tagish Lake, the other (down which the water drains) going to Tako Arm of the same lake. ' So named on chart in U.S. Coast Pilot, Schkague River of Krause. ; •■■■^ THE YUKON TERRITORY 375 .ss from /es, Mr. "it, with untains. ir of the mouth ,f Taiya istance itated as )m-land, ;e valley a trail. mit, is roughly 'alley is be not ecrease and the dy Arm s) going There is still another route into the interior, which the Indians occasionally employ in winter when the travelling is good over the snow. This lea\-es the Nourse or west branch of the Taiya, and runs west of the Chilkoot Pass to the head of Lake Lindeman. The first map of the Chilkoot and Chilkat Passes and their vicinity is due, as mentioned further on, to Dr. A. Krause. The passes connecting the coast with the interior country, from the heads of Lynn Canal to the upper waters of the Lewes, were always jealously guarded by the Chilkat and Chilkoot Indians of the coast, who carried on a lucrative trade with the interior or " Stick" Indians, and held these people in a species of sub- jection. Though the existence of these routes to the interior was known to the traders and prospectors, the hostility of the Chilkats and Chilkoots to the passage of whites long prevented their exploration. I have not been able to find any reference to the discovery of gold in the Yukon waters earlier than that given by Mr. F. Whymper, who writes in i86g : " It is worthy of mention that minute specks of gold have been found by some of the Hudson Bay Company's men in the Yukon, but not in quan- tities to warrant a * rush ' to the locality." ' ' Travels in Alaska and on the Yukon. London, 1869, p. 227. il irause. L 2 l'y the statement it Sitka ill ascend etl koot Pass ig Salmon ;xploration of mining larse gold " the Upper which gol nining fitl the country irs— Frozen lation. It to the George )untry.'' He was by the ■es. He rsh, and return- turn, he e miners ,ve been e Alaska 5, and in Ishores and III y. M X y. o y, < ■A H X O o y. o H y, 1 -: \ > I II WW, THE YUKON TERRITORY T^n ' Other extraordinary journeys assigned to Holt in Mrs. Sridmore's book are, according to tiie miners, altogether incorrect. Holt appears to have been a romancer with considerable inventive ])o\vers, but it is possible that he made more than one journey. In May, 1878, Mcssi. Rath iSrothcrs, of Victoria, and Mr. IJean, of California, set out to cross by the Chilkoot Pass for the purpose of prospecting, but were not allowed m go inland by the Indians. Morris, Report upon the Customs Districi, etc., of Alaska, [879, p. 97. •^ It had increased to twenty shortly after leavmg Sitka. See Report by Captain lieardslee,47th Congress, ist Session, Senate, E.x. Doc. No. 71, p. 65. In the same report, the names of the nineteen original members of the party are given and some account of its organization, etc. •' The account of the further wanderings of the party given in the U,S, Coast Pilot, Alaska (1883), p. 278, is incorrect. ill the addendum to the same work as 1872,' in Mrs. Scidmore's book, already quoted, as " 1872 or 1884." The date and route above assigned to Holt are, however, probably correct, being the result of inquiry among miners who knew him, followed his route through the country, and came in contact with the Indians whom he had met. Some years later, in 1880, a prospecting party of nineteen men was organized at Sitka under the leadership of one Edward Bean. Amicable relations were established with the Chilkats and Chilkoots through the kind offices of Captain Beardslee, U.S.N., and the Chilkoot Pass was crossed to Lake Lindeman. The party had, by this time, increased to twenty-five in number." Boats were built on Lake Lindeman, and on the 4th of July the prospectors set out down stream. The Tes-lin-too was reached and was then, for the first time (and as it proves, erroneously) recognized as the Hotalinqu. Before returning, the Tes-lin too was ascended and prospected for some distance. From George Langtry, who was a member of the original party, and R. Steel, who joined in later, the facts, as above given, are derived.'' No encouraging "prospects" were mrt with at this time, though Steel states that he found bars yielding at the rate of %z'^o a day in a small stream which joins the Lewes fifteen miles above the canon. This large party was closely followed by two miners known as Johnny Mackenzie and " Slim Jim," who reached Lake Lindeman on July 3rd. It is possible that other parties as well entered the country in that year; but if so, I have been unable to trace them. >'( I 1 378 THE YUKON TERRITORY ;i. ,Ti 'k|.r| The police have, so far, made a very favourable impression, and the general policy of the Government in connection with this district is admired. The merchants are well sat lied with the establishment of a court of justice, and look for the early addition of some sort of a court of record where transfers and claims can be recorded, so that the collection of debts can be undertaken with some degree of certainty. As it is nov —A transfers to B, who keeps the record as long as it pays him to do so, but if he is dishonest . ^ THE YUKON TERRITORY 589 and A absent or dishonest too, he may destroy it, and repudiate payment of his debts. This has occurred aheady, and as a good deal of transferring and counter-transferring is indulged in, it may occur more frequently in the future, unless some court of record is created. It is probable the boundaries of the police jurisdiction may have to be extended in the near future, for a good deal of trading is done on the head-waters of the river by parties who cross the summit of the coast-passes with goods from Yunean. Also the miners on the head-waters and on the Hootaliiiqua bring their supplies from Yunean. Now one of the traders here — Harper — has a small steamboat named the Beaver, which he got last season for the express purpose of reaching the upper parts of the river and its affluents with supplies, and having paid duty on all his foreign goods, expects to be protected against smuggled goods. Should the Hootalinqua turn out as expected, and promised, a police force will be required there. Harper will try hard to get up with supplies to it and Teslin Lake. I fancy he can lay down most things there as cheaply as they can be brought over the pass. It costs 814 to $15, sometimes more, per hundred pounds to transport from Taiya to the lakes, which makes flour 816 to 817 pt^i" hundred at the lake, while it costs, or is sold here for -f 8. Things here are sold so low now, that were I ever coming in from the Pacific again, I would bring nothing in quantity but bacon, on which I might save a dollar or two a hundred, it being sold here fiom ^yy to 8j5 per hundred. I have produced the boundary line about five miles north of where it crosses the \uk()n Kivir, which is as far as I thought needful at present. I have also produced it about seven miles south, and about the end of I'ebruary will resume work, and run it as far as vSixty Mile Creek. In connection with this I have occupied six photOi.naph stations and developed all the plates exposed, which ha\( turned out satisfactorily. I have made a cross section measurement of the Yukon River where the boundary crosses it. In order to determine the exact position of the boundary as referred to the longitude of my observatory of i887-iS(S, I made a careful triangulation and transverse survey from the obser- ir It 390 THE YUKON TERRITORY vatory westward, which located it log feet west of the spot I marked in 1888 as the boundary, this being estabHshed by micrometer measurements — the distance is three miles. 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. In the valley of the river the distances are chained ; elsewhere they are deducted from micrometer measurements. During the November-December lunation I got several lunar culminations, of which I have only had time to completely reduce one, and the result differs from the mean of my 1887-88 determinations by only o*i3 seconds. I hope to get some more in the January-February lunation. On the way in, the system of thirteen wires in the transit got so damp that they bent into a useless mass of lines, some in, some out of focus ; of course I did not open the box until I arrived at my winter quarters. I repeatedly dried them, thinking I might make them serve, but, after a few hours in the cold damp atmosphere, they were as bad as ever. Finally, one of them became detached at one end, fell across the others and rendered them completely useless, there being a lump of glue attached to the loose end. A diligent search for several days discovered no spider lines that could be used to replace them, and I was hopeless of doing anything with the transit this winter, until one day I discovered that a solution of indiarubber I had, might, with careful manipulation, furnish what I wanted. I tried it, and after several attempts succeeded in getting five fair threads on in the place of the original five — ten seconds apart. These wires possess the virtue of always being taut by reason of the elasticity of the rubber, so temperature does not aifect their positions, but they stick together like gum if they touch, so that I could not use a micrometer wire, and consequently cannot get latitudes with the zenith telescope bubble. Up to date, our lowest temperature has been 63° below zero. The winter has been unusually windy. Coming up here we had to face a strong wind when 52^ below icvo, and frozen noses were the rule of the day. No mail from outside since September. THE YUKON TERRITORY 591 Fort Cudahy, N.W.T. loth June, 1896. After sending my last report, I left Cudahy on the 12th January, reaching the boundary on the 13th, when I imme- diately set to work reducing the observations I had taken of lunar culminations up to that date, six in number, on one of which both limbs of the moon were observed, making several determinations of the longitude. After my return there was some fine clear weather in January, but it was exceedingly cold and more than 60° below zero, one night 68° 5', and as I had both my ears pretty badly frozen I could not go out in such cold without having them covered, so that I could not hear the chronometer beat, I could not observe until the end of the month, when we had two fine nights — 2gth and 30th — mild enough for me to work. On the 29th I again observed both limbs, the moon on both these occasions being suitably full at transit here. This makes in all ten different determina- tions of the longitude to be summed with my work of 1887-88, and as most of my observations were then on the first limb, and most of these on the second, the total result is better balanced. Having reduced all my observations, and the days having attained a reasonable length, I went into camp on the line on 20th February, resuming work on the 22nd. But as the hill- tops are all bare, and from two to three thousand feet above the river, we lost many days through the fierce winds. Our progress was necessarily slow for this reason, and also from the fact that I photographed from several stations, which took some time. As there were no important creeks between 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 Yukon to Forty Mile River is a little over twenty-five miles. In the valleys along the line the timber wns thick with much underbrush, 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 with this survey on the 13th of March. From this point southwards there are many streams cut by the line, all 392 THE YUKON TERRITORY !» n I f I li of which are more or less gold-bearing, and all have been more or less prospected. This necessitated my cutting out the line continuously from Forty Mile River onwards, which increased our work very much. The valleys traversed are generally up- wards of 1000 feet deep, and often very steep, so that our work was exceedingly laborious. Transporting our outfit from camp to camp was often a very hard task, as the hills were so steep everything had to be packed up 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 them were already running water, and our way lay down them, I thought it well to quit work on the line and return to Forty Mile and Cudahy, and attend to the local surveys there. The 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 favourable, I would have visited Glacier and Miller Creeks, which were generally supposed to be in Alaska, but are found to run in Canada for some distance. They are the two richest creeks yet found on the Yukon, and are 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 valley or creek bed. There are nearly 100 claims, all of which pay well. One on Miller Creek I understand will yield seventy- five to eighty thousand dollars this season, and the owner will net, it is said, between forty and fifty thousand dollars. He took out, it is reported, nearly half 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 favourable conditions, both mercantile and climatic, it would yield good results to large enterprises. The mercantile con- ditions will improve. The climate is a serious difficulty, but will be surmounted in time, I believe. Along the last ten or twelve miles of the line I ran, the mountains consist principally of quarts and schists, which no doubt originally held the gold THE YUKON TERRITORY 593 found in the valleys, and doubtless hold some yet. Several men have taken to quartz prospecting, and from indications which I will dwell on later, I believe we are on the eve of sonie magnifi- cent discoveries. The miners on all the creeks referred to have quietly accepted my line as the boundary /w tern., and as far as I can learn at present, the general feeling is satisfaction that one can now know where he is. Even if the line is not final, no one doubts its being very near the final position. The line as far as run is marked by cairns of stones, wherever it was possible to procure them with reasonable time and labour, and is cut through the woods and blazed, so that no one who wants to find it can mistake it. Another source of satisfaction to all is that they know distances and directions. Many miners remark to me, " We know where we are going, we can see where south is." In this high latitude in the summer months, it is impossible to tell when the sun is near the meridian because its change in altitude is so little for eight or nine hours, consequently any point between east and west was called somewhere near south. This helps to explain much of the variance in the direction of points 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 Fort Cudahy I rented two cabins from the N. A. T. and 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 Creek and making a chain transverse survey of the creek from the claims down to the Yukon. I mail you a plot of this and the claim on a scale of forty chains to the inch. I also mail you a sketch map of my survey of the boundary line on a scale of twenty miles to the foot, and have piMicilled in an idea of the topography ; it is made on the best paper I could get here as I brought none with me. I next made a survey of the I 394 THE YUKON TERRITORY m H ■'Is (4 ^. ^ I' I'i IP' ti ■11 P PP Cone Hill quartz-mining claim and a chain transverse survey of the Forty Mile River from the claim down to the Yukon. I then went to work on the Forty Mile town site and the Cudahy town site. The last I was asked to block out, which I have done. The manager, Mr. C. H. Hamilton, objected to streets sixty-six feet wide on such a small plot of ground (there are only about fifty acres). I read him my instructions and wrote him an official letter on the subject, but he insisted on streets only fifty feet wide, and assumed all responsibility, so I did as he desired. I made him a plot of the work done on the ground, and he under- stands that he will have to pay the department for the service rendered in blocking as well as the original survey, and wishes a plan of it, which of course can only be prepared when I go out. I made a complete survey of Forty Mile, locating and taking the dimensions of every house in it, and it is the worst jumble I ever saw. I had to do this, though it entailed a great deal of work, for there were so many claimholders, and there appeared to be a general distrust in the vicinity ; every man wants himself on record in evidence as to his claim. I have taken some, but I have several days' work yet. I made a survey of the island for the Anglican mission, and of another island for a man named Gibson. This is 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 experiences here will permit with 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 eighty acres just west of Cudahy town site, which I will survey in a few days. There is also an appli( ition in for forty acres, containing a hay swamp, on the east side of the river, about two miles below here, which I will survey before starting out. There are many other applications in, but I shall not have time to attend to them, nor have the parties asked for a survey. I think these applications are simply intended to hold the ground until the mwi THE YUKON TERRITORY 395 future of this region is forecasted; it certainly looks promising ^ now. I would respectfully call the attention of the department <:;; to the fact that the services of a surveyor are urgently needed in here, and will be for some years to come, and I would suggest that one be appointed to look after and take charge of all the land interests in the district. He will find plenty to do, and any work outside of departmental which he might be asked to do (rnd there is much of it, and will be more in the way of engineering) would help materially to pay his salary, which would, of course, in here have to be liberal. 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 emphasise the existence 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 attempt made to close them. Liquor could not be kept out of the country if the whole North-West Mounted Police were scattered around the river. Another subject which I have mentioned before is that of the timber. Large quantities of timber are being and have been cut in our territory, and floated down the river to American territory where it is 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 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 timber in the country, and much of what does exist is cut into fuel, while more of it goes beyond 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 V ■^5* I •t£~H'«»->'- r ii 11 39^ THE YUKON TERRITORY r'' i .1 1: . j,i. m 1 run up and down the river looking after it, unless he has a steamer. A word or two on the steamer question. He labours under the delusion that a small steam launch is all he requires. Now the best of them can only make five to seven miles per hour in dead water, and here we have a river with a current of six to eight miles per hour the greater part of the summer ; even in low water it is five to six generally. To get up at all his launch would have to keep inshore, and even then she would not make more miles per day than the same number of men would with a good canoe or boat, tracking or poling, with the advantage to canoe or boat of not having to stop for fuel. The only boat suitable for this river is a stern-wheeler, and one of the most suitable size for police purposes would cost ten to twenty thousand dollars, and require experienced men to run her. Some sort of court for the collection of debts is required here now, and whether or not the agent could act in that capacity is a question to be decided. The merchants here who pay duty 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, preferably 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 anyway, in the present condition of trade, things cannot be sold much cheaper at a fair rate of 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 present the long haul makes the expense of mining machinery practically prohibitive, for the cost of transport is often more than the first cost of the machine. Assays of Cone Hill quarts are very satisfactory, and the quantity good for generations of work ; were it on the coast, the Treadwell Mine would be diminutive beside it. Five tons of rock from it are being sent out for a mill test, and should they prove as satisfactory as the test of a ton sent out last year. THE YUKON TERRITORY Z^7 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. and T. Company, found a ledge last spring on the Chandindu River of Schwatka (known as Twelve Mile Creek here) and located two full claims on it. He told me the assay he made of many specimens of it was much more satisfactory than that of Cone Hill, and this ledge, he claims, is where a commencement should be made in quartz milling in this country, and there would be no fear of the result. He appeared to be pretty well versed in mining lore, is a practical assayer — that is his profession — and he says he never saw or read of anything like it for extent in the world. He informed me there were extensive deposits of coal about twenty miles up the creek, and this ledge was about four miles up. He had no doubt but that the copper about F"ort Reliance will with better facihties yet be a valuable feature in the country. He showed me a lump of native copper some Indians said they found at the head of White River, but could not or would not specify where. Speaking of White River reminds me that it and Sixty Mile are very close together in the vicinity of the boundary. I was told it was only a short walk from the creeks of one to the creeks of the other, but how far from stream to stream is uncertain. This expert is an American who has spent many years of his life in the best mining districts of the United States, and he assures me this country promises better than any he ever saw before, and as an evidence of his satisfaction with it he is going to spend the rest of his life here. Great anxiety is felt here about a mail route and regular mail. Last winter three mails left the coast, one by the Taku route, one by the White Pass, and one via Taiya : the first two got here in good time, the last (ours by the way) did not, nor is likely to arrive, for some time — may be, never. The man in charge was badly frozen on the summit, and had to turn back, leaving the mail behind him, and it is now probably buried in fathoms of snow. An Indian brought the mail in by the Taku, and took the Slocoh branch of it to Atlin Lake. From what I learnt of this route while up there, it may be lii •i (1 398 THE YUKON TERRITORY found to afford an easier way than by Teslin Lake, but it has the disadvantage of landing on the head of the Lewes instead of the Hootahnqua or TesHn, and so takes in the canon and White Horse Rapids. Last winter many of the miners and residents here talked to me about the mails, and what the government intended in this direction ; of course I could tell them nothing, but suggested they should make their views known by getting up a petition to the Minister of the Interior, which I understand they did. The Alaska Commercial Company are putting a new and powerful steamer on the river, which will make four ; the Arctic, Alice, and Emma, large, and the Bedon, small. There is some talk of the N. A. T. and T. Company putting on a sister boat to the Partus />'. Weare. All are stern-wheeled boats. From my camera stations on the boundary I saw many high mountains, some of them not less than 8000 feet, some I believe 10,000. Some of the promint ones I have named after the pioneers of this country, notably one Mount Campbell after the late Mr. Robert Campbell, who estab- lished Fort Selkirk, It is about sixty miles due east of here, and is a noteworthy peak, in that it stands on the top of an extensive, well-defined range, rising like a lofty pillar about 1000 feet above the ridge. It is, as far as seen, the most remarkable peak in the country. I have not made any compu- tations yet, but I do not think its summit is much, if any, less than 10,000 feet above the sea ; no one noticed it before for the reason that it is only about 600 feet wide, is always black, and very distant from points where it can be seen around here. Fort Cudahy, N.W.T. June 25th, 1896. My experience last winter was that a party of say eight men, three on the line continuously, and four forwarding continuously, and one cook, the line could be advanced at the rate of twenty- five miles per month with no great difficulty during February, March, April and May, and part of October, November, and part of December. THE YUKON lERRITORY 399 Good strong toboggans and good strong large snow-shoes are required. During June, July, August and September, the same party with say five pack horses, three at camp and two for- warding from depot of supplies, could proceed at an equal if not faster rate. There would be ab( ut two or two and a half months too dark to profitably work on the line. This, I think, would be more satisfactory than putting in a few isolated points here and there, certainly it would give us a continuous boundary and a more extended geographical knowledge of the country, as well as botanical and geographical information of importance. Horses could be laid down here for, I should say, about 8250 per head — and the same animals ought to last the whole survey. Horses have been in use here, packing to the mines in summer and hauling wood in the winter, for several years, and are still serviceable, notwithstanding that they live only on the coarse grasses of the country. They pack 200 lbs. apiece from Forty Mile River at the mouth of Moore Creek to the mines on Miller Creek (about seventeen and a liilf or eighteen miles), and climb some very steep long hills on the way, taking two da}'s with loads, and one day without ; all they get to eat is what they find. As a gauge of what can be done I refer you to what I did last winter. In less than two months, TYbruary 22nd to April 13th, I produced the line nearly fifty miles, cutting every bit of bush on twenty-five miles of it, and partly cutting the rest, besides spending several days on my photograph stations, and I had only six men. I am confident that a joint party consist- ing of say twelve altogether, could produce this line at the rate of 300 miles per year, marking it properly and permanently, and enabling a fair map of the country on both sides to be made. The cost of this you can easily estimate and add, say 25 per cent, for the establishment of provision depots and incidentals. My last report told you of the agent here going to Miller and Glacier Creeks, and collecting fees and making entries ; as he did not go west of those creeks no complications will arise for you, as you will see by my sketch map they are within Canada. I may say here that one claim on Miller Creek has turned out about §70,000 last winter, and several others have done very well too ; so far nearly all the miners have passed here going to li i:' M 400 THE YUKON TERRITORY Circle City (about 200 miles down), and I have no doubt many of them will keep on f^oing. About 100 miners are reported on the Hootalinqua this summer. We shall probably soon have to extend law and order there. Many here make gardens, using any seeds they can get, and some are going to try grasses for fodder. I would suggest the director of the central experimental farm be asked to send in seeds of the kinds of ordinary vegetables and grasses best suited to such a climate as this, to be distributed by the agent hereto those who will make a proper use of them, or for sale at cost. I am quite sure it would be of much service, and if some hints on the proper care of plants were sent in, it would be more so, as most of the people in here know practically nothing of gardening or farming. Besides, it would improve the feeling among the people here towards our country and institutions, and would cost the country practically nothing. if ; Fort Cudahy. August iStli, 1896. It is now certain that coal extends along the valley of the Yukon from Coal Creek for ten or twelve miles down, and from Coal Creek up to Twelve Mile Creek which flows into the Yukon about thirty miles above here. The latter stretch is cut off from the river by several miles of hills, and is about six miles direct from the river at Coal Creek and about eighteen on Twelve Mile Creek. This is the stream named Chandindu by Schwatka. There is a seam on it about six feet thick, as reported by an expert who went in search of it. I found drift coal on the south branch of Coal Creek. On the Cornell claim off Cliff Creek the seam is five feet four inches thick. I have sent specimens of it out. I found it necessary to refer to the different creeks, so had to name them " Shell Creek," because I found a stone with a shell impression at its mouth, " Cliff Creek," because it enters the river at the foot of a high cliff, and " Flat Creek," because it enters the river in a large flat. Glacier Creek is turning out very well, and several good creeks have been discovered up Forty Mile in Alaska. ^^i: THE YUKON TERRITORY 401 Fort Cudahy. 6th Sept., 1896, I HAVE been in hourly expectation of the Canadian mail for some days now, but it has not arrived yet. The steamer Alice came up on the 4th inst., but brought no news for me, so that I am completely in the dark as to my movements yet, and if I am to go out, it is time I was on the way. I do not wish to remain here another winter unless it is absolutely necessary ; more especially with my party and all its expenses. In case I go out I will try to accompany Mr. J. Dalton over his trail from the head of Chilkat Inlet to Selkirk on the Yukon. He has made several entries over that route with horses and packs, and speaks very highly of it. I will make a rough survey of it, and take some photographs along the route. I have taken notes from him, but would like to see it for myself. I am very much pleased to be able to inform you that a most important discovery of gold has been made on a creek called Bonanza Creek, an affluent of the river known here as the Klondyke. It is marked on the maps extant as Deer River, and joins the Yukon a few miles above the site of Fort Reliance. The discovery was made by G. \V. Cormack, who worked with me in 1887 on the Coast Range. The indications are that it is very rich, indeed the richest yet found, and as far as work has been carried on it realizes expectations. It is only two weeks since it was known, and already about 200 claims have been staked on it, and the creek is not yet exhausted ; it, and its branches are considered good for 300 or 400 claims. Besides, there are two other creeks above it, which it is confidently expected will yield good pay ; and if they do so, we shall have from 800 to 1000 claims on this river, which will require over 2000 men for their proper working. Between Deer River (or Klondyke) and Stewart River a large creek called Indian Creek flows into the Yukon, and rich prospects ha\ e been found on it, and no doubt it is in the gold-bearing country between Klondyke and Stewart Rivers, which is considered by all the old miners the best and most extensive gold country yet found. Scores of them would prospect it but for the fact that N I ti 1 1! r 402 THE YUKON TERRITORY ■A u '■,y m ill they cannot get provisions up there, and it is too far to beat them up from here in small boats. This new find will necessitate an upward step on the Yukon, and help the Ste\'art River region. New3 has just arrived from Bonanza Creek that three men worked out $75 in four hours the other day, and a $i2'oo nugget has been found, which assures the character of the ground, namely, coarse gold and plenty of it, as three times this can be done with sluice boxes. You can fancy the excite- ment here. It is claimed that from $100 to $500 per day can be made off the ground that has been prospected so far. As we have about 100 claims on Glacier and Miller, with 300 or 400 in this vicinity, next year it is imperative 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. 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 required eLewhere. Another important matter is the appointnient of some sort of legal machinery here. Before the police came miners' meetings administered justice, collected debts, etc. ; now the magistrates here are expected to do all 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' meeting were held, and jucigment gi> en against the delinquent, it would do no good, for he would and does resist payment, and were force resorted to, he would appeal to the police for protection. A continuation of this ' ate of affairs is most undesirable in the interests of our country, for we have a reputation as a justice- administering, law-abiding people to maintain, and i would urgently press this matter on thr authorities. From the indications I have mentioned, it will 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 is apparent that ■^"^t THE YUKON TERRITORY 403 the revenue and business of the country will more than offset the expense of administration. I cannot here enter into the reasons for it, but I unhesi- tatingly make the assertion that this corner of our territory from the coast strip down, and from the 141st meridian east- ward, will be found to be a fairly rich and very extensive mining region. As I have already pretty fully reported on coal, I will only add that it is reported in abundance only eight miles up the Chandinaler River, where a seam over six feet thick has been found of the same quality as that already described. Fort Cudahy. November 6th, i8g6. Your official letter informing me that negotiations for a joint survey of the 141st meridian had so far failed, and that I had better return to Ottawa for the winter, reached m? here on the nth September, As the Alaska Commercial Company's steamer Arctic was then hourly expected up the river on her way to Selkirk, I thought it best to wait ;iiid go up on her to that point. Day after day passed without any sign of her; wearied of waiting and hopeless of her arrival at all this year, I determined to start out on 27th September, a late date, but with fair conditions feasibK . On the 25th a tremendous storm of snow set in which so chilled the river that a few days after it was < hoked with ice, which precluded all idea of getting up the river, and it was equally hopeless down the river. Threj parti'^^s have announced their intention of starting for the or.tsid" world about the ist prox,, and I write this contem- plating its transmission by one or other of these parties. For myself, t(j think of going out in the winter is, I think, unwise for the following r-^asons. Dogs, the only means of transport, are scarce and dear, ranging from thirty or forty dollars to one hundred and twenty-five dollars apiece. Dogs' foo'l, like all other food, is scarce by reason of tl>e poor salmon run in the river last season ; practically none were caught near here, and the result is the dog owners have to use bacon for food, which at twenty- five to forty r(;nts per pound is (expensive. It would require a team of eight dogs to take my (>utfit and my N 2 .. ^ 404 THE YUKON TERRITORY ' it /^/;I 'Fl .11 man Fawcett with our provisions and the dogs' 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 scison. Starting from here say December 1st, it would be February before I reached Ottawa, and during thirty-five or forty days of this time we would be exposed to much cold and hardship and some hazard from storms. The journey has been m;ide, and I would not hesitate to undertake it were things more reasonable here and dog food plentiful, but it would take at least ijjiiooo to equip us with transport and outfit, which sum I think I can expend more in the interests of the country by remaining here and working a survey of the Klondvke of the miners — a mispronunciation of tlie Indian word or words " Thron-dak " or " duick," which means plenty offish, 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 T'ort Reliance — about fifty miles above here. As I have already intimated, 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 G. W. Cormack, who worked with me in 1887, was the first to take advantage of the rumours and locate a claim on the first branch which was named by the miners Bonan/ja Creek. 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 Klcjndyke having totally failed him, he returned with a few weeks' provisions for himself, his wife and brother-in-law (Indians), and another Indian, in the last days of August, and immediately set about working the claim. As he was very short of appliances he could only put together a rather defective apparatus to wash the gravel with. Tlu; gravel itself he had to carry in a box on his back from thirty to a hundred feet ; not- withstanding this, the three men working very irregularly washed out lii!i2o() in eight days, and Cormack asserts with reason that had he proper facilities if could have been done in two days, besides Inning several hundred dollars more g(jld which was lost in the tailings through defective apparatus. On the same creek two men rocked out lii>75 in about four ill THE YUKON TERRITORY 405 hours, and it is asserted that two men in the same creek took out !|{>40o8 m two days with only two Iciif^ths of sluice boxes. This last is doubted, but Mr. Ledue assures me he weighed that much f^old for them, hut it is not positive where they f,'ot it. They were new comers, and had not d(jne much in the country, so the probabilities are they /,'ot it on Bonanza Creek. A branch of Bonanza named Eldorado has prospected magnificently, and ancjther branch named Tilly Creek has prospected well ; in all there are some four or five branches of lionanza Creek which have given good prospects. There are about 170 claims staked on the main ceek, and the branches are good for about as many more, aggregating say 350 claims, which will require over 1000 men to work properly. A few miles farther up Bear Creek enters Klondyke, and it has been prospected and located on. Compared with Bonanza it is small, and will not afford more than twenty or thirty claims, it is said. About twelve miles above the mouth " Gold Bottom Creek" jcjins Klondyke, and on it and a branch named Hunker , 'k, after the discoverer, vtry rich ground has been found. U(.o man showed me r?22"/^ he took (uit in a few hours on Hunker Creek with a gtjld pan, prospecting his claim on the surface, taking a handful here and there as fancy suggested. On " Gold Ijottom Creek " and branches there will probably be two or three hundred claims. The Indians have reported another creek much farther up, which the}' call " Too Much Gold Creek," on which gold is so plentiful, that, as the miners say in joke, " you ha\e to mix gravel with it to sluice it." Up to date nothing definite has been ht'ard from this creek. From all this we may, I think, infer th;it we have a district which will give 1000 claims of 500 feet in length each. Now 1000 such claims will rccpiire at least jooo men to work them properly, and as wages for working men in tln' mines are from eight to ten dollars per day without board, wt' have every reason to assume that this part of our territory will in a year or two contain 10,000 souls at least. For the coast rm unpre- cedented influx is expected next spring. And this is not all, for a large creek called Ind''Ui Creek joins the Yukon about mid-way between Klondyke and Stewart Rivers, and all along this creek good pay has been found. All that has stood in the way I ! m 406 THE YUKON TERRITORY i i, ) J 1 \ 1 1 • J \ 1 i '1 ill 1 J tit of working it heretofore has been the scarcity of provisions, and the difficulty of getting them up there, even when here. Indian Creek is (piite a large strean:i, and it is probable it will yield five or six hundred claims. I'^arther south yet lies the head of several branches of Stewart River, on which some prospectmg has been done this summer, and good indications found, but the want of provisions prevented development. Now gold has been found in several of the streams joining Pelly River, and also all along the Hootalinqua. In the line of these finds farther south is the Cassiar goldfield in British Columbia ; so the presumption is, that we have in our territory along the easterly watershed of the Yukon a gold-bearing belt of indefinite width, and upwards of joo miles long, exclusive of the British Columbia part of it. On the westerly side of the Yukon prospecting has been done on a creek a short distance above Selkirk with a fair amount of success, and on a large creek some thirty or forty miles below Selkirk fair prospects have been found, but as has been before remarked, the difficulty of getting supplies up here prevents any extensive or extended prospecting. Dalton informed me he had found good prospects on a small creek nearly mid-way between the Coast Range and Selkirk in his route. His man showed me some coarse gold, about a dollar s worth, he found on the head of a branch of the Altsek River, near the head of Chilkat Inlet, which is inside the summit of the Coast Range, and, of course, in our territory. Vxow. this you will gather that we have a very large area all more or less gold-bearing, and which will all yet be worked. Gold quartiJ has been found in places just across the line on Davis Cre(?k (see my map of the 141st sent you), but, of what is unknown, as it is in the bed of the creek and covered with gravel. Good quartz is also reported on the hills around Bona n/a Cret'k, but of this I will be able to speak more fully after my proposed 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 toe. I have seen here several lumps of native copper brought by the natives ii! If 11 THE YUKON TERRITORY 407 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 flowinj,' into Bennett Lake, about fourteen miles down it on the east side. I think this is etiouj^'h to show that we may look forward with confidence to a fairly brif,'ht future for this part of the tcrritoiy. When it was fairly established that Bonan;ja Creek was rich in gold, which took a few days, for Klondykc had been prospected several times with no encouraginj,' result, there was a great rush from all over the courtry adjacent to Forty Mile. The town was almost deserted; men who had been in a chronic state of drunkenness for weeks were pitched into boats as Indlast and taken up to stake themselves a claim, and claims were staked by men for their friends who were not in the country at the time. All this gave rise to much 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, so that the miners held a meeting and appointed one of themselves to measure off and stake the claims, and record the owner's name in connection therewith, for which he got a fee of ^2'oo, it being of course understood that each clanii-holder would have to record his claim with the D minion agent and pay his fee of !ii>i5'oo. 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 pro tern, on the creek, and to forward their views on the law to the department at Ottawa. Now it appears to me that a good deal of fault of the law as they found it lay in the fact that they did not read it in all its proper connection ; and because the printed law did not start out from a given point and detail consecutively what was to be done under every possible contingency that might arise, under that reading they thought it defective, I brliove this to be the case, because I have never had any difiir .Ity in explaining any case that has been submitted to me for an opinion; and there have been a good many. 4o8 THE YUKON TERRITORY III /ff !;l i! The miners, as a rule, are dissatisfied with the claims laid out for them by their own surveyor, appointed as I have already intimated, and many of them are claiming for a remeasurement now that they know I am going to make a survey of the creeks. In fact many of them thought that a survey 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 original parties to the act, and that they would have to meet and discuss the questions and determine whether they would have them adjusted 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 recpiire it, I will take the necessary steps to enable me to picjt very closely where every claim is. I may yet make a good deal of the survey by photo- graph 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 supplement my views from the boundary last winter. As soon as this is done my men will take their discharge, Adam b'awcctt 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 to do it, for men c;uui(jt be had here for less than $5"oo to .^i()"oo per day. Any man sent in for survey purposes will require to bring a good canoe with him, say nineteen feet long and forty-four inches widi , and eighteen to two and a lialf deep. vSuch a canoe will l)ring in five or six men, and their stock of proxisions for the trip. P>y the time th(;y would arrive here |)rovisi()ns will i)e plentiful, for the bvxits will tJKMi be up from Circle City, where two of them are probably winter- ing. A party crossing the summit early in June would just about liiid the lakes open for the run down. You might warn any such \y.ivty tha< th*y had b(;tter run no risk at the canon, White iiorse and l^ A""' Fingers. The canon is not dangerous, but thf consideration. Fort (lulaliy, nth J;u)., 1.S97. The reports from Klondyke region are still \(.'ry encouraging ; so much so, that all the other creeks around are practically l;:^^''|. ;.;7. o o y. o o ■x w H I (i IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // y. f/i 1.0 I.I 11.25 ?■ MS 1110 LA. 11116 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 4 ^1 V :1>' :\ \ *> ^ * ^.^^. '^'^' O^ 23 WK '^AIN STRUT WIBSTIR, N.Y. MSSO (716) •73-4503 9,^ .^. ^^A^ k^.. %> Md «!?/' O^ fM I ' »i;l 1,;^' THE YUKON TERRITORY 4M abandoned, especially those on the head of Forty Mile in American territory, and nearly loo men have made their way up from Circle City, many of them hauling their sleds themselves. Those who cannot get claims are buying in 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 suffices to pay the hired help where there is any ; as high as $204*00 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 found, with a fair prospect that we have not yei discovered its limits. Miller and Glacier Creeks, on the head of Sixty Mile River, which my survey of the 141st meridian determined to be in Canada, were thought to be very rich, but they are both poor in quality and quantity compared with Klondyke. Chicken Creek, on the head of Forty Mile in Alaska, dis- covered a year ago p.nd rated very high, is to-day practically abandoned. • • • • • • • Some quartz prospecting has been done in the Klondyke region, and it is probable 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 convenient. [Mr. Ogilvie has subsequently (in November, 1897) given the following account of the discovery of gold on the Klondyke.] The discovery of the gold on the Klondyke, as it is called — the proper name of the creek is an Indian one, Thronda — was made by three n>en, Robert Henderson, Frank Swanson, ;\nd another one named Munson, who in July, 1896, were prospecting on Indian Creek. They proceeded up the creek without finding 414 THE YUKON TERRITORY sufficient to satisfy them until they reached Dominion Creek, and after prospecting there they crossed over the divide and found Gold Bottom, got good prospects, and went to work. Provisions running short, they decided to make their way to Sixty Mile to obtain a fresh supply, and went up Indian Creek to the Yukon to Sixty Mile, where Harper had established a trading post. Striking upwards on Forty Mile they came across a man, a Californian who was fishing in company with two Indians. The Indians were Canadian Indians, or King George men, as they proudly called themselves. Now, one of the articles of the miner's code of procedure is that when he makes a discovery he shall lose no time in proclaiming it, and the man felt bound to make the prospectors acquainted with the information that there was a rich pay to be got in Gold Bottom. The two Indians showed a route to this creek, and from there they crossed over the high ridge to Bonanza. From there to El Dorado is three miles, and they climbed up over the ridge between it and Bonanza, and reaching between Klondyke and Indian Creeks, they went down into Gold Bottom. Here they did half a day's prospecting, and came back, striking into Bonanza about ten miles beyond, where they took out from a little nook a pan which encouraged them to try further. In a few moments more they had taken out $1275. A discovery claim was located, and also one above and below for the two Indians. In August, i8g6, the leader, generally known as Siwash George, because he lived with the Indians, went down to Forty Mile to get provisions. He met several miners on his way and told them of his find, showing the !j>i275 which he had put in an old Winchester cartridge. They would not believe him, his reputation for truth being somewhat below par. The miners said that he was the greatest liar this side of — a great many places. They came to me finally and asked me my opinion, and I pointed out to them that there was no question about his having the $1275 in gold ; the only question was, therefore, where he had got it. He had not been up Miller or Glacier Creek, nor Forty Mile. Then followed the excitement. Boat load after boat load of men went up at once. Men who had Y. i\ THE YUKON TERRITORY 415 been drunk for weeks and weeks, in fact, were tumbled into the boats and taken up without being conscious that they were travelling. One man who went up was so drunk that he did not wake up to realization that he was being taken by boat until a third of the journey had been accomplished, and he owns one of the very best claims on the Klondyke to-day. The whole creek, a distance of about twenty miles, giving in the neighbourhood of two hundred claims, was staked in a few weeks. El Dorado Creek, seven and a half or eight miles long, providing eighty claims, was staked in about the same length of time. Boulder, Adams, and other gulches were prospected, and gave good surface showings, gold being found in the gravel in the creeks. Good surface prospects may be taken as an indication of the existence of very fair bed-rock. It was in December that the character of the diggings was established. Twenty-one above discovery on Bonanza was the one which first proved the value of the district. The owner of this claim was in the habit of cleaning up a couple of tubfuls every night, and paying his workmen at the rate of a dollar and a half an hour. Claim No. 5, Eldorado, was the next notable one, and here the pan of $112 was taken out. That was great. There was then a pan of even greater amount on No. 6, and they continued to run up every day. The news went down to Circle City, which emptied itself at once and came up to Dawson. The miners came up any way they could, at all hours of the day and night, with provisions and without supplies. On their arrival they found that the whole creeks had been staked months before. A good many Canadians, who were in their talk out-and-out Americans, came up to Canadian territory with a certain expectation of realizing something out of this rich ground by reason of their nationality. One of them, particularly, on finding that he was too late, cursed his luck, and said that it was awfully strange that a man could not get a footing in his own country. Another of these men who arrived too late was an Irishman, when he found he could not get a claim he went up and down the creek, trying to bully the owners into selling, boasting that he had a pull at Ottawa, and threatening to have the claims t<> 4i6 THE YUKON TERRITORY M' i cut down from 500 to 250 feet. He came along one day and offered to wager $2000 that before August ist they would be reduced to 250 feet. One of the men to whom he had made this offer came and asked me about it. I said to him, " Do you gamble ? " His reply was " A little." Then I told him that he was never surer of 1^2000 than he would have been if he had taken that bet. This ran to such an extent that I put up notices to the effect that the length of the claims was regulated by Act of Parlia- ment of Canada, and that no change could be made except by that Parliament, and telling the miners to take no notice of the threats that had been made. Jim White then adopted another dodge, locating a fraction between 36 and ^y, thinking that by getting in between he could force the owners to come to his terms, forgetting that .the law of this country does not allow any man to play the hog. For three or four days this state of things kept the men in an uproar. I was making my survey, and getting towards 36 and 37 ; when I got near, I delayed my operations and went up to 36, finding there would be no fraction, or at least an insignificant one of inches. I took my time, and in the meantime the owner of 36 became very uneasy, and White also. I set in a stake down in the hollow until I saw how much fraction there was. I found only a few inches. I was very tedious with this portion of the work, and the man who was with me seemed to have quite a difficulty in fixing the stake. Then I went down with the remark that I would do that myself. I had made it a rule never to tell anyone whether there was a fraction until it was parked on the post. While I was standing by the post, Jim White came up to me. He had a long way to go down the creek, he said — and he did not want to wait any longer than was necessary. " Well," I said, " I can't tell you just yet exactly how much of a fraction it will be— but something about three inches." ^That is how Jim comes to be known as " Three Inch White." Bonanza and El Dorado Creeks afford between them 278 claims ; the several affluences will yield as many more, and all of these claims are good. I have no hesitation in saying that m. THE YUKON TERUrTOKY 417 the tc a the rule was ties, ite." 278 dall that about a hundred of those on Bonanza will yield upwards of $30,000,000. Claim 30 below, on El Dorado, will yield a million in itself, and ten others will yield from a hundred thousand dollars up. These two creeks will, I am quite confident, turn out from 360,000,000 to $75,000,000, and I can safely say that there is no other region in the world of the same extent that has afforded in the same length of time so many homestakes — fortunes enabling the owners to go home and enjoy the remainder of their days— considering that tlie work has had to be done with very limited facilities, the scarcity of provisions and of labour, and that the crudest appliances only are as yet available. When I tell you that to properly work each claim ten or twelve men are required, and only 200 were available that season, it will give you an idea of the difficulties which had to be contended with. On Bear Creek, about seven or eight miles above that, good claims have been found, and on Gold Bottom, Hunker, Last Chance, and Cripple Creeks. On Gold Bottom, as high as $15 to the pan has been taken, and on Hunker Creek the same, and although we cannot say that they are as rich as El Dorado or Bonanza, they are richer than any other creeks known in that country. Then, thirty-five miles higher up the Klondyke, Too-Much-Gold Creek was found. It obtained its name from the fact that the Indians who discovered it saw mica glistening at the bottom, and, thinking it was gold, said there wa^ " too much gold — more gold than gravel." A fact I am now going to state to you, and one that is easily demonstrated, is that from Telegraph Creek northward to the boundary line we have in the Dominion and in this province an area of from 550 to 600 miles in length, and from 100 to 150 miles in width, over the whole of which rich prospects have been found. We must have from 90,000 to 100,000 square miles, which, with proper care, judicious handling, and better facilities for the transportation of food and utensils, will be the largest, as it is the richest, goldfield the world has ever known. Stewart and Pelly, in the gold-bearing zone, also give promising indications. Everywhere good pay has been found on the bars, and there is no reason why, when good pay is Q a t| 4i8 THE YUKON TERRITORY ! f iM i' ' i I obtained on the bars, the results should not be richer in the creeks The Klondyke was prospected for forty miles up in 1887 without anything being found, and again in 1893 with a similar lack of result, but the difference is seen when the right course is taken, and this was led up to by Robert Henderson. This man is a born prospector, and you could not persuade him to stay on even the richest claim on Bonanza. He started up in a small boat to spend this summer and winter on Stewart River, prospecting. That is the stuff the true prospector is made of, and I am proud to say that he is a Canadian. In regard to quartz claims, seven have already been located in the vicinity of Forty Mile and Dawson, and there is also a mountain of gold-bearing ore in the neighbourhood yielding $5 to $7 a ton. The question to be considered is whether with that return it will pay to work under the peculiar conditions which exist, and the enormous freight rates charged for trans- portation for anything of that kind. About forty miles further up the river two large claims have been located by a mining expert hailing from the United States, and who has had considerable experience in Montana and other mineral States, and he assured me that the extent of the lode is such that these two claims are greater than any proposi- tion in the world, going from $3 to §11 a ton. On Bear Creek a quartz claim was located last winter, and I drev/ up the papers for the owner. He had to swear that he had found gold ; he swore that he did, and he told me the amount, which, if true, will make it one of the most valuable properties that exists in the country. On Gold Bottom another claim has been located, and I made a test of the ore. I had no sieve, and had to employ a hand mortar, which you who know anything of the work will under- stand would not give best results. The poorest result obtained was, however, $ioo to the ton, while the richest was $1000. Of course, I do not know what the extent of the claim is, but the man who found it said that from the rock exposed the deposit must be considerable in extent. He didn't know whether the exposure was the result of a slide, but said that it would be an easy matter to find the lode. About thirty miles up the Klondyke another claim was THE YUKON TERRITORY 419 located, and the man swore that it was rich, althouprh he wouldn't say how rich. On El Dorado and Bonanza, the gold obtained on the different benches has about the same value, that is, it has about the same degree of fineness, and is worth about $16 per oz., and as you go down the creek this value decreases to abou* $I5"25. From that point, however, it increases again, and from this the inference appears to be plain that the same lode runs right across the region that these creeks cut through, which is proved still more surely by the fact that the value increases as you strike Hunker, and in the other direction Miller and Glacier. The nuggets found in El Dorado and Bonanza show no evidence of having travelled any great distance, and some I have are as rough as though they had been hammered out of the mother lode. That mother lode is yet to be found in the ridges between the creeks, and when it is found it may be discovered to consist of several large lodes, or a succession of small ones that may not pay to work. On Stewart and Pelly Rivers, some prospecting has been done and gold found, and on the Hootalinqua in 1895 good pay was discovered, and the richness of the gold increases as work is continued further down. Some men, working fifteen feet down, found coarse gold, when the water drove them out, and they had to abandon the work and come out, determined to return ; but they did not go back, as in the meantime the Klondyke excitement knocked that place out. Gold has been found at the head of Lake Labarge, on the stream flowing into the lake at this point. In fact, there is gold everywhere in this zone, which is 500 miles long by 150 wide. Prospects, too, are to be found on the Dalton Trail, on the other side of the Yukon River. A man, riding along the Altsek Trail, was thrown from his horse, and, in falling, caught at the branch of a tree. As he drew himself up, he saw sf)me- thing shining on the rock which fixed his attention at once. He picked it up and found that it was gold. Other excellent prospects have also been found along the same creek. From these circumstances and discoveries it may be assumed that in all this country there is gold, while in this particular zone it is i^ 420 THE YUKON TERRITORY hfi i especially abundant. This zone lies outside of the Rocky Mountains, J\nd distant from them about 150 miles. Another product of the country that demands attention is copper. It is doubtless to be found somewhere in that district in great abundance, although the location of the main deposit has yet to be discovered. Mr. Harper was shown a large piece of pure copper in the possession of the Indians — indeed I have seen it myself. It comes from the vicinity of the "White River somewhere — ^just where has yet to be disclosed. Silver has also been found, and lead, while to work our precious metals we have coal in abundance. It is to be found in the Rocky Mountains, or, rather, the ridge of high mountains running parallel to them in the interior. A deposit of coal in this range runs right through our territory. At two points, near Forty Mile, it also crops out, in one place only about forty feet from the River Yukon. Further up the Yukon, on one of its many smaller feeders, at Fifteen Mile Creek and on the head of the Thronda, there are also out-croppings of coal. On the branches of the Stewart and on some of the Five Fingers of the Yukon coal is also exposed. In fact, there is any amount of coal in the country with which to work our minerals when we can get in the necessary facilities. Regarding the surface of the country and the difficulties of prospecting : Passing down the river in a boat one sees a suc- cession of trees, ten, twelve, fourteen and sixteen inches in diameter, and he naturally comes to the conclusion that it is a well-timbered country. And so it is, along the margin of the river. But let him land and go inland, and he will find the ground covered with what is locally known as " nigger grass." This is a coarse grass which each year is killed and falls, tangling in such a way as to make pedestrian progress all but impossible, tripping one up every few feet. It is, as might be imagined, a most difficult thing to walk through this grass, great areas of which are found all through the district. And where these areas are found the miners avoid them as they would the plague. For the rest of the country the rocks are covered by one foot to two of moss — and underneath, the everlasting ice. On this a scrubby growth of trees is found, extending up the mountains. THE YUKON TERRITORY 421 It is this which appears to those passing down the river in boats to be a continuation of the good timber seen along the banks. Timber that is fit for anything is scarce, and \vc should husband it carefully. Our timber has built Circle City. Our timber has served all the purposes of the Upper Yukon country. A large amount of timber is required, and what we have we should keep for our own use, particularly as the ground has to be burned to be worked. Above the timber line you come to the bare rocks — the crests bare save where clothed with a growth of lichen on which the caribou feed. There is no timber in the way here — no moss and no brush. The miners in travelling consequently keep as much as possible to the top of the ridge. Bedrock prospecting necessarily has to be reserved for the winter. First the moss has to be cleared away, and then the muck — or decayed rubbish and vegetable matter. The fire is applied to burn down to bedrock. The frost in the ground gives way before the fire, ten, twelve, or perhaps sixteen inches in a day. The next day the fire has to be again applied, and so the work proceeds until gravel is reached. It may be twenty feet or so below the surface, in which case it is usually reached in about twenty days. Prospecting is now commenced — that is, a pan or two of dirt is washed to determine whether it is worth keeping or not — the refuse is thrown on one side of the hole, and the paying dirt on the other. Near to and on bed- rock the pay is found, which is generally not more than two or three feet deep. Having burned down to the bedrock and found the paystreak, you start drifting in the direction of the best pay. The distance this process can be conducted depends on the thickness of the crust on top. If this is soft, you may drift thirty feet with safety, when a new hole or shaft must be sunk and the drifting continued. Very few people have the good fortune to succeed with one shaft ; prospecting holes as many as twenty or thirty must be dug until you cut the whole valley across before you find pay. The next man may strike it at the first hole. To give you an instance: One man put down eleven holes, and didn't find anything, and yet other men had confidence enough in the claim to pay $2500 for a half interest in it, knowing that the owner had put in eleven holes and found 422 THE YUKON TERRITORY I I, nothing, a fact which will go to prove the character of the country. After you have worked until April or May the water begins to run, and the trouble is that the water accumulates and you cannot work, as it puts out the fires which have been used to thaw out and soften the ground. Then the dams are built, timber prepared, and the sluice-boxes put in to wash the dump. In one clean-up eighty pounds avoirdupois of gold was taken out, or a total value of about $i6,qoo. The dump from which this partial return was obtained contained in all $110,000, the result of the united efforts of five or six men, at 3i'5o per hour, for upwards of six months, not inclutjin}.'; the labour of sluicing. You can understand, therefore, that although the pay is very rich, it is not exactl}' all profit. One man, who owns a claim on El Dorado and one on Bonanza, has sold out, so it is said, for a million dollars. He went into the country a poor man, with the intention of raising sufficient money to pay off the mortgage on his place. He has, I believe, not only done so, but paid off those of all his neighbours. Although these creeks are rich — and, as I have told you, more men have made homestakes (fortunes) there than anywhere else in the world — I do not wish you to look only on the bright side of the picture. An American from Seattle came in June, i8g6, to the Forty Mile, with his wife, with the intention of bettering his condition. They went out again last July with $52,000. I was well acquainted with this man, a very decent, intelligent man. He told me one day that if he could remain in this country from three to five years, and go out with $5000, he would consider himself in luck. He has gone out with $52,000, and after the prospecting he has done, a little in the middle and at one end of the claim, he believes that he has $1,500,000 there. On the other hand, however, a Scotchman named Marks has been in there for eleven years. I have known him well, and once last fall when he was sick, I asked him how long he had been mining. His reply was forty-two years — in all parts of the world, except in Australia. In reply to the question as to THE YUKON TERRITORY 423 whether he had ever made his stake, he told me he had never yet made more than a living, and very often that was a scanty one. This, of course, is the opposite extreme. I could quote scores of cases similar to that, so that I would not have you look too much on the bright side. There are men in that country who are poor, and who will remain so. It has not been their " luck," as they call it, to strike it rich. But I may say that that country offers to men of great fortitude and sci me intelligence and steadiness an oppor- tunity to make more money in a given time than they possibly could make anywhere else. You have, of course ;- good deal to contend with ; your patience will be sorely t»i' 1,, for the conditions are so unique that they have surprised many who have gone in, and they have left in disgust. We have there a vast region comprising Irom go,coo to 100,000 cuare miles of untold possibilities. Rich deposits we know to exist, and all may be as rich. We know now that there IS sufficient to supply a population of a hundred thousand people, and I look forward to seeing that number of people in that country within the next ten years. It is a vast inheritance. Let us use it as becomes Canadians — intelligently, liberally, and in the way to advance our country— Canada. Let us use it as it becomes the offspring of the Mother of Nations ! END OF PART III. INDEX I I Adams, George R. Dall, VV. H., Obligations to, 240. One of pioneers, 34. Starts for Nulato, 52. Alaska. Coast, absence of terrace deposits, 287. Commercial Company's steamers, 398. No icebergs from Dixon's Entrance to Behring Strait, 242. Alaskan traders, route to Yukon district, 255. Aleutian Islands, touched at, 240. , Aleuts. Bathing customs, 139. Nominal Christians, 88. Promise of ultimate civilization, 115. Aloshka, accompanies Dyer as inter- preter, etc., 74. Arrives at Nulato, 181. Allsek Trail, Gold found on, 419, American ships at St. Michael's, News of, 239. Amilka, inhabitant of Ikig.ilik, 27. Builds winter house near Nukkoh, 167. House at Ulukuk, 36. Ananyan, builds house at Kutlik, 234. Anderson, James, account of Liard navigation, 351. Anderson, James, unpublished journals, 346. Andrea steals dogs, 185. Andreaffsky Fort deserted, 231. Andreaffsky Fort, Tragedy at, 231. Antoshka. Accompanies Dyer to Fort Yukon, 74- Beaten by Russian, 62. Returns from foraging expedition, 68. Anvik village, 217. Graves, 218. Natives Ingaliks, 217. areek, 217. Anvil Mountain, 314. Armstrong, Dr. A., on granite rocks, 274. Arrowsmith, map of Cassiar District (1850), 307. Arrowsmith, map of Yukon (1850), 251- Ash deposit. Account of, 276. Atlantic cable, success of, 1 19. Auriferous ground, clue to search for, 266. Aurora Borealis, 59. Aziak or Sledge Island, 138. B. " Backfat," 136. Bank Swallow on \'ukon, 80. Barininsler, H. M., takes R, Kenni- cott's body home, 6. Barnard, Lieut. J. J. Arrives at Nulato, 48. Grave, 52. .Murdered, 51. Remark about "sending '' lor chief, EITects of, 48. Bean, Edward, organizes prospecting party to cross Chilkoot, 377. Bear Creek, Claims on, 405, 417, 418. Bear- Hunting, 133. liear, tracks of black, 211. Beardslee, Captain, establishes amic- able ri'lations with Clulkoots and Chilkats, 377. Beaver, habits of, 212. Beaver Lake, 39 ; passed, 169. Bedrock prospecting, 421. Hehm Canal, 279. Bell, Dr. R., on glacier ice movement, 274. Bell, J., explores Porcupine River, 348. Bell, J., reaches Yukon by Porcupine, 251. Beluga (white whale), Account of, 236. Bennett Lake, 254, 366, 368 ; Silver ore near, 407. INDEX 425 Berlin Geographical Society, Map of Chilkoot Country, 378. Besboro' Island, Water-fowl on, 147. Big Salmon River (D'Abbadie), 356, First discovery of paying placers, 378- (Jold found on, 358, 379. Material brouglit down by, 268. Birch Canoes, 219, Birch River, loi. Birds (rare) obtained on Lower Yukon, 229. Birdskin dresses on Lower Yukon, 225. Black or Turnagain (Muddy) River aiscovered, 309. Black, Turnaj^ain, or " Muddy " River, Gold in, 304. Blake, W. P., Report on Slikine, 290. Blue River, " Caribou," of Campbell, 314- Bonanza Creek. Claims on branches, 405. Claims, probable yield, 417. Discovery of gold at, 401, 402. Reports from, 410, 411. Value of gold obtai-ied from, 419. Boswell, T., description of Tts-lin-too, 361. Boulder-clay, where found, 273, Bradfield Canal, 279. Bremen Geographical Society, Dr. A. Krause's expedition for, 378. British Columbia. Coast, absence of terrace deposits, 287. Geology of southern part, 263. (Nortliern Part) River System, 249. " Broken Stare" jargon, 106. Buck's Bar, Mining-camp at, 308. Bulegin, Ivan, massacred, 49. Bulkley, Captain Cliarles S., linginecr- in-chief of expedition, 6. Burrough's Bay, 279. Butterflies caught, 84. Butterttics, yellow, on Yukon, 230. Byrnes explores llotilinqu River (Tes-lin-too), 252, 360. Call' Ri'.AiH, J. C. , en opening of navigation on Stikine, 289, Campbell Mountains, 326, ^^j. Campbell, Robert. Describes Hudson B.iy Company's trail iU Frances Lake, 330. Established Fort Selkirk, 398. Establishes trading-post at Dease Lake, 307. Campbell, Robert (etnt.) : Estimate of portage, 247. Explores to Frances and Finlayson Lakes, 318. Explores Upper Liard and Yukon , 346. Explores Yukon River, 251. Journey to Minnesota and London, 350- Meeting Stewart, 349. Names Terror Bridge, 307. Proves identity of Pelly and Yukon, 348. Camping in Yukon Territory, 188. Canadian mining law, 407. Canal, St. Michael's, reached, 119, 239 ; Straight and Crooked, 11. Caribou Camp, 292, 293. Trail to Dease Lake, 294. Caribou Crossing, Ash deposit at, 277. Caribou, where found, 260, Cassiar Bar on Lewes. Discovered and worked, 379. Rich in gold, 360. Cassiar District Climate, 257. Destruction of Timber, effects of, 381. Discovery of, 306. Gold yield, 308, 309. Gold Yield T.able (1873-87), 301. Imperfectly prospected, 305. More accessible than Caribou, 297. Placer gold-mines, 278. Population, 308, 309. Cassiar Range, 250, 309. Rocks resemble Ro:ky Mountains, 316. Chambcrlin, Professor T. C, examines glacier, 271. Chandinaler River, Coal reported on, 403- Chandindu River (Twelve Mile Creek), Claims on, 397. Chandindu River, Coal deposits . 387, 397- Chicken Creek abandoned, 413. Chilkat Pass, explored by Dr. . K ■ c, 378. Chilkat I'ass used by Indians, 256. Chilkoot Pass. Crossed, 248. Explored by Dr. A. Krause, 378. First crossed by G. Holt, 376. (Jeology, 263. Impassable for pack-horses, 256. Rocks, 373. Trail across, 371. Vegetation, 374. Cliippewayans, Meaning of word, 108. Christmas festivities, 58. Circassian tobacco, effect of, 81, 224. on, A. ? ■ I i h' 426 INDEX IN' 1M ui Circle City built of Canadian timber, 421. News of gold fi ids reaching, 415. Claims, Act of Parliament regulating length, 416. Clara Bell. Arrives at Fort St. Michael's, I2I. Expected at St. Michael's, 119. Departure from St. Michael's, 122. Search for parties left at Grantley Harbour, 120. Clearwater River enters Stikine, 282. Cliff Creek, Coal at, 400. Coal Creek. Coal at , 400. Coal examined by Wm. Ogilvie, 387. Wm. Ogilvie's survey of, 393. Coal-seam, Nulato, examined, 56. Coast, Character of, 20. Coast Ranges, 250. Climate, 257, 368. Geology, 263. Trail over, 370. Traversed by Stikine River, 287. Collections sent by Clara Bell, 122, Cone Hill. Assays satisfactory, 396. Gold quartz found at, 386. Wm. Ogilvie's survey, 394. Copper Region, Alaska, 277. Copper, where found, 274. Cormack, G. W., discovers gold on Bonanza Creek, 401, 404. Cottonwood Creek on Arrowsmith's Map, 311. Cottonwood Creek Valley, geological features, 315. Couriers on important occasions, 1 23. Cowley drowned, 109. Crane (Sand-hill) on Lower ^'ukon, 219. Creeks abandoned, no paying gold, 304- Creoles, 12 ; Condition of, 241. Crimp, J. K., Gold Commissioner for Cassiar District, 301. Cripple Creek, Claims on, 417. Cudahy, no prospect of town at, 386. Cudahy town blocked out, 394. Curlew {Limosa uro/iygialis) eggs found, 235- D. D'Abhadik River {see Big Salmon). Dall, W. H. Appointed Director of Scientific Corps ; plans, 6. Assists in transporting goods to Ulukuk, 35, 37. Dog-leim, 185. Dall, W. H. (cont.) : Embarks for San Francisco, 240. Illness; return to Redoubt, 157. Journey to Iktigalik, 33. Knowledge of Innuit and Indian dialects, 121. Narrow escape on Klat>Kakhatne River, 205. On discovery of Stikine River, 289. On Kwikhpak, 251. Party starts for Fort Yukon, 74. Plans, 123. Plans to ascend Yukon, 56. Prepares to accompany Captain Smith to California, 240. Remains at .St. Michael's, 122. Work on Alaska (1870), 290. Dall, W. H., and Pupoff give festival, 154. Dalton, J. On gold prospects between Coast Range and Selkirk, 406. Trail from Chilkat Inlet to Selkirk, 401. Trail, Gold prospects on, 419. Dance-house, uses of, 16. Dances (Innuit), 149. Davidson Glacier on I.ynn Canal, 284. Davis Creek, Gold quartz at, 406. Dawson, Dr. Graptolites collected by, 316. In charge of expedition, 245, Party, Members of, 246. Report on Yukon Expedition, 245. Dawson, Quartz claims near, 418. Dense Creek. Discovered, 308. Gold deposits, 299, 302. Headquarters of Gold Commission, 299. Dease Lake. Account of, 299. Centre of Cassiar mining district, 246, 278. Dates of opening imd closing, 299, Height of watershed near, 249. Humid, 257. Placer gold, 297. Reiiched, 298. Trading-post established and aban- donetl, 307, 346. Dease River. Account of, 310. Fossils, 317. Geological features, 314. Good boat-route, 253. Length of, 309. Dease River and Liard, confluence, 246. December Mail, 123. December 27th, length of day, 58. Deer becoming scarcer, 147. Deer River {see Klondyke). INDEX 427 Defot Creek discovered, 309. Defot Creek, Gold in, 303. Derabin. Rebuilds fort of Nulato, 48. Stabbed, 50. Traffic-; with natives for furs, 48. Doe killed, 161. Dog driving, 186. Dog harness, 163. Dogs escape, 30. Dogs for Eskimo sleds, 25. Dordogne, dra'vings in caves, 237, Dry fish, 30. Dyer, Quartermaster, 25. Plans to investigate Yukon delta, 56. Sends dogs back, 32, Starts for Fort Yukon, 74. "Telegraph Stew," 36. Eagle River, "Christie," of McLeod, II. Earn River, tributary of Pelly, 339. Earthquake shock, 118. Egg River, camping on bank, 232. Ekogmut tribe (Prc-morski). Graves, 227. Habits, 223. El Dorado Creek, Claims on, 415. Probable yield, 417, 419. Elephant bones found, 238. Emperor goose breeding at Kusilvak Slough, 230. Emperor goose found, 235. Ennis, VV. H., in charge of exploring party West of Yukon, 8. Enterprise abandoned, 1 19. Eskimo boots described, 22. Eskimo, derivation of word, 144. Etolin, Creole officer of Russian American Company, 12. F. Festivals (Innuit), 149. Fifteen Mile Creek, Coal found on, 420. Finlayson Lake. Account of, 333. Expedition reaches, 332. Vegetation on, 334. Finlayson i''ive>- '-'-'d found at mouth, Finiayson River, named by Campbell, 330- Fire-drills, 142. First South Fork joins Slikinc, 282. Fish, Scarcity of, 179. Fish-traps described, 172. Fishing village on Lower Yukon, 228. Flowers on Yukon, 98, 99. Food, Scarcity of, 64, 66. '• Ford Mumford " {sec- Telegraph Creek). Fort Cudahy. Asbestos near, 387. Difficulties of winter journey to Ottawa, 403. Mail routes to, 397, Wm. Ogilvie arrives at, 385. \Vm. Ogilvie's work at, 393. Fort Derabin {see Nulato). Fort Dionysius constructed by Russians, 289. Fort Frances abandoned, 349. Fort Halkett, Campbell leaves to ex- plore Liard, 346. P'ort Malkett, J. McLeod explores near, 306. Fort Kennicott, founding, 63. Fort Kennicott, orders for repairing, 124. Fort Liards, 114. Fort Nelson massacre, 113. Fort Ogilvie, portable saw-mill at, 388. Fort Pelly Hanks constructed, 347. Fort Reliance, Copper near, 397. Fort Selkirk. Account of, 349. Applications for land at, 385. Demolislied by local Indians, 350. Established, 347. Pillaged by Indians, 349. Site of, no, 345. Site of, confluence of Pelly and Lewes .it, 252. Fort Simpson to Fort Yukon, Posts between, 351. Fort Yukon. Abandoned, 351. Annual trade, 106. Arrival at, 102. B.iteaux arrive, 105. Departure from, 116. Described, 103. F^st.iblished, 348. Fare for men and dogs at, 103. Furs in storehouse, 115. History of, 102. Maintained till 1869, 350. Mean annual temperature, 258. Preparations for journey to, 72. Range of temperature, 105. Region to be explored, 6. Transport difficulties, 103. Tribes represented at, 109. United Stales of America, 206. Forty Mile Creek. American's experience at ; Marks', 422. Enters Dease ("Stuart" of McLeod), 312. 428 INDEX / 11 .1 in Forty Mile Creek (cont.) : Gold found on, 379, 380. Liquor question, 395. No prospects of town at, 386. Ogilvie, Wni., reaches, 391. Ogilvie's, VVm , survey, 394. Rush to, 407. Snow at, 257. Steamers to, 256. Fossil elephant tusk, 134. Fossil molluscs and plants, 267. Fossils, 71 J at Tolstoi I'oint, 135. Fossils found near Nulato, 67. Frances Lake. Described, 325. Examined and mapped, 247. Exjjedition arrives at, 330. Fish in, 327. Gold placers on, 266, Log cache constructed on, 247. Named after Lady Simpson, 346. Woods round, 328. Frances Lake and River geology, 266. Frances River. • Ascent difficult, 246. Course of, 319, 321. False Canon, 323. Lower Canon, 319 ; Rocks, 320. Middle Cafion, 321. Passable by large boat, 253. Upper Canoii, 323. Frances L. Steele, \V'. 11. Dall leaves St. Michael's by, 240. Francis, engineer of Wilder, 25. Helps in transporting goods to Ulukuk, 3S, 36. Returns to Unalaklik a third time, 38. Eraser Lake, trail to Dease Lake, 253. Free traders in Hudson Bay territory, 105. French Creek, " Detour River,' 313. Furs, Manner of packing, 106. G. " George S. Wright," ss., anchors at Egg Island, 5. Glaciation, 271. Glaciation and placer gold deposits, 275- Glaciation, Direction of, 273. Glacier Creek, Yukon, Claim i on, 392, 402. • Returns poor compared to Klondyke, 413- GlasunofT first explores Yukon Estuary, 251. •'Glenlyon House;" Fort Frances built. 347. Glenlyon Mountains, 339. Glenlyon River, tributary of Telly, 339. I Glenora, Account of, 283. Cultivation at, 289. Gold. Bar-mining prospects, 381. Discovered m Cassiar region, 290. First discovery ol paying placers on ' Big Salmon River, 378. " Gulch